ISLAMABAD, Oct 20 (APP):Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja has said that Pakistan has expanded its digital infrastructure through a major spectrum auction, 5G deployment, and nationwide fibre-optic connectivity to support growing demand for digital services,
She made these remarks while speaking as a keynote speaker during a high-level panel session titled “The Last 2.6 billion: Is Universal Connectivity a Broken Promise in the AI Era?” on the second day of the Global Digital & AI Summit in Seoul, South Korea.
Responding to questions during the session, the minister outlined Pakistan’s digital and artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. She said Pakistan primarily viewed AI as a network challenge under the Prime Minister’s Digital Nation Pakistan vision.
She stated that 70% of Pakistan’s population was under the age of 30, while the number of telecom subscribers had exceeded 200 million, reflecting the growing demand for quality and meaningful connectivity.
Shaza Fatima said Pakistan conducted its largest-ever spectrum auction in March 2026, acquiring 480 MHz of spectrum and raising $509 million.
The auction increased telecom operators’ spectrum holdings from 274 MHz to 754 MHz, an achievement commended internationally by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) and the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT).
Within six months of the auction, 5G services were launched at more than 1,700 sites across 24 major cities, delivering average speeds of 130 Mbps. Meanwhile, download speeds across the country increased by 68.1% over the past two years.
The minister said more than 234,000 kilometres of optical fibre cable had been deployed nationwide. To accelerate fibre deployment and reduce costs, right-of-way (RoW) charges had been completely abolished across the country in consultation with provincial governments. This measure would ensure that every rupee saved on permits was directly utilised for fibre deployment.
She added that Pakistan was connected to the world through six submarine cables with a combined capacity of more than 17 Tbps. The country was also developing the CAREC Digital Corridor to serve as a digital bridge between Central Asia and the rest of the world.
Highlighting the importance of satellite technology, particularly direct-to-device connectivity, for remote areas such as the deserts of Balochistan and the mountainous regions of northern Pakistan, Shaza Fatima said the Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board (PSARB) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) were finalising the satellite communications and licensing framework.
She emphasised that satellite services would not replace Pakistan’s terrestrial networks but would complement them in hard-to-reach areas.
To encourage investment, she added, a new framework for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and an Infrastructure Sharing Policy had also been issued.
Discussing digital inclusion and efforts to reduce the gender gap, the minister said the Universal Service Fund (USF) had provided connectivity to more than 38 million people across 22,100 mauzas (settlements) in over 110 districts.
She added that 17.6 million smartphones had been assembled locally in Pakistan during 2025, while smartphone instalment plans were being rolled out.
Citing World Bank reports, Shaza Fatima said the gender gap in mobile connectivity in Pakistan had declined significantly from 25% to 8%. She also highlighted that Pakistan’s ranking in the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) ICT Development Index 2026 had improved by 27 places.
Concluding the session, the minister said universal connectivity was not a broken promise but an unfinished one.
“Universal connectivity is not a broken promise; it is an unfinished one. The technology exists, and the money exists—what has been missing is the willingness to share risk. If we treat connectivity as the foundation of AI, the unconnected 2.6 billion people will become the next 2.6 billion customers, creators, and innovators, and Pakistan is fully prepared for this partnership,” she said.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
