5G services to begin this August

Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Dr Umar Saif announced on Monday that 5G services would be launched in Pakistan by July-August 2024 where the government would auction 300MHz of spectrum.

Before the launch of 5G, Pakistan’s optic fibre network will have to be extended. Currently, only 6,000 mobile towers are connected to optic fibre cables out of around 56,000 towers across the country.

The minister highlighted the steps taken by his ministry for the uplift of the IT industry during the past five months, particularly the establishment of a telecom tribunal to fulfill a longstanding demand of the sector. Speaking at the Mobile Summit, Saif revealed that Pakistan had exported nearly 250,000 mobile phones, earning about $200 million. Over the past two years, approximately 9 million mobile phones, valuing at around $1.5 billion, have been assembled in the country. The minister added that at present about 35 different brands were actively contributing to the local mobile phone manufacturing industry.