Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Friday that initiatives are underway to launch 5G internet in Pakistan to enhance the speed and reliability of internet services.
Addressing a delegation from VEON Group, a global telecommunications and digital services company, in Islamabad, the Prime Minister highlighted that 5G would advance the “Digital Pakistan” vision.
Pakistan has experienced prolonged periods of slow internet, which has included several social media outages, positioning the nation far behind global internet speed standards. This lag threatens Pakistan’s participation in the global digital economy.
Since February, access to various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Snapchat has been erratic, with frequent complaints about service disruptions.
Last week, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced that nationwide internet services were fully operational following repairs to the SMW4 underwater cable, which, along with another fault in the AAE1 cable in August, had caused significant outages.
Further, Prime Minister Sharif expressed the government’s commitment to reach $25 billion in IT exports within three years and to foster growth in the telecommunication sector. He emphasized the crucial role of the telecom sector in advancing a cashless and digital economy and declared Pakistan’s readiness to collaborate with VEON Group to push forward initiatives in IT, digitization, and artificial intelligence.
The VEON delegation praised the government’s efforts towards economic stability and acknowledged Pakistan as a significant hub for investment in the IT and telecom sectors.
