The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Saturday announced that the Broadband users in Pakistan have reached a 100 million mark in Pakistan.
“Owing to supportive government policies, effective competition among telecom operators, and PTA commitment to introduce and utilize innovative technologies, broadband subscriptions in Pakistan have reached a historic 100 million mark,” PTA stated in a tweet celebrating the achievement.
As per statistics, in the year 2012, there were less than 2 million subscriptions but after the introduction of 3G services, the number increased to 16 million in 2014 and 100 million in 2021. As of today, almost 87 percent of the country’s population uses broadband service at the most economical rates.
Furthermore, broadband is provided over 3G/4G networks with a common download speed of 17.7 Mbps and upload speed of 11.3 Mbps, which if compared is greater than the speed levels present in other regional countries, the statement asserted.
In addition to it, mobile data prices have also decreased to only 0.70% of the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita which is under the UN Broadband Commission’s recommendation of less than 2%. The statement further informs that all four national Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs), SCO, and fixed-line broadband operators including PTCL collectively have broadband subscriptions of over 100 million presently.
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This impressive achievement has been possible due to the increase in usage of data services in every segment of the economy and the enlightenment of the most advanced and innovative services offered by the operators. Previously, the Pakistan telecom sector has accomplished many milestones such as reaching 100 million mobile subscriptions in 2010, the launch of first-ever biometrically authenticated SIMs across the country in 2009, and implementation of the world’s first open-source DIRBS in 2019.
The PTA praised the users and service providers for reaching this landmark and declared that surpassing the 100m benchmark would be formally celebrated soon with all the stakeholders and the national and international telecom community.
