Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has announced accelerated plans for 5G deployment as part of its annual report on Sunday.
Pakistan is creating a systematic roadmap for the country’s preparation for 5G technology. The regulator said in its 2020 annual report that it plans to auction “spectrum for… 5G services in the fiscal year 2023.”
As the digital economy widened several times during these hard times in Pakistan, the Covid-19 pandemic proved a blessing in disguise.
However, the crisis has triggered digital technology upgrades by regulators and stakeholders and Pakistan is also pushing towards the most advanced technology 5G internet to open for commercial use by 2022-2023.
In 2022-23, Pakistan plans to carry out the most advanced 5G internet, which will speed up the download speed 10 times to one gigabit per second (Gbps) and increase the country’s economic activities, according to a media report.
Previously, in 2019 and 2020, the cell phone service offering companies effectively performed a pilot test of 5G networks in a restricted setting and on a non-commercial basis.
Federal Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunication Aminul Haque said that by December 2022, the government had intended to introduce 5G technology, however, experts are still doubtful, assuming that it would take a much longer time around 5-7 years for the country to carry out the next-generation technology.
Furthermore, IT Minister Haque made a test video call to China via 5G and said it was a great experience. The voice was loud and vibrant, and the video quality was also perfect, the report said.
A tweet shared by the ministry back in November last year said, “The First ever fastest 5-G video call experiment has been carried out successfully in Pakistan. Federal Minister of IT and Telecommunication @SyedAminulHaque using #Zong4G made a 5G video call to Beijing today.”
