Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology that nearly 97 percent of Pakistan’s population now has access to broadband internet, a figure that sits well above broadband penetration numbers previously published by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority itself. Briefing lawmakers on Tuesday, the minister said internet usage has grown significantly in recent years as demand for digital services continues to rise across the country.
According to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s own published figures, broadband penetration stood at around 60.8 percent as of June 2025, with the regulator separately reporting the country’s overall teledensity, covering all mobile and fixed line connections combined, at approximately 81 to 83 percent through the first half of 2026. Independent digital analytics platforms have placed Pakistan’s actual internet penetration even lower, with some estimates putting the figure closer to 45 to 46 percent of the population. The gap between these previously reported figures and the minister’s 97 percent claim has drawn criticism from technology commentators, who argue the number may conflate broadband subscriptions, mobile network coverage footprint, or teledensity with the share of the population actually using the internet.
During the same briefing, the minister said the government had increased available mobile spectrum from 274 megahertz to 480 megahertz following a spectrum auction completed in March, a step aimed at improving network capacity and supporting the ongoing rollout of 5G services. She added that the average internet user in Pakistan spends around Rs285 per month on data services, and that the proposed Telecom Amendment Bill would improve the Right of Way framework governing telecom infrastructure deployment, making it easier to lay fibre and erect towers across the country.
The committee session, chaired by Syed Aminul Haque, also included sharp criticism from lawmakers over the declining quality of mobile services nationwide. Committee member Mahesh Kumar said members had been raising concerns about poor telecom service quality for years without seeing meaningful improvement, singling out Ufone’s service in Karachi as particularly weak. Committee member Sadiq Memon added that call quality had become increasingly unreliable even in major cities including Islamabad and Karachi, reflecting a broader gap between the government’s stated connectivity achievements and the everyday experience many mobile users continue to report.
The discrepancy over broadband access figures adds to a series of contested statistics that have circulated around Pakistan’s digital economy in recent months, with officials, regulators, and independent researchers frequently citing different baseline numbers for internet and broadband adoption. As the government continues pushing forward with its 5G rollout and fibre expansion targets, the gap between official claims and independently reported data is likely to remain a recurring point of scrutiny for lawmakers and industry observers evaluating the true state of Pakistan’s digital connectivity.
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