A policy proposal aimed at making fifth-generation-enabled smartphones accessible to a broader segment of Pakistan’s population through instalment-based purchasing plans has encountered a procedural hurdle, with the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication and PTA still awaiting formal written responses from certain industry stakeholders despite the initiative having been publicly endorsed by all three major telecom operators. The proposal has taken on heightened relevance following the fifth-generation spectrum auction held on March 10, 2026, after which demand for fifth-generation-compatible handsets is expected to rise as the technology expands into urban and eventually peri-urban markets across the country.
The installment financing policy has been in development for some time, with Jazz identified by industry insiders as one of its earliest and most vocal proponents. Jazz President Kazim Mujtaba has publicly argued that the policy extends well beyond low-income demographics, noting that a substantial number of consumers who can afford a monthly payment simply cannot absorb the full upfront cost of a premium fifth-generation device in a single transaction. Ufone also committed to the plan at an early stage, and Zong became the third major operator to publicly sign on, with Sajid Munir, head of marketing at Zong, stating at a recent media workshop that the company had forwarded its suggestions to the government regarding mobile phone instalment sales and that the rollout of fifth-generation services made such a mechanism essential for meeting rising demand for high-end handsets.
However, sources within the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication and PTA told Dawn that despite Zong’s public statements of support, both institutions are still awaiting the company’s official formal response to the government. When approached for comment, a Zong spokesperson said the company fully supports the industry-wide initiative and is working closely with the regulator and industry stakeholders to finalise a framework that benefits both customers and the broader industry. The gap between public endorsement and formal procedural commitment reflects a pattern that has previously slowed similar policy rollouts in Pakistan’s telecom sector, where verbal alignment does not always translate swiftly into the documented responses that government bodies require to advance a policy through its next stages. Separately, Jazz President Kazim Mujtaba also used a recent media engagement to propose that following the fifth-generation rollout, the government should channel Universal Service Fund financing toward ensuring connectivity along motorways, arguing that no individual operator has a standalone business case to invest in such coverage but that the fund could make it viable at a national infrastructure level.
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