PTA has officially confirmed that 5G services now live across 22 cities in Pakistan, with the disclosure made during a briefing to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunications, chaired by Syed Amin Ul Haque. Officials said 5G has been activated in four sectors of Islamabad, with speed tests conducted in Sector F-8 recording internet speeds of around 100 Mbps. They added that the upcoming 5G spectrum auction is expected to improve internet performance and increase average 4G speeds to 40 Mbps. The initial benchmark speed for 5G services has been set at 50 Mbps, while independent testing at Islamabad’s F-11 Markaz recorded speeds reaching up to 750 Mbps on Ufone’s 5G network, demonstrating the significant headroom that the new spectrum can deliver under optimal conditions.
The 5G rollout follows Pakistan’s landmark spectrum auction held in March 2026, through which Jazz, Ufone, and Zong secured spectrum licenses after the government raised approximately $507 million through the sale of 480 megahertz of spectrum across multiple frequency bands including 700 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2600 MHz, and 3500 MHz. Zong was among the first to commercially launch 5G services across more than 16 cities including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta, and has committed to deploying and upgrading over 1,000 5G sites nationwide during 2026. The total confirmed coverage of 22 cities, as reported to the National Assembly committee, reflects the combined rollout progress of multiple operators since the spectrum was awarded.
Despite the confirmation of an active 5G rollout, lawmakers expressed concern over the overall quality of telecom services currently being experienced by consumers. Sadiq Memon said that new technologies such as 5G would have limited impact unless existing connectivity issues are resolved first, pointing to the persistent gap between the headline announcements around network upgrades and the day-to-day experience of ordinary mobile users across the country. Committee members also raised concerns about a noticeable decline in customer support standards, noting that major operators had reduced their helpline capacity, leaving subscribers with fewer avenues for resolving service complaints. PTA officials cited ongoing electricity load shedding of up to 10 hours in some areas as a major challenge affecting telecom network performance, a structural problem that the regulator has flagged repeatedly in recent weeks as it pushes for telecom infrastructure to be excluded from standard load shedding schedules and given priority access on express feeders.
The confirmation of 5G across 22 cities marks a tangible milestone in Pakistan’s long-delayed transition to next-generation mobile connectivity, a process that has taken several years longer than originally planned due to spectrum pricing disputes, economic headwinds, and regulatory delays. With the spectrum now allocated and services commercially active across a growing number of cities, the focus is shifting from launch to coverage quality, device ecosystem development, and the pace at which the 5G footprint expands beyond the major urban centres that currently benefit from the new network.
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