PTA has moved forward with a package of major telecom and broadband reforms designed to accelerate the nationwide rollout of fourth and fifth generation mobile services, improve internet infrastructure, and expand digital connectivity across Pakistan. PTA has developed and approved a nationwide spectrum sharing framework under Clause 8.16 of the Telecom Policy 2015 and forwarded the updated draft to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication on April 10, 2026, for policy-level approval, with the proposed framework allowing telecom operators to share assigned spectrum across multiple frequency bands including 700 megahertz, 850 megahertz, 900 megahertz, 1800 megahertz, 2100 megahertz, 2300 megahertz, 2600 megahertz, and 3500 megahertz, subject to regulatory approval. Officials say the primary objective of the framework is to improve efficient utilisation of telecom resources, reduce infrastructure duplication, lower deployment costs, and accelerate the nationwide rollout of advanced fourth and fifth generation services.
In another major development, PTA has issued the Wireless Local Area Network Framework 2024 in consultation with the Frequency Allocation Board, enabling broader use of unlicensed Wi-Fi spectrum in Pakistan, officially permitting the use of 2.4 gigahertz, 5 gigahertz, and 6 gigahertz frequency bands under defined technical conditions, with the opening of the 6 gigahertz band expected to support next-generation Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 technologies nationwide. Officials believe the move will significantly improve indoor connectivity, broadband offloading, enterprise networking, educational campuses, smart home deployment, and public hotspot services while reducing pressure on mobile networks, with no spectrum fee applicable for Wireless Local Area Network usage within the framework’s approved scope.
PTA has also started issuing district-level class licences for internet services from January 1, 2026, as part of efforts to encourage local entrepreneurship and increase broadband access across Pakistan, with the initiative enabling smaller, locally owned internet service providers to legally operate at the district level, bringing last-mile connectivity to underserved and remote areas that larger national operators have historically not prioritised. This licensing tier fills a structural gap in Pakistan’s internet access landscape, where the concentration of licensed operators among a small number of large national players has left significant portions of the country’s geography and population without affordable or reliable broadband options.
On the infrastructure side, PTA has also taken steps to address one of the most persistent bottlenecks in Pakistan’s fibre expansion, the cost of right-of-way permissions that telecom operators must obtain from municipal and civic bodies before laying fibre optic cable. The removal of right-of-way charges is expected to significantly accelerate fibre optic expansion and strengthen Pakistan’s fixed broadband infrastructure over the next several years, removing a financial and administrative friction point that has slowed the fibre-to-the-site ratios that both fourth and fifth generation network performance depend on as a backbone requirement. Taken together, the four reforms represent a coordinated regulatory push across spectrum, wireless, licensing, and infrastructure domains that collectively address the multi-layered constraints that have kept Pakistan’s mobile and broadband connectivity below its potential relative to regional peers.
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