Yes, you heard it right. Ufone is launching its 4G/LTE services in Pakistan, we have checked with our sources.
We are getting reports that Ufone’s 4G services are already made available for customers in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Ufone has confirmed ProPakistani about the development.
Twitter users in Islamabad and Rawalpindi are already noticing Ufone 4G/LTE services.
Ufone didn’t confirm the cities where it is launching 4G but said that Ufone 4G/LTE network will be introduced across the country in phases.
From sources, however, we know that Ufone 4G/LTE is available in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, starting immediately while major metropolitan cities including Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, and Karachi will get Ufone 4G/LTE in the next few weeks.
Ufone customers can dial *4# to check if their SIMs are 4G compatible or not and also if Ufone 4G/LTE is available in their area or not.
Ufone had been advocating its 3G network since the start, and that’s probably why it didn’t upgrade to 4G for over half a decade.
The company claimed that 3G speeds – if service quality is maintained – are sufficient for users in Pakistan. However, with this new decision, it seems that the company is all set to test new waters, mainly because it thinks that the 4G market is ripe now and 4G handset penetration has improved as well, making the overall ecosystem feasible enough to invest in 4G/LTE.
While many will question how Ufone is launching 4G with no new spectrum or license, the company claims that it has obtained all the mandatory regulatory approvals to launch 4G/LTE in Pakistan.
This essentially means that the company will be launching 4G services within its currently available spectrum.
We were concerned about the total available spectrum with Ufone as the service quality for 2G and 3G customers could be impacted if Ufone’s limited spectrum is further split up to offer 4G services as well.
When asked, Ufone was confident that with the launch of 4G/LTE, existing GSM customers and their experience won’t be impacted with this technology and they would fully comply with the Network QoS KPIs specified for these services.
Ufone didn’t reveal any investment figures but said that it is committed to the Pakistani market and will continue to invest in the newest technologies including 4G/LTE. “You can appreciate that such a roll-out requires significant investment”, said Ufone.
Ufone claims that it recorded the highest number of data subscribers in October 2018. The company said that this trend provides confidence that with the launch of 4G, it will compete even better in the time to come.