In a long-awaited move, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued a new customs valuation for the import of fibre broadband Wi-Fi routers, also known as Optical Network Terminals (ONTs).
The decision is expected to benefit fibre broadband consumers and operators and support the expansion of fibre broadband services, which currently reach less than 5 percent of households in Pakistan, one of the lowest penetration rates in the region.
In 2020, the FBR had unilaterally increased the customs valuation of ONTs by nearly 300 percent, despite the fact that major broadband operators were importing these devices at prevailing global market prices through legitimate banking channels. Telecom operators challenged the move and sought legal remedies, obtaining a stay order. Subsequently, in May 2024, the FBR issued a revised ruling, slightly reducing the valuation to USD 199 for RF-ONTs and USD 60 for non-RF ONTs, compared to the 2020 valuations of USD 219 and USD 66, respectively.
Following continued objections from telecom operators and the Ministry of IT and Telecom, the FBR issued another revised ruling in December 2024, further lowering the valuation to USD 165 for RF-ONTs and USD 44 for non-RF ONTs. However, these rates were still considered 100–200 percent higher than actual import prices.
Finally, on January 26, 2026, the FBR issued a fresh ruling significantly reducing the customs valuation to USD 38 for RF-ONTs and USD 21 for non-RF ONTs, effectively addressing the longstanding concerns of the telecom industry. Telecom operators welcomed the move.
Wahaj Siraj, Vice Chairman of the Telecom Operators Association of Pakistan, thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Minister for IT and Telecom Shaza Khawaja, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema, Chairman FBR Rashid Langrial, and IT Secretary Zarrar Khan for taking notice of the issue and directing the Customs Valuation Committee to reconsider its earlier decisions based on global market prices and actual import data.
He added that telecom operators had not passed on the increased valuation burden to consumers despite facing significant pressure to raise hardware prices. With the revised valuation, operators will now be able to continue providing ONTs to consumers under the same pricing packages.
Wi-fi router should be locally assembled,
since Pakistan has capacity to produce it locally.
The speed of internet in Pakistan is still the slowest and pathetic in whole world۔