Pakistan currently has 449 active 5G tower sites operating across 22 cities, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology on Monday.
Director General PTA Amir Shehzad told the committee that the regulator is collecting data from telecom operators every 24 hours to monitor network performance and identify which telecom towers go offline.
PTA Member Sadiq Memon said Karachi currently has 50 active 5G sites, while Hyderabad has only three. He warned that if deployment continues at the current pace, nationwide 5G rollout may not be completed until 2035, by which time the technology could already be outdated.
Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima said telecom companies had committed to launching 5G services in five cities during the first year and stressed that Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, deserves greater attention.
Committee Chairman Syed Amin Ul Haque urged operators to install more 5G towers in Karachi, while the PTA chairman noted that telecom companies are also exporting 5G equipment alongside expanding domestic infrastructure.
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