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A major Chinese cable company is setting its sights on Pakistan’s growing broadband market, following a high-level meeting with Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja in Shanghai. The strategic talks, held during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, aimed to foster stronger regional connectivity through investments in submarine and terrestrial fiber infrastructure.
On the sidelines of the conference, Minister Shaza met with senior representatives of PeaceCable International Network, led by CEO Sun Xiaohua and Sales Director Zhuang Wei (Lucus). The discussions focused on the potential of enhancing digital connectivity between Pakistan and neighboring countries by expanding optical fiber infrastructure on land and undersea.
PeaceCable currently boasts an extensive portfolio of submarine and terrestrial fiber cables, along with integrated power solutions. With an annual revenue of around $24 billion, the company expressed strong interest in participating in Pakistan’s digital transformation.
During the meeting, Minister Shaza shared Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s vision of a “Digital Pakistan” and emphasized key components of the National Fiberization Policy. These include connecting 10 million households via fiber broadband within three years, increasing fiberized mobile towers from 14% to 60%, and significantly cutting Right of Way costs through government-led reforms.
The Chinese cable company was encouraged to support Pakistan’s Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) rollout, consider entering the Optical Distribution Network (ODN) market, and invest in terrestrial fiber infrastructure projects. The Ministry of IT and Telecommunication (MOITT) assured full backing for such ventures through collaborations with both public and private sector operators.
This initiative marks a step toward achieving Pakistan’s long-term goal of digital inclusion and high-speed connectivity, with international partners playing a crucial role in driving infrastructure growth.
