PTA to Resolve Internet Woes in Pakistan with 12,000 New Sites and 5G Expansion

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja pointed out major reasons behind slowness in internet speed. The minister informed the National Assembly that with the significant growth in telecom sector, PTA also ensures that negative effect on Internet speed and Quality of Service (QoS) (if any) be addressed in shortest possible time as per the law.

However, slowness in internet speed cannot be attributed to a single impediment; rather, multiple factors need to be addressed, including the availability of additional spectrum, deployment of Fiber to the Home (FTTH) backhaul, Right of Way (RoW) constraints, load shedding, theft and vandalism, etc.

Additionally, excessive VPN usage impacts speed and user experience, as most traffic is routed through international networks instead of CDNs. The cuts in International submarine cables also cause slowness in internet and social media applications. Currently no major issue is reported with regards to internet connectivity and its utilization through submarine cables has now touched 10Tbps as compared to 8Tbps last year.

PTA licensees are also in the process of adding new submarine routes which is expected to further enhance the quality and redundancy of internet connectivity. Measures taken to enhance internet access in the country include;

Infrastructure upgrades

• Installation of 12,000 new sites in the last six years and upgrading existing 2G sites to 4G.
• Advanced technologies deployment such as sector splitting and massive MIMO.
• Introduction of Vo-Wifi, Wi-Fi Offloading, and VoLTE.
• 3G phase-out for better utilization of spectrum

Network Rollouts

• Aggressive roll-out obligation in new and renewed licenses being issued by the PTA
• An YoY increase of 3% population per annum per province to be covered

National roaming & 5G

• National Roaming Facility testing along Coastal Highway.
• Availability of additional Spectrum for new Technologies (5G)

Others include nationwide OSS KPIs analysisAddition of 5x new submarine cablesin coming days/years (i.e. Africa1,2Africa, SeaMeWe-6, Makran GulfGateway -1 and Peace).

Furthermore, it is pertinent to note that, Pakistan’s broadband internet speeds have improved with average speeds exceeding the regulatory threshold of 4 Mbps. Efforts are continuously underway to address challenges like fiberization, power outages, and infrastructure expansion, ensuring enhanced connectivity and a better user experience for the public.

To ensure that ISPs deliver the promised speeds and reliability, PTA conducts Quality of Service surveys of Mobile and fixedline operators regularly, utilizing on-ground systems and currently the licensees are meeting or exceeding the defined thresholds, results of these surveys are regularly published on official PTA website for transparency. Further, in case of any non-compliance, legal actions are initiated against the licensees.