Introducing 5G

In January 2020, the PTA issued trial 5G internet licences to two companies providing cellular services in the country. Nine months later, the first-ever 5G call was conducted by Federal Minister for IT Aminul Haque to Beijing with “excellent voice and video quality” without interruption. Since then, much progress has been made, it seems, as the IT minister has recently announced that the government plans to make 5G technology commercially available to consumers by December 2022.

Even though officials claim that Pakistan has now kick-started its journey towards technological development, critics remain skeptical and believe that such a massive initiative would take at least five to seven years to roll out effectively. A perennial flaw that officials in Pakistan seem to have is that they are always keen on quickly developing something new and extraordinary during their tenure, rather than focus first on ameliorating the ever-increasing pile of existing problems. They need to realise that quick short-term solutions merely add on to it — haste always makes waste.

Pakistan’s telecommunication market has struggled immensely with expansion and access. Internet penetration across the country stands at 35%, out of which fixed broadband penetration remains at a 1%, mostly due to underdeveloped technology, shoddy infrastructure and lack of maintenance. Furthermore, residents of the northern areas have long been deprived of proper internet and mobile service connectivity, even after 3G and 4G services was recently restored. This brings us to the question: will the introduction of 5G services help resolve any of these longstanding issues?

It seems that the critics are right. Apart from aiding those that are able to afford expensive phones that support 5G connectivity, not much will come out of it — at least till the next few years. The common man will be less likely to afford 5G internet packages at exorbitant rates amid high inflation. It would be much more effective to focus on penetration and access in order to ensure basic internet services to the masses.