Last month, we found out that the launch of 5G technology in Pakistan had been delayed till June 2023 due to political change in the country. The IT ministry has however ensured that significant progress is being made and things are on track to launch the new service in four mega cities of the country.
While a network of fibre cables is being built across the city to support this service, the head of GSMA Asia-Pacific, Julian Gorman, has insisted that the country still needs huge investments to develop an enabling environment along with the required infrastructure to support 5G services on a wider scale. He was also displeased with the developments that have taken place over the last three years with regard to the Digital Pakistan initiative. At this rate, it will take years, not months, for Pakistan to be able to effectively roll out 5G. Granted that the IT industry is dealing with financial constraints due to a precarious economic situation, but that doesn’t mean that development should be rushed for the sake of political point scoring. There is indeed a culture of rapid but improper development due to which services by the state are either not effectively used or get dilapidated within a few years’ time. The same has been the case with internet services across the country. The current infrastructure cannot properly support 4G services and is barely enough for 3G level speed. Moreover, major parts of the country, particularly in Balochistan and K-P, lack basic internet facilities altogether.
When such a situation persists, it would bode well for the government to ensure a strong foundation before dolling out services after services. A comprehensive gap analysis must be formulated to ascertain what technology is required and in what region to strengthen infrastructural foundation, on the basis of which substantial funds can be sought.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2022.
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