Pakistan broadband users cross 1.7m

Addition of 65,000 broadband users in the month of December, 2011 alone.

With over 20 million internet users in Pakistan, the country now also has 1.79 million broadband users, with an addition of 65,000 in the month of December, 2011 alone.

According to the latest stats issued by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the number of DSL subscribers has risen to 792,397, while the number WiMAX internet users has grown to 459,790. The number of HFC users is 37,491 and 7,215 users were recorded as FTTH subscribers in December.

DSL users account for around 44% of the total users, with WiMAX subscribers making the second largest group at 28%. EvDO technology saw a surge from 18% in 2010 to 26% in 2011.

Pakistan does not yet have a third generation (3G) network, which is also considered to be a hindrance for the spread of broadband internet and other wireless services in the country.

Pakistan was also ranked as one of the top countries that registered a high growth rate in broadband Internet penetration.

There more than 50 internet service providers including 10 broadband companies operating in different parts of the country under their license at various charges.

The different service providers include PTCL, Wateen, Wi-Tribe, Qubee, Link Dot Net, Infinity and Comsats.

A version of this post originally appeared on ProPakistani.