Forget about 5G! Pakistani people struggle with ‘substandard’ 4G internet

The launch of 5G services has caused a big upsurge in the telecom sector throughout the world, but Pakistan is regrettably not one of them. There are still issues with ‘substandard’ 4G internet connection, and the Shehbaz Sharif-led administration is busy assigning blame.

A ban on opening Letters of Credit (LCs) to import the necessary machinery and cables has been blamed by the Ministry of IT and Telecom on the State Bank of Pakistan, according to The Express Tribune, while parliamentarians have expressed grave concerns about the poor internet services across Pakistan.

Officials from the Ministry of IT briefed the legislative panel on Wednesday that ‘the fundamental reason for the country’s subpar internet is the non-opening of LCs’.  The officials stated that ‘LCs in the telecom business are prohibited by the SBP, and the nation is now experiencing a shortage of fibre optics’.

‘4G services are still scarce’
The Pakistani National Assembly Standing Committee on IT recently had a meeting when the members highlighted many concerns regarding the calibre of internet services offered around the nation. The discussion was presided over by Mir Khan Muhammad Jamali. One committee member bemoaned the lack of phone signals and internet access in Hyderabad and Karachi.

A other participant emphasised that ‘despite the fact that 4G service is still not generally accessible in the country, there has been significant talk about introducing 5G technology’.  Members of the IT committee questioned, ‘Our question is, what is the standard service of the Internet,’ the report said. Additionally, they said that there is no internet access when driving on highways, noting that even Karachi, which is the ‘business hub’, does not have quality internet service.

Use of the internet in Pakistan
In Pakistan, there are now 60 million more internet users than there were four years ago, according to Ministry of IT and Telecom officials. According to the assistant secretary of the ministry, more than 10 million new customers were registered between January and November of last year.