Web desk: Pakistan is seeing a major opportunity to shift toward modern governance through digital technology.
Experts say the success of this digital transformation depends on whether the country can overcome long-standing problems.
These include weak connectivity, high infrastructure costs and the slow expansion of Fibre to the Home (FTTH).
Pakistan fibre expansion plan
Under the National Fiberization Plan, the government has set a target to provide high-speed broadband to 10 million homes by 2029, Jang reports.
Each user will receive a minimum fixed internet speed of 100 Mbps. The goal is to raise Pakistan into the top 50 countries on Ookla’s global speed rankings.
The Ministry of IT and Telecom is running this project with support from the World Bank under the Digital Economy Enhancement Project.
The initiative aims to improve the capacity of government departments to deliver digital services.
The ministry is also trying to hire a consultancy firm to help bring more investment within the current policy framework.
The project will review the effective use of Administrative Incentive Pricing. It will also guide future readiness for 4G improvement and 5G launch.
Through these steps, the government hopes to discourage spectrum hoarding and encourage long-term investment in fibre infrastructure.
IT exporter Dr Nauman A Saeed said that FTTH is essential for Pakistan’s digital future.
He added that a strong fibre network is necessary if the country wants to build an economy based on AI, cloud services and data centres.
He warned that Pakistan faces several big challenges. These include scattered infrastructure, high investment costs, low FTTH adoption, poor spectrum use, the need for deep-sea fibre and serious cybersecurity concerns.
