Pakistan’s telecom industry maintained robust revenue growth in the first nine months of fiscal year 2024-25 (July–March), generating Rs 803 billion compared to Rs 644 billion in FY2020-21, according to the Economic Survey 2024-25. Despite this growth, the sector’s contribution to the national exchequer declined to Rs 271 billion, down from Rs 341 billion in FY2022-23. Experts suggest this drop may stem from policy changes, reduced tax collection periods in the data, or shifting sector profitability.
Investment in telecom also contracted, with USD 621 million invested in FY2024-25, down from USD 770 million the previous year and USD 1,657 million in FY2021-22. Nonetheless, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) reported steady digital infrastructure expansion: broadband penetration reached 59.8%, 4G coverage exceeded 81%, and broadband subscribers totaled 147.2 million by March 2025.
Regulatory reforms have advanced digital inclusion, highlighted by the unlocking of the 6 GHz spectrum for next-gen Wi-Fi, placing Pakistan as the 10th Asian country adopting Wi-Fi 6E and beyond. Cybersecurity improved significantly, with Pakistan climbing from 79th to within the top 40 on the Global Cybersecurity Index 2024.
The survey detailed new initiatives such as national roaming deployment along the Makran Coastal Highway to improve coverage and emergency communications. The PTA introduced OASIS, a digital licensing platform integrating services from NADRA, SECP, and NBP to streamline regulation.
Looking ahead, Pakistan is preparing for a mid-2025 5G rollout, with ongoing infrastructure upgrades, spectrum planning, and operator trials. The National Space Policy approval is spurring the development of satellite broadband licensing frameworks. Additionally, a National Fiberisation Plan, in collaboration with the World Bank, aims to expand the fiber-optic backbone.
To bolster digital safety, PTA blocked over 1.43 million URLs linked to unlawful content and conducted over 400,000 quality-of-service tests nationwide to enforce telecom standards.
