Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, informed the National Assembly on Wednesday that the auction for the 5G spectrum will take place in April 2025. She also clarified that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) operates as an autonomous body under the Cabinet Division’s jurisdiction.
During the Question Hour session of the ongoing 11th session of the 16th meeting of the lower house of Parliament, Shaza responded to supplementary questions, stating that the PTA had closed the social media platform X on the advice of the Interior Ministry. The IT Ministry, she emphasized, was not involved in this decision. She dismissed any concerns about restrictions on free expression, noting that X was only used by around 2% of Pakistan’s population. She further added that if the government intended to restrict freedom of speech, it would have targeted more widely used platforms like Facebook and TikTok.
The Minister also shared that recent reports from the PTA indicated that internet speed had improved by 28%, and mobile internet speed had increased by 24%. Additionally, IT exports had risen by 34% over the past five months, reflecting the impact of enhanced internet speed and quality. Despite stringent security measures during the SCO meeting, Shaza noted that internet services were provided to business entities.
In contrast to previous years when the internet was shut down across the country during Ashura, this year, internet disruptions were limited to certain areas, thanks to effective use of technology. Shaza stressed that national security remained a priority, with efforts focused on safeguarding the country against cyber-attacks and data leaks.
Regarding frequency, Shaza mentioned that the internet speed frequency had increased from 274 MHz to 550 MHz following the litigation process. She also highlighted that the PML(N) government had distributed around 1.1 million laptops to advance digitization efforts and that a new policy would be introduced to offer smartphones in easy installments to the public.
