Pakistan’s Special Communication Organization has upgraded mobile connectivity in Soq valley, Gilgit-Baltistan, from 2G to 4G, bringing faster internet access to a community that had previously been limited to second-generation services.
SCO, which provides telecom services across Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir under federal mandate, said the upgrade will support education, daily services and tourism development in the area. Local residents welcomed the change, citing improved access to digital services and potential benefits for the valley’s visitor economy.
No site count, coverage population or investment figure was disclosed.
Editor’s Note: The Soq valley upgrade is part of a broader pattern of SCO-led 4G expansion into Gilgit-Baltistan’s more remote communities — a connectivity drive that takes on added significance as Pakistan pursues 5G rollout in major urban centres, creating a widening technology gap between cities and mountainous frontier regions. SCO’s mandate in these areas makes it the primary vehicle for bridging that gap, and incremental upgrades of this kind are worth tracking as a cumulative indicator of coverage progress.
