ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications on Sunday said the government aims to increase the number of fiber-to-home connections from 3 million to 10 million over the next three years, the
Shaza Fatima Khawaja, addressing a joint news conference alongside Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar in Islamabad, said that despite a population of around 240 million, the number of connections in the country is quite low.
She said Pakistan’s data consumption has risen by about 25 percent over the past two years, highlighting the need to expand spectrum capacity and strengthen the country’s telecommunications infrastructure.
Khawaja added that available spectrum has increased from 274 MHz to around 750 MHz through Pakistan’s largest-ever spectrum auction. She noted that the nationwide rollout of 5G services will require significant investment in fiber-optic networks, telecom towers, and other supporting infrastructure.
She said expanding internet access remains a key priority for the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications, while assuring that efforts to improve digital connectivity would not come at the expense of citizens’ fundamental rights.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, in his remarks, said that a property owner’s consent will remain mandatory before any telecommunications infrastructure can be installed on private land.
He said the revised draft of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) (Amendment) Bill explicitly requires the owner’s approval before any right-of-way is granted over private property.
He noted the revised legislation also provides clearer definitions of key terms, including right-of-way, above-ground and underground infrastructure, and the installation of telecommunications equipment, with the aim of removing legal ambiguities.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also constituted a high-level committee to examine the proposed legislation after public concerns and media discussions emerged regarding the bill.
