Hajra Naz
Pakistan is putting together a nationwide National Connectivity Plan, and the goals attached to it are pretty ambitious. The broad idea is to push the digital economy forward, close the gap between connected cities and everywhere else, and generally upgrade the country’s digital backbone.
The headline number is the broadband speed target. Right now, Pakistan’s average fixed broadband speed sits at 30.32 Mbps. The plan wants to push that up to 85 Mbps — almost triple where things stand today. If that actually happens, it would move Pakistan into the top 50 countries worldwide for broadband performance. For context, the country currently ranks 92nd globally, so this would be a fairly dramatic jump.
To get there, the plan leans heavily on expanding 5G coverage and building out Fiber-to-the-home networks. There’s also a specific focus on freelancers and digital professionals, who need internet that’s both fast and affordable to do their work properly. Beyond the cities, the plan is meant to stretch broadband access into smaller towns, rural communities, and areas that have historically been left out of the connectivity conversation altogether.
Fiber infrastructure is getting a serious overhaul too. Officials are targeting a jump in tower fiberization from just 16 percent today to 60 percent within the next three years. That’s a big lift, and it says a lot about how far behind the current infrastructure actually is.
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A handful of reforms are on the table as well. One idea would make fixed broadband a requirement for all government offices, schools, and healthcare facilities — essentially treating connectivity as basic infrastructure rather than an optional upgrade.
There’s also talk of tax relief for people using the internet in remote areas, along with two changes meant to speed up how telecom infrastructure actually gets built: scrapping Right of Way fees and setting up a one-window approval system. Both are aimed at cutting through the bureaucratic delays that have historically slowed down telecom rollouts in the country.
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication is currently the one driving this forward, and work on finalizing the plan has been picking up pace. Sources familiar with the process say the framework is being shaped through consultations with stakeholders across the industry, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reportedly told officials to wrap up the framework as soon as possible.
Once finalized, the National Connectivity Plan is expected to bring in a set of regulatory reforms and lay out clearer responsibilities for telecom operators. The bigger picture here is Pakistan’s long-term push toward digital transformation—and whether this plan can actually deliver on numbers this ambitious is something that will become clear over the next few years.
