Pakistan

Overview

Pakistan (پاکستان‎‎), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia and on junction of West Asia, Central Asia and East Asia. The country is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China in the far northeast. The Kashmir conflict remains the major point of contention between Pakistan and India, resulting in a disputed border region contested by India, Pakistan, and China.

Pakistan has 140 million cellular mobile subscribers with high population coverage of cellular network. In 2016, 92% of households have a mobile phone (96% in urban areas and 90% in rural regions) (PBS Pakistan, 2016). Pakistan has seen a significant success in broadband accessibility through a series of spectrum auctions for 3G and 4G LTE services, starting in 2014 and the subsequent auctions in 2016 and 2017 to provide impetus to growth and meet the extraordinary demand. With an exponential growth, mobile broadband subscribers have reached 44.5 million in just three years of its inception, accounting to 32% of total mobile subscribers. Currently, all cellular mobile operators have LTE spectrum, with the exception of Ufone.

As of June 2017 3G UMTS coverage is estimated to be available to 67% of population, and 4G LTE approximating 27% coverage by population.

Pakistan is a member of the ITU and as such follows radio frequency harmonisation principles according to ITU-R Region-3. The regulatory body governing communications policy is the Ministry of Information Technology, and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is charged with regulating the country's radio frequency spectrum activities such as planning, allocations, and licencing.