TAHIR AMIN

ISLAMABAD: Federal IT and Telecom Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja has warned that Pakistan’s much-awaited 5G rollout faces serious jeopardy — admitting that crippling input costs, the region’s highest taxation, low Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), and the dollar-pegged license pricing have already strained the sector — while ongoing litigation over the crucial 154 MHz spectrum in the 2600 band threatens to further delay or even derail the spectrum auction altogether.

Pakistan’s telecom sector is almost choked with only 274 MHz spectrum compared to Bangladesh with 600 MHz spectrum, said the minister while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on IT & Telecommunications.

The committee, which met with Syed Amin ul Haq in the chair, was informed by the minister that almost all of the companies are going into losses with no profit in hand to reinvest in the country.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had given a go-ahead for the long-awaited 5G spectrum auction by December 2025; however, the minister on Wednesday said that the auction is likely to take place in December 2025 or may be delayed till January 2026.

She said that there were two major hurdles: Telenor merger with PTCL and litigation in the prime band. ‘We went to Dubai even but finally cleared the merger issue; however, the litigation matter is still pending, and if we go for auction with litigation in the major band, the auction would fail,” the minister added. The committee members expressed serious concerns over the poor services of telecom operators, including calls and internet.

Zulfiqar Bhatti, a government lawmaker, expressed anger over the lack of service. “In my constituency, there’s no proper signal or internet access,” he complained. “Are we just here to eat boxed meals,” he asked. He tried to walk out, but the committee chairman consoled him.

The minister attributed service problems to limited spectrum availability, saying that even if thousands of more towers were installed, it wouldn’t help without enough spectrums.

Ahmad Ateeq stressed the need for improved IT infrastructure in smaller cities. “The focus is always on Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad,” he said. “What about the rest of the country?”

The committee recommended Pakistan Telecommunication Autho-rity review its performance and focus on improving service in the country.

The IT ministry faced tough questioning over delays in the Islamabad IT Park project and ongoing nationwide connectivity issues. She admitted challenges with the Korean-funded IT Park and confirmed the Prime Minister’s inquiry into project delays. The committee also asked about the submarine cable fault near Yemen. Haq asked whether the issue had been fixed. The Secretary clarified that repairs were still under way but confirmed that Pakistan’s internet traffic had been rerouted through alternate channels to ensure stable connectivity.