5G technology to be launched in major cities

News Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has planned to start ‘trial coverage’ of 5G services at certain points in major cities of the country during the current year.

Future of technology in Pakistan is linked to the 5G technology and the ministry is taking all possible steps to make the new technology business-friendly, sources at the ministry said.

He said that the Ministry of IT was extending full support to telecom companies, urging the telecom companies to play their due role in bringing modern technology to Pakistan.

He said the provision of broadband services across the country was the topmost priority of the government, adding the ministry of IT through the Universal Service Fund (USF) had launched some 70 projects of optical fiber cable (OFC) and broadband infrastructure development in four provinces at a cost of Rs 65 billion.

All projects underway in far-flung areas would be completed by June. In the province of Sindh alone, 20 projects of NGBSD and OFC worth Rs 16.3 billion have been started so far in 20 districts, including Tharparkar, Nawabshah, Khairpur, Larkana, Badin, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Mirpurkhas, and Dadu, the official said.  He said projects of connectivity of the unserved and under-served communities of Balochistan, Punjab, and KP provinces had also been launched.

Under its Next Generation Optic Fiber (NG-OF) Network and Services program, USF had contracted over 16,000 km of Optic Fiber Cable (OFC) to benefit 31.5 million populations across the country.