Home » Pakistan to expand fiber optic connectivity to 7.5 million homes in five years

Pakistan to expand fiber optic connectivity to 7.5 million homes in five years

by Haroon Amin
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According to the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication (MoITT), Pakistan wants to reach 80 percent fiber-to-the-site (FTTS) coverage and provide fiber-optic connectivity to 7.5 million households in the next five years.

These goals are a part of the National Fiberization Policy that is currently being developed, which focusses on improving fixed broadband infrastructure and reaching 60 Mbps download speeds nationwide on average.

The hiring of a specialised Project Management Unit (PMU) is in progress while the policy is being developed under the Digital Economy Enhancement Project (DEEP). The PMU will hire a consulting firm to draft the policy through a competitive process after it is finalised.

As part of a larger plan, the initiative aims to fortify Pakistan’s digital infrastructure and create the foundation for upcoming technologies like 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Read more: Pakistan to link up with new 45,000km 2Africa submarine cable by end of next year

The policy’s main tenet is private sector investment. The government is working to eliminate long-standing obstacles such excessive deployment costs, problems with right-of-way (RoW), and ineffective regulations. In order to speed up network deployment and lessen the financial strain on telecom operators, the strategy suggests streamlining approval processes and rationalising RoW fees.

Pakistan now has over 211,473 kilometres of deployed optical fibre cable, comprising 135,506 km of metro fibre networks and 75,967 km of long-haul fibre, according to MoITT. Despite this footprint, a major scale-up is required due to the internet’s explosive expansion and changing technological requirements. Provisions for improving network resilience, especially in long-haul connection, are included in the policy’s five-year scope.

The policy should be finished by the end of the year, with the participation of telecom operators and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in the draughting process led by the Telecom Wing of MoITT.

In order to talk about cost-sharing methods, single-window approvals, and infrastructure sharing, there are multiple levels of involvement. The framework also promotes economic objectives including reducing dependency on imported fibre components and promoting indigenous production.

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