ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has one of the lowest average fixed and mobile broadband speeds within the South Asia region, while fixed broadband packages cost 11.1 percent of the average monthly gross national income (GNI) per capita, more than five times above the international affordability benchmark set at two percent, and higher than the regional average. This was revealed in the World Bank report “Pakistan Development Update, Reimagining a Digital Pakistan”, which further noted that Pakistan is one of the three countries in the region where 5G coverage is not available due to limited availability of fiber optic networks, low tower density, and a lack of feasible use cases. The current rate of fixed broadband deployments has plateaued, and estimates indicate that, at this pace, it could take approximately 30 years for Pakistan to reach fixed broadband connectivity levels comparable to those of high-income countries. According to a recent study by the International Finance Corporation, Pakistan lags a benchmark group of countries—Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines—by approximately 5.1 million Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) lines. To close this gap by 50 percent by 2027, an average investment of $2.5 billion in fixed broadband is required. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025