IT experts have urged the government to accelerate the rollout of 5G services and address ongoing issues with slow Internet speeds, as the country grapples with significant economic losses caused by Internet disruptions. According to a recent report by global Internet monitor Top10VPN.com, Pakistan suffered the highest economic losses in the world from Internet outages in 2024, with total losses amounting to $1.62 billion.
This state of affairs is unacceptable especially in the backdrop of ambitious programmes and targets of the Government about promotion of IT industry and exports, which depend entirely on a reliable infrastructure and Internet speed. The demand of the Chairman Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) Sajjad Mustafa Syed about rollout of 5G spectrum in March 2025 is legitimate as this has the potential to address the woes of the industry and users to some extent. We have already indulged in the luxury of a considerable delay in its rollout and now it is time to take practical measures for the purpose to catch up with the rest of the world. Similarly, the Government should listen to the demand of Tufail Ahmed Khan, President of the Pakistan Freelancers Association (PAFLA) and former Chairman P@SHA Zohaib Khan to make policies more Internet and VPN-friendly, emphasizing that this would encourage freelancers to bring more foreign remittances into the country and reduce pressure on government employment schemes. No doubt, plans like fiberization policy, joining the 2Africa submarine cable system later this year and introduction of satellite internet could lead to quantum improvement in connectivity but much depends on the overall policies of the Government.
