ISLAMABAD – As Pakistan races toward the launch of 5G, telecom networks are coming under relentless attack, straining operators and revealing challenges facing the country’s digital ambitions.
The telecom infrastructure is facing an escalating security crisis just as the South Asian nation prepares for launch of 5G, with more than 9,200 incidents of theft and vandalism reported over the past 11 months, according to a report submitted by the PTA to Senate Sub-Committee.
The report reveals that the attacks disrupted mobile and internet services, affecting nearly 16 percent of Pakistan’s cellular network and creating mounting operational challenges for telecom operators.
Authorities said telecom towers have repeatedly been targeted for diesel theft, equipment theft, and deliberate vandalism, leading to service outages in multiple regions and increasing the cost of maintaining critical communications infrastructure.
Among the region, Sindh recorded the highest number of incidents, with 3,938 cases reported across 31 districts. Punjab followed with 2,827 incidents in 38 districts, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa witnessed 1,668 cases across 25 districts. Balochistan reported 716 incidents spanning 26 districts, highlighting the nationwide scale of the problem.
PTA identified prolonged electricity load shedding as another major obstacle to reliable telecom services. According to the report, the Ministry of Information Technology is working with power distribution companies, NEPRA, and the Power Division to secure priority electricity supply for telecom infrastructure through dedicated express feeders and smart transformers.
Despite these challenges, Pakistan is pressing ahead with an ambitious digital expansion plan ahead of its expected 5G rollout. The regulator expects upcoming spectrum auction to increase the country’s available spectrum by more than 200 percent, a move projected to boost average 4G download speeds from around 4 Mbps to nearly 20 Mbps. Initial 5G services are expected to deliver speeds of up to 50 Mbps, significantly improving mobile connectivity.
Mobile operators committed to installing 1,000 new telecom sites annually, with 20 percent of those planned for previously uncovered locations. Over the last five years, the industry has installed or upgraded more than 12,000 mobile sites while deploying advanced technologies such as VoLTE, VoWiFi, and Massive MIMO as part of the gradual phase-out of legacy 3G networks.
PTA is pursuing several infrastructure initiatives aimed at strengthening nationwide connectivity. These include expanding broadband coverage through Universal Service Fund (USF) projects, increasing the fiber-to-site ratio from 20 percent to 35 percent, introducing national roaming on highways, and seeking exemptions from Right of Way (RoW) charges to accelerate network expansion.
