ISLAMABAD – The federal government has officially acknowledged that mobile operators have raised the prices of their monthly packages by 20 to 50 percent during the current fiscal year 2025-26.
Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, informed the Senate that the telecom sector had to revised up the mobile package rates due to rising economic pressure.
She stated that from March 2021 to May 2024, fuel prices had risen by 158%, inflation had increased by 77%, and the Pakistani rupee had depreciated by 44%t against the US dollar. Additionally, the policy rate had risen by 214 percent, significantly raising the financing costs for telecom operators.
Mobile Package Prices in Pakistan
The IT minister denied the claim that mobile package prices had jumped from Rs600 to Rs1,500 in some cases.
However, she confirmed that mobile operators had gradually increased the prices of their packages by 20 to 50 percent, with prices ranging from Rs999 to Rs1,499 and from Rs1,500 to Rs1799 during the fiscal year 2024-2025.
Shaza Fatima also highlighted that despite the rising costs, the average annual revenue growth of the mobile industry over the past five years had been only 9 percent, while the average annual inflation rate during the same period was 17 percent. This imbalance has resulted in a decrease in the overall value of the telecom industry.
Regarding regulatory matters, she explained that under the Pakistan Telecommunication (Reorganization) Act of 1996 and the Mobile Tariff Regulations of 2025, operators with significant market power (SMP) must seek prior approval from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) before making any changes to tariffs.
