ISLAMABAD: In its first ever investment in Pakistan, Facebook has partnered with Nayatel to improve and expand connectivity across the country.

Under this partnership, Nayatel will own, build, maintain, and operate a new fibre network and provide wholesale capacity to mobile operators and ISPs while Facebook will invest in the fibre build and support network planning.

This high-speed fibre will connect thousands of sites by 2022, and improve capacity and geographical reach of internet to 10 to 15 million people across eight major cities in Pakistan.

High speed, reliable, and affordable broadband has become a basic household necessity mainly in wake of Covid-19 lockdowns.

Under the partnership, Nayatel will deploy new fibre networks to serve as backbone infrastructure for 4G/5G mobile and fixed broadband, which is a key driver of economic growth and job creation.

By investing and supporting the building of networks, Facebook is helping operators leverage fibre infrastructure to improve access to affordable broadband.

This initiative is the first of its kind for Facebook in Pakistan and represents a broader strategy of investing in the country and improving connectivity in the region.

In a statement, Head of Connectivity and Access Policy, Asia Pacific, Facebook, Tom Varghese said the partnership with Nayatel is part of efforts to bring fast and reliable internet connectivity to people around the world, including in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2021