ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s digital potential will be un-realised without high-speed fibre optic network and as a result the “Digital Pakistan” dream built on high-quality connectivity cannot be realised.

Tabadlab’s latest working paper titled — “The Fixed Broadband Challenge: Building the Runway for Pakistan’s Economic Take-Off,” says that Pakistan’s fixed broadband network is grossly inadequate in servicing the rising internet demands of the country.

The paper finds that Pakistan’s policy and regulatory space too is not equipped to meet the country’s increasing internet needs. Tabadlab is an Islamabad-based public policy think tank

“If Pakistan does not upgrade its fixed broadband infrastructure to a high-speed fibre optic network, Pakistan’s digital potential will continue to be under-realised,” the paper says.

Tabadlab working paper also highlights that internet in Pakistan was inhibited by spectrum challenges, a slow progression towards next generation connectivity, and a high-reliance on mobile broadband. Robust and expanded fixed-line infrastructure is critical for reliable high speed connectivity.

The working paper has been authored by Umar Nadeem, Aliza Amin and Navid Qazi after assessing the core internet infrastructure landscape in Pakistan.

At present, the average monthly data demand stands at 8 to 10 gigabytes per user which will need support from a robust fibre optic backbone, while there are less than 250,000 fibre-to-the-home connections.

The paper adds that only nine per cent of mobile towers are connected to a fibre optic network while the international benchmark is over 40pc and all this adds up to a quality of service that is not equipped to accelerate the Digital Pakistan dream.

The working paper says that countries like Malaysia, Bangladesh and Vietnam have done well to expand their infrastructure and services, and Pakistan needs to learn from them.

It says that the existing service providers were investing around $100 to $150 million per annum on fixed broadband, but it is inadequate to meet the upcoming demand.

It has been suggested to improve administrative capacity at all tiers of the government to ensure fair, smooth and proactive policy implementation in a business-friendly manner.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2022