The Pakistan IT Industry Association (P@SHA) says the 5G rollout is the catalyst Pakistan needs to drive exponential growth in IT exports and strengthen the digital economy. P@SHA has been actively urging policymakers to streamline and expand connectivity spectrum to unlock new opportunities for local tech firms and exporters.
P@SHA highlighted the role of national leadership and regulators in enabling this transition, applauding the Prime Minister, the Federal Minister for Information & Telecom, the Special Investment Facilitation Council and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority for overseeing a fair and transparent spectrum auction that generated $507 million in foreign exchange.
Beyond faster internet, the multi-gigabit 5G rollout will bring ultra-low latency and massive network capacity that allow software houses and tech enterprises to integrate seamlessly with global supply chains. Zero-latency communication will enable Pakistani companies to deliver complex, data-heavy projects to international clients with greater efficiency, accelerating IT exports that are on track to become one of the country’s top export sectors.
Sajjad Mustafa Syed, chairman of P@SHA, said the 5G rollout is indispensable for catalysing emerging technologies and building the backbone for data-intensive solutions. 5G will accelerate local development and deployment of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and augmented reality across healthcare, education, agriculture and smart city infrastructure, he noted.
Industry leaders also expect the 5G rollout to drive growth in cloud and edge computing ecosystems, lowering operational costs, improving cybersecurity and allowing startups to scale rapidly. P@SHA urged the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, the Special Investment Facilitation Council, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and telecom operators to ensure a rapid, equitable and industry-friendly rollout to meet the sector’s growing infrastructure needs.
