The contradiction is stark enough to make any economist wince. While Pakistan’s telecommunications operators struggle with the most basic financial metrics, revenues plummeting from $5.0 billion in 2016 to $3.4 billion in 2023 despite data consumption exploding by 335%, the government pushes relentlessly toward a 5G future that industry experts warn of dire financial consequences.
The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) has delivered an ultimatum that reads like a ransom note: delay spectrum allocation by two years, and Pakistan loses $1.8 billion in GDP growth through 2030. Delay it five years, and that figure balloons to $4.3 billion. Yet the very operators expected to bid in the upcoming 2025 spectrum auction are hemorrhaging cash, operating with one of the world’s lowest average revenue per user at $0.80 compared to a global average of $8.00.
This is Pakistan’s 5G paradox: caught between digital transformation imperatives and brutal economic reality, where the cure for spectrum starvation might prove more toxic than the disease itself. The content in this publication is expensive to produce. But unlike other journalistic outfits, business publications have to cover the very organizations that directly give them advertisements. Hence, this large source of revenue, which is the lifeblood of other media houses, is severely compromised on account of Profit’s no-compromise policy when it comes to our reporting. No wonder, Profit has lost multiple ad deals, worth tens of millions of rupees, due to stories that held big businesses to account. Hence, for our work to continue unfettered, it must be supported by discerning readers who know the value of quality business journalism, not just for the economy but for the society as a whole.To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan
