PTA Chairman announced new date for 5G launch in Pakistan

PTA Chairman Rana Mahmood-ul-Hasan announced a new date for the 5G launch during Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet meeting. Rana Mahmood was presiding over this meeting on August 1, 2024.

Chairman Rana Mahmood briefed the Senate Committee on tech advancements in Pakistan. Social media platforms were one of the topics covered at the meeting with other advances in the IT industry.

The issue became a discussion point regarding social media companies that are not opening offices due to security concerns in Pakistan. Hence, these companies are more willing to open virtual offices in the country than physical ones.

*PTA Chairman Rana Mahmood-ul-Hasan during a meeting*

Meanwhile, Senate member Farooq H.Naek brought up the matter of rising prices for cell phones in Pakistan. He objected to high prices while stating they restricted access and blocked digitization.

The Cabinet Secretary responded and said they would consult the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on this issue. He also mentioned that the beginning of local phone manufacture and the availability of phones in installments had made digitization easier. 37 local-based companies produce twenty million mobile phones annually while 40% are smartphones.

However, PTA Chairman Rana Mahmood stated that 56% of people had internet access and announced a new date for Pakistan’s 5G launch in March or April 2025.

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Big tech giant company Telenor is ending its business in Asia. It stated their business in Pakistan was not suitable and suffered financial loss. It has already exited India.

The satellite policy and licensing process for IoT is underway to address these issues. Following this matter, Chairman Rana Mahmood questioned whether these companies pay taxes for international advertisements.

Then, he emphasized there is no regulation or law regarding this matter. Federal Minister Azam Nazir Tarar responded to it while stating they are negotiating with platforms like Instagram or Facebook on this.

Rana Mahmood said these platforms have to pay international taxes as they are used for commercial purposes. He claimed that telecom companies in countries like Sri Lanka pay 20-40% tax, India 18.5%, and 21-33% in Bangladesh.