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       ISLAMABAD: IT and Telecom Minis-ter Shaza Fatima Khawaja on Thursday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to launching 5G internet services, stating that work on the project was ongoing.

       She was speaking at a ceremony to mark a major milestone — Pakistan surpassing 200 million telecom subscribers, including 150m broadband users and over 2m fibre-to-home subscribers.

       Organised by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the event highlighted the country’s accelerating digital growth. Senior executives from Jazz, Telenor, Ufone, Zong, and SCO were in attendance. To celebrate the achievement, all mobile users will receive 2GB of free data and 200 on-net minutes, valid for 24 hours on Friday (June 20). Subscribers can activate the offer by dialing *2200#.

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       To promote digital inclusion — particularly among female students — the PTA, in collaboration with PTCL, Transworld, Nayatel, Cybernet, and Wateen, is deploying free Wi-Fi hotspots for six months at selected HEC-recognised universities, including women-only institutions, to enhance access to online learning resources.

       Free data and on-net minutes on offer only for today

       As part of the celebrations, mobile phone manufacturers have donated 200 locally assembled smartphones, which will be distributed among female SIM owners through computerised balloting across Pakistan, including AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan.

       While the total number of SIMs issued has reached 200 million, the teledensity has remained relatively stable, decreasing slightly from 81.4 per cent in June 2023 to 81.21pc in June.

       In contrast, broadband penetration has shown significant growth, increasing from 53.6pc in June 2023 to 60.8pc by June 2025.

       PTA officials also reported progress in closing the mobile internet gender gap, with women now accounting for 38pc of mobile internet users, up from 25pc last year. Moreover, over 36 mobile device manufacturing companies are operating in the country, and approximately 136 million handsets have been locally manufactured or assembled since 2019, including 37pc smartphones.

       Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2025