Pakistan's 5G rollout reaches 1,782 sites across 24 cities

Pakistan has deployed 1,782 5G sites across 24 cities, with Jazz accounting for more than half of the infrastructure, according to figures shared by Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja. Jazz has deployed 1,015 sites, China Mobile Pakistan (Zong) 640 and Ufone 127.

The minister said 5G was introduced after a multiband spectrum auction, with licences signed on March 19, 2026, and rollout beginning the following day under a four-phase plan approved by the federal government. The Next Generation Mobile Services licence obligations are intended to improve existing 4G services alongside the phased introduction of 5G, with deployment in federal and provincial capitals mandatory in the first phase. Operators may extend to other cities under their own business models.

Karachi has the most deployed sites at 385, followed by Lahore with 373 and Islamabad with 276. Faisalabad has 144, Peshawar 122, Rawalpindi 108, Multan 103, Sialkot 87, Quetta 65 and Sheikhupura 55. Jazz leads in Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan, while Zong has a stronger presence in Peshawar, Quetta, Sheikhupura and Sialkot. Ufone's deployment remains comparatively limited.

Affordability remains the main constraint on wider take-up. The minister said 607,093 5G-capable handsets were locally assembled between January and August 2026, but the cheapest compatible handset currently available costs about Rs36,000. She clarified that users with existing 4G-capable SIM cards do not need to replace them, though they must have a compatible device and be within deployed coverage.

The government did not specify a timeline for making 5G affordable for ordinary consumers, but pointed to the growing local handset assembly ecosystem as a factor that could reduce the cost of access over time. All cellular mobile operators conducted technical 5G trials nationwide between 2020 and 2025, the minister said.