巴基斯坦5G rollout 进展慢，电力成本和光纤化不足拖累运营商扩张

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's much-touted 5G rollout six months ago is yet to deliver visible improvements for mobile phone users across the nation, with telecom operators, including those owned by companies in Dubai and China, citing high electricity costs as a key hurdle to faster network expansion.
Soon after the 5G spectrum auction held in March, Pakistani telecom operators launched new services in cities, including Islamabad and the country's four provincial capitals, and began gradually expanding the geographical coverage on offer.
Jazz, the nation's largest telecom provider owned by Dubai-based Veon, has established 1,000 5G cell sites in 10 cities, with a spokesperson saying the company is targeting around 2,500 5G sites by the end of 2026.
Zong, owned by China Mobile, plans to have more than 1,000 5G sites this year, a company spokesperson told Nikkei Asia.
Although there is no official total for the number of cell sites currently available under the 5G network, a few thousand appear to be active so far. According to official data, Pakistan has about 55,000 operational mobile sites providing 4G services, which the government says must mostly convert to 5G by 2035.
Nikkei Asia spoke with mobile phone users in Islamabad and the four provincial capitals, and all complained that the 5G rollout has been far more sluggish than expected.
"I rarely see the 5G symbol along with cell signal bars on my phone even in the center of Islamabad," said Madiha Ali, an undergraduate student. "I was expecting substantial improvement in mobile internet after the 5G auction, but I am disappointed at the slow rollout."
Fazal Baloch, a small business owner in Quetta, the capital of the southwestern province of Balochistan, echoed that sentiment. "The quality of existing mobile internet in the city is very poor. I was hoping that 5G would change this, but this has not been the case yet," he said.
Habibullah Khan, an expert on Pakistan's digital economy, said that a lack of installed fiber-optic cables is a major reason for the slow adoption of 5G.
"Only 17%-18% of cell sites [in Pakistan] are fiberized. The rest rely on microwave links that lack the capacity and low latency 5G needs," he said.
"Fiberization of a site costs up to $22,000 and faces fragmented right-of-way approvals," Khan told Nikkei Asia, referring to permissions needed from the authorities to dig roads or public land to install fiber-optic cables and other infrastructure.
Government officials, however, say the 5G rollout is proceeding as expected. "5G rollout might feel slow to consumers, but the pace is as per the plans agreed between the government and the telecom operators," a government official told Nikkei Asia on condition of anonymity.
A spokesperson for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, the country's telecom regulator, did not respond to a request for comment.
Telecom operators and experts said that high electricity costs and poor power-related infrastructure have been affecting the speed and quality of the 5G expansion.
5G sites in general consume about twice as much electricity as 4G networks. Telecom operators currently pay for power at a commercial tariff that is generally 40%-50% higher than the country's industrial tariff.
Mudassar Hussain, Jazz's vice president in charge of public policy and regulatory affairs, said that the government has recognized the telecom sector as an official industry since 2004. However, the tariff component of that recognition has not been applied so far.
"A quick adoption of 5G and improvement in quality also depend on reducing power costs for the industry, so that the savings can be redirected towards the rollout of equipment," he said. "If the government wants telecom operators to provide quicker, more futuristic services to people, then they need to consider extending [industrial tariffs] to operators."
On the other hand, a spokesperson at newly merged operator Ufone-Telenor noted that frequent power failures affect network uptime, stressing that unstable power supply is another headache for telecom operators.
Adnan Aamir is a contributing writer.