Internet quality poor even in major cities, NA panel told

Pakistan’s internet services came under fresh scrutiny on Tuesday as a National Assembly committee was told that poor connectivity is affecting users not only in remote districts but also in major cities such as Karachi.

According to the monitored public feed from Dawn Tech, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication expressed concern over slow speeds and repeated call failures reported by consumers. Committee chairman Syed Aminul Haque said people were often unable to get stable service even after several attempts to reconnect.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Chairman Hafeezur Rehman briefed lawmakers on the state of the sector, saying the country’s available spectrum had risen from 274MHz to 754MHz after the 5G spectrum auction. He said telecom operators had begun offering 5G in 22 cities, although no new infrastructure had been built for it so far. Instead, the service is currently running on existing towers and network systems. He told the committee that new 5G infrastructure would be rolled out in phases, with improvements in quality and speed expected over the next six to eight months.

The committee said the problem was being made worse by electricity shortages at telecom sites. Members noted that prolonged power cuts were hurting the performance of mobile towers and causing disruptions in both mobile and broadband services. In some areas, they said, loadshedding of up to 10 hours a day was affecting connectivity.

Rehman said the issue had already been taken up with the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority and relevant power distribution companies. He added that the prime minister had formed a high-level committee to work on a long-term solution for uninterrupted power supply to telecom towers.

Lawmakers urged the government and operators to explore alternative energy options for telecom infrastructure, especially wind and solar power. The committee noted Pakistan’s wind corridor and said it could support cleaner and more reliable energy for mobile sites. It also recommended that the IT ministry press telecom companies to gradually install renewable power systems at their towers.

The meeting also turned to the taxation of imported mobile phones. Rehman told the committee that around 92% of smartphones in use in Pakistan are locally manufactured or assembled, while only 8% are imported. He said the imported share is mainly limited to Apple iPhones and Google Pixel devices. According to his briefing, taxes apply only to imported phones, while locally assembled brands are not subject to import duties.

On that basis, the committee asked the IT ministry to encourage Apple and other major global handset makers to set up manufacturing or assembly lines in Pakistan. Rehman clarified that the PTA does not collect the taxes on imported phones; those payments go to the Federal Board of Revenue. After the taxes are paid, he said, PTA registers and whitelists the device through its Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System for legal use in the country.

The committee also deferred consideration of the Electronic Transactions (Amendment) Bill, 2026. PPP lawmakers said the draft had not yet been discussed by their party’s parliamentary legislative committee. Lawmakers also raised concerns that the changes would shift certain powers from the federal government to the prime minister.

Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja said there was no political consensus on the bill and assured the committee it would not be moved forward without agreement among stakeholders. Officials from the Ministry of Law said the draft only replaced the words “federal government” with “prime minister,” but some members argued that the change would still transfer decision-making power away from the cabinet.

This report is based on a