ISLAMABAD, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication is all set to launch an infrastructure-sharing framework following the cabinet's approval, said Omar Malik, a telecom official at the ministry.
Initiatives like spectrum and infrastructure-sharing would play a crucial role in improving connectivity, reducing network disruptions, and lowering environmental impacts, Malik said at a webinar on "Adopting 5G to Positively Impact Environment: A Roadmap for Pakistan" organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), a local think-tank, here on Wednesday.
Referring to a study conducted in collaboration with the World Bank, which revealed optic fiber penetration was a key barrier, he said that since 2020, the total deployment of fiber optic in Pakistan has increased from 124,000 km to 190,000 km.
Economic instability and consumer affordability are other challenges hindering the launch of 5G in the country, Malik added.
Fareeha Armughan, a research fellow at the SDPI, said that 5G would lead to an acceleration of modern financial services, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence as the banks in Pakistan are already keen to shift to fast, touchless, and easy-to-use financial services over conventional banking.
There is no better tool than combining mobile and financial services for looping in the vulnerable communities in the economy and moving the needle on the full circle of poverty alleviation, Armughan said. ■
