Communication

Communication

Pakistan is a country of 230 million residents (https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/pakistan-population/) ranked as the fifth most populous country in the world and growing at the rate of 2.07%. The information and communication technology in Pakistan has improved rapidly during the last one decade and much is still going on. Although internet in Pakistan has been available since the early 1990s and there were only 1.3 percent internet users of the entire population until 2001 when the then actual population of the country was less than 150 million. However, the use of cellular phones and subsequent internet users has dramatically increased many folds during the last one decade.

Main lines in use: 2,876,794 (2021 EST.)

The number of landline telephone users reached more than 6.3 million in 2013 to less than 3 million in 2021 and is expected to diminish further with the handy use of smart phones.

Mobile cellular: 144,525,637 (2017 EST.)

Currently there are about 194.75 million (about 88.61% of the total population) cellular subscribers, 119 million (about 54%) 3G/4G subscribers, 2 million (about 1.2%) basic telephony subscribers and 122 million (55%) broadband users; Pakistan is ranked 8^th largest population of internet user in the world. Many people have more than one mobile connection and therefore may exceed 100% of the total population.

There are five major telecom companies providing services in Pakistan including and having a market share – Jazz (38.66 users), Telenor (25.45%), Zong (22.94%), Ufone (12.10%), and Scom (0.85% also roams on Ufon, operating in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan).

International tourists willing to acquire a Pakistani cell number for temporary use may visit service center of any company in all major cities. All applicants must carry passport and visa copy with local currency to purchase and activate the local number.

These cell phones work well across Pakistan except in restricted zones and in some mountainous or coastal regions of Pakistan. All airports are being installed with fast internet services to facilitate tourists and innovations are still coming up to make communication further convenient.

Broadcast Media

Television: 1 dominant state-owned TV broadcaster, Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), operates a network consisting of 8 channels; private TV broadcasters are permitted; to date 69 foreign satellite channels are operational

Radio: the state-owned radio network operates more than 30 stations; nearly 200 commercially licensed, privately owned radio stations provide programming mostly limited to music and talk shows (2019).