Pakistan Mobile Broadband Growth Accelerating
By Riaz Haq
CA
Monthly new subscriptions of 3G and 4G in Pakistan doubled to 2.22 million in September 2015, up from 1.1 million new subscribers in August 2015. This brings the total number of mobile broadband subscribers to 18.04 million and total of all broadband subscriptions to 21.2 million since the 3G-4G launch in May 2014, according to the latest data released by Pakistan Telecommunications Authority .
Rising use of the Internet is now being put to good use to deal with the tragic aftermath of the earthquake in Pakistan. Facebook and Google have set up special pages to help people find each other.
Demand for smartphones is also increasing in Pakistan along with the rise in mobile broadband subscriptions. Forecasters expect the number of smartphone sales to increase to 40 million by next year.
Overall, 3G and 4G subscriptions in Pakistan jumped 14.43 % during September 2015, the highest sequential monthly increase in the past six months. Among the carriers, Mobilink topped with 878,107 new mobile broadband customers, followed by Ufone with 637,131 new 3G users during September 2015. Telenor was placed at number 3 with 393,969 new 3G users during the month.
Coming on the heels of data indicating a 72% jump in car sales and 17% rise in cement consumption, this data on 2.22 million new mobile broadband subscriptions in September is yet another confirmation of Pakistan's ongoing economic recovery.
