On June 1, a Senate sub-committee, chaired by Senator Sadia Abbasi, convened to address the burgeoning issues of internet service degradation and rampant diesel theft undermining telecommunications infrastructure across Pakistan. Senators Kamran Murtaza and Afnan Ullah Khan attended the session, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications.
The committee deliberated on the main threats to the telecom sector’s infrastructure and service continuity. It highlighted concerns regarding the extensive impact of theft and vandalism, which affected nearly 16 percent of the country’s cellular infrastructure over an eleven-month period, with over 9,200 incidents reported nationwide.
A regional breakdown showed Sindh experiencing the highest number with 3,938 cases across 31 districts. Punjab was next with 2,827 incidents in 38 districts, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 1,668 incidents across 25 districts, and Balochistan with 716 cases across 26 districts.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) outlined the challenges posed by prolonged power outages, which exacerbate service disruptions by depleting backup batteries and overloading generator systems. To counteract these issues, PTA has collaborated with the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) and the Power Division to secure dedicated electricity feeders and hasten the installation of smart transformers at critical telecom sites.
Further discussions covered the Universal Service Fund’s (USF) efforts in enhancing connectivity projects in Balochistan. According to USF representatives, despite identifying 80 percent of targeted areas through competitive bidding, progress is impeded by security concerns and recurrent diesel theft, which hampers infrastructure development.
The committee issued directives to relevant departments to pinpoint high-risk theft locations. It mandated district administrations and provincial authorities to address these issues legally and implement robust preventive measures to safeguard telecom installations.
Updates on network modernization were also reviewed, including recent spectrum auctions that introduced an additional 480 MHz of bandwidth and the planned issuance of commercial 5G licenses in March 2026. These upgrades aim to elevate average 4G speeds from 4 Mbps to 20 Mbps, support the establishment of 1,000 new sites annually, and introduce advanced services such as Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi).
The committee emphasised that internet access should be considered an essential service and urged all telecom operators to adopt immediate and effective measures to curb fuel theft and maintain uninterrupted connectivity throughout the nation.
