Broadband users in Pakistan top 44.32 million

ISLAMABAD: The total number of broadband internet subscribers in the country has topped 44.32 million, figures issued by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) showed on Thursday.

The major contributors of this growth are 3G and 4G mobile internet subscribers, which clocked in at around 41.73 million by the end of May this year. On the other hand, as per the PTA stats, the number of DSL subscribers stood at around 1.531 million, HFC 52,096, Wimax 0.171 million,  FTTH 42,611, EvDO 0.786 million, while the users of other technologies were calculated to be 9,264.  Analysts say the portable mobile broadband devices are one of the main drivers of growth in 3G/4G subscription and this trend is likely to gain momentum in the days to come.

Meanwhile, country's largest mobile phone operator, Jazz (formerly Mobilink) continued to remain the top mobile broadband player in the country with a base of 12.5 million 3G and 0.895 million 4G subscribers by the end of the period under review.  According to a senior Jazz official, the key to this market dominance is consistent investment into innovation. “We aim to seamlessly deliver not only the best 3G/4G and voice services, but also constantly improve our customer care, and product lines,” he added.