By Ayesha Saba

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has proposed measures to enhance network resilience in Chitral’s underserved areas by improving power backup and expanding tower deployment, aiming to ensure more reliable connectivity for local residents.

According to a document available with Wealth Pakistan, the Authority noted that Chitral, spanning 14,850 square kilometres with a population exceeding 515,000, faces unique challenges, including inclement weather, difficult topography, and heavy reliance on a single fibre link operated by the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).

Repeated fibre cuts have led to prolonged outages and complete blackouts in several areas. While cellular services are available across Upper and Lower Chitral, quality and reliability remain inconsistent, particularly in Upper Chitral, where infrastructure constraints and harsh terrain continue to impede network expansion.

Lower Chitral enjoys relatively better coverage, but congestion remains a major issue. Upper Chitral, in contrast, is largely underserved, with many sites still operating on 2G technology and suffering from low throughput due to faulty equipment and limited backhaul capacity.

Among the telecom operators, Telenor Pakistan maintains the largest footprint in the region, followed by Jazz, Ufone, and Zong. However, the operator diversity remains limited in remote areas, contributing to service bottlenecks.

Fixed-line infrastructure is also sparse, with services concentrated mainly in Chitral city and Drosh. The PTCL, alongside smaller operators such as Cybernet and Pace Telecom, provides limited fibre connectivity. Despite some expansion — such as the Cybernet’s 13 km metro fibre deployment and the Pace Telecom’s 25km aerial fibre — network fragility persists due to low fibre penetration and lack of redundancy.

It has been found that only a small number of exchanges are functional across the district, further constraining broadband access. As of the latest data, fixed-line subscribers remain concentrated in urban pockets, with a total of just over 6,600 connections, including both copper and fibre users.

To address these challenges, the Authority has proposed a series of remedial measures, including introducing fibre redundancy through ring topology, expanding LTE services at existing 2G-only sites, and deploying new towers in underserved areas under the Universal Service Fund (USF). Efforts are also underway to improve power reliability through backup systems and to restore non-functional exchanges.

In a broader policy push, the Authority has begun issuing district-level licenses for internet services from January 2026 to encourage local participation and improve broadband penetration in commercially unviable areas.

Additionally, following the March 2026 spectrum auction, the telecom operators have been mandated to roll out at least 1,000 new 4G/5G sites annually over the next nine years, with proportional distribution across rural and urban areas.

The nationwide 5G rollout is planned in four phases, beginning with major cities including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta, before gradually expanding to smaller urban centres.

Credit: INP-WealthPk