60 Million Pakistanis Have Lost Internet Because Telecom Towers Have No Diesel

The diesel crisis and the consequent internet disruption are no longer localised problems; they have escalated into a nationwide connectivity crisis that is hitting tens of millions of ordinary users where it matters most: their phones and their internet access.

According to telecom industry sources, between 30 and 40 percent of Pakistan’s cellular towers are currently affected by diesel unavailability, translating to over 20,000 towers either suspended or severely disrupted across the country. The human cost of that number is significant: approximately 60 million subscribers are experiencing internet service disruptions as a direct result.

The Scale of the Problem

Pakistan’s cellular network runs on approximately 55,000 towers nationwide, which collectively serve around 200 million citizens with internet access and other telecom services. When diesel, the primary backup power source for tower infrastructure, becomes unavailable or unaffordably expensive, towers that lose grid power have no fallback. They simply go offline.

Impact at a Glance

Why Towers Depend on Diesel

Pakistan’s power grid is notoriously unreliable. Load shedding, scheduled and unscheduled power outages, remain a daily reality across most of the country, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas where tower density is lower and grid stability is worse. Telecom operators have historically relied on diesel generators as the standard backup power solution to keep towers running during outages.

That model works when diesel is available and affordable. When either condition breaks down, as is currently the case, the entire tower network becomes vulnerable. A tower without grid power and without diesel backup simply cannot operate. And a tower that cannot operate means no calls, no mobile data, and no internet for everyone within its coverage radius.

The current disruption is not a new problem in isolation. Pakistan’s telecom infrastructure has faced diesel supply and cost pressures for years, driven by currency depreciation making imported fuel more expensive and energy sector circular debt constraining supply chains. But the recent Iran war has put extra pressure on diesel availability. The energy crisis triggered the largest fuel price increase in the country’s history, with diesel prices rising more than 20 percent in a matter of days. 20,000 towers are now affected simultaneously; the disruption has crossed a threshold where it is no longer background noise. It is a national connectivity emergency.

A Structural Vulnerability Pakistan Cannot Ignore

Pakistan is simultaneously pushing for 5G deployment, expanding broadband access under the Digital Pakistan agenda, and positioning its IT sector as a growth engine for export earnings. All of that ambition rests on a tower network that runs on diesel.

Transitioning tower infrastructure to solar, hybrid, or grid-independent power has been discussed in Pakistan’s telecom policy circles for years. The current crisis, which has knocked 20,000 towers offline in a single stroke, makes the case for accelerating that transition more urgent than any policy paper has.

Until that transition happens, every global energy shock will translate directly into millions of Pakistanis losing internet access. The Iran war made that structural vulnerability visible. It did not create it.