Telecom Industry Expected to Show High Growth in Coming Years

As we all know that year 2003 was a historic year in the history of telecom sector in Pakistan. Government of Pakistan opened the telecom market to private operators and introduced much awaited competition in the mobile sector. In recent years, Pakistan telecom sector has emerged as the fastest growing sector as compared with textile and pharmaceutical industries.

Telecom Industry Expected to Show High Growth in Coming Years

From the year 2012, it is estimated that 93% of all mobile phones, specifically feature phones shipped to Pakistan. But with the arrival of 3G/4G network in the country, the trend of having a smart phone became very popular. During the starting months of year 2015, smartphones made up around 30% of all mobile devices imported to Pakistan. This percentage is high from the fourth quarter of 2014, according to The World Folio.  It can be clearly deduced from this degree of market penetration, that Pakistan’s telecom industry is experiencing significant development and growth. With the increasing number it can be estimated that there will be 40 million smartphones in Pakistan till the end of Year 2016.

The actively participating networks in Pakistan include Zong, Mobilink, Telenor, Warid and Ufone. While the smart phone companies popular in Pakistan are Samsung, Microsoft, Huawei, Rivo, Apple, Nokia, Voice, Qmobile and much more.  Qmobile is considered the most popular mobile phone company with the 58% of market share. Many new vendors are coming into the market to take advantage of its upswing. Huawei, for example, gained a 7% share of the market in the first quarter of year 2015.

The significant role of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) can never be neglected in this development. The biometric verification done by them in last year is the most impressive step to tackle the problem like terrorism.

With all the positive aspects there are still some grey areas which needs serious attention as Pakistan is still the least connected country in the region. There is always space for improvement which can be productive for the economy of Pakistan.