According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), data usage in Pakistan’s telecom sector rose by 37.84% over three years, climbing from 20,235 petabytes (PB) in 2022-23 to 27,897 PB in 2024-25. Year-on-year growth was 10.96% compared to 25,141 PB recorded in 2023-24. This sharp increase is driven by higher consumption on streaming platforms, online education, e-commerce, and mobile apps.
Broadband subscribers expanded from 127.6 million in 2022-23 to 150 million in 2024-25, marking a 17.55% rise over three years and an 8.47% increase from 138.3 million in 2023-24. Broadband penetration grew from 53.6% to 60.8%, showing significant progress in internet accessibility nationwide.
Total telecom subscribers reached 200 million in 2024-25, growing modestly by 3.36% from 193.5 million in 2022-23. Teledensity remained stable around 81%, indicating a mature market with limited subscriber growth potential. Infrastructure development continued with cell sites increasing by 8.03% over three years to 57,888 in 2024-25, supporting rising demand in urban and rural areas.
Despite these gains, telecom sector revenues declined 15.91% year-on-year to Rs. 803 billion in 2024-25 from Rs. 955 billion in 2023-24, and dipped slightly by 1.71% compared to Rs. 817 billion in 2022-23. Contributions to the national exchequer rose to Rs. 271 billion in 2024-25, recovering from Rs. 195.1 billion in 2023-24 but still below Rs. 341 billion in 2022-23.
Overall, Pakistan’s telecom sector continues to show robust user growth and network expansion despite revenue fluctuations.
