Pakistan's 4G Speeds More Than Twice Faster Than India's

Pakistan's mobile broadband operators are offering download speeds of 11.7 Mbps, more than twice faster than neighboring India's 5.14 Mbps as measured. 3G/4G/LTE Subscriptions are rising rapidly at a rate of about a million a month since the initial rollout in late 2014 brining the total number of subscribers to 41.72 million as of May, 2017.  Growing availability and rising speeds are enabling many new Internet applications that are increasing access to education/training, financial services and commerce while reducing the digital divide between the rich and the poor.

4G/LTE Speeds Source: Open Signal

4G/LTE Speeds: 

Pakistan wireless carriers offer average 4G speed of 11.7 Mbps, more than twice faster than Indian operators' 5.14 Mbps, according to a report by New York based Open Signal's "The State of LTE" report released in June, 2017. Singapore tops the list with 45.6 Mbps 4G download speed. Worldwide average for LTE is 16.2 Mbps.

Here's an excerpt of the Open Signal report:

"Our measurements for 4G availability, which tracks how often 4G subscribers in a country have access to an LTE signal, is gradually improving around the world. In some countries in East Asia LTE signals are as ubiquitous as 2G and 3G signals, while in the vast majority of countries we examined, our testers were able to connect to LTE more than 60% of the time."

In terms of coverage, India is far ahead of Pakistan with the service accessible in 81.56% of the country. Pakistan lags behind with a mere 53.49% coverage. It's important to note that the initial 4G roll-out in both India and Pakistan occurred in late 2014. However, India began offering 3G service in 2010, about 4 years before Pakistan.

3G/4G Subscription Growth: 

Since the initial rollout in late 2014, both 3G and 4G subscriptions have skyrocketed from zero to 41.72 million in May 2017. Of these, 5.98 million subscriptions are for 4G/LTE while the rest are 3G subscriptions, according to Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA).

The 3G/4G/LTE ramp rate in Pakistan works out to over a million new subscribers per month since the initial rollout. As of May, 2017, Mobilink (Jazz) leads the 3G/4G market with over 13.40 million subscribers, followed by Telenor (10.98 million 3G and 4G subscribers), CMPak (12.49 million 3G and 4G subscribers), and Ufone (4.83 million 3G subscribers).

Jazz recently won a 4G license for $295 million at an auction on June 30, 2017. The company is expected to significantly expand 4G coverage in the country.

Applications:

Growth of 3G/4G networks and smartphones has spawned a variety of applications from social media apps to business, education and entertainment apps. Use of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube has soared.  E-commerce is growing. Taxi-hailing service Uber has arrived in the country. Netflix has entered the Pakistani market. Government is making use of the Internet applications to deliver services.

Digital Cable, DTH:

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) is pushing all cable service providers to support digital television. PEMRA is also auctioning Direct-to-Home (DTH) service which is digital. Both of these mediums will help increase internet broadband penetration in the country and bring more and more people on line.

Internet Infrastructure:

Rapid growth of data is driving infrastructure improvements in Pakistan. Tens of thousands of kilometers of fiber is being laid to cope with rising Internet traffic.  Universal Service Fund (USF) alone has installed 5,500 kilometers of fiber in underserved areas of the country to increase digital inclusion.

Pakistan currently has 16 data centers: 8 in Karachi, 5 in Lahore and 3 in Islamabad. The numbers are expected to grow significantly with growing demand.

Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has set up the first Internet Exchange Point (IXP) in Islamabad and more are planned for other major cities. IXPs connect Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) like Amazon and Akamai to facilitate faster delivery of web pages and other content to users.

Digital Inclusion:

Beginning in October 2016,  Pakistani government is giving away five million smartphones to farmers in the country in an effort to improve knowledge of modern farming techniques, according to the BBC. Large numbers of farmers in countries such as India and Kenya have also recently experimented with smartphone technology.

In addition, the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) has announced plans to give away 30,000 smartphones with 3G subscriptions funded by Universal Service Fund (USF) to low income Pakistanis on BISP.  Each smartphone will have Rs. 250 balance per month. It is intended to enhance digital and financial inclusion, according to a report in Pakistan Observer.

The objective of giving away smartphones is to help increase farmers' productivity.  Digital access is is expected to reduce poverty in rural and semi-urban areas of Pakistan by supporting micro and small enterprises. Market access to the products of marginalized segments will improve their welfare and at the same time boost the national economy.

Lack of financial inclusion and the growing digital divide are known impediments to progress of the low-income and poor segments of the population. Any effort by the government to remove such impediments will help Pakistan's economy by making more people more productive.

 Summary:

Pakistan's mobile broadband operators are offering download speeds of 11.7 Mbps, more than twice faster than neighboring India's 5.14 Mbps as measured. 3G/4G/LTE Subscriptions are rising rapidly at a rate of about a million a month since the initial rollout in late 2014 brining the total number of subscribers to 41.72 million as of May, 2017.  Growing availability and rising speeds are enabling many new Internet applications that are increasing access to education/training, financial services and commerce while reducing the digital divide between the rich and the poor.  Internet data usage is soaring with rapidly rising broadband penetration and smartphone ownership in Pakistan. Infrastructure is being improved to cater to the digital data explosion taking place in the country. Universal Service Fund (USF) is playing its part to support this effort in underserved areas.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Bridging Digital Divide in Pakistan

Fiber Connectivity in Pakistan

Pakistan Government Apps

Data Boom in Pakistan

Pakistan 2.0: Technology Driving Productivity

Uber in Pakistan

E-Commerce in Pakistan

Comments

Riaz Haq said…
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE > PAKISTAN
Pakistan most affordable country in world for telecom, ICT services: WEF

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1219605/pakistan-affordable-country-world-telecom-ict-services-wef/

Pakistan has been ranked as most the affordable country for ICT services, according to a report published by the World Economic Forum.

The WEF on Thursday published its annual “Global Information Technology Report 2016” which showed Pakistan’s technology and telecom market had the world’s lowest price points as compared to other markets from around the globe.

The report analysed relevant indexes from 139 global markets and rated them against each other. The countries were rated for their financial conditions as well as other factors such as usage, general environment, and impact.

“Pakistan is the market with the lowest price points,” the report said.
Riaz Haq said…
#Fintech Startups in #India & #Pakistan Find A Champion In Emerging Market Accelerator Called DFS Lab via @forbes

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chynes/2017/07/18/south-asian-fintech-startups-find-a-champion-in-this-emerging-market-accelerator/#33e128ff3a64

Owais Zaidi was sitting in traffic when a dilapidated-looking cab pulled up next to him. The cabbie asked to borrow 1,000 Pakistani rupees so he could get his tires changed, explaining that a market loan would cost him nearly 50 rupees a day in interest. Zaidi was moved by the man’s plight, and he gave the money as charity rather than a loan. But the encounter got him thinking about the millions of underbanked consumers in Pakistan who face predatory lending practices.

“The guy looked genuine so I gave him money, but it really bothered me how the poor are exploited,” Zaidi said. “Based on my experience consulting with banks, I know how straight-jacketed they are in their policies as well as thoughts.”

Zaidi decided to do more than help this one cabbie. In 2016, he founded CreditFix, a credit marketplace that draws on alternative data to assess creditworthiness among unbanked consumers. The company will launch a pilot program in Pakistan in August with 50,000 potential customers, Zaidi said. CreditFix’s platform will use borrowers’ work histories, mobile top-up records, and utility payments to generate credit scores that will then be visible to lenders who use the marketplace.

“The core goal of CreditFix is to facilitate the underserved and unserved segments of the population in getting access to fair credit, primarily for revenue generating assets,” Zaidi said.

CreditFix’s launch was aided in part by Digital Financial Services Innovation Lab (DFS Lab), a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-backed accelerator that supports fintech startups in the emerging markets of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. DFS Lab provides companies with grant money and is developing an investment model as well. However, the ultimate goal is to connect startups with investors who can provide advice and funding as these early-stage businesses evolve. The organization offers regular mentorship, along with access to resources such as Amazon Web Services and marketing and mobile app support through the Global Accelerator Network (GAN). DFS Lab aims to provide the types of support that are vital to startups and are often lacking in developing markets.

“In Silicon Valley, it’s still hard, but there’s a whole really rich ecosystem that happens -- networking, mentorship, an ethos and community around being an entrepreneur,” said DFS Lab Director Jake Kendall. “Those elements are really missing in developing countries. It’s very hard to connect with people who are at the global frontier.”

Access to qualified, experienced investors can prove particularly important, because predatory investors are prominent in emerging markets, according to Kendall. In some instances, the investors don’t understand the startup space because they’re coming from vastly different industries. In others, they’re focused solely on making money off the companies rather than helping them grow sustainably. The team at DFS Lab tries to prevent such failures by getting quality companies in front of investors who can genuinely assist them.


---------------

With two billion adults still without bank accounts throughout the world, the need for innovative financial services is real. DFS Lab and the startups with which it works have a real opportunity to help meet that need by emphasizing the unique circumstances of underserved consumers in emerging markets.

Riaz Haq said…
Broadband Users In Pakistan Including 3G And 4G Crossed 44.32 Million

https://www.researchsnipers.com/broadband-users-pakistan-including-3g-4g-crossed-44-32-million/

The majority of contributors to this growth are mobile internet users via 3G and 4G services. These users have increased to 41.73 million by May 2017.

DSL subscribers in the country remain around 1.531 million. HFC, WiMAX, FTTH and EvDo subscribers are 52,096, 0.171 million, 42,611and 0.786 million respectively. Users using other internet technologies are around 9264. As mobile broadband services are portable this has led to huge growth in 3G/4G industry and it is expected to grow further in years to come.

Jazz is the biggest mobile phone operator in the country and it remains on top in supplying broadband services in Pakistan. It has 12.5 million 3G users and 0.895 4G users. As per a senior analyst the crucial point to ensure market dominance is being innovative and investing continuously to bring something new to the market. He said, “We aim to seamlessly deliver not only the best 3G/4G and voice services, but also constantly improve our customer care, and product lines.”
Riaz Haq said…
#Pakistan’s #4G #broadband #speed of 14.03 megabits per second (Mbps) faster than #India’s 9.12 Mbps, according to speedtest.net of Ookla – a global leader in fixed broadband and mobile network testing applications, data and analysis.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1762876/2-pakistans-4g-broadband-speed-faster-indias/


Despite the challenges Pakistan faces in promoting information technology and bringing more and more people online, international internet speed gauging platform Ookla has said that Pakistan’s 4G mobile broadband is faster than its neighbour India’s.

Pakistan is ranked 96th in the world in download speed on mobile broadband based on the June Speed-test Global Index, with average speed of 14.03 megabits per second (Mbps). It is better than that in India which stands at 109th place with average speed of 9.12 Mbps,according to speedtest.net of Ookla – a global leader in fixed broadband and mobile network testing applications, data and analysis.

According to the website, the global average of mobile internet download speed is estimated at 23.54 Mbps.

Indian operators are focusing on spreading 4G outreach than injecting more speed into the already present 4G service, according to OpenSignal that specialises in wireless coverage mapping.

Smartphone usage is on the rise in India with 358 million mobile internet users and more users are coming online, resulting in slower mobile internet speeds, says a report in the Indian publication The Economic Times.

Because of the vast area, India has higher latency which is one of the reasons consumers are receiving slower internet.

Latency is the duration taken by a data packet to move between the user’s device and internet server. The higher the latency, the slower the user’s internet experience.

Pakistan’s 3G/4G subscribers stand at 56 million with 75% teledensity, meaning 25% population has not yet been covered, particularly in Balochistan. In this province, 46% of population has no access to either mobile, wireless or fixed line network.

Number of 3G, 4G users reaches 49.5m by Jan 2018

The Universal Service Fund (USF), which collects funds from all cellphone service providers in an attempt to expand telecom infrastructure, has disbursed grants worth Rs50 billion to mobile operators for projects in different telecom regions.

Its five out of six fibre optic projects are for Balochistan which is likely to get better facilities in future.

However, in fixed internet, India is better than Pakistan as it is ranked 62nd with average internet speed of 23.27 Mbps while Pakistan stands at 122nd place with internet speed of 7.55 Mbps.

4G services launched in Gwadar

Pakistan also lags behind India in the Inclusive Internet Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) mainly due to unavailability of content in local languages.

Riaz Haq said…
#Pakistan prepares for #5G public #trial in 2019. Draft framework for 5G enables use of radio spectrum on trial basis for noncommercial purposes to carry out trials for innovative use of radio frequency spectrum, apparatus/equipment and academic purposes https://dailytimes.com.pk/337738/pakistan-prepares-for-5g-public-trials-in-2019/

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has unveiled its plans for the Fifth Generation (5G) Wireless Networks public trials, demonstrate systems and/or services in Pakistan.

In this connection, the regulator Wednesday has issued draft framework for test and development of future technologies particularly for 5G wireless networks in Pakistan 2018.



According to the PTA, the rapid growth in mobile data traffic and consumer demand for enhanced mobile broadband experience have led to an increasing emphasis on the upcoming fifth generation of mobile technology (5G).

“Seen as a comprehensive wireless-access solution with the capacity to address the demands and requirements of mobile communication beyond IMT-2020, it is projected that this technology will operate in a highly heterogeneous environment and provide ubiquitous connectivity for a wide range of devices, new applications and use cases”.

IMT-2020 is a term developed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s Radio communication Sector in 2012 to develop the vision of “IMT for 2020 and beyond.” The ITU has set a timeline that calls for the standard to be finished in 2020.

Pakistani telecom regulator said the scope of IMT-2020 is much broader than previous generations of mobile broadband communication systems. The ITU’s work in developing the specifications for IMT-2020 in close collaboration with the whole gamut of 5G stakeholders is now well underway along with the associated spectrum management and spectrum identification aspects. IMT-2020 will be a cornerstone for all of the activities related to attaining the goals in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The draft framework for 5G enables the use of radio spectrum on trial basis for noncommercial purposes to carry out trials for innovative use of radio frequency spectrum, apparatus/equipment and academic purposes including but not limited to scientific research, radio concepts and new systems demonstrations, added PTA.



The PTA said Government of Pakistan (GoP) policy directive based framework invites all stakeholders for participation in subject trials.

The framework has been issued only for temporary Test and Development licenses/authorizations which shall include criteria for the provision of authorization, conditions, duration, and other terms and conditions.

The Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) shall assign the spectrum to be used for subject trials which shall become effective from the date of Authorization issued by PTA.

It is important to mention here that the PTA said mere assignment of spectrum by FAB would not give right to the applicant for use of the same until Authorization is obtained from PTA.

The Test & Development Authorization allows an applicant to use spectrum on non-exclusive, non-commercial basis temporarily for the testing purposes.

There is no regulatory fee associated with subject non-commercial trial permission or the spectrum usage for said purpose. Also, users/consumers will not be charged for any services offered during the trial. The trial shall last for the period of three (03) to Six (06) months or as stated in the Authorization issued by PTA Spectrum for the trial will be available only at the designated test sites subject to localized restrictions (if any) due to National security issues.
Riaz Haq said…
#India’s #Smartphone Revolution Is a Double-edged Sword.“To most Indians, the smartphone is their first camera, first TV, first video device, first Walkman, and first MP3 player. It may even be their first alarm clock and calculator,”#fakenews #violence
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/indias-smartphone-revolution-double-edged-sword/

Even illiterate individuals — of whom there are nearly 300 million in India — can learn to use the device. With the Google Assistant, they can say in their own language, for example, “‘Show me the Taj Mahal,’ and up pops a video showing them this great wonder that they’ve all heard of but never seen,” notes Agrawal. So in some ways the smartphone is a great equalizer.

Fake News on the Phone

Yet with all the apparent benefits, “there is so much that can go wrong,” said Agrawal. One problem is the proliferation of “fake news,” which he noted has sparked religiously-motivated lynchings and other violence.

India has also experienced more internet shutdowns than any other nation — Syria and Iraq follow — in which the government temporarily pulls the plug in the name of halting rumors that spark unrest. There were over 100 shutdowns in 2018 alone, according to Forbes, and the frequency appears to be increasing. These have a negative effect on the economy as well.

There’s also been an explosion in pornography, Agrawal notes. “The head of one of India’s biggest wireless companies told me that 70% of his company’s bandwidth is porn, believe it or not.”

According to Agrawal, a young boy growing up in rural India has a very different life than someone growing up in the West. “He’s not really sensitized to the female body … he’s never even seen a woman’s legs.” He is segregated from girls in school and in college, and may have unhealthy notions of the opposite sex, and sex in general. “And then if porn — and oftentimes violent porn — is this person’s first entry point to romance and sexuality, that’s immensely damaging in ways that I don’t think we fully have come to comprehend as a society,” said Agrawal.

Agrawal was asked about a possible link between the large amount of pornography and the problem of sexual violence against women in India (what BBC News recently called India’s “rape crisis.”) He said that although as a journalist he believed in freedom of information — and that he approached the question of internet porn without passing moral judgment — he believed it was “a real problem … a contributing factor that we have to keep in mind.”

Another internet-related problem is a condition that Agrawal callled nomophobia, or ‘no-mobile-phobia,’ the fear of being separated from your phone or losing battery power, which is on the rise in India. While some may find this hard to take seriously, it’s not a laughing matter, he said. “It’s a growing concern because it has led to many young Indians feeling a real sense of anxiety and depression when they’re not near their phone.” Agrawal linked the phenomenon to the sudden proliferation of smartphones in a population with little or no technology experience.

He drew an interesting comparison between India’s smartphone revolution and the profound effects of the automobile on 20th-century America. The mass availability of the car led to the interstate highway system, which in turn led to the rise of suburban communities and the concept of commuting to work. Cars also helped create so-called bits of “Americana” — diners, gas stations, drive-ins — not to mention the cultural and imaginative zeitgeist. “Every Hollywood movie featured the car: the race, the chase … the first kiss was always in the car.” Agrawal said the car was every American’s “first private property … it was freedom, the American dream.”

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