Jazz successfully tested the 5G service in Pakistan. As per the limited details, Jazz 5G service attained a speed of 1.43Gbps. It has also launched 5G trials for the customers in limited areas of Islamabad only for six months to check the readiness of its services.
According to the officials, PTA allotted Jazz with a trial spectrum of 100MHz from 2600MHz band from its 5G network.
https://twitter.com/jazzpk/status/1213516776119717892
Khalid Shahzad, the CTO of Jazz hailed the introduction of 5G trials. Adding that, “5G is not just about the speed, as speed comes automatically, but its the whole lot of ecosystem that comes along 5G and it will revolutionize the way we do things in our daily lives.”
Zong was hailed as the first telecommunication operator company to put Pakistan on the short-list of 5G ready countries
Jazz carried out these trials at its Digital Headquarters in Islamabad. The operator reached an average download speed of 1452Mbps and 68 Mbps upload speed with HD voice and video calls.
Jazz said it is now ready to offer the services in the market “whenever the government allows for the commercial launch”.
Back in August 2019, Zong, the Pakistan mobile operator company owned by China mobile announced that it had successfully conducted the first 5G network tests in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s IT secretary, PTA head and Chinese embassy officials attended the event. On the occasion, Jazz and Telenor also stated to have conducted multiple in-door 5G tests. Adding that they are also set to offer 5G services to its customers.
Read more: Zong promises 1GB/s to Pakistanis very soon after successful 5G tests
Jazz and Telenor at that time were stuck in a dispute with the government license renewal fee. The companies had been battling the court case at that time.
Aisha Sarwari, the company’s Director Corporate Communication, released a statement on the occasion, stating that, “Jazz has conducted multiple 5G trials,” Likewise, Telenor also issued a statement in August stating that they ‘have all the required equipment ready for 5G launching, it has been tested and now we await spectrum.’
Meanwhile, during the first successful 5G tests in August, Zong issued an official statement that boasted its achievement of excelling in Pakistan’s telecommunication sector.
https://twitter.com/jazzpk/status/1213472918941896704
“[T]he pioneer of 4G services in Pakistan, it has already established itself as Pakistan’s largest network with more than 13 million 4G customers and 12,000 4G sites,” the company claimed.
Hence, Zong was hailed as the first telecommunication operator company to put Pakistan on the short-list of 5G ready countries. Pakistan became the first Southeast Asian country to conduct successful tests of 5G.
Read more: Paving roads for 5G internet in Pakistan’s digital landscape
Government officials told media that it may take 2-3 years more for that commercial trails and public usage. Consumers will need 5G enabled devices to use these services. It is anticipated that the 5G devices will be readily available in Pakistan once telecom companies start providing service after approval from PTA.
Pakistan Telecom sector aspires for the adoption of 5G services by 2021.