Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) successfully tested 5G technology in collaboration with PTCL Group and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board (KPITB), under the umbrella of the Department of Science and Information Technology, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. With the successful 5G trial in KP, Pakistan is set to boost its IT sector.
The 5G trial was conducted in a limited environment on a non-commercial basis at Durshal Incubation Centre, Peshawar.
The chief guest for the occasion was Atif Khan who is serving as the current Senior Minister for Information Technology, Science and Food.
At the ceremony, demonstrations were made on Cloud Gaming, successful remote surgery concept, and an overview of 5G technology applications in Pakistan.
Read more: Huawei Mate X: Pakistan’s first foldable 5G smartphone
Keeping in line with PM Khan’s vision of a digital Pakistan, Atif Khan said the new technology will enable the provision of best medical and healthcare facilities to remote areas, international level education opportunities to the underserved areas, and would have a significant overall impact on the socio-economic landscape of the country.
Since the 5G trial was conducted in collaboration with PTCL, Chief Business Services Officer Zarrar Hasham Khan affirmed PTCL’s commitment to fulfilling aspirations for digital transformation in the provinces. He also expressed that PTCL is proud to partner with KP to conduct successful 5G trials, that too in a limited environment.
Read more: Vision & challenges in achieving a digital Pakistan
KPITB and PTCL signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for mutual collaboration and agreed to work together to promote KP’s Digital Policy and turn into reality PM Khan’s vision for a digital Pakistan.
First Trial/testing of 5G in Pakistan. Mou signed between KP IT board and PTCL in peshawar today pic.twitter.com/9pfLZPzz3K
— Atif Khan (@AtifKhanpti) June 17, 2021
5G going global
Once 5G becomes fully operational within Pakistan, the country will join a select group of nations already benefitting from the latest technology.
The first country to ever deploy a 5G network on a large scale was South Korea. By 2025, almost 60 percent of mobile subscriptions in South Korea are expected to be for 5G networks.
However, the world’s largest 5G network was launched by the three mega Chinese network operators on October 31, 2019. China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom all activated their networks in less than five months after they were issued 5G licenses.
Read more: China’s Huawei gets Indian approval for participation in 5G trials
Other leading nations like Switzerland, Kuwait, Finland, Qatar, UK, Italy, Spain, Australia, etc followed later.
There are a host of others, including India, who have started making remarkable progress with 5G or have already achieved 5G technology.