News Desk |
Chinese telecom giant, Zong tested 5G technology in Pakistan on 22nd August, making the country first to test the technology in the South East Asian region to test the 5G services.
A press release issued by company said Zong is the first and only operator to officially test 5G services in the country.
Staying true to its mission of digitally transforming Pakistan, #Zong becomes the first to successfully test 5G in Pakistan #ZongTests5G #PakistansNo1DataNetwork pic.twitter.com/mJhgb6HNt8
— Zong (@Zongers) August 21, 2019
“This success marks an important milestone in Pakistan’s telecom sector,” said Zong CEO Wang Hua at an event in Islamabad held to conduct the test.
Zong official, while giving a briefing on 5G trials said that the 4g technology company is providing currently runs at 50-100mb/s but 5G will boost the speed up to 1GB/s. He further added that Zong was successful in achieving the speed of 1.14 GB/s, highest ever by any company.
The launch event was attended by many government officials and noted personalities from the tech and telecom industry including PTA chairman retired Maj Gen Amir Azeem Bajwa.
Pakistan telecom operators envision the adoption of 5G by 2021. It is expected to arrive in India by 2020. India has already embarked on getting the essential structure in place
Zong was allowed to test the 5G services in Pakistan after PTA approved the tests to be conducted in certain geographical limits but commercial trials have not been approved yet, so, for now, a regular customer of Zong won’t be able to avail 5G services.
The Zong CEO also announced that the company will establish a 5G innovation center in Pakistan in collaboration with Huawei, for which a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed at the event.
Officials told media that commercial trails and public usage might take 2-3 years more. Consumers will need a 5G enabled device to avail these services. There are currently less than 1000 5G enabled smartphones on Pakistani networks but the number is expected to rise once the 5G services are officially launched by Zong.
Pakistan has become first country in South-East Asia to successfully test 5-G #5GinPakistan https://t.co/1WNP5likfj
— External Publicity Wing (@epwing_official) August 22, 2019
PTA will be responsible for designing the regulatory spectrum and auction the spectrum to 5g operators.
In the test trial ceremony of 5G services Zong also showcased several 5G enabled devices including smartphones, tablets, and portable PCs.
5G technology coming to Pakistan?
Pakistan telecom operators envision the adoption of 5G by 2021. It is expected to arrive in India by 2020. India has already embarked on getting the essential structure in place that will be needed for adopting this advanced technology mandatory.
Read more: 5G technology coming to Pakistan?
The government of India has recently set a high-level forum to discuss and formulate a roadmap for directing the successful embracing of 5G Technology.
However, nothing can be said pertaining to the status of the 5G trials in India, with the initial introduction of 5G this year, Pakistan has become the first country to test 5G in the entire South Asian region.
Pakistan has set its eyes on launching 5G technology by 2020 and preparations have begun to test 5G cellular connectivity, the first of its kind in South Asia, according to the PTA’s annual report.