ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government has set an ambitious target to expand its fiber-to-home connections to 10 million over the next three years, as officials revise telecommunications legislation to address modern connectivity demands. According to Radio Pakistan, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar emphasized the necessity of obtaining owner consent before installing telecom infrastructure on private properties, as outlined in the revised draft of “The Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) (Amendment) Bill.”

The announcement came during a joint news conference with Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications. The revised bill, which includes clarified definitions of terms such as right-of-way and infrastructure placement, aims to resolve issues that arose after the previous version passed the National Assembly with amendments but faced scrutiny in the Senate Standing Committee.

Minister Khawaja highlighted the need for legislative updates to accommodate the surge in data consumption, which has grown by 25 percent in two years. She noted the increase in spectrum availability from 274 MHz to 750 MHz through a recent auction, indicating further investments in fiber networks and towers are necessary for the forthcoming 5G rollout.

Despite Pakistan’s population of about 240 million, fiber-to-home connections remain below three million. Khawaja stressed the government’s commitment to enhancing internet access while ensuring that citizen rights are protected.