Telecom Data Usage Reached 27,897 Petabytes in Pakistan: PTA

According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), data usage in the telecom sector surged by 37.84% over the past three years, rising from 20,235 petabytes (PB) in 2022-23 to 27,897 PB in 2024-25. The year-on-year increase compared to 2023-24, when data consumption was 25,141 PB, stood at 10.96%. This sharp rise comes from increased use of streaming platforms, online education, e-commerce, and mobile apps. Broadband subscribers grew from 127.6 million in 2022-23 to 150 million in 2024-25, marking a 17.55% increase and an 8.47% increase from the 138.3 million recorded in 2023-24. Broadband penetration also climbed from 53.6% to 60.8% during this period, up by 13.43% in three years and 6.67% compared to last year. Telecom subscribers reached 200 million in 2024-25, growing by 3.36% from 193.5 million in 2022-23 and 2.51% compared to 195.1 million in 2023-24. Despite high saturation levels, teledensity remained stable at 81.21%, compared to 80.5% last year and 81.4% in 2022-23. The modest change in teledensity suggests a mature telecom market with limited room for subscriber growth. Network expansion continued with the number of cell sites rising from 53,581 in 2022-23 to 57,888 in 2024-25, a 8.03% increase over three years and 3.78% over the past year. This infrastructure growth helped support the increasing demand for mobile and internet connectivity across urban and rural regions. Telecom sector revenues, however, showed a dip in 2024-25, falling to Rs. 803 billion from Rs. 955 billion in 2023-24, down 15.91%. Compared to the 2022-23 revenue of Rs. 817 billion, the decrease stood at 1.71%. Telecom contribution to the national exchequer increased to Rs. 271 billion in 2024-25, recovering from Rs. 195.1 billion in 2023-24 but still below the 2022-23 contribution of Rs. 341 billion. Despite revenue fluctuations, the sector continues to demonstrate strong user growth.