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Broadband services in Pakistan have penetrated well in urban areas, still the growth rate is yet to see the enormousness and the main reason is the inaccessibility of broadband services in rural areas. Due to limited investments, broadband service providers are mainly limited to the major cities of the country. Even in larger cities, the quality of service for internet service providers remains a question mark. This is mainly due to old copper media for landline connections which prevents reliable service available for home-users who are 1,500 meters or farer from the telephone exchange he/she is getting services. This constraint compelled investors to bring wireless broadband services such as WiMAX and EvDO which started a fierce competition between fixed vs. wireless broadband operators. Resultantly, coverage, quality of service, marketing and tariffs were positively effected and industry statistics got a new boost as more subscribers started to join the broadband clan. The growing trend of wireless uptake by the general public will shun the dependency on fixed line parameters.
Subscriber Stats:
There are currently 1,140,781 broadband subscribers in Pakistan as compared to 643,892 at the end of December, 2009 showing a 77% growth over the last calendar year. Despite the fact that growth rate lowered in year 2010 as compared to previous year, still, it must be noted that the number of net additions this year (496,889) are more than that of last year (376,712). Currently, broadband penetration of the country stands at 0.66% at the end of December, 2010 which was 0.39% in December 2009, depicting almost 69% growth in just one year. It is also a fact that Broadband is still an emerging phenomenon with inherent constraints associated with it like lack of connectivity to rural areas, low literacy rate, lack of local content and applications etc., therefore, it will take some time for the penetration level to reach the high mark.
Broadband market of Pakistan is a true amalgamation of latest fixed and wireless technologies from around the world. Ranging from primitive fixed line technologies like Cable TV, FTTH and DSL to latest wireless technologies like WiMAX and EvDO, the nation has a variety of options when selecting a suitable broadband package. Figures show a historical view of Pakistans broadband technology evolution over the years. DSL ruled the broadband market of Pakistan since 2007 due to an established fixed line infrastructure by the incumbent, PTCL. HFC and WiMAX broke the monopoly of DSL by getting a combined chunk of almost 37% in the market in 2007-08. The scenario changed again when WiMAX truly established itself as a viable wireless broadband solution and EvDO made a promising start in the market however, HFC declined sharply due to introduction of new technologies. Currently, there exists a fierce competition between fixed and wireless technologies as EvDO and WiMAX are collectively increasing their market share over DSL and other fixed line services.