The recently launch of 3g services in Pakistan was an eagerly anticipated event and was the topic of discussion among the public. Now with services having been launched in many major cities by a number of major carriers, the reception of these new services is a question of interest. According to an anonymous official of the PTA, around 2.5 million cellular subscribers have used 3g services to date.
This number is close to the total number of broadband users in the country before the launch of 3G, which was achieved by ISPs after 8 years of work. It is expected that after the launch of 3G and 4G services, the number of broadband subscriptions could double in the next 4 to 5 months.
The reception of 3G services has surpassed expectations of the officials considering the limited coverage offered by operators at the moment. This number is expected to increase exponentially in the coming year. Some officials however remain skeptic about these figures considering that the definition of a 3G user includes any person who has carried out a paid 3g activity in the last 90 days. The number of 2.5 million could be very inflated according to this definition and would include many largely inactive users. The PTA will however release official numbers in the near future.