Pakistan added 14 million broadband connections in 11 months, almost all of them on mobile
The IT ministry's July data puts broadband penetration at 65.79 percent. Dividing the published figures shows what that rate counts.
Pakistan had 166.12 million broadband subscriptions in July, a penetration rate of 65.79 percent, according to Ministry of IT and Telecommunication data published on 2 November. Mobile broadband made up 161.71 million of them and fixed broadband 4.41 million. Total telecom subscriptions stood at 212.96 million, a tele density of 84.34 percent.
The PTA's figures for the end of August 2025 showed 152 million broadband subscriptions, penetration of 61.09 percent and 148 million on mobile broadband. Over the 11 months to July, broadband therefore grew by 14.12 million connections, or 9.3 percent, and penetration rose 4.7 points. Mobile broadband grew by about 13.7 million. That is 97 percent of the gain, so almost all of the growth came from phones. Fixed broadband accounts for the remaining 0.4 million.
What the denominator says
Penetration is a ratio, so the published pairs let us recover the population the ministry divides by. Dividing 166.12 million by 0.6579 gives about 252.5 million. Dividing 212.96 million by 0.8434 gives the same figure, which suggests both ratios use one population estimate. The 2025 pair, 152 million over 0.6109, gives about 248.8 million. The base grew about 1.5 percent in a year, which is in line with ordinary population growth.
That means 65.79 is the number of broadband connections per 100 residents. It is not the share of residents who are online. Anyone who holds two broadband SIMs counts twice, and children sit in the denominator. The published data cannot say how many people hold more than one connection, so the share of residents online cannot be read from it.
A thin wired base
Fixed broadband is 2.7 percent of the total, 4.41 million of 166.12 million. Almost everything Pakistan adds in broadband is a SIM card, and a SIM card depends on a tower with power and a backhaul link to carry the traffic. The ministry's document ties uneven coverage to commercial viability, electricity supply and limited backhaul. A network built mostly on mobile therefore inherits the weak points of the mobile grid.
The July document gives no split by 4G and 5G and no month by month series, so the pace of change inside the year remains unknown. The 2025 and 2026 figures come from different publishers, the PTA and the ministry, so small differences in method could account for part of the 14.12 million. The ministry's next monthly release will show whether the 9 percent annual rate holds.
