Last month’s approval of the country’s largest ever spectrum auction by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) is being hailed as a technological leap for Pakistan and is expected to enable the rollout of 5G services. However, this progress is meaningless for the ordinary citizen if the devices required to access 5G remain a luxury they cannot afford. Currently, the taxes imposed on mobile phones are exorbitant. For a middle or lower-middle-class individual, buying a decent smartphone under Rs50,000 has become almost impossible. These devices are, in fact, not luxury products. They are essential tools for education, business and banking. By treating them as luxury items, the tax policy is effectively stripping ordinary people of their right to digital connectivity.
It is illogical to invest billions in 5G infrastructure while simultaneously making 5G-enabled handsets unaffordable through aggressive taxation. If the average user cannot upgrade their phone due to these costs, who exactly is this 5G network being built for? I urge the authorities to reconsider the tax structure, specifically providing tax grants or relief for phones priced under Rs50,000. To truly digitise Pakistan, we must ensure that connectivity is accessible to the many and not just the privileged few.
Muhammad Huzaifa Jadoon
Islamabad
