KARACHI: After hitting record highs in March, mobile data usage stabilised in April as network traffic returned to its normal seasonal rhythm, according to data released by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
Average data consumption per subscriber pulled back to 9.01GB in April 2026, down from a historic high of 9.71GB in March. Far from signalling a structural slowdown in digital adoption, telecom analysts view the month-on-month (MoM) deceleration as a predictable calibration following an intensely active first quarter.
“The interval we should be looking at, in my opinion, is longer,” said Yousuf Farooq, director of research at Chase Securities.
In FY18, data usage was around 3.3GB per subscriber. Since then, it has steadily grown to around 9GB per subscriber. During the same period, Next-Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) users have increased from 69 million to 156 million. That is a massive structural tailwind for the digital economy, he added.
FY25 average usage was 8.7GB per subscriber, and the year closed with 146 million NGMS subscribers. That number has since increased to 157 million, so growth is still fairly solid. This can gradually move to 15GB per subscriber once the network upgrades with even more subscribers.
“One-month declines are normal. Around half of the decline can probably be explained by April being a shorter month, while the other half may be due to tower shutdowns or could be because of lower use for some other reason,” according to Farooq.
Digital rights expert and director at Bolo Bhi Usama Khilji also treated the April decline as normal and added that the March surge could be because of Ramazan and Eid holidays.
“The peak of 9.7GB per subscriber in March lines up with Ramazan. Digital use usually rises during this period. Shorter school and office hours also gave people more free time, which likely pushed usage toward data-heavy activities such as online gaming and video streaming,” Anees Qureshi, OSINT analyst at Bytes for All, a research think-tank with a focus on IT, corroborated Khilji’s assessment.
This peak was sharper because of Pakistan’s broadband mix. As of March 2026, Pakistan had 157 million mobile broadband subscribers but only 3.6 million fixed broadband connections. That means most internet traffic runs through cellular networks, with very little fixed-line capacity to absorb sudden spikes.
“The drop in April likely reflects two factors: usage returning to normal after Ramazan and pressure from submarine cable maintenance. Transworld carried out scheduled maintenance from April 9 to 13, followed by PTCL repairs on the SMW4 cable from April 14 to 20. Together, these created nearly two straight weeks of reduced international bandwidth after Eid, adding to the expected post-holiday decline in total usage,” Qureshi added.
When individual average usage plateaus, minor month-to-month fluctuations (dips and spikes) are completely normal. It proves that mobile data usage has become a stable utility, much like electricity or water, which naturally fluctuates based on the number of days in a month or seasonal lifestyle shifts.
Per Farooq, the sector is all set for growth. The next major jump in internet usage should come after network upgrades by August or September. After that, we should start seeing rapid increases in GB used per subscriber, he said. Since Telenor and Ufone are merging and the sector has consolidated, carriers are now able to spend more money on their network as ARPU has started to normalise. Then the new spectrum and capex will also improve internet reliability and speed.
But Pakistan’s journey is not free from challenges. Based on the data from the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) ICT Development Index (IDI) 2025, Pakistan has a highly unique, mismatched digital profile. The country’s overall IDI score is 56.4. Pakistan scores a whopping 88.9 in the ‘Fixed broadband Internet traffic per subscription’ category. Which means that Pakistanis who do have broadband internet, they are massive data consumers. They are streaming, downloading and using the internet at levels that rival far wealthier nations.
However, in the Universal Connectivity Pillar category, Pakistan scores a very low 34. This score drag is primarily caused by the ‘Individuals who own a mobile phone’ category, where Pakistan scores just 65.4. This reveals a massive structural divide. While a portion of the population is deeply connected and using heavy amounts of data, a massive third of the country does not even own a basic mobile phone, dragging down the ‘universal’ aspect of the score.
Layered on top of these usage changes is the ongoing power crisis, which quietly limits network performance as during a power outage the network tower is only able to provide 2G signals. Frequent and long load-shedding drains tower backup batteries before they can fully recharge, Qureshi added. When that happens, towers either go offline or run at reduced capacity specially barring users from using 4G services. This creates a congestion effect. Traffic shifts to nearby towers, those towers become overloaded, speeds fall and data usage is held back because the network cannot support normal demand.
“This shows a clear gap as public demand for data is rising fast, but telecom infrastructure behind it remains fragile. Pakistan reached an important milestone on March 10, 2026, raising $507 million through its first digital 5G spectrum auction. Jazz, Zong and Ufone secured 480 MHz across the 700, 2300, 2600, and 3500 MHz bands. But most people cannot benefit from this yet,” he said.
There are two main bottlenecks beyond the physical rollout. “The first is device readiness. Major mobile phone manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung, along with imported phone brands like Motorola, Lenovo and others, have not yet released the software updates needed to enable 5G on existing handsets in Pakistan. The second is fibre backhaul. Only about 18 per cent of Pakistan’s mobile sites are currently connected to fibre. Without wider fibrisation, new spectrum may increase theoretical capacity, but it will not translate into strong real-world performance.”
