Cold truth: Pakistan cannot become a digital economy if fibre, towers and 5G infrastructure remain hostage to fragmented permissions, local rent-seeking and administrative delays.
To be certain, Pakistan needs a modern right-of-way law. The Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996 must be amended. The real bottlenecks — right-of-way, fibre deployment, tower access, local permissions, housing society delays, and fragmented approvals — must be solved.
Pakistan cannot run 5G on 3G-style permissions. If this law is not passed, five things will happen.First, Pakistan’s 5G launch will become a slogan, not a service. Second, Pakistan’s IT exports will hit an infrastructure ceiling. Third, the data centre will not invest in Pakistan. Fourth, consumers will pay more for worse service. Fifth, local rent-seeking will become stronger than national policy. Every local authority, housing society, municipal body and estate manager will remain a gatekeeper. Each can delay. Each can demand. Each can obstruct. That is fragmentation.
The reality: Pakistan cannot build a digital economy if fibre and towers remain hostage to local obstruction.Yes, the debate has been framed wrongly. One side says the law gives telecom companies too much power. The other says existing laws are obstructing growth. The real issue is much deeper. Pakistan does not need to empower telecom companies. Pakistan needs to empower connectivity.
Plain fact: Without right of way, there is no fibre. Without fibre, there is no 5G. Without 5G, there is no digital leap.Remember: Policy is one thing – drafting is another. The policy direction is correct. Pakistan needs a national right-of-way regime. Pakistan needs faster fibre deployment. Pakistan needs quicker tower permissions. Pakistan needs a predictable framework for digital infrastructure.
To be sure, a good policy has been weakened by poor drafting. A necessary reform has been attacked because of loose language. A pro-growth law has become controversial because it does not clearly protect property rights, due process, safety standards and fair compensation.
For the record, Pakistan has over 200 million telecom subscribers, over 160 million broadband users, and more than 60,000 cell sites. Telecom is no longer a side sector. It is the operating system of the economy. And a sector of this size cannot be governed through fragmented local permissions.
The pattern is clear: 5G is not possible on microwave backhaul alone. It needs fibre-rich networks. If only a small share of towers are connected through fibre, Pakistan’s 5G will remain thin, patchy and expensive.
Every serious digital economy has a right-of-way regime. Look closer: Right of way is not a favour to telecom companies. It is the legal plumbing of a digital economy.Red alert: Do not kill the law; improve the draft. The policy must stay. The drafting must be tightened.
