According to the latest figures released by the Pakistan TelecommunicationAuthority (PTA) on Saturday, cellular subscriptions in Pakistan crossed the183 million mark by the end of March 2021 from 178.97m in January.

Due to the increasing pressure from the education sector in the wake of theCovid-19 related lockdowns, the authorities, including the ministry of ITand PTA, have been enhancing the internet infrastructure in the country forthe past two years.

Due to these efforts, the broadband penetration reached 46.4 per cent ofthe country by the end of March 2021 compared to 44.6pc in January earlierthis year. Success in part is owed to some projectslinkcarried on in cooperation with China and the 9 fibre optic projects approvedlinkbythe IT ministry.

However, according to a reportlink,Pakistan’s Internet quality remains one of the lowest in South Asia.

While 4G users grew from 66m in January to 74m in March, broadbandsubscriptions — including 98m 3G and 4G subscribers — topped 101m duringthe same period.

The PTA figures show that total internet subscribers have crossed the 100mmark against 95.4m in January 2021, mainly because of lockdowns andmobility restrictions.