Karachi leads sluggish 5G rollout

According to The Express Tribune, Karachi now runs the largest number of active 5G sites in the country, reaching 257 in early August 2026. Jazz accounts for 119 of them, Zong for 111 and Ufone for 27, putting the city ahead of Lahore with 241 and Islamabad with 192. Even so, the Phase-I target of 1,000 sites means current deployment covers only about a quarter of the initial goal.

Across the country, the figure stood between 1,136 and above 1,200 active sites spread over 23 cities by mid-August, serving around 1.3 million users. Commercial services started in March 2026, following a spectrum auction on March 10 that drew about $507 million and gave mid-band frequencies to the three operators. Jazz and Zong were the quickest of the group to move into full commercial operation.

Coverage in Karachi remains patchy, and many neighbourhoods outside priority zones still depend on 4G. A small share of cell sites nationwide are fibre-connected, which leaves many towers reliant on microwave links, and Zong's engineering staff cited a communication gap about new buildings. Device access is a further constraint, because affordable 5G handsets have not yet become common.