ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will begin pilot launches of fifth-generation (5G) mobile services in some cities next week, Information Technology Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja said on Thursday, marking the country’s first concrete timeline for introducing the next generation of high-speed mobile Internet.

The announcement follows a spectrum auction earlier this week in which Pakistan sold 480 megahertz (MHz) of telecom frequencies for about $507 million, a key step toward deploying 5G networks in a country of more than 240 million people where most mobile infrastructure still runs on fourth-generation (4G) technology.

Pakistan has more than 190 million mobile phone users, making it one of the world’s largest telecom markets by population, but the rollout of 5G has been delayed for years by regulatory hurdles, economic constraints and spectrum-allocation issues.

“I was very happy to hear the day before yesterday that some of our operators are ready for 5G services,” Khawaja told a news conference with telecom operators in Islamabad.

“So, its pilot will start in some cities next week. And in the next six to eight months, in five of our capitals of all provinces and in the federal capital, 5G services will be available to all of you people.”

Khawaja described Internet connectivity as increasingly critical for economic activity, industry and national security, saying reliable and resilient digital infrastructure would play a central role in Pakistan’s future growth.

Officials have said the government is also encouraging wider adoption of 5G-compatible devices to support the transition to faster mobile networks, noting that a large share of phones used in Pakistan are locally manufactured while premium models are imported.