Pakistan’s telecom sector is now shifting focus toward operational readiness as preparations begin for 5G test trials in Gilgit-Baltistan, marking the next phase in expanding next-generation connectivity to the country’s northern regions.
The development caps months of regulatory groundwork that unfolded separately from the mainland 5G rollout, which had left the territory behind when the national spectrum auction proceeded without it.
The Gilgit-Baltistan Council Secretariat prepared a summary seeking approval of policy directives for the trials. The proposal was endorsed by the Ministry of Law and Justice and the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication before being forwarded to the Prime Minister, who also serves as Chairman of the Gilgit-Baltistan Council.
The summary was later circulated among council members, who approved it, with the GB Governor formally ratifying it, removing all remaining procedural hurdles.
GB Caretaker Minister for Information Technology Ghulam Abbas played a central role in getting the region included. He held meetings with PTA Chairman Hafeez ur Rehman and Federal IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, stressing the need to extend 5G services to the region.
Those meetings translated into a formal policy chain that eventually produced the approvals confirmed this week.
Why GB Was Left Out of the March Auction
The 5G spectrum auction held on March 10 did not include Gilgit-Baltistan or Azad Jammu and Kashmir due to separate regulatory arrangements for these regions.
GB and AJK fall under the jurisdiction of the Gilgit-Baltistan Council and the AJK Council respectively, which means spectrum licensing decisions require a parallel approval process involving regional councils, the Prime Minister’s office as council chairman, and the Governor, rather than the standard federal route through PTA alone.
That structural difference pushed both territories onto a deferred timeline even as Jazz, Zong, and the newly merged Ufone-Telenor entity launched 5G commercial services in Islamabad and other mainland cities.
Who Will Run the Trials and What They Will Test
At present, the country’s telecom landscape in GB includes Jazz, Zong, and the merged Ufone-Telenor entity, along with the Special Communications Organisation (SCO), which operates specifically in GB and AJK.
PTA will coordinate with all four operators to ensure readiness ahead of testing, particularly in challenging mountainous terrain where network performance and signal stability will be evaluated.
The PTA has formed a dedicated committee to oversee the trial phase. This team will develop technical and commercial recommendations for the full 5G rollout in these regions.
Officials aim to complete trials within the year. Infrastructure deployment remains a challenge due to the mountainous terrain, but spectrum availability is not an issue.
SCO’s existing infrastructure gives it a structural advantage in this phase. In these rugged terrains, where private telcos often struggle with infrastructure, SCOM has laid over 4,800 km of optical fiber, providing the backhaul foundation that any 5G trial network will depend on.
Private operators (Jazz, Zong, and the Ufone-Telenor entity) have been upgrading their northern network assets in anticipation, with major telecom operators including Zong, Jazz, and Telenor having started upgrading their networks in northern Pakistan to support the upcoming 5G rollout.
At the same time, local governments in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan have invested in fiber-optic and microwave backhaul infrastructure to strengthen connectivity.
The Road to a Full 5G Spectrum Auction in GB
The PTA Chairman has indicated that a formal 5G spectrum auction in Gilgit-Baltistan would follow the successful completion of trials.
Officials estimate that the 5G spectrum auction in Azad Kashmir could be completed within a year, paving the way for broader connectivity in the mountainous regions.
A similar timeline is expected for GB, though terrain-driven infrastructure costs and the logistics of deploying base stations across high-altitude passes could push that window further depending on how the trial results perform.
Officials said regulatory frameworks for trials were already prepared, allowing operators to immediately proceed with technical testing, performance evaluation, and service quality assessments. The PTA’s internal groundwork means the gap between formal approval and the first live trial transmissions is expected to be short.
For GB’s tourism sector, local businesses, and residents in areas that currently struggle with basic 4G coverage, the trials represent the first concrete step toward the kind of connectivity that the rest of Pakistan began accessing commercially in early 2026.
