Internet service providers across the country have increased internet rates by approximately 20 per cent since January 01, 2024 as the cost of doing business has increased substantially. The cable internet providers have increased the prices citing the increased cost of bandwidth due to declining rupee against USD.
There are several primary internet/bandwidth providers in Pakistan including Wancom, Multinet, Stormfiber, Cybernet and a couple more. Local cable internet providers buy bandwidth from these providers and sell further to domestic and commercial consumers.
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Domestic consumers and small businesses prefer cable internet over wireless internet for several reasons. Cable internet is cheaper than wireless internet. And, cable internet continues to run even if the government authorities shut internet services. Such ban is only effective on wireless internet.
Accordingly, Rs1200 package has increased to Rs1500 and Rs2000 package has increased to Rs2500 and so on. This has affected millions of internet users in Pakistan, who rely on the internet for various purposes such as education, entertainment, communication, and business.
According to the latest data, Pakistan has 116.6 million internet users as of July 2022, which is 50.9% of the population. The annual growth in the number of internet users is 17%, which means that 11 million people in Pakistan start to use internet every year. The most popular social media platforms in Pakistan are YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
The internet rate hike has sparked mixed reactions from the internet users and experts. Some have expressed their dissatisfaction and frustration over the price increase, while others have accepted it as a necessary adjustment to cope with the economic challenges. Some have also called for more transparency and regulation from the government and the internet providers to ensure fair and quality service for the consumers.