With four telecom companies providing 3G services, most Pakistani subscribers wonder if they are getting the right value for the money. With mobile broadband now available in several parts of the country, we decided to find out which company provides the most data in lowest price for daily, weekly and monthly packages.
The following chart shows rankings based on price, the best data package you can get with the least cost. The package list is updated till 28th April, 2015.
| Package Type | Ranking | Bundle Name | Data Bundle | Price | Activation Code |
| Daily Package | 1) Telenor | 3G Unlimited Daytime Bundle | 2 GB | Rs. 8 | Dial:*345*139# |
| 2) Mobilink | Daily Light Internet | 1 GB | Rs. 8 | Dial: *114*14# | |
| 3) Mobilink | 3G Daily3 | 100 MB | Rs. 15 | Dial: *117*1# | |
| Weekly Package | 1) Telenor | 3G Weekly Unlimited | 7 GB | Rs. 40 | Dial: *345*144# |
| 2) Mobilink | 3G Weekly | 7 GB | Rs. 60 | Dial: *117*7# | |
| 3) Telenor | 3G Weekly Bundle | 1 GB+500 MB Dailymotion | Rs. 75 | Dial:*345*134# | |
| Monthly Package | 1) Mobilink | 3G Monthly – Super4 | 12 GB | Rs. 1000 | Dial: *117*32# |
| 2) Ufone | Monthly 10GB Bucket | 10 GB | Rs. 1000 | Dial: *5100# | |
| 3) Mobilink | 3G Monthly – Heavy3 | 4.5 GB | Rs. 400 | Dial: *117*30# |
The ranking is based on price subscriber pays for each gigabyte of data. Telenor and Mobilink rule the chart with higher data packages in lower cost. Telenor covers the most cities and towns in Pakistan with 5 MHz spectrum while Mobilink has 10 MHz spectrum and thus greater download speed. Some packages have restrictions as well, for example Mobilink’s Daily Light Internet (1 GB for Rs. 8) is a daily package but can only be used between 12 am to 8 pm.
There are other varieties as well, such as Zong’s Monthly Premium Plus has 30 GB data limit for Rs. 3500. While the largest data package of all the telecom companies, it is expensive than most broadband companies that provide much larger data cap (albeit at slower speed) in much lower cost. The cost per gigabyte was high, therefor it could not be added to the list.
As mobile broadband service gets more popular, prices are expected to come down and larger data bundles will be made available to subscribers. Until then, the above ranking should be good enough for heavy data usage with the least cost.
Do you use any prepaid 3G package? Are you satisfied with the price and download speed? Let us know in the comments below.