Ever since the introduction of 3G/4G services in Pakistan, subscribers have been moving towards the new data technologies that enable faster speeds and thus consumers can use their smartphones to the best of their abilities even while being out and about and away from WiFi network. People are using social services like Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook and many others to stay connected with their friends and family. We can also stay uptodate on the latest news and events happening around the world. Due to the increased usage of such services, telecom companies have seen a rapid growth in the number of subscribers. PTA has recently published the statistics regarding 3G/4G growth in Pakistan according to which the total number of 3G/4G subscribers in Pakistan now stands at 27.86 million which was recorded at the end of March 2016. 1.67 million subscribers were added just in the month of March alone. This totals to a tremendous growth of 13.25 million new subscribers in the past 3 quarters or 9 months starting from July 2015. The total breakdown of the number of 3G/4G subscribers from all telcos are given below:
| Operator | Technology | Oct-15 | Nov-15 | Dec-15 | Jan-16 | Feb-16 | Mar-16 |
| CMPak | 3G | 4,088,019 | 4,376,991 | 4,752,974 | 5,083,597 | 5,430,155 | 5,681,113 |
| 4G | 227,675 | 254,122 | 282,701 | 416,676 | 481,730 | 535,936 | |
| Mobilink | 3G | 6,043,233 | 6,807,898 | 7,248,761 | 7,648,548 | 7,930,515 | 8,494,389 |
| Telenor | 3G | 5,768,102 | 6,003,031 | 6,373,498 | 6,777,091 | 7,213,512 | 7,690,529 |
| Ufone | 3G | 3,773,921 | 4,023,196 | 4,293,739 | 4,548,824 | 4,879,653 | 5,180,643 |
| Warid | LTE | 174,727 | 192,917 | 214,046 | 235,239 | 257,726 | 283,761 |
| Total | 20,075,677 | 21,658,155 | 23,165,719 | 24,709,975 | 26,193,291 | 27,866,371 | |
The broadband industry also saw a growth as due to the influx of 3G/4G, telcos have now introduced their Mobile Broadband devices as well which add portability as well as multiple devices can be connected at one time. Zong has been a massive hit with the consumers as it’s giving fast and consistent speeds at attractive prices. Including all wired and wireless broadband services available to consumers in Pakistan, the total number of subscribers now stands at 31 million which is a growth of a staggering 13.28 million subscribers since the past 9 months starting from July 2015. Cable Net and EvDO technologies took a hit as the number of new subscribers have been going down however Mobile Broadband saw the most growth in number of new subscribers. WiMAX took a huge hit in July 2015 most probably due to Wateen’s exit from the broadband market which almost left its user base in half as shown in the table given below:
| Broadband Subscribers by Technology | ||||||||
| Technology | DSL | HFC | WiMax | FTTH | EvDO | Others | Mobile BB | Total |
| 2005-06 | 26,611 | 26,611 | ||||||
| 2006-07 | 44,669 | 484 | 45,153 | |||||
| 2007-08 | 102,910 | 42,760 | 19,612 | 2,800 | 168,082 | |||
| 2008-09 | 262,661 | 36,201 | 88,477 | 3,967 | 22,503 | 413,809 | ||
| 2009-10 | 476,722 | 49,110 | 257,616 | 5,002 | 111,194 | 1,004 | 900,648 | |
| 2010-11 | 695,245 | 34,274 | 428,523 | 6,346 | 325,140 | 1,963 | 1,491,491 | |
| 2011-12 | 880,071 | 35,520 | 589,887 | 8,444 | 584,459 | 2,934 | 2,101,315 | |
| 2012-13 | 1,064,003 | 33,184 | 575,939 | 11,152 | 1,033,513 | 3,868 | 2,721,659 | |
| 2013-14 | 1,346,817 | 37,011 | 530,889 | 14,848 | 1,861,118 | 5,240 | 3,795,923 | |
| 2014-15 | 1,480,672 | 43,362 | 487,582 | 19,490 | 1,334,725 | 6,089 | 13,498,677 | 16,885,518 |
| Jul-15 | 1,502,150 | 43,490 | 246,810 | 19,646 | 1,277,034 | 6,122 | 14,614,411 | 17,709,663 |
| Aug-15 | 1,563,321 | 43,929 | 245,284 | 20,549 | 1,273,184 | 6,160 | 15,765,680 | 18,918,107 |
| Sep-15 | 1,566,148 | 43,594 | 228,635 | 20,668 | 1,280,474 | 6,212 | 18,040,854 | 21,186,585 |
| Oct-15 | 1,508,842 | 44,797 | 217,150 | 20,691 | 1,329,907 | 6,288 | 20,075,677 | 23,203,352 |
| Nov-15 | 1,508,842 | 44,797 | 217,150 | 20,691 | 1,329,907 | 6,288 | 21,658,155 | 24,785,830 |
| Dec-15 | 1,508,842 | 44,797 | 217,150 | 20,691 | 1,329,907 | 6,288 | 23,165,719 | 26,293,394 |
| Jan-16* | 1,503,635 | 45,342 | 215,558 | 22,197 | 1,356,578 | 6,467 | 24,709,975 | 27,859,752 |
| Feb-16** | 1,516,938 | 44,136 | 207,496 | 22,786 | 1,331,976 | 6,592 | 26,193,291 | 29,323,215 |
| Mar-16** | 1,516,938 | 44,136 | 207,496 | 22,786 | 1,331,976 | 6,592 | 27,866,371 | 30,996,295 |
Note: *DSL, HFC, WiMax, FTTH, EvDO and others are as of Dec 2015
Note: **DSL, HFC, WiMax, FTTH, EvDo and others are As of Dec 2015
