Facebook, Nayatel partner to invest in fiber networks in Pakistan

Facebook has partnered with internet service provider Nayatel to invest in fiber networks that will bring improved internet speeds to Pakistan. The network will cover eight big cities over the next two years.

A press release by Nayatel said that it will build, maintain and operate the infrastructure and Facebook will invest in the fiber build and support network planning.

“This high-speed fiber will connect thousands of sites by 2022, and improve capacity and the geographical reach of internet access to approximately 10 to 15 million people across 8 major cities in Pakistan,” it said.

This initiative is the first of its kind for Facebook in Pakistan and is part of a broader strategy to invest in the country and improve connectivity in the region, the press release said.

“Presently only 6% of Pakistan’s cell sites (telecom towers) are connected to fiber optic as compared to 70 to 80% in the rest of the world,” said Wahaj-us-Siraj, CEO Naya Tel. “This is one of the main bottlenecks in providing quality internet service.”

“Cellular companies use wireless network as backhaul instead of fiber optic because of high cost. Since the spectrum and bandwidth are limited, quality of service suffers,” he added.

“Existing infrastructure was okay for GSM and 3G service but it started choking when 4G rolled out. Now as the country is moving towards 5G, it needs fiber connectivity. This project will offer fiber connectivity with lower cost and help improve internet speed,” said Siraj.