Pakistan’s 5G race just got faster. Zong, the China Mobile subsidiary, has announced a mega investment programme to upgrade more than 1,000 of its mobile sites to 5G technology across Pakistan during 2026, one of the largest single-operator 5G commitments announced in the country so far.
The announcement came at an exclusive media gathering in Karachi, where Zong’s Deputy Director of Corporate Brand Communications and Sustainability, Saira Mirza, laid out the company’s next phase of 5G expansion. The plan follows the operator’s acquisition of its 5G licence earlier this year and positions Zong to accelerate Pakistan’s transition towards next-generation mobile connectivity.
What Zong Announced: 1,000+ Sites in 2026
Under the programme, Zong will upgrade over 1,000 existing sites to 5G across Pakistan during 2026. The company’s commercial 5G footprint already covers Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta, and the new investment deepens coverage within and beyond these cities.
Technical trials run by the operator have recorded speeds above 1.4 gigabits per second with ultra-low latency, according to the company — figures shared with the media at the Karachi briefing. Those are trial results under test conditions, not the speeds subscribers experience on commercial networks today.
Zong positioned the investment as a contribution to Pakistan’s digital infrastructure, linking it to the government’s Digital Pakistan vision, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) agenda and the country’s Vision 2030 development framework.
AI-Enabled Network: Smarter, Not Just Faster
A notable part of the announcement is Zong’s use of artificial intelligence to run its network. The company says AI is increasingly being used to optimise network performance, detect problems early and improve energy efficiency across thousands of sites.
In Islamabad, Zong reported a 39 percent improvement in peak-hour throughput after deploying AI-enabled network capabilities — one of the first concrete performance figures shared by a Pakistani operator for AI-driven network optimisation. The company credits China Mobile’s global research and development capabilities for its increasingly AI-enabled network.
What It Means for Customers: 5G Home Broadband and New Services
For consumers, Zong says it is developing a new generation of 5G-based products and services. On the list: 5G fixed wireless access — essentially home broadband delivered over the 5G network instead of cables — plus gaming and streaming bundles, cloud storage, AI-assisted services and smart-home products.
Fixed wireless access is likely to be the first service many households encounter, since it needs no fibre installation and can reach areas where wired broadband is limited. Gaming and streaming bundles aimed at younger users are also part of the planned offering.
Context: Pakistan’s 5G Rollout So Far
The announcement lands in a fast-moving 5G market. Pakistan’s largest-ever spectrum auction in March 2026 sold 480 MHz of frequencies for $509 million, and operators have since deployed 5G at more than 1,700 sites across 24 major cities — 1,015 of them on Jazz’s network, 640 on Zong’s and 127 on Ufone’s, according to industry reporting from October.
Zong’s 1,000-plus site upgrade programme would represent a major expansion of its share of the footprint. As the upgrade rolls out, subscribers can expect denser 5G coverage in cities already live — and more cities joining the 5G map through 2026.
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