USF Crosses $1 Billion in Subsidies Across 158 Projects

Pakistan’s Universal Service Fund (USF) has crossed $1 billion in deployed, contracted subsidies, with $1.054 billion spread across 158 connectivity projects, according to IT and Telecommunication Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja. She announced the figures at the opening session of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) Symposium on Digital Transformation and the Universal Service Fund in Islamabad. The projects have extended broadband access, optical fibre backbones and next-generation mobile coverage to more than 38.4 million people in previously unserved and underserved areas of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and interior Sindh.

Where USF Is Heading

• Beyond towers: The Ministry of IT and USF are moving from conventional cellular towers and older 2G/3G services toward gigabit optical fibre, satellite networks and infrastructure that can withstand climate shocks.

• Satellite internet framework: Officials confirmed the satellite internet regulatory framework is in its final stages. Once approved, it will open the way for low-earth-orbit satellite networks to bring broadband to areas where laying fibre is not economically or geographically practical.

• Device affordability: USF and the ministry are speeding up buy-now-pay-later smartphone financing to lower hardware costs for rural households, and aligning infrastructure planning with rural digital literacy and localised AI-driven services.

The Symposium

International delegates, regional regulators and telecom executives are meeting in Islamabad through October 15 to discuss regional approaches to universal service reform.