ISLAMABAD: Expanding mobile network coverage alone will not bridge Pakistan’s digital divide unless accompanied by affordable smartphones, accessible financing and meaningful digital services, while the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks creating new inequalities, particularly for women and underserved communities.
These concerns were highlighted by Mudassir Hussain, Head of Public Policy & Regulatory Affairs at JazzWorld, and Fatima Akhtar, Vice President Communications & ESG at JazzWorld, during separate panel discussions at the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) Symposium on Digital Transformation and the Universal Service Fund.
Speaking during a session titled “Financing and Regulation for Affordable Access,” Hussain said Pakistan needs to move beyond measuring digital inclusion primarily through network coverage and focus on whether people can afford smartphones, access mobile broadband regularly and derive practical benefits from digital services.
The panel also featured Hannan Tariq, Director of Strategy at USF; Tshering Dema of Bhutan’s Government Technology Agency; Gabrielle Iglesias of the APNIC Foundation; Nasruminallah Mian of the Asian Development Bank; and Asif Jafri, Founder and CEO of Kistpay. Discussions covered public-private partnerships, development financing, regulatory reforms and the evolving role of universal service mechanisms in improving digital affordability.
He identified service costs, network availability, device affordability and the usefulness of connectivity as interconnected factors determining digital participation. Despite expanding mobile coverage, affordability constraints continue to prevent many Pakistanis from using mobile broadband, particularly in underserved communities.
Hussain highlighted smartphone financing as a critical challenge, noting that conventional lending models often exclude individuals without documented incomes or formal credit histories. He called for enabling regulatory frameworks for instalment-based device financing, supported by risk-sharing arrangements, insurance mechanisms and targeted subsidies to make smartphones more accessible.
He also emphasised the need to expand the role of the Universal Service Fund (USF) beyond infrastructure deployment to support affordable connectivity, digital skills and meaningful internet adoption, particularly in commercially underserved areas.
At a separate panel titled “Bridging the Gender Digital Divide: From Access to Empowerment,” Fatima Akhtar warned that the emergence of AI could create a new digital divide if women and marginalised communities are unable to access or benefit from the technology.
The panel, moderated by Saira Faisal of GSMA Pakistan, included Sonia Jorge of the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership, Nadia Tariq Ali of UNDP Pakistan and Fareeha Umar of UN Women. Participants discussed barriers to women’s digital participation, including smartphone ownership, digital literacy, online safety and access to economic opportunities.
She pointed to Pakistan’s progress in narrowing the mobile internet usage gap from 25 percent to 8 percent, attributing the improvement to coordinated efforts by telecom operators, the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, PTA and USF. However, she stressed that expanding connectivity alone would not be sufficient to ensure meaningful participation in an increasingly AI-driven economy.
Akhtar advocated the development of accessible, application-level AI solutions that address everyday needs and overcome literacy and digital skills barriers. She cited voice-enabled AI applications as an example of how women with limited digital literacy could access health education and other essential information without navigating complex, text-heavy interfaces.
The discussions highlighted two emerging priorities for Pakistan’s digital inclusion efforts: making existing connectivity affordable and useful for underserved populations, while ensuring that advances in AI do not deepen inequalities in access to technology and economic opportunity.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026