Price per GB
$1.44
Median mid-tier catalogue price.
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Urban 4G decent; northern mountains very limited.
Pakistan runs on 4G; there is no public 5G yet, only city trials by Jazz and Zong. Speeds are modest by regional standards, with Zong fastest at around 17 Mbps and Jazz close behind. Jazz has the widest coverage and best 4G availability at around 93.5%. The big gap is the mountainous north: coverage in rural and high-altitude areas like Gilgit-Baltistan and the Karakoram is patchy, and Telenor or Jazz are the networks most likely to reach there. Coverage is reliable across Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and the main routes, but plan for dead zones in the northern mountains where many travellers head.
Typical local SIM: $Very cheap: a SIM costs 1 to 5 USD and data packs are inexpensive. Local prices are far below travel-eSIM rates.. Usually sold at Airport arrival counters at Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, and operator franchises. Pakistan requires biometric SIM registration with your passport and a fingerprint scan, so a local SIM cannot be set up entirely online.. Pakistan's biometric SIM registration is the catch: you must register in person with your passport and a fingerprint, which can be slow for visitors. A travel eSIM avoids that entirely and works on landing. For travel to the northern mountains (Hunza, Skardu, the Karakoram Highway), Telenor or Jazz are the networks that reach, and even they thin out at altitude.
For a city trip, a travel eSIM is the no-friction pick: it skips the biometric registration and works from touchdown. For the northern mountains or long stays, a local Telenor or Jazz SIM gives the best reach at very low cost, though signal still drops at altitude.
The largest operator with the widest coverage and best 4G availability (around 93.5%), plus the best video experience. The safest all-round choice and the strongest in Punjab and Sindh villages. Discontinued 3G in late 2024 to boost 4G. 5G is trial-only in cities.
The speed leader: fastest average download in the country (around 17 Mbps) and the best pick if you want the quickest data in cities. Coverage is good but Jazz edges it on rural reach. Also running 5G city trials.
The strongest in the remote north (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan), which matters if you travel to Hunza, Skardu or the mountains. Speeds are modest but its rural reach in the north is unmatched.
you want to land connected without Pakistan's mandatory biometric SIM registration, which needs an in-person passport and fingerprint check that can slow visitors down.
you stay a while and want the very low local prices, and you do not mind the biometric registration. For the northern mountains, a Telenor or Jazz SIM is the network most likely to reach.
No first-hand measurement has been published for Pakistan yet. This page will update automatically when a validated field test is added to the shared dataset.
Price per GB is the median of mid-tier plans from the live Pakistan catalogue. Network and transparency indicators come from the shared Drift dataset and are refreshed monthly.
Field measurements are published only after validation. Open dataset: data-asia.json.
Figures updated August 2026. Dataset license: CC BY 4.0.