Pakistan’s digital innovation frontrunner, Zong 4G, has become the first Pakistani operator to make the country’s pioneering 5G NSA call between Beijing and Islamabad in collaboration with Beijing Mobile. Minister of IT & Telecom Syed Amin Ul Haque experienced the 5G call in person.
The test call was in continuation of CMPak’s network transformation and digitization efforts and is a testament to the company’s technological superiority and leadership. The successful call lays the foundation for optimizing the user experience of a 5G commercial device user and solidifies Zong’s leadership role in technological advancement and taking the local digital ecosystem towards maturation.
5G NSA (Non-Standalone Access) typically relies on the 4G network facilities to provide more speed and higher data bandwidth. A 5G-enabled smartphone can connect to 5G or 4G network depending on conditions.
One of the mobile phones used in the test call was placed at Zong Headquarters, Islamabad while the other was placed at China Mobile Communication Corporation, Beijing. During the call, both the voice and video qualities were recorded to be excellent and the call remained completely uninterrupted.“We congratulate Zong on placing the country’s very first international 5G call to Beijing,” said Amin Ul Haque. “We’re pleased how Zong is helping Pakistan enter the era of future ICT technologies including 5G. It’s through disruptive measures like these that we can live the dream of Digital Pakistan and reduce the inclusion gaps.”
“It’s a momentous occasion in our network transformation journey and shows our unfaltering commitment to advancing Pakistan into the digital future through the state-of-the-art network. Being the No.1 data network of Pakistan with the widest coverage we are committed in our resolve to provide our customers with state-of-the-art communication and digital experience.” Said Zong Chairman & CEO Wang Hua. “5G is close to being deployed on a large scale globally, and its commercialization is steadily advancing. Our 5G test call takes Pakistan one step closer to the 5G era where possibilities are endless for the users.”
Zong has been at the forefront of digital transformation in the country. The company made accelerated progress towards 5G testing in Pakistan becoming the first company to successfully test 5G services in Pakistan last year. Zong is backed by China Mobile Communications Company, the world’s largest telecommunication company with over 188,000 5G base stations in over 50 cities in China.
