Pakistan has imported around $4.377 billion mobile phone handsets and other telecom apparatus during last five years with telecom imports of $1.331 billion only in 2007-08, the most promising year for the sector. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in its year 2012 report has revealed that the country imported mobile phone handsets with battery of US $ Dollar 1.428 billion and other telecom apparatus worth $2.949 billion. It said during 2012, total telecom imports in the country reached $954 million, showing a sharp rise of 24.5 percent over the previous year. This increase in total telecom imports is due to a sharp rise in imports of cellular mobile handsets in the country, which have reached $465.3 million in 2012 compared to $218.2 million in 2011, registering a growth of 113 percent. This fresh rise in the import of cell phones is due to an increasing demand for less costly Chinese mobile handsets while cellular subscribers have reached 120 million and an increasing demand for expensive smart phones in the country.
