Amortized over 100m customers, in a country where network engineers can be found for $250/month, they're pretty close to free.
It's easy to underestimate how profitable it is to run a telco
It's easy to underestimate how profitable it is to run a telco
This is why most countries have only a few "real" operators that own and operate infra, and tons of virtual operators (MVNO) that run on top of others' gear.
Though my thinking is when selling censorship equipment to a country, you probably charge a country like .pk more because you know they'll find a way to pay for best-in-class.