Fiber optic is slowly but surely becoming available in Islamabad (not sure about other cities). Right now, several sectors in Islamabad have fiber optic cables, just call up your exchange and get a number. People in sectors that don't have fiber optics yet will have to wait a year or so, but this does not mean they cant support a 4mbps connection. The ultimate determinant of whether or not you can support a 4mbps connection are the SNR and attenuation values, which you can find in your router. A good, clean set up with copper wiring and a less than ludicrous distance from your exchange should pretty much ensure your line will be able to handle 4mbps.
I googled a bit out of curiosity, and discovered that my line, despite being copper, can actually support a 12mbps connection. So don't worry too much.
Actually, if someone here has a fiber optic line, please go into your routers setup and post your SNR and attenuation values here. It'll quench my curiosity once and for all!
I also doube a Rs500 package will be introduced, above all PTCL wants to make money, and while a Rs500 package might increase the number of subscribers by a bit, it'll cut deep into profits. Think about it: people who get broadband are generally people who use computers a lot, play games etc, and these people can generally afford to pay Rs.1000/month.
Pretty sure if this does happen, it'll happen like last time, ie charges will remain static while the speed for each package will double.
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I found a page that will let you estimate the max speed your line can support:
http://212.23.23.177/ADSL/default.aspx
It requires you to enter 3 values: downstream SNR, downstream attenuation, and sync rate (also known as line rate). You can find these values in your routers setup. This page wont estimate speeds greater than 8mbps, but thats irrelevant since most of you will be checking it out for 4mbps anyway.
. But I haven't heard this "RUMOR".
