PTA focuses on proliferation of broadband internet services

[Naveed Yaseen]

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Dr. Muhammad Yaseen has said that data usage is increasing in Pakistan and proliferation of broadband services will help establish Information Society. He was talking in a seminar on The Future of Mobile Communications in Pakistan.

Chairman PTA said that for mobile phone industry future direction could be value addition and innovation in services including mobile commerce, video streaming, and high speed mobile internet.

He said presently broadband costs are high in the country but broadband usage was showing growth in the recent quarter. He said that PTA has carried out surveys to know the socio economic impact of mobile phone, which revealed that with the introduction of mobile communications productivity has increased significantly.

He said that the spectacular rise of telecom industry in Pakistan and especially the mobile sector has been the focus of attention. The sector has exhibited a growth rate of around 40 per cent over the previous year.

The mobile subscriber base has crossed the 90 million mark while still adding around 2 million subscribers each month and the growth trend continues. Today mobile coverage is available to over 90 per cent of the population and with implementation of upcoming technology the services will be available to almost entire population.

Chairman PTA said that our focus is on the proliferation of broadband services in the country at affordable rates. The Authority is aware of the developments taking place worldwide in the 3G mobile communications (mobile broadband).

He said China has recently launched 3G services whereas other small countries in our region like Sri Lanka and Nepal have also launched 3G services. India has also announced guidelines on 3G licensing and would soon be auctioning the 3G spectrum. “We have the spectrum earmarked, and all the ground work is completed. PTA will soon be inviting applications for 3G spectrum auction. He said that Ministry of IT&T is being consulted on the final procedures of 3G licensing.

He said that availability of the 3G spectrum would help the operators increase their capacity and revenues by deploying state of the art technology whereas the users would enjoy high quality mobile broadband services enabling them to avail facilities of video telephony, high speed, internet, video streaming, high quality mobile TV and a number of value added services.

Dr. Yaseen said that the Pakistan Telecom Authority has been very sensitive towards the need of creating an enabling environment for the private sector so that the industry may expand and the consumers reap the benefits of good quality of services at low tariffs. He thanked the government and Minister for IT& T for their support to the industry.

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