Cellphone users reach 65 million
ISLMABAD (October 05 2007): The country is making remarkable progress in the field of information technology (IT) as the number of mobile phone users increased from 2.4 million in 2002 to 65 million in 2007, Federal Minister for IT, Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari, said here on Thursday.
The minister was addressing an MoU signing ceremony of Universal Service Fund (USF). The MoU was signed between Chief Executive of Telenor, Toray Johnson, and the Chief Executive of USF, Pervaiz Iftikhar. While Hifzur Rehman, the Secretary of IT, also attended the ceremony.
The minister said that in order to spread the benefits of the telecom revolution to all corners of Pakistan, USF aims at promoting telecommunication services in un-served and under-served areas throughout the country, to make available affordable voice telephony and basic data services to greater proportions of the country’s population. As compared to the former governments, the present government has made access to telecommunication services possible for common man, he added.
During the past five years, access to abundant telecommunication services has led to economic progress and prosperity the minister said and added that deregulation of the telecom sector has attracted large-scale foreign direct investment (FDI).
He said that the IT sector is progressing rapidly through ever-increasing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and software development. The minister said that in the rural areas where the telecom service was not available earlier, USF after joining hands with the government, would make the telecom services accessible to common man.
The minister told the gathering that the World Bank has offered loan for this project. Pervaiz Iftikhar said that USF aims to improve the broadband penetration in the country. “In case of broadband, the target areas will be whole of Pakistan not just rural”, he disclosed. The USF will handle all the responsibilities in a transparent and efficient manner, he added.
He said that as it concerns the access to telecom services in remote areas of Pakistan, USF is going to provide these services in Malakand division first of all. “Within a period of 4-5 months, the services will be made available in 30-40 areas those where the access to these services was not possible before”, he said.
Source: Business Recorder
Date:10/5/2007
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