Internet bandwidth charges being cut drastically
KARACHI- The government is all set to announce a drastic reduction of between 50% and 90% in bandwidth charges as well as substantial increase in the Internet bandwidth capacity, said Attaur Rehman, Federal Minister for Science and Technology said.
“On Nov 21 at a press conference we are announcing a reduction in bandwidth charges for software companies and educational institutions from the present US $32,000 per megabyte (MB) to just $3,000 while for the Internet Service Providers (ISPS) the reduction will be over 50% from $32,000 to just $15,000 per (MB) Rehman told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar, “E-commerce Enablement for Pakistani Banks” Task Force by the State Bank’s Task Force on IT at the Habib Bank head office.
He said the government had already finalised talks with various international companies in USA and Singapore to increase the bandwidth capacity, announcement of which will also be made on 21st.
On a question whether there would he any incentive for financial institutions, Rehman said financial institutions would also be charged $15,000 per MB if they themselves become ISP to link their branches.
Rehman told banks to submit their 18-month IT plans within a week to his ministry. He said the plans should also contain quarterly goals. He said the current e-commerce business amounts to $17 billion, which would go up to $1.2 trillion within two years and between $3-4 trillion within four years.
State Bank of Pakistan Governor Ishrat Hussain said the central bank was ready to extend all help to banks to develop their IT plans, which would go a long way in reducing the current high intermediation cost. “I win judge the success of the Task Force on the basis of results achieved by the banks,” Hussain said.
Source: The News
Date:11/18/2000
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