# Pakistan Telecom and IT updates



## ghazi52

*Mobile internet subscribers reach record high*

ISLAMABAD (APP): The number of mobile internet subscribers reached a record 40.56 million by the end of April 2017, according to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). Pakistan is also one of many developing countries where the usage of internet is rising day by day. People across the country use mobile internet to connect to their family and friends via big social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Mobile internet users in the country have grown significantly in the numbers and reached a record 40.56 million active mobile internet users by the end of April 2017, an official told APP. He said, "29% of mobile phone users are now internet users as well. They were standing at 22% by the end of the previous fiscal year in June 2016". On an average, the number of mobile internet subscriptions stood at 976,600 per month compared to mobile subscriptions at 703,617 per month in the past 10 months, according to PTA.

Moreover, Ministry of Information and Technology has recently sought approval from the Federal cabinet to roll out 5G services in the country. The step is taken in a bid to promote and improve 5G services in Pakistan.

This approval will allow the Ministry of Information and Technology to test the latest technology in mobile communications in Pakistan.

Keeping in view the increase in mobile internet users, the government has reduced custom duty on smartphones to promote the usage of the smartphones and internet which could ensure a new era of evolution in the country.
__________________

Reactions: Like Like:
5


----------



## ghazi52

*Ride-Hailing Services: Help increase mobile internet usage*

ISLAMABAD: Ride-hailing services Uber and Careem have contributed to an increase in the number of mobile internet subscribers since their drivers need to remain online during their hours of duty and for that they need mobile data. 

Further increase in the number of drivers and users will lead to increased mobile internet usage. “In line with our vision to improve and simplify the lives of people, we want to bring technological and financial inclusion in addition to enhanced learning for the masses,” said Careem’s manager in Islamabad. 

Pakistan is one of the fastest growing mobile internet markets amongst developing countries. According to the PTA, the number of mobile internet subscribers reached a record 40.56 million by the end of April 2017 which represents 29% of all mobile phone users in the country.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*Pakistan Gets New Submarine Cable with Design Capacity of 40 TBs per Second*


Pakistan is now connected with a new submarine cable system with design capacity of at least 40 Terabits per second across 5 fiber pairs as AAE-1 (also called Asia-Africa-Europe-1) announced the commencement of its operations just moments ago.

AAE-1 is worlds largest submarine cable spanning over 25,000 KMs and is one of the first cable system to connect Hong Kong, Singapore, Middle East with Africa and Europe.

AAE-1 consortium, that coordinated efforts to complete the project in 10 years, include China Unicom, CIL (HyalRoute), Djibouti Telecom, Etisalat, GT5L, Mobily, Omantel, Ooredoo, OTEG, PCCW, PTCL, Reliance Jio, Retelit, Telecom Egypt, TeleYemen, TOT, Viettel, VNPT and VTC.

In Pakistan, the cable will be operated and managed by PTCL.

AAE-1 will immediately increase Pakistan’s international bandwidth pipe multiple-folds and will make country’s international connection more redundant.

New submarine cable will also help Pakistan meet its bandwidth needs as the internet usage in the country is on the rise.

*Pakistan’s current international links and bandwidth capacity include:*

TW1 with design capacity of 1.28Tbps
Sea-Me-We-3 with 480 Gbps with two fibre pairs
Sea-Me-We-4 with design capacity of 1.28Tbps
I-ME-WE with Design Capacity of 3.86Tbps
AAE-1 with design capacity of 40Tbps
Sea-Me-We-5 with design capacity of 24Tbps

Following international links with landing points in Pakistan are *under construction:*

Silk Route Gateway-1 with design capacity of 20Tbps
Pakistan-China Fiber Optic Back-Haul

https://propakistani.pk/2017/06/29/p...bs-per-second/






Pakistan has now been connected to a new submarine cable network, AAE-1, that links different countries in Asia, Africa and Europe.

The Asia-Africa-Europe-1 internet system has launched operations with connecting countries from Europe to the Far East, the AAE-1 consortium has announced. The internet infrastructure is supported by a 25,000-kilometer submarine cable system which is being called the world’s largest submarine cable system built in more than a decade. The cable is being termed as the first such cable to connect countries in major Asian, African, Middle Eastern and European regions. The cable has a total of 21 international terminal stations of which 19 are now connected.

Being commissioned, the cable now provides the lowest latency express route for internet connecting more than a dozen countries in three continents. The underwater cable will have a route from Hong Kong and Vietnam in the far east, connecting, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Greece, Italy and all the way to France in Europe.

The AAE-1 consortium is collaborating with different internet services providers in these countries including China Unicom, CIL (HyalRoute), Djibouti Telecom, Etisalat, GT5L, Mobily, Omantel, Ooredoo, OTEG, PCCW, Reliance Jio, Retelit, Telecom Egypt, TeleYemen, TOT, Viettel, VNPT and VTC. From Pakistan, PTCL is a part of the consortium. Right now this cable has the most highest design capacity that connects Pakistan with the outside world.

The cable has a minimum design capacity of 40 terabytes per second across 5 fiber pairs. Initially being designed on 100 gigabit per second technology, the cable can be upgraded to higher bandwidths in future.

Reactions: Like Like:
6


----------



## Major Sam

ghazi52 said:


> *Pakistan Gets New Submarine Cable with Design Capacity of 40 TBs per Second*
> 
> 
> Pakistan is now connected with a new submarine cable system with design capacity of at least 40 Terabits per second across 5 fiber pairs as AAE-1 (also called Asia-Africa-Europe-1) announced the commencement of its operations just moments ago.
> 
> AAE-1 is worlds largest submarine cable spanning over 25,000 KMs and is one of the first cable system to connect Hong Kong, Singapore, Middle East with Africa and Europe.
> 
> AAE-1 consortium, that coordinated efforts to complete the project in 10 years, include China Unicom, CIL (HyalRoute), Djibouti Telecom, Etisalat, GT5L, Mobily, Omantel, Ooredoo, OTEG, PCCW, PTCL, Reliance Jio, Retelit, Telecom Egypt, TeleYemen, TOT, Viettel, VNPT and VTC.
> 
> In Pakistan, the cable will be operated and managed by PTCL.
> 
> AAE-1 will immediately increase Pakistan’s international bandwidth pipe multiple-folds and will make country’s international connection more redundant.
> 
> New submarine cable will also help Pakistan meet its bandwidth needs as the internet usage in the country is on the rise.
> 
> *Pakistan’s current international links and bandwidth capacity include:*
> 
> TW1 with design capacity of 1.28Tbps
> Sea-Me-We-3 with 480 Gbps with two fibre pairs
> Sea-Me-We-4 with design capacity of 1.28Tbps
> I-ME-WE with Design Capacity of 3.86Tbps
> AAE-1 with design capacity of 40Tbps
> Sea-Me-We-5 with design capacity of 24Tbps
> 
> Following international links with landing points in Pakistan are *under construction:*
> 
> Silk Route Gateway-1 with design capacity of 20Tbps
> Pakistan-China Fiber Optic Back-Haul
> 
> https://propakistani.pk/2017/06/29/p...bs-per-second/
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pakistan has now been connected to a new submarine cable network, AAE-1, that links different countries in Asia, Africa and Europe.
> 
> The Asia-Africa-Europe-1 internet system has launched operations with connecting countries from Europe to the Far East, the AAE-1 consortium has announced. The internet infrastructure is supported by a 25,000-kilometer submarine cable system which is being called the world’s largest submarine cable system built in more than a decade. The cable is being termed as the first such cable to connect countries in major Asian, African, Middle Eastern and European regions. The cable has a total of 21 international terminal stations of which 19 are now connected.
> 
> Being commissioned, the cable now provides the lowest latency express route for internet connecting more than a dozen countries in three continents. The underwater cable will have a route from Hong Kong and Vietnam in the far east, connecting, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Greece, Italy and all the way to France in Europe.
> 
> The AAE-1 consortium is collaborating with different internet services providers in these countries including China Unicom, CIL (HyalRoute), Djibouti Telecom, Etisalat, GT5L, Mobily, Omantel, Ooredoo, OTEG, PCCW, Reliance Jio, Retelit, Telecom Egypt, TeleYemen, TOT, Viettel, VNPT and VTC. From Pakistan, PTCL is a part of the consortium. Right now this cable has the most highest design capacity that connects Pakistan with the outside world.
> 
> The cable has a minimum design capacity of 40 terabytes per second across 5 fiber pairs. Initially being designed on 100 gigabit per second technology, the cable can be upgraded to higher bandwidths in future.


@Nilgiri @UKBengali what is total bandwidth use by India and Bangladesh?

i mean internet capacity.


----------



## Nilgiri

Major Sam said:


> @Nilgiri @UKBengali what is total bandwidth use by India and Bangladesh?
> 
> i mean internet capacity.



Check these places for some info:

http://www.itu.int/net4/ITU-D/idi/2016/#idi2016countrycard-tab&AFG

Full report at: http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/publications/misr2016/MISR2016-w4.pdf

Internet data visualisation:

https://www.akamai.com/us/en/about/our-thinking/state-of-the-internet-report/

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Number of mobile broadband users reaches 41.8 million*

ISLAMABAD (APP): Number of mobile broadband users (3G & 4G Internet) has almost touched 41.8 million mark till May 2017, registering an increase of 1.16 million subscribers during one month. The number of mobile broadband users, which was 40.57 million till April this year, has reached 41.8 million. Statistics issued by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Thursday revealed that since launch of such services three years back, the number of such subscribers is showing a reasonable growth with each passing month. In January this year, the number of 3G and 4G users was 38.3 million while nearly 37.574m mobile internet users were found to have been using data connections in Dec 2016. As per statistics, Jazz subscribers stood at 12.5m 3G users and Jazz LTE 895,483 users by end of May 2017. The 3G subscribers of Zong have now extended to 8.67 million and 3.82 4G users by end of May 2017. The number of Telenor 3G subscribers was 10.473 million and 519,788 4G users till the period mentioned above.

An increase has also been observed in Ufone subscribers base, reaching 4.83 million 3G users by May 2017 from 4.74 million till April this year.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

Pakistan's largest Telecommunications Company Jazz has paid the full licence fee plus taxes worth $330 Million for the 4G Spectrum which it has been awarded.






__ https://www.facebook.com/

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*SCO all set for 3G, 4G service in AJK*


MIRPUR - The official telecom service provider has set to connect Azad Jammu & Kashmir with rest of the world through fast-speed telecom service of 3G and 4G strength to facilitate the users of the telecom products.

Special Communications Organisation (SCO) Acting Commanding Officer Major Tariq Bangish disclosed this while launching the S-Load - the pre-paid Super Card for the facility of its valued customers for swift recharge of their cell phone - in his office here on Saturday. Major Bangish told journalists that the SCO successfully completed the experiment of the execution and use of the fast-pace 3G and 4G internet service in AJK including in all three districts of Mirpur division.

He underlined that free experimental swift internet service at the 3G and 4G was provided to the subscribers of the SCO’s telecom products for past two weeks in Mirpur and various other parts of AJK till June 30. He said that the swift internet service at 3G, 4G strength would be available to the telephone/internet users in AJK soon after the final and formal approval by the concerned telephone authorities of the government of Pakistan - likely to be in the near future, he added.

Elaborating the phased upgradation of the existing 2G to 3G and 4G domain in Mirpur division, he said that in phase-I of the upgradation plan, 17 out of 41 sites were upgraded to 3G and 4G by March 31. The upgraded sites including 6 in Mirpur city, 3 in Dadayal city, 3 sites in Kotli city and rest of the sites in Bhimbher, Dhanderkot, Brnala, Islamagarh and Chaksawari towns.

The SCO’s acting divisional chief said that in 2nd phase, 24 remaining sites and 20 additional sites would be upgraded to 3G and 4G strength in Mirpur, Bhimbher and Kotli city. And in phase-III 47 new sites would be brought in to being in Mirpur division to facilitate maximum of the users of the SCOs telecom products, he added. Referring to the newly-launched Super Card - the S-Load for quick recharge of the cell service of SCOM, he said that the SCOM users would be able to recharge through the Super Card worth Rs300 and Rs500 for 15 days and one month, respectively.


http://nation.com.pk/business/02-Jul...service-in-ajk

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*ITU To Host ICTD Pakistan 2017 Conference in Lahore*

The Information Technology University will host the 9th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD) Pakistan 2017 in Lahore from 16th to 19th November this year.

At the ICTD, researchers and practitioners can present their work and avail the opportunity to network with more professionals in related fields.

July 14, 2017 has been set as the deadline for the submission of short papers. Those who qualify will be given the opportunity to present their notes at the conference. Their presentations will also be made available in the ACM Digital Library.

The ICTD is a research conference that explores the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in global development. The conference reflects the multidisciplinary and multi sectorial nature of ICTD work, with representation from a broad range of areas (anthropology, communication, computer science, design, economics, electrical engineering, geography, global health, information science, political science, sociology, and many others), as well as participation from academia, industry, civil society, and government.

The Information Technology University (ITU) and the Punjab IT Board (PITB) have been developing, testing and scaling up ICT applications in areas of healthcare, education, agriculture and livestock, and governance.The last decade has proven very significant in terms of progress for the IT industry in Pakistan. With the opening of incubators, accelerators and angel funding networks, there has been an exponential growth in tech startups coming out of Pakistan and raising venture funding from abroad.

Since 2006, ICTD conferences have been held at Berkeley, CA (USA), Bangalore (India), Doha (Qatar), London (United Kingdom), Atlanta, GA (USA), Cape Town, (South Africa), Singapore and Ann Arbor, MI (USA).

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

Telenor Headquarter in final stages at Gulberg Greens Islamabad.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*Tax exemptions on IT exports to promote sector*


ISLAMABAD: The federal government has extended exemption of taxes on exports of information technology (IT) products and services till June 2019 in federal budget 2017-18.

Government sources said that the exemption on (IT) exports is meant to incentive expansion and growth of the IT industry which can usher Pakistan into a new age of technological advancement.

Over the last few years, the Ministry of IT and Telecom (MOIT) has taken several initiatives for the development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) especially in areas such as access, skills, marketing and governance in pursuit of a ‘Digital Pakistan’, a Ministry of IT official said.

“MOIT has successfully created an enabling environment where citizens, companies and the government become technology enabled to avail opportunities being presented by the ‘4th Industrial revolution’,” the official added.

Every year, MOIT works with the Ministry of Finance, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and other agencies to introduce incentives and initiatives that can increase the pace of Pakistan’s transformation into a knowledge economy.

It is pertinent to mention that the federal excise duty on telecommunication services has been reduced from 18.5% to 17%, in the recently announced federal budget. Similarly, sales tax on sales of smart phones has been reduced from Rs1000 to Rs650 per set, while customs duties on imports of telecom equipment have almost halved from 16% to 9%.

Mobile phone subscribers have also been provided relief in the form of a 1.5% reduction in withholding income tax, from 14% to 12.5%. Recent skills advancement initiatives taken by the ministry include an ICT4Girls programme targeting thousands of school girls and a soon-to-be-launched programme for freelancers with a total capacity of over a million.


http://dailytimes.com.pk/pakistan/06...promote-sector

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*Capital to have state-of-the-art IT Park by 2020*


ISLAMABAD - The federal capital will have Information Technology (IT) Park by 2020 as a new state-of-the-art facility is being established to facilitate the sector.

The IT Park, being established under financing from Korea Exim Bank through Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), spreads over an area of 47.7 acres of land. The cost estimate for first phase is $88.25 million for which loan agreement has already been signed. Sources at Ministry of IT on Saturday said that Software Technology Parks (STPs) are a major factor in facilitating IT companies and play a major role in development of the IT industry.

The construction of IT Park is being done in two phases on 14.9 acres of land. It merits mentioned here that work on IT Parks in Lahore and Karachi would also be started soon. Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) has leased about 45 acres of land in Chak Shahzad, Islamabad to build state-of-the-art IT Park.

PSEB is mandated to facilitate Pakistani IT industry and increase exports of software and services from Pakistan. One of the major functions of PSEB is to set up and operate IT parks and provide conducive and enabling infrastructure for the development of IT industry.

PSEB has been conducting surveys periodically since 2004, the survey results indicate that absence of IT parks as one of the top three concerns of IT industry. Besides providing office space to IT companies,

IT Parks are necessary for creating a platform for information exchange and linkage between academia, industry and the government. IT Parks not only prove to be ideal research and development centres but also provide enormous boost to national economy; proven examples include IT parks in China and South Korea.

http://nation.com.pk/business/09-Jul...t-park-by-2020

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*Broadband subscribers cross 44.32 million*

ISLAMABAD (APP): The total broadband subscribers, including for 3G and 4G services, have crossed around 44.32 million mark in the country, registering a reasonable growth rate with each passing month. 

As per latest figures issued by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), major contribution has been made in shape of 3G and 4G subscribers by mobile phone operators which reached 41.73 million by May this year. 

The number of broadband subscribers in other technologies included DSL 1,531,428, HFC 52,096, Wimax 171,011, FTTH 42,611, EvDO 786,211 and other 9,264 subscribers. 

Experts of telecom industry are having a viewpoint that portable mobile broadband devices like MiFi and Wingles are one of the main reasons of this growth in 3G/4G subscribers and many more will follow this trend in upcoming days. 

Meanwhile, the country's largest mobile phone operator, Mobilink has overtaken its competitors to become the number-one 3G/4G player after official figures were released by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## Affan-khan

why Telenor Zong Mobilink and Ufone are not allowed to start 3g 4g service in AJK and GB. depend on SCO to provide these services will take few more years.


----------



## ghazi52

*Zong Captures Over 75% of 4G Market in Pakistan*

While telecom companies are struggling on the financial front with declining margins and diluted usage (thanks to OTT services), Zong is gearing up with its 4G offerings to place itself as the top data network in the country.

Zong has apparently realized that telecom operators can’t race with OTT services — especially for basic telephony such as voice and SMS — but instead they can work on strengthening their infrastructure to become first choice operator for any OTT user.

This is usually possible only when you are able to meet bandwidth demands with high speed and reliability.

Zong has, for this purpose, made sufficient investments in hardening its network. In fact it has now more than 7,000 4G enabled towers to serve its customers with high-speed internet at a price that is affordable for everyone.

As mentioned above, the rise of smartphones and OTT services had created room for a solid and affordable data operator. While we agree that wireless internet can not beat wired or fixed broadband, Zong has managed to meet customer demand for solid and affordable internet.

As a result, Zong today sells more than 70% of all data SIMs in Pakistan. Not only this, they also hold 75% of the mobile broadband (MBB) device share in the country.

This actually means that if you want to buy a dongle or data SIM, Zong is the default choice — all thanks to its wide, deep and thorough 4G coverage.

Not to mention, Zong has announced that it will convert its entire tower-base of 10,500 sites to 4G by the end of the year. This essentially means that Zong’s entire network will be 4G enabled within next few months.

For now, their 4G market share is 75% and this will only grow further with added coverage and strong back-haul support.

While you may know that 2G and 3G ARPUs of Pakistani mobile phone users hover around Rs. 200 mark, the least possible average revenue per user for data SIMs and MBB devices is Rs. 1,500.

This actually means that for every MBB device or data SIM sold by Zong, other operators will have to sell at least 7 SIMs to match Zong’s throughput.

It is yet to be seen how other market players are going to respond to Zong’s placement, let alone come near to what Zong is offering.

https://propakistani.pk/2017/08/04/z...ket-pakistan/#


----------



## ghazi52

*Policy Directive for Auction of 3G / 4G Spectrum in AJK and GB Issued*

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) and Gilgit-Baltistan Council on Wednesday approved policy directives for next generation mobile services (NGMS) 3G/4G in AJ&K and G.B, we have confirmed officially.

After the approval of AJ&K/G.B council, the policy directive was issued to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for the NGMS spectrum auction.

Transparent, competitive auction will be conducted for spectrum allocation for deployment of next generation mobile networks.

The allocation will be technology neutral and usable for technologies standardized for 3G and advanced generation(s) of mobile services.

As finalized by the PTA & Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication in collaboration with the Frequency Allocation Board, the following frequency blocks for provision of 3G/4G spectrum auction in AJ&KlGB are suggested:-

For Auction:

3G: Three blocks of 10 MHz each in 2100 MHz (Block A).
1920-1930/2110-2120 MHz (Block A)
1930-1940/2120-2130 MHz (Block B)
1940- 1950/2130-2140 MHz (Block C)
4G: One block of 10MHz in 1800 MHz band
1775-1785/1870-1880 MHZ

Earmarked for SCO:

3G: One block of 10MHz in 2100 MHz band: 1950-1960/2140-2150 MHz
4G: One block of 10MHz in 1800 MHz band: 1759.1-1769.1/1854.1-1864.1 MHz


----------



## ghazi52

KUALA LUMPUR: Veon Ltd. is in advanced talks to sell wireless towers in Pakistan to a unit of Axiata Group Bhd., the biggest Malaysian mobile operator.

Axiata’s infrastructure arm, Edotco Group Sdn Bhd., plans to announce an agreement as soon as this week that could value the towers at about $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said. 

*The purchase of about 13,000 towers will make Edotco the biggest independent telecommunications tower operator in the South Asian nation*, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Veon confirmed the talks about the subsidiary, known as Deodar Ltd., in a statement Tuesday after Bloomberg reported on the plans. 

The discussions may not result in a transaction, according to the company’s statement.

Axiata has been pursuing overseas deals as it seeks to reduce reliance on a home market where it’s losing subscribers and average customer revenue is flattening. 

Any deal will add to the $3.1 billion of acquisitions announced in Pakistan over the past 12 months, according to *data compiled by Bloomberg.*

“The deal implies a price of about $70,000 per tower versus more than $100,000 in Italy, but that’s a great price for Pakistan where average revenue per user is substantially lower,” said Alexander Vengranovich, analyst at Otkritie Capital in Moscow.

The Pakistan unit may use the proceeds to buy wireless spectrum, reduce debt and pay a dividend to its parent company, he saiD.

Axiata wants to increase its phone towers in Southeast Asia and South Asia to 26,000 from 16,000 within three years, Chief Executive Officer Jamaludin Ibrahim said in an interview last year. 

The acquisition would help Kuala Lumpur-based Axiata meet a goal of expanding its overseas infrastructure operations ahead of an eventual listing of the business.

“The tower business is an important segment for the telecommunication industry and Edotco can do a lot of business from Pakistan to other neighboring countries,” Danny Wong Teck Meng, chief executive officer of fund manager Areca Capital Sdn. Bhd, said Wednesday by phone. 

“For Axiata, the deal is also good as it will allow it to unlock value once Edotco is listed.”

Shares of Axiata have fallen about 12 percent over the past year, giving the company a market value of $10.2 billion. A representative for Edotco said he couldn’t immediately comment.

Axiata said earlier this month that Edotco had completed the $89 million purchase of Tanzanite Tower Pvt, which owns about 700 phone towers in Pakistan.

Veon, the wireless carrier formerly known as VimpelCom Ltd., said earlier this month it was in advanced talks to sell its Pakistan tower business to an unnamed buyer. 

A deal could come as soon as the second half of this year, Veon Chief Executive Officer Jean-Yves Charlier said in an August interview.

The company agreed *in 2015 to sell 7,300 phone towers in Italy for 693 million euros ($833 million)* to Spain’s Abertis Infraestructuras SA, and said it planned to sell towers in other markets to cut debt and focus on services instead of hardware maintenance. - Bloomberg

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*LAHORE: *China Mobile Pakistan (CMP) has promised that it will reinvest its domestic earnings in Pakistan’s cellular market through its subsidiary Zong.

A statement issued by the company on Thursday said CMP, itself a subsidiary of telecoms giant China Mobile Communications Corporation, would divert its focus towards Pakistan’s digital infrastructure under the auspices of the infrastructure-centred Belt and Road initiative.

The company boasted about the significant investment already made by it in expanding Pakistan’s communications infrastructure.

_






“Any revenue earned from the people of Pakistan will be spent back on the people of Pakistan to give them a stable, advanced and reliable (communications) network,” CMP spokesperson and Corporate Affairs and Strategy Director Maham Dard stated.

“Our first goal is to help the Pakistani people adopt a digital lifestyle. We will continue to reinvest in Pakistan, on the Pakistani people.”

According to the statement, Zong 4G will further scale up its network by increasing the number of its 3G/4G sites to around 10,500 by the end of current year. CMP has already invested $3 billion in establishing its internet services in Pakistan._

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

4G finally arrives in Gilgit-Baltistan


----------



## ghazi52

*USF Approves Projects of Broadband for Sustainable Development Worth Rs 1.8 Billion*


The Universal Service Fund Company (USF) Board of Directors on Monday awarded three projects of broadband for sustainable development (BSD) worth over Rs. 1.8 billion.

The 55th meeting of the USF Board of Directors met with Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecom Anusha Rahman in which an overview of the main efforts and development of telecommunication services in unserved and underserved areas across the country were taken in to the view.

The Board emphasized on the timely execution of establishment of computer labs and provision of computer teachers in 226 government girls educational institutions of Islamabad Capital Territory and the special project of empowerment of artisans through E-commerce. The computer labs project had been announced by the government several times during the past few years but the billions of rupees never actually made their way to the schools.

Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Universal Service Fund (USF) Haris M. Chaudhry told that the USF Board of Directors, on the recommendation of the USF, after transparent bidding process awarded a contract pertaining to USF Broadband for sustainable development (BSD) Project Mohmand Lot encompassing Bajaur Agency, Mohmand Agency and Malakand to Telenor Pakistan (Pvt) Limited with a total cost of Rs 850 million.

This Project benefits an unserved population of about 1,599,500, covering 684 unserved Mauzas and an unserved area of 3,646 sq kms.

He further said that another contract worth Rs. 550 million of USF Broadband for Sustainable Development (BSD) project, DI Khan Lot encompassing DI Khan, FR D.I. Khan and Tank was also awarded to Telenor Pakistan (Pvt) Limited.

This project benefits an unserved population of about 693,000, covering 335 unserved mauzas and an unserved area of 9,010 sq. kms. It was also agreed that similar projects for North Waziristan agency will soon be brought to the Board after completion of technical surveys and appropriate planning.

He further said that a remaining part of the Pashin, Qilat and Quetta has been approved with funding of Rs. 350 million.

Anusha Rehman directed USF authorities during the meeting to work out a proposal for establishment of 6 computer labs for physically handicapped and visually impaired children enrolled in special education centres being run under CADD.


----------



## UltimateDefender

ghazi52 said:


> *USF Approves Projects of Broadband for Sustainable Development Worth Rs 1.8 Billion*
> 
> 
> The Universal Service Fund Company (USF) Board of Directors on Monday awarded three projects of broadband for sustainable development (BSD) worth over Rs. 1.8 billion.
> 
> The 55th meeting of the USF Board of Directors met with Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecom Anusha Rahman in which an overview of the main efforts and development of telecommunication services in unserved and underserved areas across the country were taken in to the view.
> 
> The Board emphasized on the timely execution of establishment of computer labs and provision of computer teachers in 226 government girls educational institutions of Islamabad Capital Territory and the special project of empowerment of artisans through E-commerce. The computer labs project had been announced by the government several times during the past few years but the billions of rupees never actually made their way to the schools.
> 
> Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Universal Service Fund (USF) Haris M. Chaudhry told that the USF Board of Directors, on the recommendation of the USF, after transparent bidding process awarded a contract pertaining to USF Broadband for sustainable development (BSD) Project Mohmand Lot encompassing Bajaur Agency, Mohmand Agency and Malakand to Telenor Pakistan (Pvt) Limited with a total cost of Rs 850 million.
> 
> This Project benefits an unserved population of about 1,599,500, covering 684 unserved Mauzas and an unserved area of 3,646 sq kms.
> 
> He further said that another contract worth Rs. 550 million of USF Broadband for Sustainable Development (BSD) project, DI Khan Lot encompassing DI Khan, FR D.I. Khan and Tank was also awarded to Telenor Pakistan (Pvt) Limited.
> 
> This project benefits an unserved population of about 693,000, covering 335 unserved mauzas and an unserved area of 9,010 sq. kms. It was also agreed that similar projects for North Waziristan agency will soon be brought to the Board after completion of technical surveys and appropriate planning.
> 
> He further said that a remaining part of the Pashin, Qilat and Quetta has been approved with funding of Rs. 350 million.
> 
> Anusha Rehman directed USF authorities during the meeting to work out a proposal for establishment of 6 computer labs for physically handicapped and visually impaired children enrolled in special education centres being run under CADD.




Ia good thread

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Pakistan IT export reaches US$ 2.9 bn*

ISLAMABAD: Due to Government Incentives to IT and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITeS) industry Pakistan’s IT exports have grown to an estimated $2.9 billion which includes Pakistani freelancers estimated to be earning more than $300 million annually.

While talking to APP Managing Director Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) Iftekhar Shah said, Government Incentives to the IT & ITeS industry include income tax exemption on IT exports till June 2019, 100% foreign ownership, 100% repatriation of capital and dividends, 3-year tax exemption for IT startups, and tax holiday for venture capital funds till June 2024.

He said, Pakistani domestic market for IT & IT Products and services is also strong, estimated at over $ 500 million in annual revenue, and growing rapidly. Total annual revenue of Pakistan’s IT Industry is nearing $3.5 billion. Pakistan’s IT industry has demonstrated positive growth trends for the last four ten with 100% growth in export earnings, he added.

He told APP that, Several long term projects are in the pipeline for the benefit of the IT industry which aim to focus on infrastructure development, fostering innovation/entrepreneurship, adoption of ICT in public sector as well as domestic demand generation for the ICT products/services.
Incentives, programs and projects geared towards IT industry growth are closely monitored and regularly reviewed to ensure that maximum benefits accrue to the growth of the local ICT Industry, he added. He mention that, PSEB also organizes trade delegations comprising of Pakistani IT companies in order to enhance collaboration and cooperation between Pakistan’s IT sector and relevant entities in countries important to Pakistan’s IT sector.

Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom, through PSEB under the leadership of Minister of Information Technology and Telecom, Anusha Rehman, is making all possible efforts to facilitate IT companies in order to multiply the exports of IT products and services from Pakistan and to attract FDI towards the local IT Industry.

The Minister has constituted a multi-stakeholder High Level Executive Council Forum (ECF) to work on how to increase IT & ITES exports as part of the government economic growth agenda and has stressed upon PSEB authorities to complete all running projects within stipulated time period with complete efficacy to boost IT exports.


----------



## ghazi52

*Telenor’s* new building is in Gulberg Express, *Islamabad* with an all new state-of-the-art building cost 70 million dollars. Spanning an area over 150 kanals, it will house over 1100 employees.

Some of the things employees can look forward to are a gym, pool, mosque, day care center for employees with children and other amenities you’d usually associate with a Silicon Valley firm.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has seen a dramatic increase in mobile broadband penetration over the past five years as mobile broadband subscribers have reached 50 million with a teledensity of 24.48 per cent.

According to official data mobile broadband market penetration has increased at a rate of below 1 per cent in 2012 to 24 per cent in 2017.

The 3G/4G subscribers have reached 47 million out of 143 million mobile users in the country, whereas teledensity for 3G/4G subscribers has reached 23.33 percent and the teledensity of cellular subscribers has reached 70.25 per cent.

The Ufone 3G registered 5.5 million users, Telenor 3G users reached 10.5 million, Mobilink 3G users reached 14.06 million and Zong 3G users reached 9 million as of November 2017. Meanwhile, Telenor 4G reached 1.3 million users, Mobilink 4G reached 1.7 million and Zong 4G reached 4.8 million users as of November 2017.

However, cellular subscribers have reached 143 million with a teledensity of 70.83 per cent, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) revealed.

Data revealed that reducing customs duties on smartphones in 2017-18 had a direct impact on smartphone demand and mobile broadband usage.

Owing to this boom in the smartphone market and to attract foreign brands, the government had reduced withholding tax on mobile phones from 14 per cent. Government has reduced taxes on certain kind of smartphones, the budget document claimed. According to details, one category – for which import duty was Rs 1,000 – has been reduced to Rs 650.

The government was charging an import duty of Rs 300 on feature phones, Rs 650 on low-end smartphones, previously set at Rs 1,000, and Rs 1,500 on high-end smartphones.

With this tax reduction on mid-range and low-end phones, the market is likely to see a price reduction, as most of the smartphone companies in Pakistan adjust their prices according to taxes and import duties.

An official of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said that the step has been taken to increase the uptake of smartphones in the country.


----------



## Thanatos

Still a long way to go. Far behind india and Bangladesh.


----------



## ghazi52




----------



## ghazi52

E Libraries in Punjab






























































































Attock


----------



## ghazi52

*Pakistan telecom industry *is expected to receive latest and modern submarine cable system which will have two landing routes in Karachi and Gwadar. The submarine cable will stretch across Europe and Africa.






.


----------



## ghazi52

*Army’s telecom wing allowed 3G, 4G services trial run in GB*

ISLAMABAD: A court has allowed the Special Communications Organisation (SCO) to operate 3G and 4G mobile services on a trial basis in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and stayed the telecom regulatory body’s decision to allow other private operators to launch the service in the mountainous region.

A two-judge bench of the Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court (GBCC) comprising Justice Haq Nawaz and Justice Muhammad Umar admitted a petition filed by the SCO, the telecommunication wing of the army, for hearing and issued notices to the respondents to submit their comments within a month.

The petition, a copy of which is available with Dawn, was filed on April 18 under Article 71 of the GB Empowerment and Self-Governance Order 2009, challenging the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) decision of issuing licences to cellular networks for launching 3G and 4G spectrum in the mountainous region.

The petitioner through its counsel Adnan Hussain made the Gilgit-Baltistan Council, PTA, Frequency Allocation Board and the GB government as respondents.

Zong had announced to launch 3G and 4G services in GB from May 5 after getting the licence. The SCO has a monopoly over operating communication service in GB and Azad and Jammu Kashmir (AJK).

The court issued ad-interim injunction, suspended the operation of the letter issued by the PTA on Feb 23 and sought comments from the respondents within a month.

After receiving the comments, the bench will initiate hearing of the case, the order said.

The petitioner contended that the licences issued to other private operators for launching 3G and 4G service was “unlawful authority”. The auction of 3G and 4G spectrum in GB was an attempt by the PTA to restrain the ongoing services on a trial basis being delivered by the petitioner, it maintained.

The bench held that the petitioner’s “apprehensions of an irreparable loss seem to be well founded and turning the prayed injunction down, that too, at the very initial stage will end up making the communication system, which is a brainchild of the petitioner, a Frankenstein for it”.

The court directed the parties to maintain the status quo till the final disposal of the petition.There have been complaints from the users about the SCO’s poor quality and speed of mobile service in the region. Residents have been demanding the telecom authorities allow other cellular firms to operate in the region so that they could exercise their fundamental right to choice of service and ensure quality cellular service in a competitive atmosphere.

The SCO claims that it is facing an annual loss of Rs1 billion due to its limited powers of providing telecom services in AJK and GB only, despite the fact that the government meets all financial needs of the SCO to ensure its smooth operation.

“The SCO takes 80 per cent of the IT ministry’s budget every fiscal year,” said an official from the ministry.

The SCO has been seeking a free licence, tax exemption on its income, assets, turnover and sales and custom duties on imports and exports as well as continued funding from the government.

The SCO was established in 1976 to develop, operate and maintain telecommunications services in AJK and GB. The organisation provides telecom services at 141 locations in AJK and 85 in GB.


----------



## ghazi52

Internet Cables To Pakistan


----------



## ghazi52

*System launched to control mobile theft, smuggling*

KARACHI: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has formally launched the Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) in collaboration with 3G Technologies, a system meant to block smuggled and stolen handsets in the country.

The move comes as the government looks to curb tax evasion as well as mobile theft.

The DIRBS will enable users to pair their device with the Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC), which would then become the phone’s identity. Through the system, the PTA would maintain a database of all mobile phones in the country.


----------



## ghazi52

STORM FIBRE LAUNCHES ITS FIFTH INTERNET SERVICES IN PESHAWAR.


----------



## ghazi52




----------



## ghazi52

*Pakistan’s 4G broadband speed faster than India’s*








The Universal Service Fund, which collects funds from all cell phone service providers in an attempt to expand telecom infrastructure, has disbursed grants worth Rs 50 billion for projects in different telecom regions. PHOTO: REUTERS

FAISALABAD / KARACHI: Despite the challenges Pakistan faces in promoting information technology and bringing more and more people online, international internet speed gauging platform Ookla has said that Pakistan’s 4G mobile broadband is faster than its neighbour India’s.

Pakistan is ranked 96th in the world in download speed on mobile broadband based on the June Speed-test Global Index, with average speed of 14.03 megabits per second (Mbps). It is better than that in India which stands at 109th place with average speed of 9.12 Mbps, according to speedtest.net of Ookla – a global leader in fixed broadband and mobile network testing applications, data and analysis.

According to the website, the global average of mobile internet download speed is estimated at 23.54 Mbps.

Indian operators are focusing on spreading 4G outreach than injecting more speed into the already present 4G service, according to OpenSignal that specialises in wireless coverage mapping.

Smartphone usage is on the rise in India with 358 million mobile internet users and more users are coming online, resulting in slower mobile internet speeds, says a report in the Indian publication The Economic Times.

Because of the vast area, India has higher latency which is one of the reasons consumers are receiving slower internet.

Latency is the duration taken by a data packet to move between the user’s device and internet server. The higher the latency, the slower the user’s internet experience.

Pakistan’s 3G/4G subscribers stand at 56 million with 75% teledensity, meaning 25% population has not yet been covered, particularly in Balochistan. In this province, 46% of population has no access to either mobile, wireless or fixed line network.

The Universal Service Fund (USF), which collects funds from all cellphone service providers in an attempt to expand telecom infrastructure, has disbursed grants worth Rs50 billion to mobile operators for projects in different telecom regions.

Its five out of six fibre optic projects are for Balochistan which is likely to get better facilities in future.

However, in fixed internet, India is better than Pakistan as it is ranked 62nd with average internet speed of 23.27 Mbps while Pakistan stands at 122nd place with internet speed of 7.55 Mbps.

Pakistan also lags behind India in the Inclusive Internet Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) mainly due to unavailability of content in local languages.


----------



## ghazi52

*61m broadband users in Pakistan*

September 30, 2018







ISLAMABAD: The number of broadband subscribers in Pakistan had reached 61 million by the end of August 2018, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) confirmed.

The telecom industry has seen a dramatic increase in mobile broadband over the past five years, as subscribers reached 58.56 million by the end of August 2018 with a teledensity of 28.02. On the other hand, basic telephony subscribers reached three million with 1.30 per cent teledensity.

The number of mobile phone users in Pakistan reached 151.09 million by the end of August compared to 150.55 million by the end of July, an increase of 0.54 million during the period under review.

Jazz’s total count for 3G users stood at 15.045 million by end August compared to 15.038 million by end of July, registering an increase of 0.007 million. Jazz 4G user numbers jumped from 4,601,586 by the end of July to 5,077,651 by the end of August.


Zong 3G subscribers decreased from 9.228 million by the end of July to 9.034 million by the end of August, while a number of 4G users jumping from 7,761,412 in July to 8,131,792 in August.

The number of 3G users of Telenor decreased from 10.314 million by the end of July to 10.210 million by the end of August. The number of 4G users jumped from 3,315,326 by the end of July 2018 to 3,590,494 in August.

Ufone added 0.412 million 3G users on its network during the month of August. The total number of 3G subscribers has now reached 7.474 million compared to 7.060 million by the end of July 2018.

Teledensity for cellular mobile increased to 72.97 per cent when compared to 72.83 per cent in June 2018. The number of broadband subscribers reached 60,756,678 by the end of August, as compared to 59,549,253 by the end of July.

PTA has received 3,477 complaints of telecom consumers against different telecom operators, including cellular operators, PTCL, LDIs, WLL operators and ISPs as of August 2018.

According to PTA’s data, PTCL led the chart with 1,157 complaints while Jazz (Mobilink + Warid) stood at the second position as the most complained-against telecom operator with 779 complaints.

PTA claimed that it was able to get 3,465 complaints resolved i.e. 99.65 per cent. Cellular mobile subscribers constitute a major part of the overall telecom subscriber base; therefore, the maximum number of complaints belong to this segment. The total number of complaints against cellular mobile operators (CMOs) by August 2018 stood at 2,220.

In terms of the segregation of complaints on operator basis, a total of 779 complaints were received against Jazz which is 35.09 percent of the total CMO-related complaints. Telenor, which has the second largest number of consumers, was second with 502 i.e. 22.61 per cent of complaints were received against it.

Zong stood third with 499 complaints i.e. 22.47 per cent of total complaints, while Ufone had 440 complaints against its various services which make up 19.81 per cent of the total CMO-related complaints.


----------



## Netherdrake

Need RCS in Pakistan.


----------



## ghazi52

*USF contracts cellular operator for broadband access to Ex FATA*

February 07, 2019






The contract worth Rs258m has been awarded to Jazz.

ISLAMABAD: The Universal Service Fund (USF) awarded a contract worth Rs 258 million to a private cellular operator for deploying broadband services in North Waziristan tribal district.

The contract was awarded to Jazz, which will also take mobile broadband access to the people in Bannu and Lakki Marwat.

Out of the Rs258m, the government subsidy amounts to Rs 198 mn.

The contract was signed by Universal Service Fund chief executive officer Rizwan Mustafa Mir and Jazz chief corporate and enterprise officer Ali Naseer.

The contract has been awarded by the USF under its ‘Broadband for Sustainable Development Programme’.

Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui — who was invited as the chief guest to the ceremony — said that the Ministry of IT and Telecom had achieved yet another significant connectivity milestone.

Rs258m work involves official subsidy of Rs198m

He added that with such projects, the IT ministry through the USF would continue to work towards achieving the mission of broadband penetration across the country to facilitate the people in rural areas. He said that in addition to broadband infrastructure, he expected the USF to launch new e-services and m-services to facilitate digital lifestyle adoption for the people of Pakistan.

Under the ministry, the USF has been mandated to spread broadband connectivity to far-flung settlements still without basic internet connections and facilities.

Speaking on the occasion, USF CEO Rizwan Mir said that with the signing of the North Waziristan contract, the organisation’s aim was to provide voice and data services to remote and underserved areas of Pakistan where it was most critical for development.

He added that this network would be completed in 24 months for providing 3G/4G and voice services to a population of 0.57 million in 401 unserved mouzas.

The official said that with the improvement of law and order situation in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), provision of advanced ICT infrastructure would be a key to the development efforts in the region.

He said that the USF enjoyed support of the MoITT as well as the ICT industry in the common mission to continuously work towards expanding broadband to all Pakistanis. He pointed out that the USF was planning to launch several new broadband projects over the next few months, including the one in South Waziristan.

While addressing the audience, Jazz chief corporate and enterprise officer Ali Naseer said: “Through this collaboration, Jazz and USF have successfully bridged the digital divide in the country’s remotest region.

“This is why the project has special significance for us and in due time residents of 401 administrative mouzas will have access to the country’s fastest mobile broadband connectivity. We are looking forward to assisting these people in unlocking their potential in an increasingly interconnected world.”

The participants of the signing ceremony were informed about the USF-Jazz partnership that would also open up new progressive opportunities for local communities such as e-commerce.

Digital and e-services are a rapidly evolving field and can provide better health, education, agriculture and business opportunities to the people in these areas. In order to execute this project, 28 towers will be installed by Jazz in a year.


----------



## jupiter2007

I have not heard anything from IT ministry. Any progress?


----------



## Syed1.

jupiter2007 said:


> I have not heard anything from IT ministry. Any progress?


Poor decision to give IT ministry to MQM. Before elections PTI came up with such a wonderful Digital policy that I thought after elections there will be an IT revolution. Most people thought IT ministry would go to Ali Zaidi who is/was a big IT entrepreneur and knows how to run an IT business, instead they gave it to 60+ year old oldie from MQM who probably does not even know how to operate a computer. The beauty of parliamentary democracy

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## jupiter2007

Syed1. said:


> Poor decision to give IT ministry to MQM. Before elections PTI came up with such a wonderful Digital policy that I thought after elections there will be an IT revolution. Most people thought IT ministry would go to Ali Zaidi who is/was a big IT entrepreneur and knows how to run an IT business, instead they gave it to 60+ year old oldie from MQM who probably does not even know how to operate a computer. The beauty of parliamentary democracy



This system is dieing and corrupt mafia is trying to survive.


----------



## ghazi52

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board (KPITB) is inviting investors for Pakistan’s first Digital City, to be based out of Haripur, on the outskirts of capital’s Margalla Hills. The plans of Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa establishing Pakistan Digital City were announced in October .


----------



## Samlee

Syed1. said:


> Poor decision to give IT ministry to MQM. Before elections PTI came up with such a wonderful Digital policy that I thought after elections there will be an IT revolution. Most people thought IT ministry would go to Ali Zaidi who is/was a big IT entrepreneur and knows how to run an IT business, instead they gave it to *60+ year old oldie from MQM who probably does not even know how to operate a computer. The beauty of parliamentary democracy*



And That Is Why Debate On Presidential System Has Started

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## alibaz

*Federal Cabinet Delays License Renewal Policy Again*

The federal cabinet, on Tuesday, has once again delayed the approval for the license renewal policy and constituted a five-member committee for further deliberations.

Prime Minister Imran Khan presided over the cabinet meeting to consider agenda item, “Policy Directive under Section 8 of the Pakistan Telecommunications (Re-Organization) Act 1996 for renewal of cellular mobile licenses in 2019”, submitted by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.
However, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Fawad Chaudhry, said that Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) submitted a report to the cabinet for the renewal policy as was directed by the Prime Minister but it is a multi-million dollar transaction and there is a need for further deliberations.

PM Khan constituted a five-member committee comprising on Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Federal Finance Minister Asad Umar, State Minister for Revenue Hammad Azhar, Advisor to Prime Minister Abdul Razzak Dawood and Federal Minister for Privatization Mian Mohammad Soomro to reviewing PTA’s report. After their consensus, the policy will be approved for renewal of mobile licenses.

The government has estimated to generate around $1.3 billion from the renewal of three mobile licenses which are due to expire in the current year.

Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui stated last week that the matter of mobile license renewal has been completed and cabinet approval is expected.

He further said that the government issues policy directives to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for implementation and would complete the renewal process as well. With every change, there is a need for amendments in the policy and it has been with some adjustments, said the minister adding that all the matters would be resolved amicably.

The draft policy was presented in the cabinet meeting held on April 2, 2019 but after some reservations from the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB), legal advice was sought from the Law Division on the policy for renewal of cellular mobile licenses. According to the minister, an adjustment has been made and the policy was expected to be approved on Tuesday.

Cellular licenses were issued by PTA to two cellular mobile operators i.e. M/s Telenor Pakistan and M/s Warid Telecom on May 26, 2004 for a period of 15 years, under the Mobile Cellular Policy, 2004, on payment of $ 291 million after an auction.

The cellular license of M/s Paktel Limited, now China Mobile Pakistan (Zong), was also renewed by PTA under the 2004 Policy on October 23, 2004 for a period of 15 years on payment of $291 million. These licenses are now due for renewal on May 25, 2019 and October 22, 2019 respectively.

In 2014, the government of Pakistan renewed the license of the state-owned entity, Ufone, at $291 million through interest-free payment installment in order to maintain a level playing field. Telenor Group has recommended that upcoming license of Telenor Pakistan and other operators be renewed under the same terms and conditions.

M/s Veon, one of the largest foreign investors’ in Pakistan has sought a predictable and transparent investment climate and license renewal price of not more than $291 million.

Section 8(1), 8(2)(a) and 5(2)(a) of the Pakistan Telecommunication ( Re-Organisation) Act, 1996 provide the policy framework for determination of terms and conditions of licenses.

Section 8(1) states that the federal government may, as and when it considers necessary, issue policy directives to the Authority, not inconsistent with the provisions of the Act, on matters relating to telecommunication policy referred to in sub-section (2), and the Authority must comply with such directives. 8(2) the matters on which the federal government may issue policy directives shall be- (a) the number and term of the licenses to be granted in respect of telecommunication systems which are public switched networks, telecommunication services over public switched networks and international telecommunication services, and the conditions on which those licenses should be granted.

The Ministry of Telecommunication had submitted the following proposals to the federal government for consideration: (i) the renewal price for the right to use frequency spectrum included in the licences being renewed shall be in accordance with per MHz price benchmarks from frequency spectrum auctions of 2016 and 2017 i.e. per MHz price for frequency spectrum in 900 MHz and 1800 MHz shall be $ 39.5 million and % 29.5 million respectively; (ii) the tenure of the renewed licences shall continue to be 15 years; (iii) payment term shall be 100 per cent upfront or 50 per cent upfront with remaining 50 per cent on five equal installments on Libor+3 per cent; (iv) licences renewed under this policy directive shall be technology neutral in line with existing GoP policies; (v) provision of spectrum trading/ sharing as per the approved regulatory framework for such sharing/ trading will be incorporated in the renewed licences by PTA;(vi) terms and conditions relating to coverage, enhanced Quality of Service (QoS), etc, under the renewed licences, shall be incorporated by PTA in line with Telecom Policy 2015 and as per applicable regulatory practices; (vii) Frequency Allocation Board will provide options in lieu of cross border interfered spectrum to CMPak (Zong in 900 MHz band included in its current licences. In case of non-acceptance of proposed options, renewal of CMPak licence and its associated spectrum (2x 13.6 MHz) shall be dealt in accordance with S.No.4 (v) of 42nd Board’s meeting decision (i.e. without any compensation in terms of additional frequency assignments.

https://propakistani.pk/2019/04/16/federal-cabinet-delays-license-renewal-policy-again/

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## alibaz

*Jazz Celebrates the Success of its Smart Schools Program*

Launched in October 2017, the Jazz Smart Schools program has been a success story so far. To celebrate this success, a ceremony was held, where Shafqat Mahmood, Federal Minister for Education, Ursula Burns, VEON’s CEO and Chairman and Saif Chi, Huawei’s CEO graced the occasion to commend the team behind the program and encourage its adoption in all middle schools of Islamabad. 

The ceremony was also a way to recognize top performers from amongst the programme. 100 students received tablets and certificates from Ursula Burns and Shafqat Mahmood for their exceptional performance during mid-term examinations.

In Pakistan, where 38% school going students hardly know how to string a sentence in any language or do basic math, the program has successfully taught 28,000+ middle school girls blended learning in 75 public schools of Islamabad. 800+ female teachers have also been trained to use tech to teach using smart learning solutions based on the existing curriculum. Since the program, both the assessments of students and the training capacity of teachers have improved considerably.

Talking about the need for similar digitally enabled educational initiatives, the Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood stated,

*Digital skills are a priority for us because they enable learning on a larger and more effective scale. We will be able to bridge the digital literacy divide in Pakistan with programs like the Jazz Smart Schools.*

Launched as a two-year pilot with Knowledge Platform, the Jazz Smart Schools program has recorded significant improvement in five areas: student learning outcomes; teaching quality; student engagement, expanded use of technology, and improved accountability and monitoring of results.

“The results clearly confirm how Jazz and Pakistan Federal Directorate of Education is committed to the digital transformation of Pakistan’s youth. Digital education is the future and I’m very pleased to see that the students at Jazz Smart Schools have taken to it like any other child in the Silicon Valley,” said Ursula Burns.

“We hope that this program is now implemented across the country, as it is in line with not only the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030, but the Pakistan government’s strategic vision 2025,” she added.

A digital sustainability initiative under VEON’s ‘Make Your Mark’ program, Jazz Smart Schools are designed to increase student-learning outcomes and improve teaching methodology by a smart learning solution deployed through a digital blended learning platform. The idea is to digitize Pakistan’s youth bulge and equip them to access entrepreneurial opportunities when they are ready.

Pre-tests were organized for all 20,000 female students in the program to evaluate their current learning levels based on subjects they studied in previous grades. The internal mid-term evaluation results recorded remarkable improvement in student learning outcomes. The formal results of the program will be measured once these students appear for their external board examinations scheduled in April 2019.

https://propakistani.pk/2019/04/15/jazz-celebrates-the-success-of-its-smart-schools-program/

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

Engro Corporation, Pakistan’s leading industrial group famous for producing fertilizers and chemicals, has announced a 7.5 billion rupees investment in the telecommunications infrastructure sector of the country.
Engro Corporation has recently announced its first quarter financial results which ended on March 31st, 2019, at a meeting held at the Engro Leadership Academy. Recording a profitable quarter, total revenue of the company grew by 21% in comparison to the same period a year earlier, driven by higher Urea sales in the Fertilizer business. The company has also posted a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs. 3,832 million as compared to the last year, where it was PKR 3,146 million, translating into an EPS (Earnings Per Share) of PKR 7.32 per share.

As part of its long-term strategy after sighting a significant growth in revenue, Engro Corporation has streamlined its businesses in four verticals namely Food & Agriculture, Energy & Related Infrastructure, Petrochemicals, and Telecommunications Infrastructure to focus on creating value and helping Pakistan resolve these challenges.

Engro group’s investment in telecom infrastructure sector has been announced at a time when the telecom sector has been squeezed with the acquisition of Warid by Jazz and resulted in the convergence of telecom industry into four major companies i.e. Jazz, Ufone, Telenor, and Zong. Meanwhile, the growth rate of Pakistan’s telecom sector has been impressive as the increased number of 3G and 4G/LTE users contributed over $ 4.42 billion to the national exchequer from period 2014 to 2017.

Announcing the hefty investment in telecom vertical, Ghias Khan, President & CEO Engro Corporation stated;

“With a core purpose to solve the pressing issues of our time, the growth and prosperity of Engro is intertwined with the growth of Pakistan. Investments in energy, telecommunications infrastructure, petrochemicals, and food & agriculture can accelerate change, help towards increasing exports, the substitution of imports, industrialization in the country, job creation and hence build a stronger Pakistan. Engro Corporation will continue to explore investment opportunities across these four identified verticals with a focus to improve the lives of our stakeholders and communities in which we live and work with a culture founded on truth, trust and a relentless pursuit of excellence.”

Previously, Engro group had set up Enfrashare (Pvt) Ltd. to accelerate the development of the country’s connectivity infrastructure by providing an opportunity for people to be part of the new digital Pakistan. To further boost productivity, the Directors have approved an investment of PKR 7.5 billion into this project. As an initial investment, Enfrashare will engage in the acquisition & construction of shared telecom towers and will also provide telecommunication infrastructure & related services, including state of the art network monitoring solutions.


----------



## ghazi52

*PTA finally issues guidelines for telecom licence renewal*

After a long wait, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued policy directives for the renewal of cellular mobile licences in coming months.

Under the Telecom Policy 2015, the regulator should have issued the policy two years before the expiry of the licences. However, the PTA could not release the policy, which forced the cellular mobile operators, Jazz, and Telenor, to approach the Islamabad High Court to get clarification on the matter.

Licences of Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited (formerly Warid/Jazz) and Telenor Pakistan are going to expire on May 25, 2019, while the licence of China Mobile Pakistan (CM Pak/Zong) will expire on October 22, 2019.


----------



## ghazi52

*CMPak, Huawei complete joint innovation of MIMO link*










ISLAMABAD - Pakistan CMPak and Huawei have successfully completed a joint innovation and commercial deployment of the longest distance microwave MIMO link.

According to the company, the industry’s longest distance microwave MIMO link innovation test which reached 11km with 5Gbps capacity, this is the first commercial use of 5G microwave MIMO solution for large-scale commercial use in Pakistan.

The company says this technology innovates to solve the problem of bandwidth upgrade under limited spectrum resources and can be flexibly expanded to double capacity, 5G microwave MIMO solution provide a new and mature solution for the network evolution towards to 5G. As a leading and innovative carrier in Pakistan, CMPak faces the problem of how to greatly improve the microwave transmission bandwidth under limited frequency resources.

Huawei had proposes the 5G microwave MIMO solution which can improve the microwave spectrum efficiency by 100% to double the capacity, shorten the installation distance (Rayleigh distance) by 67%, and reduce the requirement of MIMO deployment of tower space.

These benefits promote the large-scale commercial use of the 5G microwave MIMO technology. In this way, smooth capacity expansion can be achieved without climbing towers and the delivery cost is reduced to 33% of the traditional solution with greatly tower space save.

Generally, the microwave MIMO technology is applied to the distance less than 7 km, but the innovation test reached 11.03km which is the longest microwave MIMO link in the industry.

In his remarks, Perry Yang, President of the microwave product line, said: “Creating value for customers with innovative technologies is the survival reason for Huawei microwave.”


----------



## ghazi52

بابوسر ٹاپ پہ ٹیلی نار کے ٹاور کی تنصیب مکمل کل یا پرسوں تک کام شروع کر دے گا, سیاحوں کیلیے پتا نہی یہ مثبت کام ہوگا یا منفی، مگر اس جگہ پر سکون ہوجاتا ہے جہاں نیٹ ورک وغیرہ نہی آتے، ورنا ہر بندہ موبائل میں ہی لگارہتا
تصویر کل دوپہر بارہ بجے کی ہے


Bạbu sir . Telenor tower installation completed. will start tomorrow or after, for tourists don't know whether it will be positive work or negative, but there is peace in the place where network etc does not come, 
The Picture was yesterday afternoon


----------



## ghazi52




----------



## ghazi52

PTA receives over Rs 70 bn from two cellular mobile operators

September 04, 2019






Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has received over seventy billion rupees from two cellular mobile operators against licence renewal fee.

The two companies have deposited partial payment in compliance with the directions of the Islamabad High Court.

This development will not only contribute towards uninterrupted provision of better telecom services to the people of Pakistan but will also help in promotion of competition and investment in the telecom sector of Pakistan.

All license renewal proceeds would be deposited in national exchequer.


----------



## ghazi52

*Tecno Mobile Manufacturing and Assembly Plant in Pakistan*

Transsion Techno Electronics factory inauguration. The first joint venture mobile manufacturing company's plant (Infinix, Tecno and more) in Pakistan with the capacity of manufacturing of 130,000 mobile phones per month.

Reactions: Like Like:
3


----------



## ghazi52

Telephone & Telegraph Line Man #Karachi in 1942:


----------



## ghazi52

*Launching 5G services in the country will take 5 years, PTA tells Senate committee*

September 16, 2019






The PTA seeks two months-period to furnish a detailed plan to introduce the 5G technology in Pakistan. — AP/File
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Monday said that it would take four to five years for it to introduce 5G services in the country.

PTA member Dr Khawar Siddique Khokhar, during a briefing to the Senate's Standing Committee on Information Technology, sought two months to furnish a plan in this regard.

During the briefing, the PTA member informed that a 5G policy had been constituted in 2017 and that in June this year, the authority had devised a framework for 5G. "The PTA issued a framework for test and development of future technologies, particularly fifth generation wireless networks in Pakistan, in June 2019," he said.

He said that Zong and other cell phone operators had subsequently approached the authority and sought permission for trial, which was granted.

He further clarified that Zong had conducted a site test and not a network test. "The 5G technology has not been introduced on commercial level, neither Zong is authorised to do so," he said.

The PTA member made it clear that the permission given to Zong was limited to a trial period of three months and not for use on commercial basis. He further said that the PTA was responsible for removing concerns expressed by the relevant quarters and the authority would do so.

Khokhar, while referring to an advertisement placed by Zong pertaining to its 5G test, said that the company had been barred from advertising the test. He added that a notice had been sent to Zong for issuing the 'misleading' advertisement.

Senator Shahzad Waseem said that all concerned quarters should play a "crystal clear game" and equal opportunities should be provided to all.

Senator Kulsoom Parveen noted that Zong had abused the permission of testing 5G.

Khokhar said the technology will have to face multiple challenges in adoption, including the availability of spectrums. The issue of spectrum fee is also yet to resolved, he noted.

The analyses of the impacts of 5G on human health, right of ways, applications, security, and infrastructure is yet to be made. He hoped that the technology will be applicable by 2021.

"As of now, the PTA is not ready for the launch of the 5G technology," he said.

The IT secretary directed the PTA to take Senator Attique on board pertaining to a decision on the spectrum cost of 5G.

Senator Attique Shaikh said it will be better for the authority if it leads the test trial. In response, the PTA member said that the trial or operation of 5G is out of the mandate of the authority. Operators across the world make preparations on their own, he said.

"Since October 2017, all network operators were making arrangements for a 5G test," he said, adding that on July 23, Telenor had submitted an application for the test. On August 8, the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), and on July 31, Mobilink and SCO had also submitted their applications for a trial.


----------



## ghazi52

*Federal Cabinet Approves the First Ever Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy*

The Federal Cabinet, in its meeting today, approved the first-ever Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy, pursuant to a summary moved by the Ministry of Industries and Production.

The policy has been prepared by the Engineering Development Board (EDB), a techno-economic arm of the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoIP), through extensive consultation with relevant public and private sector stakeholders.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), in its previous meeting held on 21st May 2020, approved the Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy which has been further ratified in the said meeting of the Federal Cabinet

© ProPakistani

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

IT Exports Reach $1.11 Billion With a 20.75% Increase in 11 Months

On the directions of the Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication, the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication is continuing its efforts to enhance IT exports and encourage IT companies.

The IT & IT-enabled Services (ITeS) export remittances comprising of computer services and call center services have surged to $1.11 billion at a growth rate of 20.75% over the first 11 months of FY 2019-20 (July – May), in comparison to $917.875 million during the same period in FY 2018-19, according to performance report of Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), an organization under Ministry of IT and Telecommunication.

IT Industry has been a star in #Pakistan’s economy and has achieved positive year on year growth as a result of strong government support, skilled entrepreneurs, and a talented workforce.

The Ministry of IT is taking all possible steps to ensure the sustainable growth of Pakistan’s IT Industry and to ensure close coordination with the IT industry and associated stakeholders

© ProPakistani


----------



## ghazi52

*SBP prepares for digital shift*

Considering permitting digital account opening at banks


Salman Siddiqui
December 22, 2020







Speakers were of the view that voices of women needed to be ensured and strengthened at key business forums. PHOTO: REUTERS

*KARACHI: *Pakistan’s central bank is considering allowing people to open accounts at banks without physically visiting branches - through digital means like internet and mobile banking - and without compromising customers’ due diligence.

“Digital account opening…is the way forward,” State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir said while hosting a webinar titled “Launch of Consultation on Banking on Equality Policy: Reducing the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion” on Monday.

Pakistan has recently allowed overseas Pakistanis to open bank accounts without physically visiting branches and embassies in their host countries.

“We have a plan to introduce this facility domestically and to allow digital onboarding,” he added.
Baqir said housewives lodged complaints of facing difficulties in opening accounts at banks as bankers asked them their source of income or their husband’s source of income.

The digital account opening would address the issue and “materially help with the account opening of housewives and more generally allow lending and credit to reach women as well,” he added.

He asked banks to produce quality data on gender banking. It would allow the central bank to formulate better policies for all, including women.

The SBP governor said women were offered concessional financing through the central bank. “The concessional financing offers women to get loans of up to Rs5 million at 5% interest rate. There is 60% risk coverage being provided to banks. This means the traditional issues of (submitting) collateral (for loan acquisition) can be considerably overcome.”

However, many women do not know about the scheme despite the information being publicly available.

“As of now, only 810 women in Pakistan have availed the facility and only Rs 613 million has been disbursed so far,” he said and added that women may contact the central bank in case they faced difficulties in taking benefit of the scheme despite providing all the required documents to the banks.

SBP Deputy Governor Sima Kamil said the central bank had set a quota of 25% to lend money to women under the Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES).

However, this has reached 13% due to low participation of women in the scheme.

“We have refinanced credit schemes for women entrepreneurs. It now sees increasing interest, but now needs to reach a higher level,” she said.

“If women are excluded, we do suffer at the macroeconomic level,” she said while citing a research report. “Women are the largest untapped market. That is a significant business case and not CSR,” she said.

Elaborating on the five pillars of the SBP for consultation on banking on equality policy, she said the central bank would make efforts to increase women workforce up to 20% in the banking sector over the next three years or by 2023.

“The State Bank has started conversation with banks in this regard,” she revealed.

She said the gender gap in financial inclusion was on the rise. “Only 11.7 million or 18% of the adult women have active bank accounts compared to 51% for men.”

She urged banks to design women-specific products keeping their need in mind like wedding and savings schemes.

“Women should be received properly and respectfully at points of sales like restaurants,” she added. Pakistan has one of the highest levels of women financial exclusion and the gender gap in inclusion.

“Women’s formal financial account ownership increased from 5% in 2014 to 7% in 2017.”
She noted that female account ownership in the Middle East, South and East Asian countries was much higher than in Pakistan. It is 58% in Saudi Arabia, 92% in Iran, 54% in Turkey, 73% in Sri Lanka, 36% in Bangladesh, 41% in Nepal and 82% in Malaysia.

Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) Director Princess Zahra Aga Khan stressed the need for providing formal education to girls and women in Pakistan.

“Education is the key to everything, including female’s access to banking services and financial inclusion.”

She agreed with moderator of the webinar, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation President of Gender Equality Anita Zaidi, that women could be empowered financially through community empowerment. International Monetary Fund (IMF) Policy and Review Department
Director of Strategy Ceyla Pazarbasioglu said women participation in financial inclusion was not great. “Fintechs may help reduce gender gap and inequality in banking services and financial inclusion.”

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

In an attempt to ensure maximum security and efficiency, the federal government has called upon ethical hackers to identify security vulnerabilities present in its flagship program for poverty alleviation, Ehsaas Program. As per details from the report, Ehsaas will organize a hackers’ competition in which it will invite ethical hackers to participate and point out any vulnerabilities in its digital operations....


----------



## ghazi52

*MOITT launches disaster recovery center to strengthen the security of government data*


 Talha Ikram
Dec 31 

· 






The Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecom, Syed Amin-Ul-Haque inaugurated the Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) in Lahore for the National Data Center (NDC) of the National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC).

The newly built DRC is a full-fledged data center that will not only work as a backup for the existing National Data Center but also provide enhanced security and a provision of cloud-based services to the Government of Pakistan according to the Ministry of IT & Telecom (MOITT).

The inauguration ceremony was also attended by Secretary IT & Telecom Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Managing Director NTC Brig (R) Viqar Rashid Khan, and CEO Huawei Mark Meng among others.

According to the Ministry, NDC has already generated around Rs. 795 million in revenue whereas the total cost of the project was only Rs. 450 million by providing its services to more than 450 organizations. NTC’s customer satisfaction survey shows that 72% of its customers are satisfied with its performance whereas only 12% are dissatisfied. The others remained neutral.

Syed Amin Ul Haque also met with Lt. Gen (R) Asim Saleem Bajwa, the Chairman of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority, to ensure the cooperation of MOITT with the CPEC Authority on all relevant CPEC projects.


----------



## ghazi52

*
Pakistani IT services giant Systems Limited *has opened up a new office in Islamabad. 

According to the company’s website, the development has been motivated by the need to “cater to the high volume of business coming in from Pakistan’s capital city”.

Vice President TechVista Systems Nadeem Yousaf shared the news on LinkedIn and provided a glimpse of what appears to be the main lobby. Located in the G-11 sector of Islamabad, the office has been described as a fully functional commercial office with a dining area for the employees, offices for executives, a conference room, workstations, and huddle rooms.

Having witnessed continued growth and expansion of its business and operations both locally and internationally, Systems Limited is now looking to bolster its presence and strength as a provider of IT and BPO services by opening up a new office in the capital city.

The company has its main campus in Lahore, as well as a purpose-built facility in Karachi. It recently expanded its BPO services coverage to Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well.

As a result of the surge in demand for digital services across the world over the past few years, the company has found itself growing and evolving sustainably. Opening up a brand new office is indicative of the company’s continued efforts towards expansion.

Founded in 1977, Systems Limited is a leading global technology and business process outsourcing service provider, delivering innovative business solutions and technology-led BPO services. With over 4,000 employees globally, Systems Limited helps its customers around the world maximize their IT investments and creates specialized solutions that drive business results. These solutions leverage deep technical skills, domain expertise, products, frameworks, accelerators, and industry best practices that offer customer’s substantial competitive advantage.

The company was recently honored by the Pakistan Software Board (PSEB) as the Top IT Exporter for 2019.


----------



## ghazi52

*National Freelancer Training Centers to be set up in three districts of KP*


Hamza Zakir
Dec 24 2020

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board (KPITB), Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and five universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have signed multiple agreements for the establishment of National Freelance Training Program (NFTP) centers and the expansion of National Incubation Centers (NICs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to a press release, the NFTP centers will be established in University of Malakand, Institute of Management Sciences Peshawar and Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan while NICs will be established in Kohat University of Science and Technology and University of Swat.

The MoU signing ceremony was held in Islamabad. Advisor to Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Science and Information Technology Ziaullah Bangash was the chief guest of the ceremony. Special Assistant to CM KP on Information and PRs and Higher Education Kamran Bangash, Member Provincial Assembly Fasial Amin Gandapur, Federal Secretary on MoITT Shoaib Ahmad Saddiqui, Managing Director KPITB Dr. Sahibzada Ali Mahmud, Director KPITB Asim Jamsheed, Chairman PITB Azfar Manzoor & Vice Chancellors from the aforementioned universities also attended the ceremony.

While addressing the event, Mr. Bangash stated that youth are the agents of change and transformation of any nation. He added that investing in the nation’s youth will open new avenues of economic stability through digital transformation. He added that this partnership will prove to be a stepping stone towards the vision of Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan – a digitally resilient Pakistan.

“Expansion of National Incubation Centers will promote capacity building of universities involved and will provide sustainable income opportunities and play a pivotal role in creating new jobs in KP,” he declared.

Chairman PITB Azfar Manzoor said that the National Freelance Training Program aims to reduce unemployment by providing hands on freelance training to 22,800 individuals through 20 centers across Pakistan. Out of these, three centers in KP will train 1,350 individuals annually to monetize their skills through internet-based freelancing. He stated that National Expansion of NICs will strive towards establishing an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country.












National Freelancer Training Centers to be set up in three districts of KP


Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board (KPITB), Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and five universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have signed multiple agreements for the establishment of National Freelance Training Program (NFTP) centers and the expansion of National Incubation...



www.techjuice.pk

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Right of Way policy for telecom sector approved*

Kalbe Ali
January 21, 2021

 
The policy classifies telecom installations as “critical infrastructure”. 


ISLAMABAD: The Right of Way (ROW) Policy for the telecom sector — recently approved by the federal cabinet — clears a large number of hurdles faced by telcos and internet service providers in the installation and maintenance of their telecommunication equipment and expansion of systems across the country.

The policy was approved in a cabinet meeting held on Tuesday. A notification will be issued by the Ministry for Information Technology and Telecommunications (MoITT) that will bound all the provinces and their concerned agencies to facilitate ROW for the telecom sector.

The policy classifies telecom installations as “critical infrastructure”. Damaging telecom infrastructure would be considered sabotage. Cases under criminal and anti-terrorism laws could be filed against the culprit.

The policy has undertaken several key issues based on the concerns expressed by the stake holders to the MoITT.

Federal Minister for IT Syed Aminul Haq said that a one-window operation would facilitate the telecom sector regarding infrastructure development. “The policy will play a pivotal role in fulfilling the vision of Digital Pakistan,” he added.

The minister said that the policy would help fast-track processing for the ROW Policy provisions including space on land and in buildings for the installation of telecom infrastructure.

The policy will cover developed land including roads, footpaths and areas where electricity and railway infrastructures have been installed, as well as non- developed areas like grounds etc.

Under the policy, fee structure has been set up to operate in the required areas to prevent overcharging.


_Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2021_

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*Pakistan to get 5G by 2022-23*

It will accelerate download speed 10 times, widen economic activities significantly


Salman Siddiqui
January 24, 2021







With the expansion of 3G and 4G services, an increase of 77% was seen in data usage for FY20. 


Pakistan has kick-started its journey to make the most advanced 5G internet commercially available to consumers in 2022-23, which would accelerate the download speed 10 times to one gigabit per second (Gbps) and widen economic activities significantly in the country.

The government of Pakistan is developing a comprehensive roadmap for 5G technology readiness in the country. It is aimed at auctioning “spectrum for…5G services in fiscal year 2023,” the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said in its annual report 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic proved a blessing in disguise as the digital economy widened multi-fold during these testing times in Pakistan. The crisis has prompted regulators and stakeholders to improve digital infrastructure.

Earlier, mobile phone service providing firms successfully conducted a test trial of 5G services under limited environment and on non-commercial basis in 2019 and 2020. Pakistan stands the first country in South Asia to test 5G “with a recorded download speed of more than one Gbps.”

The tested speeds stands 10 times high compared to 100 megabits per second (Mbps) on 4G internet in the world, it was learnt.

Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Aminul Haque said the government has planned to launch 5G technology by December 2022 but experts in different fields are still sceptical, believing the country will take a much longer time (5-7 years) to roll out the next-generation technology.

Haque made a test video call through 5G to China and said it was a wonderful experience. The voice was loud and clear, and the video quality was also wonderful, according to an international media outlet.

The modern technology would make great economic progress when it comes to Pakistan, Haque added.
GSM Association estimates the economic contribution of the mobile industry in Pakistan will reach $24 billion, contributing 6.6% to total gross domestic product (GDP) by 2023.

The telecommunication authority said it, along with the government, would publish a Spectrum Master Plan and a Spectrum Rolling Strategy to enable operators to plan their investments in a more efficient manner. Together, they will need to create an environment that encourages creativity and innovation so that large and small businesses can explore the possibilities created by 5G.

In Pakistan, 98% of the households own a mobile phone whereas penetration of mobile services reached 81.1% at the end of October 2020, with 172.3 million mobile subscriptions. Broadband subscriptions showed impressive growth trends of 17% during FY20, crossing the 90.1 million mark in October 2020, whereas 4G subscriptions registered an exponential 60% growth in FY20. Resultantly, total broadband penetration in Pakistan reached 42.4% by the end of October 2020. With the expansion of 3G and 4G services, an increase of 77% was seen in data usage for FY20.


*3G/4G spectrum*

PTA has geared up to hire international consultants for market valuation and auction of spectrum in 1,800 MHz and 2,100 MHz in Pakistan including AJK and G-B. “The availability of additional spectrum in 1,800 MHz will also enable operators to expand their existing 4G operations and transition to advance technologies.”

It is aimed at auctioning “the spectrum for the proliferation of LTE and VoLTE Services in FY21 and 5G services in FY23. Furthermore, it has also planned for re-farming of spectrum allocated to WLL operators, which will also make additional spectrum available for 5G services.”

It was learnt that the government has estimated to raise Rs27 billion through the auction of the spectrum in FY21.

Earlier, the authority had directed mobile phone service providing firms to refund Rs9.2 billion to consumers following the Supreme Court debarred the firms from the imposition of service and maintenance charges in 2019. However, they have so far refunded only Rs6.9 billion.


_Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2021._

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*How 5G will accelerate Pakistan’s digital journey*


Aqeel Sarfraz
24 Jan 2021









The fifth-generation connectivity for data networks across the world promises to make all connectivity problems that we routinely face a thing of the past. 5G has also been highlighted as a path towards a truly wireless future where data speeds will be faster than ever and latency will be reduced remarkably. With faster data speeds will come better business opportunities.

Just as 4G made development and use of essential everyday services like ride-sharing and hailing, meal delivery, and more possible – which would have struggled with 3G speeds – 5G is set to open doors to a host of new opportunities for the socio-economic uplift of the people and hence the country. Incredible data speeds might spur a whole new type of businesses or business models that may be unheard of today.

One major change, however, that 5G will bring is a proliferation of data-intensive technologies like artificial intelligence, internet of things (IoT), among others. IoT, especially, will see its heyday with 5G becoming more common as so far its heavy implementation is limited to the industrial level.

On a personal scale, such as in smart homes, this technology hasn’t seen equal traction around the world as the low-powered Wi-Fi networks still common in many parts of the world struggle with connecting multiple devices at the same time.

While 5G solves this issue, it will be making way for a larger impact by enabling smart cities and global connectivity. Areas that were denied connectivity in the past could finally be brought into the fold of digital inclusion with the advent of 5G, which would bring employment opportunities to the remotest parts of the world.

5G technology would also allow better control of devices such as drones, industrial robots, self-driven cars, and safety systems. With such technology accessible to the general public, even remote medical procedures and treatments will become possible, and the healthcare sector will be revolutionized.

Smart cities could get a whole new meaning with 5G, enabling cities to manage and track their workings like never before. Smart, AI-based solutions for traffic management, infrastructure maintenance, and the management of resources, besides countless other things, will see the light of the day in the 5G era. With its potential to be faster than any wired Wi-Fi network, the connected IoT systems of smart cities will function anywhere without being constrained to local wireless networks.

This is just a tiny picture of how 5G will transform life as we know it, definitely for the better. A technology like this can be a true game-changer for a developing country like Pakistan that has steep digitalization goals and aims for an IT-based knowledge economy in the near future. With a dynamic young population and a thriving and committed ICT sector with passionate players like Zong, the dream of Digital Pakistan might not be much far from becoming a reality.

In November 2020, Zong 4G made national headlines by placing the first international 5G video call with Beijing mobile.

The pioneering 5G NSA call between Beijing and Islamabad was witnessed, in person, by Pakistan’s Minister of IT & Telecom Syed Amin Ul Haque, among many others. The event was momentous and historic.

Besides being a mammoth milestone in Zong’s network transformation journey, it showed the company’s unfaltering commitment to advancing Pakistan into the digital future through future technology. Just the way it became the first mover of 4G in the Pakistani telecommunications market, Zong’s industry-leading 5G testing brought Pakistan closer to the 5G era that is set to transform lives.

While 5G Mobile networks hold great promise and potential to boost digital development in Pakistan, the World Bank fears that delays in its deployment would delay a revolutionary leap in capacity from 4G to 5G. Proving its 5G readiness, Zong has shown the nation that the 5G era is beckoning with all its advantages and opportunities, and is set to change lives and livelihoods forever.

A country like Pakistan with immense growth potential but longstanding socio-economic challenges, especially, has great reason to celebrate the onset of 5G.

(The writer is a Communications Consultant. The views expressed in this article
are not necessarily those of the newspaper)


Copyright Business Recorder, 2021

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

Executive Committee of National Economic Council approved Rs 37.9 billion worth Pak China Optical Fibre Cable Phase II under CPEC. The project will provide an alternate path for international connectivity and transform Pakistan as a Digital Gateway of regional connectivity.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*Scaling IT exports*

BR Research 
27 Jan 2021


While Pakistan’s telecom and IT-related services exports have done well in recent months, there is room for more growth. As per the latest SBP data, during the period Jul-Dec 2020, exports relating to “telecommunications, computer and information services” jumped 40 percent year-on-year to reach $958 million. 

This fetched the country about $275 million in incremental forex on this count. Not bad, but it could have been even more if exporters choose to bring back the bulk of their earnings to Pakistan.

Within the overall digital services exports, the purely IT-related exports stood at $753 million in 1HFY21 – a yearly growth of 44 percent. This may or may not be a sign of resilience of the digital side of things during the global pandemic, but the recent performance surely lends credence to the argument that the policymakers need to put on top of their list such “non-traditional” export sectors. IT exports stood at $1.1 billion in FY20, as per SBP data. Market sources say there is potential to triple this “official” number.

Also take into account that Pakistan also has sizable ICT-services imports. These imports jumped more than exports did, growing 57 percent year-on-year to reach $309 million in the first half of the fiscal. In the end, for the period under review, net ICT exports (exports less imports) came in at $650 million, up 33 percent year-on-year. That’s a decent incremental forex inflow of $162 million over same period last year.

The ICT-related imports – which are mostly related to software purchases, IT consultancy, and telecom services – are necessary for the digital economy and non-digital counterparts to avail latest IT services and upgrades and to remain connected with businesses abroad. This is thankfully recognized by the banking regulator. 

Back in August 2020, the SBP had allowed local firms to pay a maximum of $200,000 per annum against services availed from 62 foreign digital service providers, without SBP approval.

The current government’s IT-promotion strategy seems to revolve around setting up more software technology parks. Last month, it established a Special Technology Zone Authority (STZA) with much fanfare; the first large-scale zone is to be reportedly launched in Islamabad. However, there is skepticism on whether this is the right approach for a sector that doesn’t need much real estate to function or grow. (Read more: “On special technology zones,” published by BR Research January 12, 2021). IT is a skills-based industry, and Pakistan will do well to convince IT majors such as Microsoft, Google, or Apple to train people here.

The ruling party is in its third year but it has so far not acted on its pre-election Digital Policy. Among its key promises in the digital domain were to establish a Knowledge Economy Authority, which was to centralize all public-sector IT procurement to efficiently meet the government’s digital needs through private sector Pakistani firms. 

In addition, it had promised to spend $2 billion over five years on e-governance and citizen public services. There were also promises to set up five tech-based SEZs, three IT universities, providing IT scholarship to top 50,000 students, and launch teacher certification programs.

While IT exporters enjoy a number of fiscal incentives, more needs to be done. Reportedly, the federal government is considering to approve a policy that will help Pakistani firms, including IT companies, to make investments abroad without seeking regulatory approvals. 

This kind of freedom will assist serious software exporters in setting up foreign offices that are instrumental in building relationships and securing export orders, making strategic investments when opportunity strikes, and even raise capital overseas. This freedom to move money in and out, however, is just one aspect of helping IT exporters build scale.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*Chinese tech giant Vivo 📱 has officially started producing Smartphones in Pakistan*

While we aren’t sure about the models that are produced locally in Pakistan, but if sources are to be believed then “Made in Pakistan” smartphones from vivo are ready to hit the stores in the country.

Situated in M-3 Industrial Estate in Faisalabad and built with a USD 10 million investment, vivo will cater the Smartphone needs of the country where more than 1.5 million to 2.5 million devices are sold every month.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*IT minister invites Germany’s Telecom companies for investment in Pakistan*


APP
03 Feb 2021









ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin-Ul-Haque Wednesday invited Germany IT and Telecom companies to invest in Pakistan.

“IT and Telecom companies of Germany must invest in Pakistan as environment for investment in Pakistan is conducive” the minister expressed these views during a meeting with German Ambassador to Pakistan Bernhard Schlagheck, said a news release.

Federal Secretary Ministry of IT and Telecommunication Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui was also present in the meeting.

The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation in IT and Telecommunication sector. The minister said Pakistan greatly values its relations with Germany and wanted to enhance cooperation between the two countries in the field of IT and Telecom. He said that steps are underway for fulfilling Digital Pakistan Vision.

He said that Ministry of IT & Telecom was taking strong initiatives for the development of IT and Telecom sector, adding that IT & Telecom sector of Pakistan has great potential.

The minister said that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) export remittances surged to US $958 million at growth rate of 40 % during July –December of FY 2020-21 in comparison to same period of last financial year.

Ambassador of Germany appreciated the role of Minister of IT & Telecom regarding digitalization and for the development of IT and telecom sector of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque held virtual meeting with Director International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-BDT Doreen Bogdan-Martin
During meeting they discussed about connectivity and telecommunication services.

While talking to ITU Director, the minister said that his ministry was fully committed to end the digital divide between urban and rural areas of the country.

Steps are being taken through Universal Service Fund (USF) for the provision of broadband services in unserved and underserved areas of the country.

He said that the empowerment of women and youth is the motto of the Ministry of IT & Telecom.

He said that Ministry of IT & Telecom fully support ITU’s proposed agenda to launch initiatives like Giga and Smart Villages in Pakistan. Ministry of IT is committed to play its due role as a focal ministry to engage with all the stakeholders to spearhead the implementation of ITU’s initiatives in Pakistan.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

At Faisalabad






.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*Digital Silk Road*
Pakistan’s New Road Of Technology


----------



## Samlee

I Remember The Good Old Days Of Shaukat Aziz and Musharraf When Nokia Offered To Build A Factory in Pakistan

https://www.dawn.com/news/402053/investment-treaty-with-finland-in-final-stages









Investment accord with Finland this year


KARACHI: Pakistan and Finland are expected to sign a Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA) this year,...



www.dawn.com





Even LG Showed Interest









Manufacturing mobile handsets


If things move according to plan, you would be able to replace your imported cellular handset next year with one...



www.dawn.com


----------



## Syed1.

Samlee said:


> I Remember The Good Old Days Of Shaukat Aziz and Musharraf When Nokia Offered To Build A Factory in Pakistan
> 
> https://www.dawn.com/news/402053/investment-treaty-with-finland-in-final-stages
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Investment accord with Finland this year
> 
> 
> KARACHI: Pakistan and Finland are expected to sign a Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA) this year,...
> 
> 
> 
> www.dawn.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Even LG Showed Interest
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Manufacturing mobile handsets
> 
> 
> If things move according to plan, you would be able to replace your imported cellular handset next year with one...
> 
> 
> 
> www.dawn.com


Dr. Atta Ur Rehman mentioned that Musharraf government was working on proposals to set up 8-10 foreign universities in Pakistan. He mentioned that Siemens offered to build a large R&D center in Lahore along with a German university.


All the plans went down the gutter when democracy hit and it started taking its revenge.


It's unimaginable how far back we have gone in these 10 years. Actually you can imagine it in 2007 Pakistan had higher per capita income than India and BD but now we are lower than both. Not sure when dumb Pakistani nation will realize how bad these two parties have been for Pakistan. Heck now their next generations are lining up to do their share of loot and plunder. Pakistan ka Allah hi malik hai.

Reactions: Like Like:
3


----------



## ghazi52

Pakistan Telecom and IT updates

*Three mobile phone companies to set up manufacturing plants in Pakistan*


As the government has introduced tax incentives for assembling/manufacturing of mobile phones through the recently issued presidential order, at least three new mobile phone companies have shown interest in setting up their plants in Pakistan.

The government had recently promulgated an ordinance abolishing withholding tax on locally manufactured mobile sets. The step was taken to encourage the assembling and manufacturing of mobile phone parts in the country.

“Three new entrants have submitted applications for establishment of manufacturing units in the country,” said an official of the Engineering Development Board (EDB), which is an attached department of the Ministry of Industries and Production. “Vivo plans to set up its unit in Faisalabad; Airlink has applied for a unit in Lahore; whereas Advance Telecom wants to establish one in Karachi

Reactions: Love Love:
2


----------



## ghazi52

TPL Properties Limited to establish a state-of-the-art technology park in #Sindh. According to the company, “The Technology Park will be the first of its kind of such scale in the province of Sindh, with high end technology facilities. 
Such a platform with high end IT infrastructure shall provide a platform to several IT sector companies across Pakistan.” TPL Properties estimates the project will be completed in two years, including planning and designing. 
PL Properties issued a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, that through its wholly owned Subsidiary, has entered into an ‘Agreement to Sell’. This is for the purchase of plot number 25-B, which measures 10,002 square yards, situated at Sector 30, Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi. Once the due diligence is carried out, the plot will be possessed by the company within three months

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*
Pakistan IT Exports Cross $1 Billion Taking Clients From Indian Companies*

Pakistan’s IT exports maintained a tremendous momentum in the current financial year, crossing a mark of $1 billion merely in seven months of the financial year 2020-21.

According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan, remittances under IT and IT-enabled services surged to $1.119 billion from July 2020 to January 2021 compared to $812 million recorded in the corresponding period of the last financial year, showing a handsome growth of 37 percent year-on-year.

Industry players forecast the exports could touch a mark of $2 billion for the first time in the country’s history if the pace of exports of services continues in the coming months.


The growth in IT exports was driven by the increasing automation, and digitized services in different countries after new ways of doing business emerged following the outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide.

Different foreign companies, mainly from the USA and EU markets, prefer placing their orders to Pakistani companies rather than Indian and the Philippines.

© ProPakistani

Reactions: Like Like:
2 | Love Love:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Elon Musk's Starlink Internet may soon be Coming to Pakistan*

Starlink, the satellite-based internet set up by SpaceX for global internet access will also be available in Pakistan.

This constellation will consist of thousands of small satellites that will go around the planet in low Earth Orbit, working in combination with transceivers on the ground. Some of these satellites will be sold off for military, scientific, and exploratory purposes as well.

Since these satellites are very small and modernized compared to other satellite internet providers, the promised connectivity and speeds are much higher. Starlink aims to provide connection speeds of a whopping 1Gbps, average speeds of 900Mbps, and much better reliability than other ISPs.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Country produce a 1.21 million cell phones in Jan-Feb 2021.*

With a significant drop in cell phone smuggling, Pakistan’s mobile phone assembly segment grew by leaps and bounds and produced 1.21 million mobile phones in just two months (January and February) of 2021.
The output was significantly higher than just 119,639 mobile phones assembled in the entire 2019.

According to a statement issued by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Wednesday, the implementation of Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) in 2019 led to a notable increase in legal imports of mobile devices.

PTA highlighted that it recently issued the Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Regulations following which a large number of mobile device manufacturing applications started flowing in.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Ministry asked to finalise 3G, 4G auction*


Our Correspondent
March 09, 2021








Umar stated that the G-B power sector should have a regional grid of its own as a connection to the grid posed a challenge due to the distance involved. 



*ISLAMABAD: *Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has directed the Ministry of Information Technology and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to finalise the auction of 3G and 4G licences in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) on priority, as the importance of IT is far greater for remote areas than the large cities of Pakistan.

“Generating economic activities in remote areas will only be possible through strong IT infrastructure in the future,” he said while chairing a progress review meeting on G-B development plan on Monday. Umar added that one of the underlying principles is to create maximum employment opportunities for the youth and people of G-B.

G-B Additional Chief Secretary briefed the minister on the potential projects in the public sector, non-PSDP (Public Sector Development Programme) initiatives, as well as in the Public-Private Partnership mode. The various priority sectors such as clean energy and hydropower, health, education and skill development, tourism, private sector development, agriculture, women development, social welfare and youth were also discussed in the meeting.

The meeting was informed that all provincial departments are in contact with relevant federal ministries/divisions and PC-Is of the shortlisted schemes are being prepared by the respective departments. 

The G-B government placed special emphasis on clean energy to mitigate severe power crisis in the area, other priority sectors included tourism, gems and minerals, agricultural products, roads and communications and information technology.

Umar stated that the G-B power sector should have a regional grid of its own as a connection to the grid posed a challenge due to the distance involved. He said that the aim in G-B development package on the energy side is not only to produce energy but also to build the right institutional and regulatory framework and generation transmission distribution capacity as well.

Umar directed PPP Authority to assist G-B government in strengthening G-B PPP Unit and help in the identification of private sector partners. He called on the Board of Investment (BOI) to hold roadshows in two or three different cities in Pakistan where the federal and provincial governments could jointly market available public-private opportunities to potential investors.

Umar directed the planning ministry to devise a strategy for training and capacity building of G-B officers and directed all the ministries and divisions to complete the feasibility and submits the PC-Is to the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) so that activities on ground could start as early as possible.


_Published in The Express Tribune, March 9th, 2021._


----------



## ghazi52

The government on Thursday announced that it would reduce taxes on the telecom sector in the upcoming budget in order to give a boost to the information technology industry.

On recommendations of the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, the federal cabinet has approved the grant of industry status to the telecom sector and a gradual reduction in heavy taxes on the sector and mobile phone users.

“This is a major achievement which will directly benefit not only mobile phone users but will also help spread the goal of Digital Pakistan (connectivity) to remote areas,” said Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haq while speaking at a press conference.

The minister revealed that advance income tax on mobile phone users would be slashed from 12.5% to 10% in next financial year 2021-22 and to 8% in 2022-23. Similarly, the federal excise duty on telecom services will be cut from 17% to 16%.

The minister disclosed that the fee of Rs250 on the issuance of a new SIM was being abolished as the cabinet had approved the introduction of a simple and easy tax system for the telecom sector and exemption from all withholding taxes.

He pointed out that the cabinet had endorsed a reduction in the tax on telecom services from 8% to 3% for all telecom companies with a Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) licence.

The cabinet has also approved reduction in customs duty and regulatory duty on the import of telecom equipment as well as on raw material for the optic fibre cable manufacturing industry.


It has issued instructions to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to reduce taxes from 20% and 7% to 5% and 3% respectively.

Talking about the performance of IT ministry and its attached organisations, Haq said credit for getting approval for the revolutionary initiative - the Right of Way policy - from all forums went to the IT ministry.
The policy sets a fee structure for working in the required areas. Similarly, telecom facilities will be considered as “critical infrastructure” and no obstruction or unnecessary problems will be allowed to stand in their way.

Other important issues like a common service corridor, security of telecom infrastructure and safety measures based on health principles have also been included in the Right of Way policy, which will be binding on all the agencies and administrations concerned, and it is a kind of one-window operation.

The minister said the Universal Service Fund (USF) of the IT ministry had played a major role in the outstanding performance, under which 32 different projects worth about Rs22 billion were launched during first 31 months of the current government.

In 10,132 villages in 50 districts of unserved and underserved areas, broadband services were being provided to facilitate about 4 million people, he said.

Haq pointed out that the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) had received 40% additional export remittances in the first six months of current financial year and by the end of the year, the remittances would cross the billion-dollar target.

Under the PSEB, dozens of projects under “Tech DestiNation Pakistan” have been launched to promote the IT industry. The aim is to provide facilities and training opportunities for IT professionals and IT companies as well as to attract domestic and foreign investors.

Work is also continuing on building a network of software technology parks across the country, under which 40 parks have been set up in Swat, Bannu, Quetta, Faisalabad, Karachi and Sukkur under public-private partnership.

Technology parks in Gilgit and Hyderabad were making millions of dollars within a few months of their establishment, he said.

Similarly, PC-1 has been submitted to provide rental subsidy to 25 software technology parks in small areas. “Foundation stone for setting up IT parks in Karachi and Islamabad at a total cost of Rs 44 billion will be laid soon,” the minister added.

He said the National IT Board (NITB) had provided all technical facilities and support for the structure of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) during the Covid-19 outbreak and without its support, it would have been almost impossible to establish it in the short term.

NITB has developed 35 useful mobile applications and web portals for providing public services at fingertips under the Digital Pakistan vision, which included Pak Nighaban, Covid-19 information platform, resource management system for the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and a real-time dashboard.

He said under IGNITE, incubation centres had been set up in five major cities where 691 start-ups had registered themselves. Similarly, plans to set up more incubation centres in Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Kamra, Mardan and other cities are in final stages.

“More than 1.7 million people have so far enrolled through the online training platform ‘Digi Skills’,” said the minister.

He praised the performance of Special Communication Organisation (SCO) under the IT ministry in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. SCO revenue in the two regions increased 40% to Rs5.5 billion in 2019-20 compared to the previous year.

The minister said the GSM network in Gilgit-Baltistan was expanded to 75% under the SCO in the past two years, for which 350 mobile towers were installed to upgrade from 2G to 4G network, while 200 more towers were being installed in the current year.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

Inaugurated Airlink Smart phone manufacturing facility in Lahore. The largest importer of phones is all set to become one of the largest manufacturers of smartphones with 6 million units/annum capacity. Testament to the success of DIRBS solution & Mobile Manufacturing policy.


Mar 20, 2021


----------



## ghazi52

*4G broadband services to be launched in AJK, GB on 23rd*


Kalbe Ali
March 21, 2021 


 






The government is set to launch 4G broadband services in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and an announcement to this effect is expected to be made on March 23.


ISLAMABAD: The government is set to launch 4G broadband services in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and an announcement to this effect is expected to be made on March 23.

Sources in the ministry of information technology said the government had decided to open up “digital roads” in GB and AJK and the auction proceeds for new spectrum would be finalised by the middle of May.

“The auction of 4G licences will be held before June 30 and it will not only bring high-speed internet to GB and AJK but also the benefits of higher revenues for their governments,” the sources said.

They confirmed that recently Prime Minister Imran Khan was given a briefing by the IT ministry and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) that was also attended by GB Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid and senior officials of the AJK government and the GB secretariat.

“The meeting was informed that traditional restrictions related to the security have been relaxed and high-speed internet services will be provided to almost all areas of GB and AJK, expectedly before the end of this year,” the sources added.

The meeting was informed by the PTA that the UK-based consulting firm Frontier Economics Ltd was working on the parameters and mode of the spectrum auction of 1,800 MHz and 2,100 MHz bands across the country.

“The same firm has been tasked to determine the base price, policy and other requirements related to auction of 4G licences in GB and AJK,” the sources said.

Meanwhile, a senior PTA official confirmed that the basic roadmap for the two auctions will be finalised by the middle of May.

“There will be one auction for new spectrum for the whole country, and another for GB and AJK,” he said.

The auction of licence for AJK and GB will be at much lower price compared to the spectrum auction for the whole of Pakistan as significantly higher amount of investment was required in those areas, the official added.

“Besides, the proceeds from auction of spectrum will be deposited in the National Consolidated Fund, whereas there is a different mechanism to give the share of proceeds to GB and Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

Apart from the share in the auction proceeds, the revenues of AJK and GB too will increase through 19.5 per cent general sales tax (GST) on services levied on both telephony and the internet usage.

Currently, only Telenor is providing a limited range of 4G internet service in Gilgit city and that too out of its additional capacity.

The bulk of telephony and internet services in Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK are being handled by the state-run Special Communications Organisation, and the upcoming license auctions will bring in fresh competition in telephony and digitisation.

_Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2021_


----------



## ghazi52

*Inaugural ceremony of Airlink smart phone production facility*



by The Frontier Post









Written by The Frontier Post


LAHORE: A state-of-the-art smart Phone production facility established by Airkink in Lahore was inaugurated by Muhammad Hammad Azhar, Federal Minister of Industries and Production, on 20th March, 2021. The event was attended by many renowned personalities of the sector including Almas Hyder, Chairman EDB & other govt. officials.

Airkink has been in distribution business for the past 10 years working with top smartphone brands like Samsung, iPhone, Huawei, Xiaomi, Alcatel, TCL, Tecno & iTel. The company has been a strong proponent of investment in Pakistan and has established the factory with 100% owned equity with a production capacity of six million units per annum.

This new venture is a state-of-the-art smart phone production facility, being the most advanced mobile phone production facility with a vision of contract manufacturing in the country by meeting all International standards of quality and production. The company has already secured contracts with TECNO, itel and TCL with all regulatory approvals.

Addressing this historic occasion, Mr. Muzzaffar Hayat Piracha CEO Airlink Communication Ltd. expressed his gratitude on the inauguration of the production plant. He said, “I feel honored that Airlink was able to establish this state-of-the-art facility in these unprecedented times which resonates with the Prime Minister’s vision to promote “Made in Pakistan” products that will not only create employment opportunities for people of Pakistan but also reduce the import bill, thus lessening the burden on foreign exchange reserves.

This initiative of the government and its governing authorities will help focusing on employment generation, import substitution and technology transfer. It will also connect Pakistan to the international supply chain and will create export potential.

Hammad Azher while speaking on the occasion congratulated the Airlink team for their efforts and said that in consonance with the vision of the PM, ministry of Industries and Production was committed to bring in investment friendly policies while ensuring ease of doing business in the country.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

Mobile Tower installed at Concordia Base Camp in Shigar starts providing cellular and internet services.
Gilgit-Baltistan government has provided support to Special Communication Organisation for the installation of this SCOM Tower to ensure communication facility


----------



## ghazi52




----------



## ghazi52

April 30, 2021





The auction for mobile telephony spectrum is expected to be held in June.


ISLAMABAD: The auction for mobile telephony spectrum is expected to be held in June, and consultants have expressed optimism that it will be successful because of the potential available in Pakistan.

The briefing was made by a consultant at a meeting of the advisory committee for the release of Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) spectrum at the Finance Division on Thursday, chaired by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin.

The committee approved the recommendations for the sale of the spectrum during the meeting, and the consultant would hold meetings with the stakeholders in the next round, and forward the brief related to the auction process.

In the next step the consultant will forward the ‘information memorandum’ containing the details of procedures related to the auction.

1,800 and 2,100 MHz bands to be put on sale

The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Science and Technology Senator Shibli Faraz, Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin ul Haque, adviser to the PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, federal secretaries of relevant ministries, chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Executive Director of the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) and other officers.

The IT minister informed the committee the sale of spectrum was the key to strengthen and expand communication/IT services across the country.

The committee was briefed by the consultant for spectrum auction of 1,800 MHz and 2,100 MHz bands.

The committee was informed that the “Spectrum Auction Pakistan 2020-21” was focused on regulatory consistency for the investors and increases the mobile broadband proliferation that will also have an impact on the overall economic growth of Pakistan.

The consultant expressed the confidence that there was significant potential for the growth of broadband and telephony across Pakistan and the existing four cellular companies were eager to obtain additional spectrum to harness the growth opportunities.

The consultant expressed confidence that the auction would be a success and fetch significant revenues for the government.

The consultant — Frontier Economics — and the PTA signed a contract in January this year for the provision of consultancy services for spectrum auction in Pakistan 2020-21.

Frontier Economics Ltd is one of Europe’s largest independent economic consultancy firms with experts across a range of industries including telecommunication.

PTA Chairman Amir Azeem Bajwa also briefed the committee about the arrangements underway for the sale of available spectrum.

He gave a detailed presentation about the specifications of available spectrum bands and methodology for sale in line with international best practices.

The meeting noted that in-depth analysis would be completed to gauge demand for spectrum and devise a strategy for its pricing and packaging.

While taking stock of the situation, the finance minister directed to expedite the sale process for the available spectrum. He stressed to provide a level playing field so that all operators must have a fair and equal chance in the process.

Mr Tarin also stressed that all the key stakeholders have to ensure maximum participation across the board for successful completion of the sale transaction.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2021

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*PSEB projects Pakistan’s IT exports to cross $5 Billion.




*


With a vision to achieve $5 billion by 2023, Pakistan’s export remittances from information technology and IT enabled services (ITeS) surged 38.16 percent as compared to last year.

This was the highest growth rate achieved by the IT sector since 2018, when growth rate for the corresponding period was just 13 percent, the statement added.

Lauding the latest exports performance of the industry, Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque said the initiative for bringing the IT companies from secondary and tertiary cities into mainstream was well underway for ensuring holistic growth.

He said that the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) registration fee for IT and ITeS companies, including call centres and IT start-ups belonging to underserved areas of the country, have been completely waived to boost growth of the IT industry across Pakistan.

Haque has set a target of $5 billion for export remittances through information technology and ITeS during the next three years.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*K2 base camp area gets internet access, phone coverage*

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter
May 18, 2021 








A view of the K2 base camp. — Photo courtesy Imad Broh

ISLAMABAD: The 4G Base Transceiver Station (BTS) recently installed in Gilgit-Baltistan has been made operational to improve telecommunication services at the K2 base camp area, it emerged on Monday.

With the station becoming operational, mobile phone coverage and internet access in the area will prove to be pivotal for mountaineers and trekking groups to stay connected with their families and for assistance in case of any emergency.

It will also help in weather monitoring and promoting adventure tourism, as in line with government’s vision of promoting tourism across the country, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and telecom operators are focusing on improving telecommunication services in areas full of tourism potential.

The 4G BTS had been installed at K2 base camp area of Concordia. The site has been named as Ali Sadpara in the memory of the late mountaineer. It was inaugurated by the prime minister during his recent visit to Gilgit-Baltistan. The Special Communication Organisation (SCO) made it operational to ensure communication facilities at the base camp of the world’s second tallest peak.

The SCO, established in 1976 to develop, operate and maintain telecom services in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, is a public sector organisation working under the Ministry of Information Technology.

_Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2021_

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*PTA issues mobile device manufacturing licenses to 19 companies*

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued mobile device manufacturing authorisations to 19 foreign and local companies for the production of 2G, 3G and 4G mobile devices locally.

According to PTA, initially valid for next 10 years, the manufacturers may also establish their own new brand under the authorisation, helping promote a ‘Manufactured in Pakistan’ culture.

Mobile devices produced by these manufacturers shall not only be sold in the country but can also be exported to other competitive markets of the region and beyond.

The device manufacturing plants shall be instrumental in providing new job opportunities and low priced handsets for the Pakistani users.


----------



## ghazi52

*License renewal fee from two CMOs: PTA receives Rs15.82bn against second installment*

Tahir Amin 28 May 2021


ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has received Rs 15.82 billion (equivalent of USD 103.17 million) against second installment of license renewal fee from two Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs); Telenor Pakistan, and Pakistan Mobile Communication Ltd (Jazz).

The amount is being deposited in the Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF) as per practice under the Pakistan Telecom Re-organization Act 1996, said the PTA, in an official handout.

The PTA has so far deposited Rs 135.81 billion (equivalent of USD 862.22 million) with the government, received against 50 percent of total license renewal fee and first installment of the same from three CMOs.

With the amount of second installment received from two CMOs now, the total receipts on this count have become Rs151.63 billion (USD 965.39 million).

The second license renewal fee installment of CMPAK (Zong) for USD 54.086 is due in October 2021.

The government had earlier received $238.6 million (Rs 37.16 billion) as non-tax revenue from China Mobile (CM Pak) cellular company as license renewal fee.

Telenor Pakistan and Jazz had deposited $224.6 million (Rs 35.262 billion) each (half of the amount as per court direction) as their license renewal fee in September 2019.The government had approved renewal of licenses of two mobile operators, i.e. Jazz and Telenor Pakistan at around $450 million each, while the third operator - CM Pak has to pay $470 million.

Due to stay orders given by the Islamabad High Court (IHC), the collection of the renewal fee from two telecom companies had been delayed.

Cellular licenses were issued by the PTA to two new cellular mobile operators i.e. Telenor Pakistan and Warid Telecom on May 26, 2004 for a period of 15 years, under the Mobile Cellular Policy, 2004, on payment of $291 million after auction.

Cellular license of Paktel Limited, now China Mobile Pakistan (Zong), was also renewed by the PTA under the 2004 Policy on October 23, 2004 for a period of 15 years on payment of $291 million.

These licenses were due for renewal on May 25, 2019 and October 22, 2019 respectively. In 2014, the Government of Pakistan renewed the license of Ufone at $291 million.

On August 21, the IHC directed Telenor and Jazz for depositing 50 percent of license renewal fee i.e. around Rs 36 billion each in two weeks as guarantee.

The operators disagreed with the PTA’s decision on fixing license renewal fee.

The operators had also requested for grant of stay order to avoid service disruption in the country after August 21, 2019 - the date fixed by the PTA for renewal of licenses.

The court had directed both the operators to deposit half of the amount, i.e. 50 percent as guarantee till the final decision on the appeal of both cellular operators.

The PTA had rejected mobile operators’ apprehensions relating to the price of license renewal and passed an order, while fixing the fee for license renewal at $39.5 million per MHz for frequency spectrum of 900MHz and $29.5 million per MHz for frequency spectrum of 1800 MHz.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021


----------



## ghazi52

TECHNO mobile Assembled in Pakistan


----------



## ghazi52

*Federal Government to arrange a $158. 5 Million foreign loan for the establishment of an IT Park in Karachi *


A foreign loan of Rs. 26.5 billion ($ 158.5 million) would be arranged by the federal government to develop an IT park in Karachi. The entire cost of the project is Rs. 31.2 billion, with the federal government contributing Rs. 4.72 billion, according to the official project document.


The IT ministry is leading the initiative, which will be finished in six years, to address difficulties in the IT sector such as a shortage of infrastructure, the retention of qualified workers, and increased international competitiveness.

In keeping with the government's Digital Pakistan goal, software technology parks are an important part of the government's goal to promote a knowledge-based economy through value addition, innovation, and technology adoption.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has received Rs15.82 billion against second instalment of license renewal fee of telecom companies.

Two cellular mobile operators (CMOs), Telenor Pakistan and Pakistan Mobile Communication Limited, commonly known as Jazz, paid PTA Rs15.82 billion --equivalent of $103.17 million – against the second instalment of license renewal fee, according to a press statement issued by PTA.

Pakistan's telecom sector has been among those receiving highest foreign direct investment (FDI), according to the PTA annual report 2019-2020. It added that fiscal year 2020 turned out to be the best as far as FDI was concerned, since net FDI of over $622 million was brought into the telecom sector.

This huge investment became possible primarily because of the license renewal fees that mobile operators (Telenor, Zong and Jazz) paid to the regulator, as per the report. The telecom sector reported a share of 24% in the total FDI of Pakistan during FY20 as against negative share in FY19.

However, some in the telecom sector do not see these high fees productive in long run saying mobile services are becoming essential for almost every field, therefore, the government should decrease prices of licenses and taxes so that other digital services such as e-education, e-commerce, e-health should thrive. The officials are of the view that development of these services will earn PTA more revenue than at present.

The earned amount will be deposited in the Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF) as per practice under Pakistan Telecom Re-organization Act 1996, PTA said.

PTA has so far deposited Rs135.81 billion (equivalent of $862.22 million) with the government, received against 50% of total license renewal fee and first instalment of the same from three CMOs. With the amount of second instalment received from two CMOs now, the total receipts on this count have become Rs151.63 billion ($965.39 million).

The second license renewal fee instalment of CMPAK (Zong) for $54.086 million shall be due in October 2021.

The wireless and landline operators are investing in network expansion and quality of service improvement, in addition to non-developmental investments in the shape of license renewal, etc.

During the year 2020, the telecom sector invested over $733 million in Pakistan, of which the mobile industry’s share comes to 77%. License renewal fee by three CMOs contributed a major share to investments made by CMOs, according to PTA.

Commenting on the development, ICT expert Parvez Iftikhar said, “I am surely happy for my country receiving these amounts against license renewals. But it would benefit us much more if it meant release of more spectrum. Hoarding of spectrum raises its price, but lowers quality and speed of broadband, which hurts online learners, freelancers, knowledge workers, and generally all those who must work from home.”



_Published in The Express Tribune, May 28th, 2021._

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*Korea loans $76.28 Million to build IT Park in Islamabad. *

The government has received a loan of $76.28 million from the Republic of Korea for establishment of the Information Technology Park project in Islamabad.

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has confirmed that the government of Pakistan has received a loan of $76.28 million from the Export-Import Bank of Korea from the resources of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) of the Republic of Korea toward the cost of the establishment of the IT Park Project, Islamabad, and intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this loan to payments under the contract for the establishment of the IT Park Project.

The ministry has stated that the terms and conditions of the contract and payments by the bank, will be subject in all respects to the terms and conditions of the loan agreement, including the guidelines for the procurement under the EDCF loan (the guidelines).

Except the bank may specially otherwise agree, no party other than the borrower will derive any rights from the loan agreement or have any claim to the loan proceeds.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*Government to set up IT park at Karachi airport*

Of total project cost of Rs31b, South Korea will provide 85% of financing

Zafar Bhutta 
June 05, 2021








*ISLAMABAD: *The government has decided to set up an information technology (IT) park at the Jinnah International Airport in the trade and business hub of Karachi at a cost of Rs31 billion, say officials.

The government is focusing on increasing the growth of IT sector to enhance exports. It is contrary to the past practices when excessive reliance was placed on exports from traditional sectors like textile.

South Korean government has offered to finance the IT park project including the provision of technical expertise.

In addition to that, the government is also setting up IT parks in other cities, particularly Islamabad, in a bid to give a boost to the IT sector. IT is the only sector that offers huge opportunities of employment.

The setting up of IT parks will not only give a fresh impetus to the IT sector, but it will also provide job opportunities for the people.

South Korea is expected to provide 85% of funding for the project, which amounts to around Rs26.4 billion calculated at the rate of Rs170 to a dollar.

Seoul will also offer fellowship training for capacity-building of the IT park management.

Total cost of the project is estimated at Rs31 billion. 

The government will arrange around Rs26 billion in foreign loans to complete the project. It will meet the remaining 15% of the cost from the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

The IT park will house about 210 IT companies having 8,400 employees. The project includes a multi-storey office building.

Sources told The Express Tribune that Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) would act as the project executing agency and would complete it in six years.

They said that the IT park would be spread over an area of 106,449 square metres with eight floors above the ground and three basement floors.

Korean consultants and the PSEB have conducted a feasibility study including a detailed survey for demand analysis of the IT park.

The report highlighted three broad factors behind the worldwide growth of IT parks.
First, technology has become very pertinent to economic development as it offers a powerful competitive advantage.

Second, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are playing an increasingly important role in technological advancement, innovation, employment generation and economic growth worldwide.

Third, increasing growth of advanced and knowledge-based SMEs offers a high growth potential in light of the feasibility study, project scope and major components.

Keeping these three broad prospects in view, the government has planned to set up the IT park in Karachi.

The IT park will provide space, facilities and services for IT firms. It will offer a platform to the industry and local universities to establish synergies.

It will also attract international business collaboration and global IT companies as anchor tenants and investors.

The IT park in Karachi will improve the provision of work space and allied infrastructure facilities for IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) companies and promote growth of the IT industry.

The project will also help to improve the formation of IT clusters, increase export revenues and showcase Pakistani innovations and services in the IT sector before the international audience and customers.

The IT park building will have offices, daycare centre, amenities, parking, etc.

It will have ICT system, security features and a data centre. There will be post-project operational support for the IT park management two years after its completion.

The IT park management is also included in the management information system. Two years of operational support of ICT infrastructure includes consultancy services for the design and construction of buildings with security facilities.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*WHY 5G IS STILL OUT OF PAKISTAN’S GRASP*

Lack of 4G penetration and production of outdated cellphones are issues holding back a next-gen technology roll out

ARTICLE BY *NABIL TAHIR*
JUNE 05, 2021

*KARACHI: *In the 21st century, one needs to be in tune with the digital world. The online population is increasing exponentially day by day – reports estimate the number of Internet users in Pakistan reached 61.34 million in January 2021. To cater to a large digital population, all countries have been in a race to see which country will be first to come up with the best 5G network. This begs the question, where does Pakistan stand?

Communication service providers worldwide are battling one another to build out, validate and deploy commercial 5G networks. Given that Pakistan is a growing economy, more and more of its online population is also increasing in order to access the myriad benefits that it can provide. 

5G technology is 100 times faster than 4G and will make life that much better for its users. Time is money, and of course, more time saved and more ease of use equates to more money being saved. As such, Pakistan must complete the transition from 4G to 5G as soon as is practically possible for the benefit of the Pakistani people as a whole.

But there are several reasons that Pakistan is nowhere near adopting 5G technology. Some of these reasons include the lack of good mobile phones, illegal signal boosters and old frequency bands.


*Unplanned obsolescence*

According to the telecom Indicators updated by the Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) on March 2021, there are about 98 million 3G/4G subscribers that make 43.51 per cent penetration in the country. Broadband subscription in the country has hit 101 million, while the total number of cellular subscribers has reached 183 million. Unfortunately, however, the larger chunk of users is still on 2G.

According to figures, PMCL (Jazz) accounts for the highest number of registered cellular subscribers in Pakistan. On the question of 5G, the provider believes that the 4G network in the country must hit 60 per cent penetration for the next-gen technology rollout to become feasible. The ground reality is that the country is far from that level. Despite enhancements such as new 4G towers being added to the network, around 90 per cent of mobile sets that are being assembled or manufactured in the country are only compatible with 2G technology.

"We have to ensure the at least 60 per cent among all consumers are on 4G before going to 5G," Jazz CEO Aamir Ibrahim told _The Express Tribune_. "We need to accept that the lack of good mobile phone sets is one of the key barriers to the Internet growth in the country."

Talking about the need for a policy decision by telecom regulator PTA, he said, “I do not consider 3G broadband as it is an obsolete technology now. Although Pakistan has a mobile set manufacturing policy, the focus should not be on 2G-compatible sets but on the assembly of smartphones. Presently, approximately 53 per cent of all SIM subscribers use 2G sets.”

He further stressed that the PTA has to make mobile companies sell locally assembled sets at instalments. "A digital emergency needs to be declared and targets need to be set the to determine national goals in this regard," he said.

Talking about broadband companies, he pointed out that all of them are foreign investors, and the basic need of all investors, foreign or local, is predictability and equal treatment. “Continuing at this pace won't achieve the digitisation targets, we need to do something radically different. We have to create an environment conducive to investors and do heavy investment in it,” he said.

Cellular companies are often criticised for not providing quality Internet in certain areas. On this, Ibrahim said that there are certain areas where the authorities there do not allow the operators to establish a tower. "Our focus of growth is around 20 per cent in unserved areas but the cost of doing business in these remote parts is too high," he added.









*Creative:* Mohsin Alam



*Illegal signals*

Another reason for the slow pace of adopting technology in the country is the illegal use of services. Like any power utility that suffers losses due to power thefts, the same is case in cellular signals.

Many cellular and broadband users in Pakistan are experiencing a drop in their networks due to a growing trend of illegal installation of GSM signal boosters in residential and commercial areas. People use these boosters to increase mobile signal strength within buildings that have poor connectivity due to coverage gaps. 

Since these devices amplify the signals between a mobile phone and the mobile operator's base stations, they cause problems because they broadcast continuous signals and jam legitimate users' phone signals. This is similar to having an illegal water connection from the main supply line, which causes a shortage for all other consumers.

These boosters are readily available wholesale, retail and in online marketplaces and have become a norm in many households. The rise in the installation of these boosters has led to a growing number of complaints by mobile phone users in various parts of Pakistan against network disappearance issues, which leads to call drops and low data speeds.

However, it seems to be the case that people are also not aware of the illegality of these boosters in Pakistan. According to the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) Act 1996 Section 31, Sub-section (2), “the unauthorised use of the radio frequency spectrum shall be punishable with imprisonment, which may extend to (three) years, or with fine which may extend to Rs10 million, or with both.”

PTA has issued several notifications warning users of strict legal action if they are found using or selling these signal boosters. In December 2020, PTA also sent a letter to the FBR requesting them to stop importing these illegal boosters and amplifiers. However so far, no action has been taken in this regard, as these devices are readily available in urban markets and even on certain e-commerce websites.

The PTA spokesperson further said that the authority has been serving notices and taking actions against their installation and making efforts to curb the menace of signal boosters. “Much work is being done to end the issue of the illegal signal booster. The authority takes actions on the request of companies and customers. Based on customers' feedback we have successfully managed to increase signal strength in many areas,” he added.

In this regard, the cellular companies said they were working alongside PTA to ensure quick provision of quality services. The Chief Operating Officer of Telenor Pakistan, Khurram Ashfaque, said that Telenor ensures the devices installed at the customers' premises are approved as per PTA guidelines. “[However] Recently, we have observed some installation of unapproved, off-the-shelf and poor quality devices at certain locations,” he said.

“Boosters create unwanted signal interference and degrade the experience of mobile customers in their vicinity,” he said while requesting the PTA and Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) to take steps to control the availability and use of such boosters to ensure uninterrupted signal quality to mobile customers.

Since the pandemic struck the world, almost all sectors moved their work online and what was key for this move to be successful, was good internet however, this was an issue for many. For instance, many health care workers in Pakistan have been consulting and teaching students online, and they many faced issues while trying to execute this. “I am a doctor, and since the pandemic, I have been forced to teach students online. Although I have to go to the hospital in case of emergencies, the OPDs are conducted online. For this, a good internet connection for video lectures is required,” said Sadia Manzoor, a practising doctor at Sir Syed University Hospital.

“There are times when the line internet connection is not working and we have to use 4G but even that sometimes does not work. The internet suddenly stops or the mobile cellular signals go off. The same happens at the time of conducting online classes. This causes a lot of interruptions while consulting and teaching,” she said, adding that she has complained to the cellular company and, upon their visit, got to know that there are some illegal signal boosters installed in the area that is causing the issue.


*New connections, old frequencies*







Another challenge is the frequency bands. A 4G LTE operates on established frequency bands below 6GHz, whereas for 5G frequencies go all the way up to 300GHz. But in Pakistan, the companies are adjusting the new connections on old frequencies.

An independent information and communications technology (ICT) analyst said that this is an ideal time for PTA and the FAB to float frequency spectrums for auction. "The Covid-19 pandemic, has increased broadband penetration in Pakistan but companies are still adjusting new connections at old frequencies," he added. He added that people use boosters to strengthen the signal strength, and this issue will be resolved to a great extent when a new spectrum becomes available.

Even though many users use fixed-line Internet, mobile-based Internet is the essential source of digitisation. It is the best tool to spread awareness and education, especially during the pandemic. Having access to Internet at your fingertips, not only open forums to gain knowledge but also to enhance your skills.

A Karachi-based gamer, Mohib Asad, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that many mobile-based games are getting popular in Pakistan but low configuration mobiles and slow internet connection is a huge hindrance in Pakistan. "We have some of the best gamers of the world in Pakistan but the unstable and slow Internet connectivity creates issues. If 5G is introduced in our country, it will create a level playing field for us and other gamers in developed nations," he said.

However, Pakistan is will be nowhere near introducing 5G technology unless the issues mentioned earlier are resolved. Currently, even 4G has not penetrated countrywide, there are still some areas that are yet to get 3G/4G service. The need for smooth and stable connectivity in the serving areas is also required as soon as possible. More importantly, the users who have not yet switched to smartphones will keep on using 2G-bassed phones until local manufacturing is not stopped.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

Journey of our closest friend....

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*WHT rates reduced to 10percent: Industry status for telecom sector proposed*


Tahir Amin 
12 Jun 2021









ISLAMABAD: The government has proposed the industrial status for telecom sector, reduced withholding tax rates from 12.5 percent to 10 percent for tax year 2022, and eight percent for onward for telephone user on account of mobile telephone and prepaid internet or telephone cards, reduced rate of federal excise duty on telecommunication from 17 percent to 16 percent, and three percent reduced rate of withholding tax on telecommunication services in the Finance Bill 2021-22.

According to the salient features of budget 2021-22, Customs Act 1969 relief measures proposed the inclusion of telecommunication services in definition of industrial undertaking.

According to the notes on Clauses Customs Act, 1969 (Iv of 1969) seeks to include "Telecommunication Companies operating under the license of PTA" in definition of industrial undertaking.

It further seeks to reduce withholding tax rates from 12.5 percent to 10 percent for tax year 2022 and eight percent for onward for telephone user on account of mobile telephone and prepaid internet or telephone cards.

The bill proposed to provide exemption from the withholding tax provisions to payments received by the National Telecommunication Corporation for rendering services.

Further, the rate of federal excise duty on telecommunication is proposed to be reduced from 17 percent to 16 percent.

Further the reduced rate of withholding tax of three percent on oilfield services, warehousing services, logistic services, collateral management services and telecommunication services is proposed.

However, in order to reap reasonable revenue from this sector, federal excise on mobile phone calls exceeding three minutes @ Re1 per call, SMS message @ Re0.1 per SMS, and internet data usage @ Rs5 per GB is being proposed.

This will result into mild taxation of a broad spectrum of population.

Tax exemptions and concessions for Roshan digital accounts and implementation of electric vehicles and mobile phone policy implemented vide Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 dated 11.02.2021 made part of bill.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Govt says no tax on data usage*

June 12, 2021 







*ISLAMABAD: The budget for the upcoming fiscal year has proposed new duties on the internet and the telecom usage, not only inviting a backlash on social media but also creating confusion as the government denied the increase.*

The finance bill has proposed that Re1 per call if the duration exceeds three minutes, Rs5 per GB for internet usage and 10 paisa on each SMS has been imposed, which will be in addition to the existing rates.

However, as the news reached the general public that taxes and duties have been enhanced on the consumers, users stormed social media with criticism of the government and many even tagged the prime minister at their tweets saying that the “Budget killed digital Pakistan initiative of the PM.”

After the strong criticism of the government for making internet usage, call and SMS costlier Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar denied that additional duties have been imposed on telecom and the data usage.

In his tweet the minister said, “The PM and Cabinet did not approve the FED levy on internet data usage. It will not be included in the final draft of the Finance Bill (budget) that is placed before parliament for approval.”

The information minister told _Dawn_ that the increase mentioned in the budget document was an oversight, because the cabinet had not approved it. He made it clear that no tax has been imposed on data use.

However, many remained critical and concerned. In his tweet Amir Ibrahim, CEO Jazz, said that the additional levy on internet is detrimental to “Digital Pakistan” journey.

However, he praised Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin for reducing the FED, that has been reduced from 17 per cent to 16pc, which is the standard rate for all sectors.

Mr Tarin in his budget speech announced that the federal excise duty on the telecom sector has been rationalised.

Meanwhile, senior officials of telcos said that the telecom industry will give its reaction to budgetary measures on Saturday.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the world to adopt a social distancing attitude and most of the activities including buying groceries, education and even medical checkups were shifting to online mode — increasing internet rates will be damaging for whole society,” a senior executive of a telecom company said.

Similar views were expressed by a senior official of an internet service provider (ISP) who said that Pakistan was already on the 90th position in the world for internet inclusion and second lowest in Asia.

“Now if the government wants Pakistan to be at the last spot, increasing duties and taxes at internet and mobile calls was justified,” the official said, adding that Pakistani consumers were already paying exorbitant rates for data usage mainly because of high taxes and duties.


----------



## ghazi52

*National emergency helpline 911 likely to ring in on July 25*
June 12, 2021





A rape incident had prompted Prime Minister Imran Khan to launch Pakistan’s first toll-free helpline number. 


LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan is likely to inaugurate the country’s first national emergency helpline – 911-- on July 25.

It is said to be a tentative deadline to inaugurate the multi-billion scheme named Pakistan Emergency Help Line (PEHL), merging all the emergency service numbers into one. The Prime Minister Secretariat derived this concept from USA’s helpline 911 to give the proposed scheme ‘PEHL’ the national identity.

The work to establish the national helpline began after the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway rape case in which a woman had to go through a trying ordeal and failed to get through any helpline and seek help of government departments due to ‘jurisdiction dispute’. The woman was gang-raped in front of her children in September last year, prompting Prime Minister Imran Khan to launch Pakistan’s first toll-free helpline number that will be accessed by people of all the provinces to avoid any such incident in future.

During investigation into the gang-rape incident, it was realised that many helplines were functioning at a time but people were confused which one to go for in any particular area to seek emergency help from the department concerned. The National Highways and Motorway Police and the Lahore police also were at variance about the area of jurisdiction where the crime had been committed.


> Prime minister is scheduled to open the initiative


“All modalities have been finalised in a series of meetings held with the provinces to establish the first national emergency helpline 911,” national focal person for the helpline Adil Safi told _Dawn_. Mr Safi, who is the deputy secretary at the Prime Minister House, said the last and important meeting with the provinces in this respect would be held next week to give nod to the PM’s scheme.

Before launching the country’s first helpline, experts studied models of the universal helplines of the UK, the USA and some other countries. He said initially the experts proposed ‘786’ as Pakistan’s national helpline number but later it was replaced by 911.

The national helpline number has been established under the Ministry of Interior with its head office in the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in Islamabad. The helpline will be run by many operators who will work from the Central Control Room at the NCOC office.

The provinces have been directed to establish control rooms in their respective jurisdictions by making appointment of ‘huge brigade’ of trained and qualified operators and other staff.

Mr Safi said all the existing emergency numbers would be linked with the national helpline under the proposed scheme. The staff would receive all emergency calls at the central control room from where they would transfer them to the departments concerned for speedy action.

“Initially, the four kinds of acute emergencies would be dealt with on the national helpline which would be related to the police, fire brigade, ambulance service and the National Highways and Motorway Police,” said the focal person. “This helpline number can be dialed through mobile phones from any part of the country to avail oneself of various services even if the handler (caller) has no access to the network,” he said.

All the emergency calls would be attended ‘directly and live’ by the deputed staff who would transfer the same to the officials concerned for speedy action.

A unique feature has been incorporated in the new system under which a ‘red light’ would keep giving an alarm till the redress of the complaint and the caller’s satisfactory reaction is received against his plaint, he said.

Answering a question, he said the government had also sought support from the mobile phone companies to ensure the smooth implementation of the service besides taking the PTA and other departments on board.

A mobile app had also been made part of the facility to help the rescue centres and police trace the location of people in emergency and reach them promptly, Mr Safi said.


_Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2021_

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52



Reactions: Like Like:
1 | Love Love:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Ministry of IT launches 'Smart Village' project in all provinces*


Initiative aims to increase remote areas' access to a range of digital services in the domain of health, education, commerce, and livelihood

BR Web Desk 
16 Jun 2021








*The Ministry of Information Technology (IT) and Telecommunications launched on Wednesday a 'Smart Village' project in four provinces including Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), and Gilgit-Baltistan.*

The project aims to increase remote areas' access to a range of digital services in the domain of health, education, commerce, and livelihood.

It will also focus on cross-sector collaboration and multi-stakeholder engagement to further improve cost-effectiveness and sharing of resources and expertise in delivering the services to citizens.

The project will be funded and technically supported by the International Telecommunication Union, a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for all matters related to information and communication technologies, and Huawei Technologies Pakistan.

Initially, one Smart Village will be established each inIslamabad, Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

“Smart Village project is another step towards realizing Prime Minister’s vision of Digital Pakistan,” Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque said while speaking at the inauguration ceremony.

Talking about different projects done by the National Information Technology Board (NITB), the minister said that so far “more than 30 mobile applications, government web portals, and websites related to public services have been set up”.

He also said that his ministry will continue to undertake more challenging and productive programs in the future to support the promotion of IT and Telecommunication related services in Pakistan.

The minister congratulated the teams of USF, ITU, and Huawei in the implementation of the project.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52



Reactions: Love Love:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Pakistan Aims to Double IT Industry in Two Years With Tech Zones*

New tech zones may double IT industry to $6 billion in 2 years

Pakistan has huge youth population, world’s No. 3 gig economy

Pakistan is looking to double its IT industry in two years by setting up dedicated tech zones across the country, after missing out on tech booms that helped nations like India and Philippines become back-end operators for the world.

The world’s fifth most populous nation expects to open a dozen such zones by next year, said Amer Hashmi, who heads the government body responsible for developing science and technology zones. It’s offering a 10-year waiver on corporate tax and imports of any equipment or building material needed for the areas, which will give Pakistan’s IT industry a “catapult push” that could double its size to as much as $6 billion in two years, he added.

Pakistan is banking on the new tech zones to create employment for its masses of young people -- nearly two-thirds of its population is below 30. It’s already home to the third-largest gig economy globally after India and Bangladesh, according to Online Labour Index by Oxford Internet Institute. A flood of overseas capital into startups from fintech to e-commerce that began during the coronavirus pandemic is also creating demand for dedicated zones to serve these industries.

Reactions: Like Like:
2 | Love Love:
1


----------



## ghazi52



Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## Ali_Baba

ghazi52 said:


> *Pakistan Aims to Double IT Industry in Two Years With Tech Zones*
> 
> New tech zones may double IT industry to $6 billion in 2 years
> 
> Pakistan has huge youth population, world’s No. 3 gig economy
> 
> Pakistan is looking to double its IT industry in two years by setting up dedicated tech zones across the country, after missing out on tech booms that helped nations like India and Philippines become back-end operators for the world.
> 
> The world’s fifth most populous nation expects to open a dozen such zones by next year, said Amer Hashmi, who heads the government body responsible for developing science and technology zones. It’s offering a 10-year waiver on corporate tax and imports of any equipment or building material needed for the areas, which will give Pakistan’s IT industry a “catapult push” that could double its size to as much as $6 billion in two years, he added.
> 
> Pakistan is banking on the new tech zones to create employment for its masses of young people -- nearly two-thirds of its population is below 30. It’s already home to the third-largest gig economy globally after India and Bangladesh, according to Online Labour Index by Oxford Internet Institute. A flood of overseas capital into startups from fintech to e-commerce that began during the coronavirus pandemic is also creating demand for dedicated zones to serve these industries.
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 755802



I work in the IT industry here in the UK and I am looking forward to working with Pakistani's in Pakistan as part of projects that we outsource to the world.

I am forced to use a lot of Indian's - looking forward to being able to pitch "Pakistan" as an alternative.

I hope the goverment understands the need to improve the quality of STEM subjects and to ensure that Pakistani degrees match international standards for recognition.

It is people educated in STEM subjects that make the IT industry.

Reactions: Like Like:
5


----------



## ghazi52

*ICT exports fetch $1.9bn in 11MFY21*

The Newspaper's Staff 
June 26, 2021 







Salman Khan


KARACHI: Exports of telecommunications, computer and information services increased by almost 48 per cent to $1.908 billion during first 11 months of this fiscal year compared to $1.29bn in 11MFY20, State Bank’s latest data showed on Friday.

In May alone, export earnings from this relatively new sector stood at $200 million compared to $196m in April. It recorded a 66pc growth year-on-year from $118m in April 2020.
Commerce Adviser Razak Dawood said that the ICT and telecom exports now look set to breach the $2bn mark for the first time in history.

In the first quarter July-Sept of the current fiscal the exports from ICT and telecom were $445m which gradually increased each quarter. The export rose to $514m during Oct-Dec and $553m during Jan-March FY21.

While the commerce ministry assured its full support for the development and exports of ICT and telecom, the Covid also played a role for the growth. The communication gap due to pandemic crisis allowed the sector to fill the gap and maximise its business.

Though the size of imports of ICT and telecom was remained at lower side but still the growth during the 11 months was 45pc. The import of the sector during July-May FY21 was 493m against $340m in the same period of last fiscal year.


_Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2021_

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*PTCL signs contracts with Huawei*


The Frontier Post










ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), has signed strategic contracts with Huawei Technologies Pakistan for the transformation of its IP Edge and Optical Transport Network (OTN).

Nadeem Khan, Acting CEO & Group CFO, PTCL & Ufone and Mark Meng, CEO, Huawei Technologies Pakistan, signed the contract during a ceremony held at PTCL HQ, Islamabad. Jafar Khalid, GCTIO (Development), PTCL & Ufone, Ahmed Bilal Masud, Deputy CEO, Huawei Technologies Pakistan, also attended the ceremony, along with senior management from both organizations.

Aimed to meet the exponential growth in traffic, this transformation involves modernization of existing inter-city and long-haul network, with a state-of-the-art OTN network. Combined with the existing Optical Transport Network backbone, PTCL long-haul capacity will become Multiple Terabits per seconds, capable of delivering better services across the country.
Furthermore, PTCL, in-line with its vision to revolutionize widespread availability of IP connectivity in Pakistan, will deploy a Unified IP Edge network, spreading across more than 130 sites, for providing next generation IP services. This upgradation, along with PTCL’s recently modernized Multi-Service Core & Internet Gateway network, will enable provisioning of high-speed & reliable ICT services across Corporate, Carrier & Consumers segments, supporting future customer-end demands of 100-400 Gigabit per second scalability.

Speaking on the occasion, Nadeem Khan, Acting CEO & Group CFO, PTCL & Ufone, said, “PTCL continues to transform its network with scalable architecture and futuristic technologies, to meet growing bandwidth demand from our subscribers, corporate and carrier customers. We are glad to partner with Huawei on this strategic initiative, that will go a long way in enabling the widespread availability of quality ICT Services across Pakistan.”

On the occasion, Mark Meng, CEO, Huawei Technologies Pakistan, said, “We greatly value our long-term relationship with PTCL Group, and continue to support its vision for technological evolution. PTCL is playing a leading role in enhancing customer experience through innovation, and definitely this network transformation will empower and exceed customer expectations in times to come.”

Being the national flagship carrier, PTCL is fully committed to the vision of a Digital Pakistan, by further strengthening its commitment for continual network infrastructure evolution and resolve for consistent improvement of our valued customer experience.


----------



## touela

-Does anybody know how many data centres there are in Pakistan?
- Are Pakistan working on more powerful super computers?
- Are there any IT subjects in universities paid and promoted by larger companies, like Microsoft, Google, Oracle etc?


----------



## ghazi52

Data centers in Pakistan





__





Pakistan Data Centers - Data Center Catalog


List of all Data Centers located in Pakistan. Find any certified, power consumption, cooling redundancy, services and features for data centers in Pakistan.




datacentercatalog.com

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Govt to Establish Data Center for Cloud-based Services in AJK & GB*

The federal government has decided to establish a data center for cloud-based services in Azad Jammu and #Kashmir, and #GilgitBaltistan.

Sources told that the government allocated Rs. 100 million additional funds for the establishment of a data center for cloud-based services in AJK and GB.

Similarly, the government has also approved Rs. 415 million funds for the expansion of services in AJK and GB under the phase two program.

Meanwhile, an amount of Rs. 83.906 million has also been approved for the expansion of broadband services through MSAN technology and up-gradation of IP core and access network in AJK and GB.

In addition, the government has also approved Rs. 100 million amount for the expansion of broadband services in cities/towns of AJK and GB and Rs. 120 million for up-gradation of the Transmission network and the replacement of optical fiber cable in AJK and GB.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Samsung plans to build local assembly plant in Pakistan*

South Korean tech giant Samsung has been in talks with three investors for setting up a mobile manufacturing unit in Pakistan.

Sources said out of three parties, one has a franchise from Korea which has already set up vehicle assembling plants in Pakistan under Auto Development Policy (ADP) 2016-21, while other two are different parties.

They said so far no agreement has been signed as Samsung, after short listing various companies, is in the process of finalising its plan to award the licence to one of the companies for cellphone manufacturing.
The world’s biggest smartphone maker said in an earnings estimate on Wednesday that it expected operating profit of around 12.5 trillion won ($11 billion) for April to June, up from 8.15 trillion won a year earlier.

“The Korean company aims to start local assembly of cellphones in the last quarter of this year,” a source, who is looking after the development in the mobile phone sector, told.

As per EDB list, factories’ locations include Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Islamabad. Some prominent brand names include Nokia, Oppo, Infinix, Tecno, Itel, Vivo, Alpha, Realme, VGOTEL, DCODE, Calme, Xcell, Spice, TCL, Alcatel, etc.


----------



## ghazi52

*Lucky Motors to make Samsung Smartphones in Pakistan*

Lucky Motor Corporation has signed an agreement with Samsung Gulf Electronics to produce Samsung brand’s digital devices in Pakistan.

In a notice dispatched to Pakistan Stock Exchange today, Lucky Motor Corporation said, “In pursuance of this transaction, LMC has also initiated the process of seeking necessary regulatory approvals to carry on the said business and, in this endeavor, has filed an application with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for securing the license,” added the notice. Lucky Motor Corporation is a subsidiary of Lucky Cement.

The LMC further stated the production facility for manufacturing Samsung mobile devices will be located at LMC’s existing plant at Bin Qasim Industrial Park, Special Economic Zone, Port Qasim, Karachi.

“The LMC production facility is expected to be completed by Dec 2021. LMC is currently engaged in the business of manufacturing, assembly, marketing, distribution and sales of Kia and Peugeot branded vehicles, parts and accessories thereof, in Pakistan.

So far, 21 new companies have been authorised to start local manufacturing/assembly of mobile phones in Pakistan.


----------



## ghazi52

*PTCL continues growth momentum, increase of 8% in revenue & 38% in profit*


The Frontier Post

ISLAMABAD: Country’s leading telecom and ICT services provider, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), has announced its financial results for the first half ended June 30, 2021 at its Board of Directors’ meeting held in Islamabad on July 14, 2021. The company posted a significant 8 percent growth in its revenues, the highest since 2014, owing to its robust performance.

PTCL successfully sustained the momentum of growth from its last quarter’s turnaround that had cemented its market standing as the largest fixed line telecom player in the country. The significant growth in revenues is mainly driven by strong performance in consumer segment led by Fixed Broadband services. During the past quarter, PTCL strongly focused on enhancing customer experience through provision of high quality and fast internet under its flagship ‘Flash Fiber’ Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) project.
The company is upgrading its existing infrastructure, besides expanding FTTH to newer markets to usher in seamless connectivity for greater customer enablement and experience. FTTH’s speedy deployment and strong performance in Corporate and Wholesale segments are the cornerstone in PTCL’s enhanced topline growth, which along with focus on cost control program, has significantly increased the company’s profitability.


*PTCL highlights*

PTCL’s revenue of Rs 38 Billion for the half year is 8% higher than same period last year, mainly driven by Broadband and Corporate & Wholesale business segments.

The company has posted operating profit of Rs 2.8 Billion which is higher by 96% compared to the same period of last year.

Net Profit of Rs 3.7 Billion has significantly increased by 38% from last year.

*
PTCL group highlights*

PTCL Group posted revenue of Rs 68 Billion in first half of 2021 that is 8% higher as compared to the same period of last year.

U Bank continued its growth momentum and has achieved 17% growth in revenue. PTML (Ufone) posted revenue growth of 5%.

PTCL Group delivered strong financial and operational performance and posted a net profit of Rs 2.9 Billion as compared to Rs 33 Million for the same period of last year.

*
PTCL consumer business: Consistency in growth & performance*

PTCL Consumer Business showed consistent performance as it reported 4th straight quarter of growth. The company’s Fixed Broadband customers crossed 1.5 Million mark, with 44,486 net additions recorded during the period. Due to COVID-19, Voice business was impacted, however, all remaining business segments reported double-digit growth in revenue.

During the first half of 2021, PTCL Fixed Broadband business grew by 13.5% YoY, whereas PTCL IPTV Segment also grew by 14.1%. The groundbreaking PTCL Flash Fiber FTTH service showed a tremendous growth of 52.5%, while PTCL Charji /Wireless Broadband Segment grew by 18.4%.
*
Business services: Continued positive growth momentum*

Corporate and Wholesale businesses continued its growth momentum sustaining market leadership in IP Bandwidth, Cloud, Data Center and other ICT services segments. The overall YoY growth has been recorded at 8%.

PTCL’s Corporate business grew by 14% as compared to the same period last year, while Carrier and Wholesale business continued its growth momentum and achieved 12% overall revenue growth.
International voice revenue has declined by 5% due to lower voice traffic and appreciation of PKR against USD.

PTCL continues to develop strategic partnerships with leading corporate entities to offer Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) in the banking, education, Cloud and cyber-security verticals. Furthermore, PTCL, in line with its vision to revolutionize widespread availability of IP connectivity in Pakistan, has signed contract for deployment of Unified IP Edge network for providing next generation IP services.

Additionally, 5G technology was successfully tested in a limited environment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by PTCL Group in collaboration with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board (KPITB), under the umbrella of Department of Science and Information Technology, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Ufone’s license for providing services in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan was also renewed for the next 15 years by PTA in June 2021.

Being the backbone of Pakistan’s connectivity, PTCL Group remains at the center stage to accelerate and support the ‘Digital Pakistan’ vision through robust telecommunication infrastructure and enhanced customer experience.


----------



## ghazi52

*Samsung – Lucky’s draw*

BR Research 
19 Jul 2021

*Samsung was in talks for its smartphone contract manufacturing with Tecno, Airlink, Nishat, Arif Habib and Ibrahim Fibers but Lucky came out the victor. After partnering with Kia for car assembling in the country, another Korean company Samsung got Lucky (in partnership) to assemble smart phones in Pakistan. The capital investment of the project is $12-15 million which is not even 10 percent of what Lucky invested in automobiles ($150-200 mn). But it is a number’s game, and if played right, Pakistan can well become a cellphone exporter.*

The smartphone policy under which this investment has come to fruition was prepared by Engineering Development Board (EDB) and approved by the federal cabinet last year – for details read “ *Smartphone – smart policy*”. The policy is certainly yielding results. There are over a dozen factories ready to assemble phones. Some of these are fully or partially operational. With higher regulatory duty (in addition to policy incentive last year) on completely built units (CBUs) in FY22 Budget, the shift from imported CBUs to semi-knock down (SKD) is accelerating.

Apart from Apple (and small-time players of high-end phones like OnePlus), all the brands selling phones in Pakistan will assemble in Pakistan. The game changer could be in three years when completely knock-down (CKD) would come in play and localization would be enhanced in Pakistan. If that happens, Pakistan can potentially export phones by importing CKD and exporting CBUs after adding value at home.

In FY21, according to industry data, Pakistan imported $1,849 million worth of 16.4 million smartphones. Average price of the phone at imported stage comes at $113. Around 80 percent of that market may shift to local assembling. After the smart phone policy in 2020, many players came in and started setting up factories here. Many are installed. Most are manufacturing at the pilot stage. The government has incentivized manufacturers to accelerate the process by further increasing the delta between the cost of CBU and CKD/SKD in this budget.

In FY21, the highest market share was for VIVO that imported 3.9 million phones (24% of market share) of $393 million (21% market share) – average price at $101. That was followed by Infinix – imported 3.8 million phones (23% share) worth $324 million (18% share) at an average price of $85. In terms of value, third biggest player was Samsung – imported 1.6 million units (10% share) of value $281 million (15% share). The average price of Samsung is $176 – and the company has a variety of phones in all price ranges. Then there are a few other brands like Apple (10% share in value but not even 1 percent in volume), Oppo (11% value share), Tecno (9% value share), Xiaomi (7% value share) and a few others.

The current cell phone market in Pakistan is around 1.5 million phones a month. Majority of these are imported as CBUs. Some are already assembled in Pakistan. Oldest player in smart phone is Transsion Tecno. The company has history of automobile parts manufacturing, and it is the first mover in smartphones. The company is making around 300 k units a month and soon may cross 400k units. In *an interview to BR* in March 2020, its CEO said that mobile phone exports from Pakistan can cross textile. Hammad Azhar shared similar sentiments when the policy was conceived at the time. Others like CEO Lucky Group, and EDB Chairman have shared the same optimism.

Mobile phone assembly is not capital intensive. Enhancing assembling lines is not an issue. The initial investment is low. It is a labor-intensive industry, and the key is operational control and following of SOPs. Working capital requirement is high and here Lucky group would have an advantage over others being a big business. For Samsung, working capital requirement could be around $25-35 million for Lucky.

Since installing the factory is not capital intensive, many players already have the capacity to produce more than their market share. Transsion Tecno was the first one in Karachi. Airlink – biggest phone importer in Pakistan has its facility in Lahore which is currently manufacturing around 70K units a month. Then VIVO has its factory in FIEDMC. Oppo/Realme and Inovi have also installed their manufacturing facilities too.

The market is up for grabs. Within a few quarters, mobile phone imports will largely shift to local assembling. These factories may on average be employing 600 workers – mostly young boys and girls. Lucky’s plan is to start manufacturing Samsung by Dec 2021. In early days, it may start from cheaper phones (A and M series) and may move up the ladder with time to make relatively high-end Samsung phones.

The question is how quickly these companies can localize. The policy envisages a move from SKD to CKD in three years (by assembling motherboards in Pakistan). In between, there will be localization of packaging, chargers, handsfree, plastic parts and battery. Once that happens, the value addition could be as high as 45-50 percent and barring imports of raw material (for parts manufacturing), the value addition could reach 25-30 percent.

Once that bridge is crossed, the export market will open. China’s exports of smartphones is around $125-130 billion a year – half the world share. But the labour cost of China is increasing and many of these phones being assembled in the country will move towards other countries. It cannot be Vietnam either as the labour cost is increasing in all Far-Eastern economies. Mobile phone companies have the option to shift to countries like Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.

There is a good share that Pakistan can get. In this budget, export rebate incentive has increased from 3 percent to 6 percent. Some players say it is not enough and demand more. Interestingly, when Samsung was negotiating with the government and its potential partner, the company was arguing that localization timeline in the policy was too stiff and needed to be relaxed. But authorities argued that it is a small investment ($15 mn) and did not justify a change in policy. Authorities argued that it was better to bring technology and localize, and when companies reach a point where they could generate exports, the government could show generosity.


----------



## ghazi52

*Chinese firm to launch 5G phones in Pakistan*

Realme plans to establish assembly line and digital outlet


Shahram Haq
July 21, 2021


The companies are making efforts to introduce 5G phones in the local market.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Realme has shared plans to launch 5G-enabled phones in Pakistan at affordable prices after its parent announced the establishment of a local assembly line in the country.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Realme Regional Marketing Director Sherry Dong said that the brand received an excellent reception in Pakistan, hence the company was now prioritising the country to introduce 5G mobile phones.

She added that the company was the first smartphone brand in Pakistan to sell over a million devices in less than a year, which was a significant milestone and paved the way for new investments and introduction of diverse products.

She announced that the company was planning to set up a local assembly line for its products after which top-notch technology would be available in Pakistan at affordable prices.

A few years ago, Realme’s parent company, Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Ltd, had expressed its interest in setting up a mobile assembly plant in Pakistan.

Giving further details, she said that the facility would have two separate assembly lines - one for each brand.

With a dedicated assembly line for Realme, the company will introduce 5G-enabled mobiles as well as other artificial intelligence (AI) products at affordable rates.

“5G is the future, therefore, we have to provide up-to-date technological products to Pakistani consumers at affordable prices,” she added.

The company utilises online marketplaces to promote its products because e-commerce has grown significantly in Pakistan due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keeping this in view, the management of the smartphone company has decided to introduce its own digital store in Pakistan’s online marketplace.

“We entered into partnerships with a couple of local companies to sell our products, but now we have decided to establish our own digital outlet in Pakistan,” she said.

Sherry added that digital platforms in Pakistan had matured over the past couple of years, but they still lagged behind regional countries.

She pointed out that the company faced some issues with Pakistan Customs as delay in release of shipments had caused shortage of its products.

_Published in The Express Tribune, July 21st, 2021._


----------



## ghazi52

IT export crossing the $2 billion, It's export mark for the first time in our history. 
During FY 2021, IT export grew by 47.4% to USD 2.12 billion as compared to USD 1.44 billion in FY 2020.


----------



## ghazi52

Pakistan’s #exports of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services have broken the $2 billion barrier, as per latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan for the year ended June 30, 2021. This development has stirred optimism about potential of digital services in raising Pakistan’s export profile. 
To be exact, the ICT exports tally came in at $2.12 billion during FY21, achieving significant growth of 47% year-on-year, or $683 million more compared to FY20. As a result, ICT exports’ share in overall goods and services exports increased from 5% in FY20 to 7% in FY21.
Within the $2.12 billion export pie during FY21, based on SBP data, one can see that the ‘computer services’ led with a market share of 79%, followed by 21% stake for ‘telecommunication services’, and a negligible 0.2% slice for ‘information services’.


----------



## ghazi52

*PTA begins additional spectrum sale process*

Kalbe Ali
August 7, 2021







The new spectrum will be applicable for enhancing telephony and broadband services in Pakistan only. — AFP


ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has started the process for the sale of additional spectrum to mobile phone companies — an exercise expected to bring the government around $1 billion from the auction.

The new spectrum will be applicable for enhancing telephony and broadband services in Pakistan only as these frequencies will be applicable for the Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

The PTA has issued the Information Memorandum (IM) to all the four mobile operators in country, offering each megahertz (MHz) in the 1,800 MHz band at $31 million and one mega hertz in 2,100 MHz band at $29m.

The PTA is offering 12.8 MHz spectrum in the 1,800 MHz band and 15 MHz in 2,100 MHz band.

At the current base price the government is likely to get a minimum of $832m from the total sale of 27.8 MHz, if there is no competition among the four mobile operators.

Talking to _Dawn_, a senior executive of a mobile company said the government was offering three blocks of five megahertz each for the 2,100 MHz band, but there were four mobile operators.


> Auction is expected to fetch $1bn


“Besides the operators would want to have two blocks due to long-term preparations for the launch of 5G in Pakistan but the offer was less than the demand and a large chunk of finances would be invested in obtaining the spectrum only,” the executive added.

The IM issued by the PTA has given the timelines for the Spectrum Auction, with all the interested parties having to submit their proposals to the authority within 21 days (starting from August 5).

This will be followed by negotiations and discussions for one week between the applicants (mobile operators) and the authorities which include the PTA, consultant and other authorised officials.

The mobile operators will have to submit sealed bids within 35 days (mid-September). The whole process is expected to be completed in three months.

The IM has also introduced an upper cap for the 1,800 MHz band on the mobile companies to restrict abuse of dominant position or giving advantage to any company with stronger financial position.

The limits on obtaining the spectrum of 1,800 MHz band has been set after taking into account each mobile company’s existing spectrum.

The PTA has highlighted that Jazz will be able to bid on up to 5.2 MHz spectrum only as the company was currently using 24.8 MHz spectrum in the 1,800 MHz band while Zong will be able to bid on up to 7.4 MHz as it was currently using 22.6 MHz spectrum. Telenor and Ufone are not constrained by this spectrum cap as each of them currently holds less than 10 MHz.

While, excluding AJK and the GB, Jazz was at the top in cellular market of Pakistan with 38 per cent share, followed by Telenor with 27pc of the market, Zong 22pc and Ufone 13pc. The duration of the license will be 15 years.

The government has also offered new investors to participate in the auction process in a bid to invite potential “New Entrant” in the cellular mobile market of the country.

Meanwhile, to enhance the connectivity and optimise the existing telecom infrastructure as well as discourage abuse of dominant position in the market by any mobile operator, the PTA has advised the mobile companies to share their existing and future infrastructure with other operators if requested by the other operator.

The PTA highlighted that infrastructure to be shared will be the mobile towers etc and mobile companies can enter into commercial arrangements with each other for active sharing, after getting formal approval framework the PTA. Meanwhile, a separate policy and offer is expected for the AJK and GB in near future by the PTA.

_Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2021_


----------



## ghazi52

*PTA issues MDM approval to Lucky Motor Corp for Samsung phones*

Ali Ahmed 
11 Aug 2021








*The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) authorisation to Lucky Motor Corporation Limited to manufacture Samsung-branded phones in the country.*

The authorisation has been given under the MDM Regulations 2021, a press release issued by the PTA stated.

“The company had applied for authorisation to set up a mobile device manufacturing plant in Karachi, Pakistan where it will manufacture Samsung brand mobile devices,” added the PTA.

The authority said this is a landmark achievement and “will further revolutionise the vibrant mobile manufacturing ecosystem in the country by ensuring presence of major local and foreign players in the market".

The PTA has so far issued MDM authorisations to 25 foreign and local companies for the production of mobile devices (2G/3G/4G) locally. "Mobile devices manufactured by these companies shall not only be sold in the country but will also be exported to other competitive markets of the region and beyond," the PTA added.

Last month, Lucky Motor Corporation (LMC), a subsidiary of Lucky Cement Limited, announced in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange that it has entered into an agreement with Samsung Gulf Electronics Co., FZE (Samsung) for the production of Samsung-branded mobile devices in Pakistan.

The notice added the production facility for producing Samsung mobile devices will be located at LMC’s existing plant facility producing vehicles at Bin Qasim Industrial Park, Special Economic Zone, Port Qasim, Karachi.

The production facility is expected to be completed by end of December 2021.

Market talk suggests the prices of Samsung-branded mobile phones are expected to come down in the range of 15-20% after the manufacturing plant starts distributing locally-made devices.


----------



## ghazi52

*Spectrum Auction In AJ&K and GB*

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has invited application from cellular mobile operators for 16 MHz paired spectrum in the 1800 MHz band and 30 MHz paired in the 2100 MHz band for technology neutral Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB).

PTA has issued the Information Memorandum (IM) according to which the auction is scheduled to be held on October 13, 2021, however, according to sources, the operators may require more time for consultation. However, the auction may be held latest by October 20, 2021.,

*Overview of the Spectrum*

The Spectrum Auction of NGMS in AJ&K and GB is for use of spectrum from the internationally harmonized 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands within AJ&K and GB. The spectrum included in the Spectrum Auction of NGMS in AJ&K and GB comprises: (a) 2 x 16 MHz in the 1800 MHz band; and (b) 2 x 30 MHz (1930-1950 MHz / 2120–2140 MHz and 1960-1970 MHz / 2150-2160 MHz) in the 2100 MHz band.

The 2×16 MHz of spectrum will be packaged as two blocks of 2×5 MHz and five blocks of 2×1.2MHz. The 2×30 MHz in the 2100 MHz band will be packaged as six specific blocks of 2×5 MHz: (a) 2×5 MHz (1930-1935 MHz / 2120-2125 MHz); (b) 2×5 MHz (1935-1940 MHz / 2125-2130 MHz); (c) 2×5 MHz (1940-1945 MHz / 2130-2135 MHz); (d) 2×5 MHz (1945-1950 MHz/ 2135-2140 MHz); (e) 2×5 MHz (1960-1965 MHz/ 2150-2155 MHz); and (f) 2×5 MHz (1965-1970 MHz/2155-2160 MHz).

Each Applicant will be required to state their interest in the following spectrum at the Base Price:


Product 1: Up to 2 blocks of 2×5 MHz in 1800 MHz;
Product 2: Up to 5 blocks of 2×1.2MHz in 1800 MHz;
Product 3: Between 1 and 6 blocks of 2×5 MHz in 2100 MHz: Block 1: (1930-1935 MHz / 2120-2125 MHz); (ii.) Block 2: (1935-1940 MHz / 2125-2130 MHz); (iii.) Block 3: (1940-1945 MHz / 2130-2135 MHz); (iv.) Block 4: (1945-1950 MHz / 2135-2140 MHz); (v.) Block 5: (1960-1965 MHz / 2150-2155 MHz); and (vi.) Block 6: (1965-1970 MHz /2155-2160 MHz).
The base price for 2×1 MHz in 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz is $0.87 million. The base price for 1800 MHz – Product 1 2×5 MHz is $4.35 million, 1800 MHz – Product 2 2×1.2 MHz $1.04 million and 2100 MHz 2×5.0 MHz is $4.35 million.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Engro to inject Rs21.5 billion in its telecom subsidiary*

Engro Connect is wholly-owned by Engro Corp

BR Web 
Desk 25 Aug 2021






*Engro Corporation announced on Wednesday that it would inject an equity of Rs21.5 billion in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Engro Connect (private limited), as part of the company's telecommunications vertical initiatives.*

In a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), Engro Corp said that the funds will primarily be utilised to fuel expansion in the Build-to-Suite (BTS) tower business of Enfrashare (Private) Limited,
"including but not limited to provision of efficient energy solutions, installation of state-of-the-art network monitoring solutions and exploration of other investment avenues within the connectivity value chain".

On Tuesday, Engro Corp announced its consolidated six-month profit for the half-year ended June, 2021 at Rs29.11 billion compared to earnings of Rs15.79 billion in the same period of the preceding year.

Its profit for the April-June quarter amounted to Rs14.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 46.1% compared with Rs9.79 billion in the same three-month period of the previous year.

The company's board of directors also recommended cash dividend of Rs7 per share, which was in addition to the dividend of Rs12 per share announced previously.

In April, the board approved an amount of up to $31.4 million towards conducting engineering, design, and technical studies including a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study in relation to the PDH-PP Project

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Federal IT Minister Laid the Cornerstone for a New IT Park in Islamabad*

During the ceremony, the federal IT minister told that once completed, the IT park will provide employment to about 15,000 people. In addition to that, the minister told that millions of dollars will be provided to the country in terms of revenue.

He also mentioned that this is an important step in fulfilling the Prime Minister’s Digital Pakistan Vision. The State-of-the-art IT Park is being built on 15 acres in Chak Shehzad. According to the minister, South Korea will provide the soft loan for a 12-story IT park

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*IT Ministry Plans to Bring 5G to Pakistan by 2023*

Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom aims to deploy 5G in Pakistan by 2023. The ministry’s 5G plan is based on the fact that the telecom industry has grown to $16.9 billion after acquiring international investments worth $1.2 billion over the last three years.

The ministry shared this plan with Prime Minister Imran Khan while talking about the telecom sector’s performance in detail. It said that the projects for “deep fiberisation” have already been started across the country by the Universal Service Fund (USF). 

This should help expand telecom services and internet availability even in remote and backward areas of the country

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Ufone telecom wins unused Pakistan's spectrum*

Reuters 
10 Sep 2021


*ISLAMABAD: Cellular company Ufone on Friday won a bid for Pakistan's unused spectrum with $279 million, said the country's telecom authority.*

Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) started the process to sell the unused spectrum late last year.

The spectrum is in the 1800 and 2100 MHz bands typically used by operators for 4G LTE (long-term evolution) networks that offer faster video streaming and internet downloads.

"Total Spectrum won by Ufone is 9 MHz in 1800 MHz band which is 70.3 percent of the total offered spectrum in the said band during the current auction," the PTA said in a statement.

The addition will boost Ufone spectrum holdings from 6 MHz to 15 MHz in 1800 MHz band, enhancing quality and increasing coverage for voice and data services, it added.

Pakistan has nearly 100 million 3G/4G subscribers, and the new spectrum known as Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) is seen a precursor to any 5G launch.

The Pakistan telecom market is dominated by Jazz, backed by Netherlands-based Veon Ltd; Telenor Pakistan, backed by Norway's state-controlled Telenor; Zong, owned by China Mobile; and Ufone, which is controlled by state-owned Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

In a major development towards enhancing the IT industry growth in Pakistan, two MoUs (Memorandum of Understandings) were signed on Thursday for setting up software technology parks in Faisalabad and Rawalpindi.

The software technology park in Rawalpindi will be located near Amazon Outlet Mall and will cover 44,000 square feet, meeting the needs of the technology sector for more software technology parks in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Whereas, the software technology park in Faisalabad will be located near Sitara Chemical's Ali Fatima College of Science & Technology and will span 19,500 square feet. It will be the city's first software technology park.

Reactions: Like Like:
3


----------



## Ali_Baba

This is excellent news - both for the growth of IT services in Pakistan for Pakistan, but also for creating the foundation for allowing an IT Outsourcing to start taking place in Pakistan.

CPEC will help deliver the fast internet connection speed to allow for the outsourcing to be located in Pakistan and these IT parks start to provide the places where those people can sit and work.

The remaining part is to clean up the Pakistani degree system so that the BSc is to the same standard as in India and else where in the world - ie 3 years that meet the minimum tuition hours and assessment and degree awarding process.

Get all 3 things in place, then companies can and will look to Pakistan as a place where it can outsource IT services to.

Pakistan is 35 years LATE to the IT outsourcing game - better late then never but you have to question the lack of longterm strategic *economic* planning.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## Muhammad Saftain Anjum

I


Ali_Baba said:


> This is excellent news - both for the growth of IT services in Pakistan for Pakistan, but also for creating the foundation for allowing an IT Outsourcing to start taking place in Pakistan.
> 
> CPEC will help deliver the fast internet connection speed to allow for the outsourcing to be located in Pakistan and these IT parks start to provide the places where those people can sit and work.
> 
> The remaining part is to clean up the Pakistani degree system so that the BSc is to the same standard as in India and else where in the world - ie 3 years that meet the minimum tuition hours and assessment and degree awarding process.
> 
> Get all 3 things in place, then companies can and will look to Pakistan as a place where it can outsource IT services to.


I have read some news about IT experts who are coming back from abroad and they are starting their own companies.I am sure they have experience and will help Pakistan a lot.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*5G technology: Strategic plan, roadmap being readied: *

Tahir Amin 
26 Sep 2021










*ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haque has said that a strategic plan and roadmap for 5G technology in Pakistan is being formulated, keeping in view, the aspects of spectrum management, infrastructure development, review of telecom regulations, and 5G applications/use cases.*

The federal minister for IT was addressing the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) virtual meeting.

“The government is committed to reducing the digital divide between rural and urban communities and focuses on youth empowerment and gender equality,” he added.

He said that the Government of Pakistan brought many reforms for creating a better environment for tech-based businesses in the country.

Due to the effective policies of the present government, Pakistan witnessed landmark achievements in the ICT sector in recent years, he added.

The DCO held a forum along-side the UN General Assembly, inviting the ministers from all the seven-member countries.

The aim of the event was to discuss the role of the DCO in building an inclusive digital age within which more nations can prosper.

Ministers from all seven founder member countries, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Nigeria, Oman, and Saudi Arabia including Pakistan attended the meeting, while Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, assistant secretary general for policy coordination and inter-agency affairs of UN also joined the session.


IT Minister Aminul Haque further said that the rise of digital economy, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, transformed our world, but its global potential is yet to be fully realised.

Countries face new challenges as the global scale of the digital economy and the power of private sector actors grows.

Syed Aminul Haque highlighted the efforts of Pakistan towards digitisation and said that under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan has re-energized its digital transformation journey with the launch of Digital Pakistan that aims to enhance connectivity, improve digital infrastructure, increase investment in digital skills, promote innovation, and technology entrepreneurship.

The Government of Pakistan strongly believes in mass adoption of emerging digital technologies and innovative applications to enable cross-sector socio-economic development and transformation of economic activities, governance models, social interaction, and achievement of sustainable development goals, Haque said.

He mentioned that Pakistan has been named one of the fastest growing economies in Asia in Mckinsey and Co’s latest report on the Pakistani ecosystem.

During the fiscal year 2020-21, Pakistan’s IT exports increased 47.4 percent and crossed the $2 billion mark for the first time in the country’s history.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked Pakistan among the best countries in terms of the affordability of ICT services, while according to the latest ILO report, Pakistan has been the 2nd largest supplier of online labor in software development and technology.

Pakistan substantially improved its position in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report.


Copyright Business Recorder, 2021

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*
In Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, zong defeats Jazz to gain the 4G spectrum*

Zong defeats JAZZ to secure 4G Spectrum in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) and Gilgit Baltistan. With an auction Winning Price of $15.442 Million, Zong emerged as the Highest Bidder, securing 11.2 MHz in the highly coveted 1800 MHz Band. Hours and 18 rounds were auctioned off.

“We’re pleased to have acquired a total of 11.2 MHz spectrum in AJ&K and GB,” said Wang Hua, Zong’s Chairman and CEO, at the event.

With this new acquisition, we will be able to provide unique connectivity experiences to the people of the region while also assisting the government in meeting its socioeconomic objectives.”

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Nokia wants to help develop 5G ecosystem roadmap in Pakistan: officials*

Tahir Amin 
03 Oct 2021


*ISLAMABAD: Nokia has expressed keen interest for collaboration with the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) to develop a roadmap for 5G ecosystem in Pakistan.*

This was revealed by senior officials at the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT), which has formally launched the consultation for the launch of 5G services in Pakistan.

The ministry has evaluated seven bands for adoption of 5G services in the country and presently, in a process of assessing the options available for timely launch of 5G services in Pakistan.

In this connection, the following bands are being evaluated for adoption of 5G services as low bands, mid bands and high bands: (a) 700 MHz; (b) 2.3 GHz; (c) 2.6 GHz; (d) 3.5 GHz; (e) Millimeter wave bands; (f) C-Band (3.6-4.2) GHz, and (g) Unlicensed Backhaul Frequency bands (P2P and P2MP).

The ministry in view of these bands has requested the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) for sharing the current status and availability of all 5G spectrum in the above identified frequency bands.

The government is planning of launching 5G services in the country by December 2022, which will open new avenues for investment and will accelerate progress towards achieving the goal of “Digital Pakistan”, said an official of the ministry.

Official sources revealed to _Business Recorder_ that Federal Minister for IT and Telecom Syed Aminul Haque wanted to launch 5G services by December 2022 and the early launch of 5G services in Pakistan has been prioritised.

An important meeting with 5G vendors chaired by Member Telecom Muhammad Umar Malik was held at the MoITT to discuss the way forward.

The meeting was attended by representatives from Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia online from their regional headquarters.

Officers from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the FAB were also present in the meeting.

During the meeting, detailed technical discussions were held to assess vendor support and readiness for launch of 5G services in Pakistan.

Interoperable airwaves band with interoperable UE and 5G Telecom equipment including launch strategy considering business cases were discussed to make the inclusion attractive and win-win situation for citizens, industry and the government.

Sources revealed that Nokia has expressed keen interest for collaboration to develop a roadmap for 5G ecosystem.

Quoting Nokia representatives, the sources said that the company is fully committed to share its global experience about 5G technology setup, phased evolution and use cases from other markets with the MoITT.

Moving forward this collaboration to develop a roadmap for 5G ecosystem will help accelerate Digital Pakistan initiative in Pakistan, the sources added.

Aminul Haque has stated that a strategic plan and a roadmap for 5G technology in Pakistan is being formulated keeping in view the aspects of spectrum management, infrastructure development, review of telecom regulations and 5G applications/use cases.

The ministry has constituted an advisory committee for 5G Planning in Pakistan (5G Pakistan Plan Committee) to define a roadmap and finalise recommendations for 5G technology readiness in the country.

The committee will develop a strategic plan and a roadmap for 5G technology in Pakistan with the formulation of working groups for 5G spectrum management, telecom infrastructure development, telecom regulations review including health and safety and 5G applications and use cases.

The committee comprises members from the MoITT, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), FAB, PM Office SRIU (Strategic Reforms Implementation Unit), PM Taskforce on IT and Telecom, academia, cellular mobile operators, and telecom vendors.

The PTA last year granted permission to mobile operators for conducting test and trial of 5G technology under limited environment and non-commercial basis.

The PTA had issued “Framework for Test and Development of Future Technologies (Particularly Fifth Generation (5G) Wireless Networks in Pakistan)” for facilitating testing/trial only of 5G technology and related services in Pakistan.

The rapid growth in mobile data traffic and consumer demand for enhanced mobile broadband experience have led to an increasing emphasis on the upcoming fifth generation of mobile technology (5G).

Seen as a comprehensive wireless-access solution with the capacity to address the demands and requirements of mobile communication for the IMT-2020 and beyond, it is projected that this technology will operate in a highly heterogeneous environment and provide ubiquitous connectivity for a wide range of devices, new applications and use cases, the PTA added.

The scope of IMT-2020 is much broader than the previous generations of mobile broadband communication systems.

The ITU’s work in developing the specifications for IMT-2020 in close collaboration with the whole gamut of 5G stakeholders is now well underway along with the associated spectrum management and spectrum identification aspects.

The IMT-2020 will be a cornerstone for all of the activities related to attaining the goals in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*Strengthening IT skills*

Barkan Saeed 
October 4, 2021








Pakistani employees of online marketplace company Kaymu work at their office in Karachi. — AFP


For Pakistan to increase its informational technology (IT)/information technology-enabled services (ITeS) exports, one of the most critical things is good quality IT/ITeS workers as our exports are directly proportional to the number of quality IT professionals we produce.

Pakistan’s IT/ITeS exports are growing at a remarkable rate of 45 per cent per year. These exports are much needed as they not only help with the country’s trade deficit but are also helping Pakistan move towards the dream of digital Pakistan. They are creating a highly paid middle class that is paid a much higher salary than in other formal sectors of Pakistan.

As per the P@SHA salary survey, the average monthly salary for an entry-level programmer is at least Rs51,344. The salary average is around Rs148,000 for programmers.

To keep pace with the rapidly expanding IT/ITeS exports, there is a huge demand for skilled people in the industry. For most companies, getting business is not a problem. It’s simply about how many good-quality resources they can find and bill to customers.



> Every 100,000 trained professionals can bring in an additional $2-3 billion in remittances per year


The demand for skilled people in tech is also evident globally where countries like Japan, Germany, USA are facing shortages in hundreds of thousands of skilled tech workers. This is also a good opportunity for Pakistan to train tech workers and export this highly skilled manpower which holds high remittance potential for Pakistan. These workers will also improve the image of Pakistan as a ‘tech destination’ — every 100,000 trained professionals can bring in an additional $2-3 billion in remittances per year.

Can we increase our IT graduate pool to 100k per year?

As per the Higher Education Commission, the number of technology graduates (computer sciences, software engineering, artificial intelligence, blockchain, etc) produced by Pakistan is in the range of 25,000-30,000. One way is to scale existing universities to produce 100k graduates.

This will be a very costly exercise as a huge investment in infrastructure will be required. There is also an issue of quality of graduates as currently only 4,000-5,000 undergraduate students are marked as ‘industry ready’.

Though the proportion of fresh graduates who successfully land a job in the IT/ITeS industry is small, yet they are not readily productive without requiring further training in the industry to cover the skill gap. We need to improve our graduate quality at the university level so the industry can work on polishing the skills rather than training them on basic skills.

How can current graduate quality be improved?

There are certain projects we can undertake to improve the quality of students at the university level.

The first step to improve the quality of students at university will be to engage visiting faculty of programmers from the industry. Universities are mostly far from where the industry is so it makes sense for people who are passionate about giving back to society to get engaged in teaching at the universities.

Our universities have not been able to motivate and attract experienced professionals from the industry to contribute to their mission of training the students. This can be attributed to unattractive financial incentives (Rs500-2,000 per hour of teaching which typically requires a few hours of preparation) as well as the unwelcoming culture for an ‘outsider’.

A simple solution can be to engage industry professionals to teach on weekends or in the evenings and allow them to group their biweekly classes into one class.

The second step to improve the quality of current graduates is by engaging university professors in an industry training program and linking their appraisals to this program. We ideally need to create a separate promotion program for industry-oriented professors (who are majorly focused on teaching) vs research-oriented professors.

The thirst step is to start joint innovative projects of industry-academia. This has happened in the past as well but we need to create an incentive program where the professors and university own some equity in the project. Currently, these projects are mostly done to get research papers that are required for promotion in universities with no interest in the commercialisation of the products.

Another good idea is that overseas Pakistanis with PhDs working in the industry internationally or teaching in top universities of the world can be invited to come to Pakistan and the HEC can allocate funds for this. 

There are many Pakistanis who want to come back to Pakistan and contribute. Especially many overseas Pakistanis working internationally in the industry would like some form of way where they can also do industry-based research projects which can later be commercialised and converted into startups.

With these projects, we can start to improve the quality of graduates at our universities. This is going to have a great impact on our IT/ITeS exports.

This will be our investment in our youth and will bring valuable export remittance to the country.


_The writer is the ex-chairman of Pakistan Software Houses Association and runs an IT company based out of Islamabad

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, October 4th, 2021_


----------



## ghazi52

*Services exports up 54pc to $1bn in first two months of FY22*

Mubarak Zeb Khan
October 9, 2021


Pakistan’s exports of services grew by about 54 per cent in the first two months of the current fiscal from what it was a year ago, according to the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

In absolute terms, the value of exports reached $1.008 billion in July-August 2021 from $799.94m over the corresponding months of last financial year.

Services exports posted a growth of 53.64pc in August to $531.29m against $345.81m over the corresponding month of last year. On a month-on-month basis, exports increased by 11.38pc.

The export of services went up by 9.19pc year-on-year to $5.937bn in FY21 compared to $5.437bn during the same period last year.

The growth in the export of services are mainly led by the highest-ever export of IT services. Services exports also include finance and insurance, transport and storage, wholesale and retail trade, public administration and defence sectors.



> Imports increased by 31.42pc to $1.627bn


The commerce ministry has fixed a target of $7.5bn for services exports for 2021-22.

The services sector has emerged as the main driver of economic growth as its share in the GDP increased from 56pc in 2005-06 to nearly 61pc in 2020-21.

On the other hand, services imports increased by 31.42pc to $1.627bn in July and August against $1.238bn over the corresponding months of last year.

In August, the imports of services went up by 88.89pc to $885.98m against $469.05m over the corresponding month of last year. On a monthly basis, the imports of services grew by 19.55pc.

The imports of services fell by 10.75pc to $7.812bn in July-June FY21 from $8.753bn over the corresponding months last year.

The trade deficit has increased by 41.24pc to $618.76m in July and August against $438.10m over the corresponding months of last year.

In August, the trade deficit in services went up by 187.8pc to $354.69m from $123.24m over the corresponding month of last year. The trade deficit declined by 43.45pc to $1.875bn in July-June FY21 against $3.315bn over the corresponding months last year.

In the budget 2021-22, the government has announced several measures to promote export of services, especially information technology. The incentives offered to exporters are related to tariff and non-tariff services.


----------



## ghazi52

*Pakistan needs to produce 100,000 IT professionals to raise IT exports by $3-4bn*

October 18, 2021 -

Online skill training is one of the most talked-about topics and is proving very effective globally.
Pakistani universities produce around 25,000 graduates per year. For our information technology exports to increase by $3-4 billion a year, we need to add to increase this number to around 100,000 IT professionals per year.

This is an extremely difficult and costly exercise as producing this many professionals requires massive investment in infrastructure by creating new universities and increasing the capacity of existing universities. One of the best and cost-effective ways to do this is by using the existing infrastructure and doing short programmes such as six-month boot camps, one-year diplomas, and two-year industry-focused degrees.

As a country, we should also explore the model of industry-oriented universities similar to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and industry-oriented Fachhochschulen universities in Europe.

India has made huge investments in IIT where they take in around 2,000 students per IIT from all over India. This has allowed them to create an extraordinary class of individuals who go on to lead the best companies in the world as well as in India.

We should teach programming to students instead of theories of who invented the computer — this is already happening in KP where government school students can create websites and games at the school level

The second concept is of the industry-oriented universities similar to ones in Germany or Austria where students interested in joining a field go for Fachhochschulen universities. In such universities, usually, no Masters degree is offered and the focus is completely on training professionals for the field. The professors hired usually have at least three years of experience working in the sector.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) recently introduced a two-year associate degree at the Bachelors level. The only difference in this idea would be to focus on only industry-related skills in this two-year degree. Many would argue that why we need universities at all since it’s a skill-based world now. The problem in Pakistan mostly is that parents and society value degrees and we need to have some sort of degree from the HEC to incentivise them.

Such degrees would allow students to come early into the market, reduce the cost of getting into the industry by 50 per cent as well as allow them to become bread earners for their families early. They can continue their education over weekends or online programmes for a four-year degree.

The degree should be designed together with industry standards and 50pc of the faculty should be from the industry to teach these professionals. The industry can also work with universities to create a Qarz-e-Hasna programme where the industry can fund the scholarship of students who can later come to work for the industry for healthy salaries and their loans can be waived off by the industry.

Online skill training is one of the most talked-about topics and is proving very effective globally. Anyone can go on a website like Coursera or Udemy and take a course in artificial intelligence or blockchain. They can learn the skill. The question here is why is it still not happening at higher levels in Pakistan? Why do we hardly see students who have used these websites to reskill them or learn new skills?

While I can talk about a dozen problems of why it is not happening, in Pakistan, the formula to make an online skill training programme successful is to have remote monitoring of students where they are given tasks. This is more true for coding programmes where student codes and projects can be reviewed remotely by a team of programmers. This can be combined with online group lectures or motivational training to make them feel that they are part of something real and it will benefit them.

As a country, we need to create such a hybrid programme as a completely online programme won’t work for most of our students. Ignite National Technology Fund and the Ministry of IT in collaboration with the Virtual University already have some experience of running such programmes.

The idea of boot camps is also very popular in the tech industry where professionals are engaged in a six-month rigorous course and trained in a specific technology. The cost of such a programme can depend on the technology. These boot camps are used all over the world to train students from other fields to reskill them for skills like programming, cloud, etc.

We can create boot camps that are led by industry experts in collaboration with universities for some core courses to train our graduates from other areas and equip them with the latest technology skills.

One of the last but most critical pieces of the entire plan is the need to create a specially designed curriculum for our higher secondary students that focuses on teaching them programming and analytical skills at the school level. We should review the current curriculum of higher secondary school students so that the quality of student intake at universities and future programmes can increase.

We can also teach programming to students instead of theories of who invented the computer, which was the biggest computer in the world and how the world is making supercomputers. This is already happening in KP where government school students can create websites and games at the school level. We just need to roll it out to the entire country.

The IT and IT-enabled services industry is a promising industry not only for the export sector of Pakistan but also for creating a highly paid market for youth. There is also a need for all government departments like Pakistan Software Export Board, Ignite, HEC, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board, Punjab Information Technology Board, provincial and federal educational ministries, etc who are working on digital skills to work together to solve this challenge for Pakistan’s bright future.

The writer is the ex-chairman of Pakistan Software Houses Association and runs an IT company based out of Islamabad

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, October 18th, 2021


----------



## ghazi52

*Pak-China IT cooperation under CPEC to produce dividends*

October 20, 2021






BEIJING, Oct 19 (APP):The cooperation in digital infrastructure and IT under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will soon make some significant progress under the IT industry joint working group (JWG) established at 10th CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting, said Du Zhenli, Deputy Director-General of China International Engineering Consulting Corporation (CIECC).

With rich labor resources, a broad market, and a wide radiating capacity covering the Middle East and Central Asia, Pakistan has become one of the fastest-growing IT markets in the world, but there is still an imbalance, Du also an Investment Counsellor appointed by Pakistan to promote Chinese investment in Pakistan added.

At present, there are about 3.7 million broadband users in Pakistan.

Among the 51,000 villages in the country, most are not covered by telecommunications services.

Â Given that 60% of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30, it can be expected that communication services will see rapid development in the future.

The Pakistani government has listed the expansion of telecommunications infrastructure and the popularization of telecommunications services, especially to the vast rural areas and underdeveloped areas as an important developmental task, China Economic Net (CEN) reported.

“With the increasing importance of the digital economy in the world, Pakistan has a strong demand to develop its own information technology. Huawei, ZTE, China Mobile and other service providers have a very solid foundation which can boost Pakistan’s industrial development,” said Du.

The Pakistani government and people welcome foreign investment. The Pakistani government has carried out economic reform, economic liberalization, and privatization, and formulated a relatively liberal and open investment policy.

The Pakistani government has signed investment protection agreements with more than 40 countries, and double taxation avoidance agreements with more than 50 countries, including China.

With the advance of CPEC construction, Pakistan’s transport infrastructure and energy infrastructure conditions have been greatly improved, significantly promoting the improvement of Pakistan’s investment environment.

“The establishment of SEZs is not the ultimate goal, rather, they should be utilized to attract major IT industry projects to land here.”

Mr. Du Zhenli has been involved in consultation and research on the cooperation between China and Pakistan for 15 years. Since October 2016, under the leadership of the CPEC Secretariat of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, he provided consultation and technical support related to industrial park cooperation under CPEC.

So far, the Pakistani government has signed investment protection agreements with more than 40 countries and double taxation avoidance agreements with more than 50 countries, including China.

The Pakistani Investment Strategy 2020-2023 takes into account the unique opportunity of China’s industrial and capacity transfer. It will pay more attention to the cooperation in the private sector of both countries, take labor-intensive and export-oriented projects as the forerunner, and finally realize industrial diversification.

“In the future, when the individual projects are specifically landed, these preferential policies may still need to be deepened and refined,” suggested Du.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Provision of 5G can greatly benefit Pakistan's healthcare, education sectors*

Say low latency will improve access to far-flung, remote areas

BR Web Desk 
21 Nov 2021


*DUBAI: Pakistan stands to derive great value from the provision of fifth-generation (5G) of cellular networks, and would be able to especially benefit its healthcare and education sectors, said experts on the sidelines of the Dubai Airshow 2021 that concluded recently.*

Apart from benefitting telecom operators, the provision of 5G would enable users in remote and far-flung areas to access services at higher speeds, improving not only experience, but also availability to a larger number of people at the same time.

Pakistan's pupil-teacher ratio at the primary level is 44 to one, according to the World Bank that cited 2018 data by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

In a high-income country, the ratio improves drastically to 14 to one, while in lower-middle income places, the number is still better than Pakistan's at 29 to one.

Experts say 5G services, with its low latency and widespread applications, can help overcome part of the challenge.

"You can deliver high quality and new types of content like virtual reality or omega reality," Nikos Papagiannopoulos, senior project manager ITT Data Services at Athens International Airport, told _Business Recorder_ at the Dubai Airshow. "You can provide full classroom experience through 5G networks."

However, the official said, much like any new technology, countries will have to explore and experiment. "There are so many capabilities. If you decompose 5G into its elements and characteristics, and see what they do better, you can use those to build the applications required."

The official's remarks echo those of a report by global consulting firm McKinsey that said cases identified in just four commercial domains – mobility, healthcare, manufacturing, and retailers – could boost global GDP by $1.2 trillion to $2 trillion by 2030.

In its Discussion Paper published in February 2020 titled, 'Connected world: An evolution in connectivity beyond the 5G revolution', McKinsey said although gaps will remain, enabling more people to plug into global flows of information, communication, and services could unlock greater human potential and prosperity in many developing nations.

*Healthcare application*

The paper also said that connectivity-enabled innovations can make it possible to monitor patients remotely, use AI-powered tools for more accurate diagnoses, and automate many tasks so that caregivers can spend more time with patients.

"Having remote medical operations and surgeries in remote areas where doctors are scarcely found or surgeon specialities are missing, you can have robotics undertake those tasks and have very low latency and very good accuracy of having operations on patients," said Papagiannopoulos.

Similarly, Ramki Doraiswami, director at Technology Solution Delivery, said in terms of healthcare, where a lot of heavy images are captured and need to be transferred before an analytical report is produced, 5G could be a key enabler.

Doraiswami added that the technology could also help a country where a large number of students are paired with one teacher. "(In this case) when you require a lot of bandwidth, 5G could play a key role."
While the application usage of 5G in Pakistan is still far away, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom says the aim is to roll out the technology in 2023.

On its official website, the ministry said that it has constituted an advisory committee for 5G Planning in Pakistan (5G Pakistan Plan Committee) to define a roadmap and finalise recommendations for 5G Technology readiness in Pakistan.

"The Committee will develop strategic plan and roadmap for 5G technology in Pakistan with the formulation of working groups for 5G Spectrum Management, telecom infrastructure development, telecom regulations review including health and safety and 5G applications and use cases.

The committee comprises members from the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Frequency Allocation Board (FAB), PM Office SRIU (Strategic Reforms Implementation Unit), PM Taskforce on IT & Telecom, academia, Cellular Mobile Operators and Telecom vendors, it said.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has reduced the Mobile Termination Rate (MTR) from Rs. 0.70 per minute to Rs. 0.50 per minute from 1st January 2022 that would lower tariffs for making off-net calls for consumers.

PTA has announced to reduce the Mobile Termination Rate (MTR) from Rs. 0.70 per minute to Rs. 0.50 per minute from 1st January 2022 after a thorough consultation with the telecom industry.

In a press release, the authority further announced that the rates shall be further reduced to Rs. 0.40 per minute from 1st July 2022.

According to PTA, the move would more competitive and innovative offerings such as free minute off-net bundles for the consumers.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

Samsung Electronics to set up first TV line-up plant in Flag of Pakistan at Karachi in collaboration with R&R industries. 
The unit will produce 50,000 TV sets and increase the capacity to 100,000 units within 2 years.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

March 17, 1937

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

The Universal Service Fund (USF) Board has approved 10 projects worth approximately PKR 11.5 billion to provide high speed internet service, and optical fiber projects for top tourist destination areas Kumrat Valley, Swat including 19 un-served and under-served districts of Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces to facilitate approximately 4.4 million people.

Advised by the Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Syed Amin Ul Haque, the USF Board approved award of high-speed mobile broadband contracts to* Jazz, Ufone and Telenor*, while the optic fiber cable projects contract to PTCL. Federal Secretary Ministry of IT and Telecommunication & Chairman of USF Board, Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput chaired the 80th Board of Directors meeting of USF.

Reactions: Like Like:
3


----------



## ghazi52

*Pakistan's Air Link Communication Limited on Tuesday announced that it has entered into the distribution agreement with realme, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer.*

Air Link, in its filing to the bourse, said that the agreement encompasses a complete range of realme mobile devices and accessories, IoT products, TVs in Pakistan with Exert Tech (Private Limited).

“Realme is one of the fastest-growing smartphone brands for five consecutive quarters, registered sales of 100 million smartphones across the world,” read the notification.

Last month, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) granted a manufacturing licence to Select Technologies Private Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air Link Communication that manufactures mobile devices of ‘selected brands’, for the manufacturing of Xiaomi mobile phones in Pakistan.

Air Link Communication Limited already has the licence to manufacture mobile phones of Transsion Holding’s major brands i.e. Tecno & iTel.

Xiaomi joined hands with Select Technologies (Pvt) Limited as its manufacturing partner for Xiaomi mobile phones in Pakistan, targeting initially production of around 2.5 million to 3 million handsets annually.

Air Link is one of the largest mobile phone distributors of Pakistan, which commenced local manufacturing of mobile phones in April with a monthly capacity of 400,000 units per month, which is expected to reach up to 550,000 units per month by FY23.

Pakistan's mobile manufacturing sector has been on an upward trend in recent months, owing to uptake on the PTA’s Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Authorisation regulatory regime.

The production of mobile phones by local manufacturing plants more than doubled against the import of commercial mobile phones in the country during Jan-November 2021 as the local production was recorded at 22.12 million compared to the imported mobile phones of 9.95 million.

However, despite the increase in local production of mobile phones, Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $856.727 million during the first five months (July-November) of 2021 compared to $724.083 million during the same period of last year, registering a growth of 18.32%, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data.

Reactions: Like Like:
3


----------



## ghazi52

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has *drafted the “National Broadband Policy-2021”,* targeting the contribution of digital/broadband development to the economy to the tune of $5 billion investment and $20 billion revenue by 2025.

The draft policy also envisages up to eight percent contribution toward the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from digital/broadband development in the next four years.

One of the objectives of the draft policy is to ensure that 100 percent population living in tier-2/3 cities should have access to high-speed internet, an average per user internet speed of 50Mbps in major cities, and facilitate 75 percent of the internet users with digital bank accounts by 2025

The draft policy aims at addressing some of the specific challenges;

The need for affordable access to broadband for all;

To address the challenges concerning the digital divide especially in unserved and underserved areas nationwide;

Overcoming the challenges in rolling out the required digital infrastructure and related financing models including extensive fiberization and efficient spectrum management;

Harmonization of existing tax regime on telecommunication services;

Stimulating the development of local and relevant content and services;

The need for improved and consistent broadband quality of service;


Urging the importance of digital trust over telecommunication networks to promote wider use of digital technologies in all spheres of life; Understanding the impact of the internet in terms of socio-cultural developments, economic growth, and environmental sustainability;


Lowering barriers for investments applied on existing licensees and for new investors in telecommunication sector and promoting public-private partnerships; and
Challenges vis-à-vis accelerated evolution towards adoption of Xth Generation technologies and fiberization, necessary for improving the state of broadband infrastructure.
© ProPakistani

Reactions: Like Like:
3 | Love Love:
1


----------



## ejaz007

*Mini-budget and Telecoms*
BR Research 06 Jan 2022

Facebook

Twitter

Whatsapp

Comments




*Say a prayer for the goose that lays golden eggs! The fidgeting, budgeting, tax-chasing government has historically looked towards telecoms sector for easy taxes. But how many more eggs can this old poulet provide? While folks will get a rude shock in near future when they have to replace their smartphones or laptops, the country’s mobile network operators have already termed recent tax proposals as “aggressive”. They are warning about “unintended consequences” for affordability and adoption of digital services as well as as investor confidence. The situation may not be as dire, but it still demands unpacking the potential impact of tax measures that are in the offing.*
As per the latest available information, the telecoms-related tax proposals in the so-called mini-budget may have two kinds of impact: one on digital usage and the other on adoption. In the “usage” sphere, there will be an increase in withholding tax (WHT) rate on prepaid airtime recharge, from existing 10 percent to all-time high of 15 percent. Recall that the government’s FY22 budget had recently reduced this WHT from 12.5 percent to 10 percent, with a commitment to further reduce it to 8 percent next fiscal.
Assuming mobile network operators achieve annual revenues of around Rs480 billion in FY22 (an assumption based on recent data and trends), a five percentage point increase in WHT may provide government with additional tax of Rs24 billion per annum at those revenue levels. The net collection on this count will be somewhat lower, as many among the 2 million+ income-tax-return filers are presumed to claim this deduction. However, net additional collection won’t be too much below Rs24 billion mark, for just over 2 percent of Pakistani adults file their returns.





As consumers are expected to either slightly cut back on their communication spending or keep it at same level, the additional money going into government coffers is set to impact operators more, with net-revenue-pie shrinkage of about $140 million per annum. No wonder, this move has peeved operators, who have protested that their respective headquarters’ business plans for further investment into Pakistan market were based on continuity of the telecoms-related tax regimes, especially concerning WHT. The impact on the “uptake” side will be felt more by ordinary people, as computing devices and smartphones are about to get expensive. There are two tax measures proposed in this regard. First, if the mini-budget is passed, local sales of computing devices (personal computers, laptops, notebooks, etc.) will carry a GST of 5 percent (previously the rate was 0%). This will come at a time when imported computers and laptops have already become expensive thanks to PKR depreciation.
As per data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), during FY21 Pakistan’s imports of “laptops, computers and notebooks” (HS Code: 8471.3010) had reached 0.92 million units (up 81% YoY), valuing Rs19.5 billion (up 76% YoY). Whereas imports of “personal computers” (HS Code: 8471.3020) in FY21 stood at 1.1 million units (up 25% YoY), with a worth of Rs19.4 billion (up 16% YoY). After accounting for post-import margins in the supply chain, a 5% GST on imported computing devices may yield just over Rs2 billion in new taxes p.a. This is not a big amount – certainly not worth the negative impact it will have on the youth’s ability to buy computers. And the second tax measure on the uptake side concerns the imposition of uniform GST of 17 percent on imported mobile phones whose value exceeds $200. Previously, imported mobile phones valuing $200-350 attracted a flat tax of Rs1,740; handsets valuing $350-500 were levied Rs5,400; and cellphones with prices above $500 carried Rs9,270 tax. This move may not impact users with low spending power. Local smartphone assemblers will have to up their game if they want to attract high-end smartphone users.





As per PBS data, Pakistan’s imports of cellular mobile phones (HS Code: 8517.1219) during FY21 were 21.8 million units (up 12% YoY), valuing Rs229 billion (up 10% YoY). Assuming that 20 percent of Pakistan’s annual mobile phone imports by value are made up of handsets priced $200 and above (and given that existing flat tax on mobile phones valuing $200 and above come in the range between 3 to 7 percent), the 17 percent GST imposition on high-end phones may yield incremental taxes somewhere between Rs4 billion to Rs7 billion (at FY21 volumes).
In all, telecoms-related measures cited above may yield the government between Rs30 billion to Rs33 billion in fresh taxes, equivalent to roughly a tenth of the Rs350 billion of additional tax receipts envisaged under the mini-budget. While it is not the end of the world for either the telecom users or mobile network operators, there is palpable disappointment that the government continues to view digital connectivity through fiscal lens and ignores, in the process, long-term goal of market development. The need is to incentivize digital uptake and usage, something which other countries have been doing during Covid-19.









Mini-budget and Telecoms


Say a prayer for the goose that lays golden eggs! The fidgeting, budgeting, tax-chasing government has historically...



www.brecorder.com

Reactions: Like Like:
3


----------



## ghazi52

Senator Faisal Javed Khan on Sunday said that Pakistan hits its highest ever Information Technology (IT) Exports in 6 months.

In a tweet, he said that *“our IT Exports during Fiscal Year 21-22 surged to $1.302 billion at the growth rate of 36% v/s $959 million during the same period of 2020-21”.*

“Hopefully we’ll be able to cross $3.5 billion mark during this financial year”, he added.

Faisal Javed Khan who is also Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s focus is on increasing exports to stimulate economic growth. “We will inshaallah double our IT industry in 2 years”, he added.

He said that TechZones are being set-up to create employment, economic transformation & attract intl investors. “We are now the third-largest gig economy globally”, he added.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

*Pakistan’s freelancers generated $216.788 million in export earnings from July to December FY22, a 16.74 percent rise from $185.698 million in the same period last year.*

According to data provided by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (IT&T), freelancers earned $163.881 million in export earnings from IT-related projects and $52.907 from non-IT gigs.

In comparison to the revenue of $185.698 million ( IT: $173.327 million + Non-IT: $12.371 million ) from July to December FY2021, freelancer earnings for the same period this year increased by 16.74 percent..

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

Pakistan seeks China’s help to manufacture semiconductors​Chaudhry hopes China will join hands with Pakistan due to its cheaper labour, huge market.

APP
February 07, 2022

*BEIJING: .... *In a bid to pursue self-sufficiency in the manufacturing of gadgets and for opening new developmental avenues, Pakistan has proposed an ambitious plan to build a semiconductor zone with China’s help.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain revealed this in an interview.

He said that during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to the neighbouring country, the two sides discussed the shifting of the semiconductors industry to Pakistan as it was beneficial for both.

“We want Chinese tech companies to come to Pakistan and make Pakistan a hub of semiconductors manufacturing," he added.

"We will also like to start semiconductor designing in Pakistan. I am very happy to tell you that Chinese investors are very keen to join hands with Pakistan and the technology zone will be converted into a semiconductor zone," the minister said.
He said that there was a huge area in science and technology where both countries could cooperate.

He pointed out that mobile phones were now being assembled in Pakistan, but they would like to take a step further and start full-fledged manufacturing of mobile phones in Pakistan.

He further said that bilateral cooperation had increased in the sector pertaining to health-related equipment. In the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan was importing everything related to this sector but now it is a major exporter of the same, he added.
“This is a landmark that we have achieved within a short period and now the health sector is open to collaboration. Pakistan has skilled labour, cheaper labour, and a huge market. We hope that Chinese tech companies will join hands with Pakistan to join our technology zone, and we will be able to come up with bigger cooperation in these sectors,” Chaudhry said.
He hoped that many Chinese tech companies would come to Pakistan after the premier’s visit because semiconductors are the core of every gadget, which would help bring value addition to the local manufacturing industry.
It is worth noting that during his visit, Prime Minister Imran held a series of meetings with leaders of China's leading technology companies, and both sides agreed to enhance cooperation in software development, information and communication technology, medical diagnostic, and other related sectors.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

*ISLAMABAD..: *Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) Group is willing to participate in 5G auction, however, it depends on licensing conditions and the auction value, said PTCL Group President and CEO Hatem Bamatraf.

Speaking at a news conference at the PTCL headquarters on Friday, he emphasised that the company would participate in the auction just like other telecom service providers.

He denied rumours that Ufone was in the process of acquiring a telecom company but added that options were always open for businesses.

Without naming any entity, he said “we are looking at the market and currently we are not in the process of conducting mergers or acquisitions but it does not mean that we will not consider an opportunity, if it is available.”

He was responding to questions regarding rumours circulating in market circles that one of the four telecom companies operating in Pakistan was planning to offload its assets and Ufone was vying to buy it to enhance its outreach.

The head of the telecom group did not express much eagerness to enter into the 5G auction process. He said that decision would be made based on market position and the conditions set by the government for the auction.

Bamatraf stressed that the company had planned to strengthen its presence as the only telecom firm that offered a complete range of solutions for digitisation, which included operating a microfinance bank.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## Pak Nationalist

ghazi52 said:


> *Pakistan's Air Link Communication Limited on Tuesday announced that it has entered into the distribution agreement with realme, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer.*
> 
> Air Link, in its filing to the bourse, said that the agreement encompasses a complete range of realme mobile devices and accessories, IoT products, TVs in Pakistan with Exert Tech (Private Limited).
> 
> “Realme is one of the fastest-growing smartphone brands for five consecutive quarters, registered sales of 100 million smartphones across the world,” read the notification.
> 
> Last month, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) granted a manufacturing licence to Select Technologies Private Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air Link Communication that manufactures mobile devices of ‘selected brands’, for the manufacturing of Xiaomi mobile phones in Pakistan.
> 
> Air Link Communication Limited already has the licence to manufacture mobile phones of Transsion Holding’s major brands i.e. Tecno & iTel.
> 
> Xiaomi joined hands with Select Technologies (Pvt) Limited as its manufacturing partner for Xiaomi mobile phones in Pakistan, targeting initially production of around 2.5 million to 3 million handsets annually.
> 
> Air Link is one of the largest mobile phone distributors of Pakistan, which commenced local manufacturing of mobile phones in April with a monthly capacity of 400,000 units per month, which is expected to reach up to 550,000 units per month by FY23.
> 
> Pakistan's mobile manufacturing sector has been on an upward trend in recent months, owing to uptake on the PTA’s Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Authorisation regulatory regime.
> 
> The production of mobile phones by local manufacturing plants more than doubled against the import of commercial mobile phones in the country during Jan-November 2021 as the local production was recorded at 22.12 million compared to the imported mobile phones of 9.95 million.
> 
> However, despite the increase in local production of mobile phones, Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $856.727 million during the first five months (July-November) of 2021 compared to $724.083 million during the same period of last year, registering a growth of 18.32%, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data.


The last paragraph deserves critical analysis. Why is this happening? Increased purchasing power of the upper-middle class, elites?


----------



## Pak Nationalist

ghazi52 said:


> *Pakistan’s freelancers generated $216.788 million in export earnings from July to December FY22, a 16.74 percent rise from $185.698 million in the same period last year.*
> 
> According to data provided by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (IT&T), freelancers earned $163.881 million in export earnings from IT-related projects and $52.907 from non-IT gigs.
> 
> In comparison to the revenue of $185.698 million ( IT: $173.327 million + Non-IT: $12.371 million ) from July to December FY2021, freelancer earnings for the same period this year increased by 16.74 percent..


If the earnings stop being counted under the head of remittances, one would find the freelancing services exports figure to be much higher than the reported one here.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

Construction of the main building of Information Technology (IT) Park in Islamabad will start next month, officials of the Ministry of Science and Technology have confirmed.

According to details, all necessary arrangements have been completed, and the tendering process is in the final stage. Capital Development Authority (CDA) has already approved the design of the building, and MoITT has already obtained approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

All work related to electricity connections, drain channels, and procurement has been completed. Boundary wall construction and land payment have already been done. All work is completed from the Pakistani side, and on the Korean side, contract awarding is in process, which will be completed in the next couple of weeks.

IT Park Islamabad will consist of twelve storeys (2 underground and 10 above) and will stretch over an area of 66,893 square meters. It will provide office space to over 120 startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and ancillary facilities like testing laboratories, classrooms, industry-academia linkage center, auditorium, etc

Reactions: Like Like:
2 | Love Love:
1


----------



## ghazi52

Mobile phones: Jul-Jan imports soar 11.86pc to $1.27bn YoY​
Tahir Amin 
20 Feb, 2022








*ISLAMABAD: Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $1.270 billion during the first seven months (July-January) of 2021-22 compared to $1.135 billion during the same period of last year, registering a growth of 11.86 percent, despite the increase in local manufacturing, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).*

The overall telecom imports into the country during the period under review (July-January) 2021-22 increased by 19.53 percent by going up from $1.382 billion in July-January 2020-21 to $1.652 billion in July-January 2021-22.

On a month-on-month basis, imports of mobile phones into Pakistan decreased by 23.15 percent during January 2022 and remained $179.768 million when compared to $233.917 million imported in December 2021, the PBS data revealed.

On a year-on-year basis, mobile phones witnessed a decrease of 8.68 percent, when compared to $196.853 million in January 2021.

On a month-on-month basis, the overall telecom imports into the country decreased by 21.83 percent during January 2022 and remained $229.190 million, when compared to the imports of $293.193 million in December 2021.

On a year-on-year basis, overall telecom imports witnessed a 21.83 percent decline, when compared to $227.083 million in January 2021.

Other apparatus imports during July-January 2021-22 increased by 54.77 percent and remained $382.079 million compared to $244.868 million in July-January 2020-21.

Other apparatus imports registered 16.62 percent negative growth on a month-on-month basis and remained $49.422 million in January 2022 compared to $59.276 million in December 2021 and registered 63.49 percent growth when compared to $30.230 million in January 2021.

The manufactured/assembled mobile phones handsets by local manufacturing plants during the calendar year 2021 stood at 24.66 million compared to 13.05 million in 2020, i.e. 88 percent increase.

The commercial imports of mobile phones handsets stood at 10.26 million in 2021 compared to 24.51 million in 2020, revealed the official data of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

The number of local manufactured/assembled mobile handsets increased by 2.54 million in December 2021 and the total production reached 24.66 million in the calendar year. The production of mobile phones by local manufacturing plants has more than doubled against the import of commercial mobile phones in the country during 2021.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

PM Imran bets on IT sector to generate employment, dollar inflow​
Says govt aiming to take IT-related exports to $50bn in coming years, interested in involving Bill Gates in advisory position
BR 
21 Feb, 2022








*Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday that Information Technology (IT) is the future for Pakistan, and the government is taking measures to enhance this sector, expressing confidence that investments would create employment opportunities for the youth and generate much-needed dollar inflows.*

Khan, in his address at the E-Commerce Pakistan Convention in Islamabad, lauded the role of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on E-Commerce, Senator Aon Abbas, adding that the government will provide full support to the IT sector.

“The entire IT industry is youth-driven, even today young people are at top positions in the IT sector. This is because the global future is rapidly moving towards digitisation, and we should not miss this technology revolution,” he said.



> I was interested in involving Gates with the Pakistan IT sector in an advisory position: Prime Minister Imran Khan




He said that the government is aiming to take IT exports to $50 billion in the coming years. “With minimal incentives, our IT exports have reached $3.75 billion, and with the coming incentives, we would facilitate our youth to reap benefit of this technology revolution,” Khan said.

He said that the IT exports of neighbouring India jumped from $1 billion to $100 billion in a span of 10 years. “If they can do it, we can as well,” he said.
“When we came into power, the situation was very bad and the country was on the brink of bankruptcy so I had to tell my cabinet to don't panic and today I tell the opposition not to panic,” said PM Khan.

The premier announced that the government has decided to charge zero tax on the incomes of registered freelancers.

On the recent visit of Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, Khan lauded the American magnate for his role against polio eradication in Pakistan. “I was interested in involving Gates with the Pakistan IT sector in an advisory position,” he said, adding that he would give "good news" regarding the development in the coming days.

"We are also changing the cricketing structure, and in the coming days Pakistan would become a cricket giant. We need to take similar measures across all sectors including education,” he said.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin in his address said that present government introduced a number of initiatives such as Raast and Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA), “as we want to move alongside the world”.

“The world is moving towards becoming a digital economy, and we need to be at par with the rest of the world,” he said.

The finance minister said that in the upcoming 5G spectrum auction, the government would focus on service quality, in order to improve internet and telecommunication service to boost the IT sector.

On the economy, Tarin said that there are three reasons behind the lack of sustainable growth in the country. “Firstly, our saving rate is very low i.e. 14-15%, which cannot sustain a growth of over 4-5%.

“Secondly, another major issue is that there is a huge gap of exports and imports, our exports account for 8.5% of the economy, whereas our imports are 18.5%. This gap is about $40 billion,” said Tarin.

He said that last year the IT sector grew by 47%, whereas this year we expect it to grow by 75%. “I want the IT sector to grow by 100% annually, and in the coming five years our IT exports should hit $50 billion, and this is not a difficult task,” said Tarin.
Earlier, Senator Faisal Javed Khan in a tweet post said Pakistan has witnessed exponential growth in the e-commerce sector, which will also help attract international payment gateways.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

Objective behind inviting Bill Gates was to involve him in Pakistan's IT sector: PM Imran​Dawn.com
February 21, 2022 -

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that the interest behind inviting Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to Pakistan was to somehow involve him in the country's IT sector, adding that there would be good news in this regard in the coming days.

He expressed the views while addressing the E-Commerce Pakistan Convention in Islamabad where he was the chief guest. According to _Radio Pakistan_, the prime minister inaugurated the e-commerce portal *to promote and facilitate freelancers and businesses in Pakistan.*

He went on to say that he invited Gates to Pakistan as the aim was to involve him in the country's IT sector. "So I will not make an announcement right now, but I will deliver good news in the coming days."

Reactions: Like Like:
2 | Love Love:
3


----------



## ghazi52

Freelancers: MoITT prepares incentive package​Tahir Amin 
22 Feb, 2022

*ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) has prepared a package of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for the freelancers including the proposal of reduced sales tax rate, not exceeding two percent, as well as, income tax holiday on exports income/ revenue/ receipts till 2030 and fast-track and simplified opening of foreign currency bank accounts to create a favourable business environment.*

The ministry has shared the draft of incentives package with the Finance Ministry for inclusion in the finance bill and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the SECP regulations.

Sources revealed to Business Recorder that the MoITT considers it is necessary to re-align the government strategies to attract a reasonable chunk from global spending on outsourcing and freelancing services in Pakistan. This will help create thousands of new jobs for freelancers in different sectors in line with the current government policy of creating high-end and well-paying white-collar jobs for youth employed in the digital economy.

The ministry has admitted that specific government incentives for freelancers are lacking, and there is a need to consider incentives for freelancers to create a favourable business environment.

It is proposed that incentives available for IT/ ITes sector should be applicable to freelance sector, as well.

Fiscal incentives for freelancers are recommended in consultation with the working group of prominent freelancers and freelancing community representatives. The MoITT will recommend these proposals for inclusion in the relevant documents such as Finance bill and SBP and the SECP regulations, etc., after due process. There would be income tax holiday on export income/ revenue/ receipts of freelancers duly registered with the PSEB till 2030, subject to receipt of income/ revenue through formal banking channels in the specific purpose codes assigned by the SBP.

There is proposal of introduction of incentivized registration fee package for freelancers by the PSEB and access to the PSEB programmes and initiatives, including fee and subsidized training, certifications, subsidized office space at Software Technology Parks (STPs) across the country and access to international marketing and matchmaking opportunities. It is proposed for the SECP to introduce a 20 percent registration fee discount for the PSEB-registered freelancers, if they opt to register a single member company.

It is proposed to make available collateral-free loans up to Rs1 million to the PSEB-registered freelancers through commercial banks and financial institutions at subsidized rates.

It is proposed that the facility of subsidized health and life insurance be made available to the PSEB-registered freelancers under existing and future government and private initiatives. It is proposed that the PSEB-registered freelancers will be included in any home loan schemes under the existing and government and private initiatives subject to providing a record of a minimum of 5 years of freelancing exports remittances of more than $10,000 per annum. Such home loan facilities shall be provided to these qualified freelancers at a subsidized loan rate.

It is also proposed for the provinces and the federal capital revenue boards to implement a reduced sales tax rate, not exceeding 2 percent against the local services revenue earned by the PSEB-registered freelancers. It is further proposed that this sales tax payment shall only be due at invoice month end plus 60 days.

Among the non-fiscal incentives, it is proposed that visa facilitation shall be provided for the PSEB-registered freelancers whose export income/revenue for the last three years exceeds $5,000 for each year and it remitted through formal banking channels.

Fast-track and simplified opening of foreign currency bank accounts for the PSEB-registered freelancers is also amongst the proposals including retention of a certain percentage of foreign exchange in these bank accounts.

It is proposed to establish technology business branches of commercial banks in at least six Pakistan cities with help of the SBP and commercial banks in providing relevant training for the staff of these branches.

It is proposed to establish facilitation desks at the PSEB offices and the PSEB-operated Software Technology parks for freelancers to quickly resolve their issues pertaining to taxation, banking, intellectual property rights, Voice Over IP white-listing, Virtual Network Access (VPN), or any other legal or commercial matters.

It is proposed that the Revenue Boards for the PSEB to establish a free centralized VPN gateway service which Pakistan Telecommunication Authority will white-list to provide services to verified freelancers registered with the PSEB. It is proposed that IP white-listing will be available for voice over IP (VOIP) traffic for the PSEB-registered freelance, where the VolP traffic must not exceed 200kbps. It is proposed to ensure the provision of Committed Information Rate (CIR) internet bandwidth service by the ISPs/ telco operators packages under work from home package with a minimum of 20 Mpbs connection at subsidised process to be made available to the PSEB-registered freelancers.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52



Reactions: Like Like:
2 | Love Love:
3 | Haha Haha:
1


----------



## Ali_Baba

Pakistan can achieve this for sure - it has to make sure it education standards for Computer Science degrees are 3 years at a minimum and recognised internationally.... this nonsense of 2years Bsc degrees has to stop ASAP. The rest is stable internet with large bandwidth and office spaces for outsourcing for which it is building IT Parks.

The last part of course is security - a secure place for companies to invest in.

Reactions: Like Like:
3


----------



## ghazi52

....
Prime Minister Imran Khan in his address to the nation announced these announcements for IT and industrial sector....

- Announcements for IT Sector:

100% tax exemption for both companies and freelancers
100% foreign exchange exemption
100% exemption from Capital gain tax for investments in IT start ups.
lllll

Reactions: Love Love:
3


----------



## khansaheeb

ghazi52 said:


> View attachment 817896


yes and CPEC will reach $5Trillion in a few years.


----------



## Ali_Baba

ghazi52 said:


> ....
> Prime Minister Imran Khan in his address to the nation announced these announcements for IT and industrial sector....
> 
> - Announcements for IT Sector:
> 
> 100% tax exemption for both companies and freelancers
> 100% foreign exchange exemption
> 100% exemption from Capital gain tax for investments in IT start ups.
> lllll



Excellent news! Pakistan is making the right moves and getting there.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

....
Xiaomi to inaugurate production facility in Pakistan on March 4​
By Bilal Hussain
March 01, 2022






Xiaomi is a global technology giant with a current standing of 334 in the Fortune Global 500 companies.-File photo

KARACHI: Xiaomi’s mobile device manufacturing facility has scheduled an inauguration ceremony on March 4 to kick off production in Pakistan to generate a likely sales volume of 550 million in the country.

Xiaomi, one of the largest smartphone companies in the world, would begin production in collaboration with Select Technologies (Pvt) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Link. The production facility has been established at Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate, Kot Lakhpat.
R​The Chinese giant with the local partner is expected to generate a sales volume of 550 million annually in Pakistan. “This production facility is a step forward in the direction of PM’s vision of ‘Make in Pakistan’ and will have a huge impact on Pakistan's economy resulting in export of locally produced Xiaomi mobile phones,” read the company's statement on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

President Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi is expected to inaugurate the production facility near Lahore. Last year in November, Air Link announced that it would be partnering with Xiaomi, which would add approximately $450 million annually in top line revenue numbers.
..

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

....
Telecom sector posts record Rs644b revenue in FY21​Secures $202 million FDI, contributes Rs226b to national exchequer
..

Usman Hanif
March 02, 2022

The telecom sector posted the highest-ever revenue of Rs644 billion in fiscal year 2020-21 as compared to the revenue of Rs592 billion in the previous year.

The sector attracted $202 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) and contributed Rs226 billion to the national exchequer, according to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) annual report for 2021.

During the year, an amount of $486 million was generated through spectrum auctions and licence renewals in the country.

Broadband service subscribers surged to 110 million, the report said, adding that around 50% of the country’s population subscribed to broadband, with bulk (49%) consisting of mobile broadband connections.

Broadband subscribers touched the milestone of 100 million in March 2021, it said.

Regarding the Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS), the report mentioned that the system proved productive for positioning Pakistan as a major manufacturer of mobile devices.

“PTA has so far issued mobile device manufacturing authorisations to 30 companies, attracting investments to the tune of $120 million, producing 10.1 million smartphones in 2021 and creating 2,000 jobs,” the report said.

Talking to The Express Tribune, SI Global CEO Noman Ahmed Said was of the view that the increase in revenue was expected, given the surge in use of telecom services in the country in recent times.

“It is heartening to see that the telecom sector secured $202 million in FDI,” he said. “This should remain our goal for 2022, to secure even more FDI and expand our operations locally as well as internationally.”

He emphasised the need for setting long-term goals, which “must be structured in such a way that they can be achieved”.

According to ICT expert Parvez Iftikhar, the telecom revenue in 2020-21 increased almost 9% in Pakistani rupees.

In dollar terms, the revenue increased around 7% over the previous year, “though they are still nearly a billion dollars less than what they were in 2017-18”, he said.

“Surprisingly, despite the increase in overall revenue, the contribution made to the exchequer (Rs225.8 billion) is lower than the previous year (Rs290.1 billion),” he noted.

He underlined that telecom and ICT (information and communications technology) services had spread nationwide, covering over 89% of the population with teledensity reaching 87% and cellular mobile penetration touching 86%.

_Published in The Express Tribune, March 2nd, 2022._

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

.',;
IT sector, freelancers and startups: FBR ‘drafting’ ordinance aimed at extending incentives​Sohail Sarfraz
19 Mar, 2022









*ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is drafting a Presidential Ordinance to extend grant incentives, including tax exemptions, to facilitate the IT sector, freelancers and startups as announced by the Prime Minister Imran Khan.*

It is learnt that that the tax officials are in the process of drafting a Presidential Ordinance to facilitate the IT sector. The tax exemption benefit was the biggest demand of the sector. If the Ordinance is promulgated before next fiscal year, this Ordinance would only give tax benefits and no new taxation, they added.

Prime Minister Khan had announced a complete tax exemption for information technology (IT) companies and freelancers, reverting the earlier status of the IT industry as tax-exempt. The package included 100 per cent capital gains tax exemption will be given for investments in IT startups, besides easing foreign exchange restrictions for the industry.

The prime minister has directed to allow IT/ITeS companies and freelancers to retain 100 percent amount of remittances received through proper banking channels, in FCY Accounts without any compulsion to convert them into PKR.

Furthermore, there will be no restriction of outward remittances from FCY account for PSEB-registered IT companies and freelancers.

The prime minister has also directed the SBP to introduce financing streams for IT/ITES sector and freelancers keeping in view operational architecture and industry needs for these sectors.

MoITT had prepared a package of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for freelancers including the proposal of reduced sales tax rate, not exceeding two percent, as well as income tax holiday on exports income/revenue/receipts till 2030 and fast-track and simplified opening of foreign currency bank accounts to create a favourable business environment.

The FBR had issued a clarification on February 8, 2022 that no Ordinance is coming to withdraw further sales tax exemptions before Finance Act, 2022.
The FBR had clarified that the review of the tax laws is an ongoing exercise which the FBR undertakes in routine.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022

,,...

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

.,.,.,.
Advancing their mission to promote the startup ecosystem of Pakistan, Huawei Cloud signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with National Incubation Centers (NCI) in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi, during the Huawei Cloud Summit Middle East in Dubai.





,.,.,.,.

Reactions: Love Love:
2


----------



## ghazi52

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,
*ICT export remittances including telecommunication, computer and information services during the first nine months of the current fiscal year 2021-22 surged to $1.948 billion at a growth rate of 29.26 percent in comparison to $1.507 billion during the same period in the fiscal year 2020-21.*

According to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication data, in March 2022, the ICT export remittances stood at $259 million at a growth rate of 23.92 percent when compared to $209 million reported for the month of March 2021. Also, $58 million is higher than export remittances of $ 201 million during the previous month of February 2022.

The net exports for the period July 2021 to March 2022 during the fiscal year 2021-22 are $1.472 billion which is 75.56 percent of $1.948 billion in exports.

Last year, for the same period the net exports were $1.126 billion which was 74.72 percent of US$ 1.507 billion in exports.

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has set a target of $3.5 billion for the current fiscal year.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

.,.,
*The Universal Service Fund (USF) is set to launch a fibre-optic project for Gwadar to bring 4G compatible high speed internet and telecom services to the region. The project is expected to be completed by the middle of next year.*

The USF has finalised paperwork for several projects, including 400km fibre-optic project in Gwadar and 4G services in the Loralai area of Balochistan, apart from upgrading data services to 4G in Vehari, Lodhran, Sialkot, Narowal, Nankan Sahib and Sheikhpura of Punjab.

Sources in the Ministry of Information Technology said all these projects were in the process of finalisation and would start work after getting approvals from the USF board. “Tentative date to start these projects is set for the last week of June and will be completed in 12-18 months,” the official said.

Apart from residential and commercial districts, the USF has an extensive plan to cover the national road arteries. The project regarding IT and telecom services on 309km Faisalabad-Multan M4 Motorway is also likely to be launched next month.

About the highways and motorways project, Minister for IT and Telecom Syed Aminul Haque told _Dawn_ that USF’s motorways and national highways programme had achieved broadband coverage on more than 1,929km of unserved road segments across the country.

“We are committed to providing uninterrupted mobile network on all major highways of the country because it enhances safe travel, improves the local economy and eventually boosts the IT and telecom sector,” the minister said.

He added that infrastructure development for uninterrupted high speed mobile broadband services was essential on national highways as it was one of the prerequisites for the country to launch 5G service in future.

The USF projects on Lahore-Abdul Hakeem M3 Motorway and 392km Multan-Sukkur M5 Motorway will be completed by the end of this year.

Makran coastal highway and NH 50-70 in Balochistan have already been covered with telecom services, but work on some part of N-25 (RCD Highway) and N65 (Quetta-Jacobabad Highway) has stalled due to local political issues and the authorities were not giving NOC to install telecom towers.

Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary, the Chief Executive Officer of USF, said the notables of the area, including elected representatives of Balochistan, had been approached to help resolve the matter so that all mainstream highways could be provided coverage.

The upcoming projects of the USF included powering of telecommunication site through solar energy, especially in remote areas where the supply of fuel to power generation is difficult.

Since 2018, the USF has launched 56 projects amounting to more than Rs52 billion for providing optic-fibre cable and broadband services across the country.

The USF is a subsidiary of the IT ministry tasked with expanding internet and telecom services to remote areas of the country where telecom companies and internet service providers do not enter as such areas are not commercially viable.

The fund consists of 1.5 per cent of adjusted revenues of telecom operators and various contracts for development of IT and telecom infrastructures are awarded through auction and the amount is paid from the fund.

_Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2022_

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

.,.,
Information Technology (IT) export remittances including telecommunication, computer, and information services from July 2021 to April 2022 have surged to an all-time high of $2.198 billion growing by 29 percent in comparison to $1.7 billion during the same period in FY 2020-21.

However, ICT export remittances declined by 4 percent on a month-on-month basis in April 2022 when compared to $260 million in March 2022.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan offers huge opportunities for investments in the technology sector and the government intends to increase IT exports from $1.5 billion to $15 billion in the coming years.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan data, in April 2022, ICT export remittances grew to $249 million up by 29 percent, compared to $193 million reported in April 2021.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

..,.,
The telecommunication industry attracted foreign direct investment of $6.1 billion from July 1, 2018, to March 30, 2022.

The number of active mobile SIMs reached 193 million by March 2022 due to reforms in the telecom sector, and mobile and fixed Broadband consumers’ numbers saw a 39.4 percent increase. 

Revolutionary steps had been taken in the information technology and telecommunication sector in the last three years in Pakistan and they're bearing fruit now.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

.,.,
*The government is considering a proposal to remove the sales tax on laptops and Information Technology (IT) equipment in the Finance Bill 2022-23..*

Among other proposals, the government is considering duties and tax exemption for the establishment of Cloud Infrastructure and rationalization of Advance Income Tax (AIT) on telecom services to 8 percent.

The IT and Telecom Division submitted the following proposals to facilitate the IT sector:

Duties and taxes exemption for the establishment of Cloud Infrastructure..
5 percent of annual IT export value to be given to the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) for export promotion...
Removal of the telecom sector from the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) 7 April 2022 regulation of 100 percent LC margin...
Reduction of sales tax to zero on laptops and IT equipment..
Rationalization of Advance Income Tax (AIT) on telecom services to 8 percent...
Rationalization and harmonization of Federal and Provincial Services Tax rates on telecom services.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed Information Technology and Telecom Division to submit a plan to enhance IT and Telecom export to $ 15 billion in the next two years after the due consultation process with the stakeholders..

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

.,.,
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Karachi IT Park is likely to be held on 9 June, with the laying of its foundation by the Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication.

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) stated that the arrangements for the groundbreaking ceremony of the IT Park at Jinnah International Airport are underway.

Officials from South Korea, the government of Sindh, the MoITT, and key stakeholders from the private sector will participate in the ceremony.

According to sources, the groundbreaking ceremony will be followed by soil testing and the building of a boundary wall. Furthermore, the MoITT has started the hiring process for expressions of interest (EoIs) for the initial design of the park.

The federal government had decided to establish the IT park at Jinnah International Airport, which is located in the metropolis’s trade and business hub. The total cost of the project is Rs. 31 billion, and the government of South Korea has offered to finance it. It is expected to provide 85 percent of the funding besides technical support, according to the MoITT.

The IT park will house about 210 IT companies with almost 8,400 employees, and a multi-story building. It will cover an area of 106,449 sq. m, with eight floors above ground and three basement floors. The building will also have offices, conference rooms, a day-care center, amenities, and a parking space

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

,.,.
*The export earnings from telecommunication, computer and information services grew 29.29 per cent to $2.19bn during July-April 2021-22 against $1.7bn in the same period last year.*

Despite improved performance by the IT and telecom sector in the outgoing fiscal year, the sector is less likely to achieve its export target of $3.5bn by the end of June. However, the Economic Survey 2021-22 released on Thursday highlighted that the Ministry of IT and Telecom and all its subordinate departments showed improvements in their performance, and the sector was a significant source of revenue generation for the national exchequer.

From July 2021 to March, the telecom sector contributed around Rs163.3bn to the national exchequer in terms of taxes, regulatory fees, initial and annual license fees, activation tax, and other taxes.

During this period the Personal Data Protection Bill has been approved, to counter rising cyber crimes.

The foreign and local investments in the telecom sector in July-February 2021-22 crossed $930.1m, and the total number of mobile and fixed-line subscriptions reached 194.2 million, with a net addition of 6.7m subscribers compared to the same period of last year

Reactions: Like Like:
3


----------



## ghazi52

...,
Number of 3G, 4G users up by 1.14m in one month: PTA​Tahir Amin
19 Jun, 2022








*ISLAMABAD: The number of 3G and 4G users in Pakistan increased by 1.14 million from 112.75 million by end April 2022 to 113.89 million by end-May 2022, says the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).*

The number of cellular subscribers in Pakistan increased by 0.25 million to 193 million by end-May 2022 compared to 192.75 million by end-April 2022.

Teledensity for cellular mobile increased from 87.6 percent by end April to 87.67 percent by end May. The total teledensity increased from 88.74 percent by end April to 88.81 percent by end May.

The Monthly Next Generation Mobile Service (NGMS) penetration increased from 51.24 percent by end-April 2022 to 51.73 percent.

Jazz’s total count for 3G users declined from 6.222 million by end April to 6.068 million by end May, registering a decrease of 0.154 million. Jazz 4G user numbers jumped from 36.567 million by end April to 37.168 million by end May.

Zong 3G subscribers decreased from 3.357 million by end April to 3.272 million by end May, while the number of 4G users increased from 27.952 million by end April to 28.317 million by end May.

Telenor 3G subscribers decreased from 3.696 million by end April to 3.613 million by end May, while the number of 4G users of Telenor increased from 21.216 million by end April to 21.494 million by end May.

Ufone 3G users stood at 3.576 million by end May compared to 3.673 million by end April. The number of 4G users of Ufone increased from 8.761 million by end April to 9.052 million by end May, registering 0.291 million increase during the period under review.

PTA received 16,872 complaints from telecom consumers against different telecom operators, including (cellular operators, PTCL, LDIs, WLL operators, and ISPs) as of May 2022. The PTA said that it was able to get 16,659 complaints resolved, i.e. 98 percent.

According to the PTA data, 5,649 complaints were received against Jazz, 5,417 against Telenor, 3,528 against Zong and 1,478 complaints were received against Ufone. The PTA also received 239 complaints against basic telephony, where 227 were addressed during May 2022. Furthermore, 532 complaints were received against ISPs, where 520 were addressed.

Cellular mobile subscribers constitute a major part of the overall telecom subscriber base. Therefore, the maximum number of complaints belongs to this segment. The total number of complaints against CMOs by May stood at 16,087 where 15,904 were addressed i.e. 98 percent.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

,..,.,
PTCL, Huawei Successfully Deploy AirPON Solution​By Press Release 
Jun 22, 2022 


PTCL, the country’s premier Telecom and ICT services provider, has successfully deployed AirPON solution from Huawei Technologies in its Fiber Access Network.

AirPON is a unique and innovative Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) solution that leverages existing cellular mobile network infrastructure to extend fiber footprint with an improved total cost of ownership and better time to market.

AirPON employs purpose-built pre-connectorized Optical Distribution Network (ODN) components, which offers a unique, efficient, and agile deployment, that minimizes fieldwork through a plug-n-play approach, while also greatly improving the quality of installation.

The infrastructure available at cellular mobile sites is exploited for field deployment of Optical Line Terminal (OLT) equipment to serve its housing, power, and transport needs.

This solution is yet another step forward on PTCL’s roadmap for meeting rapidly growing consumer data traffic demands by expanding its Fiber Access Network in areas otherwise difficult to reach for deployment.

Jafar Khalid, Group Chief Technology Officer, PTCL Group, said, “We are committed to uplifting our customer experience through the adoption of state-of-the-art products & solutions. PTCL and Huawei achieved another milestone by successfully introducing the AirPON solution in our Network.”

He added, “We continue to invest in new technologies and products to modernize our network, with a major emphasis on expediting the reach of the high-speed fiber access network to maximum customers, and the AirPON solution will be a key enabler in meeting this ambition.”

Ahmed Bilal Masud, Huawei Pakistan Deputy CEO, stated, “Huawei is always committed to working closely with PTCL Group to explore the right solutions for meeting the evolving business requirements.”

He added, “Our goal is to offer innovative solutions to PTCL Group, while committing to minimize the deployment cost and time to market, with network simplification and emerging technologies. We believe that AirPON will pave the way for increasing fiber reach in the country, and support PTCL to offer fast internet services to its valuable customers.”

Reactions: Like Like:
3


----------



## ghazi52

,.,.,
Sindh cabinet approves first ever Cloud policy​
The Frontier Post








KARACHI: We have achieved a great milestone with approval of first ever cloud policy in Sindh. It was stated by Mrs. Tanzila um e Habibah Special Assistant to CM Sindh for Information science and Technology Department, Sindh. The cabinet meeting was provided overfed by CM Sindh sayed Murad Ali Shah. The IT department told the cabinet that the absence of Cloud policy compelled public sector organizations to work in silo and caused inefficient use of resources utilisation, security issues, increased capital costs and infrastructure degradation issues.

The salient features of the Cloud First Approach include economic scale, collaboration among federation and provinces, standardization, and adoption of emerging tools and technologies.

The provincial government, under the new policy, would appoint a Cloud Acquisition Office (CAO) would be established to support the public sector entity in their transition to cloud. The Cloud policy is a paradigm shift from Capital Expenditure to Operational Expenditure resulting in cost savings with better infrastructure.

The Provincial Cloud Acquisition Office would work with other departments and SPPRA to bring the required changes (PAYG “Pay as you go” or “pay as use”) with reference to the policy. Provincial Cloud Acquisition Office must be involved in procurement decisions of ICT related infrastructure.

The cabinet approved the policy. Digital Technology Board: The provincial cabinet also approved establishment of Sindh Digital Technology Board for promotion, planning, execution, supervision, evaluation and regulations of Digital technologies to boost the `digital economy by enabling e-government, promoting innovation, capacity building, supporting IT Sector and collaborating with stakeholders at province, federal and international level.

The chairman of the board would be Minister IT, Secretary IT would be its vice chairman and secretary Finance, Secretary P&D and MD of the board would be its members. The functions of the board, include digital Technology policy guidelines to the government; recommend Information, prepare a comprehensive program for the Information for the approval of the government, Digital Technology sector; plan, manage, implement and control the digital Technology sector programs and schemes and submits reports to the government to observe growth and enrichment of the approved Information, digital Technology program.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

.,.,.,.
*IT exports have surged at the growth rate of 25.45 percent in eleven months of the last financial year. “ICT export remittances, including telecommunication, computer, and information services for the period July 2021 to May 2022 during Financial Year 2021-22 have surged to the $2.381 billion at a growth rate of 25.45 % in comparison to the $1.898 billion during the same period in FY 2020-21,” the official of the ministry told APP.*

The net exports for the period July 2021 to May 2022 during FY 2021-22 were $1.809 billion which was 75.98% of $2.381 billion in ICT exports. Last year, for the same period the net exports were $1.425 billion which was 75.08% of $1.898 billion in ICT exports, he added. 

On the direction of the Prime Minister, he said, steps were being taken to take ICT exports to record levels, with the implementation of the tax relief announced by the finance minister in the federal budget for the IT industry.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## Luosifen

Huawei, Meezan Bank sign MoU on Cloud Transformation


Meezan Bank and Huawei Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cement their strategic




gwadarpro.pk





Huawei, Meezan Bank sign MoU on Cloud Transformation​ 
By Staff Reporter | Pakistan Observer Jul 22, 2022



Meezan Bank and Huawei Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cement their strategic partnership, through projects focused on Cloud Transformation and technological innovation, enabling Meezan Bank to augment its existing processes and systems.
Group Head Information Technology, Faiz Ur Rehman, Group Head Digital Transformation and Innovation, Iqbal Ali Khan were present at the signing along with representatives from Huawei’s side as well. According to the signing, Huawei and its partners will seek to aid the bank in hybrid cloud transformation and enhance the technology adoption.
Banks have the ability to capture and store enormous tranches of customer data on a daily basis. The problem is, that with legacy methods such as data storage siloes, banks are severely limited in how they use and connect this data, if at all.
Cloud technology can centralize the data capture, storage, and interpretation processes. It can also reduce the costs associated with these critical processes and generate far richer, more precise, faster data-led insights, which banks can use to drive performance.
The advancement to Cloud Transformation in banking is something that’s happening all around the world and in Pakistan as well. Pakistan’s Central Bank, State Bank of Pakistan is also actively reviewing the present regulatory framework to allow banks to adopt innovative Cloud technologies.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

,.,.,
Govt approves spectrum auction​Every 5 MHz sale may fetch around $96m; licence will be for a period of 10 years

Shahbaz Rana
August 04, 2022





Telecom industry is demanding that 100% cash margin requirement against import of almost all telecom and IT equipment needs to be removed. 

*ISLAMABAD: *The government on Wednesday approved the auction of new spectrum in the 2,100 megahertz (MHz) band for a period of 10 years that may fetch around $96 million for every 5 MHz sale, changing the terms of sale that may anger three telecom giants.

The Spectrum Auction Advisory Committee unanimously decided to go for the auction of 2,100 MHz band in 5 MHz bandwidth for 10 years using the current consultant’s report at net present value, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance.

The previous government had auctioned the 5 Mhz band at a price of $29 million per MHz for a period of 15 years. The three telecom players had also got their licences renewed at this price for 15 years.

The spectrum auction committee only offered 2,100 MHz for a period of 10 years, which would clearly give undue advantage to one player, according to an official working for a telecom operator.

“It is discriminatory and the telecom operators may protest against the move,” he added.

However, the chairman of the Auction Advisory Committee, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, has a different view.

The federal government had offered the 1,800 and 2,100 MHz bands but no telecom operator bought the 2,100 band, “which left us with no option but to change the terms”, said the finance minister.

He added that the government had a choice either to reduce the price or the term of the licence and “we opted for the reduced term of 10 years”.

The minister said that at least two to three 5 MHz spectrums would be offered to the industry.

The government expects to receive $96 million to $192 million in revenue from the sale proceeds of the two spectrums.

The finance minister said that the government was aiming to improve mobile broadband services in Pakistan as the sector contributed heavily to the development of the country.

Telenor Pakistan had sought 5 MHz spectrum for seven years in the 2,100 band.

The finance ministry stated that the advisory committee was briefed about the demand and supply and recommendations of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for the release of available spectrum for the Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) in Pakistan.

It was also shared that 4G penetration was increasing in the country, which was good for the development of IT-related infrastructure.

The telecom industry has expressed reservations about charging in dollars for the licence and spectrum fee, when they are raising revenues in rupees.

The industry is passing through difficult times and is now looking for ways to increase prices of their packages and services amid a decline in rupee value that has increased the cost for them.

The telecom sector would shift from a net profit of $188 million in 2021 to a deficit of $287 million by the end of calendar years 2022 and 2023 because of the worsening economy, according to a briefing given by one of the industry players to the media last week.

The telecom industry claims that it has been passing through grave challenges and now it is a matter of its survival. The regulator is not allowing the telecom sector to increase its rates.

Average revenue per user (ARPU) has declined significantly and Pakistan has the lowest level.

In such a scenario, the telecom sector is heading towards a situation where some of the foreign telecom sector investors are looking for options to exit Pakistan.

The industry is demanding that the 100% cash margin requirement against import of almost all telecom and IT equipment needs to be removed. It also says that the requirement of prior approval by the SBP for opening Letters of Credit for all technical equipment and machinery import also needs to be removed.

Every government has heavily taxed the telecom sector that is also affecting its business.

The government has also raised the regulatory duty on optic fibre cable import from 10% to 20% in the Finance Bill 2022.

The industry players say that despite a positive headway in the past few years, Pakistan lags in the four technology enablers – broadband, IoT, Cloud and AI 4G. The subscriber base stagnation will halt the recent information technology boom.

The existing policy framework in Pakistan discourages international investors from investing in entities solely registered in Pakistan. Private fund regulations hinder local investors to licence fund vehicles, according to them.

_Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2022._

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

.,,.
ICT exports: still strong?​BR

*The country’s exports of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services continued the strong double-digit growth run in FY22, as per the latest data from the central bank. Standing at $2.6 billion, the ICT services exports showed a year-on-year growth of 24 percent last fiscal, and in the process provided an additional half a billion dollars to the country’s forex reserves relative to FY21.*

The oft-repeated government target of $3 billion in exports was not met in FY22, however. For the ICT services exports fell well short of 46 percent annual growth seen during FY21. This was despite late-Covid surge in business investments and consumer spending in the North American, European and GCC markets, from where most of Pakistani IT exporters earn their digital revenues from. Still, the 24 percent annual growth rate, on top of a large base, was the second-highest growth rate over past many years.

In the bigger picture, ICT services exports’ growth outpaced annual growth in overall services exports of the country during FY22. The ICT services exports were equal to 7 percent of Pakistan’s overall goods and services exports of $39 billion in FY22 – maintaining the level achieved during FY21 despite strong growth run in the country’s overall export tally last fiscal.

Within the relevant pie of $2.6 billion during FY22, the major chunk belonged to ‘computer services,’ which are the core IT services that provide over four-fifth of the ICT services export receipts. These services grew by 26 percent year-on-year to reach $2.1 billion in FY22, providing 87 percent contribution to the $500 million+ incremental growth in overall ICT services exports during the fiscal.

Within the core IT sector exports, the bulk of incremental exports were on account of 43 percent annual growth in ‘software consultancy services,’ whose receipts rose to $795 million. This segment was followed by 35 percent yearly growth in ‘export of computer software,’ which reached $563 million. Meanwhile, ‘other computer services’ returned 7 percent growth over FY21 to provide earnings of $743 million.

In the ‘telecommunication services’ sector, which provided 19 percent of overall ICT services exports in FY22, the annual growth was also in healthy double-digits (15%), reaching $504 million for the fiscal. Within this sector, 39 percent annual growth was witnessed in ‘call center’ exports, which stood at $216 million in FY22. Meanwhile, the core telecoms services (including long-distance and international (LDI) telephony revenues of local operators) barely grew at 2 percent per annum, with receipts of $289 million.

In the ongoing fiscal, IT exporters are set to face an uncertain external outlook. On the negative side, the inflation-taming central bank measures have started to take their toll in aggregate demand in overseas markets. This may have the effect of leading to a slowdown in IT-related spending in advanced markets, thereby potentially impacting Pakistan’s IT exports as well. Not all markets may be affected the same way, however.

On the positive side, IT exporters are sitting on excess cash/capital, which they could use to make strategic and tactical acquisitions in local and foreign markets to grow their business amid attractive valuations. Some of the leading players have already been doing that, with the intent to create capacity to service large-sized foreign clients and to diversify expertise, service portfolios and geographical markets.

While the impact of such moves will play out in medium to long run, it remains to be seen in the short term if the $3 billion export barrier can be broken in FY23. On paper, it looks like a certainty –only 15 percent growth is required over FY22 to cross the mark. Besides, attractive PKR-dollar conversion may incentivize IT exporters to remit more of export earnings to offices here at home. In reality, however, it may play out better or worse, in line with how Pakistan’s macroeconomic scorecard behaves and how it impacts the viability of businesses operating here. Let’s see what FY23 has in store!


----------



## ghazi52

.,.,
China assists Pakistan in advancing its geomatics technologies​
August 16, 2022


To develop the geomatics knowledge of Pakistani scientists and officers, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce sponsored an advanced seminar online titled “Geomatics Technology for Pakistan.

This conference was attended by 19 Pakistani professionals and officers from organisations like the Society of Engineers, National Institute of Computer Sciences, University of AJ & K Muzaffarabad, etc. Hunan International Business Vocational College, the seminar’s organiser, claims that the seminar is specifically created to address the needs of Pakistani geo-technical professionals based on a series of research and inquiry on the growth of surveying and mapping technology in Pakistan.

BEIJING, Aug 15 (APP): An advanced seminar entitled ‘Geomatics Technology for Pakistan’ sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of China is ongoing online to help improve Pakistani scientists and officers’ expertise in geomatics.

A total of 19 Pakistani experts and officers from the Society of Engineering, National Institute of Computer Sciences, University of AJ & K Muzaffarabad, etc. attended this seminar.

According to seminar’s organizer Hunan International Business Vocational College, the seminar is specifically designed to meet the actual needs of Pakistani geo-technical experts based on a series of investigation and research on the development of surveying and mapping technology in Pakistan.

During the 20-day seminar, Chinese experts have been sharing the latest geomatics technology of data analysis, processing and application, and the successful experience and practice in the surveying and mapping industry in China with the Pakistani participants.

The seminar is composed of classroom teaching, discussion on specific topics and visits to renowned Chinese enterprises, etc. Notably, cutting-edge equipment including VR drones has also been used for practice.

“Through this seminar, Pakistani experts can learn about the updated development of geomatics technology in China, and the Sino-Pak cooperation potential in the field of surveying and geographic informatics has been fully discussed,”Zhong Huiqun from Hunan International Business Vocational College told CEN.

It’s learned that in recent years seminars on various subjects including automotive industry, engineering and business management have been organized by Hunan International Business Vocational College under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Commerce of China to help drive Pakistan’s industrial upgrading and enhance technical exchange between the two countries.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

1.21m handsets imported: 15.61m cell phones manufactured locally in eight months: PTA​Tahir Amin 







*ISLAMABAD: The local manufacturing plants have manufactured/ assembled 15.61 million phone handsets during the first eight months (January-August) of 2022 compared to 1.21 million imported commercially, says Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).*

The local manufacturing plants manufactured/ assembled 0.67 million mobile phones in August 2022.
The manufactured/assembled mobile phones handsets by local manufacturing plants during the calendar year 2021 stood at 24.66 million compared to 13.05 million in 2020, i.e. an increase of 88 percent.

The commercial imports of mobile phones handsets stood at 10.26 million in 2021 compared to 24.51 million in 2020, revealed the official data of the PTA.

The locally-manufactured/assembled 15.61 million mobile phones handsets include 8.85 million 2G and 6.76 million smartphones. Further as per the PTA data, 54 percent mobile devices are smartphones and 46 percent 2G on Pakistan network.

However, despite the increase in the local production of mobile phones, Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $101.864 million during the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year 2022-23.

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data shows that on a month-on-month (MoM) basis mobile phone imports registered 62.51 percent growth and stood at $63.060 million in August 2022 when compared to $38.804 million in July 2022.

The successful implementation of Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) along with conducive government policies including the mobile manufacturing policy has created a favourable environment for mobile device manufacturing in Pakistan.

It has also contributed positively to the mobile ecosystem of Pakistan by eliminating the counterfeit device market providing a level-playing field for commercial entities and has created trust among consu
mers due to the formulation of standardised legal channels for all sorts of device imports.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

.,.,.
Huawei launches All Scenario All Flash storage solution​
The Frontier Post







SLAMABAD (INP): Huawei Pakistan successfully held the Huawei IT Summit Pakistan 2022 and launched All Scenario All Flash storage solution in Islamabad.

Federal Secretary IT and Telecommunication Mr. Mohsin Mushtaq, HEC Mr.Faisal Rafique, New Horizon Mr. Qaiser Sarwar, Nayatel Mr. Jahanzeb Arshad, Future Wei Mr. Wang Yong, Wateen Mr. Aftab Siddiqui, TechAccess Mr. Kashif Ali along with other officials and experts from IT industrials and Huawei were all president at the Summit.

In the summit key speakers and experts highlighted how data has become the catalyst for the digital economy. Such explosive data growth, however, places added pressure on traditional data centers, which provide the centralized storage, computing and data resource exchange needed for enterprise to tap into the value of data.

Huawei launched All scenario Flash storage to combat the challenges of todays’ world to facilitate business growth and digital transformation across industries.
As the Chief Guest, the Federal Secretary Mr. Mohsin Mushtaq appreciated Huawei effort to organize Summit and said “Huawei has worked closely with the Ministry of IT and Telecommunications on various projects and has always been extremely supportive.”

Talking about the cooperation with Huawei in Pakistan, operation VP Nayatel Mr. Jahanzeb Arshad saying”We wanted to work with global providers and provide the same level of service but more cost effective to our customers. Critical components of our services is Storage, certain customers require high IO performance from storage, and Huawei help us with the storage required for us to set up our open-stack Cloud. It was a very smooth and stable integration with Huawei Dorado Storage.”

COO of New Horizon Mr. Qaiser Sarwar also shared experience with Huawei “We have evolved as more of a ‘Storage Expert’. Our journey with Huawei started three and half years ago and we evaluated the storage at that time and realized that it has the potential compared to other storages in the market. The supply chain is so efficiently managed, and the stable capability of manufacturing even after Covid times give us and Huawei an edge in the market.”

HEC IT Director Mr. Faisal Rafique stated in the Summit “Our vision is to enhance the productivity in the education sector and focus on World class learning research and development centers. Our journey with Huawei started in 2007 with 30 HEIs and now we’re with 210 HEIs in 2022. I would like to appreciate Huawei for a project completed phase 2 in a much quicker way, he added.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

,..,
Pakistan flaunts IT potential​Aims to host technology exhibition ‘Techspring’ in March 2023

Usman Hanif
October 14, 2022

*KARACHI: *Pakistan is fast emerging as one of the IT hubs in the world on account of its human resource potential.

“Pakistan is considered as the emerging hub of the IT industry across the world with its increasing contribution to the global banking system through innovative services and out-of-the-box solutions,” said NdcTech Limited CEO and President, Ammara Masood while addressing an audience at the Bank of the Future Forum 2022.

She added that the global fintech services provider, Temenos, has designated Pakistan as the regional hub for targeting the penetration of its services in different countries including banks and the financial sector.

MD Systems Limited CEO, Asif Peer affirmed that “Pakistan’s IT industry has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years”.

Talking to the media, Peer noted that “Pakistan can’t survive by relying only on manufacturing-led exports. The country needs services-led exports which can be done through IT and IT-enabled services. This is the only viable method to enhance the country’s exports.”

According to 2021 Kearney’s Global Services Location Index, Pakistan is ranked as the second-most financially attractive location in the world for offshore outsourcing services, and the second-largest supplier of online labour in software development and technology as per the ILO Flagship Report 2021.

“The government and IT companies are working aggressively to promote IT exports at the international level. This can be seen most recently from the mega pavilion of Pakistan set up at the Gulf Technology Exhibition (GITEX) Global in Dubai,” he said.

Pakistan Software House Association (P@SHA) Chairman, Zohaib Khan apprised that “Pakistani IT companies have displayed diverse capabilities to industry players of the IT industry at GITEX 2022.”

“These services include, but are not limited to, IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS), internationally-acclaimed accomplishments and potential, human resource strengths and skill-sets, untapped export potential, business process outsourcing (BPO) capabilities, internationally-accredited tech infrastructure, services in artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain technologies, fintech ecosystem, web 3.0 and metaverse and software and application development competencies,” he explained.

Khan inaugurated the Pakistani Pavilion in GITEX 2022 in Dubai along with Pakistan’s Federal Minister for IT and Telecom, Syed Aminul Haque.

The P@SHA chairman expressed profound optimism saying, “Tangible gains have been accomplished during the exhibition – be that export orders, investment propositions, skill development collaborations, single-country follow-up meetings, B2B alliance or ground-breaking discussions on joint ventures.”

It is pertinent to note that GITEX is the biggest show and event in the entire Middle East and GCC region for IT, ITeS and other allied technologies. This year, 29 member companies of P@SHA are participating in GITEX in collaboration with the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB). The ITT-minister has set forth an ambitious target of $5 billion in IT exports for the FY 2023 and $15 billion in the next five years.

“P@SHA is all geared-up to turn this dream into a reality,” commented Khan.

Pakistan has already posted an export growth of 150% in IT exports during FY2019 – FY2022. No other industry in Pakistan has achieved so much growth in export numbers over the last few years in comparison.

Khan maintained that “Internationally, venture capital markets have been shrinking for the past couple of years. However, despite that trend, Pakistani IT companies have received considerably enhanced funding. Therefore, it would be counterintuitive and counterproductive to not capitalise on the enormous potential of the IT industry of Pakistan – which may result in half-a-million new jobs for the youth in a short-span of three years.”

Highlighting the global trend in the banking sector, the NdcTech Limited CEO said that “Cloud banking is becoming popular in Pakistan which is not only secure but it aids banks to scale up operations without huge investments in technology infrastructure”.

“At NdcTech, we are working to introduce solutions for commercial banks which would offer seamless services to customers at their doorsteps rather than at branches. NdcTech is not only providing services to Pakistani banks but also exports its services to different countries including those in the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific region,” she added.

“NdcTech became a partner of Temenos in 2021 and implemented its system in 18 different commercial banks including conventional, Islamic and microfinance banks across Pakistan. This helped the company attract various financial entities to avail its services in the Gulf region,” she explained.

Quoting ITT Minister Haque, Khaleej Times wrote that Pakistan also aims to host its own tech exhibition called ‘Techspring’ in March 2023. Haque also invited all the participating companies and countries to attend and “be delighted by their (Pakistani companies’) inventiveness, talent and professionalism”.

_Published in The Express Tribune, October 14th, 2022._

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

.,.
Pakistan, China to launch three new projects​October 22, 2022





BEIJING, Oct 21 (APP): Pakistan and China have agreed to launch three new corridors, including the China-Pakistan Digital Corridor that would help enhance cooperation in different fields of Information Technology (IT), said Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque.

Pakistan has a rich repertoire of talent and human resources in different fields of science and technology and IT-based science and technology have become very important for Pakistan.

“We would be an important source of help for China in terms of software development. So, we are working together to set up training centres in Pakistan for developing software in different fields of IT”, he told China Economic Net (CEN).

He said that the two countries recently agreed to launch three new corridors: the China-Pakistan Green Corridor, which would focus on the agricultural environment, food security, and green development, the China-Pakistan Health Corridor which will help Pakistan get efficiency in the medical field, and then the China-Pakistan Digital Corridor which will boost Pakistan’s IT industry.

Ammar Jaffri, former Additional Director General FIA and founder of Digital Pakistan said that emerging technologies have now become a lifeline for the achievement of The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets.

“We are aiming to organise an international conference about artificial intelligence on March 23, 2023, in which local and foreign enterprises would participate and we would take strategic decisions to engage the government of Pakistan, and international organisations in our mega projects”, he mentioned.

He further said that AI in areas of cyber security, SDGs, and emerging technologies is a much-needed zone where Pakistan has to work with China while Pakistan has a young population advantage in the region.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## Luosifen

CMPaK awards Pakistani network heroes​ 
By Mariam Raheem | Gwadar Pro Oct 21, 2022



ISLAMABAD, Oct. 21 (Gwadar Pro) - CMPaK held a ceremony of network excellence demonstration and donation to the Sindh provincial government here on Thursday. Individuals and teams who have made key contributions towards to company’s network excellence were presented with awards on the occasion.





Awarded employees who have made contributions towards to CMPak’s network excellence
Minister of IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque applauded the network’s superlative quality. He said, “the floods have affected the lives of millions of Pakistanis. CMPak stepped forward at a difficult time when the country needed their help most, restoring the Internet access in the affected areas in a short period of time. It has shown extraordinary resilience and will, as well as outstanding leadership and technical capabilities, which deserve the respect of the Pakistani people.”




New Network improvement Campaign Launch
Nong Rong, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, highlighted in his speech that after the devastating floods in Pakistan, CMPak quickly invested a lot of manpower and material resources to repair the service base station, and ensured the communication in the disaster area to be restored in a short time, which shows the strong friendship between China and Pakistan. It also actively donated money and materials, fully reflecting the social responsibility of Chinese-funded enterprises.
“I am extremely proud of our technical employees who remained on their toes, day and night, to restore network in areas which were completely submerged in flood water and where the infrastructure was damaged,” Zong CEO Wang Hua said at the event. “Our teams recovered 99% of the CMPak network in three weeks, which is a commendable effort.”
More than 1,000 of CMPak’s base stations have been out of service due to severe flooding in Pakistan. In the face of the disaster, the company’s employees braved the difficulties and grabbed one communication “lifeline” after another. Within three weeks, the company achieved the basic restoration of the service base stations, effectively ensuring a smooth network for people and government departments in the disaster area.
Furthermore, CMPak has launched a free call plan in the flood-hit areas of Pakistan with more than 3.1 million subscribers. It has also assisted governments in sending 117 million text messages against flooding. Medical camps have been set up in four hard-hit areas, where the company is providing free food and medicine and conducting free medical treatment activities. The company also organized the staff to carry out “One Day Donation” campaign to raise Rs 4 million. Together with the company’s donation, Rs 10 million were donated to the Sindh government for flood relief and post-disaster reconstruction.









CMPaK awards Pakistani network heroes


ISLAMABAD, Oct. 21 (Gwadar Pro) - CMPaK held a ceremony of network excellence demonstration and




gwadarpro.pk

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

.,,.
The first computer exhibition was held at the famous Hotel Holiday inn Karachi in 1984.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

.,.,

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1590994523060305920

Reactions: Like Like:
1 | Love Love:
1


----------



## ghazi52

,.,.
Telecom CEOs Blame Finance Division, FBR, SBP for Pushing Country Towards Dark Age​By Ahsan Gardezi 
Nov 18, 2022 

Chief Executive Officers of the telecom companies have informed Federal Minister IT Syed Aminul Haq about their concerns regarding government policies in a meeting yesterday.

Well-informed sources told ProPakistani that the telecom industry says that the Finance Division, FBR and State Bank policies are pushing the country towards the dark age instead of the digital age.

Telecom industry sources say that the CEOs of telcos had a detailed discussion with the Federal Minister on the problems faced by the telecom sector yesterday.

The telecom industry says that due to government policies, not only the telecom industry is suffering and new investment is not coming into this sector, but these policies are also affecting the IT industry as the telecom sector is the backbone of the IT sector and the majority of the IT businesses are based on the telecom and data services.

According to industry sources, the CEOs demanded the federal minister talk to the federal government to withdraw the 50% increase in withholding tax.

According to sources, the CEOs told the federal minister that with an overall 34.5 percent tax on telecom users including 15 percent withholding tax and 19.5 percent general sales tax, Pakistan is among the highest-taxed telecom markets in the world, while it ranks second highest in telecom taxation in South Asia.

According to sources, CEOs of telcos also raised the issue of industrial tariffs before the federal minister.

The CEOs said that telecom has been given industrial status but industrial tariff has not yet been implemented, due to which operational cost is increasing. Telecom companies charge the user in rupees while they have to pay the renewal fees in dollars.

According to Industry sources, the CEOs of the companies also raised the issue of the non-opening of LCs of the telecom sector before the federal minister. The CEOs told the Federal Minister that due to the non-opening of LCs and non-import of telecom industry equipment; the operations of the industry are being affected.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

.,.
Pakistan’s ‘digital emergency’​November 23, 2022

*EDITORIAL: IT Minister Aminul Haque would have noticed, when he met telecom industry executives divided over the launch of 5G network services, that their most consistent complaint was inconsistency in government policies for the sector.*

Now, while China Mobile-owned Zong is willing to “fully cooperate” with the ministry for the 5G rollout next year, Jazz, Telenor and Ufone are wondering how they will do it when the industry’s “very survival is at stake”.

The whole sector, which is supposed to be the backbone of the modern digital economy, is suffering because of a severe cost-push financial squeeze and an administration unable to figure out its policy direction.


That’s why it’s demanding urgent policy interventions, including denominating spectrum payments in rupees instead of dollars and extending its payment terms to 10 years from five, suspension of annual payments to Universal Service Fund (USF) and Ignite for two years, and reduction of withholding tax on essential telecom services to eight percent from 15pc.

But since the minister was already aware of these demands, and all he said in his meetings to address them was that the government was doing all it could, he didn’t exactly inspire the kind of confidence that was needed to get the ball rolling on the 5G front.

There’s much talk at the top level about growing the IT industry into a leading export earner. Yet even though the minister admitted that “improvement in connectivity was linked to the telecom sector, and I am convinced that the economic stability of the country was linked with a strong and vibrant telecom industry,” there’s not much happening on ground in quantifiable terms to back this realisation. And the whole IT sector is waiting for the telecom sector to be able to meet Pakistan’s digital inclusion objectives.

Even if/when the government is able to put enough on the table for the telecom sector to play along, there will be a lot of issues to address before the whole thing can really take off. Recent floods badly damaged and degraded telecom infrastructure up and down the country.

Rising interest rates are therefore not only worsening the financial crunch and cutting crucial investment, they’re also making reconstruction a lot more expensive. And then there’s increasing electricity prices and the falling rupee to add to input costs. That’s a lot to do, especially when you haven’t made up your mind how you’ll do it and the clock is ticking.

IT is one of the most important ministries in most countries in this day and age. We need only see across the border in India to understand how prudent planning and provisioning can indeed turn it into an export powerhouse. In addition to powering the economy, it also forces an improvement in the quality of education to feed a rapidly growing industry. Here, priorities are different and the IT ministry was doled out to a disgruntled ally to prevent undue embarrassment so soon after the no-confidence motion brought the present coalition government to power.

Industry executives also enlightened the IT minister that frequent changes in government policy were making it difficult for them to convince their investors to continue investing here. There are, in fact, rumours that one of the three companies that expressed their reservations to the minister might be considering wrapping up from Pakistan altogether.

Given these circumstances, it would have been much better to have a more IT-oriented man heading the ministry. Yet effective policy can still be framed by taking all relevant stakeholders on board at the right time and devoting enough resources to overcome immediate hurdles.

Managing this “digital emergency”, as one industry executive put it in the meeting with the minister, is the least the government is expected to do. At stake is not just the fate of a few countries or the 5G network or even the whole sector, but Pakistan’s chance of being able to function as a proper digital economy in the 21st century.

Reactions: Like Like:
2


----------



## ghazi52

,.,..
In a major development, tech giant Google will begin operations in Pakistan by next month. 
Google will also provide 15,000 #scholarships to #Pakistani citizens after starting operations in Pakistan.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

.,.
The IT sector can help Pakistan's economy, but several factors need to go in its favour​Bilal Hussain 
November 23, 2022

*As a veteran reporter, I have been covering the IT sector along with other areas for a while. The one notable thing I have observed is that people are bullish on the sector's growth prospects.*

The banking sector appears to be on the same path as well, but this seems to come on the back of fintech's potential, which is powered mainly by the IT sector — blurring the lines between the two.

The IT sector has seen significant growth in recent years. IT-related exports went up from $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2019-20 to a record $2.1 billion the next year. Growth rate slowed in FY 2021-22 as exports clocked in at $2.7 billion, according to the Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT. The government had set a target of $3 billion for FY22.

However, many in the industry feel that the government has not played a huge role in this growth, and that it has come on back of Pakistan's robust demographic of young individuals who are tech savvy.

There is, however, a dire need for capital expenditure in this sector. Hence, there’s also a need for the government to spend on infrastructure in order to pave way for the growth momentum to continue. Connectivity is provided by the telecom sector that covers clusters with little role of the government.

Instead, these companies should also be pushed by the government to reach remote areas in order to be inclusive of people living there. This may boost tech growth.

Although internet connectivity, speed and performance in Pakistan are not at par with international standards, the country has still managed to see its IT sector prosper.

At the same time, investment in Pakistan's startups has also gone up significantly, with total valuation of these early-stage companies reaching $3.5 billion, according to the IT minister.

However, despite the investments, a major chunk of it remains parked in other countries that have positioned themselves as startup hubs over the years.

While policy-checks on financial flows may be a hurdle, it is Pakistan's volatile currency that does a lot more damage.

For instance, the rupee has depreciated nearly 20% since March alone.

If the investment had entered Pakistan’s banking system, it would have lost that much of its value by now, within a year.

This, of course, is too much for a foreign investor.

Unless the fundamentals of the economy improve, such as stability in exchange rate, all sectors will continue to struggle.

Moreover, IT service providers also depend on the growth outlook of other areas such as providing software to the textile, FMCGs etc.

When other sectors of an economy struggle, and traditional areas struggle, pressure is passed onto IT as well.

In a quick analysis of Pakistan’s IT sector, despite its growth potential and the government’s aggressive targets, it cannot help Pakistan alone.

There are fundamental problems in the economy, which experts such as Atif Mian and Miftah Ismail have pointed out repeatedly.

Investments and incentives have rarely gone into the right productive sectors that help lower a country's dependency on imports and increase exports.

For instance, the previous government tried to grow the economy through the construction sector, providing it with amnesty schemes, subsidies and cheap loan facilities.

However, all these incentives increased property prices, and demand for construction material that resulted in a higher import bill as well.

There have to be consistent policies with a long-term understanding of every sector – such as their dependency on imports. For instance, last year the government reduced tax and duties on cars but they had to revert within months as imports increased significantly.

While the auto industry is dependent on imports, the IT sector does not increase this bill.

And while the telecom sector may import equipment, these are largely one-time fixed costs.

The IT sector’s dynamics make it favourable for the country due to its demographics, but it needs proper nourishment and favourable, consistent policies.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## Ali_Baba

ghazi52 said:


> .,.
> The IT sector can help Pakistan's economy, but several factors need to go in its favour​Bilal Hussain
> November 23, 2022
> 
> *As a veteran reporter, I have been covering the IT sector along with other areas for a while. The one notable thing I have observed is that people are bullish on the sector's growth prospects.*
> 
> The banking sector appears to be on the same path as well, but this seems to come on the back of fintech's potential, which is powered mainly by the IT sector — blurring the lines between the two.
> 
> The IT sector has seen significant growth in recent years. IT-related exports went up from $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2019-20 to a record $2.1 billion the next year. Growth rate slowed in FY 2021-22 as exports clocked in at $2.7 billion, according to the Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT. The government had set a target of $3 billion for FY22.
> 
> However, many in the industry feel that the government has not played a huge role in this growth, and that it has come on back of Pakistan's robust demographic of young individuals who are tech savvy.
> 
> There is, however, a dire need for capital expenditure in this sector. Hence, there’s also a need for the government to spend on infrastructure in order to pave way for the growth momentum to continue. Connectivity is provided by the telecom sector that covers clusters with little role of the government.
> 
> Instead, these companies should also be pushed by the government to reach remote areas in order to be inclusive of people living there. This may boost tech growth.
> 
> Although internet connectivity, speed and performance in Pakistan are not at par with international standards, the country has still managed to see its IT sector prosper.
> 
> At the same time, investment in Pakistan's startups has also gone up significantly, with total valuation of these early-stage companies reaching $3.5 billion, according to the IT minister.
> 
> However, despite the investments, a major chunk of it remains parked in other countries that have positioned themselves as startup hubs over the years.
> 
> While policy-checks on financial flows may be a hurdle, it is Pakistan's volatile currency that does a lot more damage.
> 
> For instance, the rupee has depreciated nearly 20% since March alone.
> 
> If the investment had entered Pakistan’s banking system, it would have lost that much of its value by now, within a year.
> 
> This, of course, is too much for a foreign investor.
> 
> Unless the fundamentals of the economy improve, such as stability in exchange rate, all sectors will continue to struggle.
> 
> Moreover, IT service providers also depend on the growth outlook of other areas such as providing software to the textile, FMCGs etc.
> 
> When other sectors of an economy struggle, and traditional areas struggle, pressure is passed onto IT as well.
> 
> In a quick analysis of Pakistan’s IT sector, despite its growth potential and the government’s aggressive targets, it cannot help Pakistan alone.
> 
> There are fundamental problems in the economy, which experts such as Atif Mian and Miftah Ismail have pointed out repeatedly.
> 
> Investments and incentives have rarely gone into the right productive sectors that help lower a country's dependency on imports and increase exports.
> 
> For instance, the previous government tried to grow the economy through the construction sector, providing it with amnesty schemes, subsidies and cheap loan facilities.
> 
> However, all these incentives increased property prices, and demand for construction material that resulted in a higher import bill as well.
> 
> There have to be consistent policies with a long-term understanding of every sector – such as their dependency on imports. For instance, last year the government reduced tax and duties on cars but they had to revert within months as imports increased significantly.
> 
> While the auto industry is dependent on imports, the IT sector does not increase this bill.
> 
> And while the telecom sector may import equipment, these are largely one-time fixed costs.
> 
> The IT sector’s dynamics make it favourable for the country due to its demographics, but it needs proper nourishment and favourable, consistent policies.



Biggest problem Pakistan has in true IT services, is it poor education system - the "pretence" in Pakistan that a 2year "BSc" degree is competitive with 3-4 years of IT education for BSc degrees in other countries - is laughable and shows the farcial state of affairs in Pakistan ...


Education .. Education .. Education is the cure for most of Pakistan's ills....


----------



## ghazi52

.,.,.,
Engro Corp eyes acquisition of mobile tower business​Kazim Alam 
December 6, 2022


KARACHI: Engro Corporation Ltd said on Monday it’s looking for an investment opportunity in the mobile infrastructure business, which typically involves purpose-built towers with communication equipment allowing area residents to use wireless devices.

Even though the securities filing didn’t mention the potential size of investment — or name the target of acquisition — market reports suggest the conglomerate is trying to buy the tower assets of global wireless operator Veon Ltd, which runs the Jazz mobile network in Pakistan.

A spokesman for Engro Corporation offered no comment when asked to confirm if the securities notice was indeed in relation to the potential acquisition of Veon’s tower assets.

A recent report by _Bloomberg News_ quoted Veon CEO Kaan Terzioglu as saying that the global company was about to conclude the sale of its 10,000-12,000 mobile towers in Pakistan. The transaction size is expected to be between $600 million and $960m based on the fact that a single tower is valued at $60,000-$80,000.

Earlier in September, another listed company TPL Properties Ltd showed its interest in acquiring a telecom tower infrastructure business in Pakistan. The company didn’t state the likely transaction size or reveal the identity of the business it was trying to acquire.

However, an industry source told _Dawn_ at the time that TPL Properties was looking at an investment of “Rs100 billion-plus”.

As for the target of acquisition, the source said at the time the company in question controlled “more than 25 per cent” of all mobile towers located across the country.

The total number of mobile towers in Pakistan is north of 40,000. Each mobile network operator (MNO) operates on average 10,000-11,000 towers. The four MNOs collectively operate more than 80pc of all mobile towers.

The rest of the infrastructure is operated by four independent tower companies. Engro Corporation already operates one such firm by the name of Enfrashare, with 2,246 towers across Pakistan.

If executed, the deal will reduce the share of Veon/Jazz in the mobile tower business to zero and let it focus on revenue streams that are central to its business, analysts said.

_Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2022_

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

.,.,
Google opens liaison office in Pakistan, registers with SECP​Bilal Hussain 
December 9, 2022






*Google has opened its liaison office in the country, and registered with the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), it was learnt by Business Recorder on Friday.*

An official of the company confirmed that the liaison office had been opened, while a SECP spokesperson said the company "has been registered as a foreign company" in Pakistan.

A liaison office means an office of a foreign company established for promotion of products, provision of technical advice and assistance, exploring the possibility of joint collaboration and export promotion.

“We have recently opened a liaison office in Pakistan to explore business opportunities, better market our products and services locally and support the country’s fast growing tech ecosystem," Google spokesperson said in response to a query by _Business Recorder_.

Recently, Google Country Director for Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh Farhan Siddique Qureshi said Pakistan has proven itself as a high-growth market.

Qureshi was talking to journalists at the sidelines of an event where YouTube, an online video sharing and social media platform, hosted its first 'Brandcast' in Pakistan. YouTube is owned by Google.

In November, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Afnan Ullah had also said that a Google team would visit Islamabad next month to commence operations in Pakistan.

“A delegation of Google will visit Pakistan on December 11 to start operations,” he had said then, adding that the platform will provide 15,000 scholarships to Pakistani citizens after starting operations in the country.

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

,..,
While Twitter and Facebook have announced they won't be able to open offices in Pakistan anytime in the near future, Google, the largest search engine and video-sharing platform in the world, plans to establish a registered office there.

According to a formal announcement made on Friday by IT and Telecom Minister Syed Aminul Haque, the global powerhouse has already registered itself as a corporation in Pakistan.

During a business trip to Pakistan early the next week, "Google is anticipated to announce the opening of a fully working office here," claims Mr. Haque.

However, Google has already established leadership in this field, and the business is already registered with the Karachi registration of the Pakistani Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP).

Reactions: Like Like:
1


----------



## ghazi52

,..,
President Alvi terms IT sector game-changer for country’s economy​Umer Gujjar






LAHORE (APP): President Dr Arif Alvi has said that the Information and Communications Technology sector is a game-changer for the national economy.

Addressing the launching ceremony of Web 3.0 here at the Punjab Information Technology Board here on Friday, he said that there was a need to accelerate speed manifold for making solid policies. 

He said such policies should not be rolled back by any change in government. He stressed finding out-of-the-box solutions to the existing and emerging issues and challenges.


----------



## ghazi52

.,,.
Pakistan’s IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) export remittances comprising computer services and call center services increased by 3 percent during the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY23) and stood at $1.087 billion compared to $1.051 billion during the same period of last fiscal year.

According to the official data of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), on a year-on-year (YoY) basis the sector’s export remittances increased by 5 percent and stood at $233 million in November compared to $221 million in November 2021. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis the export remittances also increased by 5 percent when compared to $221 million in October 2022.


----------



## ghazi52

.,,.


----------



## ghazi52

.,.,





*The parent company of Telecom Tower Infrastructure Company (TTIC), which owns and manages around 10,500 operating towers in Pakistan, has conditionally accepted the offer of a consortium comprising Pakistan’s TPL REIT Management Company Limited (TPL RMC) in partnership with TASC Towers (TASC), a UAE-based mobile telecom tower operator, for the acquisition of TTIC.*

TPL Properties, the parent company of TPL RMC, shared the development in its notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday.

“We are pleased to announce that the parent of one of the largest telecom tower operators in Pakistan, has conditionally accepted the offer, subject to signing of definitive agreements, all necessary corporate approvals and receipt of relevant regulatory approvals, made by our subsidiary TPL REIT Management Company Limited in partnership with TASC Towers for acquisition of their subsidiary (Telecom Tower Infrastructure Company) which owns and manages more than 10,500 telecom towers in Pakistan,” read the notice.


----------



## ghazi52

Etisalat’s $263m settlement offer rejected​UAE telecom giant offered only one-third of outstanding proceeds of PTCL privatisation

Shahbaz Rana
December 21, 2022








*
ISLAMABAD: *Pakistan on Tuesday turned down an offer from Etisalat for the settlement of a privatisation dispute with payment of $263 million, which was only one-third of the outstanding dues, and asked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) company to double the amount.

The offer made by UAE’s telecom giant Etisalat is even lower than the price it was willing to pay six years ago. A delegation of Etisalat met Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for the second time in two months to find a solution to the 17-year-old privatisation dispute.

The company owes $800 million in privatisation proceeds of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL). However, no Pakistani government has taken the buyer to the international court of arbitration.

“Both sides agreed to proceed with the resolution of all outstanding issues between Etisalat and the Privatisation Commission in a spirit of goodwill,” said the Ministry of Finance. But it did not share terms of the offer.


----------



## Luosifen

Pakistan clinches 2nd position in Huawei ICT Competition 2022​ 
By Mian Abrar | Gwadar Pro Dec 22, 2022







Huawei ICT Competition 2022 Middle East Awarding Ceremony 
ISLAMABAD, Dec. 23 (Gwadar Pro)- Pakistan clinched second position in the Huawei Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Competition 2022 held in Muscat, Oman on Thursday.
According to the statistics, 12,000 students from 135 universities attempted the nationwide test in which two teams comprising six students qualified for the Middle East Regional Finals.
Pakistan Team One including Team Lead Faeez and Asad Anwar Arain from Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET), Jamshoro and Maryam Fareed from Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) under the Team Instructor Faheem Yar Khan Khuhawar secured the second position in the Middle East contest.
While Pakistan Team Two consisting of Team Lead Umar Raza from FAST National University, Eman Yaqoob from LCWU and Fatima Shafique from MUET, Jamshoro under the Team Instructor Zeeshan Iqbal could not bag any position in the finals.
The instructors told that the students had high spirits as they burnt midnight oil to prove their mettle at the international competition and add one more feather to the national repute.
Expressing gratitude to Huawei Pakistan, Team Lead Faeez said he had no idea that he would be given such a massive platform to demonstrate his abilities and further necessary training to polish his skills in the ICT sector.
It is worth mentioning here that the Jordan Team comprising students Hamzah Al-Zubaidi and Aws Al-Rayya from Princess Sumaya University for Technology and Yazan Al Shannik from Yarmouk University won the first prize of $20,000. 
Besides Pakistan, Iraq Team One comprising Sadeem Moulood from Ninevah University, Mohammed Shakr from Salahaddin University and Mohammed Hussein from the University of Anbar got the second position.
The third prize went to the United Arab Emirates Team comprising Eyasu Araya and Smon Ftwi from Higher Colleges of Technology and Meriem Aoudia from the University of Sharjah, the Bahrain Team comprising Dana Kamal, Husain Hasan and Joud Ebrahim from Bahrain Polytechnic, and the Kazakhstan Team comprising Nikolay Zhilaykov from Almaty University of Power Engineering and Telecommunications, Aida Begaldarova from al-Farabi Kazakh National University, and Algerim Turarbekova from International Information Technology University.
In addition, there were 15 teams of the brightest young tech talents from 11 countries across the Middle East and Central Asia including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iraq, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordon, Lebanon and Kazakhstan. 
The top winners will represent the Middle East and Central Asia in the Huawei Global Finals Competition that will take place in Shanghai, China next year.









Pakistan clinches 2nd position in Huawei ICT Competition 2022


Huawei ICT Competition 2022 Middle East Awarding Ceremony ISLAMABAD, Dec. 23 (Gwadar Pro)- Pakista




gwadarpro.pk


----------

