ZUMBEEL | Telecom Progress In Balochistan
Telecom Progress In Balochistan
Tue Jul 27, 2010 | By Umara Rashid- News Team
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) organized telecom Consumer Forum with a theme Together for Consumer Rights in Quetta. It was attended by various representatives from IT and Telecom Industry, telecom consumer groups, renowned social workers and academia.
The forum was planned to evaluate and discuss telecom scenario in Baluchistan, which will help in accomplishing desired targets in terms of service expansion in the area. Organizing such consumer forums is yet another serious effort by PTA to address the consumer issues. It was pointed out that the telecom sector of country has observed a magnificent growth lately; and the province of Baluchistan is likely to gain further from this growth for its people as well as for the development of telecom infrastructure in the province.
While addressing the forum, Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammed Yaseen said that fiber optic is being laid from Baluchistan to connect with Iran and Afghanistan while it has also been laid across Baluchistan to provide telecom access to the local population.
Some astonishing statistics are revealed by Chairman PTA about the telecommunications services proliferation in the province. Stats show that these services are not a far-fetched idea for the people of Baluchistan now, and consumers of the area are satisfied with the quality of telecom services provided to them.
The following data provides evidence of telecom growth in the province:
* 36.86 % Teledensity as of May 2010 (was 29.3% in 2008)
* 2.8 million mobile phone subscribers as of May 2010 ( 12,539 in 2002)
* 109,079 Total WLL subscribers in Balochistan as of March-2010
* 98,511 total number of Local Loop (LL) subscribers is (March-2010)
* PKR 5.87 billion - USF projects in Balochistan
* 62 Rabta Ghars in Balochistan to provide basic telecommunication services
PTA seemed extremely keen to take new initiatives and bring new projects that will ensure the availability of cost effective, accessible, and prompt services for the telecom consumers to far flung areas of Baluchistan. This will undoubtedly ensue in the economic betterment in the area.