May 26, 2022: Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque said that revolutionary steps have been taken in the information technology and telecommunication sector in the last three years in Pakistan.
In his message on the occasion of 'World Telecommunication and Information Society Day', Federal Minister for IT said that the foreign direct investment in the telecommunication industry remained at $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 saw a 39.4 percent increase, he said.
IT Minister Syed Amin Ul Haque said that projects were started through Universal Service Fund (USF), the attached department of the Ministry of IT & Telecom, for the provision of broadband services across the country. Over 37 projects worth Rs 31 billion were launched by June 2021, and up to 50 to 75 percent of work has been completed on most of these projects, he added.
The Federal Minister said that Rs 6.47 billion are being spent on nine different projects of optical fiber and broadband services in Punjab, and nine projects of worth over Rs 8.48 billion are also underway in Sindh for the provision of high-speed internet and laying of fiber optical in the province.
The number of projects for the 14 districts of Balochistan is 11 costing Rs 8.43 billion. Over 7.08 billion rupees are being spent on 8 different projects of broadband services and optical fiber in fourteen districts of KPK, he noted.
Syed Amin Ul Haque said that Rs 29 billion are also being spent on 28 projects for the provision of broadband services in far-flung areas during the current financial year.
Work is also going on on nine different projects for laying fiber optic cable in all four provinces. A total of 4,746 kilometers long cable is being laid which will cost Rs 13.14 billion, he said.
He said that USF completed projects for the provision of mobile networks on 1,929 kilometers of main highways.
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