ISLAMABAD : Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said that the government considers development in information technology and telecommunication sectors to be of paramount importance for the overall progress of the country. He said that the promise of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) enabled by wide access of the cellular medium and broadband has made the ICT sector a top strategic priority for the democratic government for overall development of Pakistan. The Prime Minister expressed these views while chairing 24th board meeting of Universal Service fund as Chairman of the BOD here at the Prime Minister House Tuesday afternoon. The potential of these sectors, he added, cannot be over-emphasized in delivering value to the economy through socio-economic benefits to the masses and creation of job opportunities.
The government for these precise reasons, he said, has taken steps to enable further expansion of the programs of mass importance undertaken by the Universal Service Fund and the R&D Funds of the GoP.
The Prime Minister said that the ability to communicate and to derive the benefits of information driven era is no more a privilege of the elite but a basic right of all segments of society.
He said that it is heartening to know that the Government has, over the past three years, undertaken a well structured and successful program for universal access for unserved and underserved areas through transparent targeted subsidy mechanism.
Similarly, an industry funded program, he maintained, for promotion of Research and Development with emphasis on industry academia linkages and technical human resource development has been another success story.
He said the dream of cross country connectivity for all is about to be realized and “we are on road to establishing a sustainable R&D platform and there is a now need to look at further innovative and diverse ICT resource development uses of these funds to gear up for the future”.
He assured of his government’s support in this regard and vowed to provide opportunities to the people of Pakistan, which modern day technologies envisage.
The Board accorded approval for awarding contract for the Optic Fiber Cable (OFC) project in Balochistan.
Through the optic fiber project in Northern Balochistan, optic fiber connectivity will be provided to 12 tehsil headquarters and 8 other towns and a population of around 2.1 million people will benefit from this project.
It is worth mentioning here that 40% of the total USF subsidy for all USF projects is being provided for projects in Balochistan. The board decided that the company which was awarded the project would essentially be required to clear its outstanding payments towards USF (Universal Service Fund).
As regards the USF Malakand Lot Project, which could not be completed due to security reasons and military operations in the districts of Swat, Shangla, Buner Dir etc., the Board opined that the issue be resolved with the concerned Company (Telenor) by terminating the agreement and the Malakand Lot Project be re-auctioned.
In this context, the Board decided that although the management has taken a legal opinion from a renowned legal firm, another legal opinion from the Ministry of Law and Justice should also be sought prior to resolution of the matter.
The Board was also apprised of upcoming plans for telecom facilities in un-served areas which have been distributed into 26 lots.
“However, it was mentioned that issues being faced by telecom operators as we go into more remote and difficult areas, in addition to the security situation, are high operational expenses, low revenues and expensive back haul.
These issues need to be addressed while implementing the plans.”
Apart from the projects, the administrative and human resource related issues of utilization of funds were also deliberated upon. The Board gave principle approval to the proposal of providing subsidy on operational expenses in these areas for a limited time period of 3 years following a declining trend model.
The Board also appreciated the initiative of establishing Community Tele Centres throughout the country particularly in the under-developed areas for which a pilot project is being launched in the near future. Another project involving setting up of Tele Medicine Network at three hubs (Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, Nishtar Medical Hospital, Multan and Jinnah Post Graduate Medical College, Karachi) and 12 remote sites was also approved.
The Prime Minister directed the Board to identify other areas as well,wherein USF Funds could be utilized for the betterment of the masses, like increasing telecom and IT based knowledge among the youth to enhance their capacity as useful citizens.
At the end, the Prime Minister appreciated the achievements made by USF so far and hoped that it will continue to meet its targets in future also. The Prime Minister assured the board that in future there will be a board meeting held every six weeks. Secretary IT, Chairman PTA, Nominees of Fixed Telephone Line Operators (CEO PTCL), nominee of Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan and Representative of Consumers Association of Pakistan also attended the meeting as Directors of USF Board. APP
He said that it is heartening to know that the Government has, over the past three years, undertaken a well structured and successful program for universal access for unserved and underserved areas through transparent targeted subsidy mechanism.
Similarly, an industry funded program, he maintained, for promotion of Research and Development with emphasis on industry academia linkages and technical human resource development has been another success story.
He said the dream of cross country connectivity for all is about to be realized and “we are on road to establishing a sustainable R&D platform and there is a now need to look at further innovative and diverse ICT resource development uses of these funds to gear up for the future”.
He assured of his government’s support in this regard and vowed to provide opportunities to the people of Pakistan, which modern day technologies envisage.
The Board accorded approval for awarding contract for the Optic Fiber Cable (OFC) project in Balochistan.
Through the optic fiber project in Northern Balochistan, optic fiber connectivity will be provided to 12 tehsil headquarters and 8 other towns and a population of around 2.1 million people will benefit from this project.
It is worth mentioning here that 40% of the total USF subsidy for all USF projects is being provided for projects in Balochistan. The board decided that the company which was awarded the project would essentially be required to clear its outstanding payments towards USF (Universal Service Fund).
As regards the USF Malakand Lot Project, which could not be completed due to security reasons and military operations in the districts of Swat, Shangla, Buner Dir etc., the Board opined that the issue be resolved with the concerned Company (Telenor) by terminating the agreement and the Malakand Lot Project be re-auctioned.
In this context, the Board decided that although the management has taken a legal opinion from a renowned legal firm, another legal opinion from the Ministry of Law and Justice should also be sought prior to resolution of the matter.
The Board was also apprised of upcoming plans for telecom facilities in un-served areas which have been distributed into 26 lots.
“However, it was mentioned that issues being faced by telecom operators as we go into more remote and difficult areas, in addition to the security situation, are high operational expenses, low revenues and expensive back haul.
These issues need to be addressed while implementing the plans.”
Apart from the projects, the administrative and human resource related issues of utilization of funds were also deliberated upon. The Board gave principle approval to the proposal of providing subsidy on operational expenses in these areas for a limited time period of 3 years following a declining trend model.
The Board also appreciated the initiative of establishing Community Tele Centres throughout the country particularly in the under-developed areas for which a pilot project is being launched in the near future. Another project involving setting up of Tele Medicine Network at three hubs (Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, Nishtar Medical Hospital, Multan and Jinnah Post Graduate Medical College, Karachi) and 12 remote sites was also approved.
The Prime Minister directed the Board to identify other areas as well,wherein USF Funds could be utilized for the betterment of the masses, like increasing telecom and IT based knowledge among the youth to enhance their capacity as useful citizens.
At the end, the Prime Minister appreciated the achievements made by USF so far and hoped that it will continue to meet its targets in future also. The Prime Minister assured the board that in future there will be a board meeting held every six weeks. Secretary IT, Chairman PTA, Nominees of Fixed Telephone Line Operators (CEO PTCL), nominee of Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan and Representative of Consumers Association of Pakistan also attended the meeting as Directors of USF Board. APP
