The Federal Minister for Telecommunication, Owais Ahmed Khan Leghari has said that a Telecom University would soon be established in the country to produce telecom engineers of world repute. Work on this project is expected in next financial year.
Talking to newsmen after inaugurating a 300 lines telephone exchange in a suburb of Dera Ghazi Khan on Thursday.
He said, "Due to rapid growth in the field of telecom in general and wireless telecommunications in particular, there is an urgent need to enhance the human resource base within country that can take advantage of telecom infrastructure that is being installed."
He said that we have received good response from the people on Wireless Local Loop and we have provided more than 1000 connections in two days only in Multan and this facility would soon be available in every town and city of the country. The minister said that it would be the cheapest communication facility because we would charge only 2.32 per unit.
While mobile phone companies are charging Rs 4.75 per unit plus central excise duty.
He said that we are considering to further reduce the call charges to facilitate the general public however we brought the trunk call charge at Rs 6.50 per minute level for Karachi, Islamabad, Quetta, Peshawar, Lahore, etc and after 6:00 pm, we charge only Rs 3.25 per minute and after 9:30 the company charge only Rs 1.63 per minute. While International calls were brought to the level of Rs only 23 per minute.
The government is going to bring revolutionary changes in telecommunication sector to make impossible for future governments to enhance telephone calls rates.
Sardar Awais Khan Leghari said another 50 to 60 new companies were emerging in the sector which would introduce modern technology at the cheapest rates. The minister said Pakistan is going to induct new satellite programme in the next two years to implement on its e-government projects at district level while e-government would be established in Dera Ghazi Khan district in the next month.
He said country's economy has become stronger under the leadership of President General Pervez Musharraf and record, rapid development work has been done in the past four years which example cannot be find in the period of previous governments.
The country has prevented from tough time and constraints in result of Musharraf's bold decisions on important projects. The minister said that not a single inch would be spared for installation of telephone facility especially in remote areas of the country, adding the present government is doing development with out political discrimination.
The Ministry has placed orders for purchasing handsets of wireless loop calls to overcome shortage and equipping the subscribers of remote regions especially hilly areas.
The network of U-phone is being extended around the country to compete with rest of companies, he added. At least 50 to 60 new companies have been inducting their phone system in the country that would generate competition and further reduction in telephone call rates from present limits.
The international as well as domestic call rates would be access able to each citizen, he said.
The minister disclosed the PTCL is going to sell its 20 percent to 25 percent shares and employees would be preferred in selling shares besides securing their jobs at all levels. He assured all the press clubs at divisional headquarters would be equipped with internet facility and providing them research infrastructure in the next month.
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