Over 75 percent of households will have access to high speed Internet facility by 2015, an official of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said on Thursday. "A target of 1.6 million broadband connections has been set for the next three years as against the present level of less than 100,000 connections," he said.
The official said the government is pursuing a plan to develop an infrastructure to cover maximum population with Internet facilities. He said the plan would help bridge digital divide by improving the access of information and communication technology to low-income groups in the country.
In the liberalised and deregulated environment of Pakistan, telecom and information technology companies are expanding their networks, business and customer base, he said.
The Universal Service Fund Company (USFC) has been operationalised to provide basic telecom services especially in remote areas of the country, he added.
This year's theme-"Connecting the Young"-has a special relevance to Pakistan as more than 50 per cent of population is below the age of 19.
The total number of fixed and mobile subscribers has reached 62 million, with major contribution coming from the mobile sector.
About 22 million youngsters are already connected on mobile networks as Pakistan has already crossed the Asian connectivity average, surpassing India and Sri Lanka and getting close to China.
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