ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja accused former caretaker federal minister Dr Umar Saif of sabotaging a private deal of bringing international gateway, Paypal, to Pakistan by leaking it before time.
“Bringing PayPal to Pakistan was a private deal, which Dr Saif leaked before time. This action annoyed PayPal and he (Dr Umar) sabotaged it”, said Khawaja, while talking to media persons, here on Tuesday.
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Replying to a question, the minister said that insufficient spectrum, increasing number of users; load management practices of telecom operators due to expensive electricity, low investment due to issues in opening of letters of credit (LCs) as well as faults in two submarine cables were the major reasons behind the slow internet in the country.
When asked about the slow internet connectivity, she explained that Pakistan currently operated with 274 MHz of spectrum, while 550 MHz had recently been freed from litigation over the past six months. The minister also said that the 5G auction had been delayed due to ongoing legal matters.
She said restrictions on opening LCs had a bad impact since they delayed the import of necessary telecom equipment. The minister further revealed no new telecom infrastructure has been established in the past two years due to a lack of investment, while energy and fuel price hikes have burdened the sector.
Telecom operators, she said, manage their load by reducing/restricting services during power outages rather than turning on fuel generators to maintain optimal services.
The IT minister noted the rising dollar rates and the low average revenue per user (ARPU) in Pakistan, adding that the country’s internet is linked to eight submarine cables, two of which are currently malfunctioning. She was hopeful that spectrum auctions and investments in the telecom sector would resolve many of the current issues.
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Khawaja also revealed that the Law Department has vetted the “Smartphone for All” policy and it would be introduced soon.
Telecom industry had earlier presented a payment plan scheme called, “Smartphone for All”, to equip more citizens with smartphones and drive up the number of connected citizens.
The Minister of State further said that the policy was presented by the telecom industry; however, due to some lacuna and resistance from Zong, China Mobile operator, it could not move forward. She said that as per the earlier draft policy, no company would issue SIM to a defaulter of the scheme as well the defaulter would not be allowed to open account. However, Zong objected to this policy while insisting to issue SIMs.
She said that the ministry is working on the policy and it has been vetted from the Law Department which is expected to come out very soon.
Khawaja said that the government would soon introduce the “One Patient, One Identity” system under the “Smart Islamabad” initiative in the Federal Capital.
The system would help save a patient’s entire medical record, which would be accessible across all hospitals operating in the federal capital, including basic health units.
The minister further said that as part of the project all schools in Islamabad, including both rural and urban areas, would be centralised and provided with internet connectivity, along with other resources to improve the quality of education.
As part of the programme, she said that separate police facilitation centres would also be established across the city to serve the public. The inspector general of police Islamabad was actively working on the project.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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