In the continuous wave of development and globalisation the role of telecommunication technologies is getting crucial day by day. One cannot underestimate the value of sustained development of telecommunication technology. The society cannot be developed without proper education regarding the latest technologies. The pivotal role of telecommunication is changing life styles of people at both micro and macro levels. People's access to basic information and modern technologies is the utmost challenge in this era of globalisation.
This year, 2014, the theme for the World Telecom Day is "Broadband for Sustainable Development". Mobile broadband has profound positives for ICT growth and e-services such as e-health, e-education, e-commerce, e-Gov etc. Such a phenomenal growth of mobile broadband portrays strong consumer confidence in the mobile broadband services. The immense development and growth observed in the telecommunication sector has been acknowledged and appreciated worldwide. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has always been supportive of new technological innovation and actively promotes and facilitates growth of broadband in Pakistan, especially mobile broadband. The Spectrum Auction for Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) is another step in providing new services to consumers. I am confident that the launch of next generation mobile services like 3G and 4G will advance data connectivity solutions through mobile platforms. Data will become the new pinnacle of success for the cellular and broadband operators in Pakistan.
I am particularly pleased to share with you the success story of the mobile sector. The overall Teledensity of Pakistan stood at 78.0% at the end of March, 2014 Cellular sector constitutes 74.9% of the total teledensity of Pakistan while local loop sector has 3.1% share. Cellular subscriber base reached 136.5 million by the end of March, 2014 with growth of 1.38% along with 1.87 million new subscriptions. Broadband subscribers reached 3.4 million with 2.9% growth during the month of February, 2014. Broadband operators collectively added 95,284 new subscribers during the month of February, 2014. The recent launch of the biometric verification system is meant to curb illegal and unregistered SIMs from the market to the mobile subscriber. Grey Call Center has been established to curb the menace of illegal traffic. PTA has further strengthened the process of monitoring the grey traffic with the installation of Grey Traffic Monitoring System (GMTS).
Our mission is to make the common man aware of the revolution that ICTs can bring into his life. For this purpose, PTA is emphasising on the growth, usage and penetration of broadband to every nook and I corner of the country. The healthy competition introduced by the Government encouraged operators to go the extra mile for making a strong subscriber base. The Government places a high priority to consumer protection and facilitation, and for this PTA has introduced various services such as unwanted number blocking, mobile number portability, SIM protection against identity theft and fraudulent calls and SMSs. Here, I would also like to appreciate the efforts of cellular mobile operators who incurred huge investments, developed robust telecom infrastructure and provided the general public with quality services.
PTA, as a telecom regulator, is fully alive to its obligations and will leave no effort in providing an even playing field to all stakeholders and protecting their interests. It will ensure that the industry makes great strides for overall growth and development of the national economy. I am quite sure about the bright future of Pakistan telecom industry and hope that the sector will become a role model for other sectors in reshaping economic destiny of the people. Availability a of consistent and affordable services is critical for achieving our goals. PTA will continue to play its role to enhance a vibrant regulatory regime, especially the push to bring broadband to every segment of the society. The real connection to deliver value added applications and content across the country is linked with broadband telecommunications.
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