Investment stands at $4.2 billion: Telecom sector contributed Rs 684 billion to exchequer from fiscal year 2013-17

The telecom sector contributed Rs 684 billion in terms of taxes and duties from fiscal year 2013 to fiscal year 2017 while investment by telecom companies during the same period stood at $4.2 billion and Foreign Direct Investment $2.3 billion. This was submitted by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) before the Senate Cabinet Committee presided over by Senator Talha Mehmood.
The committee was also informed that four mobile operators'' contribution to government levies was Rs 68.37 billion in the year 2017 while their revenue was Rs 436 billion. The four mobile operators, CMPak Zong, Telenor Pakistan Private Limited, Pakistan Mobile Communication Limited (Jazz) and Paktelecom Mobile Limited (Ufone) are operating in the country.
The contribution of Zong to the government levies was Rs 9.71 billion, Telenor, Rs 18.83 billion, JAZZ, Rs 30.81 billion, and contribution of Ufone to government''s levies was Rs 9.02 billion.
As far as revenue of different mobile phone companies in the year 2017 is concerned, Zong revenue was Rs 64.60 billion, Telenor, Rs 113.76 billion, Jazz, Rs 206.23 billion, and revenue of Ufone remained Rs 52.04 billion, said a brief prepared for the meeting.
The PTA was established under Telecom Reorganization Act 1996 to regulate the establishment, operation and maintenance of telecommunication system and provision of telecom services in the country.
The PTA contribution in Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF) during fiscal years 2013-18 was Rs 191.36 billion, while auctions during years 2014, 2016 and 2017 produced a total of US $1.9831 billion including advance tax while spectrum auction for wireless local loops (WLL) services in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan in 2015 produced Rs 108.5 million.
The total number of mobile broadband subscribers has reached 58.33 million, broadband penetration is 28.27 percent and total cellular mobile subscribers'' density has reached 74.1 percent in the country.