With the laying of optic fibre, telecom sector will grow resulting in reducing call rates besides improving connectivity, said Major General (Retd) Shahzada Alam Malik, Chairman, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Wednesday.
PTA Chairman was talking to senior executives of the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) in a meeting presided over by Dr Hasan Sarosh Akram, President RCCI.
He said that PTA in league with telecom companies would set up tele-centers in rural areas to provide rural population tele-connectivity and Internet facilities. We have talked to banks to provide training and soft loans to rural masses for establishing tele-centres, he added.
Shahzada Alam expressed dissatisfaction over the low pace of infrastructure growth in telecom sector, saying that infrastructure is behind telecom sector as far as growth is concerned, which was the main cause of poor service. But, he added, that with every passing day service is improving as PTA is pressing the companies for it. In 2003, there were just 360 cellular sites in the country while in 2006, it reached to 8700 as compared to 4537 in 2005.
He said that the mobile phone operators have been asked to improve their services and those who failed to do so will face action under the law.
The RCCI President Hasan Sarosh Akram congratulated the chairman PTA on his election to the International Telecom Union (ITU) RRB Board. He appreciated PTA's role in the proliferation of telecom services across the country.