For some time now, the federal government has been mulling whether to join the global Information Technology Agreement (ITA). This column published its protagonist take on the subject on Monday, July 10, entitled, ‘Should Pakistan join the IT Agreement?’ Accession to the ITA is seen in the PM’s office as a means towards ‘bridging digital divide’. However, it will take a lot more to pave the gulf.

First, joining ITA – a regime under which import tariffs on ICT products are zeroed down – would make ICT products cheaper, but not by a lot. A recent report by the influential technology think-tank, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation showed that Pakistan’s effective tariff on ICT products covered under ITA was 5.4 percent (2014). That is hardly a steep tariff. Its removal alone won’t usher big change.

Second, while cheaper hardware will be a boon in terms of affordability, perhaps the greatest challenge for Pakistan’s low ICT usage lies in a discriminatorily-high tax regime on telecom sector. Thanks to high WHT and FED, effective tax on mobile-telephony for end user is around 30 percent – one of the highest in the world. Some of the provinces continue to levy GST on broadband services, including 3G and 4G.

Third, there needs to be a policy push to take ICT services to yet un-served and under-served areas. Cheaper devices and telecom/broadband services will help in that regard. But there remain various procedural and fiscal hurdles in the way of operators to take fiber optic to the rural areas. Without the fiber optic backbone, forget about having seamless, affordable broadband connectivity for rural areas.

And fourth, the public sector must wake up to its hidden potential vis-à-vis encouraging ICT usage. When it comes to breakthrough technological innovation, mass adoption doesn’t happen until rest of the system moves with it. Just having computers, the Internet, and Smartphones is no good when real-life usage cases do not exist that help harness the power of those technologies.

In that regard, government can be an agent of change. Automating government transactions (e.g. salary, pension, and welfare payments) and public service delivery/feedback (e.g. land records, public utilities, law & order, etc.) can drive ICT usage for common tasks. Federal entities like the BISP and the Punjab’s PITB demonstrate the potential. Yet, both intra-government and country-wide digital focus is missing.

Technology is not inherently neutral, as it disproportionately benefits folks who already have modern work-skills and assets. So, it is important to not let existing inequalities deepen via technology. But merely joining ITA won’t be the medicine for Pakistan’s digital ailment. Under a holistic approach, ITA accession would be a good start, complemented by efforts in other areas, some of which are mentioned above.