ISLAMABAD: All possible support through prudent policy and regulatory interventions will be provided to Pakistan’s telecommunication industry to address profitability challenges and seek further investments in the sector.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Maj Gen (retd) Amir Azeem Bajwa said this while addressing the ‘Whole-of-Government Digital Pakistan Roundtable’ at the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2022 in Barcelona, said a statement issued on Wednesday.
The chairman PTA briefed the audience about the digital profile of Pakistan and emphasised on the connectivity landscape vis-à-vis investment potential in the telecom sector of Pakistan. The major regulatory interventions to facilitate the industry and consumers were highlighted by the chairman such as cellular license renewal and spectrum auction, rationalisation of spectrum, 5G roadmap, fiberisation of backhaul, IoT framework and quality of service up-gradation, etc.
He also shared PTA’s efforts for digital inclusion of women and girls in ICTs as well as the successful impact of Device Identification Registration & Blocking System (DIRBS) in Pakistan.
Matters related to tax rationalisation and financial health of the industry were also discussed. It was resolved that all possible support through prudent policy and regulatory interventions will be provided to the industry to address profitability challenges and seek further investments in the sector.
The roundtable was curated by GSMA in the presence of senior leadership from the Ministry of IT&T, USF, FAB, and industry CEOs.
At the end of the roundtable, a joint declaration was issued to reaffirm commitment to the ‘Digital Pakistan Vision’ of the government.
Meanwhile, Maj General (retd) Amir Azeem Bajwa met with the Vice-President Commercial, Starlink and CEO Starlink Pakistan, at the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2022 (MWC) in Barcelona.
The delegations discussed the regulatory, technical and commercial aspects of Starlink’s application to offer its broadband services in Pakistan. Both sides agreed to work out modalities through further engagement in the near future.
