PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD: The government and the telecom industry need to work hand-in-hand to realise the agenda of ‘Digital Pakistan’, said Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication Anusha Rehman on Wednesday.
“Joint efforts are vital for the meaningful contribution of IT and connectivity for socio-economic welfare of the masses,” she said, while inaugurating the flagship digital lab during a digital festival organised by Telenor Pakistan.
Rehman expressed her firm intent to working in collaboration with the industry to achieve the milestone of Digital Pakistan. “After 3G/4G rollout, there has been a massive increase in consumption of mobile broadband, which has led to further opportunities for telecom operators.
“Broadband penetration, which was below 3% in 2013, has reached over 19% and is growing,” she added.
“All of these measures directly or indirectly contribute to the achievement of the Digital Pakistan objective.”
She further said that the government wanted competition among the industry and welfare of the customers. “We want the telecom sector to reach farmers in the country and play an important role in the socio-economic development.
“Digital services, financial inclusion, smart urbanisation, Internet of Things (IoT), social sector applications and content are some of the key areas that the telecom service providers are now addressing as part of their mainstream business.”
Furthermore, she said the government has also accorded the highest priority not only to cover the remaining un-served population in terms of supply but also to support the mainstream digitalisation of economy and society under the banner of ‘Digital Pakistan’.
Also present on the occasion, Telenor Pakistan’s CEO and CMO Irfan Wahab Khan said that the company was playing a pivotal role in the realisation of government’s digital and financial inclusion goals.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 16th, 2016.
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