Technological grandstanding

Our government is often blamed for being obtuse with regard to technology. It is a reputation merited by measures such as the banning of Youtube for several years and the recently introduced cybercrime bill that has left civil society activists seething over its efforts to police internet usage. Perhaps in a bid to reverse this perception of being hostile to technology or maybe to build up goodwill for future elections, the government has recently announced that it plans to enter the 5G technology market soon. The statement made by Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal came as a surprise, both to technology experts in the country and ordinary users who can barely get connectivity for 3G and 4G at present. Also, several parts of the country do not have access to these services as they are mostly diffused around large cities.

The most surprising part of this revelation, however, is the fact that 5G services are at present unavailable even in the most technologically advanced countries. China, Japan and South Korea, for example, have set the year 2020 as the deadline for the introduction of these services and even this distant goal has been termed being ambitious. It’s hard not to wonder at this point whether anyone in the government actually comprehends the term ‘5G’ or if it is simply a buzzword which caught the eye and was put to use to generate some positive publicity. The most important question remains as to what purpose this kind of technology would serve in a country where cyber freedoms have been under siege for years. At this point, it would be better if the government attempted to work with telecom and IT companies to improve their infrastructure in rural and far-flung areas of the country where they could potentially have a significant impact. Focusing on improving technological outreach is obviously more important than grand statements regarding a service that will be available several years from now.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2016.

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