Minister for consumer-friendly telecom policies

Minister says telecom tribunals will be set up soon.

ISLAMABAD:

Telecommunication policies should be evaluated and reviewed on an annual basis and all policies should be consumer-friendly, according to Federal Information Technology and Telecom (IT&T) Minister Zaheeruddin Babar Awan.

Addressing a meeting at Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) headquarters, Awan said that the complaint handling system should be made effective and all service providers should make arrangements to address grievances of consumers, adding that awareness campaigns should be launched in Urdu and regional languages.

“Grey trafficking is a serious issue and it needs to be dealt with effectively. In this context, laws may also be thoroughly checked and applied,” said Awan.

According to the minister, the telecom sector had made contributions to the economy, therefore the challenges being faced by the sector were being addressed in an appropriate manner.

For prompt disposal of telecom-related cases, telecom tribunals would be set up soon, he said and stressed the need for coming up with novel ideas for developing the telecom sector.

PTA Chairman Muhammed Yaseen briefed the minister about the latest developments taking place in the telecom industry, saying that PTA had helped establish a thriving telecom industry, which was providing state-of-the-art telecom, broadband and ICT services.

He said Pakistan’s telecom industry was growing at a rapid pace, after the deregulation of the sector, adding that a number of factors had contributed to this, including investor-friendly government policies and healthy competition.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th,  2011.