Govt has no plan to expand SCO operations

Minister says focus is on improving IT services in underserved areas

ISLAMABAD:

The government has no plan to grant operating licence for across the country to Special Communications Organisation (SCO), said IT Minister Syed Aminul Haq.

Talking to journalists on Monday, he said there had been some proposals in the past to expand the services of SCO to various parts of the country but the government did not have any such plan. Established in 1976 to develop, operate and maintain all telecom services in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), SCO is a public sector organisation under the Ministry of IT and Telecom.

Over the years, SCO has developed massive information technology and telecom infrastructure including the laying of an optic fibre cable network over 4,800 kilometres in that region.

The minister said the focus of his ministry was to improve telecom and internet services in unserved as well as underserved parts of the country, including G-B. He added that the ministry had yet to notify new social media rules, however, once they were implemented the number of complaints received by the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) would go down.

Social media platforms would be compelled to take certain regulatory actions against violators, he said.

“PUB-G and TikTok were making money from Pakistan but they did not even have a representative in the country [to listen to our concerns],” said Haq. Regarding telecom services in G-B, the minister clarified that there was no restriction on the four telecom operators to expand their services in the region.

“The ministry has been informed that there are 62 towers that are still operating on 2G technology, and SCO will convert them to 3G and 4G over the coming months, whereas around 92 towers along the Karakoram Highway will also be upgraded to 3G and 4G,” he added.

Four cities of G-B would soon have a triple bundle from SCO, which included a package of TV, internet and telephone in a single connection, he said.

The minister said the government had invested heavily in the IT and telecom sector in G-B through SCO, which would not only help uplift social and economic conditions of people of the region but would also facilitate activities related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

“The ministry has already launched an IT park in G-B, while the AJK government has been asked to provide us land for establishing an IT park there as well.” The minister rejected the impression that private sector telecom firms had not been allowed to establish their network in G-B. Haq stressed that there was no restriction on any of the four cellular mobile companies, including Jazz, Ufone, Telenor and Zong for commencing operations there.

“But the companies are reluctant only due to limited commercial viability in that region,” the minister said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2020.

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