The suspension of direct carrier billing (DCB) is going to jeopardise the prospects of information technology (IT) in Pakistan at a time when the government hopes to launch 5G technology in the coming year.
In the meanwhile, the government is also eyeing billions of dollars in revenue from the auctioning of additional spectrum and launching 5G technology in Pakistan. The IT ministry is also in the middle of negotiations with some of the biggest, global tech companies about opening their offices in the country.
According to key ICT industry stakeholders, the suspension of DCB, the most widely used mechanism to purchase mobile apps from the Google Play Store, has far-reaching implications for the digital ecosystem. It will also hurt Pakistan’s reputation globally, they said.
The move will also affect Pakistan’s global ranking in the DCB Index, managed by Evina which currently recognises the country as a “rare gem, based on its DCB potential, in the Middle East and African region with a relatively high volume of smartphone penetration and limited bank payment alternatives.”
Earlier this month, Google sent out notices to various telecom companies about revoking DCB effective from December 1. Due to foreign exchange restrictions imposed by the central bank in September, many outstanding payments remained unsettled.
ICT stakeholders from across the country have come out, urging the central bank to reconsider its decision.
Speaking to the media, Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) Chairman, Zohaib Khan said, “The global companies which have footfall in Pakistan are losing their trust in the country for withholding their payments.”
“If these issues are not resolved, how will our exports increase,” he asked, adding that, “While Pakistan grapples with an economic crisis, IT and IT-enabled services can potentially stabilise the country’s economy.”
He urged the government to remove such hurdles and enable technology companies to freely pay and receive dollars.
Punjab Information Technology (IT) Minister, Dr Arslan Khalid was of the opinion that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)’s decision could be “a serious blow to the nascent IT industry already struggling to take off”.
“This is likely to jeopardise the prospects of IT in Pakistan and the damage inflicted will be devastating and long-term,” he said.
“If SBP’s decision to revoke the $34m payment to international service providers is not revised, international companies will take Pakistan off their radars when making IT investments, leading to job loss and a severe trust deficit that will take a very long time to heal,” warned Khalid.
Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA), Asad Ali Shah, one of the leading professionals in the country, very well-known and respected in all key business and government circles, termed the move “devastating for the digital economy in Pakistan” in a tweet, and urged the concerned stakeholders to urgently redress the issue.
Warning of far-reaching implications, international Telecom Expert, Parvez Iftikhar said, “The shutdown of app payments will also affect telecom operators causing a decline in data consumption, it will impact their traffic and may stagnate growth in data usage. The suspension of these services could also hamper the revenues of Pakistani app developers as well.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2022.
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