Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd’s (PTCL) exponential growth in the broadband sector has enabled Pakistan to be ranked among the top countries with highest growth rate in broadband internet, said a press release issued by the company here on Tuesday.
Bandwidth report, a monthly roundup of broadband penetration figures from US and elsewhere, cited by Website Optimization LLC, a leading website optimizing firm, has placed Pakistan fourth on its broadband ranking list for South Asia. The company has declared 2011-2012 as “Year of the Broadband”.
This comes as a result of the boom in Pakistan’s promising telecom sector and information technology services in recent years, which recorded around 46.2 per cent growth of broadband subscribers. Globally, only Thailand and Belarus had greater percentage expansion than Pakistan, apart from top-rated Serbia during the period.
The closest South Asian country to Pakistan on the list of top countries is Sri Lanka at the 11th spot, with its broadband penetration growing in 30s, while India lags at the 14th place in terms of broadband growth, the statement said.
Besides having a large bilingual (English and Urdu) internet conversant population, Pakistan’s software companies have carved a niche internationally in recent years.
According to government figures, the country’s information technology exports totalled $1.4 billion in the last financial year. Experts say the IT industry, which adds thousands of skilled workers every year, has the potential to hit a multi-billion export target within next five to ten years.
Additionally, mobile phone and wireless internet usage are also expanding rapidly.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 14th, 2011.
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