Despite recent taxation, net remains accessible

Wireless internet opens new doors for affordable connectivity

ISLAMABAD: The average monthly cost of Internet in Pakistan is calculated to be around $25 and is considered to be somewhat low when compared to other major countries.

In more developed countries, including United States (US) and Canada, the average cost is over $40 as calculated on a monthly basis.

Around the world, the cost to connect to World Wide Web varies across country, depending on a milieu of factors such as taxation, external costs, telecommunication costs etc.



Experts on Friday said in Pakistan recent taxation on telecommunications industry has raised Internet costs but packages and bundles announced by different mobile and DSL operators would definitely help spur growth in days to come.

The other thing which the experts proposed is to ensure more competition as there are only a handful of internet service providers. More competition means affordable prices, they said. For example, in Pakistan, cable/ DSL Internet is mainly provided by PTCL which does not face a lot of competition in the sector.

The experts said that with the advent of wireless Internet (3G and 4G) however, a lot of new doors have opened up that will lead to affordable connectivity. And as these services continue to improve and grow, internet would become more accessible to the people. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2015.

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