LAHORE, Aug 8: The government is committed to introducing a state-of-the-art high-speed telecom infrastructure in the country through public-private partnership.

Federal Information Technology and Telecom Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari said here on Friday while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the first countrywide Digital Subscriber Line Network of Pakistan.

After the growth of internet as a prime means of communication, education and research, the next step was to increase the number of broadband internet connections, he said. The WOL, the largest internet service provider in the country, has launched this service in partnership with the Micronet Broadband Limited and the PTCL. The digital subscriber line is an access technology that converts ordinary copper telephone lines into access paths for high-speed data communications for data and video.

The minister said a competition among private as well as public sector phone companies would not only reduce rates, but also improve service standards. He said the government would start issuing licenses to private companies for fixed phones within three to four months.

He said all incentives were being provided to the foreign companies which intended to set up their call centres in Pakistan. Efforts were under way to connect Pakistani telecommunication system with new sea marine lines. “If private sector companies fail to take steps in this regard, the government will accomplish this job on a priority basis,” he said.

The minister said the government was going to spend Rs1 billion on various projects to boost the local software industry.

Later talking to newsmen, he said corruption charges levelled against him were, in fact, a reaction from those quarters which were not given unjustified favours by his ministry.

He claimed that President Pervez Musharraf, in his two letters, had appreciated his performance.

He said if anybody had a proof of his corruption, he should approach the court of law or the National Accountability Bureau. He said efforts were under way to ensure transparency in award of contracts for the expansion of GSM network of U-Phone.

He said the government was considering a proposal to give permission for setting up satellite PCOs, and a final decision in this regard was expected shortly.

Speaking on the occasion, PTCL’s business development member Mashkoor Husain said the private sector partnership model adopted by the PTCL for DSL services had proven to be a success.