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| June 7, 2005 | Tuesday | Rabi-us-Sani 29, 1426 |
‘Cellphone activation charges cut by Rs500’
ISLAMABAD, June 6: The activation charges of mobile phone connections have been reduced from Rs1,000 to Rs500 per connection, Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan announced here on Monday. Presenting the federal budget for the year 2005-06, the minister said the decision aimed at encouraging greater penetration of telecommunication services in the country, especially in rural areas.
However, a 15 per cent excise duty has been imposed on actual transaction value of payphone cards and prepaid calling cards, he said, adding that the proposed measure would not put additional burden on consumers, while the call charges would also remain the same. These cards have an in-built component of excise duty, he said.
Since Wireless Local Loop is a phone service like mobile phones, therefore it will also be subjected to a 15 per cent excise duty, Mr Khan said.
Meanwhile, the government has earmarked Rs3.3 billion development budget for Information Technology and Telecommunication Division during 2005-06, showing a 35.6 per cent increase over outgoing year’s allocation of Rs2.4 billion.
According to the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2005-06, the total estimated cost of 107 projects in the IT and Telecom sector is Rs15.2 billion, of which Rs3.2 billion has been spent during the current year, while Rs12 billion is the carried forward amount.
The highest PSDP allocation in IT and Telecom sector is Rs200 million each for optic fibre-based transmission link to establish postal communication link, and expansion/improvement of telecommunication facilities in Northern Areas (Phase-II). The actual cost of the two projects is Rs579 million and Rs669 million, respectively.
Under the PSDP, Rs77.5 million has been allocated for purchase of land to establish technology city in Islamabad, Rs50 million each for the construction of software technology parks in Islamabad and Lahore, and Rs10 million each for providing same facilities in Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar.
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