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| August 16, 2005 | Tuesday | Rajab 10, 1426 |
Level playing field for telecom firms: Awais: WLL services launched
ISLAMABAD, Aug 15: Federal Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari has said the government will continue providing a level playing field to all telecom operators including the multinationals.
This is necessary to meet the objectives of making telecom services affordable in the country, he said while launching the Wireless Local Loop (WLL) services of an international telecom company in Islamabad region on Monday.
The minister appreciated the telecom company for having selected Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) for starting WLL operations in Pakistan.
Elaborating the advantages of the CDMA, he said the technology was fast becoming the world standard for WLL services.
He admitted that there had been rough years in the past, however, for the last six years or so every thing was fair enough.
The transparent policy of liberalization and deregulation had attracted a record number of investors, he said, adding that huge investment had been made in the information technology sector.
Mr Leghari said these measures had generated employment opportunities for the country’s youth. He said rural areas offered tremendous investment opportunities to IT companies, adding that new firms could only survive by offering wireless services.
He said the government had recognized telecommunications as the key infrastructure development pillar which was directly linked to the national economy.
Rapid economic growth in other sectors and the much sought- after fast-forward deregulation of the telecom industry had put extra pressure on expansion and improvement of telecommunication network as the basic engine for growth, he added.
With the start of e-business by financial institutions and the industrial sector, the demand for telecommunication services with increased capacity and speed had increased many fold, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Shahzada Alam Malik said telecommunications was being revolutionized in Pakistan.
He highlighted the tremendous scope which existed in the country for telecom operators, with the real challenge awaiting in the rural areas.
He welcomed the international telecom company in Pakistan and assured maximum cooperation in its expansion programme.
The telecom company’s chief executive officer, Artem Orange, said his company aimed at bringing to the people of Pakistan the freedom to communicate whenever and wherever needed. Quality of services is our priority and customers are the focus of everything we do, he added.
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