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Media city for Pakistan
The government of Pakistan is planning to establish a media city corporation at the cost of an initial capital Rs951 million that will serve a wide range of electronic media clients nationally and internationally.
“The USIS building and its adjacent plot in Islamabad for the proposed media tower is under active consideration,” sources said. The government intends to promote electronic media as an industry to realise its growth potential within Pakistan.
According to the draft of the proposal, the media city will be a “client driven” facility that will reduce upfront cost of channel hosting. It will extend the facilities of satellite uplinks, production studios, live TV and radio studios, graphic workstations, server-based play out systems, OB vans, DSNG system and terrestrial connectivity and links.
The government is also working on a media city policy under which national security, ideology and national interests will be protected.
The media city will have teleport facility at MCC and there will be three fixed satellite earth stations: Pak Sat, Thai Com and Asia Sat. There would also be an earth station for occasional use to uplink to any satellite in C/Ku Band. The media city will also provide access to world satellite systems and international earth stations besides providing analogue and digital transmission facilities. The city, according to the document, will provide encryption facilities on request, media storages and professional video conversion and editing.
BPO business awaits Pakistan
Eight billion dollars worth of business is awaiting Pakistan if the local call centres actively market them- selves for capturing information technology-enabled services (ITeS) that India is unlikely to use.
The Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) could be eroded by 45 per cent of the country’s market share by 2007, due to labour crunch and rising wages.
So far, India enjoys 85 per cent of the world BPO market share that works out to roughly $18.5 billion.
However, Indian industry analysts foresee that the country’s outsourcing industry would be facing a serious problem.
IT experts say that some important elements hindering the growing Pakistan market’s entry into this billion-dollar industry are the lack of training and development of quality human resource, absence of international marketing of services and non-building of brand image.
Software company wins award
The Media Innovations (Private) Limited, a local digital TV application developer, has won the first prize in “Media and Entertainment Category” of Asia Pacific Information and Communications Technology Award (Apicta) 2005’ in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This was stated by Jehan Ara, President of Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA).
The Apicta is an international awards program aimed at increasing information and communications technology (ICT) awareness, and assisting in bridging the digital divide within different communities around the Asia-Pacific region. The award is designed to stimulate ICT innovation and creativity, promoting economic and trade relations, facilitating technology transfer, offering business matching opportunities and fostering development and growth of the ICT industry among the 16-member economies.
NetSol signs agreement with McCue
NetSol Technologies, a developer of proprietary software applications and an IT services provider, has signed a software development and IT services agreement with Burlingame, California-based McCue Systems Inc.
Under the terms of the agreement, the IT services provider will offer services like software design and development services, software quality assurance and testing services, product enhancement for McCue’s LeasePak portfolio management suite to McCue Systems.
Intel India to set up IT centres
Intel India will establish IT Awareness centres in all the union councils of Karachi, said Surendra Arora and Intel Pakistan’s Naila Qasim, during a meeting with the city naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil.
Initially, a centre equipped with 10 computer systems will be established. Later on computer systems will also be sold on an instalment basis. The delegation also presented the idea of video conferencing between the schools, which Jalil welcomed.
Highlighting the significance of IT, the Jalil said that the progress of the country could be ensured only through the effective use of IT.
“All the developed countries are making the best use of IT,” she said.
Technical college
Sindh Minister for Mines and Mineral Development Irfanullah Khan Marwat has announced that a technical college will be inaugurated at Azam Basti, Mehmoodabad, later this year.
He said this while inaugurating Government Degree Girls College in Green Belt, Mehmoodabad, a locality mainly inhabited by daily wages earners.— Agencies
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