ISLAMABAD, July 1: Chairman of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Maj-Gen (retired) Shahzada Alam Malik on Thursday said in view of the rapid growth of the GDP and the large population of the country , there was great scope for foreign investors to capture Pakistan's market potential.

The PTA chairman was talking to a four-member delegation headed by Sri Lankan Minister for Post and Telecommunication D.M. Jayaratne. The delegation is visiting Pakistan in connection with the second Saarc Communication Ministers Conference.

Maj-Gen (retired) Shahzada Alam Malik said tele-density in Pakistan was only 2.8 per cent and the cell phone penetration was 4.4 million, which was quite low compared to the rising demand of the public.

During the meeting, the PTA chairman informed the delegates about the steps taken by the authority to expand the telecom sector, reduce tariff and the incentives offered to the telecom investors for the development of the industry.

The chairman said as part of the deregulation process, the PTA had recently issued cell phone licences to two new companies and the initiative was expected to add 10 million more mobile phone users within the next three years.

He informed the Sri Lankan minister that licences for fixed line telecommunication services were also being issued to the private companies and the PTA was holding a public hearing on July 5 for grant of Long Distance International (LDI) licences.

He told the minister that activation charges for mobile phones had been reduced from Rs2,000 to Rs1,000 in the current budget and the authority would also continue to play its dynamic role in providing maximum relief to the consumers.

The Sri Lankan delegation evinced keen interest in the presentation and briefing given by PTA and asked a number of questions about the functioning of the authority and PTA's future plans for the development of telecom industry.

Mr Jayaratne informed the chairman about the status of telecom sector in Sri Lanka and said telephone users in the country were 1.2 million while the number of mobile users stood at 2.4 million.

The PTA members and the Sri Lankan delegation exchanged views on various issues pertaining to the telecom sector including interconnect arrangements, regulations of tariff and provision of telecom access and connectivity in the rural areas.