Kanwal Naseer

Smartphones will be easily accessible to middle-income and lower-income groups under the “Smartphone 4 All” initiative of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications (MoITT). The initiative has been launched by the MoITT in collaboration with the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) and Kistpay. Under the initiative, smartphones will be available at easy instalments to the general public. According to the Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque, the launch of this initiative represents another step by the government towards achieving the goals of the vision of Digital Pakistan. He said that the project will help in the digital inclusion of women, youth, rural people, poor people and other marginalized communities. They will be able to cash in on the tremendous opportunities presented by the IT revolution.

He also highlighted the previous efforts of his ministry to increase connectivity in the country through the launch of various programs worth PKR65 billion under the Universal Service Fund (USF), adding that 28 different projects have been launched in the current year alone. He continued, “we are working tirelessly to increase IT exports, solve the issues of IT sector and increase the inclusion of youth and women in digital net for their empowerment. Google has decided to open its office in Pakistan. Their delegation will visit the country in December.” He added, “TikTok has also agreed to open their office in the country.

We are in contact with Facebook to the same end.” Under the new initiative launched by the MoITT, Kistpay will enable the buying of smartphones of all leading brands on a 3 to 12 months instalment plan. The instalment plan will be sharia compliant and financing facility can be availed through their retail network, telecom partners, the Kistpay website and the Kistpay WhatsApp channel. Smartphones can be bought within the range of PKR10,000 to PKR100,000.

Head of Asia-Pacific (APAC), GSMA, Julian Gorman said at the launch event that connectivity is very important to reap the rewards of the digital age. “It will boost economic growth, empower industry, and improve the livelihoods of all citizens. Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Major General (R) Amir Azeem Bajwa said that the initiative will go a long way to bridge the gap in connectivity differences between different segments of society.CEO of Kistpay Syed Asif Jafri said that many Pakistanis face a lot of problems in getting access to sharia compliant financing and also to smartphones which are expensive and hard to get. He said that Kistpay will reduce this gap and make smartphones available to every Pakistani.

CCO of Jazz Asif Aziz said that the sale and production of 2-G phones in the country should be banned by the government. Instead the sale and production of 4-G phones should be encouraged to increase connectivity and broadband reach.He suggested a reduction in withholding tax on telecom services from 15% to 8% to make the market competitive through the inclusion of another 50 million people.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk