Projects worth PKR 21 billion have been approved by the board of the Universal Service Fund to reach the underdeveloped and underserved areas of the provinces of the country. Internet connectivity will be improved after the completion of certain projects approved by the board. 4G LTE connectivity will be provided to these far-off areas after the completion of high-speed mobile broadband projects and the highways and motorways projects. These projects will reach a total of almost 3.5 million people by extending the connection to 187 Union Councils. A total of 1554 km of Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) will be laid down to provide internet connection to 622 km of “unserved road segments.” These roads will be on the M-8 motorway and N-35 highway.  According to the press release, the board meeting was chaired by the Additional Secretary (Incharge) for the Ministry of Information

Technology (IT) and Telecommunication and Chairman USF Board, Mohsin Mushtaq Chandna, on Saturday. Federal Minister for the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, Syed Amin Ul Haque, congratulated the board on the successful approval of the 10 projects. He said that the ministry of IT has made it possible to achieve the goals and objectives of vision of Digital Pakistan. He said that these projects are in line with the “Meaningful Connectivity and Smart Phone for All Policy” of the government to increase digital connectivity in the country.

“These projects will enhance social equality, create employment opportunities, and digital literacy for people in the rural and underserved areas and strengthen the foundations of our digital infrastructure. I am proud to say that we are the frontrunners in creating information-rich communities and accelerating socio-economic growth in the country.” Mohsin Mushtaq Chandna said, “Under the leadership of Federal Minister, Syed Amin Ul Haque, USF has delivered a record productive performance in the past four years by contracting 79 projects worth approximately PKR 62.7 billion in subsidy.

This is a testament to our absolute commitment to improving the lives and the livelihoods of the underrepresented communities of Pakistan.” He also highlighted the importance of infrastructure, affordability, and accessibility of the internet and pledged to work with all stakeholders to achieve the vision of Digital Pakistan. While addressing the event Chief Executive Officer of USF, Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary informed the board of the current pace of the projects. He also apprised the board about the destruction of connectivity panels after the floods and the rehabilitation work undertaken to revive the lost connections. He also said that “these projects will empower around PKR 3.3 million people living in rural areas across the country.

These projects will enable them to access e-services across various platforms, ranging from financial services like banking and loans to accessibility towards various government services and benefits.” The board also approved the award of five high-speed mobile broadband contracts worth approximately Rs. over 7.1 billion for providing 4G LTE services in far-off areas of the country. These projects will cater to the connectivity needs of people living in 262 unserved muazas of Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Muzaffargarh, Multan and Rajanpur districts in Punjab; Jamshoro in Sindh; and Barkhan, Musakhel, Sherani and Sibi in Balochistan; thereby covering an approximate unserved area of 12,784.91 sq. km.

The Board in the same meeting also approved the award of two high-speed mobile broadband projects for National Highways and Motorways of almost PKR 6 billion for providing 4G LTE services to commuters on unserved road segments of 622.68 km on the M-8 motorway and N-35 highway respectively. Similarly, the USF Board also approved the award of three OFC projects worth approximately PKR 7.7 billion for providing backhaul connectivity to 187 Union Councils (UCs) of Punjab and KPK. Under these projects, USF will deploy a total of 1554 km of OFC that will benefit over 3.3 million people in the districts of Attock, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib in Punjab and Banuu and Lakki Marwat in KPK.

These projects are designed to connect 684 educational institutions, 223 government offices and 268 health institutions along with mandatory connectivity of 408 BTS towers. Other board members who were present included Maj. Gen (R) Amir Azeem Bajwa, Chairman-PTA; Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO-Telenor; Muhamad Omar Malik, Member-Telecom Ministry of IT and Telecommunication; Kaukab Iqbal, Chairman-Consumer Association of Pakistan and Imran Akhtar Shah, VP-Super Net Pvt Ltd.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk