Message from Chairman PTA

In the continuous wave of development and globalisation the role of telecommunication technologies is getting crucial day by day. One cannot underestimate the value of sustained development of telecommunication technology. The pivotal role of telecommunication is changing life styles of people at both micro and macro levels. People access to basic information and modern technology is the utmost challenge in this era of globalisation.
This year, 2011, the theme for the World Telecom & Information Society Day (WTISD) is "Better life in rural communities with ICTs". Today, this fact is being acknowledged world-wide that ICTs work like a catalyst in the development of emerging economies of the world. A vast population of world has become dependant on ICT based facilities for their daily life activities.
Urban populace is already connected with the modern telecom facilities but the real task is to bring rural areas, especially that of under developed countries, at par with the cities. Once all rural communities are connected, they would start reaping the fruits of modern communication technologies thus improving their lives. As reaction to the problems of rural society, people move to low-income urban settlements. Also here, however, they confront unemployment, poor educational and social services, and economic problems. Therefore, solutions to the problems of rural society will serve urban regions as well.
It gives me immense pleasure in saying that PTA has proactively realised this proportionality between growth of ICTs and social development. When we take a look on Pakistan's situation, we find that about 33% of total population lives in urban centers. After achieving considerable success in providing better telecommunication facilities in the cities, we are also targeting the remote and underserved areas of the country to bring them at par with technologically developed cities and towns. The growth and development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) today has led to their wide diffusion and application, thus escalating their economic and social impact in and country. Realising the importance of upcoming convergence era where both information and communication technologies would be offered through a same platform, PTA is also fostering its efforts to promote the ICT sector by its proactive initiatives. PTA sticks to its mission of envisaging new and emerging technologies and their implications in a comprehensive regulatory framework to continue provide fair and competitive market for the stakeholders, as well as ensure high Quality ICT services. Broadband is considered as the next big thing to offer a unifying services platform for three converging industrial sectors: computing, communications and broadcasting. Encouraging developments are happening in this sector since mid-2007, Pakistan has emerged as a lucrative market for broadband service providers owing to the huge potential it offers especially in the wireless broadband market. We observed a profound evolution of broadband technologies over the years with the present subscription base reaching 1.2 million from 0.1 million in 2007. Universal Service Fund (USF) Company is primarily responsible for helping operators extend telecom services to remote areas through reverse bidding. The total subsidy committed by USF for various projects has reached PKR 15.17 billion, out of which Rs 5.81 billion (38%) is being spent on projects in Balochistan. However, PTA continues to motivate operators to extend services to remote areas by various means as was done by reducing license fee upto 2011 and spectrum fee for complete tenure of the license of WLL operators in Balochistan. Similarly PTA helped locals of remote areas establish Rabta Ghars which provided different telecom services in the area. Since the origin of PTA in 1996, it has been delivering the best it could deliver yet the potential of this sector remains unleashed and unexplored. From provision of investor friendly environment to all stakeholders against a backdrop of a level playing and fair regulatory regime to maintaining healthy competition in the sector thereby encouraging growth and safeguarding the consumer interests, PTA has always played the role of a responsible, fair and forward looking Regulator. Our mission is to make a common man aware of the revolution that ICTs can bring into his life. For this purpose, PTA is emphasising on the growth, usage and penetration of broadband to every nook and corner of the country. The 100 million cellular subscribers milestone crowns the list of PTA's achievements in developing the telecom sector of the country and has surpassed subscriber base growth forecasts. In other achievements, PTA has received global awards as Most Progressive Telecom Regulator in South Asia, and mobile excellence award - promoting innovation and creativity in mobile applications. Earlier on PTA's successful implementation of the deregulation policy resulted in attracting record Foreign Direct Investment for the country from the telecom sector.
The healthy competition introduced by the Government encouraged operators to go the extra mile for making a strong subscriber base. The Government places a high priority to consumer protection and facilitation, and for this PTA has introduced various services such as unwanted number blocking, mobile number portability, SIM protection against identity theft and fraudulent calls and SMSs. Here, I would also like to appreciate the efforts of cellular mobile operators who incurred huge investments, developed robust telecom infrastructure and provided the general public with quality services.
I assure all the stakeholders, investors and people of Pakistan that PTA will continue with its commitment and dedication towards safeguarding the interests of all in order to maintain progressive telecommunications in Pakistan. The future is bright and I am fully confident that this bright future will be lead by the telecommunication sector which is undoubtedly performing up to its maximum potential.