ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has directed the Telecom authorities to set up IT centres at each union council level, fully equipped with the latest technology, ensuring efficient and effective connectivity both domestic and overseas to the people of the region.
This he said while presiding over the 27th meeting of the Board of Directors of Universal Service Fund (USF) here at the Prime Minister House on Friday.
The meeting was informed that so far 994 IT centres at union council levels have been set up with the direction that process should be speeded up in providing state of the art information technology (IT) services in under-served and unserved areas under the mandate of USF.
Futuristic approvals were accorded by the Board which include project to connect un-served tehsils with Optic Fiber Cable in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and also launch of enhanced Universal Telecentres project.
The meeting was informed that through the Optic Fiber Project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, five un-served tehsil headquarters and two towns in the districts of Dera Ismail Khan, Batagram, Mansehra and Kohistan will be connected with 146 kms of optic fiber cable serving population of around 1.1 million.
Another approval to establish 11 Universal Telecenters (UTCs) through Satellite Technology in rural and semi-urban areas was also given by the Board. These 11 UTCs will be established in the districts of Dera Bugti, Kalat, Chitral, Khoshab, Multan, Chakwal, Mianwali, Sheikhupura, Vehari, Shaheed Benazirabad (Nawabshah) and Bajaur Agency.
The meeting was apprised that in Rural Telecom Programme, USF has provided basic telephony and data services in more than 3,600 `Mozas' as well as broadband services in 256 2nd and 3rd tier cities and towns along with providing more than 358,000 broadband connections and establishing 994 Educational Broadband Centres (EBCs) and 292 Community Broadband Centres (CBCs).
In Optic Fiber Programme, more than 4,100 kms of optic fiber cable has been laid to connect 58 un-served tehsils and towns and the initiatives like establishing telemedicine networks have also been taken to provide better health-care facilities.
The meeting was attended by Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Secretary IT Farooq Ahmed Awan, Chairman-PTA Dr Muhammed Yaseen, Member-Telecom Dr. Ismail Shah, CEO-PTCL Walid Irshad, CEO-ISPAK Azfar Manzoor, Representative of Consumer Association of Pakistan Kaukab Iqbal and CEO-USF Riaz Asher Siddiqui and other senior officials.
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