PBC, GSMA call for reviewing policies affecting digitisation, connectivity

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) and the Global Mobile Industry Association (GSMA) have urged the government to urgently review the current set of policies and practices affecting digitisation and connectivity.

In a tweet, the PBC, the country’s premier business advocacy body comprising the most significant, long-term, private-sector local and multinational investors, said Pakistan needed an integrated long-term policy to promote digitisation and connectivity if it was to find meaningful space in the knowledge economy.

The GSMA, while addressing the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, said that policy reforms and creating the right regulatory framework was needed for Pakistan to become a Digital Nation.

Both the PBC and the GSMA reacted to the current digital emergency in Pakistan triggered by challenges facing the telecom sector, which if remain unresolved, can push the country into “digital dark ages”.

Aamir Ibrahim, CEO, Jazz and Chairman of Prime Minister’s IT and Digital Economy Advisory Council’s Subcommittee on Telecom, said that while the country aspires to become a leading destination in terms of Ease of Doing Business (EoDB), the way telecom companies are handled, having around $25 billion investment contribution, tells a different story.

He quoted a recent decision regarding telecom companies’ request for the conversion of electricity tariff from commercial to industrial. Although telecom was declared an industry by the government in 2004, and its industrial status has been validated by various ministries over the years including the Finance Bill, 2021, approved by the parliament, its towers and data centres are still being subjected to commercial tariffs, in the same category as restaurants, salons, and cinemas.

Aamir said telecom was a cross-sector enabler, building the digital highways, which facilitates other sectors to create value. There is consensus around the world that digital infrastructure is no less than any other critical national asset. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, the industry is still perceived as an opportunity to fill short-term revenue gaps for the government, which consequently deters a broader and longer-term policy agenda aimed at expanding universal broadband coverage.

Despite the affordability of smartphones being a key barrier to internet adoption, there is a Rs11,000 duty on the most basic imported smartphone of about $100. At the same time, telecom users are exorbitantly taxed at 34.5 percent - one of the highest rates in the world.

Aamir believes that some of the strongest economies in the world today are the ones with a robust digital economy which rests on telecom. Digital dividends such as a thriving startup ecosystem, exports of IT and IT-enabled services, etc all depend on ubiquitous broadband connectivity that is provided by the sector. While we have talked a lot about Digital Pakistan, without the right policy interventions we could actually be looking at “digital dark ages”. We must act now with meaningful policy action to ensure the future remains bright.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022