Duty, tax revision sought: government urged to subsidise smart phones for rural areas

The telecom operators have recommended to the government to rationalise duty/taxes on smart mobile phones as well as subsidize it in the upcoming mini-budget through the Universal Service Fund (USF) for rural areas to reap the full benefits of new technologies and meet modern world challenges.
"Without over 70 percent smart phones and penetration of 3G and 4G technology, it is difficult to cope with the challenges of upcoming global developments in the IT industry as well as get full benefits," said Chief Corporate Affairs Telenor Pakistan Kamal Ahmed.
He was talking to mediapersons along with Bjorn Hansen, Vice President Telenor Research, here Thursday. Kamal said that all telecom operators have conveyed their concerns to the government and recommended for rationalising duty/taxes on mobile phones.
Replying to a question Ahmed said that licence of Telenor and two other operators is due for renewal in May 2019 and they have applied for the renewal. However they have demanded the government to provide a level playing field and offer same terms and conditions on which licence of one of the operators was renewed in 2014.
On this occasion, Bjorn Hansen took a deep dive into the seven tech trends that will shape 2019. These seven trends identify the upcoming global developments in the IT industry and how these will shape the way people interact, consume, connect, and even perceive the world this year.
Held at Telenor Pakistan Campus 345, the session showcased how responsibility resonates with these latest tech trends, and how technology can fit into lives safely and positively. Having studied the tech world advancements, setbacks, and successes in the previous years enables Telenor Research to identify these trends for the year 2019.
The study makes predictions on proliferation of 'deep fake' content, increased public scrutiny of artificial intelligence, beginning of larger-scale 5G pilots & trials, enhanced industrial use of IoT (internet of things), huge growth of voice-controlled chatbots, lowering of screen time, and an increase in mobile-driven green tech in the year 2019.
He said, "This year, we'll witness an enriched IoT ecosystem with the technology transforming various industries through smart solution integrations. 5G testing is also advancing with 5G islands appearing globally connecting selected communities and business networks from Europe to North America and northeast Asia. The year 2019 will also see a rise in mobile-driven green technology that will help people live and consume more smartly than ever."
"Artificial Intelligence has been in discussion the past few years, however, this is the year we might see public and private bodies setting AI governance frameworks and adopting new codes of conduct to ensure that they operate with high ethical standards. According to the study, we will see more of 'deep fake' content which is created when deep learning meets fake news. This means more doctored photos and videos will surface making it harder to tell fact from fiction. Further more, while voice activated chatbots will see growth leading to smarter voice-recognition applications, universal screen time is going to decrease as a result of increased awareness and discipline," he said.
"It's imperative that we know what developments have taken place in the recent past and what technology holds in store for our future, in order to harvest the benefits," said Bjorn Hansen whiles peaking to the participants.
"Our findings show that responsible tech is on the rise, even in the midst of technology's rapid leaps. Tech used in the right way will contribute to the sustainable tomorrow." he added.
Being a frontrunner in evolving the ICT ecosystem in the country, Telenor Pakistan believes that tech developments come with the need for reflection and being aware of their impact which, as per the new study's findings, appears to be happening with users developing an approach of pragmatism and perspective towards technology, he added.