North Waziristan, Bannu & Lakki Marwat: Broadband coverage project worth Rs 192 million awarded to Jazz

The Universal Service Fund (USF) has awarded 'Broadband Coverage for North Waziristan Agency, Frontier Region Bannu & Frontier Region Lakki Marwat' project worth Rs 192 million to Jazz. The total cost of the project was Rs 258 million where government subsidy would be around Rs 192 million, the USF official told Business Recorder.
The contract was signed by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) USF Rizwan Mir and Chief Corporate and Enterprise Officer Jazz Ali Naseer on behalf of their respective organisations. Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui also witnessed the contract signing ceremony of the project "Broadband Coverage for North Waziristan Agency, Frontier Region Bannu & Frontier Region Lakki Marwat."
As part of the deal, Jazz will work towards providing mobile broadband access to people of North Waziristan Agency, Frontier Region Bannu and Frontier Region Lakki Marwat. The USF-Jazz partnership would also open up new progressive opportunities for local communities such as e-commerce. Digital and e-services are a rapidly evolving field and can provide better health, education, agriculture and business opportunities to the people in these areas. In order to execute this project, 28 towers will be installed by Jazz in about one year.
Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said the penetration of broadband across the country was vital to digitalise Pakistan. He said the government would continue to work towards achieving mission of broadband penetration at the every corner of the country to facilitate masses.
Siddiqui said that with constant dedication and devotion, the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication had achieved yet another significant connectivity milestone, adding that with such projects, the Ministry for IT through USF would continue to work towards achieving the mission of broadband penetration across the country to facilitate the people in rural regions. He said that in addition to broadband infrastructure, he expected USF to launch new e-services and m-services to facilitate digital lifestyle adoption for the people of Pakistan.
The federal minister congratulated the teams of USF and Jazz for doing such an incredible job. That event marks one of the greatest landmarks achieved in the field of IT and telecommunication, he said.
He said the project in North Waziristan would help bridge the digital divide by providing services to un-served communities. Siddiqui said that in Pakistan, the socio-economic development was directly linked to provision of ICT services and it was endeavour of the government to bring all parts of country at par with one another.
He said the government was committed to promotion of facilities of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the country. That special project aimed at bringing positive changes in lives of the people of un-served areas, he said. CEO USF Rizwan Mir said that with the signing of North Waziristan contract, Universal Service Fund's aim was to provide voice and data services to remote and underserved areas of Pakistan where it was most critical for development.
He added that the network would be completed in 24 months for providing 3G/4G and voice services to a population of 0.57 million in 401 un-served mauzas. He further said that with the improvement of law and order in erstwhile FATA areas, provision of advanced ICT infrastructure would be a key to the development efforts in the region.
He said, "We enjoy great support from Ministry of IT and Telecommunication as well as the ICT industry in our common mission to continuously work towards expanding broadband to all Pakistanis." He mentioned that USF was planning to launch several new broadband projects in the next few months, including one in South Waziristan.
While addressing the audience, Chief Corporate & Enterprise Officer at Jazz Ali Naseer said, "Through this collaboration, Jazz and USF have successfully bridged the digital divide in the country's remotest region. This is why the project has special significance for us and in due time residents of 401 administrative mauzas will have access to the country's fastest mobile broadband connectivity. We are looking forward to assisting these people in unlocking their potential in an increasingly interconnected world."