The Federal Minister for Information Technology Sardar Aseff Ahmed Ali has said the introduction of 3G networks, devices and services in countries around the world is enhancing quality of life and providing expanded economic opportunities, both in the public and private sectors.
He was addressing a seminar with reference to 3G Mobile Services under the theme of "To be or not to be is not the question: 3G is coming". The seminar was organised by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in collaboration with (Zhongxing Telecom) ZTE Corporation.
The PTA Chairman Dr Mohammed Yaseen, presided over the seminar which was also attended by ZTE Pakistan Chief Executive Officer Peng Aiguang, IT and telecom industry experts, CEOs of telecom companies, academia and media representatives attended the seminar.
He said the 3G has brought around development of innovative new services for consumers and greater productivity for enterprises. Going further down the pyramid, 3G is improving the lives of under-served citizens, bridging the "digital divide", particularly in developing countries where teledensity and Internet penetration are low, he added. On the occasion, the country's five cellular mobile operators also signed a memorandum of understanding to boost localised applications and content and services.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Mohammed Yaseen said that by the end of 2010, there would be an estimated 5.3 billion mobile cellular subscriptions world-wide, including 940 million subscriptions to 3G services. Access to mobile networks is now available to 90 percent of the world population and 80 percent of the population living in rural areas. People are moving rapidly from 2G to 3G platforms, in both developed and developing countries.
In 2010, 143 countries were offering 3G services commercially, compared to 95 in 2007 towards 4G: a number of countries have started to offer services at even higher broadband speeds, moving to next generation wireless platforms.
He said the PTA would also be organising a conference on "Opportunity for all-Development of 3G" on January 11, 2011, he added. During the seminar, Chairman PTA delivered a compressive presentation to highlight the world-wide practices regarding 3G services and the case studies thereof.
Cao Long, of Wang Li Heng, Rahel Kamal, representative of Qualcom also made presentations highlighting impact of 3G services. The speakers while addressing the seminar highlighted the benefits of 3G to businesses, education, government, national economy, urban/rural populace, indigenous software houses and local content development.
It may be mentioned that most of telecom operators world-wide have already embraced the 3G technology, enabling them to provide their customers with diverse and rich voice and data service, thereby sparking social and economic growth and increasing their revenues. 3G Mobile Broadband is an important step in modernisation of mobile telephone system. With the launch of 3G, in future, Pakistani cell phone subscribers will be able to transmit and receive high-speed data through their mobile phones. High-speed data means possibility of video calls, Internet browsing and downloading at a much higher speed which also includes usage of data intensive applications.