PTA chairman addresses conference in Dubai

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Maj. General Amir Azeem Bajwa (R) has said that Pakistan is making utmost efforts to connect households and businesses through fiber deployment to realize the ‘Digital Pakistan’ vision. He said this while delivering a keynote address on Right-of-Way Implementation and Socio-Economic Development at the SAMENA Accelerator policy-level roundtable in Dubai, today.

Chairman PTA said that the dream of a truly sustainable and economically viable fourth industrial revolution cannot be realized unless fiber makes up the core of our digital infrastructure. He further stated that Pakistan is well cognizant of the importance of fiber to achieve the policy objectives and, socio-economic wellbeing of the people.

While highlighting the geostrategic importance of Pakistan and its resilient networks, Chairman PTA said that despite the remarkable growth in data usage, the digital market is resilient because of adequate and redundant international connectivity. The country’s geostrategic position makes it ideal to become a regional transit hub to upstream data traffic towards landlocked countries in the North.

He also said that Pakistan has a liberal investment environment allowing 100% foreign equity and 100% profit repatriation. It is among the top ten countries with the most improved business climate under the ‘Ease of Doing Business Report 2020’ of the World Economic Forum.

While stressing upon PTA’s initiatives, he said that PTA introduced Telecommunication Infrastructure Provider and Telecommunication Tower Provider licensing regime for licensees to establish and maintain infrastructure facilities. It is also doing public consultation on draft infrastructure sharing guidelines, including both active and passive components based on the principles of neutrality, non-discrimination, and equal access.

During the visit, Chairman PTA also attended Huawei Ultra-Broadband Forum 2021, where world-leading operators and industry partners explored potential opportunities and challenges in the broadband industry.