ISLAMABAD, Jul 18 (APP): Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque on Tuesday said that 83 projects worth Rs 77.8 billion would be completed by December 2023 under the Universal Service Fund (USF) to provide connectivity to remote and unserved areas across the country.
Addressing a press conference, he said the primary objective of the USF was to connect all citizens of the country, as digitalization had become a crucial priority for both businesses and communities.
Under the Next Generation Optic Fiber (NG-OF) Network and Services programme, he said, the USF had made significant strides, contracting over 16,000 km of Optic Fiber Cable (OFC), which was expected to benefit approximately 31.5 million people nationwide.
To achieve the milestone, the USF had diligently laid fiber optic cables and installed 4G and 3G towers in remote and previously unserved areas, he added.
The minister highlighted that all the efforts had resulted in an increase in the USF spending from Rs 15 billion to Rs. 77 billion during his tenure, demonstrating the government’s commitment to bridge the digital divide.
He also applauded the success of the Digi Skills programmes of Ignite, an initiative to provide freelancing courses to interested individuals. Around 3.3 million people had registered for these courses, exceeding the target by an impressive 75%, he added.
He noted that freelancers trained through the Digi Skills programmes had contributed significantly to the country’s foreign exchange reserves, earning a remarkable $290 million by June 2022.
A key focus for the government, he said, remained attracting further investment into the information technology sector.
He said the telecom sector witnessed the investment of about $7.1 billion during the last four years. Additionally, the IT sector made significant contributions to the national exchequer, depositing a substantial Rs 1120 billion in tax during the same period.
To foster a conducive environment for the tech industry, the minister said, the government had approved several crucial policies, including the Right of Way policy, first cloud policy, Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) Rule 2023, and cybersecurity policy.
He said the Ministry of Information, Technology, and Telecommunication had also finalized the “Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023,” after extensive consultations with stakeholders and sent it for approval to the Ministry of Law and Justice.
Minister Amin Ul Haque said they had set ambitious goals for the future, with IT exports expected to reach $15 billion and investment in the telecom sector to cross $10 billion in the coming years.
