Study Group on Information Technology and Telecomunications

• The Gender Digital Divide in Rural Pakistan - To Measure and to Bridge it
• Achievements of the Group
• Meetings of the Group
  • 56th Meeting
  • 54th Meeting
  • 53rd Meeting
  • 52nd Meeting
  • 51st Meeting
  • 50th meeting
  • 49th meeting
  • 46th meeting
• Publications
• Contact

Study Group on Information Technology and Telecommunications

This group contributes to improvement of the information telecommunication infrastructure at the national level. It provides a platform for consultants, scientists, academics, economists and other stake holders to create awareness in public and private sectors to exploit useful information resources, address existing difficulties in this respect, and foresee future developments which might impact the national economy and society at large. The group also undertakes the preparation of policy and planning recommendations that could subsequently be pursued by the relevant agencies.

This group meets quarterly to discuss and evaluate current developments in the rapidly evolving fields of telecommunications, computers, data processing, networking, mass media, etc., related to the generation, processing, management and use of information. SDPI has substantially participated in the deliberations and provided useful comments in the meetings of the Study Group.

Achievements of the Group

In the meetings of the Study Group, SDPI has raised awareness for the need to collaborate and coordinate efforts to develop and standardize Urdu software. The Group has also increased awareness as regards to the problems faced by users of the Internet, IT and telecommunication services.

Moreover, the recommendations on the proposed Regulatory Authority for Media Broadcasting Organisations Ordinance (RAMBO) have sensitised the government to create a level playing field for the public and private broadcasting organisations. The National IT policy was launched as a result of the policy advice provided to the Minister for Science and Technology based on the outcome of the meetings of the Study Group. The group lays claim to the following achievements:

• Opening up data communications to the private sector;
• Rationalization of government import policies on computers and telecommunication equipment i.e., reduction/exemption of custom duties;
• Deregulation, liberalization and privatization of IT and telecom services;
• Downward revision of tariffs and increased bandwidth to ISPs;
• Entry into information highways;
• Constructive criticism of Pakistan Telecom Act 1996;
• Gradual reduction of digital divide in Pakistan through building telecom infrastructure in rural areas by the government;
• Contributions in framing recommendations for the 9th five year plan.

Meetings of the Group:

49th Meeting of the Study Group on Information Technology and Telecommunications August 25, 2003

The Sustainable Development Policy Institute's Study Group on Information Technology and Telecommunication at its 49th meeting held on August 25, 2003, discussed the recently announced Deregulation Policy for IT and Telecom. The Minister of State for IT and Telecom, IT and telecom providers, academics, policy makers, regulators, corporate sector and other stakeholders attended the meeting. Advisor to the Ministry of IT and Telecom and Executive Director, Saif Group, in his personal capacity, gave their respective point of view on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the policy.

Policy Overview

The Advisor to the Ministry of IT highlighted the developments in the telecom sector that had so far taken place and those that were planned. His talk is summarized below:

Tangible Progress

Real Progress

Types of Licenses

Two types of licenses will be awarded i.e. local loop (LL) and long distance international (LDI). The policy provides equal opportunities to all competitors. It would facilitate building of telecom infrastructure in remote areas and would enhance telephone density in the country. It would also promote much needed investment.

LDI licensees will have the rights to acquire, share or lease infrastructure. They will pay to LL operators access promotion contribution. They would also set aside one percent of their income for R&D and contribute one percent towards universal service fund (USF). USF will be used to provide connectivity to un-served and under-served areas, while PTCL will roll out 83,000 new lines for such areas in lieu of USF. Licenses will be awarded for 20 years. The policy will continue for five years.

Policy Critique

The Executive Director Saif Group was of the view that the policy objectives were very vague and thus could not be monitored and evaluated. The policy was also heavily tilted in favor of PTCL and discriminatory towards cellular operators. The speaker argued that main aim of the government is to protect its revenue because it owns PTCL. He also made the following points:

• Create a level playing field with a powerful and independent referee.
• Privatize PTCL by restructuring it into smaller investment opportunities.
• Role and responsibilities demand that policymakers be thoughtful, regulators powerful, and operators resourceful.

Government Perspective

The Minister in defense reiterated that it is the private sector that outsmarts the public sector in every competition. Therefore, it was not fair to presume that PTCL would have monopoly over other investors and competitors. The government owns 88 percent of PTCL, therefore, how could the government allow its revenue earning entity to go into loss? he remarked. Accepting that at present the PTCL was not very efficient, he reflected that in order to compete with the private sector, it would have to bring about an attitudinal change. He stated that the revenue eating mafia in PTCL would also need to be eliminated. He further said PTA was strong, competent and independent.

Recommendations

On the basis of presentations and the views expressed by the participants, SDPI makes the following recommendations for government consideration:

1. Policy objectives should be so framed that they are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound (SMART), that is to say, what exactly the policy aims at achieving and in what time frame.

2. As long as the government owns PTCL, fair play will not be possible because of conflicting goals and objectives. PTCL should be restructured into multiple smaller functional units and privatized.

3. To ensure a level playing field, PTA should be made independent, competent and strong. Unless the referee is powerful and independent, serious investors will stay shy of the sector.

4. A clear provision should be made in the policy whereby PTCL would not be in a position to offer discounts with the intention of "killing" private investors.

5. To provide connectivity to un-served and under-served areas, a comprehensive plan should be prepared and implemented in phases.

6. In lieu of contribution to the USF, PTCL will roll out 83,000 new lines every year for un-served and under-served areas. This should be closely monitored.

7. An appropriate procedure for interconnection among the private operators and PTCL needs to be worked out and disseminated.

46th Meeting of the Study Group on Information Technology and Telecommunications June 26, 2002

The Group had its 46th meeting on 26 June 2002. There were 45 participants representing the private and public sector organizations, print media, stakeholders and academic institutions. Participants came from the Planning Commission, Punjab Government, PTCL, Pakistan Telecom. Authority, Special Communication Organization, Polytechnic Institute for Women, Post Graduate Telecom. Institute of PTCL and institutions affiliated with the National University of Science and Technology.

Topics discussed

The speakers initiated a discussion on the following topics:

1. Cellular industry in Pakistan: Current status, issues involved and future prospects

Since 1990, the cellular industry in Pakistan has gone through many ups and downs. Until 1997, its growth was slow due to non-conducive regulatory policies, lack of local expertise, little or no effort to target masses, reluctance of major investors, unstable political conditions and security issues. The industry gained momentum after the introduction of prepaid regime in 1997 (the current subscription break up is 80 percent prepaid and 20 percent postpaid) and granting of a license to Ufone. Gradually, the service providers have enhanced their capacity both in area coverage and quality. The current market size in Pakistan is estimated to be over one million subscribes. Major reasons for this rapid growth have been network expansion, reduction in entry costs and central excise duty, aggressive marketing and most importantly, the implementation of the calling party pays (CPP) regime.

According to Pyramid Research Asia-Pacific, in 2001, the cellular phone density in Pakistan was 0.59 percent as compared to 13.72 percent in Philippines, 11.17 percent in China, 30 percent in Malaysia and 0.56 percent in India. During the next six years, the number of subscribers are expected to touch three million. The Yankee Group estimates that globally 200 million new cellular subscribers will be added in 2002 and by the end of 2005, there would be 1.6 billion mobile phone users in the world. The current trend is the convergence of fixed line, mobile technology, universal mobile telecom. system (UMTS), data information and entertainment media. By 2010, the worldwide mobile market is expected to grow to US $ 1 trillion.

In Pakistan, cellular companies have mostly been focusing on major cities, with a minor effort to offer coverage in rural and less privileged areas. Seventy percent of the business comes from the four major cities i.e. Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Faisalabad. It is only recently that Sialkot, with 800 industrial units, received attention of some cellular phone companies. We have adopted emerging technology but the performance of various operators is far from the optimum. Unless the organizations use latest technologies combined with efficient service provision to subscribers, full benefits will not be achieved.

2. The art of content management

Content management is a set of processes, principles and software tools that will enable a business to provide value to its content assets and ensure validity and consistency within it. Content management systems (CMS) include web content management, video and broadcast (digital) content management and document management. When information is being rapidly generated and disseminated, there is a strong likelihood that something would go wrong in the information value chain. Content management is the art of identifying and fixing these problems. The available CMS software enables users to modify and update their content quickly and economically at regular intervals.

Content Management is an enabling technology framework that has a tangible return on investment and results in the following advantages:

3. E-Commerce

E-commerce is dynamic Internet-based commerce for business transactions. Selection of goods, ordering, invoicing and payment is made on-line. It offers global coverage, reduces sales and administrative costs, improves efficiency and increases productivity. Today, e-commerce is a well established concept.

Recommendations

The group made the following recommendations which have been sent to the Ministry of Science and Technology:

1. The cellular industry in Pakistan offers huge potential in revenues. There still remain untapped geographical segments, particularly in rural areas, which can create a significant market. Perhaps, the post 2002 scenario (when PTCL’s monopoly will end) will see an expansion of this industry.
2. The key to progress in cellular industry is strategic investment in the network. The current trend of strategic alliances with service operators and content providers should be adopted.
3. Immediate focus is needed on the quality of service and broader coverage is the ‘name of the game’.
4. Because of better opportunities abroad, a high turn over of skilled human resource has adversely affected the cellular industry. Serious efforts are needed to arrest this trend.
5. The government should strive to build confidence of the existing service providers. It should be a facilitator and an enabler and not a controller of cellular and other telecom services.
6. The quality of service standards should be reviewed and updated. Their implementation by service providers must be monitored and enforced.
7. Broadcast service providers should manage content through multicast routers.
8. Content management systems should be adopted for closer collaboration between the government and other content producers.
9. To popularize e-commerce in Pakistan, a feasibility study to set up an e-commerce institute should be undertaken sooner than later.

Publications:

The following publications of the Study Group are available in hard copies (also see SDPI list of publications):

Contact details

For more information regarding the activities of the study Group on Information Technology and Telecommunications, please contact Brig. (retd) Mohammad Yasin, Advisor Centre for Capacity Building (yasin@sdpi.org)