Information Technology Ministry- a Chaos so far

Information Technology Ministry- a Chaos so far

It has been around a year now I moved back from the Uk and I found everything stand still in Pakistan where I left it off in 2009. The same Corruption from the cleaner of my street to the police men standing at a barrier stopping people for some extra cash.

Literally, Nothing Improved.
What I find astonishing and what has improved over time is the awareness of internet in Pakistan, mobile phone communication level and the point that now almost everyone owns a mobile phone in Pakistan (as reported by ProPakistani 120 Million).

Thanks to Etisalat and PTCL which came across thick and thin and made the broadband services available to almost all the cities in Pakistan as well as hundreds of small towns and tehsils.

My connectivity in the UK was of some next level. With a blackberry connected to a 3G network all the time I could instantly browse for whatever I want to eat, where I want to walk and in the train reading and going through different tech blogs and articles.

Sadly when I moved to Pakistan, I saw whole new dimensions of connectivity because of the fact that 3G services not yet being launched in Pakistan and the silly 90’s service ‘’Edge’’ for Data Transferring still used. Now this maybe a tiny weenie bit of problem for around 90% of Pakistani’s but considering the rest 10% who actually care about this service and want to escalade when it comes to technology and want to actually improve the rest of 90% connectivity level and bringing them to the whole new platform of connectivity, changes the whole picture.

I have been reading about Pakistan’s new IT (information Technology) Minister ‘’Anusha Rehman’’ And I learned that she is an absolute disaster when it comes to knowledge related to IT.

The Fact that she has no background of IT (i.e Computers) and she studied law all her life. From around past 5 years, IT Ministry was being controlled by the PPP (a political party in Pakistan) .The fact that this post was politicized and no work was done over 3G SPECTRUM licenses.

I tried speaking to some of the Telenor as well as Mobilink Personnel’s regarding 3G Services and I was told the companies are desperate for the 3G spectrum Licenses to be issued by PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority).

Bear in mind Afghanistan has 3G services from past 2 years, India has around 70 Million daily 3G users.

Now the Story behind is disastrous and saddens me each day reading about it and IT Ministry of Pakistan.

PTA is in around Rs 600 Billion debt. And they want to recover that debt by selling the 3G spectrum license with a huge price tag which cellular companies in Pakistan simply cannot afford.

Because of the previous government blunders and the new one who appointed this astonishing illiterate woman when it comes to IT, Citizens like me suffer because of high prices when it comes to data connectivity which is the slowest in the world and the fact that 3G is still a dream for every single Pakistani.

If I could ever get one wish to be granted in this lifetime, I would appoint a young talented individual for Information Technology, who knows what’s going around the world and what needs to be introduced instantly in the local Pakistani market, what companies should be brought to Pakistan.

Moreover, someone who can ask multibillion Computer Manufacturing Companies to open their flagship store in Pakistan i.e Lenovo, Dell, Hp. So people could buy straight from the manufacturer and get after sales service rather than spending more than they actually cost of the product by purchasing it from a random retailer and getting no after sales services whatsoever.

Source: www.thenews.com.pk

Writer: Haseeb Sohail