The most recent government effort to increase access to technology has made purchasing mobile phones noticeably easier.
Today in Islamabad, Federal Minister of IT and Telecom Syed Amin Ul Haque unveiled the “Smartphone For All” concept, which would enable people with low incomes to obtain mobile phones through straightforward payments.
The GSMA and KistPay, the supplier of installment payments in Pakistan with the fastest growth, joined together to launch the initiative.
Along with Amin Ul Haq, Julian Gorman, the GSMA’s Head of Asia Pacific, also spoke at the occasion. Asif Jafri, the CEO of KistPay, Janet White, the head of policy, Major General (R) Aamir Azeem Bajwa, chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), CEOs of Ufone, Jazz, Telenor, and Special Communication Organization (SCO), among others, were all present at the opening ceremony.
In order to assist an additional 50 million people in making the switch to mobile broadband over the following three years, Asif Aziz, CCO Jazz, recommended that the government stop the import and local production of 2G phones, give priority to the local assembly of 4G-enabled smartphones, develop and implement a regulatory framework that permits telecom companies to offer smartphones on installments, and reduce the withholding tax on essential telecom services from 15% to 8%. This will hasten the adoption of digital technology and significantly increase the socioeconomic possibilities available to the common populace.
During remarks at the ceremony, Amin Ul Haq, a federal minister, said that anybody can join the program and get a mobile phone by paying 20 to 30 percent of the entire cost of the item. He said that the purchase could be closed with just the ID card, without the need for any guarantees or significant paperwork.
He stated that the initial delivery of phones costing between 10,000 and 100,000 rupees will occur over a three to twelve-month period. The devices, which won’t cost any money and won’t be used anywhere else in the world, will make use of contemporary software.
According to Amin Ul Haq, the strategy aims to improve phone accessibility for the general public while also introducing small businesses to e-commerce as a way to capitalize on the potential of the sector.
The program has been put in place, the minister stated, to ensure that cell phones with better connections are readily available. More than 70 projects, costing a total of Rs. 65 billion, are now under construction to provide connection over the whole country.