Opposition to the smartphone program
The plan to offer cellphones to the general people on easy installment plans has been met with resistance from two telecom carriers and cabinet members.
The Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication brought up the issue at a cabinet meeting last month, proposing to issue a policy directive encouraging Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) and agencies operating under their agreements to provide smartphones to the general public on easy instalments.
The suggestion from the ministry was thoroughly discussed. A few cabinet members did note, though, that they felt it was inappropriate for the Cabinet to issue a policy mandate for a commercial enterprise.
Members of the cabinet further stated that the suggested plan would result in a rise in smartphone imports and, consequently, in Pakistan’s import bill, which would require foreign exchange payments.
Members of the cabinet further emphasized that out of the four CMOs in the nation, only two had agreed with the draft policy, while the other two had disagreed with it.
A Cabinet member reaffirmed that no prior Cabinet directive had dealt with any kind of commercial activity. A few participants believed that the policy direction might not be appropriate when it came to locally produced goods. They said that more vocal consultation was necessary beforehand.
According to the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication (IT&T), the growth of mobile broadband significantly influenced GDP, exports, foreign direct investment, and the creation of new company and employment prospects.
In Pakistan, broadband services were essential to every industry, but they were especially important to banking, healthcare, government, and business.
It was also mentioned that the nation’s current mobile broadband density was close to 53%.
It was further clarified that the general public’s inability to purchase cellphones was a significant barrier to their broad acceptance.
Therefore, the ministry believed that making smartphones affordable for users was essential to minimizing the digital gap and making internet services easily available to all communities.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the telecom industry were said to have had discussions with the IT ministry.
In order to encourage cellular mobile operators (CMOs) and agencies operating under their agreements to offer smartphones to the general public on convenient installment plans, it has finalized the final draft policy directive.
In addition, the proposed directive included a provision allowing for a six-month assessment period and corrective actions for noncompliant parties.
The Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-Organisation) Act, 1996, according to section 8(2A) of the Act, gave the federal government the authority to issue policy directives on any topic pertaining to the telecommunications industry, as long as they did not conflict with other Act provisions, according to the Ministry of IT&T.
The draft policy directive was submitted to the Cabinet for approval by the Ministry of IT&T.
The Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication submitted a summary titled “Draft Policy Directive under Section 8(2A) of the Pakistan Telecommunications (Re-Organisation) Act 1996 for Enhancing Smartphone Penetration,” which was reviewed by the Cabinet. The Ministry was instructed to further analyze the proposal, hold more extensive consultations, and then resubmit a well-considered draft of the proposed policy for the Cabinet to consider.
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