LAHORE: The 24th edition of the Information Technology Commerce Network (ITCN) Asia Conference concluded here on Saturday.

The conference provided a platform to the local and foreign companies and investors to sign business and investment deals of estimated values of $500m in the IT, telecom, and allied sectors.

According to the organisers, more than 600 companies participated in the IT trade show, including the AI Summit, World CISO Summit & Awards 2024, Global Digital Summit, Investors Summit, Policy Roundtable, Skills Roundtable, Enterprise Roundtable, Animation and Games Roundtable, Gameathon, ITCN Asia Global Security Symposium, Freelancers Summit, Made in Pakistan Roundtable Conference, etc.

Vice President and Event Director Ecommerce Gateway Pakistan Umair Nizam said the 24th edition paved the way for accelerated growth in the technological ecosystem of Pakistan, particularly in the IT sector, which was declared a key sector by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

The show achieved various goals for the IT and telecom sectors, including investment inflows in Pakistan, growth in export receipts, strengthening of start-up culture and the emergence of AI in the country.

The chief business officer of a renowned cellular company, Asif Aziz, in a panel discussion on ‘Infrastructure Development in Pakistan: 5G & Cloud Technology,’ said prioritising the provision of high-speed 4G to rural and semi-urban populations was imperative for realising the ‘Digital Pakistan vision’. He said his company had played a significant role in fostering 4G adoption in Pakistan and witnessed substantial growth over the past five years. He said 90pc of mobile broadband subscribers in Pakistan were currently utilising 4G, a notable increase from just 17pc five years ago.

Explaining the benefits of digital connectivity, Aziz said it was beyond basic connectivity to being a complete digital lifestyle tool where people productively interact with their smartphones all day instead of just a few minutes traditionally spent on calls and messaging.

Other speakers on the panel included CBO PTCL Zarrar Khan, CEO DynaSys Networks Ali Akhtar and President & Key Account Manager Ericsson Pakistan Aamir Ahsan Khan while it was moderated by Saira Faisal, the country head of the GSMA.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2024