ISLAMABAD: High-speed internet and telecom projects worth Rs11 billion were approved for Kumrat, Shangla and Dadu during a meeting of the Universal Service Fund (USF) board held here recently.

The projects will benefit more than 4.4 million people in these areas.

The contracts have been given to Jazz, Ufone and Telenor, while optic fibre cable projects have been awarded to PTCL.

Jazz has been awarded the contract to establish high-speed mobile broadband for Mansehra, Swat, Upper Dir and Abbottabad areas which host prominent tourist destinations of the country.

Jazz will establish networks in Mianwali and Khushab districts.

The Rs11bn contracts will benefit more than 4.4m people in these areas

Ufone has been awarded the contract to provide high-speed mobile broadband services in Lasbella and Awaran areas of Balochistan. The move will facilitate an unserved population of around 0.15 million people in an area of 39,012 sq. km.

The USF board also awarded high-speed mobile broadband contract to Telenor for providing high-speed mobile broadband services in Buner and Shangla areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that will serve an unserved population of around 95,840 people.

The USF board also approved a programme to connect union councils with optic fibre and awarded contracts to PTCL for providing connectivity in Mianwali, Dadu, Jamshoro, Badin and Hyderabad.

The approval of the project would facilitate an unserved population of around 3.7 million people by laying 1,385km of optic fibre cables and installing 301 telecom towers in these areas.

APP adds: The USF board of directors’ meeting was presided over by IT and Telecommunications Sec­retary and Chairman of the USF board Dr Muhammad Sohail Rajput.

Speaking at the meeting, Dr Rajput said the USF had been established 15 years ago, but in the first 12 years the pace of implementation of projects was quite slow.

Sharing details of the projects, he said that over the last three years since the current government took charge, a record number of 37 projects worth Rs31 billion had been contracted during the financial year 2019-20.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2021