ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Shaza Fatima Khawaja has told the Senate that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is not involved in the funding, procurement, deployment or operations of any firewall project at the national level.
The minister told this to the House while repling to a question by Senator Kamran Murtaza seeking details of measures taken by the government to deal with the slowing down of social media sites in the Country on account of introduction of firewall.
In terms of performance of social media, Shaza Fatima told, during the month of August, complaints were received for degradation of META services specifically WhetsApp.
The matter was taken up with the Licensed Operators for rectification.
The House was informed that it has been reported by the Operators in the first week of September that Issues pertaining to META and specifically WhetsApp have been resolved and they are now normal.
About the initiatives untaken by the PTA to ensure reliable, affordable, and Inclusive Internet access for all citizens, the minister apprised the House that the authority has allowed 6 Gigahertz (GHz) spectrum band for unlicensed operation for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) in Pakistan.
With unlocking of this band, Pakistan has become the 10th Country in Asia Pacific to embrace 6 GHz for Wi-Fi.
Currently, only 60 Countries worldwide have unlocked 6 GHZ (full or partial) for RLAN (Wi-Fi) services. This development aims to facilitate the deployment of next-generation Wi-Fi technologies across Pakistan, empowering businesses and individuals with high-speed, lowlatency connectivity. This initiative underscores Pakistan’s commitment to bridging the digital divide and ensuring nationwide access to advanced technologies.
By collaborating with industry stakeholders, the PTA aims to streamline the rollout of high-performance Wi-Fi networks, empowering individuals and communities across the Country.
The Initiative facilitates the adoption of cutting-edge Wi-Fi technologies, accelerating the pace of digital transformation in Pakistan and enabling easy access of State of the Art Internet for Public.
The PTA has formulated the Telecom Infrastructure Sharing Framework, which has been published after the federal government approval. This will help in the proliferation of the Internet.
This Telecom Infrastructure Sharing Framework is a major step forward for the growth & sustainability of telecom sector in Pakistan.
It is expected to significantly reduce the CapEx and OpEx required for the telecom networks which will ultimately benefit the consumers in the form of lower prices and better Quality of Service (QoS) and increased availability of public WiFi hotspots, Shaza Fatima told.
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