5G internet will be launched by December, 2021 : Federal Minister Information Technology.

HYDERABAD -- The Federal Minister for Information Technology and Communications Syed Aminul Haq has said the 5G internet will be launched by December, 2021.

He announced this while addressing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) and Hyderabad Institute of Arts, Science and Technology (HIAST) at a local hotel here Friday.

"We have to increase 4G penetration to 50 percent before launching the 5G," he said, adding that the 4G internet users now constituted 41 percent of the mobile internet users.

He apprised that 1.4 million new 4G users were being added every month and that at the present pace the desired percentage of the fourth generation mobile internet users would be attained by the end of 2021.

Haq said the federal government was also encouraging the manufacture and assembly of the mobile phones in Pakistan with the aim of reducing the high prices of the cell phones.

"We want our youth to buy a good quality mobile phone for Rs.8,000 to Rs12,000 instead of paying Rs.50,000 to Rs.100,000," he added.

He lamented that if the previous governments had planned the same much earlier the prices of the cell phones would have been low besides creation of employment.

The minister said that the government was trying to provide 3G and 4G internet services in the areas where those services were currently not available.

According to him, Rs.21.9 billion had been spent on expansion of those services so far.

He informed that after taking charge of the ministry he announced a Rs.550 million IT project for Sanghar district.

The minister credited the government for increasing the country's IT exports from $995 million in 2019 to $1.23 billion by June, 2020, despite the slump in the global economy due to COVID-19.

He expressed the hope that the IT exports would potentially grow to $5 billion by the end of the present government's tenure in 2023.

"Prime Minister Imran Khan's vision is to see the digital Pakistan and the first objective is to ensure connectivity," he underlined.

Haq said the government wanted to play a role for training, capacity building, coordination and facilitation for the IT industry.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan's MNA Sabir Hussain Qaimkhani said 8 years ago MNA Salahuddin of MQM-P tried to establish an information technology institute in Hyderabad but the dream could not be realized.

He offered complete support for setting up of an IT park in Hyderabad, also...