BALOCHISTAN REMAINS UNTAPPED TELECOM MARKET.

Byline: SYED FAZL-E-HAIDER

Balochistan is largely an untapped telecom market with the lowest number of mobile phone users. In 2018, a dozen telecom projects were launched to deploy telecom network and services in the province. Today, the telecom operators are set to unleash the potential of the province with 46 percent of the 12.3 million population has no access to either mobile, wireless or a fixed line network. Universal Service Fund (USF), an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Information Technology set out an aggressive strategy to roll out the basic infrastructure of telecommunication, basic telephone and internet service for people and businesses in the province.

Balochistan has immense potential for the development of telecom sector and its geo-strategic location in the region is also an attraction for the foreign telecom firms. Less affordability and non-availability of electricity are the main impediments for development of this sector in the province. Other obstacles are its geography and demography indicating a difficult terrain and scattered population. The advancement and growth in telecom is having impact on the underdeveloped economy and most backward society of Balochistan. The province will take decades to come on par with rest of the country's developed regions in the 21st century's fields of information technology (IT) and telecommunication. Both are the key sectors, which can help the province tread on path of fast track development. The province is still far behind, as compared to the rest of the country, which has witnessed a faster growth in tele-density during last one decade.

Though the sector is growing well in the provincial capital Quetta with nw mobile connections every month, yet its penetration among the lowest strata of society, especially in rural Balochistan, is much less than the Quetta city.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has added to the geostrategic importance of the strategically locatedprovince. The ongoing projects are set to provide telecom services in CPEC adjoining areas of the province such as Kharan-Washuk, Kalat, Khuzdar, Sibi, Zhob, Kohistan, D. I. Khan, Khyber and DeraBugti. In 2017, the projects were awarded to provide mobile broadband services in Awaran-Lasbela, KharanWashuk and DeraBugti. The cellular operator Ufone has extensive plans to further develop telecommunication infrastructure to provide voice and data services under 3G licenses across Balochistan. The Ufone...