THE SYMBIOSIS OF IT AND E-COMMERCE IN PAKISTAN.

Byline: SABIHA ABID

Industrialization Revolutions resulting from technological innovations have transformed the world many folds. The first, second and third industrial revolutions focused only social living but fourth industrial revolution is there to revolutionize fundamentally our way to live, work and our relationships. This is going to intermingle our physical, geographical, digital and biological boundaries. The fourth revolution will evolve with exponential rather than linear path. There is going to be unending realm of opportunities with the use of mobile devices, unprecedented processing power, storage capacity, access to knowledge associated with technological breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, material sciences, energy storage and quantum computing. In Pakistan rapid ICT diffusion and technology has transformed business as usual. In the early 90's with the introduction of cellular phones there w

as a change in the digital landscape of Pakistan. It has led to business openings, better consumer experience access to information and communication for the people of Pakistan. The telecom industry of Pakistan is providing environment to spur sustainable economic growth in the country.

Major ICT developments in different sectors of the economy are:

ACCESS and INFRASTRUCTURE

The biggest handicap in the introduction of ICT development in Pakistan was the non availability of telecom broadband services. In April 2014, 3G, 4G LTE services were auctioned and PTA implemented the government policies. After that there has been a true digital transformation through mobile broadband subscription and ICT services. The graph shows digital evolution of Pakistan. The graph depicts the enhancement in national connectivity with two more auctions in 2016 and 2017. 3G signals cover70% of population and 4G LTE is accessible to 30% population.

The total length of 85,549 kms fiber optics with undersea links to carry the inflow and outflow of traffic. PTCL has also added another submarine cable in addition to I-ME-WE, SEA-ME-WE3 and SEA-ME-WE4 for internet connectivity has also played significant role in national and international connectivity.

DIGITAL ECONOMY

The prerequisites of a flourishing economy are digital access and digital payment solutions. World Bank report has estimated that a 1% increase in mobile phone subscriptions will add 0.28% in GDP. Pakistan has the potential to become growing digital economysince there is 70% mobile penetration, 19.2% broadband penetration and 23% adult population. Digital economy has the power to change Pakistan's sustainable development by creating job opportunities for youth especially for women of Pakistan.

The Government of Pakistan has set its Digital Policy Goal as "Generate sustainable innovation, entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for the nation's rapidly growing generation of technologically sophisticated and entrepreneurial youth population'. The government has also devised policies to empower youth through training programs to enhance their employability. The government has announced National Financial Inclusion Strategy. The salient points for 2020 are as under:

1. Increase the number of adults...