ISLAMABAD: To provide high-speed internet services in erstwhile FATA, the Universal Service Fund (USF) has awarded Jazz with a Rs92 million contract to develop next-generation broadband in Kurram Lot district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“Through this project, broadband coverage will be provided in 224 mauzas in Kurram, covering an approximate unserved area of 2,980 sq.km,” said an official of the Ministry of Information Technology.
The project, inaugurated by IT Secretary Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, was signed by Universal Service Fund CEO Haaris Mahmood Chaudhry and Jazz Corporate & Regulatory Affairs Chief Syed Fakhar Ahmed.
Speaking on the occasion, the IT secretary said that the focus of USF to bridge the digital divide has created a technological revolution in the country.
“The project has a special significance for us and in due time, over 0.44 million residents of these areas will have access to the country’s fastest mobile broadband,” he stated. “During the current times of coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of IT & Telecom is ensuring that broadband connectivity plays an optimum role in dealing with this crisis.”
He said that coronavirus has completely altered the global landscape and that the ministry would be adopting an aggressive approach through future projects of USF to provide hi-speed broadband.
He maintained that it is need of the hour, all stakeholders must work together to fight against Covid-19 by facilitating people of Pakistan. With the Digital Pakistan vision set in motion, the strategic role of USF in providing connectivity to all Pakistanis becomes even more significant than before.
USF was established by the government to spread the benefits of the telecom revolution to all corners of country. It consists of contributions that is 1.5pc of adjusted revenues of each telecom operator with no government funding involved.
