ISLAMABAD: The Federal Government is all set to to introduce National Roaming in Balochistan, with the exception of places that do not harm the commercial interests of cellular mobile providers, in order to boost connectivity and enable investment in the province, particularly in Gwadar.
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This was revealed by Director General Licensing Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Brig Amer Shahzad (retired) while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication which met with Kauda Babar in the chair here the other day.
The initiative will go on to solve a lot of connectivity issues and open doors for investment in the province. National roaming will be made available in all areas except some that do not commercially interest cellular mobile operators.
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PTA officials while discussing the initiative said that Balochistan is currently being treated as a priority case and the province will get national roaming by June 2023. It was revealed that the equipment necessary for national roaming has already been delivered, all that’s left now is a little bit of minor work that will soon be completed.
The Universal Services Fund’s strategies for enhancing phone and data services in underserved regions were explained to the Committee. According to officials, numerous efforts are in progress to give Baloch clients the finest service possible. 95 percent of the towers in the Gwadar district now have 4G internet connectivity thanks to Ufone.
The chairman of the committee claimed that because mobile internet connection is not available in the majority of Balochistan’s districts, kids there are having issues. He added that despite the service being accessible in many locations, it has been discontinued owing to security issues.
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According to officials, national roaming is being implemented in some locations to further improve the service and will be available to consumers by June of next year. Due to the significant foreign investment, Senator Afnanullah Khan noted that the Gwadar district needs special attention. Sen. Kauda Babar, the chairman of the committee, mandated that the availability of internet connection in tourist areas receive special attention.
