The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication will soon launch the Smartphone for All project aimed at providing 3G/4G phones worth between Rs. 8,000 and Rs. 12,000 to the masses and facilitating access to the digital world.
This was stated by Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication (ITT) Syed Amin Ul Haque after he inaugurated a ministry-established Software Technology Park at Hazara University, Mansehra, alongside the Minister for Railways, Azam Khan Swati.
Vice-Chancellor Dr. Jamil Ahmed, Chief Executive of Ignite Asim Shehryar, Member of International Coordination Ajmal Awan, and a large number of dignitaries and students also attended the inauguration ceremony.
The Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), which is an organization of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT), collaborated with Hazara University to set up the Software Technology Park (STP), for which a large space of 12,000 square feet has been allotted in the university.
The STP will provide all the required facilities to IT companies so that they can ensure the acquisition of valuable foreign exchange for the country by providing unhindered IT products and technical services to companies from all over the world.
Minister Haque said that a National Incubation Center will soon be set up under the MoITT at Hazara University as well. He remarked that the youth’s bright future depends on its adaptability to digital technology.
“In this regard, our job is to provide you facilities, and your job is to take advantage of it and not only make your future safe and radiant,” he said.
Minister Haque stated that the preparations for the introduction of 5G technology by December 2022 are underway, and the projects worth Rs. 31 billion for the provision of connectivity and high-speed internet in the unserved and underserved areas will be completed soon.
He assured of a joint meeting of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, cellular operators, and the USF to resolve the connectivity issues in Mansehra.
Minister Swati said that IT is the future for Pakistan’s economic stability and the achievements of the youth and that the MoITT’s plans to provide connectivity and internet in the remote areas of the country are commendable. He also acknowledged that Minister Haque has arranged for connectivity and software technology to the region.
He said that the rapid pace at which the MoITT is working towards the Digital Pakistan Vision has raised hopes that the important objectives of Research & Development, creativity and innovation, assessment, and the use of technology that had previously been forgotten will now be achieved.