Fiber Connectivity Key to 5G Launch: IT Minister

An important meeting related to broadband fiber connectivity was held in the Ministry of IT under the chairmanship of Federal Minister IT and Telecom Dr. Umar Saif, on Tuesday.

The meeting was attended by the officials of the IT Ministry and representatives of telecom companies.

In the meeting, various options for improving broadband fiber connectivity in the country were considered, while obstacles in the way of fiber connectivity were also discussed in the meeting.

According to industry sources, telecom companies have appreciated the efforts of Federal Minister Umar Saif and SIFC to solve the right-of-way issues. The representatives of Telecom companies highlighted the problems faced after the introduction of the Railways RoW policy.

The telecom companies told the Caretaker Federal Minister Umar Saif that they are facing difficulties in working at the railway crossing. Charges at railway crossings are also high and there are problems related to digging for fiberization at the crossings.

According to the sources, the companies also raised the issue of implementation of decisions of Appropriate Governments related to Right of Way. Caretaker Federal Minister Umar Saif has sought the details of railway crossings across the country. He also asked for a report on the implementation of the decisions related to the right of way.

Addressing the meeting, Caretaker IT and Telecom Minister Dr. Umar Saif said that the government’s priority is to improve fiber connectivity in the country, and the obstacles in its way are being removed. He has said that for the launch of 5G, it is necessary to have fiber connectivity with the towers.

In his statement on social media platforms, the Caretaker Federal Minister for IT and Telecom Dr Umar Saif said “For every 10% increase in mobile broadband adoption results in 0.5 – 0.8 percent increase in GDP. Therefore, to help grow our economy, we must incentivize broadband fiber connectivity in the country”.

He said, “In the past few weeks, we have standardized right-of-way policies for laying of fiber for ISPs and telecom players. Great to chair a meeting of the telecom industry to arrive at policies which accelerate broadband fiber connectivity in the country”.