Govt asked to revisit telecom policy
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The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Monday asked the government to revisit policy of suspension of mobile phone service in sensitive areas aimed at thwarting acts of terror.
Successive governments have been following policy of suspending telecom services in different areas before any event or only on a tip but the increasing incidents of terrorism shows that the policy has remained futile, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.
He said that Pakistan is the only terror-hit country in the world which is pushing such a policy adding to plight of masses, discouraging the telecom industry and reducing the much-needed revenues.
He said that government should seriously consider reversing the policy which has been discouraging further investment in Pakistan’s telecom sector.
Different restrictions imposed by the regulator for buying SIM, portability and registration are also adversely impacting the mobile industry in various ways.
Dr. Mughal said that looking at telecom policy through security prism, over taxation and politics has badly hurt the telecom industry and it can hurt the upcoming auction of 3G licences.
Spectrum policy and cellular mobile policy are not two entirely different things but highly interconnected, he said.
