Celebrating the launch of 3G and 4G in the country as well as pulling off a biometric verification drive to relate over one hundred million SIMS to legalized NIC holders, PTA has, no doubt, reasons enough to be justifiably proud of its achievements. But that is not the thought uppermost in the mind of PTA Chairman, Dr. Syed Ismail Shah as he sits in for an exclusive interview with CWPakistan.
“The launch of 3G and 4G should have happened a long time ago,” he admits. “As you know the cellular mobile services started in 1989 which were the first generation systems, then in the 90s we moved to second generation. Both the technologies were for voice communication, first was analogue and the second was digital. Data support came in the face of 2G technologies which are the GPRS and edge,” explains Dr. Syed Ismail who has been associated with PTA since Sept 2013 as its chairman. Before that he had been acting in-charge for a month prior to which he worked in the ministry of IT, academia, industry and overseas as well.
“The biggest advantage of 3G technology was that you could get broadband connectivity on your phone and it is one of the easiest ways to provide you a high speed connection while you’re on the move. We saw an upward trend in usage of mobile phones, while the fixed landline services usage remained minimal.”
Deploring the hype created around the launch of 3G services in the country, he feels that so far Pakistan has done but little to actually provide people with the best possible services because local telecom companies have only been able to offer spectrum speeds of 40MHz, whereas elsewhere in the world this figure touches the 100MHz mark. “Nevertheless, we’re catching up on that,” he adds.
The unnecessary hype he feels, shifted focus away from what the public could do with the availability of 3G or 4G services to simply focusing on the upfront money that could be earned from it.
“Our youth should be able to use these services and create applications like the rest of the world does because they have this technology. One of the biggest examples which I quote till date is the invention of Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg knew what internet is and how to use it, which is why he was able to create a website like Facebook,” says Dr. Syed Ismail adding that even Pakistanis are now better equipped to create and benefit from such applications that could create such a huge impact in the world.
While the PTA had traditionally been the regulatory authority for the telecom sector in the country, its role now is far more diverse than that. Since the IT and telecom sectors have submerged into ICT, PTA looks after both. “Most of our licensees include telecom and internet services providers, which we call CVAS licenses which stand for Class Value Added Services. Moreover we have other licenses such as Long Distance International (LDI), others for providing infrastructures and fixed line services,” admits Dr. Ismail.
Talking about the biometric SIM verification process, Dr. Ismail touched upon the local security concerns that prompted the drive. “Globally, no such strict verification parameters are set for issuance of SIM cards, as it’s a communication medium. The security situation at our end compelled us to take such a step and now other countries are also following suit,” he said.
He also lauded the efforts of the masses for their initiative and putting in the effort to get their SIMS verified. “Had they (the public) not cooperated then the exercise wouldn’t have been possible. People were really concerned about the security situation; they went through the ordeal of standing in long queues, taking our time from their schedule and leaving work and other duties. Then again, all the verification was being carried out online through NADRA’s database which is strong enough to provide us support. All the stakeholders, such as the ministry of IT and interior helped. Everyone cooperated and made it possible.”
However, he feels that these efforts have borne fruit as the advantages of the process can already be seen. These include the ability to open up bank accounts using a biometrically verified SIM, and easily mapping the number of users in a particular area, so that the authorities are actually aware of who the real users are.
Nurturing Transparency and an e-Governance System
Since the last national elections were held in 2013, the biometric verification along with the introduction of 3G and 4G services in the country can only be used to build a better system in the future.
Expanding upon this point, he observes, “This verification can help us during elections while using 3G and 4G coverage which has hit 83 cities nationwide, many government services can be created. For instance, people seeking pension money can transfer money through mobile banking, passport issuance; government jobs and ID cards can be made. Government helped the IDPs through mobile banking. You can target people in a particular area and give them information as in case of floods, you can issue warnings to people and send them SMS alerts for evacuation or to adopt safety measures.”
Expecting to see more development in the years to come he feels that even the youth can take full benefit of these technologies and use it to open businesses, or become entrepreneurs.
But growth requires more than just good wishes and the introduction of 3G and 4G services in the country. Talking about the recently introduced internet taxation (18.5 CED) and its impact on users, Dr. Ismail explained how PTA had already voiced their concerns to the FBR and other relevant bodies opining that the internet should be made tax-free and allowed to grow without taxation as it can help create jobs, provide e-health, e-education, agriculture, financial inclusion and others.
He was of the opinion that “the creation of these opportunities will benefit the economy manifolds than applying direct taxes on the internet services. For example, if in each mobile account there are Rs. 1000 for 500,000 mobile accounts, which translates into Rs. 500,000,000 in the economy. So if you look at the indirect benefits of this medium they are far greater. Another example would be providing e-health facility. Many illnesses can be addressed by administrating the patient through this technology such as skin diseases and fever which do not require the patient to come all to the big city, incur the cost of transportation and go through pain which a sick patient would have to bear throughout the journey to get a simple prescription. It would help save resources and these translate into the economy. These are indirect benefits which a person gets out of broadband usage, which is why the government puts taxes on it. Therefore the taxes hinder growth, as people will stop using it. It’s a chain reaction and this needs a balanced approach by increasing the tax net rather than making the ones who are already paying, pay more.”
Putting a Check on Grey Trafficking
Since the main reason for grey traffic was the high call charges of incoming international calls which was 8.8 cents, people were bypassing this bringing in the evil of grey traffic. “There weren’t many direct laws on grey traffic, so during the raids we couldn’t properly penalize the people who committing the felony. The case would drag on for months or years but no harsh punishment was ever served to the individuals because there was no direct crime defined. Overseas businesses and Pakistanis had this complaint that the call rates are very high and they are unable to call. Another impact was that people started using OTTs and started using Whatsapp, Skype, Viber to contact friends and family. This led to a decrease in the overall volume of traffic,” explains Dr. Ismail.
“The ministry of IT gave a directive to deregulate it to adjust the raid. The cases were in court for a long time and then IT ministry took it to Supreme Court; they brought down the rates hence there was no incentive for the makers of grey traffickers to carry on with this business. Now the white traffic has increased to more than 100 % because there is no difference between the grey and white solutions. Big companies want to avail best quality of call services.”
Pakistan’s ICT Sector Today
Talking about the current status of Pakistan’s ICT sector as it is today, and where the local system could be headed, Dr. Ismail talks about how, with nearly 13 million 3G subscribers in just one year, and the reduction in the number of SIMs thanks to the verification process, (there are 113 million active sims and 122 million verified sims, corporate and machine to machine customers are about 2-3 million), there has been an impact on overall usage as well as the economy.
Globally, everybody is talking about broadband. According to Dr. Ismail, “Previously we had four million users of fixed broadband and now 13 million more have been added in a year. We are standing a lot more better figures but we are still far below the world average. The broadband penetration in the country is not more than 10%. In comparison, Indonesia is a country with similar population stats and there is 34% broadband penetration.”
The Road Ahead
How do you combine cable and wireless technologies for optimum results in terms of quality and affordability of ICT? What kind of wireless technologies can be envisioned for Pakistan in the future? How will it evolve?
To address these questions, one would have to look broadly at 3G and 4G technologies; they have wide area networks which could be used to connect people while they are on the move. In this way, users living in urban areas, have Wi-Fi when indoors and a high speed internet package outside. In rural areas, however, the only option available is 3G. “But it is not sufficient by itself,” asserts Dr. Ismail “because if you’re a business you need to sustain speed and a far more reliable service, which you cannot get without a fiber optic cable. Initially you can exchange data but you’ll need a faster broadband connection. Globally 20% of online exchange is done through 3G and 80% through broadband. There has to be a mix of technologies, which includes fiber optic cable connection, 3G, 4G and eventually 5G.”
“For 5G, the founding purpose of it will be to provide users with a higher speed connection. It will be mixed technologies again and you will not have to change anything to avail it. The speed will increase bringing some change in radio but mostly impacting the network speed.”
Being a government organization, PTA has naturally been put in the role of a regulator from nearly the first day. Earlier on though, its role was to provide a level playing field for all the private and government entities entering the telecommunication market. With changing mindsets though, policies have had to be revamped, activities regulated, and as Dr. Ismail put it, the framework has to be adjusted likewise to allow for the regulation of popular applications such as whatsapp or Facebook.
“For now, we’re regulating our licensees which have increased,” he reveals. “Google and Facebook are service providers now which are not regulated. So, globally the role of a regulator is also changing, now we’re facilitators for the consumers and service providers and the provision and ease of access of these services can be seamless.”
“The ICT sector has changed significantly and there are more changes to come. If you look 5 years ago, there weren’t many users of Facebook, Skype or Viber. These companies want to provide free internet to the people. Users will increase and we will have to be aware of what’s going as our role of a regulator.”
Putting Pakistan’s ICT Sector on the World Map
Wishing to move away from the image of being simply a traditional regulator who just signs documents or regulates mobile phones, PTA hopes to increase efficient use of technology and support the growth of entrepreneurial skills amongst the masses so that graduates, especially from the Computer Science division are enabled to become employers rather than employees. The government and private sectors can create jobs only to a certain extent however, the advent of broadband has helped open up new avenues and presented many new opportunities to the people of Pakistan.
Keeping this view in mind, Chairman PTA is of the opinion that people are now better enabled to develop businesses and as a regulatory body they wish to take part in various international exhibitions such as the Mobile World Congress in order to bring our local entrepreneurs into world focus and allow them to take their initiatives forward.
“The mental capabilities of our people are at par with the rest of the world. We have hardworking and brilliant people. The only hindrance there is the lack of opportunities available to these intelligent people to present their ideas. What we did was that we provided them with a platform; we had called people who had won awards in the International telecommunication union. We called to honor them and now look forward to working together in the mobile app competition. In the World Telecom Competition, there is a competition called Young innovators competition; we’re taking our youth there to compete, win prizes and gain exposure.”
“We received a good response from the people on the competition we organized. We received a lot of entries. We gave 4 prizes, out of which two were student and other two were professional. Many good applications came up, one was related to children’s learning, which help them to learn the same things on the mobile phone, as they would from a book. The other app was booking tickets online for bus services and an app to countercheck ID cards in case of fakes. The other app taught people how to use a smartphone by tutorials.”
The Chairman PTA is also interested in making services, such as for education, health, agriculture etc. which should be available on the internet. Furthermore, inclusion of ICT in the curriculum will enable people to use these online services as they are meant to be used.
Talking about the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, Dr. Ismail Shah mentioned how a lot of people are working on startups such as P@SHa is on Nest i\o in Karachi and others with good chances of becoming visible soon. “Promoting the entrepreneurial ecosystem is not one of our duties, but we as a regulator want to help the system. If we introduce fiber optics, wireless technologies and other solutions, we want our people to use them efficiently. These services have a bright future ahead if they are used to their utmost capabilities.”
Some examples of the success of the system is the fact that common people have started realizing its potential. They can now earn through blogging… and use the system positively to better themselves and their society.
PTA’s Role in Social Improvement Strategies
“As far as USF is concerned, I’m a member of the board. We give them technical input. The on-going projects include availability of broadband in underserved areas. They have the telecenter projects for rural areas in which they are going to provide people facilities of NADRA, biometric verification, wi-fi, solar power and other informative services. The villagers can use these facilities and benefit from it,” says Dr. Ismail.
Challenges and opportunities
Like everyone else, PTA has their own set of challenges but these are compensated for by the ample opportunities on offer as well. “The biggest opportunity we have is the population of the youth. If we can steer it positively, they can be an asset. They are the ones who can drive technology by establishing projects online such as health, education, agriculture, security and much more. They have to innovate and come up with unthinkable things, such as 15 years ago I couldn’t imagine having all these technologies in my hand,” recalls the Chairman PTA.
“We want to improve our international outlook. We’re now the members of International Telecommunication Union. There they have a revenue regulation board, director of development, deputy secretary general and working groups.”
Speaking about their successes, he mentions how PTA received an award for GSMA.
“We want to encourage our employees and other affiliates to build their capacity in this domain. The International Telecommunication Union asked us to send in our experts and help out some countries which need help in licensing.”