Universal Service Fund (USF) has approved a 730.6 – kilometer – long Optic Fiber Cable project for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) which will benefit about 3.2 million people residing in twenty-one tehsils of the province. The project is in line with the USF Company (USFCo)’s vision to provide optic fiber connectivity to un-served tehsils.
USFCo’s 35th Board of Directors meeting was convened on September 15, 2014 in the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom, Islamabad.
USFCo Board of Directors Chairperson and State Minister for IT and Telecom Anusha Rahman chaired the meeting which discussed the development of telecommunication services in un-served and under-served areas throughout the length and breadth of the country and the efforts undertaken by USFCo in this regard.
The Board of Directors, comprising four members from the government and four from the private sector (industry and consumers), approved USFCo Annual Budget for the Fiscal Year 2014-2015.
The members also discussed matters pertaining to the administration and projects of the company, including the Rural Telecom Project, Broadband for Un-served Urban areas, Optic Fiber Connectivity to Un-served Tehsils and Universal Telecenters (UTCs) projects.
The board approved an Optic Fiber Cable project for KP which will benefit an un-served population of about 3.2 million residing in twenty-one tehsils via a 730.6 – kilometer – long optic fiber cable. Laying down an optic fiber network will help telecom service providers in providing all kinds of telecom services to those areas.
The board was also updated on the status of establishment of Universal Telecenters (UTCs) by USFCo. The UTCs project aims at introducing and promoting e-services in the country especially where the availability of personal computers and computer literacy is low.
The directors advised the USFCo management to expedite the implementation and establishment of UTCs.
Additionally, special projects for provision of broadband services to 100 colleges and rural telephony projects for remote areas like Chitral, Shangla, Lower Dir and Buner were also approved.
Expressing hope that USF would continue its efforts for proliferation of IT and telecom services, the Board Chairperson Rahman pledged the government’s full support to USF for the execution of the projects.
USFCo Board of Directors Vice Chairman and IT Secretary Azmat Ali Ranjha, Member Telecom Mudassar Hussain, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Dr Syed Ismail Shah, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) CEO and President Walid Irshaid, CMPak CEO Fan Yunjun and Consumer Association of Pakistan Representative Kaukab Iqbal were also present at the occasion.
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