As a strategic partner, Nokia Siemens Networks is modernizing and optimizing Qtel’s pioneering nationwide 2G and 3G networks, providing an advanced network infrastructure based on the company’s “future-proof” solutions.

Chairman of Qtel, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani said, “The announcement of this significant upgrade to Qatar’s mobile network infrastructure brings us an important step closer to the realization of our vision to deliver the world’s most advanced communication solutions to everyone in Qatar. We will work with Nokia Siemens Networks to ensure that the highest quality of experience and the latest services are made available for our customers.”

As part of the agreement, Nokia Siemens Networks is deploying an energy-efficient radio access solution, based on a Flexi Base Station that will offer very significant power consumption savings to Qtel. These savings will help reduce the environmental impact of the ongoing growth of Qatar’s communication infrastructure, by increasing energy savings, in-line with Qtel’s strategy for enhanced corporate social responsibility.

Nokia Siemens Networks is also providing technical and business consultancy, site preparation, field activities and network operations support. It is implementing a state-of-the-art infrastructure roll-out process, built upon a circuit-switch core network capacity expansion and a packet core network swap based on the Flexi ISN solution for optimized data traffic.

These services will ensure a seamless upgrade for everyone in Qatar, providing uninterrupted and enhanced mobile broadband service, as well as enabling Qtel to continue to deliver its range of product enhancements and upgrades to customers across Qatar.

Commenting on this deal, which extends the strong relationship with Qtel that started in 1994, Christoph Caselitz, Chief Market Operations Officer, Nokia Siemens Networks said: “This is an important deal for us as it strengthens our collaboration and commitments with an industry leader such as Qtel.”

“As a significant regional operator, with tremendous expansion potential, Qtel is one of our key customers. We are very pleased that it has recognized Nokia Siemens Networks as a reliable supplier, and we’re ready to offer our best-in-class technologies in line with Qtel’s long-term plans to provide superior quality to their customers,” added Qais Esrawee, Head of the “Qtel group” Customer Business Team for Nokia Siemens Networks.

Qtel’s network continues to be supported by the multi-vendor, multi-technology NetAct network and service management solution. Nokia Siemens Networks will also provide Qtel with NetAct Global Reporter for collecting, processing and visualizing network performance information and NetAct Optimizer for enhancing service quality for Qtel customers and increasing efficiency of the optimization processes.-SANA

The representatives of the Telecom Industry apprised the public sector participants that Pakistan’s Telecom Industry has matured enough to move to the technology of 3G Spectrum, which is a part of its natural evolution and growth process. It was urged that the Government may like to formulate policy framework to handle this process smoothly and in consultation with the Telecom Industry, so as to safeguard their business interests in Pakistan. It was further requested to rationalize the process of auctioning of the spectrum for this new technology into Pakistan.

The Secretary Investment responded while saying that the Government has to strike a balance between securing the interest of consumers and ensure survival of players. He assured full cooperation of Government of Pakistan in launching of the new technology.

While referring to the Taxation Policy of the Government, it was informed by the private sector that total cost of mobile ownership in Pakistan has become one of the highest in the world due to imposition of activation tax, GST 21%, import duty of Rs. 500 and handset duty of Rs. 250. It was requested that actual retailers and distributors of mobile sets in the country be also embedded into this tax regime and the import duty be subsequently withdrawn by the Government.

In response, representative from Federal Board of Revenue informed the participants that there are some conceptual problems regarding the understanding of the taxation system. He said that Pakistan’s Telecom industry earlier has always enjoyed a tax exemption regime which includes exemptions on custom duty, sales tax, federal excise duty, import of plant and machinery etc.

He referred to activation tax and said that it is like Sales Tax which is to be paid at import and supply stage. As far as Import duty is concerned the Industry was heavily exempted upto the time of current year’s budget. Again, the rate of import duty, irrespective of the total value, was kept at flat rate of Rs. 500. This was done by the Government in order to attain national objectives, which were to cut down imports.

The Secretary Investment assured the private sector to take up their genuine issue and concerns with the Ministry of Finance and Federal Board of Revenue and if the Industry may like to approach them directly, they will be backed by the Ministry of Investment. The private sector appreciated efforts of the Ministry of Investment for providing a platform to have a productive dialogue with the Government to present their concerns and issues directly to the policy makers.

From the public side, participants included Mr. Nisar Masoor Chief Customer Officer, Federal Board of Revenue, Mr. Mushtaq Ahmad Member Telecom, Minister of Information & Technology, Mr. Arif Inam, Director General, (Commercial Affairs), PTA, Mr. Aslam hahab, Director General, (Licensing) PTA and Mr. Arif Agha Director (Economic Affairs), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.

The Telecom Industry was represented by Mr. Aamir Ibrahim, VP Mobilink, Maj. Gen. (R) Hamid Hassan Butt, GM Coordination Ufone, Mr Moqeem Ul Haque GM Strategy Ufone, Mr. Irfan Wahab Khan, Executive Vice President Telenor, Mr. Qazi Muhammad Idris, Director Public & Govt. Affairs, Telenor, Mr. Ahmad Faisal Sr. Manager Regulatory Affairs Zong and Syed Ahmed Suhail Pirzada Consultant Zong-SANA

All this was not done in one policy. Experts exploited variants and focused both in civil and military spheres. Post 9/11 bonanza gave a shot in the arm for the military us of Information Technology. Pakistan explored various sources and invited Intent of Interest from several European, American companies Space Net and German famous Siemens for its demands for civil and military requirements particularly for moderanisation of its Airforce early warning radars.

With on going experimentation from different organizations like Army, Navy, Air-force, Information Technology and 60s not all time a success SUPARCO, experts finally decided to acquire space technology for launching of Satellites, Uplinking and Downlinking facilities for tv and telecommunication facilities in endeavoured to go for a comprehensive deal with the People’s Republic of China.

A deal was sealed between Pakistan and China’s Great Wall Industry. Under the fresh deal. It will launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern Sichuan Province. The Great Wall Industry in collaboration of Norinco ground control facilities for the satellite will be delivered to the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission after it enters orbit.

CGWIC and its sub-contractors are responsible for the design, manufacturing, final assembly, testing and launch of the satellite. It will have a life span of 15 years. Pakistan will use it for domestic telecommunication and broadcast services. Contracts for the satellite deal were sealed Wednesday in the presence of presidents from both countries. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari was in Beijing for his first state visit since taking office in September.
Courtesy: Arab News

I agree with Schumacher’s contention because for the country to prosper it is important that it uses all its resources including labor. I also believe that it is more important to have everyone employed even if it means lower output per person because as Schumacher points out, that it is only when “they [the workers] experience that their time and labor is of value that they can become interested in making it more valuable.” Moreover, it is extremely crucial that the new workplaces that are brought into these rural areas are numerous, cheap, encourage local production from available resources, and minimize the amount of technical skills required. These conditions, however, are only possible when there is a concentrated effort to build and apply what Schumacher calls “intermediate technology.”

Schumacher’s concept of intermediate technology helped me gain several new perspectives about the relationship between technology, work opportunities, and rural development. Intermediate technology not only seeks to eliminate the problem of rural unemployment by creating many jobs but can also reverse the damage of highly sophisticated “$1,000 technology” in developing nations. The developing countries that import the expensive $1000 technology into their economies, expecting a quick economic boom, “inevitable kill off the [existing] $1-technology at an alarming rate, destroying workplaces much faster than modern workplaces can be created” from the $1000 technology.

The answer neither lies in the $1 indigenous technology that leads to rural unemployment in the first place nor in the sophisticated $1000 technology but in low-capital intermediate technology consisting of easy to understand, simple, and maintainable equipment. Such cheap equipment would not only fit smoothly into the highly underdeveloped environment of the non-modern sector but also lead to the creation of a vast number of workplaces and millions of jobs for the unemployed in the village.

Mr Kaira said that the telecom industry in Pakistan is fast growing and paying a lot in terms of revenue however, a natural consequence of the tremendous growth are challenges for operators, regulators and policy makers, which the government is committed to solving with full determination, he added.

The minister informed that the ministry has undertaken review of the telecom policy. He said that the forthcoming telecom policy would be a single consolidated and uniform policy, ready hopefully by January next year, with fixed line, mobile broadband and USF policies combined together following a industry consultation with telecom operators, vendors, regulator and other stakeholders in the process. Ha said that the government will do everything possible to support and facilitate the sector. We don’t want to impose authority in any way and want to restrict to minimal intervention, he said.

Appreciating the Summit, he said that the event organized by SAMENA has provided a platform and a unique opportunity for knowledge experience sharing, generating dialogue and identifying bottlenecks in important telecom and regulatory areas of the telecom sector. Mr. Thomas W. Wilson founder of the SAMENA Telecom Council, Dr. Muhammad Yasin (PTA), Mr Adil Rauf(Nortel),Mr. Tim Ward(Sonus),Mr Aamir Sardar (Nokia Siemens) also participated amongst others in the discussion on 3G ,wimax and future technologies. -SANA

During a ceremony at the Institute, Weqar ul Islam, Nokia Siemens Networks Country Director for Pakistan & Afghanistan, Irfan Wahab Khan, Executive Vice President Telenor Pakistan and Muhammad Arshad Bhatti, Secretary Technical & Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) cut the ribbon to inaugurate the program’s first telecommunications lab. This new milestone comes after the successful launch of the Telecom Futures program at TEVTA’s Lahore campus.

The Telecom Futures program, initiated by Telenor Pakistan in partnership with Nokia Siemens Networks and TEVTA provides a 2-year higher national diploma based on an advanced curriculum, scholarships, hands-on-training and internship opportunities to students. It is the first industry-academia collaboration in telecommunications in Pakistan aimed at developing human resources from deprived backgrounds.

Weqar ul Islam said, “The Telecom Futures program is an exemplary industry-academia partnership in the telecommunications sector that is helping to create real opportunities for Pakistani youth. This year the telecoms industry in Pakistan has taken significant steps forward in terms of technology investments as well as contributing towards the community in the country.”Our intention is assisting academia to achieve the objective of enabling and assisting students by offering them internships, developing curriculum, facilitating technical visits on sites for students,” continued Weqar Ul Islam.

Commenting on the launch, Executive Vice President Telenor Pakistan Irfan Wahab Khan said: “Telenor Pakistan realizes that technical and vocational training institutes are critical to harnessing and developing the talents of people from all backgrounds, not least because we recognize there is a huge potential in this area. The Telecom Futures program will build on TEVTA’s Higher National Diploma in Telecom by aligning curriculum to industry expectations, providing advanced training and rewards to teachers, sharing specialized equipment with students, and offering internships or jobs to suitable diploma holders.

“At the end, what we want to create is a scalable model for implementation, an education and training model that improves the opportunities for local people, and increases the employability of vocational diploma holders. We hope the project will bring real hope to the local youth and help them get their fair share from the Telecom Promise.” Four deserving HND diploma students will be interning with Telenor Pakistan & Nokia Siemens Networks this summer as part of the Telecom Futures program.

Muhammad Arshad Bhatti, Secretary TEVTA said he was excited at the development potential in this new phase of Telecom Futures, “With tremendous telecoms growth and an exceptional pool of talent within the country, the Telecom Futures program will help to increase local skill-sets and diminish our reliance on the ex-pat labour market. We are hopeful that along with providing on the job training to students, this initiative will lead to better employment opportunities to deserving diploma holders from all backgrounds.”

Telenor Pakistan, Nokia Siemens Networks and TEVTA first launched Telecom Futures in Raiwind-Lahore on 30th June, 2006. The HND Programme was launched by TEVTA under the supervision of Mohsin M. Syed, Member Board TEVTA and President Board of Management TEVTA.-SANA

This convenient and easily accessible news service by Pakistan’s leading telecom operator, can be simply subscribed to by sending ‘SUB’ to 131 and choosing from a range of categories including all news, breaking news, politics, finance and sports.

Speaking about the new value added service, Asher Yaqub Khan, CMO Ufone, said, “Ufone has always kept pace with the ever growing expectations of mobile users in the country. We do this by not only focusing on high quality service, which is always a benchmark of Ufone, but also by providing innovative value added services that add convenience and amusement to the everyday lives of our customers. And this time, with the help of Al Jazeera News, we are bringing the world to your pocket.”-SANA

While taking active part in discussion held on the theme “ Shaping Government Policy to Support Efficient, Effective and transparent Governance”, the minister underscored the need for the use of Information Technology by the developing countries like Pakistan for dissemination of vital information and services to the general public by the government’s public service departments without and human interface. He said in Pakistan Government has emphasized the use of internet for dissemination of information and services to the people which has helped in creating transparency in the work processes which is fundamental ingredient for good governance.

The e-Government Forum was also attended by Deputy Minister for Water and Communication, Malaysia, Minister for Transport and Communication, Republic of Maldives, Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Afghanistan, Minister for Communication and Information, Paupa New Guinea, and representative of regional and international IT institutions.

During his stay in Malaysia, the Minister also visited the High Commission for Pakistan in Malaysia, met with the officers and had a detailed meeting with His Excellency, the High Commissioner for Pakistan, Lt. General (Rtd) Tahir Mahmud Qazi. During the meeting various ways and means were discussed to improve level of bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Malaysia, especially in the field of Information Technology.-SANA

Unlike designing a new computer such as the OLPC initiative, with all of the potential for infighting and frayed egos, Web 2.0 offerings don’t care which processor or operating system they use. The browser becomes the operating system for many people in the developing world, as they simply go to the nearest Internet cafe and log onto their Gmail account or access their Facebook profile. It doesn’t matter to them whether the computer is running Linux, Windows, BSD or some entirely different operating system. The ability to browse the Internet, send e-mail, contact people with similar interests in other parts of the world, create documents, etc. are many of the basic features that personal computers first attracted a large user base with, but Web 2.0 has the ability to do this without a large investment in hardware.

Perhaps it will be possible to narrow the digital divide in the near future, through a combination of subsidized Internet cafes in small towns and villages, coupled with Web 2.0 applications. This would provide a far more cost effective use of processor cycles and electrical power than today’s personal computers and has the potential to empower populations that have up to this point not had access.

The alliance foresees the development of a range of prestige portable and home consumer electronics products matching Giorgio Armani’s iconic design aesthetic with Samsung’s cutting-edge technology and leadership in consumer electronics. Unique design elements include a stylish remote control and a special 4-mode lighted power switch that customizes the display of the two companies’ logos on the front of the television. At rest, the remote mirrors the simple elegance of the television itself. When handled, the unit immediately comes alive with radiant backlights to present a full range of convenient features. The television also comes with a smaller, pebble-shaped remote for basic functions that rests at the corner of the stand.

The unit is further accentuated by glass in the front and shows simple but solid natural lines that convey pure emotional expression. Both models, 46-inch and 52-inch, are to incorporate many of the features and cutting-edge technologically, such as 100Hz Full HD and HDMI connectors, that have made Samsung Televisions world renowned for their outstanding picture quality and high-end functionality. Giorgio Armani said, “There was once a time when one would want to hide a television as it never failed to disturb the ambience of a living room. Now, through the incredible advance in technology, flat screen televisions can easily be incorporated into the design solution for a home.”

Bookeun Yoon, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Division of Samsung Electronics said, “There are more and more consumers today who are increasingly style conscious in their selection of home electronics products. They are looking for products that unite the best contemporary design with technological performance and functionality. This partnership therefore affords us the chance to offer those consumers unique products matching Giorgio Armani’s sophisticated, iconic style with Samsung’s leading technology.”-SANA

Referring to construction of Kalabagh dam, he said there were credible arguments for and against this project but even the projects which have political consensus like Bhasha dam are not being taken up.
“Our planning commission, political parties and bureaucracy is not performing their duties (to meet energy crisis),” Professor Khurshid added. He was critical of Wapda and said it is highly inefficient and mismanaged organisation with line losses 50 to 60 percent more than internationally accepted limit.The Wapda officials, he added, were misusing 1500 MW of electricity.

Professor Khurshid called for saving energy and advocated that free petrol and other perks to government officials should be stopped. He also urged the government to set an example of austerity for the general public by conserving energy. He said at the rate of current consumption, gas reserves in Pakistan will not last for more than eight years. Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidery said the government needs to chalk out a comprehensive strategy to overcome the present energy crisis. In the past, he said, no one tried to resolve the crisis which was today at its peak.

Balochistan, he added, is not being provided its promised share of 500 MW of electricity which is badly affecting the people’s lives there. Tahir Hussain Mashahdi said Sindh province was not getting power supply for 12 to 14 hours of the day which in turn also affects the functioning of the hospitals. He called for switching over to solar and wind resources to produce energy.

Naeem Hussain Chattha opined that the energy crisis has its ramifications like unemployment and poor agricultural output. He admitted that the previous government was voted out due to power and flour crisis in the country and the new government has been given the mandate to steer the country out of the crisis.

Senator Mumtaz Hussain said that the country has abundant coal reserves which should be utilized for power generation being a cheaper source of energy. Senator Ismail Buledi blamed the previous government for the present energy crisis in the country.He lamented that despite long debates in the Senate no practical steps were taken in the past. He hoped that the government in the light of Senate recommendations would seriously take practical steps to overcome this problem. He suggested that all government institutions including the President House and the Prime Minister House not be excluded from loadshedding.

Salim Saifullah Khan said that blame game on the issue should end and practicable suggestions be forwarded to the government for meeting power shortfall. He said often it is alleged that power theft is rampant in NWFP, but added that in fact several big fish in the Punjab and Sindh were involved in power theft.

Senator Dr Javed Leghari said better load management, setting up of rental power station and exploitation of resources are inevitable to produce electricity for people’s deliverance from prevailing energy crisis. He said Pakistan has plenty of reservoirs of coal but any policy to ensure their proper usage is still awaited. “There is a reservoir of 135 billion tonne of coal in Tharparkar that can help produce more or less 20,000 MW of electricity,” he said. He said Germany and India are producing 20, 000 MW and 8,000 MW of electricity respectively form coal, while unfortunately Pakistan is making no use of this precious natural resource.

Dr Abdul Khaliq said we are not paying attention to the issue to the extent it needs. He suggested that Pakistan should import electricity from Iran for Balochistan as it would cost comparatively lesser than other measures. The senator also stressed that work on Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project should be intensified adding that it would contribute a lot for long-term solution to the energy crisis.

Senator Raza Mohammed Raza said Pakistan has not invested even a single penny on hydel power projects. He said NWFP province is rich of natural resources but is getting electricity on the higher rates. He said more or less 44,000 villages in NWFP are without electricity despite the fact that the province is contributing a lot in the production of electricity. He demanded that the province should be provided electricity on production cost.

Senator Baligh-ul-Agha criticized the hours-long power cuts in Balochistan province. She said not only the agriculture but also the education of the children is being affected due to the prevailing situation. Senator Amjad Abbas endorsed the view point of his colleagues saying that power should be cut in Parliament Lodges and Parliament House also to make the high ups realize the sufferings caused by the power outage.

Senator Abdur Razzaq Thaheem opposed the plan of the government that Kalabagh Dam would be constructed after taking all provinces into confidence. He said three of the four provincial assemblies have opposed the project so it would be unreasonable to ignite that controversy again in the House.

Senator Khalid Ranjha said that the opposition was not indulging in unnecessary criticism and was presenting constructive criticism. He called for reformation of WAPDA distribution system to control line losses. He said that most of the litigation in the courts was being done against Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA).He was of the opinion that presently there is no mechanism of complaint registration in the WAPDA.
courtesy Arab News

He said that it was IBM that set up the first IT Centre in Larkana which was a direct initiative of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed back in 1993 -94. IBM has invested USD 0.8 Million in a one Million dollar total investment of setting up a Linux Lab at NUST (National University of Science and Technology Rawalpindi).IBM has embarked upon yet another initiative of facilitating early learning for pre-school children under its “Kids Smart Initiative” by providing modular furniture with embedded computers in attractive colors in several schools in Sindh. It was IBM which brought in specialist Trauma doctors from Harvard Medical School USA to train a large pool of Pakistani Doctors in effective trauma management.

Mr. Kaira appreciated IBM’S efforts and offered all possible support in furthering such initiatives. He reiterated that the ways and means of accelerating further growth in industry ,if deemed necessary will be taken up with the concerned offices at the highest levels.-SANA

Similarly, in AJK 8 trades of 3-6 months duration of courses in 12 tehsils will be covered where proposed number of beneficiary centers is 42. A total number of 11760 persons will be trained. Range of the courses includes Light Engineering, Hospitality, Construction, Skills for women, Agriculture and Food Processing and Services Sector. The courses are offered free of charge and the selected candidates will be paid a stipend of Rs. 2000/- per month during the course. Duration of the courses is from three to six months. The schemes are aimed at equipping unemployed youth with modern technical skills, upgrading their skills for better jobs to raise their income and ultimately alleviate poverty.

National Vocational & Technical Education Commission (NAVTEC) supports Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions (TVET) that are running courses relevant to market needs. NAVTEC also supports TVET institutions to create additional capacity to train unemployed educated youth in the sectors facing skills shortage as envisioned by the President and under Prime Minister’s special initiative for skills development. Schedule for training courses will be announced by concerned training providers training institutes in National/regional media later on. Special emphasis has been given to training of women and disadvantaged section of society and backward areas of AJK and Punjab which have so far uncovered in technical and vocational education.-SANA

Greater Range
To ensure maximum refueling flexibility in a wide-ranging battlefield, the Air Force made clear it was seeking an aerial refueling tanker that had the ability to deploy up to 9,500 nautical miles from its take-off base. The Air Force selection document says Northrop Grumman’s KC-45 exceeded this threshold. In contrast, Boeing’s protest submission indicates the KC-767 failed to meet it.

In a section explaining its conclusions, the Air Force wrote: “Benefit: (Northrop Grumman) can deploy to more locations from a given starting point un-refueled” with “Better range capability” than its competition.

The KC-45’s superior range is a product of its large fuel load (20 percent more than a KC-767), greater fuel efficiency, and exceptional take-off performance. The technical Air Force document points out that this combination of attributes provides the Air Force the ability to refuel aircraft — or transfer fuel to other tankers — at greater distances, concluding that “Northrop Grumman provides better fuel offloads at all distances from bases.”

Compared to the KC-767, the KC-45 can deliver more fuel at equal ranges (decreasing the number of aircraft required to meet mission requirements) or the same fuel load from greater distances (increasing potential Air Force basing options). In its decision document the Air Force said that Northrop Grumman offered “Significant refueling advantages” and that the KC-45’s “Aerial refueling capability was compelling to my decision.”

Furthermore, the Air Force added that the KC-45’s greater refueling capability “Enables it to execute (the mission) with 22 fewer aircraft than Boeing’s…an efficiency of significant value to the government.

That’s why, in a Feb. 29 Pentagon news conference announcing Northrop Grumman’s win, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Duncan McNabb said Northrop Grumman’s tanker, “Will keep us global by extending the range and persistence of our aircraft.”This is another reason why, as USA Today concluded in a recent editorial, “The available evidence indicates that the Air Force got the best airplane for the money.”

Ufone is not only a competitive telecom leader in the industry but an organization that has always been working towards an orderly corporate responsibility plan including ways of benefiting the young of our country who will for sure be a part of tomorrow’s strong workforce.

UExcel is a creditable step taken by Ufone and SoL with the main objective of showing students the avenues they can visit for self-development, positive mindsets, self-confidence, empowerment and meaningful expression. Also, students through this program are given a comprehensive understanding of the practical tips and tools regarding hiring and recruitment processes - particularly the ones prevailing at Ufone.

The first phase of the UExcel program by Ufone and SoL has already been completed in Karachi. Universities visited include Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Iqra University, PAF-KIET, University of Karachi, NED University of Engineering and Technology and Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST).

According to a report, Personal Computer density in Pakistan is 1.5, which compares unfavorably with other countries of Asia-Pacific Region. Despite the fact that the importance of the industry has always been acknowledged at official level and the government has also expressed strong resolve to take steps for the promotion of the industry but the ground realities are depicting the picture otherwise.

Private sector is contributing as the main driver for growth in this industry from last so many years but that alone is not enough to compete with these countries and what need to be done is to enhance computer-density-density as the computer density co-relates to several other parameters of development. It is necessary to take steps to improve the PC penetration and thereby bridge the digital divide.

A recent report is quite alarming in regard with Pakistan’s PC/Server market as it shows that the market has experienced a slowdown in 2007 with its annual growth rate declining to 9.6% from the 16.4% recorded during the previous year. The latest data in this regard released by Springboard Research, a leading innovator in the IT market industry says that Pakistan registered 629,836 unit shipments of PCs and servers in 2007. For the last reported period, Q4 2007, the market grew 11% YTY with 148,613 PC and server unit shipments.

While we make comparison with the growth of IT and computer industry in the other countries of the region, a serious question arises that why we are not at par with them when the private sector is striving hard to promote this vital sector of the economy and government has also declared the promotion of the sector as one of its top most priority. To answer this question we need to have a comparative look at the state of affairs and the actual role and incentives provided by concerned governments to their IT industry. Turkey has exempted its Computer industry from GST, import duty and corporate income tax while allowed personal income tax for 10 years. Vietnam has given the industry exemption of GST and import duty besides 4 years exemption of corporate income tax and relaxation in personal income tax ranging from 3 to 35 per cent. Thailand and Malaysia have also offered similar sort of incentives to their industry which is being translated into steady growth of this sector in above mention countries.

Despite the poor computer density in Pakistan, the private sector has made huge efforts to streamline the sector which is a backbone of the national economy as well all other sectors of the economy. As a result of this hard work Pakistan has achieved a certain level of success over the years but the sudden slowdown has created a panic in the market which needs to be addressed any further delay and government ought to come forward and rescue this ailing sector and to reinitiate the progress and growth of the sector.

The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), a partner institute of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Pakistan has recently issued “WEF Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008″, which ranks Pakistan 89th out of 127 countries in terms of nation’s preparedness to effectively promote business, improve investment climate and develop infrastructure. Pakistan was ranked as 84 on previous year and report shows five-point decline just in one year. The report also suggested that a coherent government vision on information and communication technologies, coupled with an early focus on education are keys to spur network readiness and to lay the foundations for sustainable growth. The contents of the report ought to be an eye-opener for the decision makers especially in regard with policies related to IT and computer industry.

While revisiting to the report of Springboard Research, we find some interesting comments regarding computer industry of Pakistan. The reports says that Pakistan’s IT market is in between a “growth” and “decline” stage, where the country’s political stability will play a major role in overall market performance. The report also says that before the imposition of the 15% GST in June 2006, Pakistan’s PC/Server market was a “diamond in the rough”, but since then, a downward trend in the IT market has been noticed. The government’s recent decision to not withdraw or reduce the GST has weakened the growing IT market in the country, as well as decreased the confidence of the private investor.

The reports and data available suggest that the introduction of the 15% Sales Tax in the financial year 2006-07 increased the price of computers which increased the cost of doing business. The average price of PC reported by local assemblers and retailers increased up to 20%. This is one of the factors which have negatively impacted the growth of the IT sector as evident by export figures for the first six months of the financial year 2007-08. If the value of exports for the first six months is extrapolated to the full year it would be 149.37 Million, which is a growth of 28.7% over the previous year. This is well below the growth registered in previous years.

Though, the previous governments could not comprehend the affects of slowdown of computer industry in Pakistan, its heartening that the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet considered the Ministry of Information Technology Summary sent in February last recommends that certain relief steps ought to be taken to save the computer industry of the country. Its worth to mention here that in the IT policy approved by the Cabinet in the year 2000 was comprised upon various incentives to promote the IT Sector of the country.

Initially these steps mad a positive impact on the domestic growth as well as IT exports, but the derailing and reversing of the policy has resulted as huge damage for the industry as well as the interests computer literate community in the country, which needs to be strengthen instead of discouragement. The computer industry is still optimistic that sanity will finally prevail at decision-making level and Pakistan will again on the path of growth and progress of this vital sector.