Plan to make smartphones affordable for all

ISLAMABAD: In a big leap, every cellular phone consumer in Pakistan will essentially have a smart phone that will help boost the economy and ensure use of e-commerce by the common man including businessmen.

Well-placed sources in the Information Technology and Telecommunications Ministry told The News here on Thursday that the government would provide smart phones on easy installment and at a cheaper rate. Such a phone will cost twenty to one hundred thousand rupees. The smart phone will be provided on 20 to 30 per cent advance payment to the consumers. The mobile button operated and simple phones which are used currently through 2-G will cease to work on a deadline specified by the government as soon as the supply of smart phones will be started.

According to official figures 48 per cent of 190 million users of cellular phones in Pakistan are currently using old style or button-operated phones while 52 per cent are having smart phones. The users of 2-G phones could face financial difficulty in converting their phones to smart ones and for their convenience the installment scheme is being introduced.