close
Friday March 29, 2024

Un-digital Pakistan

December 02, 2021

The state of internet connectivity and pricing mechanism in Pakistan is unfortunate. PTCL, the leading internet service provider (ISP), has repeatedly increased its tariffs in the last 10 months. These increases range from Rs200 to Rs500 for different categories.

On the one hand, owing to its older infrastructure and technology, the company’s internet is slow and faulty. On the other, subscribers are heavily taxed and overcharged. Is this the way the government plans to digitalise Pakistan? The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) should check and curtail such frequent tariff hikes. Moreover, the company should introduce special incentivised packages for rural areas to make the internet accessible for them.

Dr Ali Naseem Chattha

Hafizabad