Ministry awards contracts for broadband on M3, M5 motorways

ISLAMABAD: Ministry of IT and Telecom through Universal Service Fund (USF) has awarded contracts worth approximately Rs300 millionfor providing high speed mobile broadband services on M3 and M5 Motorways, a statement said on Wednesday.

Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque and Federal Minister for Communications Murad Saeed witnessed the contract signing ceremony held at the USF Office.

Murad Saeed congratulated everyone for launching the high-speed mobile broadband projects for the motorways. He said, “This will not only provide connectivity to the commuters on the motorways, but also enable immediate communication and rescue in case of an emergency.

The present government is working relentlessly to provide maximum facilities to the citizens of Pakistan in order to bring ease into their lives.”

Amin Ul Haque said through the M3 project, USF would be providing high-speed mobile broadband access to 54.92km of unserved road segment that passes through the districts of Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh and Khanewal.

This would not only enable the commuters on the Motorway, but also provide facilities to the residents of adjoining districts and villages.

Similarly, through the second project M5, high-speed mobile broadband coverage would be provided to 78.85km of unserved road segment that passes through the districts of Multan, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Kashmore, Ghotki and Sukkur.

The cost of awarded contracts is approximately Rs140 million for M3 project and Rs154 million for M5 project. Both projects would be completed in a span of 12 months.

“It is pertinent to mention that through USF’s Motorways and National Highways programme, 1,929km of road segment length has been provided with broadband coverage. We are committed to providing uninterrupted mobile network on all major highways of the country and we are moving fast in this regard,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the IT minister slammed Sindh government and said that the Local Government Act in Sindh was a black law. “Where are the trillions of rupees of NFC and Annual development funds of the province? There is not a single union council of the province which can be called a model,” he said.

Sindh government was leading the people of the province to disaster. The Ministry of IT has launched IT and telecommunication projects worth Rs8.5 billion for Sindh without any discrimination, he added.