ISLAMABAD
The cellular license renewal ceremony for Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan was held today at PTA Headquarters, Islamabad. Three Cellular Mobile Operators i.e. Telenor Pakistan, PMCL (Jazz) and PTML (Ufone) have deposited payment (50% of the PTA determined license fee) amounting to PKR 3.19Billion against their license renewal fee with PTA.
The event was attended by Federal Secretary for IT & Telecommunication, Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput, Chairman PTA, Major General Amir Azim Bajwa (R); Member Finance PTA, Muhammad Naveed and Member Compliance & Enforcement PTA, Dr. Khawar Siddique Khokhar;Executive Director, Frequency Allocation Board (FAB); Joint Secretary GilgitBaltistan Council; Deputy Secretary (Finance) and Deputy Secretary (Welfare & Development) AJ&K Counciland senior officers of PTA. CEOs of Telenor, Jazz and Ufone along with senior representatives of CMOs also attended the event.
On the occasion, Chairman PTA lauded the efforts of the cellular operators for playing a crucial role in providing connectivity across these regions. He also appreciated the tireless efforts of concerned officials of PTA, FAB and MoIT for timely conclusion of the renewal process. He further stated that AJ&K and GB are the prime areas of tourism in Pakistan and the license renewal will pave the way for provision of 3G/4G and Next Generation Mobile Services to the consumers of these areas as well to the tourists. Continuous efforts are being made to bring state of the art telecommunication services to far flung areas enabling access to a multitude of opportunities for businesses, education and health.
On this occasion Secretary IT & T, Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput congratulated the mobile operators on renewal of licenses. He said that AJ&K and GB have immense importance in government policies, and it is the government’s priority to provide advanced telecom services in these regions. He said that there are vast opportunities for public-private collaboration in various sectors including telecoms.
It is pertinent to mention that due to license renewals, this will not only contribute towards uninterrupted provision of better telecom services to the people of AJ&K and GB but will also help in promotion of competition and investment in the telecom sector.