2025 to be a year of significant changes bridging digital divide: Shaza
The National Broadband Network Forum 2024, organized by Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) in collaboration with Huawei was held in Islamabad on Monday under the theme “Gigabit for All.”
Chairman of the Senate, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani was the chief guest on the occasion while Minister of State for IT & Telecom, Shaza Fatima Khawaja was the guest of honour.
The day-long event brought together key figures in IT & Telecom sector, stakeholders, experts, private telecom companies’ CEOs and representatives and senior officials of the Ministry of IT & Telecom.
They highlighted challenges as well as opportunities and raised the pivotal issues in telecom sector. They reposed their faith in Pakistan’s market that is all set to welcome 5G spectrum and adopt the latest technologies.
CEO of Huawei Pakistan, Mr Ethan Sun, Chairman of the PTA Maj Gen (R) Hafeezur Rehman, CEO JAZZ and Chairman of the Mobilink Microfinance Bank (MMB) Aamir Ibrahim and President of Huawei’s Optical Access Network Product Line Mr Feng Zhishan also addressed the audience.
They shared their vision, discussed solutions to high-speed connectivity towards ‘Gigabit era’ and submitted recommendations to overcome roadblocks and make Pakistan digitally transformed.
In his address as Chief Guest, Chairman Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani emphasized broadband as a necessity for digital economic growth. He commended the PTA’s role in enhancing broadband penetration (59pc) but stressed the need to address the remaining gaps.
He also expressed appreciation of Huawei Pakistan’s commitment for ICT sector enablement over the past years, “Huawei, has been a major partner in the digital transformation of Pakistan, and we are looking forward to working closely together to further enable the industry in the fields of AI, Cloud and Big Data,” said the chief guest in his address.
Minister of State for IT, Shaza Fatima assured the government’s continued support to the telecom sector in bridging the digital divide. She said in the upcoming year, several expected developments would significantly improve the health of the county’s technology sector.
“In coming years, we anticipate a significant increase in investment in technology infrastructure,” she said.
Huawei’s CEO Ethan Sun reaffirmed Huawei’s commitment to providing cutting-edge broadband solutions, furthering Pakistan’s digital transformation.
Chairman PTA Maj Gen Hafeezur Rehman highlighted collaboration and innovation in achieving universal connectivity. Secretary MoIT pledged sustained efforts toward building a digitally inclusive Pakistan.
