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3GSM: Pakistan wins award |
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Tuesday, 14 February 2006 |
The GSM Association, a global trade association representing more than 680 mobile operators, has announced that
Pakistan
has won the GSMA’s prestigious Government Leadership Award. The award exists to recognise exceptional work by governments globally in the field of mobile communications policy.
Pakistan
was chosen because it has made huge progress in establishing a thriving mobile communications sector in the past three years.
Rob Conway, CEO and board member of the GSM Association, presented the award toAwais Leghari, Pakistan’s Minister of Communications & IT and Major General Shazada Alam Malik, Chairman of the Pakistan Telecoms Authority, at the GSMA’s annual Leadership Dinner in Barcelona, attended by mobile industry CEOs and government ministers from across the world.
The Pakistani Government has transformed the mobile communications sector in its country in a very short period of time. In the past three years, the Government has privatised the leading Pakistani telecommunications provider, introduced much greater competition into the mobile market, established clear rules distinguishing between mobile and wireless local loop networks, and cut import duties on telecommunication equipment and reduced the import duties on mobile handsets to zero.
Government policies have had a considerable impact on increasing the penetration of mobile phones in
Pakistan
. The proportion of Pakistanis with a mobile has grown from under 1% in 2000 to over 13% in 2005, representing a tenfold increase from less than 2mn customers to over 20mn customers. This achievement demonstrates
Pakistan
’s success in establishing a progressive policy and regulatory regime and the right market conditions for the industry to develop.
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