ISLAMABAD: The Universal Service Fund (USF) Board on Thursday approved award of 8 contracts worth approximately over Rs10 billion to provide internet connectivity to about 3.3 million people through High-Speed Broadband services and Optic Fiber Cable (OFC) connectivity in the un-served and under-served areas of Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
The contracts were awarded to Jazz, PTCL, Ufone and Telenor. The completion time for all projects would be 16 months from the date of contract signing.
The USF Board also approved the over Rs31 billion annual budget of USF for the Fiscal Year 2022-23. The Secretary MOITT and Chairman USF Board, Mohsin Mushtaq Chandna, chaired the 82nd meeting of Board of Directors (BoD), said a news release.
Federal Minister for IT and Telecom Syed Amin-Ul-Haque, while congratulating the USF Board on approval of the projects, said, “From July 2018 to June 2022, USF has launched a record 57 projects of worth Rs62 billion which speaks volumes about its performance and a proof of its commitment to connect all the communities of Pakistan, enabling them to compete better in an economic environment that is constantly changing in response to technology evolutions.”
He said that the USF annual development budget for digital connectivity has increased from Rs18 billion to Rs31 billion in FY 2022-23 which will increase connectivity in backward areas and strengthen ICT activities.
“Efforts are being made to eliminate digital disparities in urban and rural areas. USF has launched projects in remote and backward areas of the four provinces of the country,” he added.
