A record 37 projects worth over Rs31 billion have been contracted in the three years since the present administration took charge, notably in the past two years; in FY 2019-20, 12 projects were contracted, in FY 2020-21, 25 projects were contracted, and in FY 2020-21. The projects were launched by the Ministry of IT and Telecom (MOITT) through Universal Service (USF) during a meeting of the USF board of directors. According to a release, the projects include Rs3.5 billion for the province of Balochistan. Federal minister Syed Amin-Ul-Haque said the government was dedicated to connecting people in distant places to the digital world, and that only the lowest-bidding telecom companies had been chosen for all of the projects. “It’s critical that USF continues to bridge the digital divide and complete all projects on schedule in the future.” From 2018 to date, the number of projects for delivering optical fibre cable and internet services has reached a new high of 56, with a total cost (subsidy) exceeding Rs52 billion. With a subsidy of Rs2.25 billion and a one-year completion period, Pakistan Mobile Company Limited (Jazz) was chosen to service the Punjab districts of Jhang, Bhakkar, and Toba Tek Singh. Another broadband projects under the optical fibre cable programme was awarded to PTCL, which would lay a 106-kilometer cable through six union councils between Haripur and Islamabad for a total cost of Rs410 million, with a subsidy of Rs235 million.
