Archive for August 6th, 2007

The Road Forward For Broadband In Pakistan

Published by Babar Bhatti on August 6, 2007 under Broadband Internet, Consumer Rights, Digital Divide, Government Regulations, ICT, Infrastructure, PTCL, Pakistan, Strategy & Policy, Telecommunications

broadbandaccess.gifRemember the broadband dispute between PTCL and ISPs? The PTA determination (pdf file) on that has been released and it seems that the industry is finally heading in the right direction. It was high time for PTA to intervene and fix the broadband policy and regulatory issues which are slowing the broadband growth. Currently, there are only 65,000 broadband users in Pakistan with a growth rate of 15%, much lower than other comparable countries. The primary issue has always been price.

The main contention as mentioned above was about DSL rates and it was resolved when PTCL slashed bandwidth prices by 25% to 50% for its Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity on July 6, 2007. This positive change was welcomed by the telecom industry. PTCL also reduced the DSL line rental.

Here’s a list of all the other issues which were raised for telecom industry’s consultation:
  a) Crow flying vs. distance based charging of bandwidth by PTCL;
  b) Charging of line rent to DSL operators by PTCL;
  c) Access to Optic Fibre Access Network (OFAN) of PTCL to DSL operators;
  d) Provision of adequate collocation space by PTCL to DSL operators;
  e) Provision of Ethernet connectivity between PTCL exchanges;
  f) Improvements in DSL operators’ complaint handling mechanism by PTCL;
  g) Simplification of Standing Operating Procedures(SOPs) for activation of PTCL lines  
  for access to DSL operators; and
  h) Provision of broadband services by Cable TV service providers.

I am hoping that others who have more in-depth or first-hand experience of these issues will present their views as well. Are we on the right track yet?