Asfandyar Sandhela
The government has launched a programme to help people get their dream phone through an interest-free instalment plan.
The initiative will help cash-strapped people wanting to buy a smartphone. The “Smartphone For All” initiative, which will let people with low incomes purchase mobile phones through simple instalment, was introduced in Islamabad by Federal Minister of IT and Telecom Syed Amin Ul Haque. Collaboration between the GSMA and KistPay, the fastest-growing instalment payment service in Pakistan, has led to the launch of the initiative.
Along with Amin Ul Haq, Julian Gorman, the GSMA’s Head of Asia Pacific, spoke at the occasion. Asif Jafri of KistPay, Head of Policy Janet White, Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Major General (R) Aamir Azeem Bajwa, and the CEOs of Ufone, Jazz, Telenor, and Special Communication Organization (SCO) was also present at the launch event.
Asif Aziz, CCO Jazz, suggested that the government discontinue the import and local production of 2G phones, prioritize the local assembly of 4G-enabled smartphones, develop and implement a regulatory cover that allows telecom companies to offer smartphones on installments, and lower withholding tax on essential telecom services from 15% to 8% in order to help an additional 50 million people make the switch to mobile broadband over the next three years. This will accelerate the adoption of digital technology and greatly expand the general public’s socioeconomic opportunities.
Amin Ul Haq, a federal minister, said during remarks at the ceremony that anyone can join in the programme and get a mobile phone by paying 20 to 30% of the total cost of the equipment. He claimed that no assurances or elaborate papers were required, simply the ID card alone would be sufficient to complete the sale.
He added that phones priced between 10,000 and 100,000 rupees would initially be delivered over a period of three to twelve months. Modern software will be utilised in the gadgets, which won’t cost money and won’t be used anyplace else on the globe.
The plan, according to Amin Ul Haq, aims to increase phone accessibility for the general public while also introducing small enterprises to e-commerce as a way to take advantage of the industry’s potential.
The initiative has been introduced, the minister continued, to guarantee the availability of cell phones with improved connectivity. In order to provide connectivity throughout the entire nation, more than 70 projects totaling Rs. 65 billion are currently in development.
