Pakistan to launch ‘Smartphone for All’ program

This aims to extend mobile connectivity benefits to low-income citizens.

The Pakistan government is set to roll out a project that aims to connect and equip more citizens with smartphones through an easy payment scheme.

Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Dr. Umar Saif, said the “Smartphone for All” project will enable operators and vendors to directly sell smartphone through instalment plans and eventually drive up the number of connected citizens, including low-income individuals.

The IT minister said they are now working to establish a research and development fund to support mobile phone manufacturing companies, and facilitate the growth of the mobile phone manufacturing sector in the country.

Apart from delivering societal benefits from mobile connectivity to more users, another objective of the policy is to promote financial responsibility. He explained that subscribers who fail to pay instalments will have their devices blocked through the Device Identification, Registration, and Blocking System (DIRBS) enacted by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. 

Pakistan is the seventh largest mobile phone market with 190 million devices in use, according to Minister Saif. He added the government is aiming to reduce mobile phone imports through domestic manufacturing.