[WSIS CS-Plenary] Pakistan Gearing up for massive Rural ICT Telecentre Movement - Special News

[Fouad Riaz Bajwa]

Special News 
Pakistan Gearing up for massive Rural Telecentre Movement - 
Gender, Youth & Old Citizens will benefit widely 

By Fouad Riaz Bajwa
Country Programme Manager
Pakistan Telecenter Initiative (PTI)
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Telecenters 

Pakistan is gearing up for a massive and expansive Telecentre movement
evolving quietly as a multi-stakeholder initiative. This initiative is
neither a one man show nor can it be attributed to a single entity as the
movement has been influenced by ICT4D multi-stakeholder contributions
towards identifying and realizing where the country stands in terms of its
ICT infrastructure, how can this infrastructure be utilized to deliver an
efficient model for Telecenters in the country, with of course, support
through a fund of Pakistani Rupees 100 Billion under the Universal Service
Fund USF available for funding and managing this movement. However, the
crown for advocating and initiating the process of Telecentres goes to both
the World Bank and Mr. Salman Ansari of SATC (Salman Ansari Technology
Consultants) who has completed the final report titled "Telecenters and
Community Resource and Information Centers in Pakistan" programme that will
be targeting setting up of rural ‘Tele-centers’ in Pakistan under the
Universal Service Fund Program. 

In a telephonic discussion with Mr. Salman, Ex-Advisor to the Minister of
IT&T and CEO SATC discussed that the Government of Pakistan in collaboration
with the World Bank, PTA, PSO, Ministry of IT&T, Intel, Allama Iqbal Open
University, FOSSFP: Free and Open Source Software Foundation of Pakistan,
Ubuntu Pakistan, International Free and Open Source Software Foundation
iFOSSF, UNDP-APDIP International Open Source Network and various Mobile
Cellular Operators were preparing to execute the "Telecenters and Community
Resource and Information Centers in Pakistan" programme that will be
targeting setting up of rural ‘Tele-centers’ in Pakistan under the Universal
Service Fund Program. The report has been completed by SATC and approved by
World Bank and the project execution will be starting in near future. 

The Telecenters initiative will be connecting both disadvantaged and rural
regions through various technologies including fiber optics, DVB2 Satellites
and wireless Networking. A key target of the initiative is to reduce the
Digital Divide in Pakistan by extending low-cost computer hardware running
localized Urdu language content through Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)
within every village in Pakistan. Services at these community resource and
information centers will include computer literacy, PCOs, VOIP, Photocopy
and Fax facilities ensuring sustainability of the centres through
public-private partnerships promoting entrepreneurship for both gender and
youth. The Telecenter initiative in Pakistan will employ wireless networks
including high power Wifi solutions, VSAT, TDMA terminals, DBVS-2 second
generation giving priority to bring in broadband into the rural, not for
people to surf the internet but to provide services including video
conferencing and continuous connectivity. Network meshes of villages will be
created to sustain the networks of continuous connectivity.

Source: http://ifossf.org/blog/fouad_bajwa/20061208/telecenters_in_pakistan


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