Internet service restored in
Balochistan after four years, no need to travel for hours
Mobile internet services closed for
four years have been restored in five districts of Pakistan's Balochistan
province.
These services were shut down due to
security concerns that made it difficult for ordinary users to communicate and
access essential services, especially for students taking online classes.
Consumers in the affected districts
have expressed happiness over the restoration of internet services.
Earlier, internet service was
suspended for several months in Pishin, Qila Abdullah and Mastung districts,
which were later restored, but mobile internet service in Kich, Panjgur,
Awaran, Kalat and Washik districts of Balochistan was cut off from February
2017.
Compared to the rest of Balochistan,
the government and the restoration of law and order in these areas
It has been a challenge for security
agencies.
Haris Mehmood Chaudhry, chief
executive officer of Universal Services at the Ministry of Information
Technology and Telecommunications, told Urdu News that internet services in
Balochistan were shut down due to security concerns.
"Terrorists in these areas used
to communicate with each other through internet services, but now the law and
order situation in Balochistan is improving, so the concerned agencies have
been asked to find another way to stop the terrorists from communicating with
each other. Find out. '
Talking to media in Quetta,
Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal said, "In the past, some decisions
were taken regarding the closure of internet service. Now that the situation
has improved, we have requested the federal government to restore net
services."
Khurram Ali Mehran, spokesman for the
Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, told Urdu News that after reviewing the
security situation by relevant forums, Balochistan's districts of Ketch
(including Turbat city), Awaran, Panjgur, Washik and Kalat and Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa districts It was decided in principle to restore internet services
in Khyber.
The spokesman said mobile phone
operators would also be asked to review the existing 3G and 4G upgrades of
their 2G sites and network expansion where possible so that residents in these
areas could have better voice and Data services can be provided.
According to a PTA spokesperson, the
restoration of data services will help citizens meet their needs related to
education, health, trade and communication.
Internet services will be restored in
phases after reviewing the security situation in other areas.
A journey of 600 km and an additional
cost of Rs 25,000 per month for internet access
Muhammad Akhtar Baloch, a resident of
Zhao area of Awaran district of Balochistan, is doing M.Phil in Zoology from
Balochistan University. Lack of 3G and 4G services in their hometown of Zhao
made it difficult for them to get online classes.
According to Mohammad Akhtar, “When
all the educational institutions were closed during Corona, the university
hostels were vacated and we had to go home. He stayed there for four months. I
couldn't take online classes because I didn't have internet, so I wasted my
whole semester. '
"I was forced to go to Quetta,
600 km from home, just for the sake of high speed internet, where I rented a
room with a friend," he said. I have to bear additional expenses up to Rs
25,000 per month.
He said that Awaran is the only
district of Pakistan which has no paved road to connect with other districts.
"We have to cover a distance of
92 km in five hours to reach the paved road from our village to the nearby
Lasbela district. If there was an internet service, I would sit at home and
take my classes in comfort. '
He said he hoped he would no longer
have to travel 600km to continue his studies and access the internet.
Thousands of students lost their
entire year due to the internet shutdown
Turbat University is the largest
university in the Makran division comprising Ketch, Panjgur and Gwadar
districts. Three thousand students study here.
Mir Bahed, Protocol Officer, Turbat
University, told Urdu News that 65% of the university is in rural areas where
there is no internet facility. The remaining 35% of students live in Turbat and
other urban areas, but most of them did not have access to the internet due to
the suspension of 3G and 4G services.
He said that Turbat University has
been closed since March last year. In the meantime, the university remained
open for only one or two months. There were no online classes during this time,
so students lost their entire year due to the lack of internet.
3G and 4G services have also been
shut down in Kalat for the last four and a half years.
Abdullah Lehri, a journalist from
Kalat, told Urdu News that despite spending about Rs. 3,000 per month on PTCL's
internet, the required speed was not available, which led to severe
difficulties in transmitting news.
Users from the affected districts
also congratulated each other on social networking sites, expressing happiness
over the restoration of the Internet.
Plans to provide mobile phone and
internet facilities to 80% of the population in Balochistan
Haris Mehmood Chaudhry, chief
executive officer of Universal Services, told Urdu News that dozens of projects
are underway to ensure mobile phone and internet access to 60 to 80 percent of
Balochistan's population in the next three years.
"Nine billion rupees are being
spent on projects to provide high speed 3G 4G internet and mobile phone service
to more than 2,000 locations in Balochistan and a population of 2 million
through the Universal Service Fund."
"In addition, the provision of
mobile phone and internet service on 1780 km of highways in Balochistan will be
possible in the next two to three years," he said.
Haris Mohammad Chaudhry said that
Ufone has been awarded a contract worth Rs 2 billion to provide 3G and 4G
internet services to a population of six to seven lakh in Turbat.
"Similarly, Telenor has been
given a Rs 1 billion plan to provide internet and mobile phone services to
600,000 customers in Chaghi and Noshki."
He further said that Rs. 50 crore is
being spent on a similar project in Mastung.