Further
Reduction in Bandwidth Rates
The Pakistan
Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) on the directives of Ministry
of Science and Technology (MoST) has further reduced Internet bandwidth
rates for the promotion of IT in Pakistan. The news rates are one of the
lowest in South Asia and Far East, said Federal Minister for Science
& Technology, Prof. Atta in a press conference.
This new reduction brings
the bandwidth prices to half of prices announced in Sept. 2000 for ISPs
and corporate sector and to 15th for software, education and
specialized IT related services. These reductions are for provision of
bandwidth through SEA-ME-WE-III upto New York.
PTCL will start receiving
applications based on these rates from 15th January 2001 and
new demand will be activated within 6-8 weeks after its registration.
Some phpects of the tariffs proposal and tabulation of sub-rate IP Port
connectivity are as under
-
Price for Software
Export and other IT related activities like educational institutions
, call centers will be US$ 6,000 per E1 per month excluding DXX
charges.
-
Bandwidth rate for
connectivity on IP Port for commercial ISPs and corporate customers
will be US$ 15,000 per E1/month excluding DXX charges.
-
Proposed sub-rates
and monthly tariffs for IP Port connectivity for ISPs are as
follows:
|
Speed (IP Port)
|
Monthly Tariff
|
|
KBPS
|
US $
|
|
1024
|
9,000
|
|
512
|
5,300
|
|
256
|
3,100
|
NOTE-1:
These are based on SEA-ME-WE3 not fully restorable. Above rates
are exclusive of DX charges of Rs.55,00 (US$ 1000) per month.
NOTE-II:
Sub-rate tariffs are based on multiplying factors already agreed for
half circuit IP connectivity. Sub-rates other than those mentioned above
are not available.
For the software houses
the following rates for sub-rate for IP Port connectivity will apply:
|
Speed (IP Port)
|
Monthly Tariff
|
|
KBPS
|
US$
|
|
1024
|
3,600
|
|
512
|
2,120
|
|
256
|
1,240
|
The new rate reduction is
over and above 53% and 25% reductions already announced in May and
September 2000 respectively. This new measure shall benefit al Internet
end-users and overall IT industry players.
Internet
for Education
Public sector
universities defined by MoST
will be provided bandwidth free of cost up to 256 kbps for a period of
four years. Bandwidth above 256 kbps will be provided at applicable
rates, costof which will be borne by the respective universities. PTCL
will provide access infrastructure (up to NTU, DTU or radio modem, as
the case may be) and bandwidth (256 kbps) through funding from its
R&D Fund.
All universities that
acquire an ISP license from PTA and get an UIN (131 code) will be
treated as commercial ISPs and charged accordingly.
Private sector degree
awarding accredited universities and educational institutions will be
provided bandwidth at applicable rates of software houses and
educational institutions.
Backbone Network and
Reduction of Rates
Some examples of domestic
bandwidth rate reductions are tabulated hereunder:
|
Interconnect
Operators (64, 128 and 256K)
|
64, 128, 256K
|
256 kbps to 2
Mbits
|
|
40-50%
|
50-60%
|
|
Private Sector
& Corporate Leased Lines
|
30-35%
|
30-35%
|
PTCL is now purchasing
bulk capacity on full STM1 (155Mbps) basis for international
connectivity and enhancing its domestic bandwidth to 10Gbps system. In
addition another STM1 will be procured for which competitive bids are in
process of evaluation. This will enhance bandwidth provisioning and
availability of capacity with the company.
Outsourcing IT Facilities
PTCL is outsourcing
facilities like Tele-housing, VoIP, DSL technologies, ISDN (PRI) and
Basic Rate Access (BRA) services etc through proactive measure with
private sector. In a recently singed MoU with Siemens by Chairman PTCL,
prices for PRI and other items have been got further reduction by at
least 30%. Similar MoUs are being singed with other industry players in
the interest of the industry. This gesture from vendors like Siemens,
Germany shows confidence of international players on policy initiative
of the MoST and PTCL. The company is also taking initiative to develop
infrastructure like modems wholesaling etc to reduce the cost of
investment of ISPs.
In the recent visits to
China, MoST delegation had discussions how China Telecom developed
wideband connectivity. As a result of interaction of China, PTCL would
take major initiatives shortly for laying optical fibre cables in
metropolitan areas to cater to the bandwidth requirements of business
and important customers to establish Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) and
high capacity Fibre Rings.
