ISLAMABAD by IRFAN UL HAQ
In line with the vision of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and the directions of Federal Minister for Interior, Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi, free Wi-Fi facilities will be provided to the citizens of Islamabad. In this regard, Chairman CDA and Chief Commissioner Islamabad, Muhammad Ali Randhawa, chaired an important meeting at the CDA Headquarters on Monday. The meeting was attended by the Managing Director of the National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC), Major General (R) Ali Farhan, CDA Member Finance Tahir Naeem, Member Planning Dr. Khalid Hafiz, Member Engineering Syed Nafasat Raza, Director IT and other senior officers.
The meeting was briefed that initially, free Wi-Fi facilities will be provided at thirty different locations in Islamabad for the convenience of citizens. These thirty locations include main Markazs, Metro and Electric Feeder Bus stations, parks and other high-traffic areas to ensure maximum citizens benefit from the free Wi-Fi service. The meeting was further informed that CDA’s technical team will provide complete support to NTC in this initiative.
Chairman CDA directed that an operational and marketing model be developed to make this system self-sustainable and the revenue generated from it should be utilized for the maintenance and upgradation of this facility.
The meeting was informed that the operation and maintenance of this system will be the responsibility of NTC. It was also highlighted that, under this system, Islamabad will soon be transformed into a free Wi-Fi city.
Chairman CDA Muhammad Ali Randhwa emphasized that no effort should be spared to digitize Islamabad and turn it into a free Wi-Fi city and all necessary resources must be utilized to ensure the uninterrupted provision of top-quality facilities to the citizens.
