ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s local mobile industry witnessed remarkable growth as companies have manufactured around 19.7 million mobile phones and smart devices during last calendar year, especially after government introduced Mobile Manufacturing Policy to encourage local production.

“Due to increased local manufacturing, import of mobile and smartphone devices has decreased from 10.26 million to record level of 1.37 million,” senior official of Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication said.

Under Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy, he said around 30 mobile manufacturers have been issued licenses to start local production of mobile devices. “A mobile device manufacturing policy had been made to encourage local production and counter security threat.”

He said mobile devices produced by these manufacturers would not only be sold in country but could also be exported to other competitive markets of region and beyond. He said number of 3G and 4G service users in Pakistan had significantly increased and reached 121 million by end of November 2022, while number of active mobile SIMs reached 194 million during same period. Number of broadband subscribers reached 124 million whereas broadband penetration was recorded at 56.00 percent.

Published in The Daily National Courier, January, 11 2023

Like Business on Facebook, follow @DailyNCourier on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.