[Letter] SCO! Please Facilitate Students of Gilgit-Baltistan with affordable Internet Package

The internet technology is an important asset of today’s society as the world is now almost compact enough to accommodate in hand due to the blessings of this technology. Tens of millions of people are using internet from all over the world. It is becoming inevitable in almost all the fields from business to education to have access to the internet nowadays. A student can take an online class and search the healthy stuff to accommodate more knowledge of the subject of his interest and a businessman can connect to the world from his workplace through video conference or electronic mails. In short internet is allowing people have more conveniences on their lives.

In Pakistan the PTCL is at its best to provide the latest broadband facilities to its subscribers, both wired and wireless. Besides providing broadband to the corporate customers, credit goes to PTCL for providing an appreciable internet package to the students at a nominal price of Rs 839/month for 1Mb speed with unlimited download.

Albeit the Special Communication Organization (SCO) , the major voice and data communication service provider in Gilgit-Baltistan & Kashmir, is providing internet broad band services in the region but charging Rs 999/Month for 1Mb speed allowing only 4Gb Traffic (compare with the unlimited traffic of PTCL).

It is a fact that SCO has a credit of providing  great services for the last 31 years in the mountainous terrains of Gilgit-Baltistan. However they have to plan some reachable packages for the students to contribute their part to the education field. By planning a PTCL like package to the students will boost up the SCO,s economy in one hand and will facilitate the students on the other.

Aftab Ahmed, (Mehran Engineering University)