Pakistan Drops Mobile Phone Charges by 50 Percent

The activation charges of mobile phone connections in Pakistan have been reduced from Rs1,000 to Rs500 per connection, beginning with the new fiscal year, which starts on July 1. However, a 15 per cent excise duty has been imposed on actual transaction value of payphone cards and prepaid calling cards. ‘The proposed measure would not put additional burden on consumers while the call charges would also remain the same. According to the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2005-06, the total estimated cost of 107 projects in the IT and Telecom…