Pakistan Wins International Telecom Leadership Award

Pakistan became the second country after Brazil to be picked up for the coveted trophy following a stiff competition with other contenders, including India. The GSM Association, a global trade association representing more than 680 mobile operators, awarded Pakistan its prestigious Government Leadership Award-2006 on Monday. The congress was being attended by mobile industry CEOs and government ministers from across the world. Pakistan was chosen as the most progressive economy in establishing a thriving mobile communications sector in the past three years. The award had been launched by the GSMA to recognize exceptional work by governments globally in the field of mobile communications policy. The proportion of Pakistanis with a mobile had grown from under one per cent in 2000 to over 13 per cent in 2005, representing an increase from less than two million to over 20 million customers.