USF Disburses Rs 9.5 Billion for Telecom Projects in KP

The Minister for IT and Telecom, Shaza Fatima, in a written reply to the Senate of Pakistan, stated that the Universal Service Fund (USF) has disbursed Rs. 9.5 billion over the past 3.5 fiscal years (2021-25) for various telecommunication projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The funds have been allocated for 2G, 3G, and 4G services across 1,600 mauzas and 37.43 kilometers of road segments, alongside the deployment of 1,159 kilometers of optic fiber cable (OFC) to connect 67 tehsil headquarters, union councils, and towns. According to the minister, 18 projects were undertaken in KP. The projects providing 2G and 3G services include Chitral Lot (Rs. 16.48 million), Kohistan Lot (Rs. 16.12 million), Khyber Lot (Rs. 60.73 million), Mohmand Lot (Rs. 22.65 million), D.I. Khan Lot (Rs. 62.27 million), and Waziristan Lot (Rs. 83.87 million). The 4G network expansion was funded for Chitral Lot (Rs. 1.09 billion), Swabi Lot (Rs. 555 million), Swat Lot (Rs. 250.23 million), Bannu Lot (Rs. 251.03 million), and Buner Lot (Rs. 1.99 billion). USF also allocated Rs 196.87 million for the Tourist Destination-K1 project and Rs 170.22 million for Tourist Destination-K2, both as mobilization advances. Additionally, Rs 491.60 million was allocated for National Highways & Motorways (NH&MW) Lot-9 (N-35), covering 37.43 km of road segments. Fiber optic projects included FATA Package-1 (Rs 84.49 million) for 132.99 km of OFC deployment and three tehsil headquarters connected, and KPK (FATA) Package-2 (Rs 1.5 billion) for 742.54 km of OFC deployment and 37 connected towns. Further allocations were made for UC-KP-LOT-17 (Rs 313.11 million) as a mobilization advance and UC-KP-LOT-18 (Rs 913.40 million) for 283.11 km of OFC deployment, connecting 27 union councils. These projects were awarded through a competitive bidding process to licensed telecom operators, including Jazz, Ufone, Telenor, Zong, PTCL, Dancom, Nayatel and another ISP. The minister confirmed that USF projects are implemented through a turnkey service model, where telecom operators are responsible for network design, equipment procurement, site acquisition, installation, and commissioning. USF does not interfere in the execution but mandates operators to provide services as per the agreement. Once the projects are completed and services are activated, telecom operators offer the network for public use. The ministry stated that all operators must comply with Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules, ensuring transparency in contract awards and implementation. Additionally, network verification and third-party technical audits are conducted before the release of payments to service providers to ensure compliance with project requirements.