October 2012 - Teletimes

Public & Private Organizations Join handsto form Pakistan Telecentre Network (PTN)In light of the rapidly evolvingtechnologies that supporttelecentres and in light of theincreased penetration of mobiletechnologies, the telecentremodel needs to continuouslyevolve in order to remain relevantand to continue to addressthe changing needs of the communitiesthey serve. As mobilecommunication technologiesbecome more pervasive aroundthe world, including in ruralareas, the telecentres may nolonger need to provide phoneservices or traditional computertrainings, yet they may still bevery relevant in terms of accessto web-enabled e-governmentservices, e-Learning, and basicInternet communication needs(email and web browsing). Economicempowerment projectsstakeholders, Franchises andother approaches to linkingand networking telecentres areproving to be popular. Wirelessconnectivity technologies,beyond VSAT (known to beexpensive) are being exploredin many communities aroundthe world. These technologiesprovide new opportunitiesfor connecting communitiesthrough telecentres and eventuallyat the individual householdlevel even I rural areas Thetypes of services that telecentrescan and should provide isalso rapidly evolving. As thefields of eGovernment, eHealth,e-Learning, eCommerce areevolving and maturing in manycountries, telecentres need totake advantage of opportunitiesto extend the benefitsinformation through electronicchannels.Identifying leaders among thecommunity who championthe concept of shared servicesthrough telecentre mode,play a crucial role as a bridgebetween the telecentreoperator and hesitant villagers.Indeed, There is a maturingperiod during which communityleaders have to invest constantefforts to drive changes ofbehavior in the adoption ofinnovations.World is changing fast andproviding excellent opportunityto Pakistan to make up the Gapin our development sector inuse of latest technologies fordevelopment. We neednot only to align with thischange rapid but also need toAmmar JaffriPublic & private sector organizationsdo not sit together on atable and decide to supplementeach other in developmentefforts in rural areas. To achievethis target Pakisan TelecentreNetwork ( PTN ) has beenestablished by a team of ICTprofessionals having nationaland International experienceunder E-village project.In the First meeting of foundingmembers of PTN on 12thSeptember in CIT Plaza F-10Markaz Islamabad a largenumber of participants fromrelevant Public & Privatesector organizations haveparticipated. After introductionof concept by Mr Ammar Jaffrithe participants appreciatedthe objectives of PTN and gaveuseful suggestions which wouldthrough low-tech Internet jobsare also being managed in ruralareas.Local demand for informationand communication servicesis evolving, the telecentremodels need to evolve as well.Networking between relevantto the community at large,through their public access.Some governments are pursuingthe deployment of telecentresprecisely as a means ofensuring that larger segmentsof the population are able to accessgovernment services andadopt pro-active approach tomake a real progress throughICT4D. This is the proven key tosuccess in most of the developingcountries around PakistanWe can never achieve our targetsin development sector unlessall relevant stakeholders inbe incorporated in the finalCharter of PTN. With a inclusiveapproach this was decided toextend the concept to otherstakeholders also for a broadbased formation of PTN andalso invite them to join theformation process of PTN.60 October 2012www.teletimesinternational.com