KP govt announces free wifi for public

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government formally kicked off its ‘KP Open Wi-Fi’ project, providing free internet access at several prominent public locations throughout the city of Peshawar. The project was ceremonially inaugurated by Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi today.

The project’s first phase provides free Wi-Fi on the premises of some of the most significant government hospitals as well as public transport facilities in the capital.

Furthermore, the CM revealed that this project will shortly be expanded to include all of KP’s public universities and colleges.

He added that the state government had planned for this project to expand from Peshawar over time, noting that an upcoming stage would roll out free public Wi-Fi coverage in Abbottabad, Mardan, Swat, Kohat, Bannu & Dera Ismail Khan — which are all of the divisions’ headquarters in the province.

“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has made 70-80 percent progress towards its digital governance journey,” he added, stressing that his government was working on providing “paperless” public services in phases.

“Our digital services journey aligns well with the vision set out by our party (PTI) founder Imran Khan of ensuring these services are accessible to all citizens,” Afridi said.

“In today’s environment where there’s greater internet connectivity, we’re seeing many new employment and business opportunities emerging as people seek them.”

The Chief Minister welcomed the fast growing e-commerce industry across Pakistan, which has given rise to new avenues for entrepreneurialism and other types of economic activity, he said, adding that generating such opportunities for the country’s youth continues to be one of his government’s top priorities.

He condemned internet slowdowns and shutdowns as causing “negative effects on our youth, businesses and our digital economy”.

Many of the newly merged districts still do not have access to even basic telecommunications infrastructure. In some places there is no internet connection – not even mobile phone networks.