The Special Communications Organization (SCO) ( ur, ) is Pakistani

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, in ...

organization operated by MoIT&T. SCO plays a role in providing telecommunication services in

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger K ...

and

Gilgit Baltistan Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a ...

to almost 1.7 million people, a quarter of the total population.

History

SCO is a public sector organization working under

Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication ( ur, ), abbreviated as MoITT) is a Cabinet of Pakistan, Cabinet-level Ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of Pakistan concerned with Information Technology a ...

(MoITT) of

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

(GOP), established in 1976 to develop, operate and maintain telecom services in

Azad Jammu & Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger K ...

and

after then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto “found himself cut off from the rest of the world” during a trip to Kashmir and Gilgit. Over the period of time, SCO has developed massive IT & Telecom infrastructure including laying of over 2500 kilometer Optical Fiber Cable network across the entire length and breadth of the area. Today, SCO stands the largest telecom network / service provider equally focusing on urban and rural areas development. SCO is providing telecom services to both public and private sector (general populace) in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan region. It has a unique distinction of providing all brands of telecom services from voice to data under one platform.

Services

NGMS

SCO’s mobile network, SCOM, stands as the first telecom network provider which focuses on providing 2G/3G and 4G services in the urban and rural parts of

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has ...

and

in both the Public and Private sector. SCO is also the largest backbone service provider in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, having more than 4,800 kilometers of optical fiber in the region. Government of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

has assigned SCO to lay down 820 kilometer long

Pakistan-China Fiber Optic Project The Pakistan-China Fiber Optic Project is an 820 kilometer long optical fiber cable laid down between the Khunjerab Pass on the China-Pakistan border and the city of Rawalpindi. It has been constructed as part of the China–Pakistan Economic ...

, an

optical fiber An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparency and translucency, transparent fiber made by Drawing (manufacturing), drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a Hair ...

cable that will enhance telecommunication in the

region, while offering Pakistan a fifth route by which to transmit telecommunication traffic. As of February 2018, Special Communications Organization (SCO) has been given the NOC to start trials for 3G and 4G (NGMS) services in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. The service was available in Mirpur, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Skardu and Gilgit free of cost until trials had been completed. SCOM are the first network to have installed a mobile tower at the K2 base camp where previously satellite phones would be used for communication.

Broadband

In addition to the mobile services, SCO is also providing wired fixed line services to almost 20,900 people by which

DSL Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric dig ...

and WiFi services are provided under the brand name of SNET. SCO plans to deploy

FTTH Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber optic ...

system to provide gigabit broadband services in 2020.

Banking

Mobile Financial Services - "S-Paisa" In July, 2019; A brand envisioned as ‘S-Paisa,’ is aimed to empower more than 6 million people of

and

through state-of-the-art, convenient and secure branchless banking services. The partnership of JS Bank with the forefront telco will financially empower the un-banked in these regions.

Controversies

SCO is often criticized for poor performance and creating obstacles for other carriers in providing telecom services in AJK. SCO was given sole monopoly in AJK and the area as a result suffered and lacked in modern telecom services. However, after the 2005 quake, significant loss of life was attributed to not having communication facilities in the area. Subsequent protests resulted in government of Pakistan opening up the

Azad Jammu and Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger K ...

for mobile operators which has significantly improved mobile services in the area. However,

still lags behind in broadband services due to strict hold of SCO on the network access. SCO has created major hurdle in opening up 3G/4G in the AJK as it is not able to upgrade its network and is certain to lose whatever market share it has if the other operators are allowed to offer 3G/4G services. The

gave approval for funding for SCO to upgrade its network which may remove this hurdle for 3G/4G services in AJ&K.

References

External links

SCO official website

MoITT official website
{{Telecommunication companies of Pakistan Pakistan Army affiliated organizations Telecommunications in Pakistan 1976 establishments in Pakistan Government agencies established in 1976 Economy of Gilgit-Baltistan Economy of Azad Kashmir Government-owned telecommunications companies