Establishment of an information corridor will ensure the success of the China--Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and yield many benefits, experts said. "In order to support, supplement and sustain the CPEC, there should also be an information corridor, which will serve as a platform between Chinese and Pakistani companies to provide database, share information and promote e-commerce between the two sides," Pakistani Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, who is also the chairman of the Pakistani Senate Defense Committee, told the Global Times on June 16.
Sayed served as Pakistan's Minister of Information and Broadcasting during the 1990s.
Leading telecom network service supplier ZTE just completed a project called DTMB (digital terrestrial multimedia broadcast) in Pakistan in March.
The project allows residents around Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, to receive TV signals once they install a set-top box. The DTMB project belongs to the earlier harvest projects of the CPEC.
Experts said the project contributes to the establishment of an information corridor and brings Chinese telecom standards to Pakistan.
"Currently, there are four standards in the world: Chinese, European, Japanese and American. The project is significant as Pakistan is a country with a population of nearly 200 million," said Han Song, chief marketing officer of Zhongxing Telecom Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd, noting that it took five years to persuade Pakistani partners to adopt the Chinese standards.
Zhongxing Telecom Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd is ZTE's subsidiary in Pakistan.
"The upgrade from analog signals to digital signals means the number of available channels are multiplied. As the local media can only provide enough content for eight channels, the project creates room for Chinese media outlets to broadcast their programs after agreement with Pakistani authorities," Han told the Global Times on June 15.
"For example, after the completion of our program, the China Central Television began to air two channels of programs in Pakistan since March," said Han.
Chinese companies also help guard the cyber security of Pakistani clients.
"We are victims of cyber warfare from other countries so it is very important that we have cyber security and cyber protection on our own infrastructure," Sayed said, referring to Edward Snowden's leaks about the intelligence gathering project PRISM of the National Security Agency of the U.S.
"Many Chinese companies and foreign companies doing businesses in Pakistan may have concerns over cyber security in Pakistan. And we help them in this regard," Han said.
"Due to the all-weather relationship between China and Pakistan, there is a high level of trust over security issues," Han noted.
According to the 2014 annual report of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority published in January, the overall telecom investment in the country reached $1.82 billion in fiscal year 2014, a 200 percent increase over the $600 million in 2013.
Pakistani telecom sector attracted over $903 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the fiscal year 2014, accounting for 34.2 percent of the total FDI received by Pakistan.
