Telecom sector revenue marked a growth of 5.6% in FY 2014

The revenue of telecom sector of Pakistan is ever increasing despite low economic growth in the country. According to latest report revealed by Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA), a record progress has been witnessed in the telecom revenue and the government has bagged Rs. 465.6 billion in FY 2014 as compared to Rs. 439.5 billion last year, which frames around 5.6% growth.

The contribution of cellular industry in the telecom revenue of 2014 remained highest with 69.7%, followed by Local Loop 18.9% and LDI 8.7%.

The share of data revenue in the total telecom revenue of the country is 19.3% in 2014, up from 16.4% in 2013. The cellular data revenue has also shown an upsurge of 10.1% in 2014 as compared to previous year 2013, when it was 7.3%.

As said by PTA, 2014 also showed an immense progress in terms of its contribution to the national exchequer of Pakistan. The total contribution of telecom sector in the fiscal year 2014 remained Rs. 243.84 billion which is almost double as compared to 2013 when it was recorded as Rs. 124.53 billion.

The General sales Tax (GST) on the telecom sector of 19.5% drew Rs. 60 billion for the treasury, though a highest part of money was gained through PTA Deposits in the form of license fee etc. which was Rs. 104.6 billion while the other charges contributed Rs. 79 billion, comprising of custom duties and withholding Tax (WHT) etc.

The successful auction of 3G and 4G services also induced highest cellular mobile imports in the country and rounded up the year 2014 through imports of US$ 544 million however, the FY 2013 had US$450 million cellular imports.

People today anticipate that the increase in overall revenue became possible through 3G and 4G licensing mainly but in the FY 2015 there will be a huge drop down in the revenue due to the absence of any major auctions, albeit it is important to note that the snowballing trend of data usage in the country can prove fruitful as a big source of contribution in the future.