Company type | Public |
---|---|
Industry | Telecommunications |
Founded | July 1976 |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Azad Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan |
Key people | Director General SCO, Major General - Umar Ahmad Shah |
Services | Landline Wireless local loop 4G GSM Internet |
Revenue | Rs. 5.5 billion (US$19 million) (2019-2020) [1] |
Owner | Ministry of IT & Telecommunications |
Website | SCO Pakistan |
The Special Communications Organization (SCO) is a Pakistani public sector organization operated by MoIT&T. [2] SCO plays a role in providing telecommunication services in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan to almost 1.7 million people, a quarter of the total population. [2] [3] It operates its digital financial services under the brand name S-Paisa. [4]
SCO is a public sector organization working under Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) of the Government of Pakistan (GOP). [5] It was founded on 16 July 1976 [6] to develop, operate and maintain telecom services in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan after then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto “found himself cut off from the rest of the world” during a trip to Kashmir and Gilgit. [7] While expanding in remote areas with difficult conditions, according to the Pamir Times, SCO had 72 employees die. [6]
The Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman, in 2015 proposed that SCO connect the unconnected parts of the Karakuram Highway with cellular networks, and to study the feasibility of expanding services along the road connecting Pakistan and China. [8]
Over a period of time, SCO has developed significant infrastructure, including laying a 2500 kilometer optical fiber cable network. In 2017, SCO was the largest telecom network/service provider in the area, equally focusing on urban and rural areas development. SCO provided telecom services to both the public and private sectors (the general populace) in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan region. It provided telecom services such as voice to data as part of one platform. [9]
SCO in 2017 launched digital financial services under the brand name S-Paisa. [4]
In 2019, SCO and Zong agreed to cooperate on providing services in FATA, Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K) and Gilgit-Baltistan. [10] They furthered the agreement in 2021, at which point SCO Director General Major General Shahid Siddique oversaw SCO. [11] JazzCash integrated SCO's mobile network into its platform in 2023. [12]
It was involved in the development of a software technology park in Nasirabad, Hunza in 2024. [13] In 2024, it remained owned by the Pakistani government. [14] [15] In 2024, franchises included Ahmad Communications, Ahmed Trader, Ahunzada Communications, Ali Maad Traders, Baig Telecom, Fahad Telecom, Jarral & Sons Communications, Kashmir Digital Communications, Mondoq communications, Neelum Communications, Rama Communications, Rawalakot Communications, and Yarran Corporation Hunza. [16]
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 and Azad Kashmir 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. [2]
The government of Pakistan has assigned SCO to lay down 820 kilometers long Pakistan-China Fiber Optic Project, an optical fiber cable that will enhance telecommunication in the Gilgit-Baltistan region while offering Pakistan a fifth route by which to transmit telecommunication traffic. [17] [2] [18] 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. [19] [20]
SCOM is the first network to have installed a mobile tower at the K2 base camp where previously satellite phones would be used for communication. [21]
Frequencies used on SCOM's Network | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Frequency | Protocol | Band | Class | Channel Width |
1800 MHz | GSM | 2G | ? | |
2100 MHz | UMTS/HSPA+ | 1 | 3G | ? |
1800 MHz | 4G | 3 | 4G | ? |
In addition to the mobile services, SCO is also providing wired fixed line services to almost 20,900 people by which DSL and WiFi services are provided under the brand name of SNET. SCO plans to deploy FTTH system to provide gigabit broadband services in 2020. [2]
Mobile Financial Services - "S-Paisa" In July, 2019; A brand envisioned as ‘S-Paisa,’ is aimed to empower more than 6 million people of Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan 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. [22]
As of 2006, SCO had often been criticized for poor performance and creating obstacles for other carriers in providing telecom services in AJK (Azad Jammu and Kashmir). SCO was given sole monopoly in AJK, and the area as a result suffered and lacked in modern telecom services. After the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, significant loss of life was attributed to not having communication facilities in the area. [23] [2] Subsequent protests resulted in the government of Pakistan opening up the Azad Jammu and Kashmir for other mobile operators, which significantly improved mobile services in the area. [24]
However, as of 2014, Azad Jammu and Kashmir still lagged behind in broadband services due to the strict hold that SCO had on the network access. [25] In 2016, SCO was criticized for creating hurdles in opening up 3G/4G in the AJK, as it was not able to upgrade its network, and was certain to lose market share if other operators were allowed to offer 3G/4G services. [26] In 2016, the Government of Pakistan approved funding for SCO to upgrade its network, potentially removing this hurdle for 3G/4G services in AJ&K. [27] It launched 3G/4G in August 2017. [6]
Hunza, also known as Kanjut, was a princely state in the Gilgit Baltistan region of Pakistan. Initially, it functioned as a principality and subsequently became a princely state under a subsidiary alliance with the British India starting in 1892 and continuing until August 1947. For a brief period of three months, it remained unaligned after gaining independence, and then from November 1947 until 1974, it retained its status as a princely state within Pakistan. The territory of Hunza now constitutes the northernmost part of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.
Gilgit is a city in Pakistani-administered Gilgit–Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. It is the capital of the Gilgit-Baltistan region. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit and the Hunza rivers. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a hub for trekking and mountaineering expeditions in the Karakoram mountain range.
Shimshal, previously known as Shingshal, is a village located in the Gojal tehsil of the Hunza District in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of northern Pakistan. It lies at an altitude of 3,113 metres (10,213 ft) above sea level and is the highest settlement in the district. It is the largest valley in Gilgit-Baltistan. It encompasses nearly the entire district of Hunza. Situated within the valley is the Shimshal River, a tributary that feeds into the Hunza River. Shimshal itself is a border village, serving as a linkage point between Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region and China.
Chilas is a city in Pakistani-administered Gilgit–Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. It is the divisional capital of Diamer Division and is located on the Indus River. It is part of the Silk Road, connected by the Karakoram Highway and N-90 National Highway to Islamabad and Peshawar in the southwest, via Hazara and Malakand divisions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. To the north, Chilas connects to the cities of Tashkurgan and Kashgar in Xinjiang, China, via Gilgit, Aliabad, Sust, and the Khunjerab Pass.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) (Urdu: مقتدرہِ ٹیلی مواصلات پاکستان) is the telecommunication regulator of Pakistan, responsible for the establishment, operation and maintenance of telecommunication systems and the provision of telecommunication services in Pakistan. Headquartered in Islamabad, PTA also has regional offices located in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi, Multan and Gilgit.
The Gilgit District is one of the 14 districts of Pakistan-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. The headquarters of the district is the town of Gilgit. At the 1998 census, the Gilgit District had a population of 243,324. The district includes Gilgit, the Bagrot Valley, Juglot, Danyore, Sultanabad, Naltar Peak, and the Nomal Valley. The highest peak in the district is Distaghil Sar 7,885 metres (25,869 ft), which is the seventh-highest peak in Pakistan and 19th highest in the world.
Gilgit-Baltistan, formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and between India and China since 1959. It borders Azad Kashmir to the south, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the north, the Xinjiang region of China to the east and northeast, and the Indian-administered union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to the southeast.
The Gilgit Scouts was a paramilitary force within the Gilgit-Baltistan region in northern Pakistan. They were raised by the British Raj in 1913, on behalf of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, to police the Gilgit Agency, which formed the northern frontier of British India. The force was composed of local men recruited by British commanders.
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, abbreviated as MoITT) is a Cabinet-level ministry of the Government of Pakistan concerned with Information Technology and Telecommunications.
The history of Azad Kashmir, a disputed part of the Kashmir region currently administered by Pakistan, is related to the history of the Kashmir region during the Dogra rule. Azad Kashmir borders the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the south and west respectively, Gilgit–Baltistan to the north, and the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the east. The region is claimed by India and has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947.
Nagar District is a district of Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan area in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the 14 districts of Gilgit-Baltistan. Nagar District was established in 2015 by the division of the Hunza–Nagar District into two districts: the Hunza District and the Nagar District. The Nagar District is bounded on the north and north-east by the Hunza District, on the south-east by the Shigar District, on the south by the Gilgit District, and on the west by the Gupis-Yasin District. The district headquarters in the town of Nagarkhas.
Hunza District is a district of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the 14 districts of the Gilgit-Baltistan region. It was established in 2015 by the division of the Hunza–Nagar District in accordance with a government decision to establish more administrative units in Gilgit-Baltistan. The district headquarters is the town of Karimabad.
Gilgit Division is an administrative division of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. Gilgit is the divisional headquarters of Gilgit Division. Since divisions were restored as an administrative structure in 2008, the division currently consists of six districts:
Baltistan Division is a first-order administrative division of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. It overlaps with the historical Baltistan region.
The Ministry of Kashmir Affairs & Gilgit-Baltistan is a ministry of the Government of Pakistan. It handles the regional affairs of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan as both territories of Pakistani-administered Kashmir do not have regular provincial status within Pakistan due to political circumstances revolving around the long-running Kashmir conflict.
Ghizer District is a district of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan region in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the 14 districts of Gilgit-Baltistan. The former Ghizer District that existed from 1974 to 2019 spanned the entire upper Gilgit River Valley. In 2019, the former district was divided into the Gupis-Yasin District in the west and the present, smaller Ghizer District in the east.
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council or Senate of Azad Kashmir / Upper House AJ&K Assembly is a Special Institution / Autonomous body of the Law, Justice, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights Department of AJ&K. This house serves as a bridge between government of Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Government of Pakistan it was transferred to the AJ&K Government under AJ&K Interim Constitution, 1974 in 2018 via Article 51-A
In November 1947, the paramilitary force of Gilgit Scouts stationed at Gilgit rebelled against the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, soon after it acceded to the Indian Union. Under the command of a British officer Major William Brown, they executed a coup d'etat, overthrew the governor Ghansara Singh, and imprisoned him. The Muslim troops of Jammu and Kashmir State Forces stationed at Bunji joined in the rebellion, under the command of Captain Mirza Hassan Khan, imprisoned their own commander Colonel Abdul Majid and eliminated the non-Muslim troops. A provisional government was declared under a local chief Shah Rais Khan, which lasted for about two weeks. On 16 November, a Pakistani political agent Khan Mohammad Alam Khan arrived and took over the administration.