LOCAL MOBILE MANUFACTURING SURPASSES MOBILE PHONE IMPORT

The production of mobile phones by local manufacturing plants has surpassed the number of mobile phones imports in the country. During Jan-July 2021, the production of mobile phones by local manufacturing plants was 12.27 Million and imported mobile phones was recorded at 8.29 Million.

This trend reflects a positive uptake on PTA’s Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Authorization regulatory regime whereby local manufacturing within the first year of regime introduction has resulted in production of 12.27 Million phones in a short span of 7 months including 4.87 million 4G smartphones.

The successful implementation of Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) along with conducive government policies including the mobile manufacturing policy has created a favorable environment for mobile device manufacturing in Pakistan.

It has also contributed positively to the mobile ecosystem of Pakistan by eliminating counterfeit device market providing a level playing field for commercial entities and has created trust amongst consumers due to the formulation of standardized legal channels for all sorts of device imports.

It is important to highlight that the Government of Pakistan introduced a comprehensive mobile manufacturing policy to encourage and attract manufacturers to establish their units in Pakistan. PTA in light of the policy issued Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Regulations on 28th January, 2021.

Till now, 26 companies have been issued MDM authorization enabling them to manufacture mobile devices in Pakistan. The companies include renowned brands e.g. Samsung, Nokia, Oppo, TECNO, Infinix, Vgotel, Q-mobile etc.

Commercial imports against manufacturing trends can be seen at PTA website: https://www.pta.gov.pk/en/telecom-indicators/10.