The
Telecom Revolution is a by-product
of years of research and development
in the field of micro electronics
thus providing a sound foundation
to the future technological advancements.
However the tragedy which the developing
nations faced was the adoption of
the telecom products & the implementation
of the telecom networks by simply
importing them from the developed
nations without having to go through
the cycle of research. This resulted
in a total dependence on the developed
world for even very simple and easy
to manufacture telecom products.
Take
the example of mobile connections
in Pakistan. At present there are
about 20 Million mobile users in
the country and the number of cell
phones is expected to double in
the next one and a half year thus
reaching a capacity of three times
more than the fixed line telephone
connections. Yes surely we have
tasted the fruits of the Telecom
explosion but the question to ask
is “how many cell phones do we manufacture
in Pakistan?” . The answer is simple,
none. With the fixed line capacity
of more than six million, how many
digital exchanges do we indigenously
manufacture, none.
The
most important hardware which has
enabled the communication of Data
over longer distances (thus enabling
us to communicate globally) is the
computer. Computers transfer the
data over the wide area networks
through a device called Modem (Modulator/DE-Modulator).
With millions of computers around,
we have not been able to make a
single computer or the modem on
our own and the maximum achieved
in this regards has been the importing
of the computer parts and assembling
them here. Manufacturing apart,
we have simply failed to even repair
the electronic circuitry thus discarding
the full component even if the fault
lies in simply replacing one network
element. Routers, Switches, Digital
Exchanges, hubs, ATM switches, Optical
Communication equipment, VSAT'S,
ISDN modems, broadband modems, Data
Terminal Units, Digital Radio's,
Microwave radio's etc etc, you name
it and we don't manufacture it.
The list is painfully un-limited.
Taking
a short cut to bypass the technological
lag, some countries like China,
Japan, Korea etc have gone for the
reverse engineering of the communication
products developed by other countries.
Reverse engineering is the scientific
method of taking something apart
in order to figure out how it works.
Reverse engineering has been used
by innovators to determine a product's
structure in order to develop competing
or interoperable products. However
these countries have moved logically
by employing the reverse technology
to actually enhance their research
and development capabilities. Although
this involves copy right issues
but the same have been ignored and
the end result has been the capturing
of the telecom market by these countries
with minimal costs as compared to
the other countries who have invested
millions in research.
Unfortunately
in Pakistan nothing of the sort
has been achieved. Neither have
we invested much in research nor
we have done any reverse engineering
to develop our own products. The
result has been a total dependence
on other countries for all kinds
of Telecommunication products and
technologies. However looking positively,
it is never too late to enter the
race as has been done by many nations.
It will just take a focused approach
and a dedicated team of individuals
having the vision and the foresight
to achieve the ultimate goal.
The
writer is a Social Activist and
can be reached at
Irfanzafar@msn.com.
