Coming of Age

Interesting article...

If Chowk is ever to turn into a productive website, where people spend their mental bandwidths, discussing real problems that affect Pakistan, articles like this will have to be the ones that get the most hits. I have a feeling that will not happen....

The only thing people seem interested in are discussing Jinnah`s speeches, Relgion, secularism, etc. All topics that one cannot fill one`s stomach with.......

Pakistan`s telecom sector has developed and has had a boom. Pakistan`s software sector has gone in the opposite direction. A good way to judge this is that Pakistan`s largest telecom company is valued at $10 billion and employs 60-70k people. While the largest software company is (probably) valued at a few million dollars (perhaps 10 million). With the largest one employing 400-500 people or so..........

Students are turning from software to telecom engg..........Pakistan has a pretty good telco business model, but is still searching for a valid software business model........

The importance of the world-wide web (WWW) to countries like Pakistan (and perhaps quite a few parts of India and the rest of the subcontinent) can not be overemphasized. I look forward to the day when everyone – poor or rich – will have easy access to the essentially unlimited library that WWW represents and be in a position to understand, face, and address most of one’s and society’s problems – which are usually rooted in the lack of education. Obviously, nobody doubts the ingenuity and capabilities of average Pakistanis. A certain amount of bumps and jerks are inevitable during any kind of start-up. Software piracy and other related problems will eventually get addressed, as happened in the US, through on-line registration requirements. As with most such issues, less government interference and involvement is generally better. The key is to make the web access available and affordable for everybody. Any investment in the necessary infrastructure is the best type of investment any government could make – with a far better potential to benefit its people than those made in weapons of mass destruction – all of which have a finite shelf life. I hope this Pakistani industry DOES come of age, grows well and gives everybody (including India) a run for the money – such a situation benefits everyone since it benefits the only one that really counts – the consumer.