10 billion dollars is a lot of money! At the very least, the telephone system and internet access should greatly improve. At the present moment, there is only one fiber optic submarine cable connecting Pakistan to the rest of the world. There are also multiple satellite links, but those cost a lot more. An E1 (2 MB) link from BT costs PTCL roughly $700 which it is retailing at $5,400 or 800% of the cost! See “Tee Emm’s Window to Pakistan”:http://pakistan.blogspot.com/ for more information.
Update: PTCL seems to be “waking up”:http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jul2003-daily/18-07-2003/business/b8.htm.
bq. KARACHI: The federal cabinet on Saturday gave approval to the much-awaited telecom deregulation policy after six months to the end of Pakistan Telecommunications monopoly, which the analysts say would kick off healthy competition and improve consumer facilitation.
….According to World Bank estimates, investments amounting to $8-10 billion are expected after the deregulation of telecom sector in Pakistan.
>>”The News”:http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jul2003-daily/13-07-2003/main/main10.htm