The acting Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology, Najibullah Haqqani, said on Monday that the distribution of SIM cards in Afghanistan is now almost completely regulated. He added that internet services costs have dropped by between 40 and 60 percent and airtime costs have dropped by about 30 percent since the establishment of the Islamic Emirate.
Haqqani said that the ministry has collected millions of dollars in revenue in the past year and currently 23 million SIM cards are active in the country. He also said that 39 postal service companies that were operating illegally in Kabul have closed down, unethical websites have been terminated, and others have been modified.
Some officials of the ministry say that in the current year, the ministry has been able to set a ceiling for the tariffs of telecommunication companies. According to this ceiling, the rate of domestic calls has decreased from 2.58 to 1.58 Afghanis, and the rate of foreign calls has been reduced to 2 Afghanis per minute.
In order to improve the quality of internet services in the country, 641 sites have been changed from 2G to 3G. For the first time, mobile devices have also been activated to determine the quality of telecommunications services in the country.
The reforms in the telecommunications sector are seen as a positive development by many Afghans. However, some critics have raised concerns about the lack of transparency in the ministry’s operations. They have also called for more investment in the sector to improve the quality of services and expand coverage.