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Govt’s new policy to allow people buy mobile phones on instalments

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  • New policy to be launched from January next year. 
  • Govt seeks to expand smartphone accessibility. 
  • Companies to directly offer phones through instalment.

ISLAMABAD: The caretaker government announced the launch of the ‘Contract-based Smartphones Policy’ scheme from January 15 next year that will allow people to buy smartphones in instalments, The News reported Saturday. 

The scheme for smartphone accessibility will be expanded subsequently for the benefit of other users, facilitating people travelling to other countries to get the latest model phones in easy instalments.

Federal Caretaker Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Dr Umar Saif unveiled the new policy on Friday where he said the ministry, in coordination with the stakeholders of telecom companies, was going to launch the policy from the next month that had been approved after thorough discussions with the stakeholders.

“Our aim is to incentivise responsible financial behaviour and ensure that smartphone accessibility continues to expand. We need a robust mechanism to protect investors from defaults through measures such as blocking mobile phones and, potentially, national identity cards of defaulters,” the minister said.

Dr Saif said that under this policy, telecom companies would have an opportunity to directly offer smartphones to customers through instalment plans, thereby expanding the benefits of mobile broadband, especially among low-income segments in Pakistan.

To a query, he said that his Information Ministry was also introducing ‘Standardised Quality Measurement Tests’ from January 7 to 10, 2024, across the country’s universities to ensure job opportunities for fresh graduates. 

The ministry has made significant decisions to revamp Information Technology education in universities in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission (HEC), National Computing Accreditation Council, Examination Testing Council, Pakistan Software Export Board and Pakistan Software Houses Association, he added.

The information minister said that with an aim to provide job opportunities through another countrywide programme, around 20,000 to 25,000 students will be offered job opportunities through the Industry Placement Programme after they have passed the test. “We will allocate funds to support special industry courses in universities, designed to prepare students for current industry trends and needs. We also aim to increase our trained manpower in the industrial sector,” he added.

He stressed the need to attach importance to aligning educational institutions which can fulfil industry requirements and facilitate industry-specific training manpower. 

The information minister asked the universities to take rapid action to start new quality courses in entrepreneurship and exports for students. “We have planned to make exponential growth in the IT sector as it is necessary for us to bring productivity revolution in our economy by using information and communications technology,” he maintained. 

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Cybersecurity firm reports exposure of sensitive DeepSeek data on the internet.

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The New York-based cybersecurity firm Wiz has discovered a cache of sensitive data from the Chinese artificial intelligence business DeepSeek that was mistakenly exposed to the public internet.

In a blog post released on Wednesday, Wiz reported that examinations of DeepSeek’s infrastructure revealed that the company had inadvertently exposed over a million lines of unencrypted data. The materials were digital software keys and chat logs that seemingly documented prompts transmitted from consumers to the company’s complimentary AI assistant.

The chief technical officer of Wiz stated that DeepSeek promptly safeguarded the data following the notice from his organisation.

“It was removed in under an hour,” stated Ami Luttwak. “However, this was exceedingly easy to locate, leading us to believe we are not the sole discoverers.”

DeepSeek did not promptly respond to a request for comment.

DeepSeek’s rapid success after the introduction of its AI helper has exhilarated China and incited concern in America. The Chinese company’s evident capacity to rival OpenAI’s skills at a significantly reduced cost has raised concerns regarding the viability of the business models and profit margins of U.S. AI behemoths like Nvidia and Microsoft.

By Monday, it surpassed the U.S. competitor ChatGPT in downloads from Apple’s App Store, prompting a worldwide decline in technology stocks.

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WhatsApp launches bulk channel management functionality

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WhatsApp has initiated testing of a bulk channel administration feature on iOS for select beta users, enabling the simultaneous selection of many channels, hence enhancing the efficiency of managing following channels.

This essential update enables users to perform bulk activities, including muting many channels simultaneously, designating them as read, and altering notifications. If the chosen channels are muted, users will now have the option to activate notifications. Users can swiftly silence unmuted channels in one action.

Additionally, this feature enables users to unfollow many channels simultaneously, thereby optimizing the process of decluttering their channel list. This change is particularly beneficial for users that oversee numerous subscriptions, as reported by WABetaInfo.

Previously, users were required to manage each channel individually, rendering tasks such as muting or designating channels as read laborious and time-consuming.

The functionality provides enhanced flexibility and control over channel subscriptions, enabling users to efficiently manage notifications. The solution streamlines laborious operations for consumers who subscribe to numerous channels, hence enhancing their entire experience.

Accessibility
The bulk management feature is presently accessible exclusively to a limited number of beta testers who installed the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS using the TestFlight application. WhatsApp, owned by Meta, plans to expand the feature’s availability to a larger user base in the next weeks.

This update demonstrates WhatsApp’s dedication to enhancing user experience by offering a clear and efficient method for managing channels and notifications.

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Pakistani internet slowdown: ongoing submarine cable issue

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Even after two weeks, the global submarine cable AAA-1 problem that was discovered on January 2 near Qatar has not been fixed, causing sluggish internet connection in several Pakistani towns.

According to a representative for Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the issue has affected customers’ capacity to effectively access social media applications and browse the online. Even with initiatives to fix the problem, social networking sites still lag during busy times.

Internet traffic has been redirected via alternate channels to lessen the impact, and more capacity has been set up to stabilize the service.

The PTCL representative promised that “Internet service across the country is operating normally, and there will be no issues with web browsing,” noting that social media applications’ lag is common during

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