Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) has launched special international call rate packages for its customers to for Christmas and New Year. This includes a special tariff of Rs 0.40 per 20 seconds to the international destinations, which includes ISA (fixed + mobile) Canada (fixed + Mobile), China (fixed + Mobile), UK, Australia and Germany (fixed only).

Tariff:

Rs 0.40 per 20 for landline and mobile in following countries:

* United States
* Canada
* China

Rs 0.40 per 20 for landline in following countries:

* United Kingdom
* Australia
* Germany

This offer is valid till 15th January 2010.

For More Information call PTCL Helpline – 1236.

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KARACHI: On the eve of International Volunteer Day (IVD), Mobilink Pakistan, a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom Holding, honoured employees for maintaining the spirit of volunteerism throughout the year.

Outstanding volunteers were awarded trophies whereas certificates of appreciation were also distributed.

Designated by the United Nations since 1985, the IVD is celebrated every year on December 5 to thank volunteers for their efforts.

Omar Manzur, Director Corporate Social Responsibility Mobilink, stated: “As a socially responsible citizen, we believe in patronizing broad-based CSR initiatives throughout Pakistan.”

Dr Ahsan Rabbani, Vice President Inputs, The Citizens Foundation (TCF) also shared his views on the occasion.

In 2009, Mobilink employees provided Rs3.5 million worth of relief goods to over 15,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of Swat and Malakand District. A Mobilink camp was set up with Rs81 million fund for 1,000 families of IDPs.

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KARACHI: The Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) in its recently released report gave an overview of the sector for FY09. “The year was marred by depleting fixed line connections and a marked slowdown in cellular growth,” the report read.

Although cumulative sector revenues rose by 19 percent to Rs334 billion, investment in the sector dropped by 47 per cent to $1.6 billion as most of the foreign operators faced difficult times given tough economic conditions. Broadband emerged as a potential force during the year, the report stated.

The Fixed Local Loop (FLL) segment was the worst performer in FY09 as the subscriber count continued to dwindle. As of Jun 09, subscribers stood at 3.5 million, dropping by over 20 per cent year on year, as infrastructure related issues and lack of investment saw consumers switching to the more convenient Wireless Local Loop (WLL) and cellular technology.

Interestingly, the FLL data for April-June paints a slightly better picture, as subscriber base remained flat hinting that the worst may be over. The move to bundle fixed line with broadband could provide a cushion going forward. Further, the growing clout of WLL should limit the damage to the local loop segment.

The Long Distance & International (LDI) segment performed well as revenues rose by 119 percent to Rs.48billon. Total international traffic (incoming + outgoing) reached 8.9 billion minutes from 7.1bn minutes in FY08 mainly led by 73 per cent growth in outgoing traffic.

A combination of cheaper rates and improved package plans offered by operators helped outgoing minutes reach 2.9 billion; however, increase in Approved Settlement Rates (ASR) curbed growth in incoming traffic to single digits after a three years (FY05-FY08) CAGR of 86 per cent.

The PTA has recently taken steps to resurrect the situation, with a downward revision in ASR, which is likely to assist LDI traffic and reduce the flow of grey traffic. The LDI segment has always remained a major revenue contributor to PTCL (14-15percent of total revenue) and is expected to remain so in the years to come.

Amid higher penetration levels (54.7 per cent in Jun 08), growth in cellular segment slowed to 7 per cent in FY09. Penetration reached 58.2 per cent while cumulative revenues reached Rs212bn, up 17pc.

Industry wide ARPU’s have fallen to $2.5 per month from $3.1/month in FY08 driven by a combination of high degree of low income prepaid customers and intense competition. Resultantly, all major operators barring Ufone (low infrastructure cost thanks to PTCL) are in the red, indicating consolidation is around the corner.

Additionally a detailed observation of the industry statistics, suggests that while urban penetration approaches the maturity phase, there remains untapped potential in the rural areas of Pakistan. Hence, it is expected increased focus from the major operators towards the rural areas particularly in NWFP and Baluchistan. The security situation there though remains a major bottleneck in achieving higher penetration.

The broadband sector remained a major out performer as 246,000 subscribers were added in FY09, taking the total to 414,000 – with PTCL, Worldcall and Wateen having a combined share of 79 per cent. Low penetration level of 0.26 percent, suggests massive room for growth, in our view. Hence we have witnessed an influx of new operators investing in technologies such as DSL, Fiber, WIMAX and more recently EVDO all pointing towards take off in subscriber base in the next few years.

Mustufa Bilwani telecom analyst at JS Research stated, “We expect FY10 to be another challenging period for the sector with low investment and limited avenues for growth. M&A activity, particularly in the cellular segment seems to be on the cards as the segment continues to consolidate. Broadband and other value added segments are likely to drive growth while FLL may see consolidation at current levels.”

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ISLAMABAD: The growth in cell phone sector has witnessed a bit of a squeezing trend as Pakistan Telecommunication Authority started blocking millions of unregistered connections after the launch of SIM information system-668.

Although the new system was introduced officially in mid-October, the subscriber’s based widened only by 10,452 in this month, which showed that users base may contract after blocking of unregistered numbers.

In October, the overall customer base reached 95.918 million with only 0.01 percent growth from preceding month. Besides Ufone, all four cellular phone companies witnessed minimal addition of users on their network.

Owing to downfall in revenues, most of the telecom operators adopted ‘cost-cutting measures’ during the year 2008-09. Throughout the year, the sector’s financial health could not be improved in accordance with the expectations owing to taxes and falling exchange rates, which placed unprecedented burden on the operators import bills.

A senior official at a cell phone company said due to economic slowdown, saturation in the market and global financial crisis, the total investment in the telecom sector during 2008-09 has reduced.

He said despite the fact that the operators have speedily rolled out their infrastructure, reaching out to most of the population, there still remains huge areas like Broadband, WLL and manufacturing, where investment opportunities exist.

To cope with the financial crunch, telecom operators adopted optimization of human resources and cut in employees perks.

As per data, the leading mobile operator, Mobilink, slipped from green to red zone in earnings because of the falling exchange rate and rapid drop in the subscribers’ base.

A dismal situation in fixed-line penetration is the major area of concern for the policy-makers and the regulator in Pakistan. After issuing a number of licenses to the fixed-line operators, the regulator believed that the market forces would play their due role for its expansion, but unfortunately, this could not happen.

However, despite these difficulties, the sectors revenue grew by 19 percent which poses confidence in the government and regulators’ policies. Unlike expectations, most of the fixed-line operators could not roll out the infrastructure maintaining the incumbent operator still the dominant player with its old copper based infrastructure a main hurdle in the sector’s growth.

It was also expected that a rapid roll out by wireless technology (WLL) would compensate the declining fixed line penetration, which too did not happen due to lack of investment by WLL operators. Furthermore, the WLL operators like Wateen and Wi-tribe have smartly diverted their resources to Broadband expansion in 3.5 GHz and invested on new technology like WiMax.

This, too, caused slow growth in the fixed line sector. Issues like right of way and lack of unbundling also proved major hurdles in the fixed line sector’s growth. A huge investment is required to roll out new generation of fibre networks in the country.

This gives a major opportunity to large scale investors to secure their investments in Pakistan in this segment of the industry. During the year, a total of $1.6 billion worth of investment has been made by all the operators, of which the cellular mobile share is about 75 percent.

The WLL has marginally increased investment from $52.8 million in 2007-08 to $82.11 million in 2008-09. However, the rest of all of the sectors have reduced the level of their investment. During this period, Pakistan attracted FDI worth $3.7 billion altogether. In the current year, the telecom sector received over US $815 million FDI.

Major countries which invested more than 70 percent in last five years in Pakistan’s telecom sector included United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Norway and China. The UAE emerges as the leading country investing over 36 percent of the total FDI in the telecom sector in the last five years. UAE invested in companies like Wateen, Warid Telecom and PTCL.

Etisalat, UAE based company, bought out 26 percent shares of the PTCL worth $2.4 billion. The UAE has invested over $2.3 billion in the telecom sector of Pakistan since 2004-05. China Mobile has its first overseas adventure in Pakistan cellular mobile sector, in addition to telecom manufacturing, through companies like ZTE and others. Investment from China exceeded US $599 million in the telecom sector of Pakistan during the last five years.

Telenor, a Norway based company, also brought about half a billion US dollars foreign investment into Pakistan during the last five years. The telecom sector contributes 1 to 2 percent in the total GDP, making its share in total tax revenue as 6 to 7 percent per annum. During the year 2008-09, the sector continued to contribute handsome amount in national kitty through various taxes and regulatory charges. – APP

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Pakistan’s Daily Times is reporting that the country’s Universal Service Fund has awarded telecoms contracts worth approximately PKR1.25 billion (USD15 million) for the provision of broadband services in unserved areas of the Hazara Telecom Region (HTR) to Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) and Wateen Telecom. The two companies will be paid PKR266 million to provide services in the Abbottabad, Batagram, Haripur, Kohistan and Mansehra districts of the region. Further, the telcos will set up 145 educational broadband centres across the region, alongside 21 community broadband centres.

In addition, Wateen has also inked a deal to provide fibre-optic connectivity to unserved tehsils (administrative divisions) in Central Balochistan. Wateen will receive PKR986 million for laying more than 1,100km of fibre-optic cable in eleven tehsils, with more than 700,000 people expected to benefit from the project.

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The State Bank of Pakistan and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority have agreed to introduce a unified regulatory framework for enhancing mobile banking in the country.

“It has been decided to set up a Joint Regulatory Committee,” said a joint statement released after a meeting held at SBP, Karachi recently between Syed Salim Raza, Governor, State Bank of Pakistan and Dr Mohammed Yaseen, Chairman PTA.
This Committee, which will comprise members from both the SBP and PTA, will to introduce unified regulatory framework for Third Party Solution Provider (TPSP) system. It will propose modification in existing regulatory or legal framework, if needed. Further, an M-banking
Stakeholders Group (including mobile network operators, financial institutions, Ministry of Information Technology, PTA, SBP, SP/integrators) is also proposed to be set up, which would address technical standards, product and services, licensing regime and relevant operational
issues etc.
“We hope that this understanding will encourage innovative technological products which would ultimately enhance outreach of financial services in the country,” the statement said. Mobile banking offers a variety of financial/non-financial functions, including merchant
payments, utilities bills payments, fund transfers, and remittances etc. The synergy likely to be created by the financial institutions, mobile operators and other partners will bear very promising results.
In Pakistan, such innovative services have been possible through introduction of Branchless Banking Regulations (BBRs) by State Bank. Subsequent to BBRs, the Ministry of Information Technology issued Policy Directives to PTA to prepare a framework on technical
implementation of BBRs.

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ISLAMABAD: Cellular subscribers rose 6.3 million in fiscal year 2008-09 as compared to 25 million net additions in 2007-08, suggesting that the saturation in the market, economic slowdown and heavy taxes could be major reasons for the slow growth, annual report of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) showed.

Regarding complaints received by the PTA from consumers of cellular operators during July 2008 to June 2009, total complaints stood at 7,479 out of which 45 per cent complaints were related to misuse of service, obnoxious and fraudulent calls or SMS.

Amazingly, the PTA report states that only nine per cent complaints were related to quality of service (disruption/faults in service). However, consumer complaints regarding PTCL showed that out of total 5,288 complaints, 73 per cent were about quality of service, disruption/faults in service in 2008-09. On the issue of market share in terms of subscriber base of mobile phones, the report states that the main contributor to the net increase was Telenor, which added about 2.8 million subscribers while Zong and Warid added 2.4 million each during last year.

Having more choice available to consumers resulted in a reduction in the share of Mobilink by 15 per cent while other operators show increase in their market share.

Although Mobilink is still enjoying major market share in cellular subscribers, it receives a setback by losing around three million subscribers in 2008-09.

During the reported period, Mobilink continued to stay at top in the country’s mobile market with 29.14 million subscribers, followed by Telenor and Ufone competing fiercely for the second position with 20.9 million and 20 million subscribers respectively. Both the companies registered a subscriber growth rate at 16 per cent (Telenor) and 11 per cent (Ufone) correspondingly; however the growth in subscribers of Telenor (69pc) in the preceding year was much higher than that of Ufone (29pc).

Warid ended this year with a total subscriber base of 17.8 million. However, Zong has been reported a subscriber base of 6.4 million.

In 2009, total number of Mobilink subscribers stood at 29.136 million, Ufone 20.004 million, Zong 6.386 million, Instaphone 34,048, Telenor 20.893 million and Warid 17.886 million. Total revenues of telecom service rose to Rs333.882 billion in 2008-09 against Rs278.508 billion in the last fiscal year 2007-08.

Out of total revenues, the share of cellular operators in revenues stood at Rs212.423 billion, Local Loop Rs62.640 billion, LDI Rs47.969 billion, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) Rs2.670 billion and VAS (estimated) Rs8.179 billion during the fiscal year 2008-09.

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Chinese telecom corporation team meets Zardari

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari Saturday called for setting up a Telecom University, a Telecom Research and Development Centre and a plant to manufacture and assemble mobile handsets in the country.

Spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the call was made when a delegation of Chinese Telecom conglomerate ZTE called on the president at the Presidency.

The five-member delegation that called on the president was led by Luo Pingfan, Dy Chairman ZTE and also included Ambassador of China Luo Zhaohui.

The president said that the government would provide land for the Telecom varsity in Haripur where the nucleus of telecom training facilities already existed and also offered facilities for establishing an R&D Centre in Islamabad and the mobile handsets manufacturing plant.

He said that the president appreciated the ZTE’s role in the development of Pakistan’s Telecommunication sector and said that Chinese companies had made significant contributions to Pakistan’s economy through direct investment.

The president called upon ZTE to develop technical skills of the local labour force. He said that Chinese investment and cooperation could help develop Pakistan as regional hub for manufacturing for which low cost labour force was available in Pakistan.

He also called upon the ZTE to develop a research and development centre in telecommunication and a plant for manufacture of mobile handsets in Pakistan.

He said that he was keenly awaiting his visit to China later this month to further consolidate the relations between the two countries which he said was “an important factor for peace and stability in the region and the world”.

The president underscored the importance of closer collaboration and coordination between Pakistan and China in view of complexities of regional and global situation.

He said that Pakistan would continue to support China on all issues of national importance to it.

The Chinese delegation thanked President Zardari and the government of Pakistan for providing it necessary back up and support to carry out its investment plan in Pakistan.

Secretary General to President Salman Faruqi, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Water Resources Kamal Majidullah, Ambassador at Large Khalil Ahmad and senior official of the foreign office also attended the meeting.

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BARCELONA, Nov 19 (Reuters) – Norwegian telecoms company Telenor (TEL.OL), which has operations in 13 countries in Europe and Asia, said it supported consolidation when asked about reports it was looking to buy a Pakistani rival.

“We we are in Pakistan for the long term,” finance director Trond Westlie said on Thursday at an investor conference. “We are not making acqusitions that call for a lot a cash in the next two years,” he said, adding he supported consolidation.

Asked about speculation Telenor was in talks about Warid Telecom, a Pakistani joint venture between Abu Dhabi Group & SingTel Group, Westlie said: “We have not commented on any discussion with anybody. We are aware the market is moving but we will not comment before we deliver”.

The number of mobile phone subscribers in Pakistan stood at 95.9 million at end-September, according to the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority.

Mobilink, which belongs to Egypt’s Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA) is the dominant operator with a market share of 31.3 percent followed by Telenor with 22.6 percent.

Smaller players, apart from Warid Telecom, are Ufone, part of Emirates Telecommunications Group, and Mobile China’s Zong.

Total wireless subscribers in Pakistan were seen reaching 132 million in 2013, according to consulting firm IE Market Research.

source: http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSLJ44922220091119

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Islamabad, 19th November 2009. Tameer Microfinance Bank and Telenor Pakistan have announced launch of Money Transfer, the second in a suite of products being offered under easypaisa. Money Transfer is a secure, easy and convenient way of sending and receiving domestic remittances through easypaisa retail outlets. Users will have the convenience to access the service from more than 4,000 easypaisa merchants, a figure expected to reach 20,000 by the end of year 2010.

CEO Tameer Microfinance Bank, Nadeem Hussain considers domestic remittances a key point in providing financial access to the rural population. “Remittance flow plays a valuable role in supporting the economy. It also offers significant potential to support income of poor and vulnerable groups. Remittances are often the first and sometimes the only financial service used in low income households. Hence the potential for an accessible banking agent in remote areas of the country is immense.” He said.

At the launch of Money Transfer, CEO Telenor Pakistan Jon Eddy Abdullah said, “Providing Money Transfer service is the next step in the development of easypaisa as a unique branchless banking solution. World Bank estimates the domestic transfer volume in Pakistan to be at $6.95 billion per year. Through this service we not only aim to target all current users of domestic remittance services but also to help bring some portion of $ 2 to $ 4 billion transacted through informal channel into mainstream.”

Tameer’s original branchless banking pilot was developed in partnership with the technology program at Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a microfinance center housed at the World Bank. The program is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Telenor Pakistan & Tameer Microfinance Bank’s easypaisa portfolio, which now includes Bill Payment solution and Money Transfer, is scheduled to come up with services such as, mobile wallet accounts, cash deposits and withdrawal facilities in near future. The services offer innovation, freedom, security and convenience.

Media Clarification

Islamabad, November 05, 2009: Recently, media has reported that IESCO and LESCO have asked their customers to not deposit their bills at Tameer bank’s easypaisa retailers. IESCO and LESCO have taken the position that they do not have an agreement with Tameer bank for bill collection through this channel.

Tameer Bank has a contract with KASB authorizing it to collect bills and deposit them through KASB’s aggregator service. Tameer Bank entered into an electronic bill collection arrangement with KASB Bank under their “eUBS” service in 2007. This Service Level Agreement was enhanced in February 2009 to cater for its Branchless Banking approval. The channels covered under this arrangement include IVR, ATM, Call Center, POS and other Over the Counter (OTC) modes. We would like to highlight that all utility companies, which have electronic billing arrangements with KASB have been made available to member banks as well. Therefore, Tameer Bank rightly availed this electronic collection under its umbrella agreement with KASB.

As per contract, KASB is responsible for all negotiations and arrangements with utility companies, and we are asking them to resolve this issue with IESCO and LESCO as soon as possible.

In the interest of our valued customers, Tameer Bank and Telenor Pakistan have decided to temporarily suspend the service from IESCO at easypaisa merchants. This service will be resumed as soon as the agreement issues between IESCO and Tameer Bank are resolved.

Tameer Bank and Telenor Pakistan would like to reassure all easypaisa customers who have already paid their IESCO and LESCO bills that their amounts have safely been deposited with the relevant utility companies. Furthermore, our dedicated helpline, 111-345-100 is available 24/7, to address any customer concerns related to easypaisa or previous transactions. Customers are requested to contact with their transaction ID.

Telenor Pakistan & Tameer Bank launch ‘easypaisa’

Islamabad, 15th October 2009. Telenor Pakistan and Tameer Microfinance Bank together have announced the launch of easypaisa, a uniquely convenient and safe way for everyone to carry out financial transactions. easypaisa users will have the freedom to make bill payments and send and receive money at thousands of outlets and in addition manage their bank accounts over their mobile phones. easypaisa combines the best from the financial and mobile sectors, offering the first branchless banking solution of its kind in Pakistan and neighboring countries.

Presiding over the easypaisa launch event, Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Syed Salim Raza in his address emphasized government’s focus on promoting financial access in the country. He said, “Helping people to get access to financial services is central to improving their livelihood. Branchless banking has been used internationally as a successful tool to reach customers who cannot be served by conventional branch-based financial services. That is why State Bank has been very supportive of innovative synergies in this field, a prime example of which is easypaisa by Tameer Bank and Telenor Pakistan.”

Director Telecom, Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunications, Mudassar Hussain highlighted the critical role mobile industry has to play in providing financial access to the un-banked. He said, “The total life of mobile industry in Pakistan is less than 20 years while formal banking channels have been around for some 60 years. However, interestingly, in comparison to more than 90 million mobile subscriptions, the number of bank accounts is less than 30 million. The Ministry is of the view that this presents an immense opportunity for the mobile industry to add value to the financial sector and serve the un-banked. We have been actively supporting the consultation process and hope that easypaisa becomes a resounding success story for the industry and country.”

Chief Executive Officer, Telenor Pakistan, Jon Eddy Abdullah called easypaisa a revolutionary solution. He said, “easypaisa will allow users across the board to access convenient and secure financial services. In an environment where only 12% of adult population is formally served with financial services, easypaisa will promise tremendous financial empowerment. It will provide opportunity for everyone to utilize well-priced, secure, and efficient financial services at the corner store without opening a bank account, or through ones own handset with a Tameer Bank account depending on the transaction type. The inclusion into the general economy will create opportunities to save, pay for services more efficiently without the loss of productivity, and to utilize more advanced financial instruments in the future.

Chief Executive Officer, Tameer Microfinance Bank, Nadeem Hussain talked about how branchless banking can help the low-income customer segment currently served by Tameer Bank.  “Tameer has been a pioneer in scalable retail micro finance operations with initial focus on lending. Tameer has always embraced new technologies to lower operating costs. Mobile phones – along with other technologies and banking agents are beginning to offer the opportunity of giving financial services to the many millions of people and low cost who have never had a bank account.”

Telenor Pakistan & Tameer Bank’s easypaisa portfolio, initially launched with Bill Payment solution, is scheduled to come up with services such as money transfer, mobile wallet accounts, cash deposits and withdrawal facilities in near future. The services are for everyone offering innovation, freedom, security and convenience.

About Telenor Pakistan
The Telenor Group is an international provider of high quality tele, data and media communication services with mobile operations in 13 markets across the Nordic region, Central and Eastern Europe and in Asia. The Telenor Group is among the largest mobile operators in the world with over 168 million mobile subscriptions and a workforce of more than 40,000. Telenor Pakistan is 100% owned by Telenor ASA and adds on to its operations in Asia.

Growth comes from truly understanding the needs of people to drive relevant change.

About Tameer Bank
Tameer Bank, a fast growing microfinance bank licensed by State Bank of Pakistan in August 2005, rated A- (single A minus) and A-2 (A two) by JCRVIS, has a current network of 31 on-line branches and 35 on-line sales & service centers across Sindh and Punjab. It has given new complexion to the microfinance sector by induction of innovative technology driven financial services to the under-served population through choice of bank tellers, ATM machines and Point of Sale (POS) terminals. Its product set includes loans, deposits, overdrafts, insurance, payments and domestic remittances.  Since inception, Tameer has disbursed more than Rs 3.5 billion with an active portfolio of Rs. 1.4 billion and over 70,000 loan customers with delinquency trend of under 2% supported with a deposit base of more than Rs 940 million. The total customer base of Tameer has crossed 145,000 with staff strength of 1,100.

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