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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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To be a part of a fast growing telecom market and to get aligned with the number of services which Cellular companies are providing, PTCL once again has come up with another innovative and appealing offer which is a part of ongoing Synergy Projects with its sister concerned company UFONE .

Through this offer any customer who wants to acquire a new telephone connection (NTC) can also get UFONE SIM with the same number (03xx-7 digit) as of PTCL Landline. There wouldn’t be any special charges for UFONE SIM , on the top of that UFONE SIM would be sent to the customer through TCS.

This shows PTCL’s commitment towards its valued customers by providing them a service with an ease of remembering just one number for both landline and Mobile Phone. This also gives comfort to your callers as they don’t have to remember more than one number.

Product Tariff:

• No special charges for PTCL number/UFONE SIM
• Same installation fee and line rent charges for PTCL Landline.
• SIM will be sent to the customer through TCS. Customer just needs to pay ordinary UFONE charges (Rs 150 and a balance of Rs 100 will be available)

Order Line:

This service can be acquired by calling 0800 80 800 helpline or through walk-in channels.

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KARACHI – A significant quantity of Chinese-made handsets are available in Pakistan that come without valid International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) that has posed serious threats to the national security as such phones have allegedly been used by the terrorists.
It was found that the lack of unique IMEI numbers has made it impossible to detect the suspected calls from a specific handset. It was further learnt that IMEI series allocation happens only in hardware type approval.
Moreover, these Chinese handsets are fully functional, however, they lack IMEI programming because Chinese manufacturers are usually not registered companies thus no IMEI range is allocated to them.
The government of Pakistan has yet not initiated any plan to combat this issue. On the other hand Indian media has reported that as many as 25 million Chinese handsets were blocked in India which were available in the market without valid IMEI numbers. It was reported that the move came after The Department of Telecommunications, India (DoT) had instructed the operators to block cell phones without a valid IMEI number.
In this regard several phone sellers have confirmed that the Chinese handsets are usually the duplicates of branded phones. These mobile phones are without IMEI numbers which are typically low-end handsets manufactured by the small Chinese phone manufacturers who cut their costs by skipping the IMEI programming stage.
They were of the view that cellular companies and manufacturers in the country are heeding to adopt the prerequisites in this regard but they have yet to streamline mobile connection ownership issues.
“Let’s not expect any super natural thing in Pakistan regarding this in near future,” commented an official. He further said that the cellular operators in India had offered such subscribers to either discard their handsets or bring them to official outlets of cellular companies to re-programme their IMEI numbers.

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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: Ufone, an Etisalat group company and one of the leading telecom companies in Pakistan won two awards at the Etisalat Group Chief Marketing Officer (GCMO) Forum. Sheikh Younas, Chief Officer Sales and Distribution said, “Team Ufone has worked 24/7 to ensure the best customer support in the industry and our team has worked hard to clinch these awards”. At the event, Ufone won two awards in a competition amongst 18 Etisalat operations around the world. It was nominated in Physical Customer Experience and Online categories.

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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 final document on first-ever-five-year Information Technology (IT) policy document is submitted to the Planning Commission of the government of Pakistan, said Salim Ghauri, Chairman of the Task Force on Information Technology and Communication Technologies (ICT).

In a statement he said that the Planning Commission will examine the document and finalize it by February 2010 before tabling it to the Parliament.

The Government of Pakistan had formed the Task Force on ICT to place Pakistan as a major player in software exports.

Other objectives included the development of domestic software/ computer hardware and telecom equipment industry, development of citizen centric applications/services especially in local language, raising quality and enrolment of I.T. education, creating large employment opportunities in IT/Telecom, making Pakistan a major I.T. manpower exporter, making recommendations for the promotion of IT/Telecom sectors, suggest incentives and estimate the investment requirements for the GOP and private sector.

The recommendations of ICT task force will go not only into the next five year plan (i.e. 2010-2015) but also to make contingency planning for reducing the impact of global economic crises on Pakistan.

Ghauri said the IT policy document has strongly recommended the government to incorporate the IT policy in the national trade policy.

He said the IT industry was all set to lead Pakistan’s exports in near future provided the government is serious in recognizing its potential like the neighbouring country.

He said the IT policy document has also urged the government to facilitate the software houses in registration with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to make them visible in country’s exports.

“Earnings of the companies doing I.T. exports are much higher than the figures reported by the State Bank of Pakistan,” he said, adding: “The IT industry exports have touched to the magical figure of $1 billion and ways and means are needed to be explored to encourage the IT companies for reporting their exports earnings to the SBP.”

He said the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) data suggests that only 17 I.T. companies were registered with SBP, a few years back, which has now increased to about 179 companies against a total of around 1200 IT companies registered with the PSEB.

He said the Task Force has also assigned the task of survey of the IT industry to the PSEB to ascertain the actual size of the industry, which later on would be published by the federal statistical division.

The meeting was attended by Dr Samar Mubarikman, DG Planning Commission and representatives from PSEB, Ministry of Information Technology and other departments

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ISLAMABAD: Internet service providers (ISPs) in Islamabad have registered complaints with the ministry of information technology against what they called ‘unfair’ market practices and ‘unreasonable’ policies.

‘Blocking voice packages on internet indiscriminately’ topped their list of worries.

‘The authority has been blocking internet IP addresses indiscriminately without issuing notices,’ said an ISP, adding ‘We don’t object that PTA blocks illegal traffic but most genuine customers like call centres, corporate and home customers have been facing problems every time they want to use this facility – cut off and significant decrease in flow of traffic.’

The ISPs approached the ministry regarding complaints in the recently signed DSL interconnect agreement between Pakistan Telecommunication Company and the internet service providers. ‘We categorically made a point that all the ISPs were signing it under protest because there was already a lot of pressure on us,’ said another ISP.

Even though the ISPs claimed that they had no objection to renegotiating the agreements, ‘Amendments were made by reducing the duration of the agreement to two years that was initially agreed to last more the ten years coinciding with the licences of the ISPs,’ said an internet service provider.

In their complaints, ISPs urged the government to look into the issue to remove the Rs150 PTCL line rent for providing DSL. ‘Our stance is that fixed line customers pay nearly Rs200 line rent separately. Another Rs150 line rent did not make sense,’ he said.

Even though secretary IT assured of immediate action but five months on the ministry of information technology has been silent. ‘The IT ministry is aware of our grievances. And we turn to them for solution,’ he added. PTA conceded blocking IP addresses but only those operating illegally.

‘Our system monitors heavy traffic over the internet and most importantly traces illegally operating ISPs. We involve the FIA to apprehend culprits and have had 100 per cent success. Issuing notices or early warnings would alert offenders before we move in on them,’ said an official with the PTA.

When contacted, an official in the ministry of IT also conceded that ISPs were facing problems regarding operations and the ministry was looking into it to provide them relief. —Staff Reporter

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May lose high-revenue-yielding subscribers; but users to benefit.

Introduction of mobile number portability (MNP) may be good news for consumers but is likely to hit the existing operators on account of shifting of high average revenue per user (Arpu) users to new players, say analysts.

“MNP will have a negative impact on incumbent GSM operators like Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone-Essar in the near term due to loss of high-Arpu customers to new entrants or dual-technology service providers like Reliance Communications, TataDoCoMo and Uninor, who have little to lose after MNP,” Religare Hichens Harrison Analyst Himanshu Shah said.

In India, with declining tariffs, increasing competition (given that there are 12-14 players per circle) and commodified voice as the prime product, the service quality was typically poor, which would induce customers to change their service providers, he said. Consequently, incumbent GSM operators with a wider subscriber base remained vulnerable to new entrants due to spectrum paucity, he said.

The porting charges, fixed at Rs 19 by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), are likely to intensify competition in India’s already crowded telecom industry.

Echoing similar views, Citigroup said in a report that the charges, at Rs 19, were lower than expected and would prove to be negative for incumbents.The lower-than-expected porting charges may put pressure on post-paid tariffs, which contribute about 15 per cent to the wireless revenues of large incumbents.

High spenders and post-paid and business subscribers showed a greater tendency to switch if MNP was introduced, Nielsen Executive-Director (telecom practice) Shankari Panchapakesan said. Post-paid subscribers had almost double the minutes of usage than pre-paid subscribers, he said, adding that incidence of data application usage was also higher among post-paid users and high spenders.

MNP has been successful in like Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, Norway and Denmark, but it has generated a lukewarm response in the US, the UK and Pakistan.

The porting charge has been arrived at using a 15 per cent return on capital employed, with the churn rate estimated at 15 per cent for the first 15 months and 7 per cent, 6 per cent and 5 per cent for the successive three years, respectively, according to Citigroup.

The charge was expected to be in the range of Rs 100-150. It be paid by the consumer to switch his service provider.

Panchapakesan said introduction of MNP was good news for consumers but a threat for mobile operators.

According to a mobile consumer insight study by Nielsen, it is estimated that close to one in five (18 per cent) Indian mobile phone subscribers will change their mobile operators after introduction of MNP.

“MNP represents a powerful opportunity for operators to drive in-bound porting of high-value subscribers, provided they have a good understanding of who is more likely to switch and why,” he said.

However, incumbent players say they do not see subscribers moving out. A senior executive of a leading mobile service company said, “Why should our subscribers move. We provide them a pan-India coverage, unlike the new players who are present only in a few circles. Our tariff is the same and our network is better because we have made major investments over the years to ensure subscribers get proper coverage indoors, unlike the new operators that are putting in a few towers.”

MNP to hit big firms: Analysts Mansi Taneja / New Delhi November 29, 2009, 0:27 IST May lose high-revenue-yielding subscribers; but users to benefit. Also Read Related Stories News Now - MNP likely to be delayed - 'Will number portability hit old telcos?' - Cell users can change telcos for Rs 19 only - Will you switch? - Mobile number portability not before Dec 31: DoT - Mobile number portability likely by Dec 1: Trai Also Read Related Stories News Now - Markets recover at close - Care should be taken while withdrawing stimulus: FM - Bullion market insulated to Dubai debt heat, rebounds - Jt Secy (Judicial) to depose on sanction to prosecute Kasab - Abu Dhabi would come to Dubai's rescue, says economist More Introduction of mobile number portability (MNP) may be good news for consumers but is likely to hit the existing operators on account of shifting of high average revenue per user (Arpu) users to new players, say analysts. “MNP will have a negative impact on incumbent GSM operators like Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone-Essar in the near term due to loss of high-Arpu customers to new entrants or dual-technology service providers like Reliance Communications, TataDoCoMo and Uninor, who have little to lose after MNP,” Religare Hichens Harrison Analyst Himanshu Shah said. In India, with declining tariffs, increasing competition (given that there are 12-14 players per circle) and commodified voice as the prime product, the service quality was typically poor, which would induce customers to change their service providers, he said. Consequently, incumbent GSM operators with a wider subscriber base remained vulnerable to new entrants due to spectrum paucity, he said. The porting charges, fixed at Rs 19 by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), are likely to intensify competition in India’s already crowded telecom industry. Echoing similar views, Citigroup said in a report that the charges, at Rs 19, were lower than expected and would prove to be negative for incumbents.The lower-than-expected porting charges may put pressure on post-paid tariffs, which contribute about 15 per cent to the wireless revenues of large incumbents. High spenders and post-paid and business subscribers showed a greater tendency to switch if MNP was introduced, Nielsen Executive-Director (telecom practice) Shankari Panchapakesan said. Post-paid subscribers had almost double the minutes of usage than pre-paid subscribers, he said, adding that incidence of data application usage was also higher among post-paid users and high spenders. MNP has been successful in like Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, Norway and Denmark, but it has generated a lukewarm response in the US, the UK and Pakistan. The porting charge has been arrived at using a 15 per cent return on capital employed, with the churn rate estimated at 15 per cent for the first 15 months and 7 per cent, 6 per cent and 5 per cent for the successive three years, respectively, according to Citigroup. The charge was expected to be in the range of Rs 100-150. It be paid by the consumer to switch his service provider. Panchapakesan said introduction of MNP was good news for consumers but a threat for mobile operators. According to a mobile consumer insight study by Nielsen, it is estimated that close to one in five (18 per cent) Indian mobile phone subscribers will change their mobile operators after introduction of MNP. “MNP represents a powerful opportunity for operators to drive in-bound porting of high-value subscribers, provided they have a good understanding of who is more likely to switch and why,” he said. However, incumbent players say they do not see subscribers moving out. A senior executive of a leading mobile service company said, “Why should our subscribers move. We provide them a pan-India coverage, unlike the new players who are present only in a few circles. Our tariff is the same and our network is better because we have made major investments over the years to ensure subscribers get proper coverage indoors, unlike the new operators that are putting in a few towers.” Other Stories - Markets recover at close - Care should be taken while withdrawing stimulus: FM - Bullion market insulated to Dubai debt heat, rebounds - Jt Secy (Judicial) to depose on sanction to prosecute Kasab - Abu Dhabi would come to Dubai's rescue, says economist More Tags : mobile number portability | average revenue per user | GSM operator | Bharti Airtel | Idea Cellular and Vodafone-Essar | Trai Read Business news in Advertisements PSU investment opportunities - Invest in India's biggest story Get financial advisory and solutions for your projects Holidays starting at a delightful EMI of Rs 3481 Switch on and say hello to Monday morning ! Your dream home can now be a reality. Visit Fortis for a preventive health check-up & get a 20% discount. 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