Continuing to fight against one of the most fatal female cancer in Pakistan, Warid Telecom is again supporting National Breast Cancer Awareness Drive this year in collaboration with Pink Ribbon, Pakistan.

Marking October 2011 a Pink Month company-wide, a series of pink activities are planned for both employees and general public to create awareness. A workshop for Warid female staff was organized with the mission to train the attendees so they can take care of themselves and can also volunteer to further educate others in their surrounding communities. Warid Customer Service staff at Business Centers in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi are volunteering in distributing awareness material on the fatal Cancer and the importance of its early diagnosis. Company’s official website carried awareness material for web surfers while a text awareness message was also broadcasted to Warid customers.

Group photo of Warid female staff at Breast Cancer seminar held in Lahore this Tuesday, aimed attraining staff to volunteer and further spread the word around.

Battling cancer is one of the most devastating experiences for a woman and her family. They never say and are never told they are cured – only in remission. Doing its part earnestly by searching new and creative ways to help local community, Warid Telecom has always shown strong commitment towards the well being of the society.

Airtel website with Apple iPhone 3GS

Airtel put the iPhone 3GS promotional animation on its website as well. The company is emphasizing on Apple’s GUI, speed, video camera and voice control features apart from operator’s own promotion of free 500MB data transfer. “Load web pages, launch apps,open attachments, and take pictures faster than ever before. iPhone 3GS makes your entire iPhone experience more responsive.” says company’s website.

Free 500MB data transfer per month offer will be valid for a period of 1 year. With this, users can enjoy free Internet for the whole year, provided their Internet usage does not exceed mentioned volume of 500MB.

Abtul Bindal, President Mobile Services Bharti Airtel earlier said: “We are delighted with the opportunity to bring the eagerly-awaited iPhone 3GS to India. Combining the strength of the Airtel brand and network with the great user interface of iPhone 3GS, we are happy to bring to our customers an experience that will take mobile communications to a whole new level.”

Although this launch was much awaited and it took more time than usual to launch iPhone 3GS in India, it is expected that it will improve iPhone sales in India and will shake mobile handsets market. For some it is an expensive luxury whereas some are dying to buy it for its innovative design and hype.

In view of the importance of local contents and applications for future promotion of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) industry and infrastructure, PTA in collaboration with Motorola organized an exclusive conference on “Promoting ICT Sector” here, today. Secretary IT & Telecom, Naguibullah Malik, Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammed Yaseen, Member (Finance) PTA, Syed Nasrul Karim Ghaznavi, Member (Technical) PTA, Dr. Khawar Siddique Khokhar, leading representatives from IT & telecommunication sector and renowned academic & research scholars attended the conference.

Through this conference, a unique platform was provided to potential content providers to present their applications and ideas linked with ICT usage and development. Nine (9) local content providers displayed their applications during the conference which were highly appreciated by the ICT industry.  This conference was planned to spot the latest access technologies in the country and understand the challenges faced by telecom industry in terms of high cost of ownership and OPEX.

Addressing the conference Secretary IT & Telecom said that for the promotion of ICT sector in Pakistan, there is an acute need of bringing consensus among the Government, IT Industry, Telcos and academia to map out effective strategies for the best utilization of available opportunities in this sector. In this regard, he appreciated this initiative of PTA for providing an important platform for some constructive dialogue and discussion.

Secretary IT drew attention of the participants to four main focus areas which could give a boost to the development of ICT sector. Those areas include IT & Telecom education, research, entrepreneurship and local industries. He said that to carry out productive work in these areas, support of an efficient policy is also mandatory, for which the Government is working extensively and soon this policy will be introduced to the industry.

Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammed Yaseen said that the telecom sector of Pakistan has shown a rapid growth in the last few years. Especially the voice segment has been leading the other segments of telecommunication. Today, we have around 97.6 million cellular subscribers with total teledensity reaching upto 63.5%. However, the sector is still under-served as far as broadband is concerned.  He said that the key issue in further development of data segment is non-availability of local contents and applications which can contribute towards formulation of ICT-based economy.

He also highlighted the role of academia as a potential contributor of this sector. He said that a few educational institutes in Pakistan are already engaged in conducting useful research work but the contributory role of academia at large is, unfortunately, a ‘missing link’. At present, Pakistan’s telecom sector is in dire need of establishing strong academia linkage with industry and government to accelerate future technical excellence and entrepreneurship. He said that we need to encourage the participation of all stakeholders in this effort so that the issues, problems and barriers faced by the industry in the promotion of ICT sector may be highlighted and addressed properly hence the appropriate way outs to those problems can also be identified.

In reference to its endeavors for the development of ICTs in Pakistan, Dr. Yaseen said that PTA has taken number of initiatives to launch and promote new innovative solutions for the betterment of telecom industry and society and would continue its efforts till the set objectives are achieved completely. He invited all the stake holders to join their hands with PTA in order to bring about spectacular growth in the ICT sector as well as to enhance their own business in the market.

It may be mentioned that development of ICTs has become an important growth factor for countries around the globe. With every passing day, the world is edging into an information-based age. The rapid evolution of ICTs is clearly re-shaping daily lives, enhancing productivity and transforming the economies.

Tech and gadgets portal

The QoS surveys is a regular activity of PTA and the objective is to ensure that the interests of the consumers of telecommunication services are duly safeguarded and that the licensees are providing the telecom services as per the service quality standards of the license.

PTA, from time to time, has been repeatedly informing PTCL about its poor QoS and PTCL was directed to improve the quality as per license conditions, however, no improvement made therein despite ample time provided to PTCL.  As a result, show cause notice has been served to initiate the proceedings against the licensee as per rules.

According to the details, survey was conducted across Pakistan including major and small cities and rural areas from August to October 2009 along with the PTCL representatives on a mutually agreed survey methodology. It may be mentioned that this is the first instance of PTCL being show caused on account of poor quality of service which clearly shows the PTA’s resolve for not compromising on sub-standard services to the telecom consumers.

Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammed Yaseen said that ensuring quality services to consumers has always been priority to PTA. This is evident from the continuous surveys conducted by PTA for both mobile and fixed line sectors. The recent establishment of Consumer Protection Directorate, providing fast and easy complaint registration mechanism is another major step in protecting and safeguarding consumer interests.

Following are details regarding Ufone SMS delivery reports package Ufone is offering right now:

Mechanics:

Delivery Report is a monthly subscription based service. To subscribe user will SMS ‘SUB’ to 148.

To unsubscribe SMS UNSUB to 149

Delivery Reports is an auto-subscription service. User subscription will automatically be renewed with deduction of service charge amount at the end of each subscription month. Users will be required to enable delivery report feature of their handset to be able to receive delivery reports.

If auto-subscription fails due to insufficient balance. Recharge Ur account & SMS ‘SUB’ to 148 to subscribe

Charges:

• Subscription Service Charge = Rs. 9.99/- plus tax
• Un-subscription Service Charge = Rs 0/-

Note:

• The service is available for both prepaid and postpaid customers.
• All rates are exclusive of GST
• 19.5% FED on usage and 10% withholding tax at recharge or bill applies.

The spokesman clarified that it was never a mandate of PTA to monitor landline telephones, mobile phones, emails and SMS hence question of freedom of expression does not arise in this particular case. In fact, PTA in its efforts to curb illegal telecom traffic (grey traffic) coming into Pakistan from outside the country through illegal means, has installed a latest technical system. Through this system, all telecom traffic coming in Pakistan from abroad is counted to ensure usage of authorized means to carry out this business, to control illegal telecom traffic, billing verification and quality of service as required under the law.

PTA  during past few months has seized number of such illegal exchanges and apprehended persons including foreigners involved in this illegal business. These illegal systems were causing billions of rupees loss to the Government of Pakistan thus by raiding such places PTA performed its legal and national duty which might have harmed interest of few individuals fuelling concocted stories in the media. During last one year PTA saved 1.17 billion minutes (calls) through the technical system amounting to US $ 94 million.

To make this system more effective PTA has recently formulated draft of “Monitoring and Reconciliation of Telephony Traffic Regulations 2009”. These regulations were originally formed and notified in November 2008 and now few amendments have been proposed to enhance the scope of these regulations under the law. The proposed regulations are aimed at checking international calls to curb the illegal telecom traffic coming in Pakistan. PTA has put the draft of proposed regulations on its website to seek comments of all concerned to make these regulations comprehensive and acceptable to all.

This initiative is part of the pursuance of PTA’s efforts against illegal sale of jammers. PTA carried out extensive survey and upon investigation and confirmation, successful raids were conducted by PTA and FIA on different shops at Karachi Electronic Market in Saddar. A total of 30 jammers were recovered and owners were arrested.

Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammed Yaseen said that under Telecom (Re-Organization) Act 1996, PTA is to ensure that the rights of the licensees and telecom users are duly protected. Sale of illegal Cellular Mobile Jamming Device and its usage has resulted in call dropping and degraded quality issues. Resultantly, the public and service providers were facing inconvenience due to illegal and unauthorized sale of jammers, their installation and operation.

Chairman PTA further said that Government of Pakistan has issued a Policy under which installation of jamming devices /disablers without permission, is illegal.  He said that PTA as a regulator is vigilant and shall take all measures to stop this unlawful activity. He also warned all those involved in selling or installing of jammers to stop such unlawful activities, otherwise strict action will be initiated against them as per the law.

In recent months, PTa has become more active against illegal use of telecom services and devices.

Sales veteran to lead operations in India and Nepal

Starting September 1, Nokia Siemens Networks will be led by Urs Pennanen in India. Currently Urs is the Head of Sales for the company’s Operations and Business Software business unit in Finland. He takes over as Sub Region Head of Nokia Siemens Networks for India and Nepal from Michael Kuehner.

Commenting on the appointment, Christian Fredrikson, Head of APAC Region, Nokia Siemens Networks said, “Urs brings with him close to 20 years of marketing, sales and general management experience, 16 of which were within this company. He’s a sales veteran, and currently leads sales for two business areas that are key to our future growth. This combination is perfect to steer our future growth in a dynamic market like India.”

Over the next few years, Nokia Siemens Networks’ focus in India will be to grow its market share in the country, with a specific focus on 3G. The company also seeks to consolidate its existing footprint among local communication service providers and build strategic partnerships with new entrants.

In his new role as Head of Sub-region India, Urs will drive this strategy, ensuring that Nokia Siemens Networks continues to enable the adoption of leading edge communication technologies in the country.

Singapore operator StarHub can now offer an improved mobile broadband experience to its subscribers. The operator has expanded its 3G core network to increase data speeds and provide a smooth mobile surfing experience to its customers, efficiently and cost effectively.

“Data traffic has increased exponentially over the last two years, and StarHub is now geared to handle the current and future traffic needs of its subscribers. What’s more, there is no need to invest substantial amounts of money to build capacity to handle the increased data throughput. It’s really thanks to this innovative software offering from Nokia Siemens Networks that routes 3G data traffic effectively, improving the user experience while reducing capital and operating expenses,” said Peter Cook, Vice-President of Integrated Network Engineering, StarHub.

Nokia Siemens Networks has expanded the network capacity by implementing a flat network architecture, using its Direct Tunnel solution. This expansion will strengthen StarHub’s HSPA+ (High Speed Packet Access)-based wireless broadband service, which offers speeds of 21 Mbps and beyond.

Added Lars Biese, Head of Asia South, Nokia Siemens Networks, “We are continually looking for ways to help our customer improve the end-user experience, while they improve their own efficiency. Our packet core solutions have helped StarHub achieve its capacity expansion goal and enhance the end user experience. In addition, the implementation of flat network architecture allows StarHub to make the most of this investment, by also preparing its network for the future.”

In this harmonized go-to-market strategy, NEC India would integrate Tata Indicom Broadband’s offerings in its direct marketing initiatives aimed at the hospitality and education sectors. Tata Indicom Broadband, in turn, would offer special discounts on a bouquet of related value added services which will expedite the empowering of educational institutes and the hospitality industry. 

Tata Indicom Broadband, offers different forms of internet access like Broadband, Wi-Fi,  Dial-up and other services like gaming, movies, music, anti-virus, etc. on a single account. NEC offers solutions and services for ubiquitous networking supported by Next Generation Network (NGN) and IT integrated technologies. This partnership is uniquely positioned to deliver key value-added solutions that enable both companies to capitalize on their respective strengths.

“It’s our constant endeavor to offer integrated technology solutions which benefit both the hospitality and education fraternity. Going forward in the same endeavor, we are partnering with NEC to offer our bouquet of communication products and technology solutions to these sectors,” said Mr Mehul Kapadia, Head Sales and Marketing for Tata Indicom Broadband.

Speaking on the tie-up Mr Rajiv Bhalla, Country Head Sales and Marketing, NEC India Pvt. Ltd. said, “We are excited to announce our tie-up with Tata Indicom Broadband. We collectively aim to fortify the education and hospitality sectors with latest and superior technology & custom-made solutions. Our alliance with Tata Indicom Broadband will facilitate us in strengthening our business capabilities in India and also to expand our IT and networking businesses in the rapidly expanding Indian market”.

Going forward NEC and Tata Indicom Broadband would explore further opportunities to take this relationship forward offering exciting bundled promotions. Together, the alliance will strive to empower both the Indian education and hospitality sectors with continual innovations and superior services.