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China Mobile launched ZONG in Pakistan

China Mobile - world's largest cellular company which acquired Paktel last year - has launched a new brand name ZONG.

Telecom Traffic Shifted to Alternate Cables after Damage

According to PTA, international telecom traffic of voice and data has been shifted to alternate cables by PTCL immediately after damage to the two undersea cables (FLAG and SEA-ME-WE-4) at different locations on Tuesday. A spokesman of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has said that the availability of bandwidth has not been affected and all the telecom traffic to and from Pakistan is operating normally.

It may be noted that one cable was damaged near Alexandria, Egypt, and the other in the waters off Marseille, France. The two cables, which are separately managed and operated, were damaged within hours of each other. Pakistan is linked with the outside world with See Me We 3, See Me We 4, TWA1 and FLAG undersea cables. The fault is likely to be rectified within a week, the spokesman added.

Regulator Terminates Cellular License in Pakistan

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has, with immediate effect, terminated the license of M/S PAKCOM (Instaphone) on account of Company's failure to pay its outstanding dues. The payable amount would be recovered under Section 30 of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act. The Authority has issued a detailed determination in this regard.

According to details, M/S PAKCOM's license was renewed on April 19, 2005 for another term of 15 years against the price of US$ 291 Million payable in installments as per the license conditions. The licensee failed to follow the payment schedule provided in its renewed license. The licensee, through its representative from time to time, requested the Authority to allow time to make the outstanding payments. Inspite of every concession, to the licensee, in terms of time and its persistent failure to make the payments, action, including show-cause, was initiated as per Section 23 of the Act, which was neither satisfactorily replied nor outstanding dues paid.

In the final hearing on November 29, 2007 the representative of M/S Instaphone requested for further time to make the payments but without any cogent evidence or specific date for the same. The Authority's considered opinion is that the licensee's contravention of the terms and conditions of the license regarding its financial obligations is grave and persistent, resulting in the termination of its license. PTA has also directed Frequency Allocation Board to immediately withdraw its frequency spectrum assigned to M/S Instaphone.

Wateen Telecom Launches WiMAX Service

WiMax networks and Wireless Broadband services have been commercially launched across the country heralding a new milestone in the Telecom sector of Pakistan.

The launch of commercial WiMax services has positioned Pakistan as the leader in the region to initiate wireless Broadband services that would be available to its consumers nation wide. Other regional countries including India are yet to offer such services; analysts believe that these countries may take a considerable time to reach the position that Pakistan has attained.

WiMax is the latest, ITU recognized, 3G technology capable of providing voice, broadband data and commercial video telephony services. With the launch of WiMax services in Pakistan, the subscribers to this service will be able to make video calls and telephony through special handsets while callers will be able to see live video/picture of each other in addition to voice conversation. The users will also enjoy wireless broadband services and will be able to use Internet at much faster speed as compared to normal dialup internet services or fixed line broadband services. These operators are also aiming at providing broadband data solution for corporate users in Pakistan.

At present M/s Wateen Telecom, an international telecom player is offering commercial WiMax services in most parts of the country. Mytel, a local operator in Peshawar, has also launched its commercial operation of WiMax in Peshawar. On the same front, other Wireless Local Loop operators including Burraq, PTCL, Z-WLL and Cyber Internet are busy in the deployment of WiMax networks. All of these operators are in their testing phase and will soon be able to offer commercial WiMax services in the country.

Keywords: Pakistan Telecom, Warid, Paktel, Telenor, Ericsson

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