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Pakistan's telecom regulator initiates development of ICT security framework

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) organized an Expert Group Forum meeting on "Information Security Guidelines for the Government of Pakistan" today with the aspiration to setup comprehensive, pragmatic and implementable security guidelines that could be followed to ensure that country’s national asset and information, does not reach unauthorized personnel. These guidelines would not only prevent information loss, but would also detect and identify such incidents as and when they happen. More

PTCL unveils Network Operating Center (NOC)

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has today unveiled its Network Operations Center (NOC) project to media. According to PTCL, as part of its ongoing infrastructure development, it has embarked on a major investment program in this network operations center. The central NOC facility of PTCL is located in Islamabad. There are 3 regional NOCs in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Karachi respectively. Disaster Recovery would be done in Karachi. Executive Vice President Corporate Communications - Ali Qadir Gilani & Executive Vice President Development – Nasar Ullah facilitated the briefing. More

Nokia introduces affordable mobile devices for Pakistan

Nokia today introduced a range of affordable mobile devices specifically for people in Pakistan which will help in bridging the digital divide. In addition to Nokia's lowest cost handset to date, as well as its first handset for Pakistan market with an integrated digital music player. Speaking at the occasion, Marko Keskinen, Director of Strategy, Business Development and Industry Marketing at Nokia said "Nokia is well aware of the needs of emerging markets and we are executing a strategy to provide exceptional quality products and services to our consumers. More

Orascom's Mobilink commercially launches "Mobilink Infinity" mobile WiMAX service in Pakistan

Mobilink, Pakistan's cellular market leader, and Alcatel-Lucent have announced the commercial launch of Mobilink Infinity, a wireless broadband and telephony service for residential and enterprise consumers based on the mobile WiMAX standard, 802.16e-2005 (Rev-e). Mobilink Infinity went live on October 22 in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and major business center. More

Warid Telecom & Trafco Group renew agreement, sign VoIP & data communication contract

Warid Telecom (Pvt.) Ltd. and Trafco Group renewed their agreement and signed another contract through which Trafco Group will utilize voice and data communication services of the GSM and EDGE network of Warid Telecom. Warid Telecom is providing voice and communications services through its state of the art GSM and EDGE network to Trafco since May 2006. Both Trafco and Warid have enjoyed and benefited from the partnership and has decided to strengthen the business relationship by extending the service contract for another year. More

PTA held 'Open Dialog' session on broadband prospects in Pakistan

An open 'Dialogue' meeting was organized by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on 6th November, 2008 in a local hotel to discuss proliferation issues in the country. The meeting was presided over by Dr.Muhammad Yaseen, Chairman PTA and attended by high level representatives from Ministry of Information Technology, Universal Service Fund, ICT R&D, Pakistan Software Export Board, PTA, Broadband Service Providers, Cellular Mobile Operators, Vendor, Consultants and Academia. More

Microsoft Pakistan held media workshop on software piracy

Microsoft held an interactive workshop for journalists to raise awareness on the role of media in the fight against software piracy, copyright infringement and to highlight the value of genuine software to consumers, businesses and the national economy. Microsoft took this initiative keeping in mind the hazards and threats posed by software piracy. More

PTCL signs GIS agreement with LMKR Pakistan

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd. (PTCL) and LMKR have signed an agreement for the deployment of a turnkey GIS solution. The solution will enable PTCL to better manage Access and Transmission networks and inside plant (OSP and ISP) infrastructure including its copper and optical fiber network. The GIS component will offer greater visibility to the technical staff by providing quantitative and qualitative spatial information about the capacity and integrity of the PTCL network and pinpoint faults and issues when they arise. More

Microsoft launches Imagine Cup 2009 & Innovation Accelerator Program in Pakistan

Microsoft Corporation launched the global Imagine Cup 2009 and Innovation Accelerator Program in Pakistan in the presence of a large crowd at Usman Institute of Technology Auditorium (Islamabad) comprising of students and faculty members from some of the leading Institutes of Pakistan. The Imagine Cup and Innovation Accelerator Program provide an opportunity for students to win an all-expense paid trip to Egypt and turn their technical products into commercial businesses. More

PTCL takes broadband to over 100 cities

PTCL has become the first company in Pakistan to provide Broadband services in over 100 cities across the country, whereas before PTCL's entry into the Broadband market in 2007, Broadband was primarily only available in the 3 major cities of the country. PTCL is spearheading the spread of broadband culture in Pakistan, where till a couple of years back there was little awareness in the market about the broadband & multimedia technologies, nor were there any significant players entering the field to cater for the mass market with high speed internet access. More

PTA says it is monitoring illegal telecom traffic

A meeting was held at Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Headquarters to review the progress of establishing International Clearing House (ICH) and Technical Facility to curb illegal traffic. The meeting was chaired by Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammad Yaseen and attended by Member (Finance) PTA Syed Nasrul Karim A. Ghaznavi, concerned PTA officials and LDI operators. More

Microsoft Pakistan announces lower prices for students and home users

Microsoft has launched its "Fully Packaged Products" for the general consumer market aimed specifically at students and individual home users in Pakistan. The FPP offering introduces genuine MS Office in Home and Student editions at a price 40 percent lower than its former price. The single full packaged product allows for licensed installation on 3 computers for the price of one—a benefit unique to the FPP. This promotional offer is being introduced to harbour greater interest and offer affordable solutions to the public. More

Warid Telecom introduces 'Self Recorded Caller Tunes' and 'Copy Caller Tunes' in Pakistan

Warid Telecom has started two new features for its subscribers, 'Self Recorded Caller Tunes' and 'Copy Caller Tunes'. Through 'Copy Caller Tunes', Warid caller tunes subscribers can capture their favorite caller tunes while dialing other Warid subscriber. The subscriber doesn’t need to remember tone identities anymore as the tones could be copied instantly and simply by pressing #. Warid subscriber can have up to five tones in his copy box. More

Nokia N96 arrives in Pakistan

Nokia has unveiled the Nokia N96 in Pakistan, a multimedia mobile device truly optimized for video and TV. With a large 2.8" screen, 16 gigabytes of internal memory and support for high-quality videos in a wide range of formats, the dual-slide Nokia N96 represents an exciting new chapter in mobile media. More

PTCL signs agreement with Telenor Pakistan to offer Skylink Satellite communication services

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited has signed an agreement with Telenor Pakistan for provision of its Skylink brand Satellite communication services. PTCL will provide the Skylink advanced satellite communication solution to enable backhaul of GSM traffic from Telenor Pakistan sites located in rural and remote areas to PTCL hub station located near Islamabad. More

Regulator decides to implement new system in Pakistan for SIMs verification

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has decided to implement a system for activation of new mobile SIMs after verification of customers antecedents from January 31, 2009. Â This decision was taken unanimously in a meeting of mobile companies CEOs and the regulatory affairs officials held at PTA headquarters. More

PTCL announces free dial-up Internet, competitors express concerns

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has decided to offer free internet service to all its customers, effective from October 18, 2008. Effective October 18th, all PTCL landline subscribers will have dial-up internet services free of charge. Internet service providers (ISPs) across the country have expressed their concerns on this 'Free Internet' offer by PTCL. More

Telenor Pakistan enters a new era of energy management

Telenor Pakistan has launched another environment-friendly initiative by using solar energy to power one of its Base Transceiver System (BTS) tower at Havelian, NWFP. Telenor Pakistan was the first telecom company which took the initiative to explore use of solar energy for commercial sites. More

PSEB all set to participate in GITEX Dubai 2008

Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) is all set to participate in GITEX Dubai 2008 from 19th to 23rd October 2008. GITEX Dubai is among the world’s top three IT exhibitions and proves to be the most important gateway to the Middle East market. This flagship event has placed Dubai on the map internationally as an emerging global technology hub and it continues to be the most important gateway to the Middle East ICT market. More

PTCL & Ufone announce alliance with Microsoft

Pakistan's largest telecom operator PTCL and Ufone signed a strategic agreement with Microsoft, joining the elite group of companies backed by the power of the world leader in software business solutions. Dubbed as a historical deal, the agreement will provide comprehensive software support, which will realize the full potential of personnel at both PTCL and Ufone. More

PTA directs LDI operators to follow approved settlement rates

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has directed all Long Distance & International (LDI) operators to maintain approved settlement rates for international calls at the level determined by the Authority and decided to issue show cause notices to the LDI operators involved in illegal call termination. These decisions were taken at PTA Headquarters in a meeting to review the Approved Settlement Rates (ASR) and Access Promotion Contribution (APC). More

Telecard appoints COO for WLL Business in Pakistan

Telecard Limited has appointed Syed Aamir Hussain as the Chief Operating Officer of their Wireless Local Loop Business. Aamir has over thirteen years of telecom experience in Pakistan and led the team that launched countries first Wireless Local Loop Service back in 2002 and GOCDMA consumer service in 2005. More

U.S. Department of State forms tele-medicine public-private partnership to improve healthcare in Pakistan

The U.S. Department of State has formed a telemedicine public-private partnership in Pakistan, demonstrating the transformative power of high speed connectivity in improving social services in remote areas. Other partners include IBM, Wateen Telecom, Motorola, Medweb, USAID, the U.S. Department of Defense Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Center, Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi, District Headquarters Hospital in Attock, and the Government of Pakistan. In addition, The U.S. Embassy’s involvement has been critical to the project's success. More

PTCL donates PKR 10 million for 'Benazir Income Support Program'

President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), Walid Irshaid has donated Rs. 10 million for Benazir Income Support Program. Walid Irshaid has announced this during the meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari at presidency. More

10.5 million unverified mobile connections blocked

Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Dr. Mohammed Yaseen presided over a high level meeting of Chief Executive Officers of all Mobile Companies today to discuss the progress of different deadlines given by PTA for blocking of unregistered SIMs, blocking of more than 10 connections on single CNIC and on the proposed project for "Activation of SIMs After Verification". More

Motorola to deploy WiMAX network in Pakistan for Wi-tribe

Motorola, Inc. today announced that it has signed a multi-year WiMAX contract with wi-tribe Pakistan limited, the all-new wireless broadband Internet provider to enter the country. Motorola will supply infrastructure and a comprehensive services package that will enable cost-effective, compelling wireless broadband services for wi-tribe's customers. More

IT companies resume business in Pakistan despite ETC damages

Amidst the damage of Evacuee Trust Complex (ETC) building where around 23 IT companies were housed, IT companies in Islamabad have restored their operations to normal from alternate facilities and are fulfilling contractual obligations to local and international clients. Mr. Talib Baloch, MD PSEB & Ms. Jehan Ara, President P@SHA said in a joint statement issued here after a meeting in Islamabad. More

USF awards contract to Telenor for Bahawalpur Lot

Universal Service Fund and Telenor have entered in a contract to provide basic telephony and data services to the population in the yet un-served areas of Bahawalpur "Lot", consisting of identified areas in Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur and Rahimyar Khan districts. More

Oracle chooses Pakistani students for graduate development

Oracle has selected five Pakistani students for its Asia Pacific Graduate Development Program. These graduate trainees from Pakistan were short-listed from among 250 applicants after a series of interviews and selection activities designed to evaluate abilities. More

Nokia N96 begins shipping

Nokia has announced the availability Nokia N96, its flagship multimedia computer in the iconic Nokia Nseries range. It boasts live TV, 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, turn-by-turn voice navigation, 16GB of internal memory that can be increased to 24GB with an optional microSD card, superior sound and music, N-Gage gaming and a stunning 2.8” display. More

Police thwarts piracy movement in Pakistan

In Pakistan, police has initiated series of crackdowns in an attempt to curb the growing threat of the rampant piracy throughout the country. As part of this renewed campaign, the local authorities raided several computer shops in North Nazimabad and Shahra-e-Faisal and confiscated computer processors, monitors, keyboards and approximately 260 CDs that were violating copyrights. More

PSEB issues guidelines for IT Companies to meet EU's standards

Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) has issued Recommendatory Guidelines for adoption of Model Clauses for transfer of personal data from the EU to third countries & Binding Corporate Rules for international transfers of personal data. More

Supernet signs tripartite agreement with MCB & MNET

SUPERNET Limited, MCB and MNET signed the first ever tripartite agreement to provide online purchase of Internet hours via MCB Virtual Banking facility. The product packages that Supernet offers to MCB are exclusively for the MCB Virtual Banking customers. The agreement signing ceremony was recently held in Karachi. Speaking on this occasion C.E.O Supernet Ltd Mr. Imran Malik appreciated the efforts made by MCB and M-NET to materialize this arrangement. More

Teradata holds talk with Government, aims to increase investment in Pakistan

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani met with Mr. Hermann Wimmer, president of Teradata Europe Middle East and Africa and Mr. Khuram Rahat, managing director of Teradata Pakistan to discuss furthering operations in the country. Mr. Gilani appreciated Teradata’s vision in tapping into Pakistan skilled resource pool and showed commitment from the Government to use Teradata’s decision support solutions for better governance. More

Nokia Pakistan launches Ramadan applications for mobile users

Nokia has announced the launch of a range of mobile applications and content tailored for the Holy Month of Ramadan. Building on last year’s offering, the new solutions are for free and come preloaded in select Nokia devices or as downloadable applications that extend to a range of Nokia devices. The online applications can be accessed and downloaded on the compatible Nokia devices from anywhere in the world under www.nokia.com/ramadan. More

HEC automates student administration using Oracle's People Soft

The Higher Education Commission (HEC)of Pakistan recently finished automating the student administration and management processes at two universities in Pakistan. Using Oracle Partner Techlogix solutions for process automation at these universities has eased the student administration process and improved efficiency with their Web Based PeopleSoft Enterprise Student Administration system. More

PSEB and Shaheen Foundation sign MoU for IT Park in Lahore

Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) has joined hands with Shaheen Foundation for the establishment of a new state-of-the-art IT Park measuring 360,000 square feet in Lahore. Operational from November 2008, the facility will be the one of the largest IT Parks in the country with redundant connectivity, power backups and top-of-the-line civic amenities. The park will be used for the international branding of Pakistan's IT Industry and can house more than thirty medium-sized IT companies at affordable rents. PTCL, being the strategic partner of PSEB will provide networking and communication infrastructure facilities for the park. More

Pakistan ready for 3G

The Government representation has said that Pakistan is ready for the introduction of the 3G spectrum for telecommunication. This was announced at an interactive one-day seminar titled ‘Has the clock struck 3G?’ in Islamabad to discuss the future of 3G telecommunication in Pakistan. The seminar, hosted by the SouthAsia Forum – a private sector think tank, highlighted key challenges in the advent of 3G and provided a platform for a candid discussion on the much debated subject of whether the Pakistani market is mature enough for it. More

PSEB taking initiatives to promote BPO sector

IT and BPO sector is growing at a phenomenal rate and the use of these technologies have actually impacted our daily life in a positive manner. This was stated by Mr. Hifz-ur-Rehman, Federal Secretary of IT and Telecom while addressing a conference on Call Centers and BPO co-organized by Pakistan Software Export Board on the third day of ITCN Asia 2008. More

PSEB at ICN Asia 2008 Karachi

Admitting that Pakistan is far behind in catching up the world outsourcing trend in the overall businesses, Federal Secretary IT & Telecom Hifz-Ur-Rehman, however, has said that the country's IT market is an exception that has emerged with having full potential to grab a substantial share in the international IT sector and enhance IT exports. More

Who is Dr. Yaseen? Brief profile of the new chairman PTA

In the Pakistan's telecom frontier all eyes are now on the newly appointed regulator chief - Dr. Yaseen. As the country's tele-density is highest in the region and industry is anxiously waiting for the upcoming 3G licenses auction, Chairman PTA has a critical role to play. Who is Dr. Yaseen? More

USF and PTCL join hands to provide services in Badin, Dadu, Hyderabad and Thatta

Universal Service Fund and PTCL have entered in yet another contract to provide basic telephony and data services to the population in the yet un-served areas of Dadu “lot”, consisting of identified areas in Badin, Dadu, Hyderabad and Thatta districts. In this connection, a signing ceremony between PTCL and Universal Service Fund was held in Islamabad. More

PSEB issued LOI for Establishment of First National IT Park in Islamabad

Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) has issued Letter of Intent (LOI) to International Consortium (TelcoNet, Axor Group Inc Canada and Technopolis Plc, Finland) for the establishment of first state-of-the-art National IT Park, at Chak Shahazad, Islamabad. The IT Park will be developed on Built Operate and Transfer (BOT) model on 14.90 acres of land. More

USF & Al-Shifa Trust to help disabled persons use IT & telecom services

Pakistan's Universal Service Fund (USF) has signed a contract for its special project with Al-Shifa Trust to ‘Enable Persons with disabilities to use telecom services’ which aims to increase accessibility of IT and telecom for people with low vision. Col. Abdul Hameed Khan Hameedi, GM-Procurement, Al-Shifa Trust and Parvez Iftikhar, CEO-USF signed the contract on behalf of their respective organizations. More

PSEB launches e-recruitment portal for internees in Pakistan

Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) has launched a web based Internship Portal for its Internships Phase-III Project. PSEB claims the Web portal is the first of its kind in Pakistan, and is dedicated to fresh graduates seeking internships in the IT industry of Pakistan. This portal will allow potential employers to shortlist IT graduates according to their requirements. More

Music, Polo, Masti & Telenor – Shandur Comes Alive!

More than 12,000 local and international visitors came to enjoy the annual Telenor Shandur Polo Festival and witness the traditional polo tournament between the teams of Gilgit and Chitral from 7th to 9th July, 2008. Repeating history, this time too, Telenor Pakistan, the country’s second largest cellular operator, sponsored this exciting tournament. More

PTCL reverses its Internet price hike decision

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) has withdrawn its recent controversial circular of price increase in domestic leased line circuits that are used for Internet and data services. PTCL announced last week a 450-700 per cent increase in prices of its domestic leased line circuits. More

Telenor Pakistan's CEO completes tenure

CEO Telenor Pakistan Tore Johnsen will move on following his appointment as CEO DTAC, Telenor ASA’s Thailand affiliate. A new CEO of Telenor Pakistan will be announced before 1 September 2008. Tore Johnsen’s new assignment follows four years of association with Telenor Pakistan as CEO where he laid the foundations of the country’s first greenfield mobile communications company. More

No legal voice ports blocked by regulator in Pakistan

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has said that it never directed any internet bandwidth providers to block any legal voice ports. In fact, it was observed that a large number of VoIP calls were being terminated /originated by operators who were not licensed to do so. For instance Internet Service Providers (ISPs)/ Data Network Operators (DNOPs) were passing VoIP traffic illegally on ports 1720 & 5060 used for H.323 and 5060 respectively. PTA was of the view that these ports should only be used by legitimate operators such as Long Distance Internationals (LDIs) and Call Centers which are authorized to carry traffic over IP beyond international boundaries. More

Telenor Pakistan held Retailers' Convention in Lahore

Telenor Pakistan held a retail convention in Al Hamrah Open Air Theatre to thank its retail partners in Lahore. The convention was attended by Telenor Pakistan’s retail partners along with their families. Several prizes, including a car and 18 motorcycles were distributed through a lucky draw at the event, and the partners enjoyed performances by popular artists such as Naseebo Lal, Humaira Arshad and Jawad Ahmed. More

PTA held telecom license awarding ceremony for AJK & NAs

Minister for Information Technology (IT) and KANA Qamar-uz-Zaman Kaira Wednesday said that government was mulling over linking Pakistan with China, India, Afghanistan and Iran through fibre optic connection. Talking to the media here at a license awarding ceremony to 24 companies for Long Distance International (LDI), Fixed Local Loop (FLL), Wireless Local Loop (WLL), and Class Value Added Services (CVAS) licenses, Kaira said he was in favour of extending the deadline for SIMs registration. More

Universal Service Fund (USF) signs contract with PTCL

Universal Service Fund (USF) and PTCL have entered in a contract to provide basic telephony and data services to the population in the yet un-served areas of Baluchistan districts of Pishin, Killa Abdullah and Quetta. In this connection, a signing ceremony between Universal Service Fund and PTCL was held in Islamabad. More

Applause for USF Pakistan at WCIT 2008

Pakistan's USF programme received great appreciation as "one of the world’s most successful USF programs" at this year's World Congress on IT, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The appreciation came from Mr. Craig Barrett, Chairman Intel Corporation USA, who was delivering his keynote address at the opening session of the WCIT 2008, after it's inauguration by the Prime Minister of Malaysia Mr. Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi. More

PTA busts illegal gateway exchange in Karachi

In pursuance of their efforts against grey telephony, a combined team of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and FIA has busted an illegal international gateway exchange today in a residential area of Karachi. According to details, the illegal setup was detected through the Technical Facility recently installed by PTA to monitor the illegal business of telecom through out the country. More

Infotech commences work on automation of Ghana Stock Exchange

InfoTech, a System Integrator from Pakistan, announced commencement of work on a landmark project of “Automation of Ghana Stock Exchange” on a turnkey basis. Valued over US$ 3.0M ($1.88M for the main systems, infrastructure and training, along with supplementary systems and support) the agreement was signed in Accra (Ghana) late November 2007, whereas the project details were revealed by the Minister of Finance, Government of Ghana, in a ceremony held in Accra on 10th of January 2008, to mark the commencement of work. More

Best Practices Conference in Islamabad

Sidat Hyder Morshed Associates held 'Best Practices Day' conference in Islamabad. The conference (Best Practices Day or BPD) was aimed to enable the participants in gaining an understanding of how companies implement best practices to achieve competitive advantages and organizational success in today’s market. More

PSEB to hold international level CEO forum in Pakistan

The Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) would hold an international level CEO Forum in Karachi on August 10, 2007, with an aim to showcase the rapid strides made by the Pakistani IT sector over the last few years and also to increase foreign financing through effective interaction with foreign companies. Title of the Forum is "Corporate Success in the Knowledge Economy". More

ITU establishes Centre of Excellence at PTA

International Telecom Union (ITU) has established its Centre of Excellence (CoE) Node on Telecommunication Policy & Regulations in Pakistan at Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). A formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the setting up of ITU Centre of Excellence was signed today (June 8) at ITU Headquarters in Geneva. Representing Pakistani side, Chairman PTA, Maj. Gen (R) Shahzada Alam Malik signed the MoU while Mr Yury Grin represented the Secretary General, ITU. More

Keywords: Pakistan Technology News, Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Warid Telecom, Telenor, Ufone, Zong Paktel CmPak, Huawei, ZTE, PTCL, Etisalat, Dancom, Mobilink, Linkdotnet, Cyber net, Worldtel, WorldCALL, PTA, Tele-density, Call centers, Software houses, Entrepreneurship, web 2.0, startups, outsourcing, BPO.

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