ICT Directors Restored By Lahore High Court

The Lahore High Court disregarded the orders of Mr. Sardar Latif Khosa, the Prime Minister’s advisor on IT & Telecom, of suspending the 6 ICTRDF directors.

The decision to restore the directors came after the hearing of their petition. These included Mr. Sikandar Taqi, Mr. Wahaj Siraj, Mr. Zafar Usmani, Dr. Amir Mateen, Dr. Sohail Naqvi and Dr. Mansoor Sarwar.

It is said that the National ICT is suffering from government apathy. An excerpt from Dawn News gives the impression of ICT being bullied by the Ministry of Information Technology and the Federal Government, ignoring what its board members had to say.

The ICT and R&D Fund suffered further setback when former minister in-charge Sardar Latif Khosa in the last few days sacked all six board members from the private sector.

The sacked directors of the board moved Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench for their restoration.

“The members are selected through a process. All six can’t be dismissed in one go without charges,” said the official.

Among other decisions that annoyed many in the ministry and the telecom industry was Mr Khosa’s decision to appoint a temporary CEO that, according to official sources, was not standard operating procedure.

By: Arsalan Mir, 23rd Sep, 2010
Modified From: www.telecompk.net

3G SERVICES TO BE LAUNCHED IN PAKISTAN SOON

3G telecom services would soon be launched in Pakistan with a lot of work on its policy directives already completed, IT and Telecom Secretary Nagibullah Malik said on Monday.

Speaking at a seminar organized by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in collaboration with HUAWEI on ‘Demands for 3G and beyond,’ Malik said the policy on 3G licenses would be issued soon, enabling Pakistan to launch the new technology.
He said three things are important for 3G services: policy stream, regulatory regime and business model. He added that we are better-off than India and other regional countries in telecom services.

PTA Chairman Dr Mohammed Yaseen said the telecom sector of Pakistan has seen unprecedented growth since the deregulation of the industry. Currently our teledensity stands at 63 percent and we are well on our way to cross the 100 million mobile subscribers mark in the near future.

The past two years have also witnessed broadband growth of 150 percent. Due to these results, Pakistan has been placed 6th in terms of quarterly growth and 10th in terms of annual growth in the global broadband market by a leading web source on broadband statistics.

Yaseen said the number of mobile users has reached 99 million. Average Revenue Per User (ARPUs) also indicated upward trends. Owing to these developments it is high time that 3G technologies are introduced in Pakistan.

He said the inception of 3G services would create demand for new applications and content, thus casting a positive impact on different segments of the economy. It may be mentioned that PTA has already done sufficient preparation to be able to launch the service within a few months of issuance of the policy directive by the government. PTA has also organized a number of introductory seminars in this regard.
3G mobile broadband is an important step in the modernization of mobile telephone system. With the launch of 3G, Pakistani cell phone subscribers will be able to transmit and receive high speed data through their mobile phones. High speed data means possibility of video calls, internet browsing and downloading at a much higher speed which also includes usage of data intensive applications.

Later during the seminar, MoUs were also signed for infrastructure sharing between PTA and cellular operators of Pakistan.

However, cellular companies showed reservations in opting for 3G technology. They believe it is not the right time to introduce the service. All cell phone service providers are of the view that 3G technology is going to be expensive, both for the customer as well as the provider.

Source: http://www.paktelecom.net/pakistan-telecom-news/3g-telecom-services-to-be-launched-soon/

PTCL STRIKE HAMPERING BUSINESSES

KARACHI: The ongoing strike of the PTCL employees for the past one month has compelled businessmen and industrialists to switch over to other wireless communication (phone and internet services) in order to stay in touch with their local and foreign buyers.Industrialists said the government seemed reluctant to play any role in resolving the conflict, which is hampering business activities. “PTCL is also losing both the revenue and its clientele,” they added.

Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) Chairman Razzak Hashim Paracha said that 42,000 phones were reportedly dead in the city alone.

“Around 800 phones in Korangi area are down right now for the last one month,” Razzak said, adding that he had written a letter to the prime minister seeking his intervention for resolving the issue between the PTCL management and workers immediately.

He said due to the unavailabilty of PTCL DSL lines, many industrialists especially exporters had acquired wireless broadband being offered by various private companies as they could not afford to lose their buyers.

North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry chairman Sadiq Mohammad said that 2,000 units had been at the mercy of PTCL as the development work for the last three years in the area had almost destroyed the landline system. “Perturbed by the PTCL many industrialists have switched over to wireless mode of communication,” he added.

F.B. Area Association of Trade and Industry Chairman Shahid Ismail said that out of 2,000 units, the connectivity services including telephone, fax and internet etc., had been out of order in 30-40 per cent units in the area.

“This is a high time for the wireless internet and phone providers after getting demand as many businessmen have hired their services,” he said.

Salim Parekh, the chairman of SITE Association of Industry (SAI), said the industrialists now preferred to switchover to wireless, mobile services from providers other than PTCL. “It will be revenue loss for PTCL when the trust deficit converts into total switchover from PTCL to other service providers,” he added.

He said PTCL was not receiving complaints against the recurring interruptions and reported faults in PTCL services. “The ongoing strike has given another reason for PTCL officials in SITE area to seek excuses for not attending the faults.”

Many members of the association including Diamond Textile (Pvt) Ltd, Al-Azmat (Pvt) Ltd, Razak Silk Mills (Pvt) Ltd, Zeenat Shirt Factory, Nawab Brothers Steel Mills (Pvt) Ltd, Futehally Chemicals (Pvt) Ltd, Z.K. Industries etc., are also complaining of recurring faults and no relief has been retrieved to them so far.

He said the these businesses are some of the biggest taxpayers and contribute economically in the form of a great percentage of all Pakistani exports and deserve fair treatment, possibly with the pressure of government of Pakistan and Privatisation Commission in terms of promised improved services.

By: Aamir Shafaat Khan, 3rd Sep, 2010
Modified From: www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/business/switch-over-to-wireless-mode-begins-ptcl-strike-hampering-business-activities-390

TRANSWORLD FLOOD RELIEF EFFORTS

Pakistan has been devastated by the worst floods in over a century; causing the loss of 1,760 lives and affecting at least 18 million Pakistanis, with roughly eight million left reliant on aid handouts to survive, according to the UN. Thousands of homes have been lost and major losses to infrastructure have been incurred.

In trying times like these, the Pakistani telecom and IT community has stepped up to the challenge and is actively conducting fund raising and relief operations in order to help those affected. Transworld, continuing in Orascom’s Corporate Social Responsibility traditions has launched its own fund raising and relief operations. Besides corporate donations from Transworld, its employees have also contributed liberally towards relief activities for the flood affectees. The funds thus generated have been used to purchase food and other staple items including medicines and necessary supplies which have been distributed via the rescue teams of Pak Army in different areas of Pakistan.

Transworld plans to continue its efforts in the future, as the next steps will include rehabilitation and rebuilding efforts across the country.

CONSUMER BEWARE: PTCL EVO REV B SPEEDS ARE NOT WHAT PTCL IS ADVERTISING

PTCL has recently introduced the EVO NITRO Rev B in Pakistan with fanfare and big claims. We want to alert consumers about the misleading ad shown below.

This banner from the web page touts broadband speed up to 9.3 Mbps. Based on our own experience of the PTCL EVO speed, we are skeptical.

What we see below the banner on the web page looks more like a Marketing Bulletin used in organizations to promote the products launched, or yet to be launched, among its employees. It seems that the web admin at PTCL has done a good copy-paste job here.

If you read what they have put on the web page carefully, you will find that the instructions sent to employees or made for the marketing team are been posted verbatim on the web page for consumers!

The copy mastery is confirmed with the hyperlink with which they intend to link to a list of designated banks on the PTCL website which is redirected from PTCL web-mail. Take a look at this image: (Click for larger image)


Here is the list of features posted by PTCL (for the consumers)
- Cruise with Matchless Speed of up to 9.3 Mbps.*
- Enhanced user experience
- Faster web browsing
- High Quality Video Streaming
- Unlimited Downloads
- Faster uploads
- Plug & Play—Instant Connectivity
- USB compatible with laptops & Desktops
- Average data rates vary between 1.25 Mbps- 3.75 Mbps
- Backward compatibility & seamless roaming on Rev A Network (up to 3.1Mbps) in 99 cities across the country
- Device Upgrades available for existing Evo customers.
- Caution on Speed

In reality, these download rates depend on factors such as modem capability, location, distance from communication tower and number of simultaneous users. To sum it up: don’t have high expectations from this.

By: Arsalan Mir and Babar Bhatti - August 17, 2010
Modified from: http://telecompk.net/2010/08/17/consumer-beware-ptcl-rev-b-speeds-are-not-what-ptcl-is-advertising/

CELCO’S RESTORING NETWORKS IN FLOOD-HIT AREAS: PTA

The cellular services providers are making efforts to restore the telecommunication network in flood-hit areas, said a Pakistan Telecommunication Authority official in an interview with The News.

The fibre optic cable network of PTCL and Wateen Telecom in Khyber Pakhtonkhwa (KP) was cut off severing link between numerous towns of the province, PTA said. Due to the deluge a total of 53 Base Stations Controllers (BSCs) and 2,703 Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) have been affected at Peshawar, Nowshera, Dir, Mardan, Charsada, Swabi, Jahangira, Swat, Bara, Timergara, Mingora, Bannu, Kohat, D. I. Khan, Kurram Agency and Khyber Agency.

Access in the affected areas was difficult but the service operators made utmost efforts to restore 43 BSCs and 2,239 BTSs. Remaining sites are being accessed by the technical teams and shall be restored as soon as possible.

Another official of a cellular company informed that telecom network on both banks of Indus River is yet to be fully restored. Flood, broken roads, and collapsed bridges are hindering the repairs. Ufone spokesperson Moazzam Ali Khan said Ufone has been able to keep 99 percent of network running throughout the country.

“Out of around 6,000 only 25 sites are down at the moment; most of the effected sites have already been restored,” Khan said.

“The floods have caused staggering damages to infrastructure in rural Punjab and KP,” said Telenor Head of Corporate Communication and Responsibility Affan Haider.It was hard to keep the network going with no electricity and fuel, but most of the sites were restored within days, he said. “The scenario in Punjab and Sindh is much more fluid, with floods continuing to play havoc we are cautiously watching and maintaining our current network access and are geared to intervene in case of any issues,” Haider said. Warid spokesperson said that most of the infrastructure damaged due to floods in KP has been restored. The flood damaged the cellular services equipment, electric power system, generators and fuel tanks, boundary walls, floors and tower bases.

Modified from: http://propakistani.pk/2010/08/12/celco-restoring-network-in-flood-hit-areas-pta/

TELENOR DISCONNECTS NAYATEL

Telenor Pakistan has given termination notice to Nayatel, an Islamabad based ISP for its 34Mbps Internet Service, which means a loss of Rs 10 million in annual business for Nayatel.

The move came after Nayatel disconnected its redundant connection to the Internet backbone via TW1, reducing its physical redundancy.

Businesses in the capital (including many GSM providers) relied on Nayatel backbone for providing Internet connectivity via EDGE/GPRS. With TW1 gone, the redundancy of a second physical network was gone hence the Telenor disconnection. There have also been reports of other GSM operators to follow suit soon.

Telenor is sensibly following the practice of procuring transit bandwidth directly from the source and has shifted to TW1, which provides IP bandwidth with redundancy in Major Cities. Going directly to the source is both cost effective and resilient, optical networks have the capability to provide infrastructure to support new business technologies like 3G.

Although Nayatel has international connectivity via SMW3 and SMW4, its dependence on a single infrastructure in order to get traffic from Karachi to Islamabad is a risk. On the other hand, TW1 uses Mobilink's Fiber Optic infrastructure and has recently acquired connectivity from Multinet in order to ensure complete redundancy.

Source:http://groups.google.com/group/telecom-grid-pakistan/browse_thread/thread/d1a4146fc8b06aa8