Custom seized 150 mobile phone consignments

Custom authorities have seized 150 illegal mobile consignments that were imported to Pakistan without approval from Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)

This recent raid has even resulted in custom authorities starting an investigation in past month’s mobile shipments from China of mobile phones, fearing that there could be chances of forged NOCs.

Back in December 2013, PTA has directed custom authorities of Pakistan to not clear mobile consignments for which their importers have not submitted a list of genuine IMEI numbers of all the imported phone.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Import of mobile phones has seen a drop in March 2014 as compared to the imports that were made in February or January 2014.

According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, in the month of March Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $ 44.82 million which is $ 12.12 million less than what was imported in February 2014. It was even less than the amount of money spent on import bill of mobile phones back in March 2013 which was $ 77.26 million.

It was 2^nd consecutive month when mobile phone import dropped because even February witnessed a drop of about $ 2million in the money spent on import.  

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Government orders PTA to curb Afghan SIMs usage

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has been ordered by Government to curb the usage of Afghan SIMs in the tribal Areas of Pakistan.

Afghan SIMs are being used in the country for many years now and are utilized for criminal activities like extortion, threats and planning of terrorist attacks. In a hearing at Peshawar High Court (PHC), authorities have said that more than 40,000 illegal SIMs are operating in the country. Their functioning is made possible with the help of roaming service agreements signed between Afghan telecom companies and Pakistan cellular operators.

Few days back interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had said in Senate that they are soon going to issue orders to PTA to curb Afghan SIMs. PTA has taken a stance that they have not received any formal request from the law enforcing agencies to curb the illegal traffic.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Billions earned but Media can’t even say 3G & 4G correctly

It is a shame that billions have been earned by the auction of 3G and 4G licenses but media in Pakistan is actually unable to even say the word 3G and 4G correctly.

Today a Cartoon was published in Daily Jang, showing the ‘birth’ of next generation of mobile communications in Pakistan. Sadly, instead of being called 3G and 4G, as the names go, reputed cartoonist Jawed Iqbal called them G3 and G4.

It is not the first time that a leading media personality have got the names of these technologies wrong. Hamid Mir, who has now reached new heights of fame, had even spelled the 3G as G3.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Mobilink users are more concerned about 3G then Pakistan Idol

It seems like Mobilink customers are more concerned about 3G then much famed and publicized Music ‘Reality’ show Pakistan Idol.

Last night on the official page of Mobilink, an announcement was made about the 1^st Pakistan Idol who was selected to be Zamad Baig. Mobilink was the official partner of the show, along side Clear and QMobile, that went on air on Geo TV channel.But in the comments section of the post, people totally ignored the prized idol and started asking about when Mobilink is going to launch its 3G services in Pakistan.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Jang Group Still Can’t Differentiate Between 3G and G3 [Cartoon]

We thought it were politicians only saying things such as “G3”, “taknalogy Lasansss” and “Daalar”, but apparently our mighty Jang Group is not behind in the race.

Before we go into further discussion, have a look at following cartoon published in Daily Jang Today:

Cartoon depicts 3G and 4G technologies as newly born babies, just getting out of a birth centre in Pakistan.

However, the problem is that instead of terming them 3G and 4G, Daily Jang cartoonist conveniently mentioned them as “G3” and “G4”.

Read more at ProPakistani.pk

Ufone 3G Packages Get Leaked Ahead of Launch

Much anticipated 3G packages from Ufone have made it the internet.

However the confusing part is that there are three version such 3G packages available on the internet at various forums/blogs. All of these versions are claimed to be legitimate ones and interestingly all three versions of Ufone 3G packages hit the market at the same time.

Our hunch is that segments and pricing department might had proposed these three versions to the management, out of which one might get finalized, if it has to. But this is mere speculation.

Read more at ProPakistani.pk

Ufone Launches Free 3G Trial in Lahore

Ufone, one of the successful bidders of 3G spectrum, has launched FREE 3G services in Lahore for the consumers to get a first-hand feel of third generation mobile telephony and its wonders.

Ufone FREE 3G trial is available for both postpaid and prepaid customers and have a limited validity with unlimited data downloads.

This free 3G trial is likely to last till the commercial launch of Ufone 3G services in Pakistan.

Read more at ProPakistani.pk

PTCL and Dailymotion Join Hands

Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) has joined hands with DailyMotion to offer improved user experience to PTCL customers in Pakistan.

The joint venture will allow wide-range of entertainment content from Dailymotion and multi-screen viewing options for PTCL customers.

Dailymotion – one of the largest video and user generated content platform – consumes a significant portion of the broadband traffic in Pakistan and with this partnership PTCL has paved the way for the legitimacy of Pakistani content on Dailymotion portal.

Walid Irshaid, President and CEO PTCL said at the occasion, “PTCL is spearheading the spread of digital services culture in Pakistan and this move will augment the growth of local content industry and talent as well as open-up new opportunities and  better monetization for Pakistan’s content industry”.

Read more at ProPakistani.pk

Telecom Companies are going to launch 3g Services in 2 Weeks

After effective closeout of 3g and 4g spectrum, every single cellular telephone client is presently sitting tight for the business launch of 3g administrations in the nation.

The data collected through the news which were coming, uncovered that in spite of winning the range, the business beginning of 3g administration may take a week or two at most.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said that it will hold License Award service after drivers will pay their remaining permit expense.

15% of earnest money is already with the PTA, while remaining license fee will be settled with-in a week or so”, said Dr. Ismail Shah,

Read more at SimsPk.com

3G & 4G licenses: Government expects 75pc payments before budget

Government is expecting 75% payments to be received before budget for the recently auctioned 3G & 4G licenses. Two of the mobile operators have shown interest in paying all their bidding price upfront as they don’t want to pay 3% additional interest on 5 years long installments.

Zong is planning to pay $500 million by next week as told by Minister for Information & Technology Anusha Rehman in a meeting held at Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). Zong won a 3G license for 10 MHz spectrum and another 4G license for 10 MHz spectrum during the auction that was held on this Wednesday.

Anusha Rehman said that another company was also ready to pay its promised amount of bid as soon as possible. PTA Chairman Dr. Ismail Shah said that the cellular operators are excited to launch 3G technology as soon as possible. Eagerness of these companies is visible with their advertisement campaigns getting started as soon as result of auction process was announced.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

8,000 mobile towers of Telenor are ready to launch 3G

Telenor has said that they are ready to launch 3G services in the country with the help of their 8,000 cellular network towers.

Announced at a Press conference by Telenor’s Chief of Marketing Irfan Wahab and Corporate Affairs Chief of Telenor Aslam Hayat, the company was ready for roll out of next generation of mobile communications from 2013 when it upgraded its infrastructure network. It was told that this acquiring of 3G licenses made Telenor Pakistan fourth of Telenor Group’s six Asian operations with 3G.

Officials from Telenor boasted of successful leap into the 3G with 10 year of operations of the company in Pakistani Telecom market. Telenor expects that there will be increase in internet using user base among their currently held 35 million user base with introduction of 3G.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

How much a user is worth on Facebook?

Facebook has recently released its Q1 report for year 2014 in which it has recorded to have increased revenues to $2.5 billion. This meant that Facebook has outshined the estimates set by Wall Street Journal for its quarterly revenues.

Facebook also revealed that it now has 1.28 billion active users on its site out of which 1.01 billion are accessing their website from Mobile. Now this puts a clearer picture in front of us that how much an individual user is worth to Facebook. Simply mathematics show that Average Revenue Per User (APRU) globally was $2 dollar. This is amount of revenue that a common user helped Facebook to generate by using the social networking giant for his virtual social life.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Warid IQ Test: Prepare for SAT, Math and General Knowledge

Warid IQ test is a Value Added Service (VAS) introduced to help young people not only to prepare for their SAT but also to brush up their mathematics and General Knowledge skills

This resourceful utility from Warid will help the students to test the waters before the actually enter into an exam hall.

How it works?
Subscription can be availed by sending SUB to 4433.

Charges

Free SMS to 4433

Subscription Charges

Prepaid: Rs. 0.40 + tax /day

Postpaid: Rs. 12+ tax/month

Read more at MoreMag.pk

When is 3G & 4G coming to your city?

Now that Government of Pakistan has successfully auctioned licenses for 3G & 4G, everyone is wondering that when they will be formally receiving signals on his/her phone.

Now that depends on various factors like

• When Telecom companies fully acquire the licenses for 3G &4G by paying at least 50% of their bidding price in 30 days from auction date
• 3G enabled and 4G enabled phones
• SIM of networks who actually offer 3G (Warid users can switch)
• Last but not the least, from which city they belong 

Luckily, there’ll be no need of buying new SIMs as these faster technologies will be available on the current SIMs. Now the timeline when 3G & 4G technology must hit your city is already set by PTA in information memorandum for spectrum auction. Telenor is already beaming free 3G internet on trial basis in cities like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad & Rawalpindi.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Free Telenor 3G internet available in Karachi, Lahore & Twin Cities

Telenor is offering its customers to enjoy free 3G internet on their Telenor SIMs in cities of Karachi, Lahore & twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Telenor has just recently won a license for 5MHz band at the auction held at Marriott Hotel Islamabad on 23^rd April for a price of $147.5 million. Although part of trial run that was started back in march, internet will be available on exquisite speeds by Telenor to its customers.

All you have to do is to dial *7799# to check that whether you are in coverage area of Telenor 3G trial or not. You might also want to check that you have a smartphone that is enabled to work with 3G technology.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

How government made 3G and 4G possible in Pakistan, Ishaq Dar tells

Finance Minster Ishaq Dar briefed in the press conference that how his government was able to launch 3G & 4G technology in Pakistan.

He started his briefing by hitting his predecessor government of PPP who was not able to auction the licenses. He said that in 2010 it was decided to sell the license for Rs 50 billion according to budget estimates. The in 2011, it was decided to sell this spectrum for Rs. 75 billion. He also mentioned the target of selling the licenses for 3G of Rs. 79 billion according to budget of 2012-13. He went to tell that when we took over Government last year, Ministry of IT assessed that about 120 billion can be raised by auctioning the licenses. He told that due to the delay caused by previous government, industry and technology sector of country suffered badly.

He went on to add that government formed an auction supervisory committee that took over the control for auction of these licenses after Prime Minister formally issued policy directive for auction of 3G licenses.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Huawei Ascend P7 to be launched on May 7, specs released

Huawei is going to launch its new flagship smartphone in the form of Huawei Ascend P7 on May 7^th. Specs of the smartphone are already available on internet.

Now as you can see that Chinese manufacturer has beefed up its new smartphone to compete in the market which has already been swayed by its competitors with phones like Samsung Galaxy S5,Nokia Lumia 930 and HTC OneM8.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

YouTube is running in Pakistan on Android Smartphones

There is no sure shot way of blocking YouTube in Pakistan as the website works fine on the Android phones in Pakistan. As you can see in the below video that PTA Chairman and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar also admitted that there is no full proof way of blocking YouTube.

Reason is that the Android OS and YouTube belong to same parent company, Google. Protocols used by Google in its mobile OS makes it entirely impossible for Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block largest video sharing website in Pakistan. Although non-android phones like blackberry and Nokia smartphones would still not be able to play YouTube but as we know users of these phones are far less in numbers thanks to local brands

Right now out of total phone users in Pakistan, 12% is smartphone users and out of them 95% are android smartphone user. With introduction of 3G, number of smartphones will skyrocket and so more and more people will be able to access it. A government official, who didn’t want to be named, accepted the fact that YouTube is accessible in Pakistan on Android smartphones and they can’t filter it completely. .

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Check Availability of 3G Services in Your Area [Tutorial]

While we know that 3G services will be commercially launched – in major cities of Pakistan – with-in few days, it would be a good idea to check if 3G services are already available at your location or not.

This can be specifically good because cellular companies are already testing 3G services at major locations in Islamabad / Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore. In Multan too, we have heard.

One more thing, at least two operators are allowing its customers to experience 3G services. Meaning that you can just join their 3G networks and start using 3G services.\

Here’s a simple way to check if 3G services are available at your location or not:

Read more at ProPakistani.pk

Zong might set up Mobile Phone manufacturing plant in Pakistan

Zong’s parent company China Mobile Communication’s Vice President Li Zhengmao has said that they are considering plans of establishing a mobile manufacturing plant in Pakistan.


Zong’s VP whose company has recently won a 4G license during auction of next generation of mobile services, said that they are seriously working on the plans of building mobile plant in the country. During his meeting with Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, he also announced the plans of investing $1 billion in telecom infrastructure in coming 3 years.

In an interview, adviser to Zong CEO, Sikandar Naqvi told that their company will roll out 3G services in major cities of Pakistan by October. He also said that immediate roll out of 4G is not possible and took a stand that even Information Memorandum for 3G & 4G spectrum auction even grants them a time period of 1 year to launch 4G in the country.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Zong 4G ad is a ditto copy of french ad, will their service be original?

We all are pretty excited to think about Zong 4G service which it is going to launch in Pakistan. At least their print ad in yesterday’s leading newspaper suggested the same. Like most of the people we liked the idea unless we found it to be a 100% copy of a French artwork which they used it for their “Auto Show”

 

Below is the image we found on eventcom.fr which is advertising an event “1^st Auto Show Bastia”.

Here is what Zong advertised to boast about its speedy 4G service.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Analysis of 3G and 4G auction by ICT Forum Pakistan

 
The experts of ICT FORUM PAKISTAN have attempted a dispassionate analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the Spectrum Auction conducted on 23^rd April 2014. The experts have also briefly analyzed some of the criticism. The result is presented below.

The biggest achievement of this auction – and consequently of PTA and the Government – is that it has been conducted in a very smooth and orderly manner, without generating any controversy of any wrong-doing. Therefore congratulations are due to all those who worked for this achievement – in the Government as well as the PTA.

The whole process was carried out in a transparent and fair manner. The consultation process was open and accommodating. This resulted in PTA revising its first draft IM a couple of times, which is a proof that PTA remained flexible in accommodating views of stakeholders as far as possible.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif congraulates on 3G and 4G auction

Prime Minister Nawaz Shairf has congratulated all the people who made 3G and 4G auction a success in the country.

According to a Press Release from Prime Minister’s Office Mr. Sharif has said that successful auction of 3G and 4G spectrum has opened up new world of exploration and achievement. He also grieved on such a late launch of this modern day technology in the country but added that this  initiative has brought Pakistan to the cutting edge of technology,  upon which our nation will achieve new frontiers of advancement.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

When to Expect 3G Services in Your City?

While we know that telcos are all set to commercially launch 3G services with-in two weeks from now, mobile phone users across country are super anxious to know the expected arrival date of 3G and 4G services in their respective areas.

Exactly like how it had happened with 2G services, the commercial launch of 3G services won’t go beyond few major cities of Pakistan.

For now, let’s just absorb the fact that rollout of 3G services across the length of the country will be little sluggish, however, demand of 3G services and associated ARPUs are going to remain major factor in increasing operators’ quest to reach out in more areas of Pakistan.

Read more at ProPakistani.pk

3G and 4G Auction in Pakistan: A Dispassionate Analysis!

The experts of Information Communication Technology (ICT) Forum PAKISTAN have attempted a dispassionate analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the Spectrum Auction conducted on the 23rd of April 2014. The experts have also briefly analyzed some of the criticism.
  
Strengths

The biggest achievement of this auction – and consequently of PTA and the Government – is that it has been conducted in a very smooth and orderly manner, without generating any controversy of any wrong-doing. Therefore, congratulations are due to all those who worked for this achievement – in the Government as well as the PTA.


The whole process was carried out in a transparent and fair manner. The consultation process was open and accommodating. This resulted in PTA revising its first draft IM a couple of times, which is a proof that PTA remained flexible in accommodating views of stakeholders as far as possible.

  Read more at ProPakistani.pk

Nothing Could Stop Zong From Copying a French Artwork for its 4G AD

Securing a 4G license — on top of a 3G license — had earned Zong a notable respect from the industry and as well as the subscribers.

A network, which was previously known for cheap prices and low-cost SMS and voice bundles, was at once become the front runner in the race of technology.

With 4G technology in their hands, Zong had suddenly become the favourite network of the early adapters.

Again there was no doubt they had become the first and only 4G operator in Pakistan, a status that deserved huge appreciation and admiration.


 However, unfortunately though, all the decorousness and status could not hold Zong from copying an artwork for its first ever 4G ad.

Read more at Propakistani.Ppk

Ufone to provide best 3G services, CEO Abdul Aziz

Ufone will provide best 3G services in Pakistan and the only priority of the company would be to take care of its data hungry customers in this new era of technological advancement in Pakistan.

Ufone acquired its 3G license during April 23 spectrum auction. The company secured 10 MHz in 2100 Mhz band.

Speaking at the occasionexpressed his delight saying, “This is a major milestone not just for Ufone but also the telecommunication industry of Pakistan in general. We have been working to get 3G technology in Pakistan for a while and it fills me with immense pride and delight that our efforts have finally bore fruit. He also congratulated PTA, relevant ministries and Government of Pakistan on the successful conclusion of the bidding process.”

Read more at MoreMag.pk

This list consists of all the 4G smartphone that can work with 4G technology. Although pricy, these smartphones can help you surf internet and enjoy mammoth internet speed as soon as this new age technology is rolled out in Pakistan. 4G enabled smartphone are mostly available from international companies. Right now, only Zong has won a 4G license in Pakistan after auction. you can also read about 3G smartphone available in Pakistan from here. There are high expectation by masses for high speed internet and some amazing packages that will be launched along with 3G and 4G roll out.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

List of 3G smartphone available in Pakistan

Here is a list of 3G smartphone that are available in Pakistan and can function easily with 3G technology. 3G enabled smartphones were the single most essential requirement if you want to make use of all the amazing features of next generation mobile communications. 3G smartphones from both local and international companies are included in this list. you can also read about 4G smartphone available in Pakistan from here. There are high expectation by masses for high speed internet and some amazing packages that will be launched along with 3G and 4G roll out.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Ufone launches first 3G TV ad, other companies follow too

Last night as soon as the official announcement was made by the Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Dr. Ismail Shah that all the 4 bidding telecom companies have won 3G licenses, marketing, PR and social media teams of these companies started thinking of executing their advertising plans about their acquirement of licenses for next generation mobile services. There are high expectation by masses for high speed internet and some amazing packages that will be launched along with 3G and 4G roll out.


Ufone that is the first to launch its TVC has a distinctive marketing team couples with some amazing ads, even launched a TV ad starring Adeel Hashmi, Mikaal Zulfiaqr and Ayaan Ali. They used a Lamborghini to show the fast speed internet that can be used via 3G license. Although Ufone has just acquired a 5MHz spectrum but still the ad showed that small slot to be a chance of riding a super speed racing car.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Bravo Ismail Shah and Government for making 3G and 4G possible

3G and 4G auction was pending in Pakistan for last 5 years which only added frustration among telecom operators and the technology lovers as well. But this time, a very committed and visionary Chairman of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Ismail Shah was tasked by the government of Pakistan in September 2013 to execute the process despite all odds.

After 4 months of taking control of PTA, his appointment was challenged once again in the court the way it was done with his predecessor Farooq Awan on more logical grounds.

Not only that his appointment remained an issue but the process itself was defamed by many hidden entities, of course that included a local and foreign hand. Certainly, he was backed by Minister of IT and Telecom and the high ups of PML-N government who were more keen to accomplish the job.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

3G & 4G technology: Effect on the battery of your Smartphone

It is important to know that what kind of affect 3G and 4G technology is going to have on the battery life of your Smartphone, once they are launched in the country.

Unlike current 2G technology, battery life of your Smartphone is subjected to more drain when you start using next generation mobile communications. Experience in other countries has shown that more battery is lost when you are using 3G as compared to Wi-Fi which is already considered to be a feature that uses excessive battery. Here are some of the facts related to 3G/4G usage and battery life.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Interesting things that happen on Internet in 60 seconds

In a recent released study, it has been revealed that every minute 204 million emails are being sent by internet users to each other

That is not just it. Here are some other fun facts of activities that happen every minute on internet.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Telcos to Commercially Launch 3G Services With-in Two Weeks

After successful auction of 3G and 4G spectrum yesterday, each and every mobile phone user is now waiting for the commercial launch of 3G services in the country.

The information ProPakistani received yesterday revealed that despite winning the spectrum, the commercial commencement of 3G service may take a week or two at most.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said that it will hold License Award ceremony after operators will pay their remaining license fee.

“15% of earnest money is already with the PTA, while remaining license fee will be settled with-in a week or so”, said Dr. Ismail Shah, Chairman PTA, in an interview with ProPakistani.

Read more at ProPakistani.pk

All Four Operators Bag 3G Spectrum, While Only Zong Took Home 4G license

After waiting for years, and a fairly long auction day, Pakistan is all set to roll-out the 3G service after the successful auction of the 3G and 4G spectrum.

We hope you enjoyed ProPakistani’s day long minute by minute live coverage of the auction; lets summarise and review the final outcome of the auction.

All four operators participating in the auction, namely Mobilink, Telenor, Ufone, and Zong, bagged the 3G spectrum; while only Zong went on to bid and acquire the 4G spectrum.

Read more at ProPakistani.pk

3G auction: What does Pakistani people have to say about it?

3G auction is on its way to Pakistan but there is still some confusion among the masses about the technology. On twitter, right now the most trending hashtag reads as When 3G hits Pakistan. It is not the first time that Pakistanis have took to social media like Twitter to express their views on current events.
 From Imran Khan’s Dharna to guessing about Santa Clause, Pakistanis have done it all. Even Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has used this platform to raise his voice.
Here are some of the funny and interesting tweets made by Twitter users in Pakistan on launch of 3G technology in Pakistan.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

3G Auction: 5th Round starts (Live Updates)

6:02 pm
No announcement yet about the result of 7th round of 3G spectrum auction as the said time by PTA was 5:45 pm

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Zong Baqi Paisay Service tells you about Credit usage

Zong Baqi paisay Service is a Value Added Service (VAS) that informs all the Zong prepaid customers about the amount of credit they have used in a day.

Mechanism

Once a subscription is asked by a Zong prepaid customer for the service, he’ll start receiving an SMS every morning giving complete mobile usage details of the previous days. That particular SMS will contain information regarding all the calls that you made, all the SMS that you have sent and all the GPRS that was used. You’ll also receive information about all the VAS that you have already subscribed.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

3G and 4G auction in Pakistan: Live Updates

1:58 pm

Result of 4th round of bidding shall be displayed by PTA at 2:45

Rumors: There are rumors going around in the auction hall that only Zong and Ufone will go for 4G licenses, once auction of 3G licenses is finished

 

Read more at MoreMag.pk

3G / 4G Auction in Pakistan [Live Updates]

 

The day has arrived, 3G / 4G is finally happening in our country.

Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) has said that it has finalized all the arrangements for the Spectrum Auction for Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) to be held today.

Mobilink, Telenor, Ufone and Zong will be taking part in the bid to secure their 3G and 4G licenses.

As you may know that bidding will be done electronically through internet, all the companies will be allowed to log into the bidding system at 8AM, however, first round of bidding will start at 10AM.

The expiration duration of each bidding round will be 45 minutes or less. We will be uploading the results and other commentary on this live page regularly.

Read more at ProPakistani.pk

PTA to Take Legal Action Against Reuters For Misreporting on 3G / 4G Auction

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has decided to take on Reuters with legal action for presenting falsified facts regarding the on-going process of 3G and 4G spectrum, we have confirmed with sources.

Reuters had published a story on April 15th, 2014 – exactly the next day after operators submitted sealed bids – claiming that auction drew disappointing bids.

A spokesperson of PTA confirmed ProPakistani that authority is preparing a case against Reuters.

Other than authority, few officials of PTA are also considering to sue Reuters on individual basis for causing them mental torture and distress.

Read more at ProPakistani.pk

Sindh High Court Suspends Local Loop Licenses of Zong

Sindh High Court (SHC) has suspended 14 local Loop Licenses issues to Zong by Pakistan telecommunication Authority (PTA)

Suspension came as a result of petition filed by Starlite telecommunication Pvt Ltd. who took the stand that licenses were illegal as they were issued without new deregulation policy. Starlite said that they were authorized Local Loop license holders for period of 20 years that started from 16^th March 2006. Company was of the view that Government of Pakistan and PTA cannot give license until they launch a new deregulation policy after the earlier policy expired back in 2008.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

3G / 4G Auction to Begin Tomorrow at 10:30 AM

The final round of spectrum auction for 3G and 4G technologies is all set to commence tomorrow, April 23rd, 2014 at 10:30 AM, that’s just hours away from now.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is all prepared to conduct the auction after it exercised full-fledge mock auction yesterday. PTA officials told ProPakistani that all qualified cellular operators participated in the mock auction to understand the procedures and rules associated with the auction process.

Authority said that with mock-auction completed, all operators will now enter into the final round of auction where they will bid for their desired spectrum.

Read more at ProPakistani.pk

Warid 4G launch bubble bursts, CEO Warid clarifies to PTA

As reported in the morning that Warid will not be able to launch its 4G LTE services at least by the end of this year, it has been made clear in a recent meeting between CEO Warid Telecom Muneer Farooqi and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Dr. Ismail Shah.

There has been news making rounds in the telecom sector that Warid is going to launch 4G services instead of bidding for the license like all its competitors on 23^rd April. Reportedly they were going to make use of their technology neutral license that was issued to them for their 1800 MHz band at the start of their operations in Pakistan. This created a great hustle in the telecom sector as the 4 players who had applied for licenses thought to have been fooled. PTA Chairman Dr. Shah took notice of the situation and asked CEO Warid to meet him in PTA headquarters before the auction of 3G and 4G licenses.

During the meeting Warid lead man told the telecom regulator’s head that they have no plans of sabotaging the multi-million dollars investment in the country.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

3G / 4G Spectrum Auction in Pakistan is Already Successful: Ricardo

By Ricardo Tavares – International telecom policy consultant, CEO of TechPolis

The spectrum auction for provision of mobile broadband services that takes place on April 23rd in Pakistan is already successful.

It has attracted four bidders that are among the top mobile operators in the world. Any government who would have China Mobile (the single largest mobile operator in the world with close to 800 million subscribers) plus Etisalat, Telenor and Vimpelcom (all three among the top 10 mobile operators in the world) should be proud of it.We must give credit to who deserves it. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has made information and communications technologies (ICT) one of his priorities.

Read more at ProPakistani.pk

Launch of 3G and 4G can decrease prices of 2G internet & DSL

With launch of 3G and 4G technology, there are huge chances that prices of 2G internet provided by same cellular operators would come down. Prices for DSL internet are also expected to decrease.

It is all matter of competition. Major cities in Pakistan are going to be using 3G technology in a maximum time limit of 6 months once auction is done. As more and more people are attracted to faster mobile communications, internet providing companies and cellular operator would decrease the prices for slower internet speeds to retain customer because price would only be the deciding factors once they are beaten by the speed of 3G and 4G technology. Now as price of 3G is expected to be 3 times the price of current data usage then internet companies would use the mantra of ‘make me an offer, that I can’t refuse’ on users who won’t be able to pay for faster and expensive mobile internet speeds. It will be matter of survival for such companies.

Read more at MoreMag.pk

Ufone's Latest: ShahCar Offer 2014

Ufone not only provides its customers with comprehensive communication but also lighten the lives ofthousands of Pakistani through exciting prizes and schemes. Here it bring the most exciting offer of this season. The overwhelming success gained by the Ufone ShahCar Offer in the previous year, Ufone is proud to announce the scheme of Ufone ShahCar Offer2014 this year. According to the offer, 20 Ufone customers will win a brand new corolla each. This is a promise made by the Ufone Company and they will surely fulfill their promise as they did, the last year. No drama is a part of this offer as there are already 20 previous Ufone customers who had won Brand new corollas in 2013. Many other offers are also awaited for the clients by Ufone as to make each and every customer happy.

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