PTCL in collaboration with Etisalat UAE has decided to take the initiative to revitalize and stimulate the cricketing circumstances in Pakistan. PTCL is determined to mesmerize the local and international audiences at the forthcoming Pakistan-Australia series in Dubai.

This was affirmed by the President & CEO PTCL, Mr. Walid Irshaid in a meeting with Pakistani Cricket Captain Younis Khan.  Younis Khan visited the PTCL HQ on the invitation of president & CEO PTCL.

Mr. Walid Irshaid reiterated its support for the national team. He congratulated and praised Younis khan on his recent triple century against Sri Lanka and passed on the good wishes for the forthcoming Pakistan-Australia series. Mr. Walid Irshaid also expressed grief and concern at the attack on Sri Lankan team in Lahore. Both notables also discussed matters of mutual interest.

Mr. Walid Irshaid affirmed that PTCL in association with Etisalat is enthusiastically planning to develop a lasting relationship with Pakistani cricket and would soon go on board the plan, accordingly. Mr. Walid Irshaid said the decision is of strategic importance as very recently, Etisalat UAE also announced its collaboration with the Barcelona’s foot ball club; commonly known as Barca. Etisalat’s support for the Pakistan’s National Cricket team would yield mutually favorable results.

Younis Khan expressed gratitude to the Management of Ptcl and Etisalat for their well wishes and anticipated support.

As our gift to the nation on this Pakistan Day, PTCL has doubled your Broadband speed, at no extra cost” this was announced by Dr Sadik Al-Jadir, SEVP Commercial.

He further stated that “PTCL aspired to provide the fastest and most cost effective broadband access to all users in Pakistan. Being the largest IP service provider, we have a vision to provide broadband access in all cities throughout the country.” PTCL Broadband service is now available in more than 130 cities throughout Pakistan. PTCL broadband has made Kbps speeds obsolete by upgrading all packages to Mbps. The minimum package speed offered by PTCL is now 1 Mbps.

An existing user paying Rs 1199/= per month for a DSL 512K connection will now be upgraded to 1 Mbps connection at no extra charge. The same goes for existing 1Mbps and 2Mbps connects, these will be upgraded to 2Mbps and 4Mbps connections at existing rates. This will make PTCL the fastest and the largest Broadband service in Pakistan.

PTCL is the leading and the largest broadband service provider in Pakistan offering broadband in more than 130 major cities and towns i.e. Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Hala, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Khairpur, Larkana, Multan, Bhaipheru, Okara, Pakpattan, Sahiwal, Faisalabad, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Abbottabad, Attock, GujarKhan, Jehlum, Peshawar, Quetta etc. Expansion of our broadband network will continue providing more of our landline subscriber an opportunity to experience the latest in broadband and related technologies.

In line with our aspiration, to create customer value through innovation, PTCL in the recent past has made available broadband packages offering high speed and unlimited download at value pricing. These high speed packages at affordable prices are geared towards enhancing our customers’ experience.

PTCL’s broadband also has special packages for students making this service more accessible to this core segment. In addition exclusive free access to movies, dramas, music, games is also available to all PTCL broadband users.

PTCL is committed to and continues to strive to serve our broadband customers better by creating value and shall soon be making broadband services available in more cities in the future.

With the launch of Samsung Star WiFi, Samsung has reinforced its leading position in the mobile phones in Pakistan. Samsung Star is a mobile phone with touch screen and WiFi technology. This new mobile phone is with mobile widgets and online surfing and it has made this device very simplified.

This mobile is considered in most popular mobile phone by Samsung. In Pakistan, Samsung Star is considered one of the most popular mobile phone of 2009. This mobile has reached a new level in sales within 4 months.

In an ultra thin case of merely 11.9 mm and 3-inch WQVGA touch screen, the Samsung Star is an affordable mobile phone that appeals to young consumers. It also boasts high-tech features such as Samsung’s exclusive high-quality sound technology, Embedded Stylus, for ease of use and convenience when browsing the net, DNSe, as well as a SmileShot-enabled camera and Bluetooth v2.1. The Samsung Star’s global success can be attributed in part to its sleek design, interactive and user-friendly UI, and its reasonable price point.

Samsung Star is now available with all authorized dealers in Pakistan at an introductory launching price of 17,200/- Pak Rs.

A meeting was held on 19^th March, 2009 at PTA Headquarter which was attended by Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of all mobile companies. Chairman PTA Dr.Mohammed Yaseen appreciated the efforts made by mobile companies in launching of new system of â??Activation of SIMs After Verificationâ?. Chairman PTA described that PTA is constantly monitoring the new regime throughout Pakistan, AJ &K and Northern Areas. It was observed that system performance is more than satisfactory and whatever teething problems faced in the initial stages have been sorted out.

Chairman PTA emphasized that the procedures and processes must be monitored by mobile companies themselves so that Franchisees and Retailers are checked. Any Franchisee/Retailer found violating the procedure shall be dealt severely.

Chairman PTA informed the meeting that PTA has been interacting with different organizations using Jammers and continuous work is undertaken to remove the illegal Jammers so that availability of interference free spectrum is ensured.

It may be mentioned that PTA and mobile industry is also working jointly to introduce a new SMS based system by virtue of which a mobile user can be able to know the number of SIMs working against his/her CNIC by sending a SMS. A similar system is active through which a subscriber sends a blank message to â??667â? and return message gives antecedents of that particular SIM owner.

The Government has appointed Dr. Khawar Siddique Khokhar as Member (Technical) in Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.  Dr. Khawar Siddique Khokhar has more than twenty years of professional experience on his credit. He has worked in Myson Engineering systems, NCR corporation and SUPARCO. He has worked for the performance evaluation of WiMAX physical layer using measured channel parameters in 2.5 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 5.8 GHz band in UK. He has also been involved in the mobile channel characterization for 3G/UMTS.  He has been a visiting faculty member at various reputed universities. He has a number of publications in the international journals and conferences to his credit. He has conducted number of workshops on WiMAX. He is a member of IEE, UK and PEC and holds a PhD degree in mobile communications engineering from University of Durham, UK.

Etisalat has recently announced the commencement of a major initiative amongst its corporate social responsibility Agenda. In a press conference attended by the company officials, journalists from diverse backgrounds, renowned executives from the development arena including the heads of the organizations involved it was announced that the latest CSR initiative “Origin” was now operational

In part of Etisalat’s corporate social responsibility strategies, Etisalat has identified the platform of water as an area of intervention, and announced that “Origin” is a nation-wide project Etisalat has devised to counter Egypt’s water dilemma. The initiative is in partnership with the giant international organization “Care” as well as renowned Egyptian non-governmental organizations like “Resala” the “Egyptian Society for integrated development” and others as well as a large number of community development agencies. It is estimated to directly aid hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries in 7 governorates in its first year.

The initiative has four main components; the first and main component is bringing safe drinking water to the homes, schools and medical units of deprived villages that have suffered from thirst and have little or no access to drinking water. The second component is water purification which entails supplying villages, rural areas and squatter settlements suffering from polluted or contaminated water with purification plants and systems to filter the current water supply and turn it into usable drinking water.

The third component consists of irrigation water interventions planned closely in collaboration with care’s “water and stability” project officials, it features aiding villages suffering irrigation water difficulties to overcome their problems, this area includes construction, re-digging and clearing kilometers of watercourses as well insulating them with stonework amidst other irrigation water management activities. The fourth and last component targets kidney failure, a direct result of declined water quality; this includes providing hospitals with dialysis equipment and water treatment facilities enabling them to provide the patients with free dialysis treatment,

All the mentioned components are complimented with the necessary preliminary researches to assess the needing villages and the suitable type of intervention. The initiative also labels awareness and education  as a cross cutting theme; capacity development workshops for the CDAs taking part have already started, awareness programs for the beneficiaries and field trips for the school children of the target locations are also commencing shortly.

It is worth mentioning that the United Nations General Assembly, in December 2003, proclaimed the years 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’. The primary goal of the ‘Water for Life’ Decade is to promote efforts to fulfill international commitments made on water and water-related issues by 2015

Senior representatives from Etisalat represented the Middle East and Africa’s leading telecommunications group at the annual ‘Managed Services for Growth Markets’ conference which took place in Dubai this week.

Abdulraheem Aqeel Al Zarooni from Etisalat’s Carrier & Wholesale Services division and Mohammad Elsisi from Etisalat Nigeria both presented the importance of managed service providers for both established and Greenfield operators. Etisalat Nigeria presented its experiences in the rollout of its network in preparation for its launch last year and Etisalat UAE used the event to lay down its credentials as a managed service provider for international voice and data connectivity.

“Managed services are important for all operators, whether they are established players, or new entrants,” said Abdulraheem Aqeel Al Zarooni, Director Service Delivery at Etisalat Carrier and Wholesale. “For a new operator, the need to outsource its international network connectivity and service delivery is critical to their launch plans. They are now realizing the value that outsourcing their international connectivity needs, such as roaming, signaling and capacity management, can help them to efficiently establish a competitive proposition.”

Etisalat Carrier & Wholesale is currently leveraging Etisalat’s investments in international connectivity to provide services to Etisalat’s international subsidiaries and is a strategic asset supporting the group’s continued international expansion. It is also extending its vast resources and expertise to other ISPs, mobile operators and carriers across the world by offering managed services for roaming (Roaming Replicator) and capacity management through the Emirates Internet Exchange (EMIX).

Etisalat is the major internet hub in the Middle East, responsible for internet, voice, mobile broadband, roaming and corporate data services. It is the largest carrier of international voice traffic in the Middle East and Africa and the 12thlargestvoice carrier in the world.

It is the only comprehensive provider of carrier and wholesale services in the region. Etisalat has 520 roaming agreements connecting 185 countries enabling BlackBerry, 3G and voice roaming. It also has Points of Presence (PoP) in New York, London,Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris and Singapore providing a truly global reach.

Etisalat was named the best Middle East Wholesale Provider at the 2008 Capacity Awards and is also the Best International Carrier according to the World Communications Awards in 2008.

Warid have signed a contract through which Siemens Pakistan will utilize voice and data communication services of the GSM and EDGE network of Warid Telecom.

Warid is providing voice and communications services through its state of the art GSM and EDGE network. Both Siemens and Warid will be benefited from this partnership.

Warid’s General Manager Corporate Accounts and Enterprise Solutions- Mr. Shahid M. Murtaza and Managing Director Siemens Pakistan and CEO West Asia Mr. Sohail Wajahat Siddiqui signed the agreement in an impressive ceremony. Warid’s Deputy Chief Commercial Officer David Lee and Siemens CFO Mr. Gerhard Wilcke and other senior officials of both companies were also present at the occasion.

Warid’s Acting Chief Executive Officer- Mr. Faisal Ejaz Khan commented on the agreement, “At Warid we believe in completeness of our promises that comes out in shape of superior service and network quality. Our partnership with Siemens will provide an opportunity to Siemens to experience our services and commitments.”

Warid’s General Manager Corporate Accounts and Enterprise Solutions- Mr. Shahid M. Murtaza said, “We are proud to be associated with a global leader like Siemens. Our relationship will prove successful and beneficial for both companies. Warid’s joining with Siemens Pakistan reflects the confidence we enjoy from our corporate clients. We are delighted to have Siemens confidence in us and we are sure the partnership will go a long way.”

Managing Director Siemens Pakistan and CEO West Asia – Mr. Sohail Wajahat Siddiqui said, “We are confident that our experience with Warid will be very successful and we will achieve all our objectives. We have entered into this agreement in a transparent manner and after careful analysis and are hopeful that this will be the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership between the two organizations.”

Employees of Ufone, one of the leading telecom companies of Pakistan, have pledged one day basic salary as humanitarian aid to the devastated victims of the conflict of Swat.

Due to terrorist conflict in Swat, Dir, Buner and Malakand, mass exodus has begun in the affected areas with over 700,000 people have displaced while many still remain stranded. Due to continuous curfew and blocked main highways and roads leading to troubled areas, people are struggling really badly.

Ufone with a unanimous decision of all the employees and management has decided to come forward yet again and share the burden of these displaced immigrants. Ufone is not only a competitive telecom leader in the industry but an organization that has always been working towards an orderly corporate social responsibility plan including ways of supporting those in need.

“This gesture will not only help those in need but also be in line with Ufone’s tradition of being a socially responsibly entity,” said, Mr. Abdul Aziz, President & CEO Ufone.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is constantly monitoring the sale of new SIMs according to the newly launched System of SIM Activation through NADRA verification.  PTA Zonal Offices located at Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi and Muzaffarabad are checking authorized Customer Services Centres, Franchises and retailers of mobile operators to ensure that no SIM is sold and activated without adopting new procedure already in place from February 1, 2009.

In this regard the Authority has also directed cellular operators to take all possible measures to facilitate mobile users.  The Authority has made it clear that stern action will be taken if any violation is found and surprise checks of retailers and franchises will also be conducted.

It merits mention here that PTA has taken effective measures to eradicate the menace of unsolicited and unwanted calls/SMS owing to which considerable improvement has been reported while the progress is being monitored regularly.

It may also be mentioned that new system of SIM activation after verification of consumer from NADRA was made functional on February 1.  Pre-activated SIMs were being sold earlier in the market and could be used instantly after purchase. In contrast, in the new system, a non activated SIM would be sold to the consumer after checking his original CNIC and filling of Cellular Service Agreement (CSA) form. The consumer will then call 789 from the same SIM and Call Center would ask few questions to verify the data provided by the consumer. After the online verification of the consumerâ??s antecedents from NADRA, SIM would be activated in the name of verified customer. In case of incorrect answers consumer will be asked to contact Customer Services Center of the concerned mobile operator or NADRA Swift Center.