A spokesperson of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has said that PTA has neither formed any regulations nor it intends to monitor any personal communication including mobile phones, emails and SMS.

The spokesman clarified that it was never a mandate of PTA to monitor landline telephones, mobile phones, emails and SMS hence question of freedom of expression does not arise in this particular case. In fact, PTA in its efforts to curb illegal telecom traffic (grey traffic) coming into Pakistan from outside the country through illegal means, has installed a latest technical system. Through this system, all telecom traffic coming in Pakistan from abroad is counted to ensure usage of authorized means to carry out this business, to control illegal telecom traffic, billing verification and quality of service as required under the law.

PTA  during past few months has seized number of such illegal exchanges and apprehended persons including foreigners involved in this illegal business. These illegal systems were causing billions of rupees loss to the Government of Pakistan thus by raiding such places PTA performed its legal and national duty which might have harmed interest of few individuals fuelling concocted stories in the media. During last one year PTA saved 1.17 billion minutes (calls) through the technical system amounting to US $ 94 million.

To make this system more effective PTA has recently formulated draft of “Monitoring and Reconciliation of Telephony Traffic Regulations 2009”. These regulations were originally formed and notified in November 2008 and now few amendments have been proposed to enhance the scope of these regulations under the law. The proposed regulations are aimed at checking international calls to curb the illegal telecom traffic coming in Pakistan. PTA has put the draft of proposed regulations on its website to seek comments of all concerned to make these regulations comprehensive and acceptable to all.

Telenor Pakistan has become the country’s first telco to have completed a Universal Service Fund project — and that too before time. To celebrate the achievement, Chief Technical Officer Telenor Pakistan Khalid Shehzad and CEO Universal Service Fund Company Parvez Iftikhar jointly inaugurated a BTS (Base Transceiver Station) cell site in district Bahawalpur’s Cholistan desert last week. This cell site is one of the total 39 sites of USF Bahawalpur project that have been set up for this communication deprived area. USF promotes the development of telecom services in un-served and under-served areas throughout the length and breadth of the country. The fund consists of contributions (1.5% of adjusted revenues) by the Telecom Operators with no government funding involved.

The Bahawalpur Cholistan District BTS cell sites set up by Telenor Pakistan will bring coverage to the remotest areas of Cholistan desert and a previously un-served population of 242,000, over an area of 20,000 sq kms. The Bahawalpur Lot covers 22% of the area and 11% of the total estimated population of Punjab Province and includes Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan Districts.

Commenting on the timely completion of the USF project, Chief Technical Officer Khalid Shehzad said, “It is our pleasure to provide deep and wide reach to un-served and under-served areas such as the Cholistan desert. We are pleased with our progress and are hoping to complete all our future projects with the same levels of effectiveness. We believe that such projects are significant in terms of increasing service penetration in the rural areas.”

Universal Services Fund’s CEO, Parvez Iftikhar, while congratulating Telenor Pakistan on the successful completion of the project, said, “USF is going to continue bringing significant advances towards enhancement of telecom services, both in rural as well as urban areas of the country. The completion of the Bahawalpur project is an important step towards the fair and effective utilization of the fund. We are also encouraging our contractors to go for Alternative Energy Solutions and are pleased to know that Telenor Pakistan is taking the initiative in this regard.”
This is the first time a cellular operator has delivered a USF project even before the assigned period of twelve months. Universal Service Fund and Telenor Pakistan entered in the contract to provide basic telephony and data services in un-served areas of Bahawalpur on September 22, 2008. Telenor further plans to energize 19 sites in this Project with solar energy hence pioneering Green Energies in telecommunication sector on mass scale.

PTCL: Pakistan’s largest fixed line telecommunications company, reinforcing its commitment to make communication more affordable for its valued customers has announced to launch the exhilarating and most exciting Double-up Unlimited Package on the special occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

PTCL’s Double-Up Unlimited offers subscribers unlimited on-net local & NWD calls (PTCL to PTCL and PTCL to Vfone) along with unlimited download, DSL broadband service at amazingly affordable fixed monthly charge.

PTCL, SEVP Commercial Naveed Saeed said “This package is based on our unique position in the telecom market as the only fixed line operator with nationwide presence and being the largest and fully integrated broadband network of Pakistan.”

“We are confident that with the launch of this package, we will be able to bring a new dimension to offering converged telecom services in Pakistan.”

According to details, PTCL’s Double-Up Unlimited  Package offers unlimited On-net calls & 1Mbps broadband connectivity with unlimited downloads against a fixed monthly charge of Rs.1999/- only, it also offers unlimited on-net calls & 2Mbps broadband connectivity with unlimited downloads for Rs. 2,999 only, while unlimited on-net calls  & 4 Mbps connectivity with unlimited downloads only for Rs. 5,999 as a fixed monthly charge.

All off-net calls (local, NWD, Mobile and International) & other services will be charged as per the existing tariff. This will be an opt-in package with subscription through PTCL’s helpline and only residential customers with PTCL landline and broadband DSL service will be eligible to subscribe this package.

The BlackBerry® Curve™ 8520 is surely to take the industry by storm with its newest features which have never been offered before. It is the lowest priced new generation BlackBerry in the world, being offered for just Rs. 25,000/- The Gemini (Curve™ 8520) is the most innovative and competitively priced handset within the BlackBerry family which has been designed to satisfy the common man’s communication needs & to help them stay in touch while on the move. At the end of this divine month of Ramadan, BlackBerry is no more a dream, it is a reality. It is the perfect EID gift from Ufone, for anyone who desires mobility, convenience and confidence to move among the corporate brass.

Ufone has been among the leading carriers in refining user experience in co-ordination with Research in Motion for the new BlackBerry® Curve™ 8520 smart phone.

The sleek and shiny BlackBerry® Curve™ 8520 smart phone is jam packed with the coolest features like high resolution display, dedicated media keys, smooth track pad navigation, social networking, immediate iTunes and Macintosh compatibility. It also comes with a 2.0 Megapixel camera/camcorder and is Wi-Fi enabled.

Speaking about this exciting new handheld, Mr. Taimur Faiz Cheema, Head of VAS Ufone said, “This sleek and modern solution from BlackBerry will surely attract every Pakistani customer who has an interest in staying in touch while on the move. This unique smart phone delivers an amazing blend of affordability, functionality, performance, usability and design – making it an ideal choice for both professionals and power users in Pakistan.

NADRA workforce especially women have played a pivotal role in registering the womenfolk of the country. Over 1200 female workers are already serving the nation while to cater the need of overseas Pakistanis; NADRA female staff will serve the Pakistani citizens abroad in United Kingdom, Dubai and UAE. This was stated by Tariq Malik, Deputy Chairman NADRA in a press release issued here on Wednesday.

He said NADRA has adopted a fair and equal employment policy to empower the womenfolk; however, they have to go through selection criteria of test and interview to determine the merit.The initiative to bring women folks into mainstream was the vision of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, and NADRA management decision is a step forward to transform that vision into reality, said Malik.He said empowered female would be able to earn the bread for their families in a respectable manner. He said 40 female are working in NADRA in the officer cadre.

He informed that to cater the needs of overseas Pakistanis NADRA has recently appointed Ms. Qaisara Majeed from Sahiwal, Punjab as Camera Person in NSRC London, Ms Fozia Fiaz from Sargodha Punjab as Examiner Birmingham UK, Ms. Shahnaz Akhtar from Attock Punjab as Camera Person Manchester UK, Ms. Memoona Saeed from Faisalabad Punjab as DEO Dubai UAE, Ms Fatima Salim from Jhelum Punjab as SRC Supervisor, Abu Dhabi UAE and Ms Sana Elahi from Khanewal Punjab as DEO Reserve.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), has promulgated new regulations namely “Protection from Spam, Unsolicited, Fraudulent and Obnoxious Communication Regulations, 2009” to protect the consumer interests as mandated under the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act 1996.The objective of these regulations is to protect telecom consumers from spam, fraudulent, unsolicited and obnoxious communications including calls and SMS.

These regulations required all the telecom operators to setup standard operating procedures (SOPs) for controlling SPAMs, fraudulent, unsolicited and obnoxious communications, in accordance with the given timeframe. Under these regulations, telecom operators will establish procedures for blacklisting of subscribers whose subscription has been terminated on such fraudulent activities within sixty days from the date of gazette notification of these regulations.

They will also establish “Do Not Call Register” (DNCR) within ninety working days from the date of gazette notification of these regulations for avoidance of receiving unnecessary and unwanted calls by the subscribers from telemarketers. Moreover, a round the clock complaint handling mechanism in order to facilitate the consumers will also be established by the telecom operators. Launching of media campaign in electronic and print media to educate subscribers and general public of the available preventive and subsequent complaint mechanism for handling spamming, unsolicited, fraudulent and obnoxious communications has also been made compulsory for the telecom operators in the said regulations.

Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammed Yaseen said that PTA had been working on these regulations since long. A consultation paper on spam, unsolicited and obnoxious calls was issued to take all the stakeholders onboard and feedback received from them was incorporated in these regulations.

It may be noted that the Authority has already promulgated the Telecom Consumers Protection Regulations, 2009 in March, 2009.The notification of the Protection from Spam, Unsolicited, Fraudulent and Obnoxious Communication Regulations, 2009 is yet another milestone achieved by the telecom regulator to safeguard the consumer rights and interests. It is expected that, with the promulgation of these regulations telecom consumers may approach telecom operators for deterrence from unwanted, undesired and uncalled for communication and operators are required to facilitate the consumers under these regulations.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) along with Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) has recently conducted an extensive survey in major cities of the country including Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) to check the omission of power level from transmitters and receivers of Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs)/Towers installed by mobile companies. The survey was carried out with the help of special tools/equipment in 11 cities across the country including Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, Faisalabad, Mirpur, Muzaffarabad, Peshawar, Abbotabad, Quetta, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The results of this survey showed that power level of all BTSs surveyed was much below the prescribed limits and in line with the policy directives of Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines. Therefore, the impression regarding hazardous effects of the towers has been proved incorrect and a misconception. The towers have been installed and are working within the specified parameters defined by Regulator as well as the international bodies concerning the issue.

This exercise was undertaken on the directions of the Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammed Yaseen. It may be noted that PTA is cognizant of the issue and shall continuously monitor the working of the towers to ensure that the set standards are met and masses shall be updated accordingly.

Telenor Pakistan under its “Easy load Millionaire Prize Scheme 2” gave away a bumper prize of Rs. 2500,000 to a franchise retailer on 11th September 2009 at its regional office in Karachi.
Raza Naqvi Retailer of Clifton Franchise became a millionaire as he received a cheque of Rs.2,500,000/- from Chief Marketing Officer, Telenor Pakistan Lars Christian at the ceremony. Raza Naqvi expressed his jubilance by thanking Telenor Pakistan and hoped that schemes like these will also continue in the future.
Chief Marketing Officer, Telenor Pakistan, Lars Christian said on the occasion, “We at Telenor Pakistan appreciate and support the continuing commitment of our retail partners. It is commendable to see their dedication to delivering value and sustaining those efforts. It is a pleasure to be part of this opportunity and my heartiest congratulations go out to the winner retailer.”
Easy Load Millionaire Prize Scheme 2 was launched two months back in continuation of the Easyload Millionaire Prize Scheme 1 from earlier this year. In the Easy Load Millionaire Prize Scheme 1, Telenor Pakistan awarded PKR 1 million each to 6 retailers in different regions of the country. This time the prize money has been increased to PKR 14.5 million.
Retail Partners who exceeded their sales for the month of March 09 by 10 percent in May 09 were eligible to enter the lucky draw. More than 135,000 retail partners from across the country participated in the scheme. The calendar month’s sales were carefully examined by a committee especially designed to decide eligibility for the retail partners for the lucky draw. A 20 percent increase allowed them a double entry in the draw. The prize denominations include 600 prizes of PKR 10,000 easy load each, six prizes of PKR 1,000,000 and a bumper prize of PKR 2,500,000.
Telenor Pakistan was the first telecommunications operator to launch the ‘Easy Load’ for credit recharge which brought a revolution in the market. Telenor Pakistan is currently engaged with 200 plus franchisees and more than 150,000 retail partners across the country which remains the largest source of sales and distribution for Telenor Pakistan

Mobilink provided 2,000 underprivileged students of Care Foundation with environment friendly school bags made by recycling discarded advertising skins bringing the total number of donated recycled school bags to 25,000.

The young students who have recently returned to school after their summer vacations queued up in excitement to receive the school bags at a ceremony held at CARE Foundation’s Iqbal Town Campus in Sheikhupura.

Speaking on the occasion, Omar Manzur, Director Public Relations and CSR, Mobilink shared, “Mobilink applies a responsible business conduct, along-with an elaborate CSR philosophy which encourages personal involvement in community development. Through the Recycled School bags initiative, we reassert our commitment toward promoting education for the underdeveloped sections of the society while also keeping the environment in mind. We are grateful to organizations such as CARE for allowing us to contribute effectively.”

The Chairperson of CARE Foundation Seema Aziz highlighted the inspirational role of the Mobilink Foundation, the grant-giving arm of Mobilink. Voicing her appreciation, Seema Aziz said, “Mobilink has consistently supported us since 2007. More than 980 students have benefitted through Mobilink Foundation’s assistance in supporting the operational cost of the CARE school – MC Girls High school in Harbanspura.

A group of volunteering Mobilink employees assisted the CARE staff in distribution of the school bags. Mobilink is the first and only company in Pakistan to implement a billboard skin-recycling program to reduce non-biodegradable materials from the environment.

Since the launch of the Recycled Schoolbags initiative in 2007, Mobilink has donated 25,000 bags made from recycled advertising skins to CARE Foundation, Zindagi Trust and students who took shelter at Mobilink Camp for IDPs.

As a socially responsible citizen, Mobilink has also launched Pakistan’s first Handset. Recycling Program to share the benefits of cellular communication with the hearing impaired and the disabled and minimize the environmental impact of cellular waste through recycling. Mobilink has also recently signed the Copenhagen Communiqué, which calls on governments to agree on an ambitious, efficient and equitable international climate framework at the final negotiating meeting in Copenhagen this December.

The SOS Children’s Village Rawalpindi started functioning in 1989 with 15 family homes. Since then, five more have been added, and the project now has a capacity for 200 children. The 8 acre site was donated by the Government of the Punjab. The setting of the complex is an attractive one as it is located in undulating countryside, on the banks of the Soan River. It is also the biggest SOS complex in the country

The Families and children of SOS Village in Rawalpindi spent an evening with PTCL and  SAMAA TV. SOS Children had iftar with the distinguished guests present at the occasion.

Leading representatives of the business community, government and media were present at the event, celebrating the true spirit of the Holy month with the children of SOS Village.

In his message for the occasion, President, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) Walid Irshaid said, “It is a very good feeling to be amongst these beautiful children,” he also added “SOS is doing a remarkable job by providing these children with shelter and all necessities of life.” He further added “PTCL works very strongly for community development. As leaders in the communication industry, it is our responsibility to understand the needs of the people our country especially the children of Pakistan. He appreciated SAMAA’s efforts for initiating responsible media activities and realizing the importance of sharing this Holy month with the most deserving.”

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) distributed gifts and sweets amongst the children at SOS village.

Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAMAA also shared his thoughts and commented that, “media has an important role to play in creating value for the community and the audience it caters to.”