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Telecommunication:
Telecommunication is the transmission of signals over a
distance for the purpose of communication. In earlier times, this may have involved the
use of smoke signals, drums, semaphore, flags or heliograph. In modern times,
telecommunication typically involves the use of electronic devices such as telephones,
television, radio or computers. Telecommunication is an important part of the world
economy and the telecommunication industry's revenue was estimated to be $1.4trillion
in 2008.
Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation (PTC) took over operations and functions from
Pakistan Telephone and Telegraph Department under Pakistan Telecommunication
Corporation Act 1991. This coincided with the Government's competitive policy,
encouraging private sector participation and resulting in award of licenses for cellular,
card-operated pay-phones, paging and, lately, data communication services.
• Electric wire
• Optical fiber
• Cable
• Electromagnetic fields
• Mobile Phones
• Wireless
• Cable or satellite
• Internet or broadband services
PTCL
1. Mobilink
2. Telenor
3. Ufone
4. Warid
Despite a tightening national economy, coming into 2009 the mobile market continued to
expand at an annual rate in excess of 10%. Internet penetration remained low, however,
and broadband growth had also been negligible, but 2008 saw an upsurge in broadband
subscriptions; importantly, this looked to be continuing, boosted by the spread of
competition throughout the market. This report offers a set of statistics on the Pakistan
telecoms market, as well as information on the regulatory regime.
Nokia
Sony Ericson
Samsung
LG
Mobile Zone
CELLULAR SUBSCRIBERS
Growth
Mobilink Ufone Zong Instaphone Telenor Warid Total
Rate %
Foreign direct investment (FDI) was US$ 3.1 billion, a fall of 21% from previous year. On
the positive side, there was a 33% drop in import bill of mobile handsets (US$ 446
Million), partially due to the imposed tax of Rs. 500 per handset and 50% regulatory
duty. The FDI and the handset import numbers reflect the tough business and economic
conditions in Pakistan.
2000-01 1.6
2001-02 1.6
2002-03 1.7
2003-04 1.7
2004-05 1.9
2.0
2005-06
2000-01 2.80
2001-02 3.66
2002-03 4.31
2003-04 6.25
2004-05 11.89
2005-06 26.26
2006-07 44.06
2007-08 58.90
2008-09 62.0
July-09 62.3
Aug-09 62.3
Sep-09 62.4
Oct-09 62.4
Telenor:
Telenor acquired the license for providing GSM services in Pakistan in April 2004, and
had launched its services commercially in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi on 15
March 2005]], and on 23 March 2005, Telenor started its services in Lahore, Faisalabad
and Hyderabad. Telenor has its corporate headquarters in Islamabad, with regional
offices in Karachi and Lahore. On January 28, 2005, Telenor established its first call
centre in Lahore. Telenor is the 2nd largest network of Pakistan after Mobilink.
Mobilink:
Mobilink is the largest cellular service provider in Pakistan. Mobilink's corporate postpaid
package is sold under the brand name "Indigo" and prepaid by the name of "Jazz”.
Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited, better known as Mobilink GSM, is a
telecommunication service provider in Pakistan. According to PTA statistics, Mobilink
has 29.55 million customers by July 2009. Mobilink's Head office is located in Mobilink
House, 1 A Kohistan Road, and F-8 Markaz Islamabad
Ufone:
Ufone GSM is a Pakistani GSM cellular service provider. It is one of six GSM Mobile
companies in Pakistan and is a subsidiary of Pakistan Telecommunication Company. It
has a subscriber base of 20.05 million as of July 2009. It is currently owned by United
Arab Emirates based.
Zong:
ZONG is the first International brand of China Mobile being launched in Pakistan.The
company is often cited as China Mobile (Pakistan). ZONG is part of China Mobile
Pakistan (CMPak), which is a 100% subsidiary of China Mobile.
Warid:
Warid Pakistan launched its services in May 2005. Within 80 days of launch Warid
Pakistan claims to have attracted more than 1 million. users. According to Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority, currently Warid Telecom has 18.14 million subscribers as
of July 2009. It is ranked as the fourth largest operator in Pakistan. Warid Pakistan
claims it has the largest "post-paid" subscriber base in Pakistan.
• Pakistan is the world’s largest unsaturated market for mobile phone users
• Ranks 11th among 15 top rated countries
• Telecom rating is 49.4%
• Telecom infrastructure is 39.3% established
• Telecom market is 33.5% risky for foreign investors
Investment Growth
Declined by 11%
FDI in Telecom :
Increased by 30%
Revenue Share :
Up to 65%
PROBLEMS:
REMEDIES:
Remote areas should be provided with the telecom services
An innovated infrastructure should be designed to support technological
advancements in the field of telecommunication
Taxes should be decreased
Formulate policies to avoid price wars
Create a politically stable environment in order to avoid economic uncertainty
The flow of information plays an essential role in the diffusion of new technology and
ideas at the level of individual enterprises, the industrial sector and the national
economy. The importance of the new knowledge and new ideas as key elements for
stimulating growth rate has long been recognized by economists but is receiving more
attention in recent years among new growth theorists. The source of knowledge and new
ideas can be domestic or global. If knowledge is local, telecommunications technology
can be used to globalize that local knowledge and this process is known as localization,
making a local idea global. In the case where information or an idea is made known in
various countries (and usually adopted in those countries), this process is known as
globalization. ICTs then make both localization and globalization possible. Modern
telecommunications provide a cost effective and time efficient medium for accessing
rapid development of computer and communication technology.
One of the reasons for the persistent gap between rural and urban areas in any country
is the telecommunications infrastructure gap, which results in the information gap
between rural and urban areas. Rural areas have little or no telecommunications
infrastructure (e.g. in terms of telephones, facsimile/fax, computers, printers and the
Internet, except in telecasters or community phone shops where available), when
compared with the urban areas. This difference in telecommunications infrastructure is
If rural people obtain more information about agricultural prices, markets and economic
opportunities beyond their geographical horizon they will be able to increase their
productivity. Availability of telecommunication services can help to improve information
flow between rural and urban regions and help reduce the gap of economic development
between developed and developing countries but here other factors such as cultural,
social and institutional factors can play important roles. Information between rural and
urban areas can only be transmitted if there are communication technology links
between these areas. Governments and other financially able parties, such as in the
private sector, should establish communication technology links to facilitate information
transmission.
Telecommunication services in any business entity are to some extent a low cost
substitute for information handling labor and have very low substitutability with other
traditional inputs such as capital, production, labor and materials (Nandi 2002).
However, telecommunication services help the industries more by increasing the
productivity of each of these traditional inputs and thus increasing the efficiency of the
entire production process. Telecommunications service is highly complementary with the
use of information technology products. Telecommunications help with the retrieval and
transportation of information, and allow efficient processing and exchange of information
among different computers situated in distant locations.
The externalities involve lower search costs, increased arbitrage abilities and more
information on the distribution of prices and services. Because of these spillovers and
externality effects, the social rate of return on telecommunications is expected to be
much higher than its return just on the telecommunications investment itself. Studies
done by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, by the ITU, by the World
Bank, recognize the role of telecommunications in stimulating efficiency and growth of
other sectors in the economy.
By allowing easy acquisition and transfer of information among economic units, and by
facilitating rapid two-way communications over distance, telecommunications help in the
coordination of economic activity (Nandi 2002). In business, this mechanism improves
the capability of managers to communicate with each other and helps them to make
better decisions and business plans. Telecommunications help to remove, to a great
extent, the physical constraint on organizational communications in all sectors of the
economy. Recently, telecommunications has become a primary contributing factor
It is an established fact that there is a large gap and income between the most advanced
countries and the developing countries in the world. However, the discrepancy in output,
income and standard of living among different regions is more acute domestically in less
developed countries than between developed and developing countries. In many rural
communities, the middleman plays a key role as sole buyer of products, monopoly
This will allow them to adopt an optimal production and pricing plan for their products.
Using telecommunications, rural agents can consult with agronomists and vegetarians in
distant locations to provide necessary information to farmers for improving their crop
yields and livestock productions. All these activities help the rural people to increase
their productivity and income. The availability of telecommunications in rural areas can
come from major urban areas, creating more jobs opportunities and income in rural
areas. Thus, the development of rural telecommunications can help to overcome many
obstacles to rural development.
References:
www.google.com
www.pta.com www.telenor.com
www.zong.com
www.ufone.com
www.warid.com