Warid Telecom (Pvt.) Ltd, the country’s most trusted and fastest growing cellular operator, announced that its Board of Directors have appointed Mr. Muneer Farooqui as company’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Prior to the appointment he served as Chief Executive Officer of Warid Bangladesh. He has with him almost 20 years of experience mainly in Telecom Industry of Pakistan and abroad.

Mr. Muneer Farooqui as company’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Commenting on the appointment of the new Chief Executive, Mr. Bashir A. Tahir, CEO Warid International said “We are pleased to appoint Mr. Muneer Farooqui as Warid Telecom’s new Chief Executive Officer.

He is a talented and seasoned professional and his unparalleled leadership expertise and extensive experience will enable Warid Pakistan to reach new heights. We have some great expansion plans and, on behalf of the Board, I warmly welcome him and wish him great success.”

“I am truly delighted to have the opportunity to contribute towards Warid Pakistan’s progress. In less than 5 years, Warid family has grown over 18 million customers with a substantial market share of almost 20%. Certainly it is tremendous progress and I seriously think that Pakistan’s cellular market has a lot of potential. I believe quality of service and customer care are the two important areas where we can get competitive edge. I am confident and determined that Warid Pakistan is fully positioned to set excellence benchmarks for the market.” said Mr. Muneer Farooqui, CEO Warid Pakistan.

Mr. Farooqui started his professional journey in the telecommunication arena in 1993 and served in various capacities till 2004. In May 2004 at the time of inception of the company, Mr. Farooqui joined Warid Telecom as part of the core team in the capacity of GM Customer Service. In January 2006, Mr. Farooqui was given a challenging task of leading and creating the team and operations for Warid Bangladesh. He is a result oriented professional who demonstrates support for innovation and organizational changes to enhance organizational effectiveness.

Warid is Pakistan’s most demanding and favorite cellular service. With this appointment of new CEO, Warid Telecom will continue with its expansion plans to best serve the people of Pakistan with quality network and the best processes, transparency and customer services.

© 2010, Telecom News Bulletin. All rights reserved.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has laid out a confident vision for continued growth and expansion in the region at the Samsung Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Forum held in Vienna. Samsung reinforced its leadership in markets such as home entertainment and mobile phones. Before a high-powered audience of media, dealers and partners, Samsung showcased a complete suite of its full 2010 product lineup, including the new award-winning solution of full 3D HD entertainment products.

Samsung also unveiled exciting new products in emerging categories like home appliances, digital imaging, PCs and printers. Last year, the company posted record revenues of nearly $118 billion and a full-year operating profit of close to $9.4 billion. Samsung also reaffirmed its commitment to its new green (Environmental) initiatives.

The Country Manager, Samsung Pakistan, Mr. Steve Han said, “In 2010 we must continue with innovation and design to meet the needs of our consumers. We are putting the environment first, through sustainable practices and programs.”

In April, Samsung will be the first to deliver a range of Full HD 3D televisions (LED, LCD and plasma), and AV products like 3D Blu-ray, 3D home theater systems, 3D glasses and 3D content. These feature Internet@TV, with Video-on-Demand access to Samsung Apps. It will introduce four high-end digital cameras and ultra compact camcorders in 2010 – the EX1, the WB 2000, the HMX-U20 and 8 new NX10 lenses offering Full-HD video and built-in USB connection.

Among other noteworthy innovations in Samsung Home appliances are the RL55/ 52 series refrigerator, with an intelligent LCD display conveying family messages. The side-by-side H series fridge with the first ever “push type” handle. The Omni-Pro microwave, with unique multi-sensor technology, the Samsung washing machine protects delicate fabrics and saves energy, while the Samsung Mont Blanc AC uses Virus Doctor (SPI technology) to reduce harmful bacteria. The Navibot robot cleaner offers a superior camera-based navigation system, “Visionary Mapping.”

Ranked number one in the full touch mobile phone segment, Samsung’s extraordinary phones are driven by upto 1 GHz processors. The “Wave” cellphone has the world’s first “Super AMOLED” display, a “TouchWiz 3.0” interface and is powered by Samsung Bada, (a new open mobile development platform). The Monte is a dazzling feature phone with GPS. Samsung Apps, was also launched on mobile phones last year, will expand to several MENA markets in 2010.

In the I.T. arena Samsung created the LED Pico Projector and the slim PX2370 monitor. The first large format display 650TS is an interactive whiteboard with a touch screen and easy-sharing. The Samsung E60 and E100 are revolutionary E-books. The P580 and R580 notebooks and N210 and NB30 netbooks offer great performance & longer battery life. The P580 notebook comes packed with Intel’s Calpella Platform, a 16:9 LED Backlit LCD and an nVidia processor, while the R580 multimedia notebook features an “invisible” touch pad that blends into the palm rest. Samsung printers offer One-touch functionality.

© 2010, Telecom News Bulletin. All rights reserved.

Mobilink, Pakistan’s market leader in cellular services and subsidiary of Orascom Telecom Holding, has been recognized for Marketing Excellence by the Marketing Association of Pakistan (MAP).

The MAP Marketing Excellence Award for 2009 has been conferred upon Bilal Munir Sheikh, Vice President Marketing Mobilink for outstanding Performance in the field of Marketing & Management, and for making a significant difference in the Organization’s standing in the Corporate Sector. Home to Pakistan’s most loved pre-paid and post-paid brands, Mobilink is known for its ground breaking campaigns that redefined the marketing scope of Pakistan.

To be presented at the MAP Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony slated to be held in Karachi on Friday, March 05, 2010, the distinguished Marketing Excellence Award has previously been bestowed upon various notable marketers including Musharaf Hai (Unilever), Sarmad Ali (Jang Group) as well as Mobilink’s former President & CEO Zouhair Khaliq.

Bilal Munir Sheikh, Vice President Marketing, Mobilink receives Marketing Excellence Award from Saifuddin Zoomkawala, Managing Director, EFU Insurance at the annual ceremony organized by Marketing Association of Pakistan. Also seen in the picture is Rafiq Rangoonwala, MAP President & CEO Cupola Group.

© 2010, Telecom News Bulletin. All rights reserved.

Mobilink offers its subscribers amazing value added services at their finger tips. Keeping this tradition, Mobilink brings yet another exciting new service, ‘Jazz TV Guide’, for all the TV lovers out there. Jazz TV Guide offers amazing convenience and utility to Mobilink customers as the subscribers can access program schedules and receive alerts of their favorite TV channel right on their mobile phones.

Subscribers can choose from 20 most popular TV channels and can also browse category-wise schedules. The five categories to browse from are; Drama, Movies, Music, News, and Sports. Mobilink customers can either subscribe to a TV channel’s monthly schedule or they can set program alerts for all their favorite shows. The SMS alerts are sent exactly an hour before the favorite show begins, so with Jazz TV Guide SMS alerts, customers will never miss show on TV again!

Service Mechanics:

Customers can send “tv” to 717 and receive the following menu options:

1.       Channel schedule

2.       Category-wise schedule

3.       Channel schedule subscription

4.       Program alert subscription

Customers can make their desired menu selection and reply with the relevant menu ID.

Please note: Schedules are dependent upon TV channel feeds.

For more details about Jazz TV Guide , log on to www.mobilinkworld.com and make your TV viewing experience a lot more enjoyable.

Hyperlink

http://www.mobilinkworld.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=245&Itemid=667

© 2010, Telecom News Bulletin. All rights reserved.

PTCL Evo PCMCIA Card:

As for all of you who are wondering about the title i.e. what on earth is an Evo PCMCIA card? Allow me to tell you that it is Aladdin’s magic carpet which will take you around the world on a magic ride. PTCL Evo Rocks! Not really ….. Not without an Evo PCMCIA Card. But if you are lucky enough to have a PCMCIA slot in your internet will fly with Evo!
PTCL reduced the price of PCMCIA to Rs.999 only … I remember it used to Rs.6000. OMG!!! that is a drastic reduction in price for a great product! Reason why I say is I am getting average download speed of 1100 Kilobits per second or 137 Kilo Bytes.

PCMCIA slot has been replaced in new laptops by the Express Slot however quite a handful of laptops available in the market still come with a PCMCIA Slot. Take for example my Toshiba Satellite M200 Notebook. A fancy looking machine; great performance and comes with a PCMCIA slot. Other options are usually older models such as of Dell Latitude D6×0 series but if your primary objective is to get online and browse the internet ….. PTCL Evo PCMCIA Card is just the thing.

Why to get a Evo PCMCIA Card?

• • Rs.999 only.
• • Downloads are truly fast … my best speed was 2116 Kbps or 264.5 Kilo bytes per second. Imagine downloading a 1 MB file in about 4 or 5 seconds.
• • Amazing robust device.
• • Much better signal receive strength.
• • Super-fast internet browsing and video streaming.
• • Much faster internet speed as compared to USB device.
• • All packages of PTCL Evo work on the PCMCIA card.
• • Rumor is Evo is coming out with volume based package. Once there price are expected to really come down.
• • Stand by option …. Get PCMCIA card on prepaid package and keep it as standby if other connections go down.

You can buy the PCMCIA card at any PTCL One Stop Shop for Rs.999 only.

© 2010, Telecom News Bulletin. All rights reserved.

In the past decade, Orascom Telecom has grown from an Egyptian start-up to an international telecommunications giant that attracted more customers than any of its Middle East peers.

The company rode the explosive growth of mobile phone use across Africa, the Middle East and the subcontinent, in combination with a strategy of making big investments into risky markets.

Realist: Naguib Sawiris, the chairman of Orascom Telecom, says existing strategies will not be enough to take the company forward.

The two tactics paid off, making the company Egypt’s largest public one and its founder, Naguib Sawiris, one of the Middle East’s richest and best-known businessmen. But Mr Sawiris, who stepped down as the Orascom chief executive late last year but remains its chairman, says these strategies alone will not be enough to make it through the next decade.

“We had a very easy life,” he says. “It was like a machine, producing subscribers, growing organically. What a wonderful life. But it’s finished, this life.” In its place is a world where there are already 5 billion mobile connections and an industry where growth will be increasingly linked to massive scale and an intense focus on wringing extra dollars out of subscribers. “The going is going to get much tougher,” Mr Sawiris says.

In response, he is now ready to cede control of the company he founded and join forces with another of similar size, or larger. The strategy, he told The National, is the only way a company like his can remain one of the world’s largest during an era of major industry consolidation.

“If it is not done in the next two to three years, we will miss the train,” he says. “We have real pressure to do this, because every day when you wait, an opportunity vanishes.”

On top of the pressure to stay in the top tier of an increasingly tough market, the company faces an even more pressing problem. In its two biggest markets, Orascom Telecom’s future is in doubt. The cost of its high-risk, high-return strategy is emerging in two disputes that have raised serious concerns among analysts and investors.

In Algeria, people familiar with the company say that Orascom is being pressured to sell its Djezzy mobile network, the country’s largest, to a local buyer. In recent years, Algeria’s government has issued a number of restrictions on foreign investment.

The moves were widely seen as reactions to the sale by Nassef Sawiris, the brother of the Orascom Telecom chairman, of a number of Algerian cement factories to Lafarge, a French construction business.

Reports said the Algerian government, which had previously rebuffed a number of attempts by Lafarge to enter the market, was upset by the way the sale sidestepped its authority over foreign investment.

Citing the sensitivity of the situation, Naguib Sawiris declined to comment on the specifics of the negotiations, or his company’s future in the North African country.

On top of an ownership battle in Egypt with its joint-venture partner, France Telecom, the Algerian dispute has exposed the downside to the risk-taking business model that has made Orascom the world’s eighth-largest mobile operator and exposed it to high-growth, high-risk markets such as North Korea, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

“When the risks are high, the rewards are high,” Mr Sawiris says. “We created an Algerian company that has US$2 billion (Dh7.34bn) of revenues and a billion of Ebitda [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization] in six years.

“Where else can you do that? You can’t do that in the UK. We don’t go to these places because we like trouble.”

But as Orascom faces ownership challenges in its core markets, its approach to new business suggests there is more to the company than the battles that immediately meet the eye.

A decade ago, Orascom was one of Africa’s biggest operators, with networks and licenses in more than a dozen sub-Saharan markets. But the company beat a hasty retreat from much of the region as mounting debt worries led it to focus on a smaller number of core markets including Algeria, Egypt and Pakistan.

Its return to sub-Saharan Africa is being managed by a new subsidiary, Telecel Globe, which is approaching the task with the benefit of experience.

“When you own smaller assets, a big company with 30 million subscribers in some markets will not put the same emphasis on 500,000 subscribers in another,” says Kai Uebach, the chief executive of Telecel Globe. “The lesson learned from the past is that if you want to go into Africa, you have to have a focused team taking care of the operation, whose first priority is those operations.”

In small, low-margin markets, Telecel wrings out extra profit though its purchasing power as a part of the Orascom group. It can build and operate networks for 30 per cent less cost than competitors that are going it alone, and managed to save about $25 million last year through such purchasing.

“If you don’t have to put all that saved cash on the table, your profitability looks completely different,” Mr Uebach says.

And while Orascom has made a specialized business out of targeting Africa’s smaller, low-profile markets, its entry into Canada has been equally notable. Industry watchers in the world’s 11th-largest economy say Orascom has brought about a major change in the country’s approach to foreign investment in telecoms. Canadian law limits foreign ownership of telecoms operators to 47 per cent. Orascom owns 65 per cent of the equity issued by Globalive Wireless, a unit set up by Globalive Communications following a successful spectrum auction that saw the Egyptian-Canadian consortium spend $429m on rights. Orascom also holds most of Globalive’s debt. Overall, Orascom has invested about $700m in its Canadian operations.

The Canadian government made the rare move of overruling the Canadian telecoms regulator’s decision on ownership limits and allowing the Orascom unit to launch mobile services about two months ago. And on Wednesday, the government announced that laws on foreign telecoms investment would be eased this year. “Mr Sawiris is quite smart and astute politically,” says Dvai Ghose, a telecoms analyst with Genuity Capital Markets in Toronto. He notes that a former Canadian provincial politician was appointed to Globalive’s board to deal with government relations.

“He has a level of political manoeuvrings that other guys don’t have, especially guys in Canada that are already established.”

Mr Ghose says “time will tell” as to whether Mr Sawiris’s investment in Canada will pay off, but notes that Orascom’s scale will aid Globalive in rolling out competitive mobile promotions and getting discounts on network equipment and handsets.

“Canada, even though it is a developed country, has the mobile penetration of an emerging market,” Mr Ghose says. “In some ways, the characteristics in Canada in theory are favorable to new entrants, but what Mr Sawiris brings to the table that no other company has done is bring global scale and power.”

Success in Canada and the smaller markets of Africa will be a pillar of an Orascom that makes it through the next decade as a major player. But in his new role as chairman, freed of much of the day-to-day work of a chief executive, Mr Sawiris is pondering what else a mobile operator can do to make money in a tough market. The answers may point to a future pillar of the business.

“What is our business model? We produce networks and sell minutes. So imagine if I could produce power and sell electricity.”

Via The National

© 2010, Telecom News Bulletin. All rights reserved.

The import of used IT equipment has played a vital role in the nation’s development. The imported used and low cost computers are used by IT educational institutions, middle class and lower middle class students and families. Likewise, hospitals, clinics, departmental stores and all types of small and medium size business enterprises, even all types of schools, even madrisas depend on used computers due to affordability for the middle and lower middle class.

The IT and Computer industry in Pakistan, despite having immense potential to grow, has been forced to struggle for its very survival due to ill-conceived and hostile official policies. Had the genuine issues of the industry would have been resolved; the country could have reap tremendous benefits, especially in regard with earning precious foreign exchange.

It’s ironic that whenever, industry raises the genuine concerns at top decision making levels, some vested interest group derail the process by floating issues based on their vested interest. One of such issue has been raised by insensitive proposal to ban used IT equipment in Pakistan. The vested interest groups could not comprehend the fact that there are hundred of thousands of people are involved in used computer business.

Similarly, majority of people belongs to middle class and lower strata of the society can not afford a new computer at a price of 25,000 to 45,000/ and they opt for a used desktop PC at an average price of 5,000 to 10,000/-. The laptops market presents similar picture where average price of a Dual Core new laptop in HP/Dell/Acer is around 45,000 to 55,000/- whereas the same in used is available at a price of 27,000 to 30,000/- and in Centrino technology even more cheaper upto 22,000/-.

We simply cannot ignore the fact that Pakistan is a third world poor country and majority of the people are living below the poverty line and it is not possible for them to afford a new PC. It has been observed that a great number of students and professionals are using these used computers and laptops. The initial users and beginners don’t need a hi-fi computer rather a normal low-end PC works fine for this purpose.

The import of used IT equipment has played a vital role in the nation’s development. The imported used and low cost computers are used by IT educational institutions, middle class and lower middle class students and families. Likewise, hospitals, clinics, departmental stores and all types of small and medium size business enterprises, even all types of schools, even madrisas depend on used computers due to affordability for the middle and lower middle class.

The industry is aware of the fact that the used IT equipment is not more than three years old and it still have a functional life of 5+ years and all available software can be operated on these machines and fulfills business and education needs at a very low cost. Thus, resale of used/Refurbished PCs is not only popular in developing countries like Pakistan but also in the developed nations like USA, England, Europe, Canada and Australia are widely using these computers.

According to a conservative estimate, Pakistan can save a huge foreign exchange by encouraging used computers and IT equipment as used computer cost on an average is less than $40 as compare to the cost of new ranges from $300 to $600. Currently there is no indigenous production of IT equipment and its parts in the country. Therefore, import of such equipment by no means is threat to any local industry. As said earlier there are only assemblers, some are small one having one shop and some have big installation, but both are assemblers and nothing is produced in our country.

Not withstanding national needs and aspirations, some multinational firms engaged in computer hardware manufacturing are trying to get import of used IT equipment banned to make quick and big money. However, the sitting government ought to consider that any such ill-advised step would result in large public outcry and loss of precious foreign exchange.

The proposal of imposing any type of ban on used IT equipments is absolutely unnecessary as Pakistan is not producing / manufacturing any computer then what industry we are talking about: there are only assemblers. As a matter of policy we should not look at someone’s personal business or cartel of few companies, rather we should think about the wellness of majority, people at large and national interest.

By Abdullah Malik

–The writer is President of Pakistan Computer Association (PCA) Islamabad Chapter, a countrywide representative body of computer industry in Pakistan.

© 2010, Telecom News Bulletin. All rights reserved.

Pakistan Computer Association (PCA) has rejected the proposal for a ban on the import of used computers and IT accessories. The proposal is being considered at ministry of information technology on behest of some vested interest groups.

Munawar Iqbal, the president of PCA said that the move will benefit multinational companies dealing in new computers and increase their profits, take computers out of the range of poor students and affect livelihood of thousands of vendors dealing in used computers.

He said that at present, there is no indigenous manufacture of computers and IT equipment. All computers, used and new, are being imported. Some international companies, manufacturing computer hardware with the help of some local profit-seeker groups, had been pressing the government to impose a ban on import of used computers and IT equipment, obviously to control the local market, he added.

While terming the move as “unjust and based on malevolence”, he said his association would resist the ban at every level. He added that Pakistan was a third world country where 80 per cent consumers buy second-hand computers.

“Multinational companies are trying to get a ban imposed on import of second-hand computers to capture the market, but the government should realise that a large number of poor people cannot afford to buy a new computer costing between Rs25,000 and Rs45,000,” Munawar Iqbal said, adding that the price of a used desktop PC ranged between Rs5,000 and Rs10,000.

The ban would deprive poor students of their right to modern education and the country would lose millions of dollars in foreign exchange if the proposal was approved, he said.

© 2010, Telecom News Bulletin. All rights reserved.

Facebook Mobile Alerts

Ufone subscribers can now:

• Update their Facebook status
• Subscribe to friend’s status updates and reply to status updates
• Send & Receive a message to and from a friend
• Post a message on friend’s wall or receive wall messages from friends
• Add a friend
• Find email address of a friend
• Find information of a friend
• Poke a friend
• Undo status changes
• De-activate/Re-activate notifications on mobile handsets
• Upload picture on Facebook from mobile handset

Registration Process:

To activate Facebook functionality on mobile handset, user will be required to login to the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/mobile

Once logged in user will be required to click Account menu and select Account Settings from the drop down list as shown below:

Next user will click Mobile tab as shown above. To register follow a simple three step process:

Step1:

• Users will click Register to Facebook Text Messages. Ufone users will be required to select “Pakistan” as country and “Ufone” as carrier and click next.

Step2:

• User will be asked to send “f” to 32665 from their mobile handset to get confirmation code. The letter “f” needs to be sent without quotes.

Step3:

• Enter confirmation code in the opened dialog box and click confirm. User will then be directed to the notification setup page and will be confirmed about their Facebook Text Messages activation feature.
• On this page users can edit all notification settings e.g. what kind of notifications to receive, what should be the time of notification, number of notifications to be received, etc. To save setting users will be required to click Save Preferences button.
• Users can also add multiple phone numbers to a single profile or remove existing phone numbers as well, however notifications will only be sent to a single number.

Picture Upload through MMS:

• Ufone users can now also upload their pictures straight from their handset on to their facebook profile. To upload a picture user will be required to login into the below link get their unique email address.
• Once user is logged in they will get their unique Facebook-MMS Email ID as shown below. They can find the Email ID under Upload via Email heading. For example purposes only, the Email ID for the logged in account whose snapshot is attached is: agatha703lepton@m.facebook.com.
• Or users can simply click “Send my upload email to me now” link under Upload via Email heading and then can receive their unique Facebook-MMS Email ID on their email or mobile handset.
• To upload a picture from mobile, user will only be required to MMS their picture to the provided Facebook-MMS Email ID and their uploaded picture will appear on their Facebook under Mobile Upload album.

Pricing:

• All SMS sent to 32665 will be charged Re 1 plus tax.
• All notifications received are free of charge.
• Picture upload charges are as per MMS standard i.e. Rs 5 plus tax/64KB
• For GPRS access, standard GPRS charges apply

© 2010, Telecom News Bulletin. All rights reserved.

The management of National Database & Registration Authority, NADRA has foiled 11,396 attempts of obtaining computerized identity cards (CNIC) by confirmed aliens, the applications are blocked permanently and cases are marked as fraud, this was stated by spokesman Nadra clarifying exaggerated figure by a section of press in this regard.

Referring to some news reports regarding 25000 CNIC issued to aliens the spokesman said that in 2008 the management of NADRA on its own initiative had started taking stern actions against aliens and had started making a list of suspected aliens who had their computerized cards made through fraudulent means.

He said that in 2005 NADRA had acquired Biometric technology which helped in big way to detect theses aliens whose cards have either been blocked or marked as fraud so that they cannot be used in any circumstances.

Moreover the spokesman said that NADRA is working on zero tolerance policy and any staff member regardless of the position is dealt with ruthlessly if found involved in illegal activities or in connivance with alien registration process.

The spokesman said that National Alien Registration Authority (NARA) is registering aliens in Pakistan; however, NADRA has also created a biometric alien watch list which consists of photographs and fingerprints of Afghans as well as other illegal immigrants. Each CNIC gets issued only after passing through this watch list and any match gets blocked as ‘Confirmed Alien’.

He said that NADRA has adopted strict measures to ensure national database authenticity which includes documentary proof of applicants’ residence and citizenship, family roots in Pakistan, attestation of particulars and confirmation of nationality by public representatives and cross-referencing Manual Registration System and Census-1998 data set.

He said NADRA has also identified over 12,074 cases where aliens succeeded in obtaining ID cards when the biometric systems were not available with NADRA. These cards have been cancelled.

hese confirmed aliens include 2491 in NWFP, 241 in FATA, 1079 in Punjab, 6609 in Sindh, 1490 in Balochistan, 113 in ICT, 6 in Gilgit / Baltistan and 45 in AJK.

The spokesman further elaborated the process of ‘BLOCKING’ and ‘CANCELLATION’ of card. There is a difference between two processes. A card is blocked on a suspicion of other nationality and marked as suspect in database. After extreme ground verification if it is proved that the suspect is not Pakistani, only then he is marked in ‘Confirmed Alien List’ resulting his card in cancellation.

© 2010, Telecom News Bulletin. All rights reserved.