Ever experienced that sinking feeling when the video you thought had loaded is still just a grey line crawling forward at the same rate as a worm in a wind tunnel? Who in Pakistan hasn’t? Everybody has been waiting for 3G, and now 4G, to come to Pakistan. These long overdue and much needed services are finally in the process of coming to our doorsteps – and our phones. You can stop your please-be-true, please-be-true prayers now, because it is true!
Auctions for 3G and 4G will be held on April 23rd, according to Ismail Shah, Chairman of PTA. The sale is estimated to raise approximately PKR 1.6 billion. Several telecom companies are getting ready to participate in the auction, and are preparing themselves to offer 3G and 4G services. These companies have to make nationwide system changes to enable their facilities to encompass 3G and in some cases 4G services. These changes are primarily in the form of updates to existing systems and infrastructure.
Photo Credit: News Pakistan
Mobilink
Mobilink, the country’s largest telecom provider, is at the forefront of the telecom pack and is expected to win at least one license. The company indicated “it will complete the roll out Pakistan’s most modernized and largest 3G ready network with more than 9000 cell sites across the country by July 2014.” Customers have come to expect good service and are expecting faster Internet speed with their Mobilink connections soon, especially since “Mobilink launched a major communication drive across mainstream TV, radio, print and social media to emphasize the company’s bigger, better and faster network supremacy so that their customers never miss a moment.”
Telenor
Telenor is an international telecom company that came to Pakistan in 2005 and “quickly grew into the second-largest mobile operator in Pakistan”. The company is pairing up with Chinese firm ZTE to upgrade its services to ensure provision of 3G. Gyorgy Koller, Telenor Pakistan’s CTO, described heir long-term goals for these services: “We wanted to have a future-proof network that was not only 2G but also 3G and 4G.” With the help of ZTE, Telenor has been working on swapping its network, which has been an arduous process. Lars Christian, the CEO of Telenor Pakistan, also added, “For the next three years, we want to be the biggest retail bank and the biggest Internet provider in Pakistan. We want to have more than 30% market share and have more valuable customers in our network.”
Ufone
PTCL has invested heavily in upgrading the infrastructure and network capabilities of its subsidiary, Ufone. They are currently working to bring this service to ten cities in Pakistan. According to reports, “PTCL is boosting its backhauling capabilities through national Fiber BTS Backhaul project as it understands the transformation of global telecom sector from Minutes to Bytes, sources added. Towards this end, it has already deployed a fiber backhaul solution for Ufone BTS sites in 10 major cities resolving the existing drS bandwidth choking issues thus resulting in increased revenues.” It has been indicated that Ufone will definitely be making a bid for 3G, while PTCL will continue to offer landline and other services.
What about Warid and Zong?
A poll conducted by ProPakistani showed that Mobilink, Ufone and Telenor are expected to get licenses and are most aggressively prepping for them, though there are also two other firms that could possibly be in the running: Warid and Zong. Muneeb Farooqui, CEO of Warid Pakistan, stated: “We are evaluating this business proposition at the moment, but at the end of the day, everything will boil down to the price tag the regulator puts on the license for this venture. The license fee alone could make or break this project.” There have been some indications that Zong, a venture of China Mobile, is also interested in eventually expanding to 3G, though whether they will receive a license or not remains to be seen.
A Costly Process
The upgrade in infrastructure and overhaul of networks is a time-consuming and expensive prospect, with one news source stating that: “ ‘In case of one cellular company, the up-gradation of network is going to cost around $1 billion,’ said the official of one cellular company working in Pakistan.” While the cost of upgrading is massive, the expected profits in a country like Pakistan where the number of Internet users is growing, will likely make up for it.
