December 15, 2008 - January 15, 2009

Editor s
Note
Badgered to death!
It seems as life in telecom sector is seized: There are
less incentives/packages for subscribers, decreased
advertisements, lower growth rate, and minimum
investment. Although emerging telecom operators Zubair Ahmed Kasuri Editor-in-Chief

like Telenor and Warid are making comparatively Fatima Batool Editor
consistent progress but the increasing rate of inflation Usman Yaqoob
is irking the establishment. Moreover, the well- Marketing Manager (Lhr)
M. Farooq Malik
established giants of the sector are no more able to Marketing Executive (Lhr)
keep themselves at the top. Mobilink, the lion of Rashid Hussain Mughal
Marketing Executive (Khi)
telecom, is starving. Orascom is injecting credit to
save its right hand but of no avail. PTCL, the giant of
landline, has terribly disappointed its customers by Zafar Khan Afridi
rapid disconnections, poor client services, pathetic Senior Graphic Designer
CreativeZone
management and deceptive policies – people are
moving to new fixedline and wireless providers. Khawar Shahzad
Ufone was once at the second position but now it is Manager Islamabad Office
Asmat Ullah
over shadowed by Telenor. It seems as Warid and Content Coordinator
Zong, along with Telenor are going to be the key Azhar Javed
Production Manager
leaders in days to come; however nothing is sure in Taimur Shafiq
this part of the world. Web Developer
Muhammad Saeed
This aftermath is caused by earlier loops in the Chief Photographer
Mobile: 0321 - 8404389
strategies made by governing bodies to extend the
sector. The worldwide financial crisis also has Lahore Office
Ph: 042-5750732- Fax: + 92-042-5750804
negative impact on not only the telecom, but also the Islamabad Office
emerging IT sector. It is reliving to see the re- Phone: + 92-51-2890054
Fax: + 92-51-2891339
establishment of those companies which were blasted Karachi Office
with the Marriot but the financial crunch seems Phone: + 92-21-4602620

irretrievable. Registration No
Oil is getting cheaper and cheaper in the PCPB/105

international market but inflation is still rising; minor (Vol. 5 Issue:4)

Price Rs: 300
things are hard to attain, resources are limited, all jobs
are challenging to fulfil and surrounded by a lot of URL: www.flare.com.pk
Email: flare.mag@gmail.com
competition. In such deplorable condition, hiking
taxes in the third world are increasing resistance in
the utilisation of the very basic tool of
Zubair Ahmed Kasuri, publisher of FLARE
communication, i.e. mobile phones. leading telecom magazine printed it from
PTA is still unable to arrange auction of 3G which Akkaz Printers, Shama Plaza, Lahore and
was promised to held in December. There are published from 105 B, Gulberg II, Lahore.
investors but not an investment friendly environment
as nothing is stable whether its dollar’s rate or oil
price. Things will get better but when, how and after
how much loss, it cannot be forecasted.

8
Letters
to the
Editor
Ufone not again!!!
I can’t get what Ufone is up to. I was
amazed at my balance reduction of Rs 1
per day. I am a student and keep a good
account of all expenditure, I made round
the clock. Some of my friends are also
using Ufone and they are also unaware of
the cause by which their balance is de-
ducted daily.
The other day, I happed to meet a per-
son who deals in a Ufone franchiser and I
asked him about the hidden charges. He
asked me several questions regarding my
call package and SMS (short message serv-
ice) subscriptions and then surprisingly he
told me that those who sign up to Ufone’s
Web site are charged with Rs 1 per day
whether they sign in or not.
So here is the story: All of us are sub-
scribed to Utunes and it is impossible to
get one without getting registered online.
We all have our accounts on Ufone Web
site and none of us is aware of this monop-
oly by Ufone. They are collecting Rs 30 per
month without any notification. Many of
us didn’t sign up from months but still we
are charged.
On one hand taxes of 31 per cent are
imposed on the cellular services and on the
other such selfish attitude demonstrated
by the operators. I appeal PTA (Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority) to kindly
take notice of such hidden charges which
are silently crucifying hundreds of thou-
sands of innocent mobile phone users.
Thanks a lot – Umair Ahmed, Lahore.
What PTA is doing?
The other day I was recharging my
mobile phone with a 100-rupee card when
I noticed the following appearing on my
mobile phone: “Five per cent
administrative fee for recharging – on face
value”.
This is an undeserved levy as recharge
is an automatic procedure and no
expenses are involved. What it means that
this mobile company has given itself a five
per cent profit on overall turnover for
nothing.
Similarly, the PTCL imposed a package
on consumers some times back. What is
poorly-led Pakistan Telecom Authority
doing about it?
It is very unfortunate that the
ownership of these companies should
resort to these tactics when we desire the
investors from close allies as Arab
countries to invest and succeed in Pakistan
in much greater numbers than now.
Unfortunately, the blind and
unjustified levy by the PTV in electricity
bills has opened way for other blind levies
which too must stop after all what is the
justification of not giving Rs25 to say 40
other channels operating which consumers
use.
you hidden incentives then please don’t go
for it. Make your own principles and stand
This justifies shake-up in our regulatory
by with them because no one is going to
bodies as the PTA and Pemra, which allow
illegal tariffs and keep on licensing come for your rescue in hot waters – Sajjad
Hussain, Lahore.
dishonest businessmen and license
improper parties to destroy our roads,
gardens, put unsafe towers in parks, on
roofs with no end - M Shaikh, Islamabad. PTCL blues
A letter “Phone blues” by Khalid
A question for PTCL… Rashid Quraishi compelled me to send the
Time and again PTCL has failed to writer this consolation message that he is
provide services it advertises. A few not the only one suffering at the hands of
months back, it was DSL. I know several
PTCL. There are so many others whose
people who applied for PTCL DSL
connection, waited for about three months, phones are out of order since long in spite
got frustrated, changed their ISPs and got of making several complaints; yet all of
new connections within hours. I live at a them have been forced to pay fixed
distance of two kilometres from the PTCL charges of line rent and Pakistan Package
exchange on a main road. I applied for a
etc as punishment for being clients of
DSL connection only to be told that I
PTCL.
couldn't get a connection because of some
'technical problem'. Since I could not bear this brutality
I then applied for a Smart TV any more, I have submitted application to
connection - something advertised heavily
PTCL for disconnecting my phone. I sug-
by PTCL. The company employee who
handled my request had told me that I gest Mr Quraishi to do the same. By doing
would have the connection within three so, he will at least save some money -
days. It is now over two months and there Engr S Z Hussain, Lahore.
is no news of the connection. Whenever I
call them I am told that there is some
'technical problems'.
I have one simple question for PTCL --
Mobile manufacturing
why does it advertise products which it What is the problem?
cannot provide to prospective customers?
What kind of the way of doing business is With your leading IT and Telecom
that? - Mohammad Irshad. magazine, I want to convey the message to
our rulers about the mobile
manufacturing in Pakistan. It is worth
Please learn a lesson from mentioning that we are importing more
Mobilink than US$ 1 billion of mobiles from the
different parts of the world each year.
I have no complaints to make about any
Pakistan has become a consumer market
one. I just want to share my grief at the
for the multinational companies who are
downfall of Mobilink, the largest cellular
just opening sales centers in Pakistan but
service provider company in Pakistan. Mo-
not ready to set up mobile manufacturing
bilink is one of the pioneers in contributing
plants in Pakistan due to one or the other
to the wireless sector of Pakistan.
reasons. Our leaders and rulers are happy
At first, media highlighted that the com-
with the situation and we are allowing a
pany is facing massive loss but I, being a
billion US $ each year to go out of
reader thought, that media is exaggerating.
Pakistan and amazingly we are not
When I read your cover story in the previ-
ashamed of calling other nations for help
ous issue and I was among one of those
in economic crisis.
readers who were initially not ready to ac-
If we have a visionary leadership like
cept the truth. How is it possible? The
China and other countries, we would have
biggest company in Pakistan is a victim of
now at least 3 manufacturing plants in dif-
its own loops and holes? No. it’s not true.
ferent parts of the country which not only
How can the lavish ads be an eye-wash?
meet the demands of the people but we
What about the claim of above forty million
can export mobiles sets to other countries
subscribers? Impossible!
as well.
I just put the thought at my back. But, I
Here I put my humble suggestion to
happened to recently meet a person who
PTA, Board of Investment and Finance
actually belonged to the telecom sector and
Ministry to devise a plan and push com-
he showed me the official report of Oras-
panies like Nokia, Samsung and Motorola
com (the parent of Mobilink) situated in
to set up their plant in the country with
Egypt. The report shows that Mobilink is at
highest possible incentives like Tax ex-
a loss from last few months (the reason are
emption, salaries to the employees for first
of course not mentioned) and Orascom will
3 years and subsidy on mobile sets. This
soon devise a plan to change its path and to
will pave the way for mobile manufactur-
move to other emerging countries like
ing industry which will lead to saving of
Bangladesh where the future of investment
foreign exchange which is a value able
will be bright.
asset for a country like Pakistan.
I can’t do anything for Mobilink, the
Sumiullah, Lahore
most cherished telecom service provider! In
fact no one can cure the injured because the
injury is caused by the short-sightedness Send us your letters at
and short-term benefits. However, we can flare.mag@gmail.com or at our
only advise other companies to learn from postal address.
other’s errors and be at your guard. If PTA Flare reserves the right to edit
(not current Chairman but the Ex) is giving letters for clarity & space. 9
 InsighT Khawar Shahzad Free download | flare.com.pk

ndian and Pakistani

I
company - hackers
hackers are engaged infiltrated its website
in a round of tit-for- and disrupted its
tat defacing of banking products site.
government-run • Year 2002:
websites of the two Around 300 websites
countries, targeting such were hacked by
major organisations as Pakistani hackers.
India's leading Oil and • Year 2003:
Natural Gas Corporation Pakistani hackers hacked
and its Pakistani 477 Indian websites, 270
counterpart Oil and Gas of them in April only.
Regulatory Authority. This was an awesome
The cyber warfare way to enjoy their
began in mid-November summer vacation.
when an Indian group of • Year 2004: The
hackers known as HMG Navy website
or Guards of Hindustan www.nausena-
defaced the website of bharti.mil.in went off the
Pakistan's Oil and Gas servers after a hacker
Regulatory Authority posted anti-war
and deleted its data. The messages.
move created a buzz in • Year 2005: 373
cyberspace as HMG had websites including 25
earlier hacked a number government sites were
of Pakistani hacked.
communities on the • Year 2006: This
social networking year was a golden year
website Orkut. for hackers. They hacked
Apparently acting in more than 2,000 websites
retaliation, a group including website of
calling itself the Pakistan In what seems to be an intensifying cyber war between Government of Punjab
Cyber Army hacked five
Indian websites,
hackers of Pakistan and India, Pakistani hackers managed and all websites of
Government of
including those of to hack website of ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Rajasthan.
ONGC, Indian Institute • Year 2007: IIT
of Remote Sensing, Corporation) of India Kanpur website was
Indian Railways and the were in touch with a private firm, which hosts the hacked. Hacker replaced
Kendriya Vidyalaya in Ratlam. CID website. IIT-Kanpur's logo by McDonald's logo and put
While the websites of ONGC and Indian This is just a warning to Indian authorities some statements like "This site has been sold to
Railways were quickly restored, the IIRS website either to launch inquiry against HMG or get ready McDonald in $ 25 million. The official website of
remained blank for a long time. In a message for more action. the Maharashtra government was hacked. It had
posted briefly on the ONGC website, PCA said the some Arabic content on home page.
hacking was carried out in retaliation for the
hacking of the OGRA website. "Back off, go read
“Back off, go read some • Year 2008: Hacker hacked an Indian
antivirus company website and used it to spread
some course books, else you will lose both, your course books, else you virus.
name and this game. We will literally smoke your Pakistani cyber criminals have a field day
doors off like other groups did before," said the will lose both, your name hacking nearly 40 to 50 Indian websites every
message from PCA.
The website of Crime Investigation Department
and this game. We will month. Prodigious 18-year-old ‘ethical hacker’
Ankit Fadia, who has given consultancy services to
(CID) of the Andhra Pradesh police was literally smoke your intelligence agencies, defence departments,
Wednesday hacked by a group of hackers that government and private organizations including
claimed to be from Pakistan. Exposing flaws in the doors off like other FBI and CBI, said he had recently submitted a ‘25-
cyber security of a key department, a group called
itself Zombie_KSA defaced the website
groups did before” page white paper’ to the government detailing the
addresses of the Pakistani hackers who call
The probable purposes of hacking are: themselves ‘hactivists’.
• To damage the reputation of the company;
• To prove their might in cyber warfare;
• To use the information for personal
benefits, i.e. email accounts and other confidential
details;
• To distribute mal-ware; and
• To propagate the sentiments against a
particular country.
This is disturbing as Indian websites are the
most targeted sites by hackers. India is the largest
emerging IT power and websites of this country
are not secure. This is awful. The reverse coding
www.cidap.gov.in and pasted offensive messages. experts (hackers) from many countries like China,
“You guys hacked Paki OGRA website. Don’t Russia, the US, Sweden and even Pakistan, target "Though we have enacted cyber laws, there is
hack small Paki sites,” said the message. Indian websites. Pakistani hackers hack nearly 40 not much awareness in the country about security
The hackers also tampered with the to 50 Indian websites every month. risks arising from cyber attacks nor is there any
information about 10 most wanted criminals, Lets look year wise hacking history of Indian proper training for law enforcing agencies to deal
which included some suspected terrorists. The site websites: with the crime," Fadia, who shot to fame by
could not be restored till late in the evening. The • Year 2001: Over 200 Indian websites were authoring a book ‘unofficial guide to ethical
police clarified that CID had not lost any secret hacked into and defaced. The hackers put in words hacking' at the age of 14, said.
information. “It was all open information about like bugz, death symbol, Paki-king and allah-u- E-Crime Ordinance has just hit the cyberians
crime and criminals. We have not lost any secret akbar. Pro-Pakistan Hackers infiltrated a Web site and it needs some time to store law in cyber space.
information,” said A. K. Khan, additional director of India’s External Affairs Ministry and posted But, we hope that the situation will soon
general of police (law and order). anti-India messages. Infosys Hacked - Infosys change…

The police have ordered an inquiry as to how Technologies Ltd is one of India’s biggest software
the hackers could break into the website. They
10
Free download | flare.com.pk
akistan Telecommunication Authority
P (PTA) will study models of various
countries in order to put in place
information security guidelines for
preventing country’s national assets and
information reaching into hands of unauthorised
persons.
The PTA organised an Expert Group Forum
“Information Security Guidelines for the
Government of Pakistan” with the aspiration to
setup comprehensive and implementable
security guidelines that could be followed to
ensure country’s national asset and information,
and does not reach unauthorised personnel.
PTA to guide for the
security of information
‘Information Security Guidelines’ are bifurcated to cater for
three types of information users: The government
organizations; the telecom industry; and the end users
These guidelines would not only prevent
information loss, but would also detect and
identify such incidents as and when they
happen. The session was presided over by PTA
Chairman Dr Mohammed Yaseen and was
attended by security experts from various
cellular operators, software houses and
Information Communication Technology (ICT)
equipment manufacturers. The initial Terms of
Reference (ToR) were prepared by ICT
The meeting decided that
PTA would call papers from
eligible and experienced
firms, both national and
international to identify
security threats as well as
preventive measure that
these information users can
take to ensure that the data
they possess is safe and
secure
Directorate of PTA and were circulated to all the
Information Communication Security (ICS)
Group members to share their valuable input
and expertise on the subject matter.
While addressing the meeting Mohammed
Yaseen said that the field of information security
has grown and evolved significantly in recent
years. Governments and organisations today
have a critical task of securing their data and
information from internal and external threats.
He said that loss of such information may lead
to problems, including but not limited to; lack of
productivity, competitive disadvantage and
national security concerns. Nations across the
globe are fostering their efforts for the
formulation of National Information Security
policies and PTA also believes that in view of the
ever changing global ICT scenario; modalities
for securing national data from unauthorised
access and misuse would be step in the right
direction.
Chairman said that PTA intends to establish
working coordination with ICT industry in
order to discuss and scrutinise potential security
threats faced by information and communication
networks of the country. In this regard PTA has
formulated an expert group forum on
“Information and Communication Security” to
carry out extensive discussion and exchange
information with respect to information security
issues in the country.
He apprised the audience that “Information
Security Guidelines” for the government of
Pakistan were bifurcated to cater for three types agencies. His presentation focused on
of information users namely The Government
Organizations, The Telecom Industry and The
End User. Each information user guidelines
were to be based upon metrics such as
international best practices, government
information security policy, ICT infrastructure
security guidelines, physical security guidelines
and departmental security plan/policy.
Other issues highlighted in the meeting
include assessment of ICT assets, impact of
distributed ICT assets environment, security
guidelines for physical access to assets, backup
strategy guidelines, disaster recovery guidelines, prescribed format to be provided by the
access control guidelines, integration with ICT
infrastructure security guidelines, security
training and capacity building of personnel,
prevention and detection system guidelines,
hierarchy and escalation paths, analysis of
information security policies of select countries
with respect to their telecom infrastructure,
analysis of applications in Pakistan and
technology updates and guidelines for inclusion Registrar of six universities in Canada and USA
of future technological changes.

Flare Report Telepedia
Workshop on
online degree's
verification
H
igher Education Commission has
organized a workshop on Online
Verification of Degrees to bring
transparency in the process of
attestation. The purpose of an interactive
workshop was to brief the Controllers of
Examinations and Registrars of public and
private sector universities and degree awarding
institutions of Sindh province about the online
verification of degrees. Dr Muhammad Ayub
Alvi, Dean FAST National University of
Computer and Emerging Sciences conducted
the workshop at HEC's Regional Centre,
Karachi.
Addressing the workshop, Muhammad
Javed Khan, Director General (Attestation and
Accreditation) of HEC emphasized the need for
organizing such workshops and said a large
number of Pakistani students are desirous to
join foreign universities while still greater
number intends to immigrate in search of better
job opportunities.
"The receiving universities and prospective
employers abroad always ask for authenticated
qualifications and approach HEC for the
purpose," he said, “with the increase in number
of universities and applicants getting their
degrees certified, the Commission has decided
to establish a foolproof system of verification.
This system will be easily accessible, secure
and no unauthorized person or agency would
be able to temper with the stored data."
Dr Alvi informed that his university has
already put up the data of all its graduates on
the website and is being used by various
development of central database of all the
degrees level-wise and year-wise issued to date
by the universities and degree awarding
institutions at HEC and the same at each
university and individual institution.
"This database would be easily accessible
through internet for anybody and from
anywhere to determine the authenticity and
genuineness of qualifications held by an
individual. For the purpose all universities
need to provide up-to-date information on the
Commission," he said.
The participants thanked the HEC for
organizing this workshop and tried to get
maximum possible information on the subject
from the resource person. Appreciating the
initiative, Mr Louis Ariano, Registrar, Aga
Khan University, Karachi, who has been the
described the workshop as innovative that will
make verification process easier and flawless.

11
 Exclusive Flare Report
resident Asif Ali Zardari
P visited United Arab
Emirates (UAE) to
convince the business
community for investment in
Pakistan. He assured them safe
investment in Pakistan and offer
various packages to attract
investment in the country. The
main focus of investment were
telecom, energy, banking and
many others sectors. He met
various high profile officials and
personalities of the UAE.
In this respect, heads and chief
executives of two major UAE
companies, including the Abu
Dhabi Fund for Development and
the Etisalat, separately called on
President Zardari and expressed
their keenness to further invest in
different fields in Pakistan. Asif
Ali Zardari appreciated their
interest and assured every
possible support of government in
setting up and expanding
businesses in Pakistan.
The President urged the businessmen to take
advantage of the investment-friendly policies
of the government by investing their capital in
Pakistan, which would also help the country
in achieving increased socio-economic
File photo of President Asif Ali Zardari
Abu Dhabi Fund for
Development Director General Muhammad
Saif Al-Suwaidi after his meeting with Zardari
told the media that the fund would soon send
its high-level delegation to Pakistan to explore
new avenues for investment. He said that the
fund had already financed various projects in
Pakistan and was keen to further invest in
various development projects. He said the
priority of the ADFD is to contribute to the
economic development of Pakistan through
the extension of loans to finance projects that
help in reducing poverty, improve living
conditions and quality of life.
The activities of Abu Dhabi Fund for
Development focuses on providing assistance
in the form of loans or grants to finance
projects that boost development and
improvement of new sectors and
infrastructure, such as electricity, water,
transportation, telecommunications,
healthcare, agriculture and education. These
facilities provided by the Fund are intended to
lay the foundation for a sustainable
development that ensures decent life for poor
countries and their future generations.
Chairman Etisalat Muhammad Hassan
Omran told that their company already had its
presence in Pakistan with huge investment in
the telecom sector, including a 26 per cent
stake in the PTCL, and planned to invest more
in different fields. He termed his meeting with
12
Free download | flare.com.pk
policies of the government by
investing their capital in
Pakistan, which would also help
the country in achieving an
increased socio-economic
development and prosperity. He
said that Pakistan, with a
population of 180 million and
large market, offered vast
opportunities of investment in
energy, financial services,
housing, construction,
agriculture, oil and gas, telecom
and infrastructure development,
with great potential in various
untapped areas.
The President said with the
complete restoration of
democracy in the country, the
new government was
formulating and implementing a
number of policies which will
help restore the confidence of
local and foreign investors in
the Pakistani market. He said
the government was focusing on
the improvement of law and
order situation in the country,
assuring the businessmen that
their capital will be fully
protected.
President Zardari said the
present government fully
believes in the policies of
liberalization and deregulation
and all the sectors of economy
are open for investment. He
referred to the ongoing
privatization process in the
country and said it was the PPP
government which initiated the
development and prosperity process in 1988 and all the
incumbent governments
Zardari very productive and fruitful and said continued to follow that policy, which led to
that the president was appreciative of the major investments in diverse fields. The policy
company’s strong presence in Pakistan and of privatization is aimed at minimizing the
assured full cooperation of the government to government’s role and encouraging the
the Etisalat in its plans to expand their private sector to come forward and play their
business in the country. effective role in the country’s industrial
Meanwhile, Zardari has invited the UAE- development.
based Pakistani businessmen to invest in their Zardari mentioned the current economic
homeland and offered special incentives and a crisis in Pakistan and said the wrong and
Zardari referred to the ongoing privatisation process in
the country and said it was the PPP government which
initiated the process in 1988 and all the incumbent
governments continued to follow that policy which led
to major investments in diverse fields. The policy of
privatisation is aimed at minimising the government’s
role and encouraging the private sector to come forward
and play their effective role in the country’s industrial
development
preferential treatment. “The government will short-term policies of the previous non-
prefer the Pakistani entrepreneurs to come democratic regime led to this situation,
and invest in various joint-ventures in however the present democratic dispensation
Pakistan,” he said in an interaction with the was taking all out measures to put the
Pakistani business community. country’s economy back on track.

The President urged the businessmen to
take advantage of the investment-friendly
Free download | flare.com.pk
A light display illuminates the Atlantis Hotel during the official grand opening party on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.
Palm-party
planned to perfection
If Dubai is synonymous with superlatives — be it the tallest
building or the biggest mall, the emirate out did itself for
sure this time when it illuminated its skies with fireworks,
seven times larger than what was seen at the Olympics
lanned to perfection, the demonstration
P
bashes.
was a definite show-stealer, that
‘shocked and awed’ the 2,000-odd
guests at one of the world’s biggest
Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai,
arrived at the launch party, just a few minutes
before the fireworks began.
Pyrotechnics expert, Grucci, marked the
launch of the man-made island and its flagship
resort, Atlantis-The Palm, in style a little after
midnight, when a myriad of colours and shapes
lit the entire stretch of Palm Jumeirah and the
iconic resort.
The spectacle had been set off from over 716
firing locations around the island including 400
balconies at the resort, using custom-made
shells that had been shipped in from across the
globe. The light and sound display had been
superbly coordinated, emanating from different
corners of the resort in varied colours.
Mesmerised guests, including top notch
celebrities, watched in admiration and wonder
as one of the largest display in the world
unfolded in front of their eyes.
The palm-shaped luxury island had been
cordoned off with only one lane permitting
guests, important officials and the Palm
residents, whose security passes were
thoroughly inspected before being allowed
entry. The carefully planned launch of the
island and the flagship resort had ensured that
inquisitive onlookers were kept at bay, making
it an exclusive event, to be witnessed only by
the lucky few, who possessed invites.
Journalists were few of the first guests to be
ushered into the hotel, albeit amid tight
security. Even as the hand-picked guests,
Dubai: Fireworks at Atlantic Hotel.
whetted personally by hotel top officials,
streamed in, several eyes scanned visitors
curiously, hoping to catch a glimpse of
celebrities or popular faces, taking a casual
stroll in the Atlantis lobby.
Before the celebrities set foot at the pool
side, where all the action was about to unfold,
an enormous ‘sea dragon’ snaked its way
through the crowd doubling up in to a living
buffet that is over 21 meter long. Made of 3,000
hand-cut scales, it slithered gracefully through
the crowd. Three live buffets, served by men
and women in costumes, moved through the
crowd serving various delicacies. Half of the
over 200 dinner tables were glowing with light
from a lantern, powered by over 2,000 batteries
used for the evening’s event from actors,
singers, music icons to sporting legends,
Atlantis’ prestigious Red Carpet was not
without its impressive list of celebrities.
Kylie Minogue, Lily Allen,Mary Kate Olsen,
Quincy Jones, Lindsay Lohan, Michael Jordon,
Flare Report Event
Richard Branson, Charlize Theron, Robert
DeNiro, Priyanka Chopra, Shah Rukh Khan,
Rani Mukherjee, Hrithik Roshan, Mallika
Sherawat were just some of the popular tinsel
town people on view.
The radiant 1,600-room
hotel’s exterior and interior
set the tone for the evening,
as hotel staff bustled about
to give final touches to make
a picture perfect party which
caught the world’s fancy
Dubai: The world's largest fire cracks
illuminate the coasts.
Sol Kerzner, the co-owner of the Atlantis-
The Palm, welcomed the crowd promising a
fantastic evening, not that guests expected
anything less. The dinner comprised of
traditional Arabic Mezzeh, lobster salad with
avocado and mango salsa, Australian lamb
chicken, saffron marinated chicken and lamb
kofta, besides other delicacies.
Guests feasted on signature dishes prepared
by celebrity chefs, Santi Santamaria, Michel
Rostang, Giorgio Locatelli and Nobu
Matsuhisa.
A total of 113 performers were part of the
entire show, accompanying Nawal, Kylie and of
course Priyanka Chopra, who played the role of
the goddess of Atlantis. Her performance was
accompanied by a high definition video
illumination sequence, beamed on the
daunting, arch-shape façade of the Atlantis.
The sounds and lights, though arresting,
failed to impress. Grucci’s fireworks were the
real stars that stole the show as they
encompassed the resort, the Palm and the skies
above with their brilliant, synchronised display.
On the other hand, Amlak Finance and
Tamweel, two Dubai-based property finance
groups with total assets of around seven billion
dollars, have begun a merger process. The
merger of the two banks under the supervision
of UAE Real Estate Bank will create the largest
real estate finance institution in the country, the
UAE finance ministry said.
In the first half of 2008, Amlak Finance had
assets of 3.86 billion dollars and Tamweel's
assets were worth 2.94 billion dollars, giving a
combined value of 6.8 billion dollars, WAM
reported.

13
Courtesy: KH
 Telepedia Azhar Javed Free download | flare.com.pk

I
n order to tackle the menace of mobile
handsets theft, Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had
introduced a central international mobile
equipment identity (IMEI) based system
across the country to block mobile phones that
were either lost or stolen. Since its
implementation in September 2006, the PTA
claims to have successfully blocked more than
250,000 mobile phone sets on request.
It is very easy method to block the stolen
SIMs but dilemma is that the 95 per cent of
mobile users are not aware of this facility. To
block mobile phone directly call PTA at 0800-
25625. They will get some basic info and the
In July 2008, PPP government
terminated Chairman PTA Maj- To block mobile phone directly call PTA at
Gen (Retd) Shahzada Alam Malik 0800-25625. They will get some basic info
and appointed Dr Mohammed
Yaseen as Chairman PTA. He is and the IMEI number of your lost mobile
trying to combat illegal SIMs set. They will register IMEI of your cell
businesses and stolen handsets.
He has proposed Ministry of
phone and request all the mobile
Information Technology to make operators to block this IMEI on their
the purchase, sale and receipt of networks. You can also send an email to
snatched or stolen mobile phones
and SIMs a punishable offence PTA at imei@pta.gov.pk
with fine and imprisonment, by
amending the law. 2008 while blocking as many as 7.96 million
"On approval of the suggested amendments unverified connections. The Committee
expressed concern over the data provided

On approval of the suggested

amendments the accused could be
sentenced 49 years imprisonment or with
fine which may extend to Rs 10 million or
with both: Chairman PTA
IMEI number of your lost mobile set. They will
register IMEI of your cell phone and will
request all the mobile operators to block this
IMEI on their networks. You can also send an
email to PTA at imei@pta.gov.pk.
IMEI is a number, which is unique to every
GSM mobile phone. It is usually found printed
on or underneath the phone’s battery and
warranty card. IMEI of any set can also be
found by dialing the sequence *#06# into the
phone. The IMEI number is used by the GSM
network to identify valid devices and therefore
can be used to stop a stolen phone from
accessing the network. For example, if a mobile
phone is stolen, the owner can call his or her
network provider and instruct them to “block”
the phone using its IMEI number. This renders
the phone useless, regardless of whether the
phone’s SIM is changed.
14
Islamabad: Policemen display recovered mobile phones and other items.
the accused could
be sentenced 49 years imprisonment, or with
fine which may extend to Rs 10 million or with
both," Chairman PTA told a Sub-Committee of
Senate Standing Committee on Interior. He said
PTA has proposed the amendment in Section 31
of the Act Clause "P". Ministry of IT is finalising
the act for the amendment.
Dr Yaseen told the Committee that the sale
of pre-activated mobile SIMs would be stopped
by January 31, 2009. PTA Chairman assured the
Committee that activation of the SIMs would be
only done by the respective mobile company
after the verification of the credential of the
customer. He further said no franchise or
retailer would be authorized to activate the
SIMs.
Chairman of the Committee Talha Mehmood
asked the Authority to ensure 100 per cent sale
of non-activated SIMs from February
1, 2009. Meanwhile, the PTA
Chairman informed that PTA has
blocked 2.92 million SIMs that were
procured by different persons on
single CNIC. These SIMs were in
excess of 10 connections issued
against single ID card. He said as per
policy a person could get ten
connections of each mobile company
on single CNIC.
Chairman of the Committee
showing his concern recommended
PTA to allow a total 10 connections
of all mobile companies on a single
CNIC. PTA Chairman said that the
Authority has verified all the mobile
connections sold up to August 31,
by PTA regarding blockage of unverified SIMs
and asked them to provide the data of blocked
SIMs to the Committee. It directed the National
Database Registration Authority (NADRA) and
PTA to finalise the charges of CNIC verification
and report to the Committee within one week.
The meeting was attended be Senators
Abdul Khaliq Pirzada, Col (Retd) Tahir Hussain
Mashhadi and Secretary MoIT, Chairman PTA,
JS Security Ministry of Interior, IGP Islamabad,
representatives of four provincial governments
and high officials of PTA and Ministry of
Interior and IT.
PTA has provided the latest available
technical solution to discourage the mobile
phone snatching hence fulfilling its
responsibility to the telecom consumers but
better results can only be achieved with the
collective efforts and cooperation of law
enforcement agencies, mobile phone dealers
and public.
It has been modelled after similar systems in
other countries such as UK. The mobile phones
are involved in 28 per cent of robberies. The
mobile phone database can prevent stolen
mobile phones from being used on any UK
mobile network helping to make them
worthless to thieves. Reporting the number of
your stolen phone to your network operator
will now enable it to be cancelled like a stolen
credit card. This applies to both pre-pay and
contract phones. Mobile phone theft is a
growing problem both in Australia and
overseas. The loss of a mobile phone is not only
inconvenient, but can also be costly to
consumers.

 Telepedia Flare Report Free download | flare.com.pk

Naveed Khan:
I’m a student and applying for PTCL 30 per
cent discount through its student HEC
website, but the problem is account name
and password which is under construction in
PTCL website from ages. Is there any
alternative way to create my account and fill
the student online broad band forum? Can
anyone help me in this regard?? If I apply for
512 or 1024 MB connection, they say that
with 30 per cent discount I will have to pay
only Rs 1399 per month which will be
included in the billings, I want to ask about
taxes, are they included or excluded??

Adil: gaya howa hai

PTCL
rama la
Ya kia topie d
ney!!!

Allahwadhaiodino:
The old policy of PTCL was a failure so
when I went to its office for disconnection of
broadband connection, I saw a line of public
who came to return the gadgets supplied by
PTCL free of cost. I think that is why the
PTCL revised the policy and have now
started 512 kbps connection for the same cost
of Rs 1200 with unlimited download. Some
PTCL has made several changes in its broadband package one who has got the connection as per new
this year in terms of price, speed, duration and other PTCL policy may advise to all readers
whether it is being followed correctly or
features. Unfortunately, the only thing they never bother to some underhand tactics are applied by
PTCL, as old habits die hard in the private
change is poor service. Below is an article composed of coy who are greedy beyond limits. The
an Internet post and comments posted by public download speed for 512 BB connection must
be near to 200kbps. Does the D/L is free for
highlighting their personal experiences 24 hours or only the browsing is free for 24
hours? This clarification is necessary for all
viewers to avoid misleading.
TCL has launched a broadband internet

P facility for its consumers with minimum

256k connection. Presently a download
of 4GB is allowed per month, and you
can use it free from 01:00 to 08:00 in the morning.
For this, proper daily user account is needed to
Web Designer Group:
Yes, you are right! Same happened with me
and one friend of mine. We both purchased
PTCL package on the same day. After a
month the bill was too high - Rs 2100 for me
Kaif:
I am sorry guys, the speed is path
PTCL has increased its bandwidth
have recently opted for the 512 kbp
etic even if
, though I
s, but I
and Rs 1800 for my friend for extra haven’t received the bill yet. I can
be maintained through computers to which the not
downloading where I’ve download not a comment on free D/L but just like
consumer has access by an already issued any one else
single byte. I perceive that the bill will be sho
password so that he remained up-to-date cking!
regarding his account. Practically, the account is
Jatalap
not updated for weeks and the consumers k:
remain in dark for months. Then suddenly the I agree
w Zayan:
update ith the writer in our country, I am
account is filled with false entries and D/L limit the dat , PTCL is a big froudia
a in the PTCL does n m last year, but in
is increased at the end of the month and the
in time
. Now accoun ot using its DSL service fro
today i ts of co discount package of
the dat s 10 of n February 2008 I avail the
consumer receive inflated bill. The bills are a has n
ot been this mo sumers nth on 512k. In June I
delivered late, only two days are given for its
which
means added nth bu students i.e. 840 per mo
lap in t t did not transfer my
payment.
PTCL.
After p s in the work he account got to know that they
rivatiza ing of t d sending me bill of Rs
This is not a joke, but a fact that the writer got a
the coy
h tion th he connection on HEC an
staff ha as deteriorate e effici the hell is this? Even I
bill of Rs 700 for excess D/L in addition to s been d becau ency of 1200 per month. What
remove s operly. The installation
Rs 1199/ normal bill. I confirmed this scam by
pretext
of volu d from e most of the transfer my package pr
nteer r service C package and I told
jotting down my timings Internet usage and then etireme on the man came to me for HE
nt. how can I proof that I
requested the staff at phone # 1236 to update the him to install it. Now
ion??
data of ten days, which was updated the very transferred my connect
next day. The timings noted by me were
different from the timings of the issued data. I Naveed: ith out assessing th
eir M. Imran:
appeal to the PTCL bureaucrats to have pity on retire staff w I submit my ap
When you failu re of good serv
ices to plication of P
the poor consumers and update the actual data e resu lt is on line but its dis TCL broad ba
requirements, th d a friend fa ce d th e same heartening as nd
in the account and avoid any kind of hanky La st m on th I an an sw er to m there is no
the public. ld appeal to y request! I am
panky.
of web de sign er’s group. I wou weeks, but th
ere is no answ
waiting for so
me
www.naitazi.com/2008/02/04/PTCL-broadband- fate as to take notic e of the d ec id ed er and now I’ve
concer ne d to co ntact some ot
internet-policy/ the Authorities to redress the grie
vances provider
s.
her DSL servic
e
d do so m et hi ng
situation an .
p
the looter grou
16 of the public from
Free download | flare.com.pk Flare Report Telepedia

line was still linked to my old connection. He went

back to the exchange and told me that he would fix
the problem.
The issues are obvious:
• First of all, it seems that the helpline staff is
not really helpful, probably because they have
inadequate information.
• Secondly, those who staff the broadband
section seem to have no idea about the work done
in the field, because I was told that the line had
already been readied for a PTCL connection, when
clearly that was not the case. The result is that you
have to talk to three departments -- the helpline, the
exchange and the broadband -- and neither seems
to know much about the other.
• Also, when a complaint is registered or a
query asked, there is no follow-up. Even after a
month there was no progress and each time I
would call to ask about the status I would have to
start explaining from scratch!
Eventually after about 45 days of ordering the
connection, I received two phone calls.
• The first was from a technical person who
told me that the area where I lived couldn't have a
DSL or a smart TV connection.
• The second was from a female PTCL
employee asking me why I had cancelled my order.
Quite understandably, I was sickened by this
experience and then applied for a connection with
another ISP -- which I got with in a week - Umayr
Sahlan Masud, Islamabad.

PTCL must change itself for the combined benefit of service

providers and service consumers. Recently, all Internet service In search of DSL
They should not have advertised so widely that
providers of Pakistan filed a petition against PTCL’s free Internet the DSL connection was available in so many
service which will cost heavy loss to those who paid for heavy places…. It is their duty to provide us with the
license fees and service installations facility especially when their dial-up does not
always work and its charges are also too high
PTCL has announced that the DSL facility is
akistan Telecommunication Company called the helpline number 1236 and was told that

P
now available in over 100 cities. I am a resident of
Limited is a state-owned my line was in 'DSL patching' at the exchange. A Islamabad and cannot avail the facility.
telecommunication provider and working few more days passed and nothing happened - the • Around three months back we placed an
from decades. The Bharat S N Limited is helpline did however give me contact numbers for order for PTCL broadband connection. We received
India’s state-owned basic telephony provider, but the exchange and for a DSL broadband office in no confirmation call and nothing happened for a
the difference between the two is very wide. BSNL Islamabad. month.
is planning to roll out the 3G services in next six I called up the exchange only to be told that • When PTCL announced its Smart TV
months where PTCL is confused in fulfilling the those who live in my area (G-10/4) cannot get DSL package, I
promised (required) mark of its DSL. We share connections. I asked, if this was only a problem placed an
common history, comparable resources (even we with PTCL or with all ISPs and was told that this order for that.
are richer when it comes to land and population) was for all ISPs. However, I have been using a DSL Still nothing
but the difference of present is significant and connection on the same line so I do not know why happened.
future will further widen the bridge. BSNL is the PTCL exchange told me that a DSL connection Then I
established; PTCL is still struggling. If PTCL would was not possible on it. called a
not change its attitude, we will be left far behind After the passage of some more days, I went to number of
our contemporaries… it’s now or never! the exchange and met the assistant manager people at
broadband PTCL after
who told me
The sorry tale of a that PTCL
which I came
to know that
had there was a
DSL connection 'patched' the
line and that
problem with
444- numbers.
Those who staff the broadband section seem to the modem After this I received a confirmation call from PTCL,
have no idea about the work done in the field. would be although the problem of 444- numbers was still
The result is that you have to talk to three installed at there.
departments -- the helpline, the exchange and the latest by My point is that they should not have
the broadband -- and neither seems to know the advertised so widely that the DSL connection was
much about the other following available in so many places. They should also do
I applied for a PTCL broadband connection on day. The something about the problem of 444- numbers as it
September 22 (order number 30809220628167) and I technician, is their duty to provide us with the facility
was told it would be up and running in four days. however, especially when their dial-up does not always work
The line feasibility had been carried since I had never came. I then visited the exchange myself and and its charges are also too high - Sarah Azhar,
already been using a DSL connection on my went to pick up the technician and the modem and Islamabad.

telephone number. After waiting for four days, I when he came to my house he found out that the
17
 Event Flare Report Free download | flare.com.pk

living of the people of AJK and NAs owing to

increased economic activity and enhanced job
opportunities.
He said that PTA has already deposited
around Rs 1.2 billion to AJK and NAs, earned
against the award of five cellular mobile
licences for these areas. It also collected around
$170,000 against the issuance of fixed line
licences as an initial amount. Thus the telecom
deregulation in these areas has acted as a
catalyst for the development of region's
economy, he added.
The launching of WLL service in the AJK
and NAs would provide enhanced and cheap
telecom services to the people and would fetch
huge investment in the region. He termed
completion of the spectrum of bidding as the
culmination point in the deregulation of
telecom sector of AJK and NAs.
The Chairman said that WLL was the
wireless technology, which best suited to the
environment in AJK and NAs as the service had
proved very useful in other parts of the
country. He said that the people of low income
groups in the society and rural areas would
greatly benefit from this service. He expressed
his gratitude to the telecom operators and CEOs
of telecom companies for taking keen interest in
Islamabad: The Bidding Committee starts auction of WLL. the bidding process and assured them that PTA
would extend full cooperation to them in the
successful launching of their business.
In the bidding of spectrum in 3.5 GHz for
For Muzaffarabad (TR-2), PTCL gave the highest bid of Mirpur (TR-1) one block was taken by PTCL at
Rs 4 million followed by Wateen which matched the price. the highest bid of Rs 10 million while other was
withdrawn because there was no second bidder
For Northern Areas (TR-3) Wateen offered highest bid of for the TR-1. For Muzaffarabad (TR-2), PTCL
Rs 4 million and second block went to PTCL for the same gave the highest bid of Rs 4 million followed by
Wateen which matched the price. For Northern
price. In total 26 million rupees would be collected against Areas (TR-3) Wateen offered highest bid of Rs 4
the auction price of five WLL licences in three regions million and second block went to PTCL for the
same price. In total 26 million rupees would be

P
akistan Telecommunication Authority when competition introduced and new collected against the auction price of 5 WLL
(PTA) conducted the bidding for the operators started their service, all segments of licences in 3 regions.
grant of frequencies of wireless local the sector witnessed rapid growth. With a Chairman PTA presided over the bidding
loop (WLL) licences for Azad Jammu teledensity figure of 2.6 per cent in the Year while Syed Nasrul Karim A Ghaznavi, Member
and Kashmir (AJK) and Northern Areas (NAs). 2005-06, the region
The issuance of WLL licences would was lagging far
augment the efforts of government to provide behind from the rest
enhanced and affordable telecom services to the of the country in
people of the area. The bidding of WLL licences terms of telecom
in three telecom regions (TR) is likely to capture services.
huge investment. Two years after
the deregulation in
the area, the
The telecom deregulation teledensity of AJK
in these areas has acted as and NAs stands at 33
a catalyst for the per cent. 3 years ago
development of region's Mobile subscriber
figure of just 5000 has
economy. It collected now jumped to 1.6
around $170,000 against million subscribers.
the issuance of fixed line He said that
increased investment
licences as an initial by the newly licensed Islamabad: Chairman PTA Dr Mohammad Yaseen speaks during the auction of WLL
amount operators have services in AJ&K and NAs.
certainly contributed (Finance) was also present. The large number of
In his opening remarks, Chairman PTA, in laying the foundations for a modern and people including representatives of telecom
Dr Mohammed Yaseen said that earlier there state of the art telecom network in the area. It sector investors, media men, telecom experts
was only one operator in AJK and NAs, but also has positive impact on the standard of and professionals also witnessed the bidding.

18
 Telepedia Flare Report Free download | flare.com.pk

Local government must

held that the future lies in the lower class
segment and especially from rural Pakistan.
“The only barriers they have is free flow of cash
and hence the introduction of the new affordable

protect multinationals’
models of Nokia mobile phones” he added.
Keskinen believed that the total cost of
ownership would decrease gradually with major
contributions from these new cell phone ranges.

rights: Nokia
He informed that according to a recent survey,
during the life cycle of the mobile phone in the
emerging markets, the cost of the handset is only
eight per cent of the total monthly cost. He stated
that the price range of the new mobile phones
“Technology based organisations are highly automated and may range anything between Rs 4,000 to
therefore it needs good infrastructure which unfortunately is Rs10,000 but it is not confirmed as yet, keeping
in mind the exchange rate parity and the import
rather weak here” tax rates during the time of introduction into the
local market.
ountry General Manager of Nokia, consider and keep in mind that these are the Keskinen further elucidated that the needs

C Pakistan, Imran Khalid Mahmood

voiced that technology based
companies are not labour intensive and
therefore if Nokia bases its manufacturing
factory here, then it is not likely to offer
hundreds and thousands of job opportunities to
the country.
Mahmood and Director of Strategy, Business
Development and Industry Marketing for
Emerging Markets, Marko Keskinen who is
based in Finland and is in Pakistan for the first
time, shared plans for the company and what it
takes to be the largest market share holder in
Pakistan.
Speaking on the matter of establishing a
manufacturing plant in Pakistan, Country GM,
Mahmood, continued to say that “it is not
always a good idea as even with a captive
market, sometimes the cost of the end product
increases much more than the imported from
some foreign country.”
“Technology based organisations are highly
automated and therefore it needs good
infrastructure which unfortunately is rather
weak here,” he continued. “We also need to
worst times for a company to come and invest in
any country in the world due to the capital and
liquidity crunch” he commented.
Marko Keskinen also repeatedly stressed on
the fact that the multinational’s main objective
was to continue bringing optimised devices to its
consumers at the most affordable prices
regardless of where it was being manufactured,
which clearly signified that they won’t be
establishing in the local market any time soon.
Mahmood further explained that investments
have many faces and they contribute towards
the economy by saving the cost of time of its
consumers. Nokia is constantly making
investments in Pakistani market in forms of
various care units. “We have a full repair factory
in Pakistan, 14 care units whereas our
distribution mechanism is fuelling 9200 retail
points in Pakistan and over 2000 Nokia service
centres. Furthermore, we invest directly towards
the man in form of constant investments into our
brand which leads to constant desire of growth
and change which pushes an economy forward”
he further elaborated.
Referring to the local market, the GM further
arko
and requirements of the local market are always
kept in mind and since Pakistan is one of the
focus countries, specifications such as language
support have always been given consideration.
He added though there are several
counterfeits available in bulk in the market, the
original UI software of Nokia cannot be copied
and it is the task of the local government to
ensure that the rights of multinationals are
protected.
Mahmood also added that they make a
constant effort to keep track of the counterfeit
cell phone makers and act against them as fake
versions are actually a loss to the country’s
exchequer but it is not always an easy task.
Moving on to the subject of government taxes
and duties making a dent in the local Nokia
sales, the local market GM said since mid June
2008, the effect has been that taxes hiked from a
near zero to Rs 750 flat. “This has obviously
negative impact on both the total ownership cost
and the growth” he continued. He said they
have spread it equally over all their cell phone
models and restricted growth and henceforth the
imbalance in mobile phone prices at all ranges.

mran Khalid

M Keski-
nen is
respon-
sible for developing
and executing
I Mahmood is
responsible
to drive sales
in the region
along with execu-
Nokia’s strategy for tion of multiple
emerging markets business func-
and related new tions like Nokia
business develop- Care, Marketing
ment. He also runs and retail opera-
industry marketing tions. He was
to foster a favorable previously work-
economic, regula- ing as the General
Marko Keskinen tory and technology
Imran K. Mahmood Manager for the
Director Strategy, Business Development and environment in collab- enterprise solu-
Industry Marketing, Nokia oration with other in- Country General Manager, Pakistan and tions mobile de-
dustry players. Afghanistan, Nokia vice unit (ES
Prior to his current position, Marko was Director Technology and MDU), for Nokia
Portfolio Management, APAC, overseeing Nokia’s device portfolio man- APAC based in Singapore. Initially as member of Global ES MDU Man-
agement and business development in the region, based in Singapore agement Board and later as APAC Management Team, he influenced fu-
from 2004 to 2007. From 2002 to 2004, he was based in Hong Kong and ture product roadmap & pricing strategies to capture market share,
was responsible for technology marketing and business development in attain higher margins and achieve profitability.
the China area. Marko has a Master's degree in marketing and business Imran’s career at Nokia includes the development of the APAC
administration and 15 years of international experience in the converging launch strategy for Nokia’s E-series and solutions which lead Nokia to
industries including consumer electronics, information technology and
achieve €250M in sales within three years of inception. Moreover, he
mobile communications. He held various senior positions in product mar-
keting, technology management as well as strategy and business develop- successfully entered the Japanese market with the E61, Nokia’s first 3G
ment.
email device with Softbank Vodafone.

20
 Free download | flare.com.pk Flare Report Event

Nokia bank on
affordable mobile sets
“Wider industry collaboration among vendors, service
providers and regulators enables affordable mobile
communication:
n its ongoing effort to bridge the digital

I divide, Nokia introduced a range of

affordable mobile devices specifically for
lower income people in Pakistan. In
addition to Nokia’s lowest cost handset to date,
as well as its first handset for Pakistan market
with an integrated digital music player.
Speaking at the occasion, Marko Keskinen,
Director of Strategy, Business Development and
Industry Marketing at Nokia said, “Nokia is well
aware of the needs of emerging markets and we
are executing a strategy to provide exceptional
quality products and services to our consumers.
Wider industry collaboration among vendors,
service providers and regulators enables
affordable mobile communication. In the past
five years we have been creating efficiencies to
bring the cost of mobile devices lower but due to
taxation and duties we have not been able to
bring the total cost of ownership to a level
affordable for lower income consumers.” Karachi: Nokia team at the event.
“In 2002, Nokia unveiled a
strategy to lower the cost of
owning and operating a mobile
phone and to bring the benefits of
mobile telephony to people in
emerging markets. Today, we are
expanding that vision by
introducing a number of devices
that aim to bring the power of the
Internet to these markets as well,”
says Imran Khalid Mahmood,
Country GM Pakistan, Nokia “we
believe that our entry portfolio is
for everyone who wish to get
connected via basic voice
communication while on the go.
The mobile device and the Internet
are a powerful combination in Karachi: Pakistani models wear traditional dresses during launching ceremony of new mobile phones organized by Nokia Pakistan at a
local hotel in Karachi.
connecting people with each other,
accessing information,
news, entertainment and
sharing. By introducing
products that are
affordable, relevant and
easy-to-use, we believe
Nokia can fuel the growth
of the Internet in Pakistan
through mobility.”
Nokia announced four
new mobile devices which
will come in Pakistan in
early 2009. These devices
offer a range of features,
styles and price points to
support Pakistani
consumers to connect with
convenience.

21
 Event Flare Report
WATEEN Inter-Departmental Cricket Tournament
Promoting excellence
through sportsman spirit
ateen Telecom is the first company in
W Pakistan to roll-out a WiMAX network
at a countrywide scale. WiMAX is a
standards-based technology enabling
the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access
as an alternative to wired broadband like cable and
DSL. With globally renowned partners such as
Motorola, Cisco, and Intel, the stage is set to
revolutionize the way you use technology. With
Wateen's WiMAX network, you get access to the
world with ease.
Wateen is expanding all over Pakistan in a
rapid pace to replace the old landline telephonic
system with latest technology and skilled work
force.
Wateen continues to build on the heritage of its
parent company - The Abu Dhabi Group. With a
firm believe in leadership through people, the
company relies on technology and service-delivery
22
strengths stems from valued employees who have
joined Wateen from all over the world to earn
customer trust and loyalty with a continuing
commitment to the deployment of innovative
products and services, reliable, high-quality service
and excellent customer care.
To promote good working relations, trust and
commitment among the employees of Wateen, an
inter-departmental cricket tournament was held in
Lahore on 24th October. All the workers of Wateen
enjoy the match and have a get together. The
winning trophy was awarded to the best team to
encourage them for promotion and passion of
cricket.
Wateen had already set an example for others
by promoting various events like celebrity cricket
match on April 21, 2008 which took place at LUMS
stadium. A large crowed came there to support
their favorite stars.
Free download | flare.com.pk
The 3 main teams included Rockers 11, Ali Zafar
11 and Mikaal Hasan 11, with the Rockers 11,
which had some of Pakistan’s biggest musicians on
the field, coming in first place. The celebrity line up
included names such as Ali Zafar, Atif Aslam,
Jawad Ahmed, Ahmed Ali Butt, Junaid, Xulfi,
along with countless other singers, actors and
fashion icons.
On another occasion, Wateen sponsored ASR
Pro team, owned by Pakistani Pro racing driver,
Adnan Sarwar, lead the pack and raced to a
convincing victory. Team ASR carrying the Wateen
colors, showed exceptional driving skills and
established their position as the best racing team of
the country.
So, this is the spirit and enthusiasm of Wateen
which always takes the company to new heights
and delights every day.

 Telepedia Flare Report
DoCoMo's deal with Tata Teleservices follows a
$350 million investment in a Bangladeshi cell-
phone carrier, as it speeds up its expansion
beyond a mature home market and adds to the
record $63 billion worth of overseas acquisi-
tions by Japanese companies this year
TT DoCoMo will pay $2.7 billion for
N a 26 per cent stake in the Indian
telecom company Tata Teleservices,
giving the top Japanese mobile
operator a foothold in the world's fastest-
growing major mobile market. DoCoMo's deal
with Tata Teleservices follows a $350 million
investment in a Bangladeshi cellphone carrier,
as it speeds up its expansion beyond a mature
home market and adds to the record $63 billion
worth of overseas acquisitions by Japanese
companies this year. But, even as DoCoMo
expands, the Indian conglomerate Tata Group,
parent of unlisted Tata Teleservices and leader
of corporate India's recent overseas expansion,
has put its plans for acquisitions on hold
because of the global credit crisis. DoCoMo
will also make an open joint tender offer
with Tata Sons, the holding firm of the
group, to buy as much as 20 per cent in a
listed unit of the Indian mobile operator, as
required by Indian law. DoCoMo did not rule
out the possibility of taking a majority stake in
Tata Tele services in the future.
Shinji Moriyuki, a telecommunications
analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, said
DoCoMo's recent acquisitions in Asia would be
positive, especially with the company's
knowledge of 3G network services to which
many developing countries are now moving.
DoCoMo will also make an
open joint tender offer with
Tata Sons, the holding firm of
the group, to buy as much as
20 per cent in a listed unit of
the Indian mobile operator, as
required by Indian law
"Many people have voiced concerns because
of its overseas investment spree in the early
2000s and failures afterward, but business
conditions are totally different now," Moriyuki
said. "This time, the acquisition value should
not be too large because of sluggish stock
markets, it can count on growth in developing
24
Free download | flare.com.pk
NTT DoCoMo president Takamochi Yamada (right) shakes hands with Tata
Teleservices' managing director Anil Sardana.
markets, and both parties should be able to find
synergies because of the current timing that 3G
services are about to be launched."
India is the world's second-biggest mobile
phone market, trailing only China. More than
10 million users signed up in September, taking
the total customer base to 315.3 million, more
than the population of the United States, and
more then three times the size of Japan's market
of 109 million subscribers.
According to forecasts by the Gartner
research firm that India's mobile user base will
be more than double to 737 million by 2012, as
more than a quarter of India's 1.1 billion people
currently own mobile
phones, compared with a
penetration level of about 85
percent in Japan.
DoCoMo will face tough
competition, though, as foreign
firms like Telenor, Etisalat and
Sistema are gearing up to start
services in India, where Bharti
Airtel and Reliance
Communications currently
dominate along with a Vodafone
unit. Tokyo: Model display outfits and mobile phones of Japanese telecom giant
Carriers in India now provide NTT DoCoMo as the company unveiled their new line up.
only 2G services. A global
fashion show in which the models display
auction of radio waves for 3G and 4G wireless
outfits and mobile phones as the company
services, which provide more advanced mobile
unveiled their new line up handsets.

services including video, is due in January.
Later on, the NTT DoCoMo arranged a
Free download | flare.com.pk Flare Report Event

ntel Corporation Pakistan improving the education

I organised Intel Education

Awards in collaboration
with the Ministry of
Education to recognise the
impressive performance of
outstanding schools and
teachers across the country.
Additional Secretary, Ministry
of Education, Shahid Ahmad
was the chief guest.
Fouji Foundation Model
School Chak Shahzad won
grand prize of Rs 50,000 while
14 schools won cash awards of
Rs 5,000 each, for using
technology effectively in
promoting inquiry-based
learning. As many as one
hundred teachers participated
in the awards from private
and public schools of
Islamabad and NWFP.
"Intel Education Awards
are held keeping in mind the
objective of keeping the
teachers abreast with the latest
teaching methodologies and
techniques," said Ashar H.
Zaidi, Country Manager, Intel
Pakistan Corporation. "The
outstanding schools and
teachers who demonstrate
innovative use of technology
are given recognition so that
they keep going strong and
inculcate cutting edge skills
in our students to transform
the next generation into
brilliant scientists," he added.
Intel has conducted 375 forums and workshops
system and encouraging the
schools' administration.
Later, Shahid Ahmad
distributed awards among the
winners. Ashar Zaidi also
presented shield to the
Additional Secretary.
Recently, Intel Pakistan
Corporation and Ministry of
Education (MoE) announced
an 'ICT for Education'
initiative intended to support
the country's goal to help its
citizens to become more
competitive in today's
knowledge-based global
economy. Put in effect by a
Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) under
Intel's World Ahead
programme, 'ICT for
Education' begins with Intel
intending to donate 4,500
computers to government
schools across Pakistan over
the next five years in a
continued effort to enhance
lives and bridge the digital
divide by providing
uncompromised access to
Intel has conducted 375 forums and workshops reaching technology.
Intel Pakistan has already
out to over 16,000 teachers and principals which include donated up to 750 PCs to
master trainer forums, various enhancements and government schools to date
and plans are underway to
principal workshops with the objective of keeping the donate 1,080 computers
teachers abreast with the latest teaching methodologies during 2008. "We are pleased
to work with Intel on this
Speaking on the occasion, Shahid Ahmad,
initiative, particularly since it is an important step
Additional Secretary Education, said that Intel and
towards MoE long-term goal of realizing the 1:1 e-
Ministry of Education were working closely for

Additional Secretary Education Shahid Ahmad Additional Secretary Education Shahid Ahmad gives Additional Secretary Education Shahid Ahmad with
distributing the Intel Awards 2007-08 away the cheque of Rs 50,000 to Fauji Foundation principals and best teachers during Intel Awards
School during Intel Awards 2007-08. 2007-08 distribution ceremony arranged in
reaching out to over 16,000 teachers and principals collaboration with Ministry of Education.
promotion of computer education in the country.
which include master trainer forums, various Learning model where each teacher and student has
He said that the present government was
enhancements and principal workshops with the a computer as the optimal model for integrating
objective of keeping the teachers technology in the curriculum of
abreast with the latest teaching Put in effect by a Memorandum of Understanding basic education," said Jahangir
methodologies. Bashar, Secretary, Ministry of
Intel is also constantly in touch
(MoU) under Intel's World Ahead programme, 'ICT Education.
with the trained teachers to ensure for Education' begins with Intel intending to Intel Pakistan World Ahead
that the quality of the programme is donate 4,500 computers to government schools Manager Naila Kassim said, "People
maintained. The Intel Teach in the developing world face many
Programme initiative is designed to across Pakistan over the next five years in a unique challenges, including having
enable teachers to effectively use continued effort to enhance lives and bridge the limited access to technology. The
technology to enhance student programme is Intel's unique mission
learning in the digital world. The
digital divide by providing uncompromised to provide greater access to
programme has spread to over 75 access to technology opportunities for the world's
cities, towns and districts in the underserved by expanding access to
country with more than 175,000 in-service and pre- fully-featured yet affordable PCs that are tailored to
committed to improve education system in the
service teachers having been trained. meet people's real needs."

country, adding that such initiatives were
25
 Telepedia Flare Report
Not only sales and number of SIMs are a part of strategic
failure of Mobilink but also its policies including highly hiked
operational expenses, detested packages, deplorable
services and deceptive marketing practices
eal test is going to engage cellular
R
companies in coming days, as telecom
market is approaching saturation level in
the country; it is a matter of fact that the
bang is already there to hinder the rolling SIMs in
the market. Cellular companies, who had enjoyed
seamless addition, in millions, in their subscriber
base are now exploring new horizons to fasten their
sale and revenue cycles.
In this scenario as the demand of network
expansion and strategic change in sale and revenue
rotation has become the core requirement of
telecom business’ success. Pakistani cellular mobile
operators are left with no option but to capitalise all
possible channels for survival and invading
competitors.
Mobilink, the largest cellular operator of
Pakistan, which is consistently loosing hundreds of
thousands of customers in recent months is in hot
waters. This loss in customers, further multiplied
with inflation and increased taxes resulted into a
huge damage to Orascom’s (Parent company of
Mobilink) overall performance in terms of cash
inflow.
Mobilink is Orascom Telecom's second-largest
operator, providing substantial credit on the basis
26
Free download | flare.com.pk
in terms of growth and profitability. In Pakistan the
political, security, financial and economic
conditions are tough and we will continue to
closely monitor developments in this market, as we
will to a lesser extent in Bangladesh, so as to
adequately size our future investments,”
This statement is a clear indication that Orascom
is not going to inject in Mobilink for at least few
months if not years. Orascom’s hold on investment
in Pakistan was hinted on another occasion when in
his Bloomberg interview, Naguib Sawiris admitted
his doubts about the impact of financial crunch on
telecoms – he also admitted for the first time that
Orascom may consider holding further investments
or even put up shares for sale as well. Sawiris is
known for tending to be more open than other
telecom executives and this statement might be one
of such moments.
Keeping in mind these statements, recent news
items published in national dailies reporting the
downfall of 26 per cent in Mobilink’s sale also
seems valid. By the way, in a recent development,
Orascom Telecom and Telecom Egypt have
confirmed to liquidate their landline joint venture
in Algeria, Algérie Télécom.
From evidence provided to Flare, it is learnt that
Pakistan Mobile Communication Limited has
requested Pakistan Telecommunication Limited to
transfer licenses of its affiliated companies that
includes, Dancom Online, World Online, Link
Direct, Mobilink, Intouch and others.
Moreover, lack of funds for network expansion
is responsible as Mobilink Infinity is not being
expanded to any city other than Karachi, while its
competitor, where Wateen has hit around three
dozen destinations countrywide.
of up-streamed management fees and representing
Mobilink’s top managers are specifically
a significant 21.4 per cent share of the group's
worried, as the colourful presentations (during
consolidated EBITDA in the first nine months of
golden old days) with exaggerated sale figures are
2008, down from 25 per cent in the first half of 2008.
now turning into a nightmare. A recent survey
Orascom Telecom (OTH) reported its 3rd
conducted by a local company in collaboration with
quarter, 2008 profit of 90.5 million - down by 28 per
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is evidence
cent compared to same period last year. It must be
of the fact that Mobilink has no more than 20
million customers instead of 32 million.
It is worth recalling that It seems as they fearlessly registered SIMs and
counted them as customers without actual
Mobilink’s mobile activation. At a time PTA is tightening its SIM
activation rules and making efforts to control the
commerce solution Genie sale of illegal SIMs; Mobilink’s customers are
was stopped by State dropping by as high as 500,000 connections each
month. Mobilink also has lion’s share in 10.5
Bank of Pakistan on just million blocked illegal SIMs.
4th day of its launch due Mobilink lost its’ customer’s trust through
deceptive marketing, especially with its Jazz One
to the incompatibility and campaign which was advertised as Rs 1 per minute
call; however in actual there are added Rs 040 on
insecurity of the service first minute. Massive complaints from Mobilink
customers lead PTA to come up with legislation
noted that ARPU for Mobilink has decreased from
and better practice manual for the marketing of
3.8$ last year to 3.5$ this year, which showed
cellular companies.
decline in growth of
revenues when
compared to other
cellular operators of
the country,
especially the
Telenor.
Naguib Sawiris,
Chairman and CEO
of OTH, took no
time in pointing out
Mobilink’s role in
these financial stats
by saying, “Most of our businesses, with the
May the mal-management of Mobilink’s
exception of Pakistan, continue to function on target
Management not repeat a Millicom story!

 Free download | flare.com.pk
Almost 20 per cent of the
calls made on Mobilink
network do not get through
in the first attempt and still
the first minute call charges
are billed to the consumer.
There are many other
service flaws for which
consumers are billed
Web petition is designed by Mobilink
A GSM users and created by Aslam
Ahsan (aslam_ahsan@Humlog.com)
on www.PetitionOnline.com for
public convenience. Below is the up-dated and
edited text placed on the site for the signature of
Mobilink users, and is signed by hundreds of
people. Mobilink that was once the largest
market share holder of Pakistan telecom sector is
facing customer crunch as people are not willing
to trust it any more.

making stars by promoting voice
he LG Electronics has formally
T launched the ‘Awaaz Banaey Star –
students’ singing competition, with
focus on educational institutions
representing different cities of Pakistan.
Alumni of the competing educational
institutions, with good singing talent, will
also be allowed to participate in the
competition. The announcement was made at
a media conference recently held at a local
hotel in Karachi.
Speaking on the occasion, E. D. Choi,
General Manager LG Electronics, Pakistan
said: "Through this platform, we aim to
provide a golden opportunity for the talented
youth to prove their singing potential. The
company shall also offer scholarships to
academically distinct students from the
participating educational institutions.”
Auditions shall be held at institutions at
Flare Report Exclusive
To,
The Chairman,
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority,
Islamabad.
Dear Reader,
Mobilink is the largest telecom service provider in Pakistan with more than 39 per cent
market share. A high market share has resulted in absolute monopoly of Mobilink which is
consistently exploiting its consumers in various ways.
Mobilink consumers have the record lowest consumer satisfaction rate and thousands of
consumer complaints have already been registered with Pakistan Telecommunication Authority
(PTA) in last few months. Mobilink service levels have deteriorated as soon as they started
growing their customers in Pakistan. Unfortunately, these are poor consumers who have to
suffer due to low service quality being offered by Mobilink. Almost 20 per cent of the calls made
on Mobilink network do not get through in the first attempt and still the first minute call charges
are billed to the consumer. There are many other service flaws for which consumers are billed.
With this petition, we demand the following:
1. PTA should instantly take over the Mobilink management from its current
owners and a rigorous inquiry should be made to reveal the extent of losses incurred by
millions of consumers across Pakistan.
2. Once the inquiry is completed, all the profit made by Mobilink in last few
years should be returned to Mobilink consumers in Pakistan along with a compensation for
their sufferings. Mobilink has robbed millions of dollars from the nation and all that should
be returned to consumers in the form of free calls, cash or call credit.
3. By the time this inquiry is completed, all Mobilink calls should be made free
for existing consumers. They have already paid enough for the poor service and now it is
the time for Mobilink to pay for their poor services and the damages they have done to
millions of consumers in Pakistan.
4. We also demand PTA to share its current position on thousands of
complaints received by Mobilink customers.
Please add your signature to this petition and also mention your Mobilink number to
establish that you are a Mobilink customer. Please forward this email to at least 10 of your
friends to help spread the word against Mobilink. Our current target is to gather 1 million
signatures with your help. Remember that you are asking for your rights, your hard earned
money which Mobilink has taken out from your pockets.
You can also forward your complaints against Mobilink directly to Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority at following email address: chairman@pta.gov.pk.
Thanks
the city level and will be recorded for airing the competition.
on a leading TV channel. The competition will
be promoted through print and electronic
The grand price for the winner is
Rs 5,000,000 with Rs 1,000,000 in cash and rest
of the amount shall be utilized for the
production of an album and a video. Semi-
finalists shall receive a cash prize of Rs 50,000
each along with a Mobile phone, while
quarter-finalists shall receive a cash prize of
Rs 25,000 reach along with a Mobile phone.
All the participating educational institutions
will get exposure on television for
encouraging their students to compete in
‘Awaaz Banaey Star’.
Each participating educational institution
shall be awarded scholarship amounting to
Karachi: LG officials during “Awaaz Banaey Star” Ceremony Rs 60,000, including tuition fee and books for
its outstanding student for the following year.
media. ‘Awaaz Banaey Star’ shall be hosted by Latest mobile phones shall also be offered at
Tipe and Ainee, while Hadiqa Kiyani, Nizar special prices to students and faculty of
Lalani and Salamat Ali will be the judges of participating educational institutions.

27
 Telepedia Flare Report
During the last five years, the operators had invested over $8.4 billion
in the country. During 2007-08, they invested $2.3 billion which is 12
per cent lower than the previous year. This year, Mobilink topped in
investment with $919 million, Telenor $565 million, CMPak $200
million, Warid $480 million and
Ufone $232 million
he import of cellular mobile handsets has
T registered a decline of 33 per cent this year
as compared to the last year.
According to a PTA’s 2008 report, the
government wanted to discourage import of cell
phone handsets and for the purpose imposed a
duty of Rs500 per set. However, import of telecom
equipment has increased by 31 per cent. The PTA
observed that competitive environment had
compelled all operators to import machinery and
equipment to expand their infrastructure.
This year the telecom sector contributed Rs111
billion to the national exchequer. Last year, it was
Rs100 billion.
“The rise is mainly attributed to general sales
tax (GST), which has increased from Rs36 billion in
2006-07 to Rs44 billion in 2007-08, an increase of 22
per cent,” the report says.
Activation tax is another area where the
government is collecting huge amount annually.
Inactive SIMs’ to discourage
fake customers
The franchises, retailers and mobile company customer service
centres would sell inactive SIMs
akistan Telecommunication Authority
P
(PTA) in collaboration with stakeholders
is planning to introduce “inactive SIMs”
in the market to ensure that mobile
connections were sold to genuine customers.
Under this new system the activation of the
SIMs would take place after the verification of
subscriber’s antecedents from Nadra. The
franchises, retailers and mobile company
customer service centres would sell inactive
SIMs.
In its Annual Report 2008, Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority said that the
system which would be deployed in the country
by early 2009 would not only help maintain
confidentiality of customer but also improve
centralized control and responsibility that would
lie with operators as well as result in efficient
utilization of call based online verification system
28
The amount has increased by about 11 per cent and
stood at Rs19.6 billion as compared to Rs19.2 billion
last year. The report says the cellular mobile sector
invested over $2.3 billion, which is 11 per cent
lower than that of the corresponding year.
PTA received 103,535
complaints against fixed
line operators mainly
against PTCL. The
complaints were about the
telephone faults
particularly in Karachi
“One of the main reasons for the decline could
be that the operators have already covered the
urban areas and are not investing much in rural
to hasten proper activation.
For convenient, easy and effective verification
different options were explored and finally SMS
based verification system had been agreed upon
by PTA, mobile operators and Nadra. The
systems had been deployed with mobile
operators at selected outlets. Its expansion to all
customer service centres, franchises and
registered retailers was in process, the PTA said.
Following these measures, data of mobile
subscribers’ antecedents for connections sold up
to August 31, 2008 had been verified by Nadra. A
total of 7.8 million unverified connections had
been blocked.
As a policy, 10 connections on single CNIC
were allowed per mobile operator. The excess
connections on single CNIC had been regularized
through a media campaign. To date 2.6 million
ess connections had been blocked.
Free download | flare.com.pk
areas, which are less lucrative from business point
of view.”
The subscriber base of cellular mobile has
reached 88.05 million this year with a growth of 40
per cent as compared to 82 per cent last year. All
companies together this year added more than 25
million subscribers to their networks. Telenor
added 7.4 million, Mobilink 5.7 million, Warid 4.8
million, Ufone 4 million. China Mobile (CMPak)
whose growth was negative last year but this year it
added 2.9 million customers. Cellular mobile
penetration in Pakistan reached 54.7 per cent at the
end of 2008 which is 15.3 per cent higher than the
last year.
The report says the cellular revenue during
2007-08 was Rs182,080 million, fixed line Rs88,577
million and VAS Rs7,800 million. In 2006-07,
cellular revenue was Rs133,131 million, fixed line
Rs86,580 million and VAS Rs15,901 million.
During the last five years, the operators had
invested over $8.4 billion in the country. During
2007-08, they invested $2.3 billion which is 12 per
cent lower than the previous year. This year,
Mobilink topped in investment with $919 million,
Telenor $565 million, CMPak $200 million, Warid
$480 million and Ufone $232 million.
During the period under review, a total 11,088
complaints about unsolicited SMSs were received.
They were sent to the operators concerned for
action.
Pakistan is the first country in South Asia to
implement the Mobile Number Portability. So far
about 356,190 subscribers have availed the facility.
The report says that PTA received 103,535
complaints against fixed line operators mainly
against PTCL. The complaints were about the
telephone faults particularly in Karachi.
“Internal conflicts and strikes by lower grade
employees caused serious hurdles to overcome
such complaints by PTCL. New complaints were
other major areas of concern where PTA received a
number of complaints from consumers against the
company. Non-availability of infrastructure
remained impediment for new connections by
PTCL.” “Complaints about quality of service
against CMPak and Mobilink decreased whereas
plaints against all other operators recorded an
increase,” the report says.

To control illegal sellers of mobile
connections, mobile operators had now
registered all franchises and retailers. Although
mobile services had benefited the people in terms
of mobility, ease, affordability to everyone, yet
there were anti-social activities related to it that
could not be denied. The report said that criminal
activities and fooling/fleecing of innocent people
through various tricks and false messages had
augmented with the growth of mobile sector.
Unsolicited messages and obnoxious calls had
added to grievances of the subscribers.
To curb this menace, PTA’s 24/7
complaint cell had to forward more than
11,000 complaints to the operators
concerned of which more then 9, 000
unsolicited SMSs were of severe
nature. The various operators
had blocked nearly 70 sets
used for harassment
purpose.

Free download | flare.com.pk
t’s quite simple: IT companies
I have Disaster Management
and Disaster Recovery plans
in place because they are IT
Strength to Survive
savvy. They know what the criti- The bomb blast which took place outside the
cal importance of Business Marriott hotel on September 20 shook the nation.
Continuity is. They realize how
imperative a Data Center is and
It also shook the physical infrastructure of the
how essential it is to have a sec- Evacuee Trust Complex that housed 23 IT compa- But instances like these influ-
ondary facility in a remote loca- nies. All of the companies that used to be in the
tion. But they’re IT savvy and
run drills so everyone working in
ETC, were
the company knows what to do
in the event of an unforeseen incident.
The bomb blast which took place outside
the Marriott hotel on September 20 shook the
nation. It also shook the physical infrastruc-
ture of the Evacuee Trust Complex that housed
23 IT companies. It however, had no impact on
the data that was running through the opera-
tions of the companies. Companies that lost
their physical assets already had plans in place
that allowed for businesses to continue.
Nayatel’s (FTTU) Fiber-To-The-User infra-
structure running across the capital city of
Islamabad and the volunteer efforts of a lot of
individuals and non-technology sector compa-
nies, most of the companies that had mission
critical applications running were up within 48
hours. All of the companies that used to be in
the ETC, were functional within five days. No
data or business was lost. Companies or web-
sites operating on services managed by some
of these companies experienced zero down-
time. And they achieved all this in Pakistan.
A facility in the US who went down after
Hurricane Katrina took 10 days to come back
up. LMKR, a Pakistani operation, came back
up online in 2 days. That’s even earlier than
the prescribed international best practice for
disaster recovery.
“Pakistan isn’t the only
place where disaster
occurs. We’ve all read
about bombings in Madrid
or London”
In the aftermath of the disaster, buildings
in the areas close to the Marriott called upon
the expertise of IT companies to better under-
stand what they need to do in order to provide
more robust facilities or even procedures as
basic as evacuation plans, to their tenants.
Formal agencies are once again running
around to find people who can develop a com-
prehensive disaster management plan or poli-
cy without realizing one small, critical fact:
you cannot plan for any management
overnight.
If you didn’t have a policy document in
place before, get started on it now. With more
industries and corporations that make signifi-
cant contributions to Pakistan’s economy, if
companies that are installing their automation
solutions into existing infrastructure without a
Flare Report InsighT
disaster occurs. We’ve all read
about bombings in Madrid or
London. But you see, these
bombings had virtually no
impact on their economy
because they had plans in place.
People knew what to do in the
case of an unpredicted event.
ence the morale of the people of
any country.”
functional within five days
Islamabad: Evacuee Trust Complex severely damaged by the explosion.
back up plan in place, we are going to have a
Call centres, offshore companies and all IT
lot more to lose than just a computer system.
enterprise cannot afford to be down. If per-
Management of virtual property is perhaps
haps this tragic incident had occurred in any
still not quite understood by the agencies
city apart from Islamabad, it would have made
responsible for disaster management.
the ability for companies to simply plug into a
According to Salman Ansari, CEO of SATC
robust FTTU network that Nayatel already has
and a Telecom Consultant, outside the realm
ready, a more cumbersome job. As per indus-
of the IT and Telecom sector, nobody is think-
try analysts, the recovery would have been
ing about disaster recovery or management.
impossible.
“The Federal Relief Commission head com-
All the management efforts in the post blast
plains that disaster recovery is such a long and
time period took place on personal efforts.
complicated process that takes a lot of time,
Wahaj Us Siraj, the CEO of Nayatel mobilized
however even he is only talking about the
his engineers very quickly to assist the compa-
‘search and rescue disaster recovery’. They
nies with anything they required. NUST
haven’t even started talking about DR for the
intellectual property or data management of a
opened its campus to house some of the call
centre operations and other parts of Islamabad
business.”
did the same. The PSEB and PASHA got the IT
But the question to ask is why the industry
has to wait for a government body to initiate
companies some of the support needed, but
everyone else who should have been creating
the policy or why even involve them. The
that policy document, were already too late.
stakes for any formal public agency, along
But there are a lot of critical lessons to be
with the culture and environment they func-
taken from the speed of the mobilization that
tion in, are very different than the on goings in
companies were able to react with in this
the professional industry. It would be compa-
instance. Pakistan has all the isolated ingredi-
rable to say to allow private companies to plan
ents required to develop disaster management
core business functions of any government
plans according to international best practices.
body. The mismatch in that case, would be
A passive infrastructure is already in place
very evident. Private enterprise is very com-
– it just needs to be tweaked to be redundant
merce drive. On the other hand, a monopolis-
and have processes in place which will enable
tic environment, such that governments are
it to be flexible to meet the urgent require-
categorized into, has no competition. Despite
ments of any business in any part of the coun-
globalization, the core function of the govern-
try. You have various companies working on
ment or any ministry is to facilitate activity
the fibre solution. With quick facilitation by
and protect the interests of its citizens. It is
the PTA and other agencies, this process can
because of the competition that drives the pri-
be hastened to perhaps empower private infra-
vate enterprise that makes the integration with
structure providers to work closer with com-
technology so critical.
panies in the event of any unforeseen
Speaking with Nadeem Malik of InfoTech,
instance.

he says, “Pakistan isn’t the only place where
(Courtesy: CIO, Pakistan.)
29
 Telepedia Flare Report Free download | flare.com.pk

We cannot live without

“ handset because we are

concerned to stay in
touch with friends,
relatives, and dear ones, and to
catch up the latest,” says a
young college students,
corporate executives,
businessmen and general public
who think they cannot operate
their life without a handset. All
of us feel incomplete without a
mobile phone today. We start
our day with a buzzing alarm
under our pillow. We head off

There is a habit that is much worse, and that

is talking on mobile phone while driving. The
use of mobile phone when driving has become
one of the incentives for serious accidents. The
analysis reported that the drivers who use
mobile phones while driving; the distraction of
their attention from traffic situation around acts
Technology has altered the way we live and how we like a murderer. The distracted drivers will pay
more attention to their talks sometimes.
communicate with the world. Despite repeated horror stories Thereby, the driving negligence causes the
about mobile phones in the media, more than half of the accident. A country like Pakistan, and a city like
Lahore with heavy traffic, people would often
Pakistani public now owns mobile be seen talking on mobile phones causing some

programme found no
to college or work and spend the whole day
association between
texting, receiving and dialling calls and often
handset use and brain
making missed calls. At night, we set the alarm
cancer. Nor did it find
and place it on our pillow side and the day
ends. evidence of brain function
being affected. But the
Technology has altered the way we live and
how we communicate with the world. impact of phone use after
more than a decade is less
Telecommunication now includes the use of
both land and cell lines for phone clear. Cancer symptoms are
rarely detectable until ten
communications, in addition to several options
to fifteen years after the
for internet access. The technology has become
cancer producing events, so
so advance that mobile phone are an accessory
it is too early to ‘say for
we carry everyday and all the time, but none of Karachi: A woman taking the picture of collapsed Northern Bypass Bridge by mobile
certain’ whether cell phone.
us stoop and think, what possible affects could
this small device has on us and the phones could lead to cancer
environment around us. or other diseases such as Alzheimer’s and severe accidents at places like Kalma Chowk,
Parkinson’s. Further research into phone use
Despite repeated horror stories about mobile Canal and Liberty, Main Boulevard. It has been
and its impact on children is certainly needed
phones in the media, more than half of the a breath of fresh air when new traffic police was
because it is possible they may have different or introduced and hats off to them we saw some
Pakistani public now owns mobile. Some 500
stronger reactions to phone signals than adults. discipline on the roads.
million people worldwide use mobile phones.
A government-funded committee headed by
The impact that mobile phones have on health On the positive side, the use of cell phones
scientist Sir Williams Stewart concluded that
is unclear. Some scientific studies have linked to report emergencies has helped police and
while there was no direct evidence of a health
use of mobiles to headaches, memory loss and emergency personnel. The cellular telephone
risk from using mobiles, more research was
cancer, while the industry claims that they are and internet association reported that drivers
needed to prove their safety.
perfectly safe. Eleven different studies have using cell phones place 139,000 emergency calls
There are other features regarding the use of each day. In addition, there was a study by the
revealed that those who have used a cell phone
mobile phones which can be good or bad, and
for ten years are twice as likely to develop New England Journal of Medicine in 1997
they are mobile phone habits. Bad mobile
tumours on a nerve connecting the ear to the which found that emergency response times
phone habits happen in different places, in
brain. According to Prof Kjell Mild, of Orebro have been reduced due to cell phone usage,
different ways. From the way people answer to
University in Sweden, it takes a minimum of which is saving lives.
where people answer can be seen as rude or
ten years, for this type of cancer to develop. Also, study showed that drivers with cell
annoying to the ones standing around at the
On the other hand, a six-year research phones are able to report road hazards, road
time. Movie theatres, restaurants, and rage, problem drivers, and have also proven to
even measures are just few places be beneficial in a driver’s personal security by
On the positive side, the use of cell where I have personally witnessed allowing drivers to call for help when they
phones to report emergencies has bad phone habits. However, the worst experience roadside mechanical problems.
aided police and emergency personnel. habit of all is not the answering and Mobile phone has advantages and
texting. People will text to each other disadvantages and the answer to it all is
The cellular telephone and Internet for hours on end, when a five minutes maintaining balance in usage. We should all use
association reported that drivers using conversation would probably a mobile phone without bothering others
communicate what needed to be said socially and we should use it to certain extent
cell phones place 139,000 emergency and free up the rest of the day for so that it does not affect our health.

calls each day other things.
30
 InsighT Asmatullah Free download | flare.com.pk

C
yber age has addicted all and sundry – of online activity." repertoire, such as how to create a video or
people spent most of their office time The study found that teenagers "are customise games or their MySpace page," it said.
on Internet to read and to write. It is navigating complex social and technical worlds The study said young people are motivated
really very interesting to see the by participating online" and "learning basic to learn from their peers online with the Internet
aptitude of youngsters towards the online social and technical skills that they need to fully providing "new kinds of public spaces for youth
amusements, as the online collection of video participate in contemporary society." The study, to interact and receive feedback from one
games, cartoons, films, books, wallpapers, and which can be found online at macfound.org, another."
communities is abundant. identified two categories of teen engagement "Youth can connect with people in different
Parents may disapprove of the amount of with digital media: "friendship-driven" and locations and of different ages who share their
time their teenagers spend online but they are "interest-driven." interests, making it possible to pursue interests
actually learning important that might not be popular or
social and technical skills, valued with their local peer
according to a study released. groups," the study said.
"It might surprise parents "Online spaces provide
to learn that it is not a waste of unprecedented opportunities
time for their teens to hang out for kids to expand their social
online," said Mizuko Ito, lead worlds and engage in public
author of the study by the life, whether that is connecting
private, grant making with peers over MySpace or
MacArthur Foundation. Facebook, or publishing videos
"There are myths about on YouTube," Ito said. "Kids
kids spending time online - learn on the Internet in a self-
that it is dangerous or making directed way, by looking
them lazy," said Ito, a around for information they
researcher at the University of are interested in, or connecting
California, Irvine. "But we with others who can help
found that spending time them.
online is essential for young "This is a big departure
people to pick up the social from how they are asked to
and technical skills they need learn in most schools, where
to be competent citizens in the the teacher is the expert and
digital age," she said. For the there is a fixed set of content to
study, described as the most master." The study also found
extensive ever conducted in that while many young people
the United States on teens and are gaining new literacy and
their use of digital media, technical skills, "they are also
researchers from the facing new challenges in how
University of Southern to manage their visibility and
California and the University Online spaces provide unprecedented opportunities for social relationships online."
of California, Berkeley, kids to expand their social worlds and engage in public life, "Online media, messages,
interviewed more than 800 and profiles that young people
young people and their
whether that is connecting with peers over MySpace or post can travel beyond
parents over three years. Facebook, or publishing videos on YouTube, Kids learn on expected audiences and are
They also spent more than the Internet in a self-directed way, by looking around for often difficult to eradicate after
5,000 hours observing teens on information they are interested in, or connecting with the fact," the study said.
sites such as MySpace, It is interesting to see that
Facebook and YouTube. others who can help them people especially youngsters
"America's youth is are aware of the role Internet
developing important social and technical skills Friendship-driven participation centred on
online - often in ways adults do not understand "hanging out" with existing friends online while
or value," the study found. "There is a generation interest-driven participation involved accessing
“Young people are
gap in how youth and adults view the value of online information and outside communities, the motivated to learn from
online activity. study said. "In both friendship-driven and
interest-driven their pals online with
The study found that teenagers "are online activity,
youth create and
the Internet providing
navigating complex social and navigate new new kinds of public
forms of
technical worlds by participating expression and spaces for youth to
online" and "learning basic social and rules for social
behaviour," the
interact and receive
technical skills that they need to fully study said. feedback from one
"In the process,
participate in contemporary society young people another”
acquire various
"Adults tend to be in the dark about what forms of technical and media literacy by can play in the global age. With the help and
youth is doing online, and often view online exploring new interests, tinkering, and 'messing support of parents, despite of all hazards,
activity as risky or an unproductive distraction," around' with new forms of media. Through trial youngsters can better learn the tact of moving
it said, while "youth understand the social value and error, youth add new media skills to their with the wind.

34
 Exclusive Flare Report
The icon of global finance, a bank whose first branch in
Dubai predated the oil boom in 1964, now crippled and
wounded, like a prehistoric masteon felled by the
arrowheads of Stone Age hunters. How could mighty,
invincible, arrogant Citigroup have such a tragic fall from
grace?
omething is dangerously wrong in a
S
world where rumours and naked
shorts can destroy a bank that was
once the largest financial institution on
the planet. Yet such was the fate of Citigroup
last week as doomsday scenarios swept the
global markets. It shocked me that not even a
494 point rally in the Dow or grapevine about
a merger deal with Goldman lifted Citi. The
ghastly plunge in Citi is all too reminiscent of
the death dive that doomed Bear Stearns,
Lehman, AIG and Freddie/Fannie Mae. CEO
Vikram Pandit's town hall meetings, 52,000
job cuts and planned divesture meant squat.
Citi trades grossly below tangible book value,
due to its problem asset exposures and future
write downs. However, while next week will
herald a new chapter in the Citi story,
(hopefully!), it will not be chapter 11.
Citigroup will not fail, in my opinion. But
then I predicted survival for Lehman in this
column, so please evaluate my crystal ball
gazes with a pinch of the proverbial salt.
In retrospect, Citigroup's woes are a
testament to the flawed financial supermarket
model that its former chairman the imperial
36
CEO and serial dealmaker Sandy Weill,
promoted with breathless evangelism. He
merged Travelers, Salomon Brothers, Smith
Barney and Citibank (America's first true
global consumer bank whose sovereign debt
nemesis was financing the MBA. Mexico,
Brazil, Argentina!) in the late 1990's.
It is ironic that a spineless Clinton White
House allowed Weill to rollback the Glass
Steagall Act, to extol the virtues of universal
banking as it existed with the German
Free download | flare.com.pk
Grossbanken (Achtung baby) or the gnomes of
Credit Suisse/UBS even though Sandy Weill
had flopped in an earlier attempt transform
American Express via ill fated deals with
investment banking (Lehman Brothers),
mutual funds (IDS) and insurance (Fireman's
Fund) in the 1980's.
Citi had always fascinated me with its
sheer scale, brashness and Machiavellian
politics when I was a neophyte banker at
Chase Manhattan in New York, the courtly,
cosmopolitan legacy of the Rockefeller empire
that seemed more an outpost of the State
Department and certain three alphabet
agencies based in Virginia than a profit
obsessed money gusher like the bank run by
John Reed and Walter Wriston up in midtown
Manhattan. Yet I never accepted any of the
two different job offers extended by friends in
Citi's investment bank because the DNA of the
corporate culture seemed so Darwinian, like
medieval barons seething with intrigue in
their fiefdoms, a financial equivalent of the
sceptre isle's Wars of the Roses so poignantly
penned by the Bard of Aron. Premonitions of
civil wars, nights of the long knives and
management bloodlettings all made me
determined to hitch my fate to the House of
Morgan and Mama Chase - where life was so
much kinder and gentler. Citi seemed to be a
bank whose corporate mutations morphed
into periodic regulatory spats and even money
laundering scandals with Third World
dictators.
I have close friends, even blood relatives,
who dedicated their lives to Citi in some of
the darker alleys of the planet. In my salad
days in Dubai, the Citi trading room near the
Bur Dubai souk was Starship Command to
me, the gladiator pits where impossibly cool
FX traders played the money game for the
highest stakes. So it saddens me to see this
icon of global finance, a bank whose first
branch in Dubai predated the oil boom in
1964, now crippled
and wounded, like
a prehistoric
masteon felled by
the arrowheads of
Stone Age hunters.
How could mighty,
invincible,
arrogant Citigroup
have such a tragic
fall from grace?
Seventeen years
earlier, busted
LBO, Latin
American jumbo
loans and real
estate losses almost
sent the bank to
the Fed's morgue
before Prince Al
Waleed acted as
international
banking's mythical
white knight in
1991? Citi was too
big to fail but sadly it also became too big to
perform, banking's vindication of Murphy
Free download | flare.com.pk
Law. All that could go wrong can and did go
wrong.
Is Citi below $4 dramatically undervalued,
as Prince Al Waleed insists? I must agree with
the Saudi prince who was once the bank's
largest shareholder. One, Citi's loan loss
reserves is bigger than its current market cap.
Two, its operating cash flows throw off untold
billions each quarter. Three, its bonds offer 10
per cent distress yields and the credit default
swaps are 460 basis pints yet these reflect
seismic shocks in the current capital markets
zeitgeist and do not denote any imminent risk
of corporate default. For instance, Nakheel
bond yields 35 per cent and Nakheel credit
default swaps are 2600 basis point offer,
several blue-chip GCC banks trade at 700 - 800
basis points on their credit insurance. So
what? Four, Citi, like Bank of America and JP
Morgan, benefits most from the Bernanke
Fed's success in bringing down three month
LIBOR; the bank's proxy for its short funding
cost down from 4.82 per cent in October to
T
he U.S. government bailed out
Citigroup Inc, agreeing to shoulder
most of the potential losses on $306
billion of high risk assets, in its most
sweeping rescue of a U.S. bank yet in the global
economic crisis.
The government will also inject $20 billion of
new capital, on top of $25 billion it just put into
the bank, and receive preferred shares with an 8
percent dividend. Citigroup received the latest
infusion after its shares plunged 60 percent in
the last week, amid worry it lacked enough
capital to survive. In return for the bailout, the
bank's dividend will be essentially wiped out as
it will be barred from paying out more than 1
per cent share per quarter over the next three
years without government consent.
The quarterly dividend is now 16 cents.
Citigroup will not have to replace Chief
Executive Vikram Pandit or other top
management, but the government will have the
final say on executive pay agreements. The Bank
has also agreed to try to modify troubled
mortgages in the $306 billion portfolio as the
government tries to keep homeowners out of
foreclosure. The package may become a
template for other U.S. banks expected to face
growing losses as the economy sinks into
recession.
Credit losses once concentrated in mortgages
are already bleeding into other areas such as
credit cards and commercial real estate.
Citigroup has the farthest international reach of
any U.S. bank, with operations in more than 100
countries. The bank was widely perceived to be
too big to be allowed to fail, because any
collapse could cause financial havoc around the
globe.
"It looks enormous in size and scope," said
Tony Morriss, senior currency strategist at ANZ
Bank in Sydney. "Does this mean support for
other financial institutions will be this big? Does
this mean there will be more problems around
calculation of so-called toxic assets?"
The Citigroup bailout adds significantly to
2.15 per cent now.
This is nirvana for Citi as its debt
refinancing strategy is comfortably long the
money market curve. This is an ideal bank for
a GCC sovereign fund to finance in a
leveraged buyout, to take private and unleash
$50 billion in value.
ADIA, which invested $7 billion in
December 2007 at $28 a share when the board
ousted Chuck Prince in favour of Vikram
Pandit could well rewrite the history of Arab
finance with such a deal.
It does not fund its trillion dollar balance
sheet in the schizo, fickle repo market.
Paulson's CPP has promised a potential $25
billion to Citi if needed, which it is note. In
any case, the existence TARP obviates the
necessity for Treasury to go to Congress. Citi
deposits are insured by FDIC and so soon will
be its debt (mark my words! There is a trade
idea here.) The Fed discount window is open
to Citi, whose commercial paper can be held
by Bernanke in the Fed's own balance sheet.
The government will also inject $20 billion of new capital, on top of $25
billion it just put into the bank, and receive preferred shares with an 8
percent dividend. Citigroup received the latest infusion after its shares
plunged 60 percent in the last week, amid worry it lacked enough capital
to survive.
the U.S. government burden to rescue the
financial system, following bailouts of American
International Group Inc, Bear Stearns Cos,
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the injection
of hundreds of billions of dollars of capital into
banks and other financial institutions. The
government has put well over $1 trillion of
taxpayer money at risk. The Big Three
automakers in Detroit are seeking billions of
additional dollars to avoid possible bankruptcy.
That's in addition to an economic stimulus
package this year and a much larger one
expected to be proposed by the new U.S.
administration that may be worth between $500
billion and $700 billion.
Asian stock markets trimmed earlier losses in
Monday trading following the announcement.
Dow Jones industrial average futures were up
52 points at 8,093, while Standard & Poor's 500
Flare Report Exclusive
Citi has almost $500 billion in overseas
deposits and access to central bank lender of
the last resort facilities across the world,
including the UAE.
Citi has shrunk its balance sheet by $300
billion and raised $70 billion in capital since
Pandit became CEO. Wall Street (and the
world) went ballistic after Lehman Brothers
failed in September. There is no way the
chancelleries of the West will allow the $2
trillion Citi colossus to die. The failure of
Citigroup is unthinkable if America's
credibility is not to be lost forever. But then
they claimed that the Titanic was unsinkable
too and the 1914 Great War was the war to
end all wars. Citi's crisis of confidence has
turned into a death spiral for the shares.
Market perceptions become self fulfilling
prophesies, so argue the reflexivity theorist
George Soros and the Heisenberg principle in
particle physics. The Citi never sleeps and nor
do its hapless shareholders. Believe me, as one
long and wrong Citi, I know.
Courtesy: KT
futures were up 11.90 points at 803.90.
Citigroup agreed to absorb the first $29
billion of losses on the $306 billion portfolio,
plus 10 percent of additional losses, for a
maximum total exposure of $56.7 billion.
The Treasury Department could end up
absorbing $5 billion of losses, the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corp $10 billion, and the
Federal Reserve the rest. The Treasury
Department will get $24 billion of preferred
shares, and the FDIC $3 billion. Of the combined
amount, $7 billion constitutes a fee for the
government guarantees. The government will
also get warrants for $2.7 billion of common
stock. In a joint statement, the Fed, the Treasury
Department and the FDIC called the actions
"necessary to strengthen the financial system
and protect U.S. taxpayers and the U.S.
economy."

37
 Telepedia Farooq Malik
On one side, the ground
situation is not suitable for
the 3G services while on
the other hand mobile
companies want a say in
the decision. NA Standing
Committee was also
actively monitoring the PTA
activities to stop the any
wrong action. The committee has
already declared PTA performance not
up to the mark
T
he launch of 3G services in Pakistan
seems impossible as this cellular service
needs a heavy foreign direct investment
(FDI) for development of existing
infrastructure as well as setting up new ones.
The cost of using 3G technology is much
higher than GSM services. Similarly, the
handsets required for 3G technology are costly
than ordinary cell phones. Given the cost of
spectrum and the heavy investment a 3G set-up
requires, the telecom operators would be
charging the end-user a high fee in return. At the
end of the day, if that portion of the market that
actually understands and wants to go 3G is
unable to afford it, this change may just be
cosmetic.
However, cellular service companies have
different approach towards 3G technology in
Pakistan. Representatives of these companies are
of the view that local mobile users have not
tapped existing value added services due to their
prices. In case of launch of 3G technology, the
number of users is not expected to rise. With 3G
phone and access to its network, one can send
and receive video calls, watch live TV, access the
internet, receive emails as well as the usual voice
call and messaging services found on a mobile
phone.
According to market sources, average cell
phone users use mobiles costing Rs 1,500 to Rs
5,000 in small cities while in big cities like
Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad average price
comes in the range of Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000. On
38
Free download | flare.com.pk
the performance of Pakistan Telecommunication
Authority (PTA), observing that the performance
of PTA is “not up to the mark.”
The meeting, which was chaired by MNA
Chaudhry Muhammad Berjees Tahir,
recommended certain measures to be adopted
by the PTA in future. The committee was of the
view that while issuing the 3G licence for mobile
sector the policy shall be brought to the Standing
Committee before its implementation.
Dr Talat Iqbal Mahesser, Mrs Farhat Iqbal,
Muhammad Faiz Tamman, Anusha Rehman
Khan Advocate, Syed Muhammad Saqlain
Bukhari, Khawaja Sheeraz Mehmood, Sardar
Talib Hassan Nakai, Marvi Memon, Sajid
Ahmad and Saeed Ahmad Zafar; Secretary
Information Technology and Telecom, Chairman
PTA Dr Muhammad Yaseen along with the
senior officials of the Ministry attended the
meeting.
New operators keeping beside the old
operators shall also be considered for issuing
these licences, the committee directed the PTA
authorities. The committee also stressed on the
need for steps by the PTA to transfer the
required technology to the country, which
included local manufacturing of handsets and
infrastructure sharing. The committee also
directed for establishing research and
development centres by different companies in
Pakistan, as already established in other
countries.
While the review work on policy making for
the IT industry is carried out, a policy directive
the other hand, the price of 3G cell phone will
by the Ministry given on mandating
start from Rs10,000. In such case, the 3G
infrastructure sharing for the interim period
technology may not be popular. In Pakistan,
until a new policy is finalized, observed the
most consumers are still struggling to
committee. The NA body asked the Chairman
understand their cell phones; their prime
PTA to look into the problem of grey traffic in
concern is accessibility and connectivity, quality
telecom sector which is costing the national
of service secondary and affordability being the
exchequer a sum of hundred million dollars per
penultimate deciding factor. It would be no
month. The meeting also questioned why the
surprise if the average user does not even know
pay telephones and landline connections were
what their cell phone technology is, whether it is
not encouraged in the rural areas as compared to
global system for mobile communication (GSM)
mobile phones.
or code-division multiple access (CDMA).
The cost of using 3G technology is much higher than
GSM services. Similarly, the handsets required for 3G
technology are costlier than ordinary cell phones.
Given the cost of spectrum and the heavy investment a
3G set-up requires, the telecom operators would be
charging the end-user a high fee in return
Earlier, a briefing was given by the Secretary
The Indian government has decided that it
IT and Telecom and Chairman PTA about the
will auction 3G spectrum and will allow foreign
functions and organisational structure of the
players to participate in the bidding. The
PTA, especially the issues relating to 3G
spectrum is going to be released in the 2100 MHz
licensing, broadband proliferation, higher taxes
band, which would make it compatible with rest
on telecom industry, verification of mobile
of the world, barring a few countries such as the
subscriber's antecedents, PTCL in competitive
US.
environment and decision of IPCC on uniform
National Assembly Standing Committee on
rate for issuance of NOC not being implemented
Information Technology and
yet.

Telecommunications expressed displeasure over
Free download | flare.com.pk
Flare: How do you describe 3G
Comtech?
Khurram Mushtaq: We describe 3G as a roll
out manager. We believe that engineering is
the perfection of precision; customer
satisfaction is our prime objective. 3G is not
my business or profession it's my passion
and we are trying to nurture it like an infant.
We are part of a company that has splendid
past, promising future and marvellous
present.
Flare: As 3G Comtech is a solution
provider company. In how many fields you
deal?
Khurram Mushtaq: Basically, we are a
turnkey solution provider company
rendering end to end services to clients
specifically GSM/WiMAX operators and
vendors. We are managing furious roll outs
from site acquisition to telecom
implementation. For GSM/Wimax, we
categorise our work in three main heads: Site
acquisition, CME and IT. Site acquisition
consists of site hunting, site survey reports,
technical site survey reports, lease
agreements, rent negotiations, NOC's from
concerned and local authorities and prime
power provision on site. CME stands for
civil, mechanical and electrical works; it
consists of site design, civil construction,
and mechanical works, tower fabrication
(supply and erection), electrical supplies and
installations including MCCB and ACDBs.
Telecom implementation consists of BTS and
microwave installation, commissioning and
testing. So, 3G Comtech is a one stop shop
for customers. We have an attitude towards
our customers that we always come up with
solutions not with problems.
Flare Panel Interview
Khurram Mushtaq started his career in Pakistan as
Site Inspector. Later on he went to Dubai and
started his job as landscape designer in a
multinational company. From there he came back
and joined a multinational telecom Roll out
Manager Company as Implementation Manager.
After sometime he became Project Manager and
then Roll out Manager, and produced two major
GSM roll outs on turnkey bases. He is responsible
for business development, budgeting, roll out
management and project completion with quality,
speed and profit. After gaining enough experience,
he resigned and started his own business
Flare: Are you working abroad or your neighbours when it comes to the provision
services are concentrated in Pakistan? of solutions?
Khurram Mushtaq: Ofcourse, we are not Khurram Mushtaq: If we try to compare
only operating in Pakistan, but also trying to ourselves with China and India, they are
expand our network to different continents. bigger than us in proportion. We have
We have recently signed an agreement with observed a maturity in our systems and
Huawei in Ivory Coast for the GSM roll out. research and development; and anyone can
Similarly, we have signed an international see the difference.
partnership with South African company Flare: As you know that the third world
which is official partner and consultant of countries like India and Pakistan are
MTN and they are also specialised in making outstanding progress in the fields
integrated solutions. We are going to of technology so where do you see
introduce an extra ordinary product in technology in Pakistan in coming years?
international market as well as in Pakistan Khurram Mushtaq: Yes, we are developing
which has modern solutions for power as in technology, but there is a different case
well as for the leased areas issue of urban with Pakistan. India has developed
cell sites. technology with both aspects of in house
resource and production and with the aspect
of human resource and expertise. They, just
after the independence, joined the Russian
block whereas as we went for American
Block. They imported the products with
agreements that after a specific time seller
country will transfer the technology. Russia
helped them a lot in this development.
Secondly, they are such a big consumer coz
of their population that any economy of the
world cannot ignore them. Thirdly, they
developed and constructed dams and
electricity fourth labour is cheap. So, world
has to turn to them. Even US is trying to
Flare: What objectives do you have in make good ties with them. So, they
Pakistan? developed the production resources as well
Khurram Mushtaq: We are looking forward as expertise and they are getting full
to expand the nature of our business in advantage of it.
Pakistan. Alternate sources of energy are our Pakistan unfortunately lacked in all these
focus. However, we are developing the things only we could develop the expertise
operation and maintenance infrastructure and trained engineering persons but we are
initially in the central region of Pakistan to unable to get benefit out of them. They are
fulfil the growing demands of the market. rendering their services to the other
We are also outsourcing human resource to companies and countries. We are facing
the different companies. Brain Drain. This is an unfortunate situation.
Flare: Where do you place Pakistan in We have to develop infrastructure and
comparison to India, China and other production capacity to boost our economy.

39
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 Exclusive Kamran Ashraf Free download | flare.com.pk

A
ll over the world, there are not
only channels that broadcast
twenty four hours a day but also
organizations that are founded to
keep an eye on public-orientation and
progress made by channels. Such
continuous surveys not only provide
broadcasters with direct viewer feed back
but also with the changing trends of
existing as well as coming generation.
Such surveying services were not
encouraged in Pakistan a decade ago due to
the lack of channels; the only channel
belonged to the government. By the passage
of time, private sector moved to make
heavy investments in media and we saw a
lot of channels striking the TV sets with not
only quality but also variable transmission.
With the growing number of TV channels,
the need for establishing a monitory
organization urged media related
authorities to look into the issue.
The Pakistan Electronic Media
Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) was
established on March 1, 2002 through an
ordinance to induct the private sector into
the field of electronic media. The main
objectives and mandates of PEMRA are as
follows:
• Improve the standards of
information, education and entertainment;
• Enlarge the choice available to
Pakistanis in media for news, current
affairs, religious knowledge, art, culture,
science and technology, economic
development, social sector concerns, music,
sports, drama and other subjects of public
To facilitate the readers, I have provided some
and national interest; graphs of our recent surveys to show the changing
trends of viewers in Pakistan towards top channels
an audience measurement technical began in September 2007.
committee (AMTC) to invite fresh bids for The survey conducted by Medialogic on
various top channels’ viewership revealed a
number of insights into the changing trends
These 600 meters are of public in Pakistan. Medialogic set up a
installed in panel of 600 meters across Karachi, Lahore,
Rawalpindi and Islamabad in the first
approximately 500 phase. Daily results from these homes are
homes (as some homes
on the panel are
PTV scores high among top five entertainment channels Multiple-TV households)
(total individuals), from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm.
from where second – to
• Facilitate the devolution of
responsibility and power to the grass-roots
- second viewership
by improving the access of the people to data is recorded and
mass media at the local and community
level; and
transmitted back to the
• Ensure accountability, transparency central processing
and good governance by optimizing the free
flow of information.
facility through GSM
People-meter based television audience transfer Geo Entertainment leads top five entertainment channels
measurement (TAM) panel has been a long (C&S individuals) from 0700 pm to 10:00 pm.
awaited service in Pakistan. The project was the project and to make sure that the project
launched in 2006 when Pakistan is implemented expeditiously. The AMTC available for the first time in Pakistan.
Advertisers’ Society (PAS) and Pakistan awarded the project to Medialogic Pakistan These 600 meters are installed in
Broadcasters’ Association (PBA) constituted (Pvt.) Ltd. in January 2007 and the service approximately 500 homes (as some homes
42
 Free download | flare.com.pk
Geo News stands at first position in top five news channels
(C&S individuals) of Pakistan.
on the panel are Multiple-TV households)
from where second – to - second viewership
data is recorded and transmitted back to the
Leading dramas of top channels (total individuals).
In the next two years, growth is anticipated to be
strongest in the pioneering markets of South
Korea and Japan before the rest of the world starts
to catch up around 2010-11. Despite isolated
success stories in places like Italy and Austria,
Europe is not expected to see rapid growth in Mobile
TV until 2009
R
evenues from Mobile TV services
will generate USD1.5 billion in
revenues in 2008, rising to over
USD100 billion in 2012. At present
the revenues are predominantly from
subscription fees but this is expected to
change over time as the advertising
business model starts to gain prominence.
Informa Telecoms and Media believes by
2013 nearly half of the revenues will come
from advertising. In the next two years,
growth is anticipated to be strongest in the
pioneering markets of South Korea and
Japan before the rest of the world starts to
catch up around 2010-11. Despite isolated
success stories in places like Italy and
Austria, Europe is not expected to see rapid
growth in Mobile TV until 2009. The USA is
central processing facility through GSM
transfer.
Another advantage that meters provide
is that they measure individual viewership
for all members of the household. This is
done by providing a special remote along
with the meter on which each family
member has its own button. Household
members are then trained to press their
Leading dramas of top channels (total individuals).
button whenever they are watching TV.
Their individual profiles are fed into the
device at the time of installation. Therefore,
the meter detects individual viewership for
all household members individually,
thereby boosting the sample size. As a
result, we shall be getting data from almost
3,500 individuals on a daily basis through a
panel of 600 devices. The Tele-control
expected to take even longer as confusion
over standards prevents growth.
Eventually, concerted momentum behind
ATSC-MH is expected to boost the market
for mobile TV in North America.
"As the owner of the marketing and
billing relationship with subscribers,
operators are in the best position to offer
mobile TV services", comments Shailendra
Pandey, Senior Analyst at Informa Telecoms
and Media. "It seems that a good approach
for mobile operators will be to start with a
free-to-air business model which also
involves minimum capital investment. Once
user uptake of services starts to grow,
operators can then think of developing new
revenue models that can be established on
top of the free-to-air content platform",
Exclusive
Leading dramas of top channels (C&S individuals).
device measures channels by detecting the
frequency that is being tuned by the
television. Whichever channel is being
beamed into a home is getting reported
including in-house cable channels, foreign
channels etc.
Medialogic has teamed up with
Telecontrol GfK, one of the biggest names in
Global Research. Hardware, software and
technical expertise as well as support is
provided by Telecontrol on a permanent
basis to ensure that the panel in Pakistan is
at par with international standards and
keeps benefiting from Telecontrol GfK’s
ongoing R&D.

adds Pandey.
Most in the industry believed that
Mobile TV was going to reach the mass
market a lot earlier than has been the case.
A number of market and technology
barriers have conspired to delay the
widespread adoption of mobile TV by
consumers and growth in many regions is
still fragile.
Research from Informa Telecoms and
Media shows that the future of Mobile TV
will not be just broadcast or 3G but will be a
It seems that a good
approach for mobile
operators will be to start with
a free-to-air business model
which also involves minimum
capital investment. Once user
uptake of services starts to
grow, operators can then
think of developing new
revenue models that can be
established on top of the
free-to-air content platform
mix of technologies matched to a mix of
audience experiences. The research is
contained in the latest strategic report,
Mobile TV: Strategies, Business Models &
Technologies, 4th Edition, published by
Informa Telecoms and Media.

43
 Telepedia Flare Report
Handset makers had remained relatively unscathed by the
global economic crisis this year, but successive warnings
from Nokia, Qualcomm Inc and Intel Corp signalled a rapid
deterioration of consumer electronics demand
ell phone sales are expected to fall up
C
to 4 per cent in 2009 from this year as
the economic slowdown hurts
consumer demands across the world,
research Company Gartner said.
The world's top cell phone makers Nokia Oyj
and Samsung Electronics said the market could
fall next year. Handset makers had remained
relatively unscathed by the global economic
crisis this year, but successive warnings from
Nokia, Qualcomm Inc and Intel Corp signalled a
rapid deterioration of consumer electronics
demand.
Gartner said sales of mobile handsets in the
largest region of Asia Pacific, which includes the
two biggest growth markets, China and India,
rose 13.8 per cent in the third quarter to 116.7
million phones, but warned growth would come
to a halt. "We expect the global economic decline
and associated drop in disposable incomes to
make sales in the region almost flat during the
fourth quarter of 2008," analyst Anshul Gupta
said in a statement.
Gartner said the slowdown in developed
markets in the region, coupled with delayed
replacement purchases in emerging markets,
would hurt growth there.
Missing 20 million phones: Third-quarter
handset sales in Western Europe, the key market
for sales of more expensive and more profitable
smartphones, fell 8 per cent from a year ago to
43.5 million phones.
The struggling wireless telecom gear market
is facing a crash landing next year as operators
cut spending in the midst of recession. The
telecom equipment market, worth $49 billion in
2007, has been struggling for years, roiled as
44
low-price Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE
aggressively entered the market. But worse is to
come. No. 2 vendor Nokia Siemens has forecast a
market fall next year, with analysts saying it
could be sharp as new investments are likely to
be cut first when operators around the world
tighten their belts.
Analyst Carolina Milanesi
said in Western Europe,
home market for Nokia
and Sony Ericsson, all
vendors in total will sell 20
million phones less than a
year ago. Handset
vendors sold 308.5 million
mobile phones globally in
July-September, with
demand in emerging
markets lifting sales 6 per
cent from a year earlier
The companies have started to cut costs,
earlier this month Canada's Nortel said it would
axe 1,300 jobs, and Nokia Siemens Networks is
cutting another 1,820 jobs as the last part of its
major cost-cutting programme. Vendors will also
be scrutinising their costs this year and next,
trying to focus on the most promising
Free download | flare.com.pk
technologies.
The largest vendor Ericsson has said its 2009
planning is based on expectations of a flat
market, but stresses this is not the company's
official forecast. Analysts say the reality will be
much grimmer. "Wireless infrastructure
investments could decline by 12 per cent in 2009,
due to a combination of emerging market
slowdown and financing risks at carriers
accounting for 25 per cent of global wireless
spending," Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder
Garcha said in a research note.
Analyst Carolina Milanesi said in Western
Europe, home market for Nokia and Sony
Ericsson, all vendors in total will sell 20 million
phones less in 2008 than a year ago. Handset
vendors sold 308.5 million mobile phones
globally in July-September, with demand in
emerging markets lifting sales 6 per cent from a
year earlier, Gartner said. Handset sales volumes
in emerging markets surpassed developed
markets in 2005.
Nokia's market share rose to 38.2 per cent in
the quarter from 37.8 per cent the previous year,
the research company said. South Korea's
Samsung had 17.1 per cent of the total market in
the quarter, while Sony Ericsson took the No. 3
spot with 8.1 per cent. "It’s definitely not due to
(Sony Ericsson's) merit. Keeping third position
will be difficult," Milanesi said.
Struggling Motorola saw its market share fall
to 8 per cent from 13 per cent, and Garter said
there are more troubles ahead for the US vendor.
"I doubt that in 12 months we will be speaking
about them. There's only one way for them, and
that's downward," Milanesi said.
LG Electronics almost caught Motorola,
seeing its market share rise to 7.8 per cent. Apple
rose to seventh spot, helped by success of its 3G
iPhone, and tracking closely Blackberry-maker
RIM.

Obituary
The management
and staff of Flare,
leading telecom news
magazine, extend its
deepest condolences to
the families of CEO,
REDtone
Telecommunications
Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd,
Major-General (Retd)
Maj. Gen. (R) Amir Faisal
Alavi (Shaheed) Amir Faisal Alavi and
company driver
Tanveer Ahmed who
lost their lives on
November 19, 2008 in
attack by unknown
assailants.
We pray for the
departed souls. May
Allah dwell them in
Heaven and give
Tanveer Ahmed (Shaheed)
courage to bereaved
families to bear this irreparable loss.
Zubair Ahmed Kasuri
Editor-in-Chief
& Flare Team
 InsighT Flare Report Free download | flare.com.pk

of PPO is to provide domestic as well as

Network of postal services international postal and allied services to the

people at an affordable cost, on equitable basis
and at standards which meet their needs. He

to be modernised: Zehri said he is fully determined to make PPO a public

welfare oriented organisation in the country by
offering international standard services to the
people. He said entire staff of PPO will be
PPO has tailored a master plan for quick application of trained through short courses to acquaint them
modern IT technology for automation of counter activities, with modern trends of marketing laced with
computer based tools like trace and trace system, electronic quality service.
About the welfare of postal staff, the minister
money transfer and introduction of postal information said the service structure of staff will be further
system improved subject to their contribution towards
better postal services. Earlier Chairman and
ederal Minister for Postal Services Mir

F
Israrullah Zehri said that entire network
of Pakistan Postal Services would be
modernised at par with international
standard through computerisation to provide
affordable prompt service to the people at their
doorsteps.
Talking to media during his maiden visit to
PMG office, he said that PPO is a public utility
organisation and not a profit earning entity and
he will make all out efforts to ensure better,
quick and affordable postal services to all
The main objective of PPO is
to provide domestic as well
as international postal and
allied services to the people
at an affordable cost, on
equitable basis and at
standards which meet their
needs
Lahore: Federal Minister for Postal Services Senator Israr Ullah
Zahri briefed during his visit to different sections of GPO.
segments of the society. He said PPO possessed
vast potential which, he added, will be fully
exploited to meet the future challenges without
compromising on the quality of service.
The minister said that people from all walks
of life will again repose their full confidence in
Pakistan Post Office as its postal services will be
comparatively better than all other private
couriers in terms of rates, safe, fast and reliable.
Mir Israrullah Zehri said the main objective
Director General Pakistan Postal Services
Pakistan Muhammad Ahmad Mian in his
welcome address said that PPO has
tailored a master plan for quick application
of modern IT technology for automation of
counter activities, computer based tools
like trace and trace system, electronic
money transfer and introduction of postal
information system.
Postmaster General Punjab, Shamshad
Hussian Khan giving detailed presentation
on the working and overall performance of
region, said that 85 per cent of the total
number of 7397 posts offices are located in
rural areas which provide postal services to
people even in far flung areas where no private
sector is willing to deliver services. He said PPO
is the only department in the country which is
providing best possible postal services to people
at affordable rates. He said this region delivered
a record number of 254.394 million un-registered
letters, aero-grams, postcards, printed cards,
newspapers, small packets during the last fiscal
year.

Telecom workers join hands

affiliates requested solidarity support from UNI
to convince management to respect trade union
rights of PMS since Pakistan has ratified the ILO
convention 87.

to gain the lost authority Petteri Ojanen [TU Finland], Seppo

Karppinen and Sharan Kumar KC from SASK
Finland joined the workshop and shared their
experiences with the participants. Twenty five
Workshop participants were confident that they will be able participants including three women union
to persuade most of their telecom colleagues to join trade activist joined the work shop representing five
Telecom unions in Pakistan.
unions and fight for their rights, as they have lost their Kun Wardana Abyoto, Director UNI Apro
administrative and bargaining power as a result of the Telecom, Jayasri Priyalal Director UNI Apro
modernization and restructuring of the telecom companies Finance, P&MS Activities and UNI Pakistan

rivileges and Benefits of Engineers and unionized staff in the company. The companies in Pakistan have

P Administrative Officers in Telecom

Companies in Pakistan are declining
rapidly in comparison with those
enjoyed by the unionized staff in the company,”
said by Zulfiquar Ali Sanghi Central Chairman
of Pakistan Telecommunication Employees
Union [PTEU] at the 3rd South Asia Telecom
Employees Council [SATUC] Meeting” held in
Lahore, Pakistan. The SATUC leaders
commented that professional and managerial
staff (PMS) in telecom companies are at
disadvantageous position as they are prevented
from unionization through legal impediments.
Furthermore, the companies in Pakistan have the
practice of offering artificial promotions and
keep them out of coverage of collective
agreements. Over the years this has created a
disparity between the pay scales of PMS and the
46
UNI Apro Telecom organized a workshop for
UNI Pakistan telecom sector affiliates in Lahore,
Pakistan prior to the SATUC meeting with the
objective of preparing the union leaders to
organize and recruit PMS in to unions. At the
workshop UNI guidelines for extending union
coverage and protection to PMS were explained
to the participants.
Workshop participants were confident that
they will be able to persuade most of their
colleagues to join trade unions and fight for their
rights, as they have lost their administrative and
bargaining power as a result of the
modernization and restructuring of the telecom
companies.
The Telecom union leaders were confident
that they can win the PMS categories and help
them to secure decent work at work place. UNI
the practice of offering artificial
promotions and keep them out
of coverage of collective
agreements. Over the years this
has created a disparity between
the pay scales of PMS and the
unionized staff in the company
Liaison Council implemented the workshop
which was supported by SASK Finland.
Workshop outcomes were positive and the
participants came up with a plan of action to
contact the PMS at the workplace and create
awareness about trade unions and their benefits
to secure decent work for PMS in Pakistan
telecom.

 SITE ACQUISTION

CIVIL
MECHANICAL

SITE DESIGN
TELECOM

SHELETRS
TOWERS

GENERATORS

HR OUTSOURCING

MANAGEMENT SERVICES

3G COMTECH(PVT)LTD.
TURNKEY SOLUTIONS PROVIDER
429-430 UMER BLOCK ALLAMA IQBAL TOWN
PH: +92-42-5296429,5296529,5296212
FAX: +92-42-5296329
E-MAIL:khurram.mushtaq@comtech.net.pk
 Cover Story Zubair Ahmed Kasuri Free download | flare.com.pk

48
Free download | flare.com.pk
hen we talk about a company, its
W failure or failed policies, we always
prove our point with undeniable
documentary proof of malpractices.
Although a year has been passed since we publish
the story of internal corruption, mismanagement
and nepotism of Ufone in Octane (June, 2007); yet
the situation is worsening and no one is concerned
to take necessary measures against this corruption.
The salary packages have been upgraded espe-
cially of the top management but company per-
formance is still zero. One of the biggest issues is
the sale of illegal SIMs on whole sale basis. With
growing competition, the higher management
found it easier to increase their customer base
without documentation. According to latest figures
released by the PTA, Ufone is at the top slot of ille-
gal SIMs. Its figures have crossed the mark of three
million. In fact, the President and CEO of the com-
pany Mr Aziz gave directions to show the growth
steady to save his position. This gave birth to the
culture of fake and illegal SIMs with the increasing
graph of sales.
Image of PTA circular to suspend the Ufone BlackBerry
How a company could grow when its manage-
ment is not sincere? The CEO Mr Aziz is very
sharp in making money and embezzlement. His
career is all about
nepotism and
groups of like
minded, the least
resistant officials
who could support
him in multi ways.
From Millicom
International to his
last company, Mr
Aziz has the same
reputation. He was
sacked from his
previous jobs due to
poor performance
plus bad reputation;
at the end he joined
Ufone in a hurry to These are estimated figures of Illegal SIMs
occupy the vacant
post. The high officials of his previous job after see-
Cover Story
ing the track of Aziz’s corruption started to closely It is really interesting to note that previous CEO
monitor and record his activities. Fortunately they
foiled all plots of Mr Aziz.
You can easily imagine Ufone’s position who
welcomed an
official who
of Ufone Mubashir Naqvi joined Etisalat in
November 2007 when no one was ready to take
the position. After lying vacant for a month or so,
the management contacted Mr Aziz who was not
content in his job at that time.
was dismissed It is shameful to note that Ufone Black Berry
from his previ- was suspended last month for not obtaining NoC
ous designa- from PTA. According to PTA sources, Prepaid
tion by the Black Berry is extremely hazardous for the security
virtue of his of any country as there is no procedure of decrying
corruption. He the encrypted data. It is an eye opening issue for all
has also stake holders that a company of bad reputation of
worked for over three million illegal SIMs had opened another
Milicom inter- toll to threat the security of our country, which is
national, a already torn of terrorism. What might be the situa-
company tion, the safety and security of our country should
which was be our priority.
Abdul Aziz, CEO Ufone closed a year
ago. Sources in With growing competition,
Milicom think that Mr Aziz was the leading figure
to sink the company. The CEO of Ufone is now the higher management
gaming with some officials who were in Mobilink. found it easier to increase
This new group is working smartly to
plunder the Ufone resources. their customer base
An official of a telecom company without documentation.
told “Flare Magazine” that the higher
According to latest
figures released by the
PTA, Ufone is at the top
for issuing slot of illegal
SIMs. Its figures have
crossed the mark of three
million
Market share of operators is considered an
important tool to gauge the level of competition in
any sector of the economy. Marker shares of cellu-
lar mobile operators indicate that market is moving
toward perfect competition where the share of
major operators are declining and new entrants are
able to grab more share in the market. During the
year 2007- 08, Telenor has emerged as fastest grow-
ing operator who has improved its market share
from 17 per cent in 2006-07 to above 21 per cent
slightly higher than Ufone who also has 21 per
cent market share. It is a wonder to see that
Ufone’s share is decreasing by every passing
Image of Ufone BlackBerry ad month, contrary to Telenor and Warid who are
impressively emerging by the passage of time. On
management was not happy with Mr Aziz so, they the other hand, the leading mobile operator,
were very careful about his attitude and commit- Mobilink is loosing its significant marker power
ments. All his files and calls were traced and place rapidly and its share has declined by about 5
checked by the own- points and reached 36 per cent in 2007-08 as com-
ers. When Mr Aziz pare to 41 per cent in 2006-07. CMPak is also grow-
came to know this, ing very fast and it has added 2.9 million sub-
he was shocked. He scribers, which is an impressive number and one
tried his level best to could hoped that in future, it will grab more
clarify his position market share.
but it was too late. In this competitive market, operators are
Some other company bound to increase the investment to get more share
officials think that of subscribers. In last 5 years, cellular mobile oper-
the problem lies in ators have invested over $8.4 billion in Pakistan
his attitude to grab which has created large number of employment
more and more opportunities all across the country. During 2007-
money. Internally, he 08, Cellular players invested over $2.3 billion,
builds his own which is 12 per cent lower than the previous year.
group and then use During the year 2007-08, Mobilink invested over
it for maximum per- $919 million while Telenor invested over $565 mil-
sonal gains. This lion. CMPak is another operator who started
grouping was the expanding lately and invested over $ 200 million in
main cause for his res- last few months. Warid and Ufone invested $480
ignation from Milicom. and $232 million respectively during the year 2007-08
49
 Cover Story
No gain without pain - Ufone’s investment is
one of the lowest in Pakistan telecom sector. The
recent packages introduced by Ufone, reflects a
glimpse of Ufone’s tarnish reputation among its
subscribers. Besides hidden charges, Ufone is mak-
ing money by hiding the original charges. In case
they sign up on the Website, the Ufoners do not
even know that they are charged with Rs 1 per
day. This is not only the case with log in users;
those who do not use their Ufone account are also
charged with Rs 1 per day. Those who subscribe to
Utune are automatically promoted to the next
month subscription without any query, if they
have sufficient balance in their accounts. Ufone’s
SMS packages are the most expensive offers put
forward by any telecom operator. The recently
introduced Ufone offer of per hour chat is another
disguise as the package is situated in an odd time
frame. Besides off-net call and calls made after the
prescribed time are extensively charged. This also
reflects that Uone is losing its popularity.
Now, come to the advertising strategies adopt-
ed by Ufone. Like Zong, Ufone has tried to create a
unique aura of same colour scheme and caste
around its advertisement but the creative mind of
Faisal Qureshi has no more flare to attract the
viewers with cheap TVCs (television concepts).
Most of the ads seem to be equipped with baseless
ideas, irrelevant punch lines and exaggerating
taunts. One of the recent TVC is criticized by every
one which was copied from the Carlton Bear big
ad concept.
The actual ad is an award-winning advertise-
ment for Carlton Draught created by George
Patterson and Partners (Young and Rubicam) of
Melbourne, which used viral marketing techniques
before being released on television. It premiered on
Australian television on August 7, 2005, in which
two armies (one dressed in maroon, the other in
yellow) march toward one another singing "O
Fortuna" from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff but
different lyrics. A heroic figure on horseback leads
the charge. Viewed from the air, we can see the
armies from a glass of Carlton Draught and a
human body. The glass is then lifted to the mouth,
and the audience sees the beer (the rushing, ecstati-
cally leaping yellow-clad men) flowing into the
stomach of the figure.
On the other hand, Ufone used the same lyrics
to establish the claim of “yeh to dunia ki sab say
sasti call hay”. In contrast with the original ad
where thousands of people were singing “it is a
big ad” only few people were singing with a show-
off of hundreds of singers. The Siad pur village
near F-6 Islamabad where the TVC was filmed
looks like some out of country place decorated
with model houses. These model houses were built
50
Free download | flare.com.pk
quality material was used. We are just presenting
Like Zong, Ufone has tried a glimpse of that report here.
to create a unique aura of According to the report in Phase A total 151
sites were to be roll out but total 59 sites were
same colour scheme and rolled out where as 23 sites are partially installed.
caste around its advertise- The situation in Phase B is even worse. Total tar-
geted sites were 137 to be rolled out in Jan 07 but
ment but the creative mind no site was on ground in the targeted time.
of Faisal Qureshi has no The quality of civil work was very poor.
Though the quality of network and coverage mat-
more flare to attract the ters but civil work is directly related with the safety
viewers with cheap TVCs. of public. This poor standard of civil work is exam-
ined at many sites and common faults were
Most of the ads are com- improper mortar filling, use of poor quality bricks
posed of baseless ideas, and masonry work etc.
According to confidential report due to low
irrelevant punch lines and ratio of BTS (Tower) roll out, Ufone was at number
four position in terms of coverage. Even the rela-
exaggerating taunts tively new operator, Telenor has crossed Ufone.
for visitors and no one is living in them where the All these factors count towards the market
TVC is showing some thing else. The young Imam share loss from 21.7 per cent in June 2006 to 20.7
Sahib is looking like an Egyptian. It seems as the per cent in December 2006. Though Mobilink has
actors are on a picnic tour. also lost market share, but the customer base of
No need to mention about the Ufone advertis- Mobilink is increasing again after some slowing
ing campaign. From day one, the campaign is just trend. Meanwhile, the market shares of Telenor
joking with cheap ads. A national company who and Warid have increased tremendously.
was once honoured to be the only Pakistani According to PTA quality of service survey,
Company is creating farce. For some time this Ufone was at the lowest position with service
approach may be successful but all these new accessibility 97 per cent and call completion ratio
looks of old ideas are very cheap. It is eminent that of 94.10 per cent which was lowest among the
Ufone needs fresh minds and characters to revive operators. Even SMS access was 10.14 per cent
the advertising campaign. delay as compared to other operators.
Hundreds of thousands of Ufone customers Another factor which is also showing the
show frustration over Ufone services in an exclu- Ufone lowering trend is the latest figures released
sive survey conducted by Flare country wide in by the PTA. The telecom growth of Ufone is stag-
September 2008. The cus- nant for the last one year with total customers
tomers’ frustration is ris- hanging round the figures of 18,600,500 while
ing due to the substan- Telenor group has just crossed this figure.
dard voice quality, This is another prove of Ufone’s failure as the
increasing call drop ratio, other companies are heading with more pace then
connectivity issues, non the Ufone.
reliable billing system and No one knows what happens next but in Ufone
poor coverage. The sub- case, it looks clear that this national asset is being
scriber gap between destroyed with concerted conspiracies of the high-
Ufone and its competitors er management. From advertising to civil works,
is narrowing sharply. no one is looking serious to face the challenge.
Ufone has failed to exe- It is common saying that the umbrella compa-
cute its expansion plan. ny always affects the sub companies and Ufone is
On the other hand the no difference. As this company was gifted to
comparatively new opera- Etisalat with PTCL, so they all are united to dam-
tors are far ahead in terms age the company. As we have published about the
of coverage. After failing down fall of PTCL, the situation in Ufone is no dif-
on all fronts, Ufone is trying to attract people by ference. Both the companies have no future growth
cheap ways and has blatantly implied that you can plans and strategies.
get a romance
for 99 paisa. Sex
oriented adver-
tising gimmicks
which especially
the females find
offensive get crit-
icized on every
online and social
forum of
Pakistanis.
A confiden-
tial report of
Ufone was
leaked in June
2007 which
exposed the fact that company was failed in many Now it is the prime responsibility of the
areas. The administration could not complete the Government to take serious notice to save our
target of sites roll out in any of its phase which national asset, which has damaged its image badly
resulted poor coverage. The development work and there are no signs of revival.

was also not up to the mark as slow work and low
Free download | flare.com.pk Usman Yaqoob Telepedia

lthough the rise in the moved into second place in the

A number of mobile
subscribers in the
country has been
extremely rapid over the past
nine quarters, the data of the
second quarter of 2008, beating
Ufone, the mobile business of
Pakistan’s incumbent operator,
Pakistan Telecommunication
Company Limited (PTCL), by a
telecom sector reflects slow mere 25,000 customers. Both
growth. The mobile market operators currently sit neck-to-
added around 9.9 million new neck with 20.6 per cent shares of
customers in the first half of 2008, market. While Telenor continues
expanding by 12.6 per cent to to expand its market share,
reach 88.05 million mobile users. Ufone has a relatively stable
The Annual Report of market share in recent quarters.
Pakistan Telecommunication Meanwhile, with regard to our
Authority (PTA) 2008 reflects that 3G forecasts, the Pakistan
Telenor Pakistan emerged as the Telecommunications Authority
fastest growing telecom company (PTA) said that the process of
as Telenor added around 7.4 awarding 3G licenses will be
million subscribers in the completed before the end of 2008
incumbent year as compared to via an auction.
7.1 million in 2007. Mobilink The latest data suggests that
comes second with the addition the market for both wireline and
of 5.7 million subscribers during wireless fixed line services has
the same period. Warid Telecom now entered a period of decline.
added another 4.8 million Although the traditional
subscribers while Ufone bagged fixedline services provided by
4.0 million subscribers as PTCL’s competitors continue to
compared to 6.5 million in grow, PTCL’s own fixedline
previous year. CMPak entered customer base saw a sharp
the cellular market with decline in the first six months of
aggressive marketing and 2008. Meanwhile, the only
infrastructure roll out. Its growth wireless local loop (WLL)
was negative in the previous operators which reported an
year. However, it added 2.9
million subscribers in last few
Overall, subscribers witnessed a nominal growth of increase in customers were
World Call and TeleCard, with
months. 0.4 per cent in October as compared to 0.7 per PTCL once again reporting
The cellular mobile customer loss. Having fallen by
penetration in Pakistan reached cent in September to reach 90.5 million.Net 2.8 per cent in the first six months
54.7 per cent at the end of year subscriber addition in October has declined and of 2008, it is being predicted that
2007-08 which is 15.3 per cent the number of fixedline
higher than the previous year. By stood at 0.32 million against 0.68 million recorded customers will fall by around 4.9
the end of June 2008, the mobile during last month. The long term trend remained per cent for 2008 as a whole.
penetration in Pakistan had According to the PTA,
surpassed the 50 per cent intact with the industry average declining to 1.6 Pakistan had just over 130,000
threshold. Mobilink continues to million subscribers as of Oct-08 versus 1.7 million broadband internet subscribers at
dominate Pakistan’s mobile the end of March 2008, up from
market, ending Q208 with over in Sep-08, for a rolling 12-month period 65,000 in March 2007. Despite the
32million subscribers, said a strong growth, Pakistan’s
report. However, it is an open truth that the continue to see a slowing trend going forward. broadband penetration rate was still only 0.1 per
share of Mobilink is rapidly decreasing. The cellular subscriptions witnessed a nominal cent in March 2008. Digital Subscriber Line
Mobilink’s market share continued to fall, growth of 0.7 per cent on month to month basis (DSL) and Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) remain the
dropping to 36.4 per cent from 41.9 per cent in in September-08. The increase of 0.64 million most popular broadband technologies.
the previous year. The operator’s parent subscribers this month is 68 per cent lower on However, Pakistan’s limited fixedline
company, Orascom of Egypt, now appears to infrastructure has deterred growth of these
increase investments in an effort to prevent The latest data suggests services, and the cost of broadband has further
further loss. that the market for both
wireline and wireless fixed
line services has now
entered a period of decline.
Although the traditional
fixedline services provided
by PTCL’s competitors
continue to grow, PTCL’s
own fixedline customer
base saw a sharp decline in
the first six months of 2008
Analysts expect the operator will maintain
over 25 per cent market share. Analysts said that year to year basis, average increase for the last undermined growth while WiMAX is expected
because of an imminent saturation in the cellular year alone has been 1.8 million subscribers each to account for a growing number of broadband
market and cancellation of inactive SIMs by month. connections in the future.

PTA, they believe that cellular growth rate shall In terms of customer numbers, Telenor
51
 Event Flare Report Free download | flare.com.pk

Glimpses of Award
Ceremony 2008
Award winning brands of Pakistan selected through the survey. Prime minister of Pakistan Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, who was chief guest on
the occasion, has given the awards to the winners in a ceremony held in Karachi. Governor Sindh Dr. Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan and Chief Minis-
ter Syed Qaim Ali Shah were also present on the occasion. Due to large number of photos, we are publishing the pictures without informa-
tion of brand category, company name and awarding receiving personalities. “Flare” team congratulates all the winners for their outstanding
performance and wish them excellence in the future as well.

52
Free download | flare.com.pk Event

53
 Event Free download | flare.com.pk

54
Free download | flare.com.pk Event

55
 Event Free download | flare.com.pk

56
Free download | flare.com.pk Event

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 Event Free download | flare.com.pk

(From left to right)- Dr. Ghous A. Khan Voice Chairman Brands Award Council, Governer Sindh Dr. Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan, Prime Minister
Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Tariq Sayeed, Chairman Brands Award Council, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Khalil Ahmad Ambas-
sador at large and Shaikh Rashid Alam Chief Executive, Brands Award Council of Pakistan on the occasion of Awards Ceremony.

Names of award winning brands

ACACIA, ACCA, Alum Ex, Always, Ariel, ARY Jewelers, Ashrafi Brand Atta, Atlas Batteries, Bank Alfalah, Bata, Bed & Bath, Berger, Blue Band,
Bonanza, Business Plus, C Track, CAMS, Castrol, Cheetah By Servis, City FM 89, Classic Rusk, Creative Chaos, Cybernet, D G Cement, Dadex,
Dawn Bread, Dollar East, Dreamworld, Dunkin Donuts, DYL, Dynasty, Eden Housing, Efu General, EIR, Elfy, Everyday, Falak, Fujiyama, Geo En-
tertainment, Geo News, Gerry's Travels, Gillette, Guard Autozone, Guard Filters, Habib Oil, Hanif Rajput, Head and Shoulders, Hilal, Hino Pak,
Honest, Ideas by Gul Ahmed, Inbox, Intel, Ironezee, Ittefaq, Jamal's Yellow Pages, Jang, Jeco, Junaid Jamshed, K & N, Karawan e Madinah, King
Laziza, LG, Link Dot Net, Mahi Seafood, Marriott Karachi, Master Celeste, Millat, Mughal, NAFA, National, Nestle Pure Life, Nido, Nirala, Nur-
pur Butter, Nurpur Cheese, Nurpur Flavored Milk, Pakistan Cables, Pakistan Super Fireworks, Pampers, Phoenix Armor, Philips, PIA, Piano,
Pizza Hut, Premiere Cables, PSO, QFS, Rooh Afza, Rose Petal, Scon Valves, Safeguard, Sathi, Shangrila, Shield, Shield Toothpaste, Siemens, Sitara
Labels, Snowhite, Sooper, Soya Supreme Banaspati, Standard Chartered Bank, Steelex, Student Biryani, Super Asia, Super Crisp, Tapal, Tara, TCS,
Toyo Nasic, Toyo Plastic, Toyota, Trakker Direct, United Mobiles, Vectracom, Warid, Waste Busters, Wateen, Waves, Worldcall, Yamaha, Marine
Youngs Mayonnaise, Youngs Spread, ZRG, ASG
58
Free download | flare.com.pk
Sony Ericsson w550i
From a long time, this remains the best
handset out there for playing games on,
and even better, it is getting even cheaper
to get your hands on one. Why is it still
number one? Well, wide support from
games developers and publishers, great
sound, 3D visuals as well as its party piece:
you can hold the phone horizontally, rotate
the on-screen action, and play on it as if it
were a handheld console.
Nokia N73
N73 is smaller, lighter, powerful, and
a better games player than its forebears. It
also features better controls, with a thumb-
stick that is infinitely preferable to the direc-
tional pads that most Nokias are
encumbered with these days.
Sony Ericsson W810i
Walkman phones might be no better at
playing music than most other handsets,
but as a branding exercise it has been a
hit. This is illustrated by the W810i, an
unspectacular-looking handset that man-
ages to squeeze in a decent set of controls,
good 3D performance, and sound that resembles
actual music and noises you might hear in the
real world. If the screen was a little bigger and
the numeric keypad better defined, it would be
higher than its current position.
Nokia N93
For a long time, the N93 has been the most power-
ful handset, in visual terms in the market. The big
screen, dedicated 3D graphics processor, and sheer size
meant the N93 was ideal for playing games on. And it
still is, but until we have put its successor through its
paces, the N93 will have to take a backseat.
Sony Ericsson K700i
From this dirt-cheap handset, you can play
the latest 3D games, even those from perennial
third-dimension stalwarts Fishlabs, and has an in-
credibly wide support base among all the devel-
opers.
Mike Abolins Tech Tool
Nokia N95
This stands is at second spot as there is
very little support from publishers and de-
velopers. It means that there are not many
games out there to actually play on an N95.
But there will be, particularly when the second-
generation N-Gage gaming platform gets its offi-
cial kick-off later this year. And when that
happens, you can fully expect this handset to
take the top spot.
Sony Ericsson K800i
The K800i stands here on the merits of
its screen, 3D prowess and little joystick but
in many ways it also represents a number of
peers such as twin sibling the k810i and the
similar, but slightly smaller-screened duo of
w800i and w810i.
Nokia 5300
In the case of the Nokia 5300, you also
get a set of controls that are easy to live with
and the assurance that comes with any
phone running the Symbian Series 60 oper-
ating system, which is one of the best sup-
ported handset platforms around.
Nokia 6234
The Nokia 6234 proudly manages the 3D stuff
and, for a 3G handset, it is relatively inexpen-
sive though multimedia widgets are corre-
spondingly thin on the ground.
Nokia
N-Gage QD
The N-Gage QD is
still a strong per-
former, despite run-
ning on a version of the Symbian
Series 60 operating system that means that 3D Java (J2ME) games
would not work on it. But it is a small price to pay for the N-Gage
games that are unique to the handset, with Pathway To Glory, a
turn-based World War 2 strategy game, being a bona fide classic
game that we love playing to this very day.
pocketgamer.co.uk 59
 Synopsis Flare Report Free download | flare.com.pk

Unsecure mobile 2008, 47.53 per cent of all theft

complaints are from the The system, which blocks and
metropolis — an aspect that unblocks handsets, was made
users in Karachi requires relevant departments
to take immediate measures to
accessible with the cooperation

Has IMEI failed? curb the menace. This is

despite the introduction of
international mobile
The telecom watchdog’s statistics reveal that the equipment identity system
crime has reached astounding (IMEI) by the PTA in October
2006. The system, which
figures — till 2008, 47.53 per cent of all theft blocks and unblocks handsets,
complaints are from the metropolis — an was made accessible with the
aspect that requires relevant departments to cooperation of the CPLC and
the telecom industry and acts
take immediate measures to curb the on a complaint once
menace. The telecom authorities lay the blame verification procedures have
for the rise in street crimes, mobile thefts in- been completed.
The telecom authorities lay
cluded, at the door of law
the blame for the rise in street
enforcement agencies. However, there may be crimes, mobile thefts included,
numerous catches within its own system at the door of law enforcement
agencies. However, there may
larmingly, Karachi tops the list in
of the CPLC and the telecom
industry and acts on a complaint
once verification procedures
have been completed
amongst subscribers and affectees alike.
Aside from adopting more aggressive
measures such as publicising its function as well
as stringent implementation of regulations,
authorities need to realise that the realities of our
times stand drastically altered from the days
when the IMEI came into being. Harsh economic
conditions have exacerbated petty crimes and
made them life-threatening. Therefore, the need
of the hour is an enhanced IMEI — more
qualified personnel, improved equipment and
most importantly, the time that it takes to block
a handset, which means reworking verification

A
be numerous catches within its own system. procedures as it is this mechanism that can play
Pakistan as the venue for the highest
First and foremost, the IMEI was put in place a pivotal role in eradicating phone theft. Rapid
number of mobile phone thefts and
with the primary goal of eliminating the threat disabling that makes handsets immediately
snatchings in 2008. The Pakistan
of phone thefts. But it is becoming increasingly ineffective translates into fewer thefts as it
Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) annual
clear that, two years later, it has neither clamps down on the resale of stolen phone sets.
report for this year cites rampant handset thefts
managed to wield much influence over phone Perhaps, the nuisance of ‘ghost’ connections can
primarily in urban quarters. However, the
companies to follow rules while devising also be brought under IMEI’s purview to reign
telecom watchdog’s statistics reveal that the
distribution plans, nor has it inspired confidence in errant retailers and services.

crime has reached astounding figures — till

Excess of everything is Cellular growth stalled by

bad: Computers may increased taxes
affect naives
hen it comes to personal life, people usually live an
Telecom sector contributed Rs100 billion into the
national kitty in shape of all kind of taxes during

W unbalance life – when they fight; they only fight, when they
eat; they only eat, when they play, they only play. A
the last financial year 2007-08.
he government is charging Rs31 in shape of taxes out of Rs100

T
majority is unable to maintain equilibrium, the very
characteristic that favours also discourage them. prepaid cards from cellular subscribers, which has resulted
For instance look into the case of computer – they are part and parcel into zero growth of this sector in the first four months (July-
of our personal and professional life. School friends are available on Oct) of the current fiscal year, Chief Marketing Officer of
different social sites, university have their Ufone, Asher Yaqub Khan said.
own blogs, computer students and diploma While briefing reporters on the launching of new call centre in
holders manage their personal Websites, Islamabad, he said that the increased taxation has virtually stalled
there are messengers to chat and to send growth of the growing cellular sector in the country. The GST has been
messages … a world is made of fibre glass. increased to
In this world everything is electronic: Cards 21 per cent,
are E-cards, mails are E-mails. All that is duty on
required is to learn the art of giving things handset
their due share, to maintain a balance as excess of everything is bad and increased to
may be worst! Rs750 and
Playing too many video games and spending hours in front of the continuation
computer is leading our children performance poorly at school, of pre-
developing sleep disorders and becoming inactive and obese. Parents activated
provide children with latest equipments but they remind failed in charge of
managing the schedule. Rs500 as well
This was stated by Dr Arshalooz Rehman, Assistant Professor and as services
Consultant Paediatrician, Aga Khan University (AKU), during an charge, have
awareness programme held at the University on the occasion of World increased Islamabad: A view of recently launched Ufone contact center at
burden sector I-9/3.
Children's Day, to discuss important health issues affecting children in
the country. manifold on cellular phone users, which would also result into
An AKU statement said while there are positive aspects of using shrinking revenue growth for the national kitty. “Our sector
computers and technology, children must also go out and play so they contributed Rs100 billion into the national kitty in shape of all kind of
can be active. Children are very sensitive and badly affected by small taxes during the last financial year 2007-08.”
troubles. It is good to keep them abreast with the changing trends of the By the first quarter of the year 2009, Ufone will be providing jobs to
world at large but it also asks for a balance so the life of an un-bloomed more than 900 young graduates at its new contact centre in Islamabad,
rose may not shatter.
a facility created with three million dollars investment.

60
 Free download | flare.com.pk
From the stunning aluminium unibody to the
powerful graphics architecture, the new MacBook
makes progress a beautiful thing
nstead of assembling a notebook from
I many minor parts, the new MacBook was
re-invented from just one: the new, solid-
aluminium unibody enclosure. It gets full
credit for making MacBook thinner, lighter and
even more stunning. But it is not all
beauty. Because of the unibody, this
MacBook is more durable than ever. It
was designed to take on your world. So
slip it into your backpack or briefcase
and pull it out wherever you go — it is
impressive in any setting.
Even the keyboard is advanced
The MacBook keyboard is solid,
responsive and comfortable. Just put
your fingers on the crisp keys and you
will feel pure typing bliss. An
illuminated keyboard, a popular feature
of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, now
comes standard on the 2.4GHz MacBook
model. So when you are in low-light settings
such as airports or lecture halls, you can
always see what you are typing.
Cleverly integrated — almost
hidden — at the top of the
MacBook Pro display is an iSight
camera. Use it with iChat, and you
can be anywhere without actually
being there. Video chat with a
buddy, share a video with a
colleague, or present to a client.
Use iSight with Photo Booth for fun
photo effects
Where’s the button?
The amazing new trackpad doubles as a
button — just press down anywhere and
consider it clicked. No separate button means
there is 39 per cent more room for
your fingers to move on the
silky glass surface. Now
that Multi-Touch gestures
have come to MacBook, all
the function is in your
fingers. Use two fingers
to scroll up and down a
page. Pinch to zoom in
and out. Swipe with
three
fingers to flip through your photo libraries.
Rotate to adjust an image with your fingertips.
Using the new four-finger swipe gesture, swipe
up or down to access Exposé modes and left or
right to switch between open applications. If
you are coming from a right-click world, you
can right-click with two fingers or configure a
right-click area on the trackpad. The more you
use the Multi-Touch trackpad, the more you
will wonder what you ever did without it.
Simply stunning
The beautifully seamless, remarkably thin
design is not the only gleaming quality of the
LED-backlit display. Open your MacBook and
you are instantly greeted by glorious full
screen brightness. The aluminium enclosure is
perfectly integrated with a glass overlay that
stretches to the edge of the notebook,
providing a completely unobstructed picture.
Cooler creatures; Richer worlds
The NVIDIA GeForce 9400M brings up to
five times faster, discrete-level graphics
performance to MacBook. That means high-
end, high-speed 3D game-playing power.
Graphics-intensive features in iPhoto and
iMovie are smoother, clearer and faster than
ever. With powerful NVIDIA graphics, you
will enjoy movies and video with richer
colours and finer details.
Take it all along
With a hard drive up to 320GB,
you can load MacBook with
movies, photos and documents
and take everything with you. You
also have the option to upgrade to
a 128GB solid-state drive, which
has no moving parts, for enhanced
durability. With the ultrafast 8x
SuperDrive, burn everything you
watch, listen to or create onto DVDs
and make room for even more.
Ports with possibilities
MacBook is iPod, iPhone, digital
camera and external hard drive ready.
You’ll find two USB 2.0 ports to connect a wide
variety of peripherals. You’ll also see a Mini
DisplayPort — a perfect fit for the new Apple
LED Cinema Display. The MagSafe power port
gives you a trip-proof connection to safeguard
your system and valuable data. And you can
Flare Report Tech Tool
use the Kensington lock slot to protect your
MacBook, battery and hard drive.
Think fast
Inside the new MacBook is a powerful Intel
Core 2 Duo processor running at speeds up to
2.4GHz. MacBook also boasts an
increased 1066MHz frontside bus and
next-generation 1066MHz DDR3
memory.
Mobility mastered
Wherever you go with your
MacBook, wireless capabilities go with
you. With the latest 802.11n wireless
technology built in, you’re always
connected to the wireless world out
there, at home and at work. It is
seamless and effortless to connect to a
Wi-Fi network and surf the web, send
email, video chat and more. With up to
5 hours of wireless productivity battery life,
consider yourself a free agent. At home, stream
music wirelessly from your lounge. Rent
movies wirelessly with iTunes. And print
documents or photos from anywhere. For an
instantly ideal workspace, connect your
MacBook to the new Apple LED Cinema
Display. MacBook also includes Bluetooth
capabilities, so brilliant accessories such as the
optional Apple Wireless Keyboard and
The new 13-inch MacBook
wireless Mighty Mouse free your desk from
cables and cords.
You, in two places at once
Cleverly integrated — almost hidden — at
the top of the MacBook display is an iSight
camera. Use it with iChat and you can be
anywhere without actually being there. Video
chat with a buddy, share a photo slideshow
with Mum, or run through a presentation with
a colleague. Use iSight with Photo Booth for
fun photo effects. And there’s no need to waste
valuable primping time installing software or
configuring the camera. Like everything Mac,
iSight just works.

61
Free download | flare.com.pk
Samsung-SGH-L310
This clamshell phone comes with
features like 65k colour display
with resolution of 176 x 220 pix-
els, Tri band, GPRS, EMS, SMS
and handsfree speaker. It also
has features like a Secondary
Display, Inbuilt memory of 20MB,
2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth,
USB connector, GPRS and
EDGE. The mobile phone comes
with a Music Player which sup-
ports MP3, AAC and AAC+ audio
formats, Games, Email Client and
an Inbuilt Dictaphone.
Samsung-SGH-L320
This clamshell phone comes with
features like 65k colour display
with resolution of 176 x 220 pix-
els, Tri band, GPRS, EMS, SMS
and handsfree speaker. It also
has features like a Secondary
Display, Inbuilt memory of 20MB,
2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth,
USB connector, GPRS and
EDGE. The mobile phone comes
with a Music Player which sup-
ports MP3, AAC and AAC+ audio
formats, Games, Email Client and
an Inbuilt Dictaphone.
Upcoming Mobiles Tech-Tool
Samsung-SGH-F400
This Dual slider mobile phone
comes with a 256k coloured dis-
play with a resolution of 240 x 320
pixels, 3 megapixel camera with
video recorder. It comes with fea-
tures like bluetooth with A2DP,
USB connector, EDGE, GPRS
and FM Radio. It also has an
inbuilt memory of 24 MB which
can be upgraded using a microSD
card. The music player in the
mobile phone supports MP3, AAC,
eACC+ and WMA audio formats.
Samsung-SGH-G810
It comes with a 256k coloured
display with a resolution of 240 x
320 pixels, 5 megapixel auto
focus camera with flash and
video recorder. The camera
comes with a 3x optical zoom,
Face Detection and a Xenon
Flash. It comes with features like
Wi-fi, bluetooth with A2DP, USB
connector, EDGE, GPRS and FM
Radio. The music player in the
mobile phone supports MP3,
AAC, AAC+, eACC+ and WMA
audio formats. The mobile phone
works on a Li Ion battery and
comes in Titan Grey colour. GPS,
Geo-tagging, 3.5mm Audio out
and TV Out are the unique fea-
tures of this mobile phone.
63
 Tech-Tool Upcoming Mobiles
Nokia-6260 Slide
This slider mobile phone comes
with a Lithium Ion battery which
provides talk time of 480 min-
utes and a standby time of 400
hours and has a 16m TFT
coloured display with a resolu-
tion of 320 x 480 pixels. The
phone has an inbuilt memory of
200 MB and connectivity options
like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth with A2DP,
USB connector, EDGE, GPRS
and WAP. It also has a music
player which supports MP3,
WMA, AAC, eAAC+ audio for-
mats, FM Radio and inbuilt
games. The phone has Flight
mode and has unique features
like Built-in GPS receiver and
Document viewer.
Nokia-5130
XpressMusic
This 88 grams phone has a
Lithium Ion battery which provides
talk time of 360 minutes and
standby time of 288 hours. It has
added features like 256k QVGA
coloured display with a resolution
of 320 x 240 pixels and an inbuilt
memory of 30 MB which is
upgradeable upto 2 GB using a
microSD card. The phone comes
with a 2 MP camera with 4x digital
zoom, video recorder and has
connectivity options like Bluetooth,
USB connector, GPRS and WAP.
The phone also has a music play-
er which supports MP3, AAC,
eAAC, eAAC+, MP3, Midi, WMA,
WAMR and MXMF audio formats,
fm radio and inbuilt games.
64
Free download | flare.com.pk
Nokia-7100 Supernova
This slider mobile phone comes
with a Lithium Ion battery which
provides talk time of 480 minutes
and a standby time of 454 hours
and has a 65k QVGA coloured dis-
play with a resolution of 320 x 240
pixels. The phone has an inbuilt
memory of 4 MB and connectivity
options like Bluetooth, USB connec-
tor, EDGE, GPRS and WAP. It also
has a music player which supports
MP3, Midi, AAC, WAV and AMR
audio formats, FM Radio and inbuilt
games. The phone is JAVA enabled
and comes in Jelly Red, Black and
Fresh Blue colours.
Nokia-2330 Classic
This 90 grams mobile phone works
on a Lithium Ion battery which pro-
vides talk time of 288 minutes and
a standby time of 540 hours. It has
a 65k TFT coloured display with a
resolution of 128 x 160 pixels and
an inbuilt memory of 32 MB. The
phone comes with a VGA camera
with 4x digital zoom and video
recording feature. The phone has
connectivity options like bluetooth,
EDGE and GPRS and has a music
player which supports AAC audio
format. It also comes with inbuilt
games, FM radio and comes with
JAVA MIDP 2.0. The mobile phone
supports polyphonic and MP3-
grade ringtone formats and comes
in Black and Deep Red colours.
Free download | flare.com.pk
LG KF900 Prada
The latest phone from LG, the
KF900, may be able to steal
marketshare from the iPhone. It
has been revealed that the
phone sports a capacitive dis-
play allowing it to achieve multi-
touch input. This comes after
news of the Blackberry Storm
having similar functionality. The
specifications, however, show it
having a smaller 3.0 inch
screen with a 240x400 resolu-
tion showing the phone is possi-
bly catering for those who prefer
a smaller sized fashion acces-
sory. In typical LG fashion, this
smartphone also includes an
elegant design but with the
drawback of low battery life.
Where it improves upon the
iPhone is mainly with the five
megapixel camera and the spa-
cious slide-out full qwerty key-
board.
Sony Ericsson-J132
This bar phone comes with a 65k
CSTN display with a resolution of
128 x 128, inbuilt memory of 4
MB. It also comes with fm radio,
inbuilt games, calendar and
scheduler. The mobile has a
handsfree speaker and alarm
clock. The phone supports poly-
phonic ringtone formats and
comes in Night Black and Heaven
Blue colours.
Upcoming Mobiles Tech-Tool
Sony Ericsson
K630i
This 97 grams mobile phone
has a Lithium Polymer bat-
tery, which allows you a talk
time of 540 minutes and
stand by time of 300 hours.
It has added features like tri
band, 262k TFT colour dis-
play with a resolution of 176
x 220 pixels. It comes with a
music player, 2MB inbuilt
memory, inbuilt dictaphone,
push email client and USB
connector. It comes with an
inbuilt 2MP camera, 2.5x
digital zoom with video
recorder. The mobile phone
comes in Quick Black and
Havana Gold colour.
Sony Ericsson
T270i
With Lithium-Ion battery type,
it allows you talk time of 420
minutes and standby time of
300 hours. It has features like
65k TFT colour display with
resolution of 128 x 160 pixels,
Quad Band, GPRS, bluetooth
and USB connector. The
mobile has added features like
FM Radio, Games, Handsfree
Speaker and is JAVA enabled.
The mobile phone comes in
Copper on Silver and Silver on
Black colour.
65
 Tech-Tool Low Range Mobiles Free download | flare.com.pk

Rs Rs
4,900 3,999

Samsung B220 Guru Trend T303 Smarty Plus

Dimension 105 x 44.5 x 14 mm
GSM
Weight 78.5 g
Battery Talk Time Up to 7.4 hrs,
1.3 Mega Pixels Camera
Standby up to 250 h
FM Radio
Memory 4 MB Built-in (200 SMS + 500
1.8 inch wide TFT color screen
Phonebook Entries)
Wrong Call Restriction
Connectivity GPRS class 10, USB
Secret Message Inbox
Display Size 128 x 160 pixels, 1,77 inches
Polyphonic Ring Tones
Display Colour 65K CSTN
Multiple Languages

Time Synchronization

Slim & Smart

Rs Rs
4,600 4,300

Motorola W220 Nokia 1650

Dimension 95 x 46 x 16.7 mm, 74 cc Dimension 104.2 x 43.8 x 17.8 mm, 69cc
Weight 93 g Weight 80 g
Battery Talk time Up to 8 h, Battery Talk time Up to 8 h,
Stand-by Up to 290 h Stand-by Up to 420 h
Memory 500 KB user memory (600 Memory 8 MB user memory (No
Phonebook entries, 250 short Memory Card)
messages) Connectivity Headset connector
Connectivity GPRS (32 - 40 kbp) (stanard 2.5 mm)
Display Size 128 x 128 pixels, 28 x 28 mm Display Size 128 x 160 pixels, 35 x 28 mm
Display Colour CSTN, 65K colors Display Colour CSTN, 65K colors

Rs Rs
4,600 4,450

Sony Ericsson T250i LG-C2500

Dimension 100 x 45 x 13 mm
Weight 82 g Dimension 101 x 46 x 18 mm
Battery Talk time Up to 7 h, Connectivity USB, GPRS Class 10
Stand-by Up to 300 h (48 kbps)
Memory 2 MB internal memory (20 Weight 80 g
received, dialed and missed calls) Battery Talk time up to 3 h,
Connectivity Infrared, GPRS Class 10 (48 kbps), Stand-by Up to 250 h
HSCSD Memory 60 MB shared memory
Display Size 128 x 160 pixels, 1.7 inches Display Size 128 x 128 pixels, 1.5 inches
Display Colour TFT, 65K colors Display Colour CSTN, 65K colors

66

Above prices are subject to change as per market

Free download | flare.com.pk Current Mobiles Tech-Tool

Rs. 32,500 Rs. 24,000

Samsung F480 Nokia 6500 Slide

Dimension Dimension
98.4 x 55 x 11.6 mm 96.5 x 46.5 x 16.4 mm
Weight Weight
100.6 g 125 g
Battery Battery
Talk time Up to 3 h, Stand-by Up to Talk time Up to 6 h, Stand-by Up
250 h to 310 h
Memory Memory
232 MB Built-in + microSD Memory 20 MB user free internal memory
Card (supports up to 8GB) + Extendable (microSD
Connectivity TransFlash)
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, Connectivity
GPRS Class 12 (32 - 48 kbps), Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB,
EDGE, 3G (HSDPA 7.2 Mbps) GPRS
Display Size Display Size
240 x 320 pixels, 2.8 inches 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches
Display Colour Display Colour
TFT touchscreen, 256K colors TFT, 16M colors

Rs. 14,500 Rs. 21,500

Sony Ericsson Samsung S7330

G502 Soul
Dimension
Dimension
103 x 46 x 13.5 mm
104.8 x 49.4 x 13.9 mm
Weight
Weight
83.5 g
110 g Battery Talk time Up to
Battery
7 h, Stand-by Up to 350 h
Talk time Up to 10 h, Stand-by
Memory
Up to 340 h
35 MB shared + microSD Card
Memory
Connectivity
32 MB Built-in + Memory Stick
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP,
Micro (M2)
USB, GPRS Class 10 (48
Connectivity
kbps), EDGE Class 10 (236.8
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP,
kbps), 3G (HSDPA 3.6 Mbps)
USB, GPRS Class 10 (48
Display Size
kbps), EDGE Class 10 (236.8
240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches
kbps), 3G (HSDPA 3.6 Mbps)
(Advance Magical Touch
Display Size
Navigation panel)
240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches
Display Colour
Display Colour
TFT, 16M colors
TFT, 256K colors

67
Above prices are subject to change as per market
 Tech-Tool Current Mobiles Free download | flare.com.pk

Rs. 18,000 Rs. 22,300

BlackBerry 8700g Motorola RAZR2 V8

Dimension Dimension
110 x 69.5 x 19.5 mm 103 x 53 x 11.9 mm
Weight Weight
134 g 117 g
Battery Battery
Talk time Up to 4 h, Stand-by Talk time Up to 7 h 50 min, Stand-
Up to 450 h by Up to 330 h
OS Memory
BlackBerry OS 420 MB OR 2 GB internal user
Memory memory
64 MB flash memory + 16 MB Connectivity
SRAM Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB,
Processor GPRS
Intel PXA901 312 MHz Display Size
processor 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches (2nd
Connectivity external 2 inches display
Bluetooth, USB, GPRS, EDGE Display Colour
Display Size TFT, 256K colors (2nd external
320 x 240 pixels 256K colors)

Rs. 25,000 Rs. 36,000

BlackBerry Pearl 8120 Nokia 8600 LUNA

Dimension Dimension
107 x 50 x 14 mm 107 x 45 x 15.9 mm, 70 cc
Weight Weight
91 g 143 g
Battery Battery
Talk time Up to 4 h, Stand-by Up to Talk time Up to 3 h 40 min, Stand-
360 h by Up to 240 h
OS Memory
BlackBerry OS 128 MB internal user memory (No
Memory Memory Card Slot)
64 MB flash memory + Extendable Connectivity
microSD (TransFlash) Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB,
Connectivity GPRS Class 10 (48 kbps),
Bluetooth v2.0, USB, GPRS, HSCSD, EDGE Class 10 (236.8
HSCSD, EDGE, WLAN (Wi-Fi kbps)
802.11b/g) Display Size
Display Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches
240 x 260 pixels Display Colour
FT, 16M colors

68

Above prices are subject to change as per market

Free download | flare.com.pk Current Mobiles Tech-Tool

Rs. 14,800 Rs. 36,300

Samsung M3510 Nokia N93i

Beat b
Dimension
Dimension 108 x 58 x 25 mm, 115 cc
109 x 46 x 9.9 mm Weight
Weight 163 g
68 g Battery
Battery Talk time: up to 3.5hrs, Stand-by
lk time Up to 5 h, Stand-by time: up to 11 days
Up to 250 h Memory
Memory 50 MB internal dynamic memory +
60 MB Built-in + microSD Expandable: (1 GB miniSD card
Memory Card (1GB included) included)
Connectivity Connectivity
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, Bluetooth 2.0, Infrared, USB,
GPRS GPRS
Display Size Display Size
240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches 240 x 320 pixels, 36 x 48 mm
Display Colour Display Colour
TFT, 16M colors TFT, 16M colors

Rs. 23,000 Rs. 21,000

Sony Ericsson T700 Motorola RIZR Z8

Dimension
Dimension
109 x 50 x 15 mm, 77 cc
104 x 48 x 10 mm
Weight
Weight
112 g
78 g
Battery
Battery
Talk time Up to 5 h, Stand-by Up
Talk time Up to 9 h 30 min,
to 380 h
Stand-by Up to 370 h
OS
Memory
Symbian OS v9.2, UIQ 3.1
25 MB shared + Memory Stick
Memory
Micro M2 (512 MB card included)
77 MB internal memory +
Connectivity
Extendable microSD (TransFlash)
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB,
Processor
GPRS Class 10 (48 kbps),
TI 2420 multimedia, 300 Mhz
Display Size
Connectivity
240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB,
Display Colour
GPRS
TFT, 256K colors Display Size
240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches
Display Colour
TFT, 16M colors

69
Above prices are subject to change as per market
Free download | flare.com.pk Current Mobiles Tech-Tool

Rs. 55,000 Rs. 34,000

Samsung i900 Omnia Nokia N79

Dimension Dimension
112 x 56.9 x 12.5 mm 110 x 49 x 15 mm, 74 cc
Weight Weight
122 g 97 g
Battery Battery
Talk time Up to 5 h 50 min, Stand- Talk time Up to 5 h 30 min,
by Up to 500 h Stand-by Up to 372 h
Memory Memory
8 GB/16 GB Built-in + microSD (up 83 MB Built-in + microSD Card (up
to 8GB), 128 MB RAM, 256 MB to 8GB, hotswap)
ROM Connectivity
Processor Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB,
624MHz Marvell PXA312 GPRS
Connectivity Display Size
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches
GPRS (Accelerometer sensor for auto-
Display Size rotate + Touch-sensitive Navi
240 x 400 pixels, 3.2 inches wheel)
Display Colour Display Colour
TFT touchscreen, 256K colors (65K TFT, 16M colors
effective)

Rs. 13,500 Rs. 29,000

Nokia 7310 Supernova Samsung U900 Soul

Dimension Dimension
106.5 x 45.4 x 12 mm, 58 cc 105 x 49.5 x 12.9 mm
Weight Weight
83 g 112 g
Battery Battery
Talk time Up to 4 h, Stand-by Talk time Up to 4 h, Stand-by Up
Up to 300 h OS Series 40 to 280 h
Memory Memory
32 MB internal + microSD card (sup- 128 MB shared memory +
ports up to 4GB) microSD Memory Card
Connectivity (TransFlash)
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, GPRS Connectivity
Class 32 (88 kbps), EDGE (296 kbits), Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB,
Display Size GPRS Class 10 (48 kbps), EDGE
240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches Class 10 (236.8 kbps), 3G
Display Colour (HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps)
TFT, 16M colors Display Size
240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches
(Navigation panel)
Display Colour
TFT, 16M colors

71
Above prices are subject to change as per market
 Tech-Tool Free download | flare.com.pk

Nokia N85
N85 is the latest Nseries signing and a bulletproof spec sheet sets it right in the thick
of all-in-one action. Full-house connectivity and multimedia prowess topped with a mas-
sive OLED screen to die for, Nokia N85 gives the lineup a great edge and comes out as
the definitive brand-loyal upgrade. No, it will never rule the Nseries but sure what it takes
to make them tick. With the echo of the not so glorious N96 entry still lingering, we are
about to see what Nokia N85 can do for the Nseries morale.

Dimension 103 x 50 x 16 mm, 76 cc

Weight 128 g
Battery Talk time Up to 6 h 50 min, Stand-by Up to 363 h
OS Symbian OS 9.3, S60 rel. 3.2
Memory 85 MB internal + microSD Card (up to 8GB)
Processor ARM 11 369 MHz
Connectivity Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, GPRS Class 32(107 / 64.2 kbps),
HSCSD (43.2 kbps), EDGE Class 32 (296 kbps; DTM Class 11 177
kbps), 3G(HSDPA 3.6 Mbps), WLAN (Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g,UPnP technology)
Display Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.6 inches (Accelerometer sen sor for auto-rotate +
Touch-sensitive Navi wheel)
Display Colour OLED, 16M colors
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS reader
Colors Copper
Entertainment Stereo FM radio with RDS, Stereo speakers, FM transmitter,
MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player, TV out, 3.5 mm audio output jack,
Games
Camera 5 MP, 2592x1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(VGA 30fps),
flash; secondary VGA videocall camera

Sony Ericsson C902

Full steam into the megapixel chase, Sony Ericsson C902 is trying to show off its
best before the 8 megapixel monsters start stealing the show. The Cyber-shot pedigree,
touch-controlled camera and metal outfit are true predator stuff and now that we have a
retail unit in our hands it's time to revisit our pre-release preview of the device and see
if there are any chinks in its armor that may turn predator to prey.

Dimension 108 x 49 x 10.5 mm

Weight 107 g
Battery Talk time Up to 9 h, Stand-by Up to 400 h
Memory 160 MB internal memory + Memory Stick Micro (M2)
Connectivity Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, GPRS Class 10 (48 kbps),
EDGE Class 10 (236.8 kbps), 3G (HSDPA 3.6 Mbps)
Display Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches
Display Colour TFT, 256K colors
Browser WAP 2.0/HTML (NetFront), RSS reader
Colors Swift Black, Luscious Red
Entertainment 8 illuminated camera touch keys, FM radio with RDS,
MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, TrackID music recognition, Picture
editor/blogging,
Camera 5 MP, 2592?1944 pixels, autofocus, image stabiliser, video
(QVGA@30fps), flash; secondary videocall camera

72
Free download | flare.com.pk Tech-Tool

Samsung M3510 Beat b

Samsung has launched its newest music phone, Samsung Beat (model:
M3510) as the starters of the company’s music phone line “The BEAT Edition.”
M3510 is equipped with digital natural sound engine, also known as DNSe,
which is inherited from Samsung’s own audio technology, provides more natural
sound effects, perfectly overcoming the limitations of sound from earphones and
small speakers in portable devices. It reproduces a genuine 3D sound and deep
bass resonance.
Samsung Beat offers a variety of music dedicated features. ‘Auto EQ’ function
automatically turns the equalizer into the best setting according to the genre and
type of the music users listen to. Also, by using Shazam’s ‘Find Music’ service,
users can find any song they want to listen to even at an unexpected moment. By
recording and sending a tune to Shazam server, users can easily track down and
even purchase the song through participating operators’ music stores.
Samsung Beat comes with ‘Motion Play’ feature, which enables users to con-
trol their music with just few simple motions. For instance, users can play or pause
the music simply by tapping their phone. By flipping the phone, the music is muted
and automatically set at the etiquette mode. Moreover, by simple shaking the
phone, users can play the next song or previous song.
Besides the Motion Play feature, Samsung BEAT also features physical music
control keys on the outside. Users can immediately play, stop, pause, fast forward
or rewind music using these control keys even when working on other tasks such
as sending text message and playing mobile game.

Trend T-786i Dual Sim GSM

Trend mobiles were the first in introducing the dual SIM mech-
anism that allowed a person to hold two different SIMs in one
mobile phone. It has now come up with the simplest and yet the
most loaded of the mobile phones. It is called the, Trend Perfect
Dual Sim, T-786i is available in Bar shape with keypad and touch
screen facility.
The features of T786i are startling, Its basic edge is that a user
can retain different network operators, SIMs in one cell phone and
can receive calls in both. It is a complete multimedia cell phone
with 2 mega pixel camera, which has an audio and
video recorders and players as well. The USB
data cable allows the user a unique facility of
‘Plug N Play’.
Attach the cable with your computer and
view what you have recorded. There is no
need of any software or driver installation
unlike other cell phones. Trend T-786i
having Bluetooth connectivity, GPRS
and MMS. Trend mobiles offers and
unmatched Deluxe Package along with
the set which includes a free-of-cost
Bluetooth Device, 256 MB memory card, hands free, USB
port, Desktop charger, 2 extra batteries and In-Car charger
and a Trendy pouch to carry your cell phone in style.
The Trend T-786i is a fashion conscious handset, which has a
good and attractive size of LCD and gives solid and quality feel
when in use. Mobile phone holds another edge to other cell
phones in the market. It has the style, it has the attractive look
and it has all that you require in cell phone to begin with.

73
 Tech-Tool High Range Mobiles
Rs
58,400
Apple-iPhone 3G (16GB)
This 133 grams phone has a Lithium Ion
battery, which provides talk time of 600
minutes and standby time of 300 hours. It
has added features like Quad band, 16m
coloured touchscreen display with resolu-
tion of 320 x 480 pixels and a music play-
er supporting MP3, AAC, Audible, Apple
Lossless, AIFF and WAV music formats. It
also comes with an inbuilt memory of
16GB, 3G compatibility, 2 megapixel cam-
era, Wi-fi, Bluetooth, USB connector and
EDGE. Multi-Touch Display, OS X
Operating System and GPS are the
unique features of this mobile phone and
comes in Black and White colour.
Rs
70,500
Nokia 8800 Arte
This 150 grams phone has a Lithium-
Ion battery type, which allows you talk
time of 180 minutes and stand by time
of 300 hours. It comes with features like
16m colour OLED display with resolu-
tion of 240 x 320 pixels, mp3 capability.
It also has added features like Quad-
band, 3.15MP camera with video
recording, Autofocus feature, 1GB
inbuilt memory, EDGE, Bluetooth and
USB connector. This mobile phone
comes in Silver colour and it also has
an Accelerometer.
Rs
30,700
LG KU990 Viewty
This 112 grams phone has a lithium-ion bat-
tery type, which allows you talk time of 355
minutes and standby time of 454 hours. It
has added features like triband, 262k colour
TFT Touchscreen display with resolution of
240 x 400 pixels, 100MB inbuilt memory,
microSD card slot with an Extendable
Memory support of 2GB, Bluetooth, infrared,
USB connector, EDGE, GPRS and music
player. It has a 5MP camera with 16x digital
zoom, flash, video recording and features
like Auto Focus, Manual Focus, Face
Tracking and Secondary VGA Camera. This
mobile phone is HSDPA and 3G compatible
and comes in Black colour.
74
Above prices are subject to change as per market
Free download | flare.com.pk
Rs
57,500
Samsung i8510 INNOV8
This 140 grams slider phone has a
Lithium Ion battery, which allows you
talk time of 510 minutes and standby
time of 310 hours. It has a 16m TFT
colour display with resolution of 240 x
320 pixels. It comes with an inbuilt
memory of 16 GB which can be
upgraded upto 16 GB using a microSD
card, 8 MP camera with flash, video
recording feature and other added fea-
tures like secondary videocall camera,
image stabilizer, geo-tagging, auto-
panorama shot, face, smile and blink
detection. TOptical Mouse, Inbuilt GPS,
Business card scanner,
DivX/H.263/H.264/WMV/MP4 player,
3.5 mm audio jack, TV out are added
features of the phone.
Rs
54,500
Apple-iPhone 3G
(8GB)
This 133 grams phone has a Lithium
Ion battery, which provides talk time
of 600 minutes and standby time of
300 hours. It has added features like
Quad band, 16m coloured touch-
screen display with resolution of 320
x 480 pixels and a music player sup-
porting MP3, AAC, Audible, Apple
Lossless, AIFF and WAV music for-
mats. It also comes with an inbuilt
memory of 8GB, 3G compatibility, 2
megapixel camera, Wi-fi, Bluetooth,
USB connector and EDGE. Multi-
Touch Display, OS X Operating
System and GPS are the unique
features of this mobile phone and
comes in Black colour.
Rs
73,000
HTC Touch Pro
The Touch Pro is quite similar to the
Touch Diamond save for a few things.
It sports a Qualcomm MSM7201A
processor running at 528MHz. It has
512MB ROM (the Diamond has 4GB),
288MB RAM (the Diamond has
192MB), and has a microSD/HC
expansion slot for added memory
(which the Diamond doesn't have).
The screen is 2.8" with VGA 480x640
resolution. It's a quadband GSM
(850/900/1800/1900) phone with dual-
band UMTS (1900/2100) with HSDPA.
It also has assisted GPS, WiFi b & g,
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, USB 2.0, and
FM radio. TPowering all of this is a
1350mAh battery, compared to the
Touch Diamond with a smaller
900mAh battery.
Free download | flare.com.pk
DELL XPS 1530 (2.0 Ghz)
Rs
98,396
The XPS 1530 is a truly portable notebook. How did we get so thin?
Our optional LED display uses 32 tiny, white LEDs for a super bright,
super skinny screen. Projected weight starting at just under 4
pounds (1.8 kg) and featuring next-gen technologies like optional
embedded mobile broadband, slot load optical drive, HDMI connec-
tion, Biometric Fingerprint Security, the XPS 1530 is the last word in
leading edge high tech.
ACER - Aspire 6920G-834G32Bn
Rs
147,460
Acer's latest creation has an individual and incredibly unique design.
The new Aspire 6920 is breaking away from the classic mobile design
by expressing all the performance, power and control with a whole
new reference, the Gemstone Blue design. Open up a whole new
world of possibilities with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processor tech-
nology in combination with the NVIDIA GeForce 9500M GS: Mobile
power has never been so desirable.
Sony Vaio VGN-SR190NAB
Rs
120,859
The powerful, portable and durable VAIO® SR notebook features a
magnesium alloy casing, new Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technolo-
gy, long battery life and a 13.3”6 LED backlit widescreen display with
XBRITE-ECO™ LCD technology. Customize your SR notebook with
completely different on-screen “personalities” for home, work and play
using the ingenious new “Switch” mode.
Latest Laptops Tech-Tool
HP Pavillion DV2855
Rs
97,729
The DV2855 features the powerful Intel Core Duo and 64-bit Core 2
Duo processors. With two execution cores on a single chip, it can run
multiple multimedia applications in parallel without slowing the sys-
tem. You can configure the DV2855 with two cores in a single proces-
sor for enhanced games, digital music, digital photography, and video
editing; you'll get significantly improved performance when running
multiple applications-for instance, you can watch a high-definition
movie and work on demanding graphics projects at the same time,
without slowing the system.
IBM ThinkPad T400
Rs
163,530
The new 14-inch T400 ThinkPad is the latest Lenovo notebook based
off of the Intel Montivena platform. This computer offers all new fea-
tures such as hybrid graphics, LED backlit displays, and power saving
refinements that let the notebook get extraordinary battery life. With
all these changes taking place, Lenovo has also managed to keep the
notebook looking as boring as ever, just how ThinkPad owners like it.
MACBOOK 2.4GHz MB404 Black
Rs
169,104
Apple's MacBook is the perfect confluence of affordability, innovation,
and powerful computing. This latest iteration of the MacBook line
(model MB404LL/A) gets a boost of speed from Intel's latest 45-
nanometer Penryn series processors, which also helps to reduce
power requirements and save on battery life. You'll enjoy quick and
nimble multitasking thanks to the 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo processor, and
this MacBook also features an extra-large 250 GB hard drive and 2
GB of installed RAM (which can be upgraded to 4 GB).
75
Free download | flare.com.pk
Thirty-two per cent connect with friends through social network sites from their work
computer and 20 per cent update their social network profiles with photos and videos while at
work
t probably would not shock most bosses, but
I three out of the four of their employees are
using their work computers for email,
shopping, surfing and other personal
business, according to a recent survey.
Seventy-four per cent of office workers use
their work computer for personal tasks, the
survey of nearly 530 information technology (IT)
managers and end users at companies in North
America, Britain and Europe found.
Fifteen per cent do not use their work
computers for personal purposes while 11 per
cent of the respondents preferred not to answer
the question. The survey was conducted by
NewDiligence, an independent market research
firm, for Belmont, California-based FaceTime
Communications, a provider of Internet security
solutions.
The most frequent personal use of a work PC
was to send email to friends and family,
followed by looking at Web sites (84 per cent),
banking and personal finance (68 per cent) and
ew research suggests that a little bit
N of Googling goes a long way towards
keeping your mind fit. This small
study does not confirm that using an
Internet search engine like Google is healthy for
the brain. But some middle-aged and older
subjects who spent time searching for
information on the Internet did show signs of
more brain activity than those who simply
engaged in reading.
"Just a simple, everyday computer task seems
to be activating neutral circuits," said study
author Dr Gary W. Small, director of the
University of California, Los Angeles, Centre on
Aging. "It's possible that this is something
that strengthens our brains as we do it.”
Small and his colleagues launched the
study to see how brain activity differs in
people who are accustomed to use
computers and those who are new to them.
In the larger picture, Small said, he wants
to understand how the brains of younger
people might be wired differently from
those of older people because of long-term
exposure to computers. The researchers
decided to look at middle-aged and older with Internet searches. Much of the activity
people, because more of them are not
familiar with computers.
In the study, the researchers recruited
24 people aged 55 to 76. Half had extensive
experience with computer searches, while
the other half did not. The researchers put the
subjects in an MRI machine and tried to replicate screen through goggles and use a keypad to
the experience of Googling. While the subjects
did not have keyboards because the space inside
shopping on the Web (57 per cent), the survey
found. Fifty-seven per cent use their work
computer to listen to music or look at pictures
and video while 44 per cent use it for instant
It found that 90 per cent of
employees have own a PC and
85 per cent use it for work
reasons. These include email
(85 per cent), loading
documents brought home on a
disc or flash drive (79%), or
downloading documents from
the corporate network (73%)
messaging (IM) chat with friends and family.
Thirty-two per cent connect with friends
through social network sites from their work
computer and 20 per cent update their social
Surf to stimulate
your senses
Brain activity was much higher in the conversations
subjects who had previous experience human contact skills."
"occurred in the frontal lobe, which is Centre of Excellence for Aging and Brain
involved in complex reasoning and
decision-making"
a scanner is small, they could see a computer
move a cursor.
Researchers told the subjects to search for
Flare Report InsighT
network profiles with photos and videos while
at work. Eight per cent use their work computer
to update their personal blog or comment on
other blogs. But if employees are using their
work computers for personal activities they are
also using their home computers for work,
according to the study.
It found that 90 per cent of employees have
own a PC and 85 per cent use it for work
reasons. These include email (85 per cent),
loading documents brought home on a disc or
flash drive (79 per cent), or downloading
documents from the corporate network (73 per
cent).
The survey also found that visits to social
network sites while at work were not strictly
personal. Fifty-one per cent of end users access
social network or media sites such as Facebook,
MySpace, LinkedIn or YouTube at least once a
day and 79 per cent do so for business reasons -
professional networking, research or learning
about colleagues.

information about topics such as the health
benefits of chocolate, the locations of nature
walks and car-shopping tips. The scanner
measured their brain activity as they searched.
The Internet search-experienced subjects also
showed more brain activity when they searched
on the Internet than when they simply read text.
But the subjects who were not acquainted with
Internet searching picked up the skills and
boosted their brain activity after searching an
hour a day for five days.
It is possible that Internet searching could be
good for the brain, he said. "There's a lot of
interest in brain fitness and exercising our brains
to protect them from future decline. One
possibility is that a simple task like
searching on the Internet activates our
brains and may be protecting them in some
way." Still, "we want to not overdo it with
the computer," he said. "It's great that we're
working out the frontal lobe of the brain,
but it's good to take a break and have
with people, work on the
part of the brain involved with face-to-face
Paul Sanberg, director of the University
of South Florida College of Medicine's
Repair, said it's indeed possible that
Internet searches could enhance the brain.
"There's evidence that the more brain is
active, the more brain makes connections," he
said. "That keeps it functioning better and
provides neuroprotection.

77
 No Line Rent
Competitive Rates
Crystal Clear Voice
Free VAS
Free download | flare.com.pk
According to a research Hi-tech thieves who loose alliances, contact those
specialise in card fraud have a credit line in
excess of $5bn research suggests. All
criminals are happy to work together to steal who
money from credit cards and bank accounts. financial institutions.
This is because card numbers stolen in one
country can only be "cashed out" in their
home nation - necessitating contact across
borders
ecurity firm Symantec calculated the
S
figure to quantify the scale of fraud it
found during a year-long look at the net's But all criminals were happy to work together to
underground economy.
• Credit card numbers were the most
popular item on sale and made up 31 per cent of in one country can only be "cashed out" in their
all the goods on offer.
• Coming in second were bank details
which made up 20 per cent of the items being
offered on criminal chat channels.
• The $5.3 billion figure was reached by
multiplying the average amount of fraud
perpetrated on a stolen card, $350, by the many
millions Symantec observed being offered for
sale.
Similarly, the report said, if hi-tech thieves
plundered all the bank accounts offered for sale
they could net up to $1.7bn.
Symantec said it was likely that many of the
cards offered for sale were invalid or cancelled
and bank accounts closed but it added: "These
figures are indicative of the value of the
underground economy and the potential worth
of the market."
Credit card numbers have proved so popular
among hi-tech thieves because they are easy to
obtain and use for fraudulent purposes. Many of
the methods favoured by cyber criminals, such
as phishing schemes, database attacks and
magnetic strip skimmers, are designed to steal
credit card information. The existence of a ready
market for any stolen data and the growing use
of credit cards also helped maintain their
popularity, it said.
"High frequency use and the range of
available methods for capturing credit card data
would generate more opportunities for theft and in many cases."

compromise and, thus, lead
to an increased supply on
underground economy
servers," said the report.
The price card thieves can
expect for the numbers they
offer for sale also varied by
the country of origin. US card
numbers were the cheapest
because they were so
ubiquitous – 74 per cent of all
cards offered for sale were
from the US. By contrast
numbers from cards issued in
Europe and the Middle East
commanded a premium
because they were relatively
rare.
The year-long look at the
underground economy
confirmed to Symantec how
serious and organised cyber
thieves have become. Via the
covert chat channels and
invitation-only discussion
forums, hi-tech thieves form
who specialise in one
technique or find individuals
can extract cash from
particular credit cards or
Russian and Eastern
European gangs seem to be
among the most well-
organised and have the
ability to mass-produce credit
and debit cards. By contrast
thieves in the US are much more loosely aligned.
steal money from credit cards and bank
accounts. This was because card numbers stolen
home nation - necessitating contact across
borders.
Many of the methods
favoured by cyber
criminals, such as
phishing schemes,
database attacks and
magnetic strip skimmers,
are designed to steal
credit card information.
The existence of a ready
market for any stolen data
and the growing use of
credit cards also helped
maintain their popularity
"Symantec research indicates that there is a
certain amount of collaboration and organisation
occurring on these forums, especially at the
administrative level. Moreover, considerable
evidence exists that organised crime is involved
Flare Report InsighT
Dubai
bombarded
with get-rich-
quick SMS
The messages, sent from
international numbers,
announce lottery wins and
return calls made to these
numbers could result in huge
phone bills
fter the infamous Nigerian email lottery
A scams, some residents of the UAE say
they have received similar 'get-rich-
quick' messages on their cell phones. The
messages, sent from international numbers,
announce lottery wins and return calls made to
these numbers could result in huge phone bills, say
the residents.
"I recently got an SMS from an unfamiliar
international number which said I had won a
Mercedes Benz in a German lottery. The message
was sent from German Motors International and
seemed quite genuine," says Mohammed Ali, a
Dubai resident.
"All I was required to do was call back on the
contact number that was listed in the SMS. But
when I called, there was a man speaking a different
language which I could not understand and, after a
while, we both gave up trying to make each other
understand," he added.
Ali says he was shocked to see the bill for the
three minute call, "I was charged Dh18, more than
the usual charges for the call duration."
Fahdi Aziz, a Dubai-based university student,
describes a similar incident. "Last month, I was sent
a 'lottery win' message from an unknown
international sender, which sounded quite
lucrative. I do not normally believe in such notices
because I am aware of the scam mails. But this was
the first time I received an SMS announcing a win,"
said Aziz.
"I called back the number in a European country
and reached a dead end with a female at the other
end since I could not understand the language," he
said, adding that the call cost him Dh8 per minute.
An Etisalat spokesperson and technical expert
said, "These messages have nothing to do with
Etisalat and the phone numbers are probably
randomly selected. I would advise people not to
respond to such messages since they may be
misleading. We already have examples of people
being fleeced by such baseless mail and SMS
messages."

79
 InsighT Flare Report
owadays, products and solutions
N related to loan processing systems
have become a common need for
many companies and financial
institutions. Systems Limited, Pakistan’s first
and largest software house, has successfully
developed a comprehensive loan processing
system that effectively makes the overall loan
processing system smooth and user friendly. The
loan processing system (LPS) has been
developed using world class technology by
highly experienced professionals, having
extensive expertise and proven track record in
mortgage or lending industry. The LPS is
customizable to a large extent and is based on a
configurable rules based workflow engine,
which in practical terms, means that the system
is completely equipped with the properties that a
lender can expect to have without having to
worry about regulations and compliances. The
important aspects of Systems Limited’s Loan
Processing System are:
• Loan origination
Loan Origination is the entry point for all
types of loans (syndicate, standalone). Loan
application is entered into the system with other
supplemental information. Loan is passed to
different departments for approvals. Risk
assessment is done for this credit and only after
its approval the loan passes on for underwriting.
After this process, loan origination is finalized
and disbursement is made.
• Automated loan servicing
This module provides the entry point for loan
servicing; where payment schedule are revised,
payments are collected and posted into the
system for payment processing. Payment
processing sub-module within this module
provides functionality for applying penalties on
non-payment loans, make adjustments in
payments collected like pre-payment,
insufficient payment etc.
• Litigation Processing
The Litigation Processing module manages
losses in case of non-payment of loans. It first
tries to minimize the loss after which litigations
are carried out for the recovery of losses. This
module also provides the functionality to file
and collect claims against insurance companies
and guarantors.
eware of surprise calls that drive you in
B jubilation by informing about winning of
million(s) of rupees as they are made by
criminal-minded people to defraud
simple people.
The motive behind asking for bank details is
yet to be ascertained. However, mobile service
providers say it is only to satisfy the callers that
the money would be transferred in their
accounts.
On the other hand, police suspect that there
is a possibility that robbers and kidnappers are
behind some of the calls to judge the people’s
financial status to target them.
80
Processes are maintained by workflows, overall change in a
process does not have any effect on the business rules that are
already defined within a process
• Asset management system
The Asset Management module is used for
payment rescheduling and bill generation with
manual charges like fee and adjustments. This
module also maintains general ledger
accounting.
Some of the significant features of Systems
Limited’s Loan Processing System are:
➘ The LPS is a completely Web-based
solution, hence could be accessed from
anywhere by providing security credentials;
➘ Event Driven workflows help in
automation which means that as various
activities occur during the processing, the next
task or activity is queued;
➘ Task manager creates tasks for
appropriate departments and their users and
tasks are assigned based upon priorities set by
management and/or work rules;
➘ Task Manager and workflow provide
exception based processing (where applicable)
instead of reviewing or auditing every
Cellular fraud on its march
Those who make such calls have different demands, some of
them ask for loading credit in the given mobile number(s) and
some inquire about bank details
Salmat Ali Baig lodged a complaint with the
Aabpara police that two persons informed him
through calls made from different cell phones
that he had won Rs 0.5 million. The callers
asked him to load credit in the accounts of the
mobile numbers. He loaded Rs 24,800 in the
accounts on different occasions.
Similarly, Waseem Khalid, a resident of
Rawalpindi, received a call from a mobile
number. The caller said he was calling from
Nazimabad, Karachi. He then told him that he
had won Rs 10 million from a scheme launched
by the company.
The caller gave him a number and asked
him to dial it for further procedure to get the
prize money. The caller also asked about Mr
Khalid’s bank account number and details on
the pretext that the money would be
transferred in the bank.
Likewise, Raja Asghar, a resident of
Islamabad, received a call from a mobile
Free download | flare.com.pk
transaction. System is configured to present
exception cases to queue (task list);
➘ Automatic QC tasks reduce time and
manual efforts, it enables automatic follow up
tasks, alerts and reminders, which reduce
manual tracking and communication; queues are
configured to display cases that exceed
timeframe or allowable time based upon
configurations and/or workflow rule;
➘ System maintains audit trail of key
activities performed during the processing,
which establishes control in the overall process;
and
➘ System provides functionality to
seamlessly add extensions to the product for
future banking needs.
In the coming times, with its dynamic and
nationally as well as internationally acclaimed
services and products, Systems Limited
promises a lot more to offer to the financial
sector of Pakistan.

number of another company. The caller
introduced himself and said he was calling
from Karachi to inform that he had won Rs 1
million from a scheme launched by the
company. The caller told him to talk to a
supervisor and mentioned his name and in this
regard gave a number claiming that it was the
company’s head office number. Interestingly,
the accused used the name of the company’s
senior official to defraud people.
The mobile service providers, when
contacted on their help lines, said they received
five to six complaints daily and take action
according to the company’s policy if they found
anybody guilty during internal verification.
One of the companies claimed to have
cancelled the balance from the numbers from
where the credit had been sought while the
other two blocked the numbers. However, none
of them transferred the money to the victims
from the numbers of the accused.

Free download | flare.com.pk
Industry asks govt to
rationalise 3G spectrum
It was urged that the government may like to formulate policy
framework to handle this process smoothly and in
consultation with the telecom industry, so as to safeguard
their business interests in Pakistan
epresentatives of the telecom industry
R
discussed with government their
concerns regarding the auction of 3G
Spectrum by Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the
current taxation policy for the telecom sector.
The government has assured the telecom
industry of its full cooperation in launching of
the new technology, says a press statement. They
apprised the public sector participants that
Pakistan’s telecom industry has matured enough
to move to the technology of 3G Spectrum,
which is a part of its natural evolution and
growth process.
It was urged that the government may like to
formulate policy framework to handle this
process smoothly and in consultation with the
telecom industry, so as to safeguard their
business interests in Pakistan. It was further
requested to rationalize the process of auctioning
of the spectrum for this new technology into
Pakistan.
From the public side, participants included
Experience our aesthetic. Intimate celebrations, the
annual gala, Mega conventions, we photograph all of
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Flare Report Telepedia
world due to imposition of activation tax, 21
per cent GST, import duty of Rs 500 and
handset duty of Rs 250. It was requested
that actual retailers and distributors of
mobile sets in the country be also
embedded into this tax regime and the
import duty be subsequently withdrawn
by the government.
Nisar
In response, representative from Federal
Board of Revenue informed the participants that
Masoor Chief
there are some conceptual problems regarding
Customer
the understanding of the taxation system. He
Officer,
said that Pakistan’s telecom industry earlier has
Federal Board
always enjoyed a tax exemption regime which
of Revenue, Mushtaq Ahmad Member Telecom,
includes exemptions on custom duty, sales tax,
Minister of Information and Technology, Arif
federal excise duty, import of plant and
Inam, Director General Commercial Affairs,
machinery etc. He referred to activation tax and
PTA, Aslam Wahab, Director General Licensing,
said that it is like sales tax which is to be paid at
PTA and Arif Agha Director Economic Affairs,
import and supply stages. As far as import duty
PTA.
is concerned the industry was heavily exempted
The Telecom Industry was represented by
up to the time of current year’s budget. Again,
Aamir Ibrahim, VP Mobilink, Maj. Gen. (R)
the rate of import duty, irrespective of the total
Hamid Hassan Butt, GM Coordination Ufone,
value, was kept at flat rate of Rs 500. This was
Moqeem Ul Haque GM Strategy Ufone, Irfan
done by the government in order to attain
Wahab Khan, Executive Vice President Telenor,
national objectives, which were to cut down
Qazi Muhammad Idris, Director Public and
imports.
Govt. Affairs, Telenor, Ahmad Faisal Sr.
The Secretary Investment assured the private
Manager Regulatory Affairs Zong and Syed
sector to take up their genuine issues and
Ahmed Suhail Pirzada Consultant Zong.
concerns with the Ministry of Finance and
The Secretary Investment, Ashraf Hayat
Federal Board of Revenue and if the Industry
responded while saying that the government has
may like to approach them directly, they will be
to strike a balance between securing the interest
backed by the Ministry of Investment. The
of consumers and ensure survival of players.
private sector appreciated efforts of the Ministry
While referring to the taxation policy of the
of Investment for providing a platform to have a
government, it was informed by the private
productive dialogue with the government to
sector that total cost of mobile ownership in
present their concerns and issues directly to the
Pakistan has become one of the highest in the
policy makers.

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 Free download | flare.com.pk Flare Report

The new processor speeds video editing,

Intel launches immersive games and other popular Internet and
computer activities by up to 40 per cent without
fastest desktop increasing power consumption

processor
ntel Pakistan Corporation introduced its
processor holds a
new world record
of 117 for the
like Intel's solid state drives,
the Core i7 processor has
redefined the computer of

I most advanced desktop processor ever, the

Intel(r) CoreTM i7 processor. “The Core i7
processor is the first member of a new
family of Nehalem processor designs and is the
most sophisticated ever built, with new
technologies that boost performance on demand
and maximise data throughput,” said Ashar H.
Zaidi, Country Manager, Intel Corporation
Pakistan.
He said the new processor speeds video
editing, immersive games and other popular
Internet and computer activities by up to 40 per
cent without increasing power consumption.
Broadly heralded by the computing industry
as a technical marvel, the Intel(r) CoreTM i7
SPECint-base-rate2006
benchmark test that
measures the
performance of a
processor, he added.
tomorrow." The new
equipment, he said, more than
doubles the memory
bandwidth of previous Intel
"Extreme" platforms, speeding
Zaidi elaborated this the transfer of computer bits
as the first time ever for Karachi: Ashar H. Zaidi, Country Manager Intel and bites in and out of the
Pakistan Corporation displays the Intel Core i7 at a
any single processor to launching ceremony. Core i7 is the fastest processor processor with Intel(r)
on the planet.
exceed a score of 100 Quickpath Technology.
points. "Intel has delivered the fastest desktop Designed with Intel's Hyper-Threading
processor on Earth to the most demanding users, Technology, the processor also allows multiple
the ones who are using their PCs for video, computing threads to run simultaneously,
gaming and music." effectively enabling it to do two things at once.
"When you couple what is Intel's biggest leap As a result, the Core i7 quad-core processor
in chip design with other incredible innovations delivers 8-threaded performance.

64GB DataTraveler 150 takes

DataTraveler 150 product features and transportable storage to the next

Kingston boosts specifications:

Capacities: 64GB, 32GB

Dimensions: 3.06" x 0.9" x 0.47"
level with big capacity in a small
package,” Nathan Su, Flash
Memory Product Manager,

DataTraveler (77.9mm x 22mm x 12.05mm) APAC Region, Kingston. “As file

Operating Temperature: 32º F to
sizes increase with digital media
content such as music and
140º F (0º C to 60º C)
photos, the need for USB Flash

Storage Temperature: -4º F to 185º

150 to 64GB
sinchu, Taiwan: Kingston Technology transport and
drives with high capacities will
F (-20º C to 85º C) continue to rise. The DT150

Simple: Just plug into a USB port certainly addresses those needs

Convenient: Pocket-sized for easy today.”
transportability Kingston’s DataTraveler 150 is

H Company, Inc., the independent

world leader in memory products,
announced that it is shipping its high- music, videos, Windows Vista (Windows
capacity 64GB DataTraveler 150 (DT150) USB
Flash drive. DT150 offers the largest capacity in
Kingston’s entire line of DataTraveler USB
drives and allows users the room and flexibility
to backup important hard drive contents, and
share complete
collections of

Guaranteed: Five-year warranty

Compatible Operating Systems:
photos and
documents in
ReadyBoost™ not supported),
Windows XP (SP1, SP2), Windows
fully compatible with Windows
Vista, XP and Windows 2000 as
well as Mac OS X 10.3 (and
above) and Linux 2.6 (and above).
The DT150 carries a fully
one convenient 2000 (SP4), Mac OS X v.10.3.x and guaranteed five-year warranty
device. and free tech support.

higher, Linux v.2.6.x and higher
“The new

PEMRA license 10 more channels to stream

For the promotion of education, two more educational institutions have been granted
non-commercial FM Radio Licenses in addition to previously granted 15 FM licenses for
educational purpose. Furthermore, 145 new cable TV licenses for all over the country
have been approved by the Authority
akistan Electronic Media Regular educational institutions (Hazara University, immediate and effective action on public

P Authority (PEMRA) has granted 10

new satellite television channels which
also includes the country’s first
satellite TV channel for health related services.
Besides, another TV channel for kids has been
granted landing rights. This decision was
finalised in the 51st meeting of PEMRA.
Chairman, PEMRA, Mushtaq Malik,
presided over the meeting while other
members including the Chairman FBR,
Chairman PTA and Secretary Information
were present on the occasion.
For promotion of education, two more
Mansehra and Ziauddin University, Karachi)
have been granted non-commercial FM Radio
Licenses in addition to previously granted 15
FM licenses for educational purpose.
Furthermore, 145 new cable TV licenses for all
over the country have been approved by the
Authority.
For provision of better services to public
the Authority stressed the phase-wise
digitalization of broadcast and distribution
services in the country. The Authority also
emphasized the need of further strengthening
of the Council of Complaints for taking
grievances. The meeting concluded on the
positive note to take all possible steps for
further growth of electronic media in the
country.
In July, the bidding to award 46 FM radio
licenses in various cities and districts the
process was transparent. The highest bid
amount of Rs 370.6 million was offered by M/s
Printek (Pvt) Limited and M/s Athena
Entertainment for one license each at Karachi
followed by Rs 333.8 million for one license
each at Lahore by M/s Northern Media Pvt
Limited and M/s Athena.

83
 Mosaic National Free download | flare.com.pk

Beggar... Are you sure? It’s really very cheap!

Rawalpindi: A disabled Afghan beggar (Foreground-R) looks on as a

Pakistani beggar (L) talks on a mobile phone in a market.

Can’t walk without talk!

Rawalpindi: Telecom operator's branding on two-stroke engine rickshaw reflects lack of social
responsibility as it uses an inexpensive platform but at serious cost to the
environment and public health.

Gold Medals for engineers

Multan: A student busy with her cell phone during Meena Bazaar.
Islamabad: At the Gold Medals awards ceremony for engineering students from across the country or-
ganized by Siemens Pakistan, the recipient students photographed with the chief guest Dr Asim Hus-
sain Adviser to the Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources, guest of honour Asad Ashraf
Malik Provincial Ombudsman, Sohail Wajahat Siddiqui Managing Director Siemens Pakistan, Gerhard
Wilcke CFO and other top officials of Siemens.

World Performing Art Festival

Old is gold

Lahore: November 16 - An illuminated view of colourful lights installed over Al-Hamra

Cultural Complex to mark the World Performing Arts Festival 2008 which was held
from 13th to 23rd November supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy, assisted by Peshawar: People take keen interest in a vehicle of model 1920 moving on road.
Government of Punjab and Lahore Arts Council organized by Rafi Peer Theatre Work-
shop.

84
Free download | flare.com.pk Mosaic

Adieu!

Islamabad: Advisor to PM on Interior Rehman Malik and CEO, Abu Dhabi Group, Bashir A. Tahir seeing off Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan
Education Minister of UAE at Chaklala Airbase.

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Defence Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar along with Ambassador of UAE
Jamshoro: Participants capturing the moments through their cameras during
H.E. Ali Mohammed Al Shamsi cutting the cake to mark the 37th National Day of UAE.
Convocation-2007 of University of Sindh.

Looking dangerous! Law is for every one...

Karachi: A girl displays weapons at Ideas 2008 in Expo Center. Peshawar: A traffic policeman carries a vehicle of police on a lifter from no park-
ing on Sher Shah Sori Road.
85
 Mosaic Free download | flare.com.pk

General Manager of IDEAS by Gul Ahmed, Mr. Salman Latif Rawn receiving “Brand
of the Year Award 2008” from the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Yousaf Raza Gillani.

Welcome!
Rahimyar Khan: Adviser to the PM on Interior, A. Rehman Malik and Minister for Islamabad: PTCL SEVP Business Zone, Naveed Syed distributes keys of bikes among
Education, UAE, Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan arrive for a meeting field staff during a ceremony.
at Rahim Yar Khan.

Lahore: Mr Ibrahim Qureshi President PCA Presenting a Souvenir to Muhammad Ali

Mian President LCCI Lahore, on his outstanding support to IT Industry. Other PCA
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Abu Dhabi Group, Bashir Ahmed Tahir viewing the members Mr Arif Naeem, Mr Asif Shahzad, Mr Rizwan Yousaf and Mr Muhammad Ali
painting exhibition. Mussa were also accompanying.

Islamabad: Chairman Pakistan Telecommu-

nication Authority (PTA), Dr. Mohammad
Yaseen giving certificate to the participants
of 3G workshop organized at PTA
headquarters.

86
Free download | flare.com.pk Mosaic

Lahore: Ms Asma Khan, GM IR gives away the keys of the car to the lucky Lahore: Group photo of Warid family with the lucky draw winners.
draw winner.

Lahore: Mr Ahmed Kamal, Acting Head of Marketing, Warid with the lucky Lahore: Cars distributed by Warid waiting for their winners.
car winner.

Another call centre

Lahore: Manager Golden Palm at his stall in a property exhibition arranged by Rufi Islamabad: Staff of Ufone working at recently inaugurated Ufone Contact Centre at
Group in a local hotel. I-9/3 Industrial Area.

Islamabad: Nov24 – General Manager Network Operation Center, Nadia Rehman briefs the Islamabad: Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Babar Awan administering oath
media men regarding Nock, Executive Vice President PTCL, Nassarullah is also seen sitting. to the newly-elected members of Telecom Foundation Employees Union at Telecom
Foundation Complex.
87
Free download | flare.com.pk International Mosaic

World’s most expensive The return of 3D animation

Singapore: Children stand in front of the billboard of a 3D animation movie outside a cinema. 3D films,
which previously caused headaches and nausea, are making a spectacular comeback and are likely to be-
come the future of cinema, thanks to digital technology, Hollywood studio moguls said.

Vienna: Japanese hostess holds the world's most expansive handbag

(designed by Japanese Ginza Tanaka), made out of platinum and set
with 2,182 diamonds totalling in 208 carats, worth two millions dollars at
the famous Austrian exhibition Luxury Saloon.

Conference of jewels

Riding beauty
Manila: A Filipino model pretends to ride a modified motorcycle at the opening of the four-day Manila
Auto Salon sponsored by Chinese and Japanese auto and motorcycle parts makers.

Bangalore: A model presents a diamond collection during a jewellery Rabit fashion

conference. A private jewellery company organised the conference to an-
nounce the launch of its new diamond collection. Yokohama: An owner shows his rabbit in a Thai style dress during a rabbit fashion contest at the
Rabbit Festa. Some 8,000 rabbit lovers visited the annual two-day event.

89
 Mosaic International Free download | flare.com.pk

Its new; its better!

The president of the "Marches Blanches" or White Marches, Christine Bussat, reacts on the
phone after watching on TV the results of a nation wide vote on paedophile crimes in
Switzerland. An initiative by a group of parents aimed at extending indefinitely the statute of
limitations for paedophile crimes was approved by majority of population and cantons despite
opposition of the Swiss government and most political parties saying that the scrapping of the
time limit is disproportional and would be difficult to implement.

Tokyo: Japanese actress Reika Hashimoto displays NEC's new stylish mobile
phone "N-02A", equipped with a 3.2-inch wide VGA display,
5.2 mega-pixel camera and 5.1-ch sound system on its slim body.

Jadeite jewels

London:The Nissan PIVO2 concept car is displayed at the Science Museum in London as part of
the "Japan Car: Designs for the crowded globe" exhibition. The exhibition shows how Japanese
car design reflects the 'soil and the spirit of Japan', shown through concept cars and special home
market models.

Taipei: Wang Chien-ming, starting pitcher of the US Yankees, displays an Acer notebook during Hong Kong: A Christie's model displays jadeite jewels, including jadeite dou-
the computer fair at the World Trade Center in Taiwan. ble hoop and pink ear pendants, with an estimated value of $1-1.5 million.
90
Free download | flare.com.pk Mosaic

Investment concern

Looking for job...

Mumbai: Managing Director of Siemens India, Armin Bruck gestures during a Press conference as Patrick
de Royer, Executive Director of Siemens India looks on. The company said its net profit for the three-
months to September 30, fell 27 per cent at $45 million.

Drama with Robot

Miami: Leonor Ponce, who has been looking for work for nine
months, checks in a computer database for jobs at the
employment help center.

Osaka: A humanoid robot Momoko and actress Minako Inoue take part in a drama for the world's first
robot and human experimental theatre, written and directed by Japanese playwright Oriza Hirata, at
Japan's Osaka University in Osaka.

Showing the dream to become a millionaire

Unmatching elegance
Dubai: Rani Mukerji poses exclusively for the world’s most
expensive property exhibition.

Tokyo: Campaign girls display lottery tickets and a giant mock ticket for the $3.12 million year-end jumbo
lottery.

91
 Telepedia Flare Report
Free fourth month
for Waridans
arid offers 100 per cent wavier on
W line rent of post paid customers
on paying line rent of first three
months in advance. The offer
named “1-2-3 Free” allows you to enjoy fourth
months free of line rent if you pay Warid the
Ufone Ghanta Package
ith Ghanta Package, Ufone
W
customers can make on-net calls of
one hour at Rs 7.25 between 11:00
am to 5:00 pm. Customers be
charged with daily subscription fee of Rs 4.84.
Due to increased tariff and daily subscription
fee, customers may hesitate to use Ufone’s
Ghanta Package – but still, for those who get
engaged in long calls will capitalize it. All users
have to simply dial 444 to activate the package.
Tariff details

On-net SMS Rs 0.61 / SMS
Off-net SMS Rs 1.21 / SMS
Zong covers
Karakoram Highway
ong has expanded its network
Z
KKH.
coverage alongside Karakoram
Highway (KKH) and in leading cities
of Northern Areas situated alongside
The latest expansion includes launching of
services in Daggar
(Bunair District), Chilas, Dassu, Bunji,
Sikandrabad on KKH and Astore. Zafar
Usmani, Chief Operating Officer Zong told on
this occasion, "We will be covering areas in the
Telenor enriches customer
experience with Nokia-Siemens
elenor Pakistan selected Nokia-Siemens
T Networks service assurance software to
improve customer experience for its
over 18 million subscribers. The
customer traffic monitoring and analysis
software provides a detailed, real-time view to
user activity and service usage throughout the
network enabling the service provider to react to
problems immediately. It can also give valuable
insight into users' behaviour.
Telenor Pakistan has the fastest growing and
the largest EDGE/GPRS enabled network in the
country. The Nokia-Siemens Networks service
92
Free download | flare.com.pk
The “1-2-3 Free” offer allows
you to enjoy fourth months free
of line rent if you pay Warid the
line rent of first three month in
advance
line rent of first three month in advance. line rent. To enjoy this offer, you must have a
The offer is valid for all individual and
corporate, new and existing Warid post paid
customers only. Warid has updated its post
paid packages like the 150 line rent package
does not exist any more. It is upgraded to 250
package from the new list of packages. Just visit
nearest Warid business centre, fill in consent
form, pay line rent of first three months and
wait for the fourth month to enjoy your free line
rent.

Daily Subscription Charges are Rs 4.84 / day

All Prices are inclusive of taxes

No late night discount is available on this
package

FnF are available on this package.

Voice bucket is not included in this package.

Zong has several major cities of the
Northern Areas in its network including
Gilgit, Hunza, Skardu, Besham and
Sust and now it will have more adjacent
surrounding areas too
northern belt and in AJK and we are fulfilling said, "Keeping our tradition of unparalleled
every commitment that we had made. The
company has been focusing on aggressively
expanding its network coverage amid growing
demand from people living across the vast and
diverse geography of Pakistan."
achievements, this is once again our new
accomplishment and we shall continue to be
making waves in Pakistan."
Zong is part of China Mobile which is the
world's largest cellular company having 370
Zong has several major cities of the million customers, managing more than 200,000
Northern Areas in its network including Gilgit, cell sites and handling over 6 billion calls every
Hunza, Skardu, Besham and Sust and now it day.

will have more adjacent surrounding areas too.
Director Marketing Zong, Salman Wassay
assurance software will provide diagnostic monitoring and analysis software is to ensure
services like information on service usage by
data subscribers, time and area of service usage,
problem identification and troubleshooting. This
information will then be utilized to determine
areas of improvement to ensure flawless
identification and removal of even the smallest
constrictions," said Peter Dindial, Chief
Technical Officer, Telenor Pakistan.
Nokia Siemens Networks creates OSS/BSS
multi-vendor software solutions for charging,
services to the customers. service management and network management
"We, at Telenor Pakistan, are always focused to improve service providers' business
on providing unblemished services to our performance. The company is one of the leading
customers. Our technical division has worked players in the OSS market with more than 600
day and night towards removing the slightest network management customers and more than
bottlenecks and our intention behind deploying 360 service management installations.

Nokia Siemens Networks' real time traffic
Free download | flare.com.pk
Ghauri assigns the IT assessment
Lahore: While
emphasizing the need of
an urgent study to
estimate the size of the
software industry and its
export competitiveness in
Pakistan, Salim Ghauri,
Chairman Federal Task
Force on Information &
Communication
Technologies (ICT)
assigned the task to a
recognized local IT
University with further
request to PSEB to make
funding available in this
respect.
The leading IT
University would
undertake a revenue and
Alcatel- Telenor honours 'World
Lucent Day for Prevention of Child Abuse'
mobile sets collaboration with IHDF, rejoiced a day
Islamabad: In
popular in Telenor Pakistan arranged
a two day recreation
Pakistan activity for one hundred
street children of Karachi at spot in Karachi.
Pakistan: Alcatel-Lucent
is the first truly global
communications solutions
provider, with the most
complete end-to-end
portfolio of solutions and
services in the industry.
Alcatel-Lucent has
launched handsets in
Pakistan. It is an
innovative mobile phone
design house built with the
mission to provide a wide
collection of stylish and
innovative design product
with the most enjoyable
user experience for
customers all over the
world.
Alcatel mobile phones
are designed with a style
statement. The idea is not
just featuring a few stylish
products but a whole
choice of mobile phones in
line with the world of
style. Alcatel mobile
phones collection offers
something for everybody,
complementing their
tastes, attitudes and
lifestyles.
Alcatel-Lucent is one of
the major infrastructure
vendors in
telecommunication
industry. It supplies a
comprehensive WiMAX
Revesolution including
both fixed and nomadic
terminal devices from
various CPE partners.

employment estimation
study for the IT industry.
Talib Baluch, Managing
Director Pakistan
Software Exports Board,
agreed with the
Chairman ICT proposal
and assured him of
PSEB's full support in
this respect. Meanwhile,
Chairman ICT has also
urged PASHA to share a
30 page guidelines
document, properly
vetted by the PSEB, for
the study proposes.
The Chairman ICT
Task Force was presiding
over the very first
meeting of the working
The street children
refreshments
long picnic at
Hawks Bay, a
were provided at
the beach side.
renowned picnic
Various games
including football has introduced two new
the World Day for
Prevention of Child Abuse.
The two day activity was
arranged under Telenor
Pakistan's flagship
initiative Meri Helpline
functioning since August
2008. The two day activity
started on November 19.
IBM issues Ufone, HBL to offer free
corporate phone
responsibili introduced
Karachi: Ufone has
free handsets for
the first time in the Pakistan
ty report in collaboration with HBL,
Karachi: IBM issued its
2007-2008 Corporate
Responsibility Report,
detailing the company's
performance results and
strategies in the areas of
governance, supply chain,
environmental
performance, employment
policies and practices, client
solutions and community
engagements.
The report also outlines
how to identify the most
pressing social and
environmental threats in
communities, worldwide
including improving energy
consumption while also
reducing emissions. The
report is available online at
http://www.ibm.com/ibm
/responsibility.

group on software
development and
exports. Those who
attended the meeting
included Talib Baluch,
Managing Director
Pakistan Software
Exports Board, Sajjad
Kirmani, EVP and
Director, NetSol
Technologies, Aezaz
Hussain, Chairman,
Systems Ltd, Dr Sarmad
Hussain, Head of
Department, FAST, Mr
Imran Zia, Chairman,
PASHA, and Mr
Muhammad Umar Zafar,
Vice President, NetSol
Technologies.

Motorola
Food and
stretches its
range
Karachi: Motorola
Employee
volunteers on
behalf of Telenor
Pakistan's
Corporate Social
Responsibility Team
accompanied the children
to share these moments
with them.
Ufone offers an array of
handsets and multiple
packages to choose.
Ufone customers can
now get a free handset
while choosing from a list of
20 plus models of handsets
from the top four mobile
brands. Ufone customers
only need to be HBL Credit
Card users and apply for a
Ufone post paid package
they desire and get a
handset free.
Speaking about this
exclusive offer from Ufone
and HBL, Mr Asher Yaqub
Khan, CMO Ufone said,
"Our collaboration with one
of the largest banks of
Pakistan, HBL, is sure to
excite our mutual customers
who have always been a
strategic part of our
businesses. We are sure this
National
Warid's excellent GSM
and EDGE network
Lahore: Warid Telecom
(Pvt) Ltd. is providing voice
and data communications
service through its GSM and
EDGE network with
excellent voice clarity and
connectivity in over 414
cities / 7,600 destinations all
over in Pakistan with
exceptional coverage on
major motorways and
highways. Warid's EDGE
services are available in
major cities like Karachi,
Lahore, Islamabad,
Rawalpindi and Faisalabad.
This network capability
has been attained by
erecting a network of over
4,100 state of the art Base
Trans-receiver Stations and
42 high-tech switching
and Frisbee and
recreational
activities were
arranged for the
children. The aim
was to reassure the street
children of the continued
support from Telenor
Pakistan.

relationship between the
two top names in the
financial and telecom sector
will go a long way."
Mr Abid Sattar, Head of
Retail and Consumer
Banking, HBL, added, "This
is the first time in Pakistan's
consumer market that such
a unique and innovative
solution is being offered to
the consumers. HBL Credit
Card and Ufone Postpay
offer a hassle-free payment
procedure, a range of
popular handsets and
multiple packages for the
consumer to choose from,
making it affordable for
people to own a stylish
handset."

Synopsis
centres. Warid subscribers
in Pakistan are served by 25
fully-equipped business
centres and eight mobile
service units. The
distribution channel
includes fully equipped 283
franchises, 78 Cat-A
franchises and over 100,000
registered retail outlets.
Warid made history by
starting its network with 28
cities in May 2005. At that
time it was the biggest
launch by a cellular phone
operator in this region. The
wonderful response Warid
received after commercial
launch forced further
strengthening of existing
network.

music-optimised devices
that provide a range of
styles at attractive prices
for mobile music fans.
The line-up includes the
MOTOROKR EM30, a
candy-bar
phone that
uses
Motorola’s
ModeShift
technology
and the
Motorola
EM325, a
slider with
FM radio
sharing
capabilities.
One moment ROKR
EM30 is a mobile phone.
The next, it transforms
into your favourite
music player. The
Motorola EM325 offers a
genuine music player
experience, including
immediate access to a
stored music library and
built-in FM radio, in a
sleek, quality handset.
The phone has a
dedicated music key so
consumers can simply
access stored music and
familiar music controls
to play, pause, forward
and rewind songs.

93
 “ Mobile WiMAX is the most important mobile broadband solution of
today, backed by a very strong ecosystem and bringing needed services
to millions worldwide”
Georges Karam, CEO, Sequans

Operator Strategies and Service Delivery

for Mobile Broadband
2nd - 4th December 2008 • The Marriott Hotel, Lisbon, Portugal

The ONLY Top Level Global Conference Focusing on Mobile WiMAX -

Combining Strategic, Operational and Technical Sessions and Featuring:
• 20+ Operator/Service Provider deployment case studies
• 35+ expert speakers all looking at the Mobile WiMAX opportunity in developed and developing markets
• Direct access to Operators, Carriers and Service Providers planning portable and Mobile WiMAX services
• Numerous networking opportunities with key industry influencers and decision-makers
• Tailored conference programme to ensure you leave with a Mobile WiMAX strategy and best route to a fast ROI
• Unbeatable team pass offers for more than 5 delegates attending from the same organisation!

2008 Speakers Include:

David Perlmutter, Emil Nikolov,
Senior Vice President, General Manager, Mobility Group, President & CEO,
Intel Corporation (USA) Nexcom Telecommunications (Bulgaria)

Dr. Ali Afrashteh, Dr Hyacinth Nwana,

VP WiMAX Development, Managing Director Mobile Media Solutions,
Sprint Nextel Corporation (USA) Arqiva (UK)

Jeffrey M. Thompson, Phillip Redman,

President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Vice President, Network Services and Infrastructure, Mobile and Wireless,
Towerstream (USA) Gartner, Inc. (USA)

Michael Lai, Naeem Y. Zamindar,

CEO, Vice President & Head of Broadband Business Division,
Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Mobilink (Pakistan)

Clement Hsiao, Dr. Khaled E. Ismail,

Head of WiMAX, GSM Services Director,
Fitel (Taiwan) Orascom Telecom (Egypt)

Nour Atout, Eduardo Duran Nardecchia,

Chief Executive Officer, Africa, Director Innovation,
VTEL Holdings (Dubai) Entel (Chile)

Sponsors: Supported By:

To Register:
Call: +44 (0) 20 8247 4000 Online: www.mobilewimaxcongress.com Email: louisa.tribe@imago-group.com
Free download | flare.com.pk
Alcatel-Lucent’s new services to
reduce energy consumption
Pakistan: Alcatel-Lucent
announced a new
professional services suite
called "Sustainable Power".
This new global solution
offering supports growing
customer demand for eco-
friendly, sustainable
network energy solutions
and for the reduction of
their current energy
consumption and costs.
Through this suite, Alcatel-
Lucent offers new
professional network
services to help customers
analyse their network's
power consumption
requirements, identify
areas where improvements
can be made to existing
infrastructure as well as
make recommendations on
alternative energy
solutions such as wind,
Pakistan's IT industry can ZONG
survive global financial
crisis
Lahore: The Chairman group on software
Federal Task Force on development and exports,
Information and
Communication
he assured the participants
to take up with the
Technologies (ICT) Salim
Ghauri has said the
Pakistan's IT industry is
mature enough to survive,
and even benefits from the
current global financial
crisis.
"Pakistan was now
poised to do what India
achieved in the aftermath of
the 2002 IT industry crisis.
India's IT based service
business was set to suffer in
the global financial crisis,
and Pakistan could benefit
from this situation," he said,
adding: "It should, however,
try to capitalise on the
opportunities to capture the
business that India was set
to lose," he added.
While presiding over a
meeting of the working
Ideas by
Gul
Ahmed
Ideas by Gul Ahmed
proudly launched its
complete home furniture
line with introductory offer
solar, and fuel cells.
"Sustainable Power"
practice is a multi-vendor
solution designed for
mobile and wireline service
providers, independent
telecommunications
providers, government
agencies, corporations,
municipalities and
campuses. It ranges from
detailed power and battery
assessment, grounding
survey, power design
order, equipment
engineering, material
sourcing services,
equipment installation to
equipment and battery
removal and disposition.
The solution also supports
planning and design
services which mitigate the
risk of a network outage as
well as business
introduces
USB
GPRS/EDG
E modem
government the tax holiday
demand for the IT industry
which is going to expire in
2011.
While emphasising the
need of an urgent study to
estimate the size of the
software industry and its
export competitiveness in
Pakistan, he assigned a task
to recognised local IT
university for undertaking a
revenue and employment
estimation study for the IT
industry.
Meanwhile, Chairman
ICT has also urged the
Pakistan Software Houses
Association (Pasha) to share
a 30-page guidelines
document, properly vetted
by the PSEB, for the study
proposes.

20 per cent off which is an
addition to its existing
product range along with
the wedding extravaganza
which includes Bridal bed
sets, bath accessories, Fancy
towels, apparels, wedding
accessories and much more.
At present Gul Ahmed has
18 Retail outlets nation wide
which will expand to 25
outlets by March 2009.

contingency plans when
implementing network
power solutions.
Alcatel-Lucent will now
offer the following
services: A new energy
assessment service to
analyze existing network
power infrastructure and
upgrade current systems to
meet environmental
requirements; an expanded
multi-vendor power
product and services
portfolio with alternative
energy systems including
wind, solar and fuel cells;
an expanded equipment
removal service with new
recycling capabilities to
dispose of assets in a eco-
friendly way that complies
with Federal and local
regulations.

Karachi: Zong has
launched a simple, smart
and elegant USB
GPRS/EDGE modem that is
capable of catering to all
consumers needs including
mobile professionals, laptop
computer users and
frequent travellers due to its
efficiency and affordability
elements.
Zong, Internet USB card
will facilitate fast Internet
browsing, instant access
and the uninterrupted
ability both to upload and
download data. Combining
cutting edge technologies
with sleek design, Zong's
customers can look forward
to enjoying high-speed
wireless access, both at
home and on the go.
The plug-and-play
featured devices are
compatible with Windows
2000 (SP4 or above),
Windows XP (5P2 or
above), Windows Vista and
Mac, whether run on a PC,
laptop or handheld device.
SMS software is also
installed, allowing texts to
be sent directly from the
computer.

Huawei, PTCL signs
DWDM contract
Islamabad: Huawei
Technologies Co Ltd.
announced that it has
signed a strategic contract
with PTCL.
According to the
agreement, Huawei will
build a complete
nationwide
LH DWDM
network for
PTCL by
replacing
existing
outdated 10G
DWDM. It is
the first time
in Pakistan to
introduce the
cutting-edge
40G/wavelength
(readiness) and ASON
technology in its
nationwide DWDM
backbone network to help
Eco-friendly material
by Samsung
Karachi: Samsung
Electronics marks the 20th
anniversary of the brand
‘Sync Master’ monitor
brand. “By releasing a series
of innovative design
products such as dual hinge
monitor for the first time in
the industry in 2002, button-
less monitor (172P) in 2003,
triple hinge monitor (970P)
in 2005, artistic designed
monitor (971P) and world-
first ball-hinge monitor
(932B) in 2006 in the global
Telecard denies PTA’s
allegations
Islamabad: The PTA had
issued Show Cause Notice
to Telecard Telecom
Limited for allegedly
violating
telecommunication
regulatory laws of Pakistan.
Telecard Limited (TCL)
confirmed that it has
received the notice from
PTA and stated the
company believes that PTA
issued the notice without
undergoing the appropriate
processes to comply with
the requirements of form
and substance in such
matters.
Aamir Niazi, the Vice
Chairman of the
Corporation, took the
Synopsis
PTCL transfer to IP time
with unlimited bandwidth
providing capability.
Executive Director,
Huawei Li Zhiqiang
expressed his views,
“Huawei greatly values its
strategic cooperation with
PTCL. We truly hope that
Huawei DWDM solution
will help PTCL to maintain
and improve its leadership
position in the telecom
market of Pakistan."

market, Samsung received
numerous design awards
such as IFA, IDEA, Red Dot
and Gmark” said Mr Steve
Han, Country Manager
Samsung Pakistan.
Beside the newly
released crystal red color
monitor, Samsung
Electronics plans to unveil
touch of color (ToC)
monitors and large-sized
TV/computer dual use
monitors throughout the
year.

opportunity to express his
disappointment at this
unwarranted development.
This is particularly true in
view of the Company’s
meticulous conformance to
sound ethical practices. This
includes a vigilant Code of
Conduct, which Telecard
follows in its business
dealings.
He added that not only
has the Company always
refrained from any un-
transparent practices, it has
in fact assisted PTA with
substantial financial
resources, enabling the
authority to prevent and
monitor the menace of illicit
international telephony.

95
 Synopsis
Mobilink Infinity to
extend
Lahore: Mobilink, that
has announced the
commercial launch of
Mobilink Infinity, a wireless
broadband and telephony
service for residential and
enterprise consumers based
on the mobile WiMAX
standard, estimates the
service will attract 50,000
subscribers by the end of
the year.
Mobilink Infinity went
live in Karachi, Pakistan's
financial capital and major
business centre. In its very
first week, the service
attracted several thousands
Unleashing internet world
Internet is a remarkable
place for huge income
generation. We never try to
open our minds to unleash
the true potential of this
great electronic earning tool.
To a common man it is a
place for entertainment, fun,
passing leisure time,
browsing information or
simply emailing and
chatting, but in reality it is
not that simple it is actually
a fully fledged high tech
income generation tool, one
can start ones own business
on internet with no initial
investment.
Some of the
classifications of internet
business models are:
Business-to-Business (B2B) -
Electronic market
transactions that take place
between organizations, like
alibaba.com etc; Business-
'Future of
Pakistan's IT
professionals
is bright'
Karachi: Shaheed Zulfiqar
Ali Bhutto Institute of
Science and Technology
organised its first Software
Exhibition and
Competition. Ashraf
Kapadia, Managing
Director of Systems Limited
was the chief guest of the
prize distribution and
closing ceremony. The
audience belonged to
various institutes of higher
learning in IT.
Kapadia, encouraged the
youth to take up careers in
96
of subscribers. 'When
choosing a partner for
Karachi commercial launch,
time-to-market and product
readiness were key
decision-making criteria,'
the President and CEO of
Mobilink Zouhair A Khaliq
said, adding that the
company saw Alcatel-
Lucent as one of the most
advanced WiMAX players.
The maturity of their
technology and the quality
of their support has been
excellent throughout the
project.

to-Consumer (B2C) -
Retailing transactions with
individual shoppers like
amazon.com etc; Consumer-
to-Consumer (C2C) -
Consumer sells directly to
consumers, examples -
individuals selling in
classified ads, auction sites
allowing individuals to put
up items for auction like
ebay.com etc; Consumer-to-
Business (C2B) - Individuals
who sell products or
services to organizations,
like "vdozone.com" working
as a publisher for online
advertising company
"Google".
Millions of people
worldwide are already
working on these models
that sound new to us. At
present almost 85 per cent
Pakistanis are striving to
fight against ever increasing
IT with confidence and zeal,
as this rapidly growing
sector of Pakistan offers
great opportunities for
qualified professionals. He
further added with Visionet
Systems (its subsidiary in
USA) and their major office
in Pakistan, Systems
Limited is gaining new
heights of success and
recognition for its services,
since its inception in 1977.
In the end, Ashraf Kapadia
distributed souvenirs and
prizes among the winners
of the "Poster and Software
Competition". These
winners were from various
institutions, like, Szabist,
Iqra University and PECHS
College for women.

OTA joins Nokia Siemens for customer
benefit
Karachi: Orascom
Telecom Algeria (OTA),
the country's leading
mobile operator has
announced that Nokia
Siemens Networks will be
the provider of its home
location register (HLR)
solution. Nokia Siemens
Networks will modernize
the installed base of 17
million subscribers as well
as provide additional
capacity of 3 million.
The Subscriber Data
Management Solution from
Ali Salman Rana
tariffs of utility bills,
expenditures for studies
and sky rocketed prices of
consumer goods, in this
alarming situation its time
to open your minds and
start thinking of smart ways
of earning other then
traditional office jobs.
All you need to start an
online business is to have
internet connection, a little
knowledge of websites and
a burning desire to secure
your and your loved ones
future.

PTA asks PRS providers to
pay Rs 1.5m dues
Karachi: Pakistan
Telecommunication
Authority (PTA) asked all
premium rate service (PRS)
providers to pay their dues
amounting to Rs 1.5 million
over the last three years as
per its regulations, industry
sources said.
The PRS providers were
supposed to pay Rs 0.5
million every year under
the Number Allocation and
Administration Regulations,
2005, reveals a PTA
statement sent to the call
centre operators and call
handling service providers
under the allocated 100
number block.
The call centre operators
told that the blocking of 100
numbers was not
Free download | flare.com.pk
Nokia Siemens Networks
will enable OTA to develop
a single database for
subscriber information,
unifying data that is
currently fragmented and
giving the operator
genuine customer insight.
OTA will consequently
be able to move towards
smart, subscriber-centric
operations, which will
reduce time-to-market for
service deployment,
supporting multiple
applications and allowing
First Data comes to rescue
economic crisis
Karachi: The global
technology leader in
information commerce,
'First Data', has entered
Pakistan to avail
opportunities in the
current economic crisis
when banks need to
improve their operational
activities.
Brian Quarrie,
Managing Director of 'First
Data', Middle East and
Pakistan says that major
changes in economic
situations give rise to
opportunities, especially
where increased efficiency
is required.
Some studies on the
current crisis suggest that
the current situation will
bring an opportunity to
banks to implement
mentioned in their licenses,
nor interconnected and
neither was it mentioned in
Part III of the regulation
ordinance.
President Association of
Call Centre Operator
Abdull Butt expressed his
concern over this step of
PTA that PRS operators
were never asked to apply
as per mentioned in the
gazette notification
regarding allocation of
number policy. He added
that the regulator had not
informed and taken consent
of the industry to impose
charges, which is not part of
the PRS providers' licenses,
although, it should have
followed normal procedure
of public hearing.

the operator to be
proactive in its approach to
customer support and care.
The solution is also
expected to generate
significant capital and
operating expenditure
savings for OTA.
With the deployment
already finished and the
migration underway, the
new capacity will go live
by 2009 while the
migration of the current
installed base is foreseen
for the year end.

measures which have been
postponed for too long but
which are necessary to
ensure their
competitiveness at the
regional and global levels.
First Data models offer
both reduced costs and
drive revenues for
customers, characteristics
which are both highly
sought after by
organisations currently
when one considers the
economic climate, Brian
said.
With operations in 37
countries, 'First Data'
serves more than 5.4
million merchant locations
and more than 2,000 card
issuers and their customers
across the world, he
added.

Vfone’s
unlimited
package
Islamabad: PTCL Vfone
Unlimited offers twenty
four hours and seven days a
week free unlimited calls
anywhere, anytime. Vfone
Unlimited, according to
PTCL spokesman is an
exciting new package from
PTCL Vfone that offers
unlimited free calls to all
Vfone and PTCL landlines,
be it local or nation-wide all
day long and that's not all
customers can also enjoy
free SMS within the
country.
This service caste you a
daily line rent of just Rs 20
including all taxes.

 Free download | flare.com.pk
Burkhalter feed the hungry with
virtual chess
Bob Burkhalter of
Sunnyvale wants to host
the biggest virtual chess
game in the world and
donate half the prize
money to hungry children
in Silicon Valley. If the 62-
year-old Web programmer
can pull it off, judges from
Guinness World Records
are standing by, ready to
put the feat in the history
books.
It costs two dollars to
play. Burkhalter said 75
cents of each entry fee will
go to the prize pool of the
Psychother-
apy sessions
by Japanese
Mobiles
Tokyo: A Japanese
professor launched what
he said was the world's
first web-based
psychotherapy sessions
available via mobile
phone, as the country
grapples with a growing
problem of depression.
The interactive service
offers cognitive therapy
sessions that identify a
person's level of
depression by asking
questions about his or her
sleeping and eating habits,
weight change, and
emotional well-being.
Using their mobile
phones - which are also
widely substituted in
Japan as wallets, train
tickets, books, and
television - people can
easily access the service.
The service explains
symptoms of depression
but warns that it is not a
substitute for treatment
and encourages users to
consult a doctor if he or
she is evaluated as having
more than a mild
depression.

International Synopsis
Museum launches unique
multimedia project
round-robin California: First lady
tournament and Maria Shriver unveiled an
broken down into interactive Web site that
first, second and allows computer users to
third prizes; 75 click through multimedia
cents will go to presentations of
Second Harvest California's rich history
Food Bank of Santa Bob Burkhalter sits next to a black knight, a giant and cultural heritage. global advertising agency
Clara and San chess piece at the outdoor chess game board at network, which relied
Santana Row. "We are more than hot
Mateo counties. tubs and Hollywood, and heavily on Adobe Flash
"Checkmate'' at their
Playing chess to help the museum is effectively software to animate the
coffeehouse laptops. Of
ease hunger is high on telling that story through content provided by the
course, he's open about
Burkhalter's priority list. the diversity of people," museum.
wanting to turn a profit
And he dreams that Shriver said. She and her The site allows users to
too, after several years of
thousands of chess players husband, Gov. Arnold share their own content, by
being mostly unemployed
would sign up to play and Schwarzenegger, both have uploading pictures and
and raising two children on
jubilantly shout close ties to the non-profit other multimedia
his wife's salary.

museum. components of themselves
Raja drags Iran blocks The site, part of
www.californiamuseum.or
or their family members, to
tell the world about their
PM into over five g, lets users click through a
series of animated pages to
own personal
achievements. The site's
alleged million learn about people and target audience is broad —
from school children to
places that often have
scam Websites national significance. The adults, to teachers to
tourists planning a visit
Tehran: Iran has site was built by Euro
from around the globe.

Mumbai: The Indian blocked access to more RSCG San Francisco, a
telecom Minister A. Raja than five million Internet
lashed out at those who sites, whose content is NASA tests 'deep space
tried to bring charges of
misappropriation against
mostly perceived as
immoral and anti-social, a Internet'
him. In a judiciary official was Washington: The US Tolerant Networking, or
TV quoted as saying. "The space agency NASA said DTN, to transmit dozens of
interview, enemies seek to assault that it successfully space images to and from a
Raja our religious identity by conducted a first test of a NASA spacecraft some 20
rejected exploiting the Internet," deep space communications million miles from Earth.
charges of Abdolsamad Khoram network modelled on the NASA said the software
selling Abadi, an advisor to Iran's Internet. Adrian Hooke, protocol, which must be
NASA's manager of space- able to withstand delays,
licences prosecutor general, was
networking architecture, disruptions and
and quoted by Kargozaran technology and standards, disconnections in space,
spectrum at unimaginably said in a statement. was designed in partnership
low prices. As a result, the The US space agency with Vint Cerf, a vice
national exchequer had to said Jet Propulsion president at Internet search
incur huge losses. Laboratory engineers used giant Google.

He mentioned a software called Disruption-
mysterious lobby that he
'broke' and said that he is
now targeted just because
Yang to quit Yahoo; search
he broke the cartel. He also
countered the charges newspaper as saying.
on for new CEO
California: Yahoo Inc
saying that there are In recent years, Internet said Jerry Yang will step
number of private service providers have down as chief executive as
companies were part of this been told to block access soon as the board finds a
cartel. Raja did not name to political, human rights replacement, sending
any politician but a cartel is and women's sites and shares up 4 per cent on
normally sponsored by blogs expressing dissent or hopes that the departure
politicians. deemed to be would clear the way for a
It may take a completely pornographic and anti- deal with Microsoft.
new turn as he said that Islamic. The ban has also Yang - who will return
Prime Minister was in the targeted such popular to his former role as Chief amid regulatory concerns,
loop behind all the decisions social networking sites as Yahoo, focusing on strategy and Yang faced a growing
taken in the spectrum issue. Facebook and YouTube, as and technology - tried to chorus of criticism from
If Raja from DMK party is well as news sites. Iran's carve an independent investors and analysts as
found guilty who happens reformist press was hit by strategy for Yahoo and was Yahoo's shares nosedived.
to be an ally of Congress, a massive crackdown in blamed when Microsoft In an e-mail sent to
serious questions would be 2000, and many journalists Corp walked away from its employees, a copy of which
raised against the entire turned to blogging after offer to buy Yahoo earlier was obtained by Reuters,
ruling UPA (United their publications were this year. Rival Google Inc Yang said his decision to
Progressive Alliance) shut down.
abandoned a search step down was taken jointly
coalition.
advertising partnership
with Yahoo's board.
97
 Synopsis
Telenor sees break-even
for India biz
Macau: Telenor expects
a soon-to-be-launched
Indian business to turn in
an operating profit three
years after it starts up, as
the Norwegian firm
muscles deeper into the
region with growth
slowing elsewhere.
The firm still intends to
push a controversial rights
issue to bankroll a $1.1
billion deal for a 60 per
cent stake in India's
Unitech Wireless but was
considering other options,
Jon Fredrik Baksaas, Group
CEO, told.
Media reports have said
the company is considering
alternatives such as a
dividend cut or a sale of
assets. The chief executive
Microsoft to Film
offer free industry
security sues iiNet
In a surprise move,
Microsoft has announced it
will offer a free anti-virus
and security solution from
the second half of next year.
It will stop selling OneCare,
its all-in-one security and
PC management service,
from the end of June 2009.
The new software, code-
named Morro, will be a
no-frills programme suited
to smaller and less powerful
computers. The software
will be free to download
and will support Windows
XP, Vista and Windows 7.
The move comes as sales
of the OneCare subscription
service are flagging -
reportedly because the anti-
virus marketplace is already
flooded with big-name
players such as Symantec
and McAfee.
In a statement, Microsoft
said that Morro would be
designed specifically to be a
small-footprint programme
that uses fewer system
resources. This, it said,
would be ideal for users
with low-bandwidth
connections or computers
without much processing
power. That will be of
particular interest to
consumers buying
comparatively low-powered
"netbook" computers.

98
added that the firm's 62 per
cent-owned
Grameenphone,
Bangladesh's top mobile
operator, was still on track
to float shares in the first
quarter of 2009.
This month,
Grameenphone said it had
more than halved a
planned share sale to $125
million because of a sharp
downturn in global
markets. Although the
chief executive expressed
optimism over the Indian
operation, which is
expected to be launched in
2009, J.P. Morgan has
warned the company's
expansion into India would
come at a high cost.

Australia: In an
Australian first, a coalition
of film heavyweights has
sued a major internet
service provider for
allegedly "ignoring" acts of
copyright infringement by
its customers. The action
against iiNet was filed in
the Federal Court by
Village Roadshow,
Universal Pictures, Warner
Bros Entertainment,
Paramount Pictures, Sony
Pictures Entertainment,
20th Century Fox, Disney
Enterprises and the Seven
Network, the Australian
licensee of some of the
infringed works. They are
seeking unspecified
damages.
The companies claim
iiNet failed to take
reasonable steps to prevent
peer-to-peer (P2P) piracy as
its customers illegally
downloaded and made
copies of movies.
The Australian
Federation Against
Copyright Theft (AFACT)
said it had to resort to legal
action as iiNet allegedly
ignored repeated notices
over several months to
curb the practice.

Alcatel-
Lucent inks
deals with
China
Telecom
Alcatel-Lucent, a global
leader in the development
and deployment of third-
California warned on global warming
California: Global
warming will have a broad
and devastating impact on
California's economy over
the next century, according
to a report released.
Roads and bridges, the
water supply, agriculture,
public health and even
winter skiing all will be
affected by global climate
change, said the report by
University of California-
Thuraya to
Market
Mobile
Satellite
Handhelds
in Egypt
Abu Dhabi: Thuraya
has signed an agreement
with i2, one of the largest
telecom marketing firms in
the Middle East to market
its mobile satellite
handhelds in the Egyptian
market.
The firm based in Saudi
Arabia and has distribution
branches in several Arab,
African and Asian markets,
will sell and market
Thuraya's phones.
The partnership, which
was signed between
Thuraya's Egyptian
national SP Alkan Telecom
and i2, is expected to
stimulate an increasing
marketing and sales
activity of Thuraya's MSS
handhelds among key
sectors in the country such
as regional travellers, oil
and gas, NGOs, tourism
and transport.
Thuraya has the world's
"smallest" (SO-2510) and
"smartest" (SG-2520)
satellite telephones.

Free download | flare.com.pk
generation (3G) networks,
has clinched contracts
worth US$230 milliom with
China Telecom for CDMA
equipment and services.
Pursuant to the
agreement, Alcatel-Lucent's
Chinese flagship company
Alcatel Shanghai Bell will
provide its end-to-end
CDAM wireless networking
solutions for China Telecom
in 56 cities in China. The
Berkeley agricultural and
resource economics
professors David Roland-
Holst and Fredrich Kahrl.
Snapshots thrill scientists
Two scientific teams,
which include Bay Area
astronomers, pushed the
boundaries of space study
with their first-ever
photographs of planets in
distant solar systems.
One team, led by
scientists from the
University of California,
Berkeley, used an advanced
camera mounted on the
Hubble Space Telescope to
take the first photos using
visible light of a planet
outside our solar system, or
an "exoplanet."
UC Berkeley astronomer
Paul Kalas, lead author, for
years had suspected that a
star, 25 lights years away,
called Fomalhaut had a
planet circling it. He zeroed
in on it with the Hubble
Google
taking you
to Rome
Google has added a new
twist to its popular 3D
map tool, Google Earth,
offering millions of users
the chance to visit a virtual
ancient Rome. Google has
reconstructed the
sprawling city - inhabited
by more than one million
people as old as AD320.
Users can zoom around
the map to visit the Forum
project is expected to
commence operation by the
end 2008. Olivia Qiu,
president of Alcatel
Shanghai Bell said the
agreement builds on the
longstanding collaboration
with China Telecom and
will further consolidate
Alcatel-Lucent's leading
position in the CDMA
market in China.

The report said damage
could reach many billions of
dollars per year. In real
estate alone, up to $2.5
trillion of the state's $4
trillion worth of homes and
other buildings are at risk
from rising sea levels,
wildfires and other extreme
weather events occurring as
the world gets warmer, it
said.

scope, and the photo of it he
viewed in May wowed him.
"It was a profound and
Snapshot
overwhelming experience to
lay eyes on a planet never
seen before." The second
team used a ground-based
telescope and an advanced
optics system to snap an
infrared image of what the
scientists believe is the first
multi-planet solar system
detected outside our own,
this one 140 light years
away and revealing three
planet.

of Julius Caesar, stand in
the centre of the
Colosseum or swoop over
the Basilica. Researchers
behind the project say it
adds to five centuries of
knowledge.
Also involved was Past
Perfect Productions, which
reconstructs archaeological
and historical sites through
virtual reality. Joel Myers,
the firm's chief executive,
said: "Cultural heritage,
although based in the past,
lives in the present, as it
forms our identity.

Free download | flare.com.pk
Irish, the heaviest users
of mobile phones
London: Residents in
the Republic of Ireland
spent the most time on
their mobile phones and
sent the most text messages
per head in the world in
2007, according to a report
which examines changes in
the communications
industry.
Known for their 'gift of
the gab' or talent for
speaking, the Irish lead the
way in the use of mobile
phones, spending around
179 minutes per month on
average on their mobiles.
The Irish love of the
'craic' or general banter has
also spread to texting with
mobile phone users in
Ireland sending an average
of 154 text messages a
month, nearly double the
figure in Britain of 81.
The International
NVIDIA
brings
super
computers
San Francisco: United
States technology firm
NVIDIA rolled out high-
performance "personal
supercomputers" that let
desktop workstations
handle mind-boggling tasks
once far beyond their
capabilities.
Computers built with
Video game sales still strong
Despite weakening sales
in most sectors of the
economy, the video game
industry posted robust
numbers in October,
continuing its strong year.
Overall, U.S. retail sales
for the month tallied $1.31
billion, up 18 percent from
October 2007, according to a
report from market research
firm NPD Group. The
uptick was largely driven
by sales of software, which
reached $696.8 million, up
35 per cent from the same
month a year ago.
But the report was not
all good news for the
industry. Sales of video
Communications Market
report by the British
regulator Ofcom said
mobile phones were
becoming more crucial to
people, especially in
emerging markets where
growth is very strong.
Some 216 million new
mobile subscriptions were
registered in Brazil, Russia,
India and China in 2007,
with China alone adding
more new connections at
88 million than the total
number of subscriptions in
Britain.

innovative NVIDIA
graphics processing units
(GPUs) are capable of
handling calculations
typically relegated to
expensive supercomputing
"clusters" - a technology
breakthrough the company
says could soon bring
lightning speeds to the next
generation of computers
aimed at the consumer
market.
NVIDIA's Tesla Personal
Supercomputers deliver
approximately 250 times the
processing power of current
computer workstations for
similar prices, according to
the California-based
Company.

game hardware totaled
$494.7 million, up just 5 per
cent from the same month
last year. And sales of game
accessories fell 8 percent to
$120.2 million. Meanwhile,
total sales for October were
below the year-to-date pace
for the industry, marking
the fourth consecutive
month that sales growth has
Vodafone struggling to meet Storm
demand
London: Vodafone, the
world's largest mobile
phone group by revenue, is
struggling to meet demand
for the new Blackberry
Storm phone, its chief
executive said.
Vittorio Colao told a
small group of journalists
after a speech at an Ofcom
event that the phone was
selling very well. "We
might end up having a
problem with giving
Nokia luxury arm eyes expansion
London: Vertu, the
prestige arm of handset
maker Nokia, is planning a
rapid expansion despite
the economic downturn,
believing the mobile phone
could become the next hit
item on the luxury goods
market. Frank Nuovo,
creative director, designer
and co-founder, told that
Vertu planned to have 50
Canadians
shopping
online more
Ottawa: The number of
Canadians who used the
Internet to purchase goods
and services in 2007,
climbed 61 per cent from
2005 to 12.8 billion
Canadian dollars, Statistics
Canada said.
The increase reflected a
larger volume of orders,
from 49.4 million in 2005 to
69.9 million in 2007, said the
brought down the running
average.
Nintendo's Wii posted
another strong month,
tallying 803,000 sales. That
was more than twice the
number of Xbox 360s sold in
the month, despite
Microsoft's price cut on the
console in September. Still,
the top selling game for the
month was an Xbox 360
title, ''Fable II,'' which
debuted in October. It sold
790,000 copies. Much-hyped
European library site
crashes hours after launch;
overwhelming demand
blamed.

enough Storms to as many
customers who want it," he
said. The first touch-screen
Blackberry smartphone
went on sale in Britain
earlier this month and
Vodafone, its exclusive UK
sales partner, had already
said thousands of
customers pre-ordered the
device.
The Blackberry Storm,
Research in Motion's
answer to Apple's iPhone,
stand-alone stores world-
wide by the end of next
year, up from about 30
now.
Speaking at the opening
of the group's first stand-
alone store in the UK,
Nuovo said attitudes
towards mobile phones,
which have traditionally
had short product lives as
users seek to upgrade to
government agency. Not all
online buyers participated
equally, however.
The top 25 per cent of
online consumers who
spent an average of 5,000
dollars during 2007 were
responsible for 46 per cent
of orders and 78 per cent of
the total dollar value.
Canadians shopped
primarily for travel, books
and magazines, concert
Google adds text messaging
service to Gmail
Google has reintroduced
its text messaging service
for Gmail after a failed
launch in late October. Once
again, Gmail users will be
able to send text messages
to their friends' cell phones
right from their email
window using the SMS
protocol. For the moment,
Google says you can only
send texts to U.S.-based cell
phone numbers, but you
can send them from
anywhere in the world. To
try out the new feature,
click the Google Labs link in
your Gmail window. Then,
find the feature called "Text
Messaging (SMS) in Chat;"
click the "Enable" radio
button, then "Save Changes"
and you're ready to go!
Synopsis
goes on sale in the United
States on November 21.
Colao also suggested the
company was looking at
devices with the Android
operating system from
Google Inc but was not
ready to announce
anything yet.

the next new technology,
were starting to change.
Vertu, founded in 1998,
sells gem-encrusted, hand-
built mobile phones
ranging in price from 3,500
euros to over 100,000 euros
from over 500 retail outlets
- including jewelers and
department stores - around
the world.

tickets, clothing, jewellery
and accessories. Statistics
Canada noted that for many
Canadians, the Internet has
become a supplement to
traditional retail shopping
more than a substitute.

To start texting, let your
mouse hover over a contact
in Gmail Chat. You then
click on "Video & More" and
select SMS. Alternatively
you can switch to SMS from
an open chat window via
the "Options" menu. To text
a friend who isn't in your
Gmail Chat contact list just
start typing their phone
number into the Chat search
box and select "Send SMS".
After you've selected
SMS, a pop-up window
appears where you can
enter your contact's phone
number (or name if you
already saved their phone
number), which is then
saved for next time.

99
 Synopsis
Supercomputers use Intel processors
Now more supercom-
puters are using Intel Cor-
poration processors than
ever, according to the latest
TOP500 list. The high per-
formance computing (HPC)
community is especially en-
thusiastic about quad-core
Intel(R) Xeon(R) proces-
sors, which are driving the
research and analytical ca-
DoCoMo
eyes
'Google
phone'
launch
Tokyo: Japan's top
Suicide in front of webcam Samsung No.
Miami: A South Florida it is unclear how he got the 1 around the
teen died of a lethal drug others, Crane said.
overdose in front of a live
online webcam audience 12
hours after he started
blogging about his plan to
commit suicide, an
investigator said.
Abraham Biggs, 19,
died from a toxic
combination of opiates and
benzodiazepine, a drug
used to treat insomnia and
depression, said Wendy
Crane, an investigator with
the Broward County
medical examiner's office.
At least one of the drugs
was prescribed to him and
IDC expects
2009 tech
spending
growth to
slow
New York: Worldwide
technology spending will
slow significantly in 2009
because of the financial
turmoil that has rattled
global markets since
September, research firm
IDC said.
IDC now expects
worldwide information
technology spending to
grow by 2.6 per cent in
100
pabilities of more than half
the systems on the list.
The 32nd edition of the
TOP500 list shows that 379
of the world's top 500 sys-
tems, including the third-
fastest system in the world,
now have Intel inside. Ac-
cording to the list, Intel is
powering 49 systems in the
top 100.
carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc
aims to launch next year a
cell phone developed with
Internet search giant
Google, an
official said, a
move that could
counter Apple's
iconic iPhone.
"As we are allied with
Google, we are considering
a commercial mobile device
together," a DoCoMo
Some of those watching globe
encouraged Biggs, others
tried to talk him out of it,
and a few were debating
whether the dose he took
was lethal, Crane said. It is
unclear how many people
were watching.

2009, down from its earlier
forecast of 5.9 per cent
growth. In the U.S.,
spending is now expected
to grow just 0.9 per cent,
well below IDC's August
forecast of a 4.2 per cent
growth.
There already have
been clear signs that tech
spending is weakening.
Last week, Cisco Systems,
the first of the major
technology companies to
report earnings that
included October, warned
that orders for its
computer networking gear
fell abruptly during the
month. The tech bellwether
expects sales to fall in the
current quarter.

Systems using Intel(R)
Xeon(R) quad-core proces-
sors dominate the list, hold-
ing 288 spots. Using
reinvented high-k metal
gate transistors, Intel's
year-old quad-core 45nm
Intel(R) Xeon(R) processor
5400 series is used in 222
systems, including 32 pow-
ered by low voltage vari-
official told.
A Google phone, or a
mobile device powered by
Google's open-source
Android
software,
could
compete with
the iPhone
3G, which has been sold
through third-largest carrier
Softbank Mobile in Japan
since July.

Samsung becomes the
first company to sell more
than five million LCD TVs
in a quarter and in the
process secures 20.2 per cent
world market share. Strong
TV sales revenue in key
Middle East and African
markets secures Samsung
number one position in the
region with 30.59 per cent
market share.
According to Display
Search, the leading industry
researcher, Samsung
recorded sales of 8.94
million units of TV with
revenue of USD 6.47 billion
in the Q3 2008, giving it a
market share of 16.7 per
cent and 22.5 per cent
respectively. This
performance consolidated
Samsungs number one
position in the world
market, who consequently
recorded the most units sold
for the last nine quarters
and has lead in revenue for
the last 11 quarters.
Samsung also became
the first company to capture
5.39 million units sold and
20.2 per cent of the market
share for LCD televisions
which Samsung has now
maintained no. Samsung
achieved more than 14.36
million sales of LCD TV to
date and is confident of
reaching the milestone of 20
million sets for the year.

Free download | flare.com.pk
ants.
More "mainstream" in-
dustries, such as financial
services and health care,
are also using Intel-based
systems to achieve faster,
more accurate results, to
speed the pace of innova-
tion and improve competi-
tive advantage.

SingTel’s
Asian
mobile
users exceed
216m
Singapore: Singapore
Telecommunications
(SingTel) said its mobile
customer base in Asia
surged 37 per cent on the
year to 216.7 million at the
end of September. The
growth was powered by
SingTel's six regional
associates that expanded
their mobile users by
between 15 and 59 per cent
year-on-year.
Compared with a
quarter ago, the overall
growth was a strong 9.6 per
cent, it said. SingTel's
Indian mobile arm Bharti
signed up a record 8.1
million new users during
the three months to
September, boosting its total
base to 77.48 million.
Telkomsel of Indonesia
attracted 8.06 million new
users to 60.5 million, AIS of
Thailand signed up 810,000
new subscribers, while
Globe Telecom of the
Philippines saw a quarterly
rise of 1.01 million net
users, SingTel said.
Warid of Pakistan added
668,000 new users during
the September quarter
while Pacific Bangladesh
Telecom also saw an
increase in subscribers, to
1.75 million from 1.70
million the previous
quarter.

Queen Rania
gets YouTube
award
Amman: Jordan's
Queen Rania will accept an
award from Internet video-
sharing website YouTube
for her efforts to help
prevent Muslims and
Arabs from being
stereotyped, her office said.
"It is a pleasure to accept
the first YouTube
Visionary Award in this
spirit," the queen was
quoted as saying in a
statement.
In April, Rania, the wife
of King Abdullah II,
launched her own Internet
channel on YouTube in a
bid to encourage young
people to help address the
issue of stereotyping. "To
date, the channel has
generated nearly three
million video views and
received more than 43,000
messages from users
around the world," the
queen's office said.
The statement quoted
YouTube co-founder Chad
Hurley as saying that
Rania "sets the standard for
breaking down stereotypes
and her YouTube videos
are nothing short of
inspirational."

Grameen-
phone chops
IPO to $125m
Dhaka: Bangladesh's top
mobile operator
Grameenphone, majority-
owned by Norway's Telenor,
said it more than halved a
planned share sale to $125
million because of the sharp
downturn in global markets.
Grameenphone said it aimed
to rise to $50 million from a
pre-IPO share placement, and
another $75 million from the
initial public offer itself. The
company had originally
planned to raise $300 million
in what would have been the
country's biggest IPO.
Grameenphone had 20.82
million mobile subscribers,
around 46 per cent of the
national total, ahead of
Egyptian Orascom Telecom's
Banglalink and Telekom
Malaysia's Aktel.