Flare May+June

CONTENTS
08 | EDITOR'S NOTE
Editorial
MAY 15 - JUNE 15, 2012
09 | READER'S RESPONSE
Letters to the Editor
INTERVIEWS
30 | Superior produces leaders: Dr. Abdul Rehman 42 | Changhong-Ruba creates high-class products
TELEPEDIA
10 12 13 17 19 36 41 44 48 49 50 51 54 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Samsung............................................................. Warid Telecom cares 3G delay distracting potential buyers Cricket icons join Mobilink family 3G auction Indicate new corruption scam Poor service, over-charging! Telenor losing corporate clientele Blackberry fails in Pakistan Frequency spectrum is the main engine Ufone spreads smiles China becomes home of smartphones Sultan of swing joins Ufone family, leaves Mobilink Mobile phone! The most powerful tool Message on World Telecom & Information Society Day
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COVER STORY
26 | PTA bans Inami / genuine schemes Gives voice to many questions
INSIGHT
14 22 34 38 54 54 | | | | | | Wateen to educate you online IT firms land in Punjab E-waste risks life, environment Facebook being used to deface girls PTCL continuous journey of economic growth Israel, Swedan and Finland top cyber-readiness report
29 Rahat rocks Warid event
EVENTS
16 18 20 29 37 40 | | | | | | Car4u educates in traffic management, road safety Ufone sponsors LUMS Special Olympics 2012 Trafco organizes vintage car rally Rahat rocks Warid event Ufone hosts cultural Diversity Workshop Glow supports young leaders
NEWS
57 | National News 65 | International News
MOSAIC
53 | International Mosaic
30 Superior produces leaders: Dr. Abdul Rehman
Changhong-Ruba 42 creates high-class products
TECH TOOLS
70 72 76 78 79 80 81 82 84 | | | | | | | | | Mobile Review Current Mobiles Upcoming Mobiles High Range Mobiles Low Range Mobiles Laptops Computers Accessories Gaming Zone
14 Wateen to educate you online
Ufone sponsors LUMS 18 Special Olympics 2012
Editor s No t e
Prize schemes future
Telecom segment has changed the shape of communication everywhere. Pakistan telecom sector has emerged as a fast growing industry during past few years and now is one of the most progressive countries where the number of mobile phone subscribers has reached 118 million, while the teledensity reached to 68.2 percent. For the reason different companies are being attracted to invest heavily in this division. Due to the enormous competition among different companies of both service providers and mobile set providers, mobile phone is almost in reach of every common man in Pakistan and as a result of this brisk demand, companies are investing seriously in this fragment. Prize or Inami schemes have been introduced in the market by all the cellular service providers. These schemes make the people rushed to different networks. Now, we have 118 million cellular users and increasing day by day. These Inami schemes brought a war-like competition among the operators. These schemes have been introduced to attract customers to their respected network while giving a fair chance to become the lucky winner of House, car, gold, money etc. A case of inami scheme winner surfaced when PTCL refused to give the winning cash of Rs. 10 lac to the then winner, by profession, the winner was lawyer and he knocked the door of Supreme Court of Pakistan for the immediate recovery of his winning prize. The apex court has directed the Islamabad High Court to hear the petition. On this, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has taken suo motto action against the mobile phone operators and directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to ban inami schemes with immediate effect. PTA issued a letter, which said, PTA considers these prize schemes as being misleading and against the law, hence, you are hereby directed to stop all types of Prize Schemes including genuine schemes with immediate effect in the interest of consumers and submit compliance report. Cellular and broadband internet companies approached the Islamabad High Court, which has given them stay order. Telecom and IT icons showed distrust and criticize the role of Chairman PTA Dr. Mohammad Yaseen. They said PTA under the chairmanship of Dr Yaseen, telecom and IT sectors showed decline, while he failed to cope the situation professionally. If the chairman truly follows the book and refused kick backs our telecom sector has the potential to attract more FDI in the country like it fetched billions in 2006-07. The Apex court should take suo motto notice and formed a judicial commission to ask the PTA Chairman, why he was unmoved on inami schemes. The court should also asked Dr Yaseen what he did in his 4 years tenure for the people and telecom sector; even he couldnt make it to introduce the most lucrative 3G technology. The august court should have to intervene and asked the regulator to ensure protection provided to investors. If boss of the regulator accepts kick backs, who will protect investors? The national economy reaches on the verge of collapse, it needs extensive FDI; this could come to recue if the regulator performs its true role to protect investors invaluable investment and at the same time guard the consumers rights. 8
May 15 - June 15, 2012
Zubair Ahmed Kasuri Irfan Khan Usman Yaqoob Director Marketing (Lhr) M. Farooq Malik Manager Marketing (Lhr) Zafar Khan Afridi Senior Graphic Designer M. Naeem Mughal Graphic Designer Azhar Javed General Manager Muhammad Saeed Chief Photographer Mobile: 0321 - 8404389
Editor Assistant Editor
Legal Penal: Sardar Fakhir Ahmed Advocate Rana Naveed Ahmed Joya Advocate Lahore Office 46J-Gulberg III, Lahore-Pakistan. Ph: +92-42-38350195, 042-35880183 Fax: +92-42-35880183 Islamabad Office Phone: +92-51-5892027 +92-51-2254548 Kasur Office Phone: +92-492-770820-763250 Karachi Office 14 Star Marketing & Production 32-1-C-1/6, Block 6 PECHS Main Shahrah-e-Faisal. Tel: 021 34311781-3 Registration No PCPB/105 (Vol. 8 Issue:9) Price Rs: 400 URL: www.fla r e.pk Email: flare.mag@gmail.com Colour Sepration: Fotoscan Process, 25-C Lower Mall, Lahore. Ph: 042-37111906, 37234042.
Zubair Ahmed Kasuri, (Editor-in-Chief) publisher of FLARE leading telecom magazine, printed it from Qasim Naeem Art Press, Near Bank Road, Main Bund Road, Lahore and published from 46J, Gulberg III, Lahore.
Telepedia
Irfan Khan
Free download | flare.pk
Lack of marketing skills
Samsungs journey of looting customers on the up

Samsung Pakistan has worked with almost every wholesale dealer, retailer and distributor; but never advertised it, why this time it has published this partnership in all newspapers. Samsung Pakistan presents paradise to its distributors but often fails to standby. Because Samsungs management in Pakistan lacks in market knowledge and market demands, which leads to certain breakup. Many of its partners left Samsung for cheating, fraud and poor service
lare in its last couple of issues hinted out failures of Samsung Pakistan management team, we have also informed our reverend readers regarding the appointment of Muller & Phipps. Our report stood factual as Samsung Electronics Company Ltd. has recently appointed Muller & Phipps Pakistan Ltd. (M&P) as its new official distributor in Pakistan. Samsung Pakistans Managing Director John Park said that we have collaborated with Muller & Phipps to deliver superior services in the Pakistani market. Samsung has its credibility among its customers. The trust deficit between Samsung and buyers widened due to poor policies, sales network, warranty claims and patent issues. All these are the barriers for which Samsung lost its trust among users. Samsung Pakistan has worked with almost every wholesale dealer, retailer and distributor; but never advertised it, why this time it has published this partnership in all newspapers. Samsung Pakistan presents paradise to its distributors but often fails to standby. Because Samsungs management in Pakistan belongs to posh areas, which lacks in market knowledge and market demands, which leads to certain breakup. Many of its partners left them because of poor services and warranty claims unfulfillment. It has worked with Mobilezone but due to incapable marketing, poor warranty claims and advertising they had split. Still Mobilezone and Samsung have differences over payment issues of billions of rupees. Samsung had cheated Mobilezone and joined by DW and Mobo mobile Lahore, but have also been cheated in the same fashion. Now it has cooperation with Teletec and Muller & Phipps, Samsung Pakistan had fraud their past partners by showing them stars in daylight, the situation smells the same. Samsung presents them with flowers but as its believed that Samsung is prone to cheat and nobody trusts them, will lead to another breakup. Samsungs management looted customers with poor quality mobile phones and customer service. The management team of Samsung in Pakistan lacks in experience, area knowledge, sales experience, and customer relations. They
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have very little knowledge thats why Samsungs advertising is attacking our indigenous Eastern culture by bombarding Western culture in their commercials. This leads to cultural imperialism, which is neither good nor acceptable. They are feeding our youth through mass media advertising campaigns with Western values and traditions which creating imbalances in the society. The marketing team has to study the core values of our culture and religion before filming an advertising campaign, they have to be vigilant. Pakistan is among the most promising markets in the world leading from the front with more than 118 million cellular subscribers and 68.2 percent teledensity, but Samsung could grabbed only 3 percent market share, while the new comers like Apple is gaining popularity with a rocket pace. According to Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) released the import of Samsung handsets figures recently. Its very shocking to know that Samsung which claimed Pakistans top selling brand imported just 19,204 handsets in Pakistan. One can imagine that Samsung handsets share depicts its popularity and credibility. There are many reasons but main reason of failure is Samsung management in Pakistan. Its a shock; Samsung is struggling to get some good candidates for its Pakistani market. Those who are currently running Samsung business are ignorant of local market demands and knowl-
edge. They are mere enjoying high salaries but have no interest in boosting the market share for Samsung in local market. The head is responsible for managing and controlling the companys business and day-to-day operations with the aim of securing significant, sustained increase in the value of the company. Samsung totally failed to provide good services to the customers as major customers have numbers of complaints regarding sales and services, helpline nonattendance, inferior quality handsets, etc. The popularity of Chinese handsets in Pakistan is due to multi-functions, design, low cost and much more battery lifetime as compared to Samsung cellphones, which have lack innovation, high price, poor battery time and poor service. Mobile phone users in Pakistan reached 118 million and its population is 180 million higher by 4 percent than the last years. The countrys population has been growing at a decelerating pace but still Pakistan has one of the highest population growth rates in the world. The imports of mobile handset witnessed growth of 58 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2011-12 compared with corresponding period of previous fiscal year, reflecting high domestic demands of customers for multiple brands. According to the figures of Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS), the expenses of mobile handsets are on the rise as Rs 14.25 billion were spent on the imports of various brands. As per estimates, the handset sales have increased to 0.125 million handsets on monthly basis having price range between Rs 1,000 to Rs 55,000. According to the dealers the mobile handsets market is changing its dynamics constantly in the past three months with number of global and local branded phones increasing their shares tremendously. A stitch in time saves nine, if the top executives of Samsung dont make their minds to change its Pakistani team, it would be too late to recover the loss, the current local management is really denting the image of Samsung in the minds & hearts of Pakistani mobile lovers. Apple is the new player in the market and getting its position better and better, while the old Samsung is losing its feet.n
Telepedia
Flare Report
Warid Telecom cares

arid Telecom (Pvt.) Ltd. is Pakistans third largest and most reliable cellular service provider. Warid is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi group and Singapore Telecom. Abu Dhabi Group is one of the largest business groups in the Middle East and the single largest foreign investor in Pakistan. Abu Dhabi Group is led by His Highness Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan. The partnership of Abu Dhabi Group and Singtel is the part of strategy to support Warid Telecoms continued growth and to enhance its market position. Being the most trusted and reliable cellular services provider Warid Telecom informed its loyal customers regarding system upgradation one week prior to its upgradation process started. Warid informs its users through an ad published in all newspapers on May 09, 2012. Its an initiative taken by any cellular service provider in Pakistan for the first time; mainly every operator upgrade its system and then apologized for any inconvenience; but Warid really cares for their subscribers and its evident from this effort. Its a good gesture from a telecom operator which shows its commitment to deliver quality of service to reverend users. Everyone across the board should appreciate this effort and initiative and all the other operators also should follow this trend. Warid is also known as a trendsetter, thats why Warid has won many awards for introducing new cutting edge products and services for its valuable users. Warid has been awarded many awards for its seamless connectivity, excellent voice quality, perpetual reliability, exciting tariffs and innovative value added service by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). The ad reads as: Customer Announcement - Warid Telecom has been working towards offering technologically advanced and customer-friendly services, which is the reason why Warid is known to be the most reliable and best quality network. In order to keep with the same, we are upgrading our system to provide our esteemed clientele a seamless communication experience. Our upgradation process will take place from 10th to 17th May, 2012 during which Warid customers may face inconvenience while using some of our services. We regret this inconvenience and hope you will consider it a step towards an even better customer experience. When Flare inquired Warid
Informs its loyal subscribers for system upgradation

With the substantial market share, loyal subscriber base and the recognition as the most steadfast telecom operator, Warid Telecom continues to set excellence benchmarks in Telecom Industry of Pakistan
users across the country, they appreciated the step taken by Warid Telecom. Yasir Aziz, a busi-
nessman in Islamabad said, if all the cellular operators follow this trend customers will always stood by them. Amina Jalil, student of NUML said, Warid is always a step ahead in all its offers and products, its quality is amazing, really Warid Life ka Network. Nazia Khan, student of Khyber Medical University, Peshawar said, I love Warid for its excellent voice quality and full signals, my friends using other networks often complaint of hidden charges but I never experienced thats why I used Warid since its inception. Humima Asad, student of NDU, Karachi said, its a good gesture from a network which has already won our hearts due to its seamless services and we support Warid, because this upgradation will enhance its quality to new levels. Naeem Butt a pro-
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Ad published in newspapers on May 09, 2012.
fessor in Lahore said, the way Warid is operating and maintaining its quality is commendable, if all public & private institutions follow this trend, they would get more customers trust, and such initiatives help in boosting subscribers trust over the network he/she is using. This month Warid Telecom completed its Seven years of successful business operations in Pakistan. Warid Telecom simultaneously launched its services in 28 major cities of Pakistan on May, 23rd 2005 as fourth largest telecom operator. Warid brought some of the most innovative value added services which were introduced in Pakistan for the very first time. Warid became so popular that it gained its first million subscribers in just 80 days of launch while in just 300 days the subscriber base reached to 3 million. Warid Telecom has made tremendous progress and earned remarkable brand reputation along with customer loyalty. With an ambition to win the hearts of its customers Warid Telecom is constantly delivering with exceptional customer services. In order to effectively gauge the current customer experience and feedback, an innovative feedback program Customer Delight Program has been initiated. Furthermore to personalize the servicing of high value customers, Priority Customer Services was launched to cater the needs of Corporate and high revenue generating customers. Warid Telecom since its inception has always focused on delivering the best to its subscribers by not only providing the affordable means of communication but a truly reliable network service and delighting after sales services. With the substantial market share, loyal subscriber base and the recognition as the most steadfast telecom operator, Warid Telecom continues to set excellence benchmarks in Telecom Industry of Pakistan. That uniquely distinguish Warid from other operators is its quality network services. Warid Telecom is providing cellular service in Pakistan through 2G, 2.5G & 2.75G enabled GSM technology. Being recognized as most trusted network, started from 28 cities today Warid offers its services in 496 cities that covers more than 12500Km road length area throughout Pakistan. Warids mission is to maintain and deliver unmatched high quality network experience to every nook and corner of the country. Warid is determined in catering all the segments of society through careful attention. n
Flare Report
Telepedia
he reportedly delay in the auction of much-awaited 3G spectrum has created uncertainty amongst potential buyers as they have not been invited yet in the bidding process. The Finance Ministry has estimated to generate Rs.75 billion from the auction of 3G license during ongoing financial year 2011-12. Earlier the government was planning to launch the auction of 3G licences on March 29,2012 in which potential bidders were due to submit expressions of interest from January 21, but they have yet not been invited to do so. Pakistani cell phone subscribers will be able to transmit and receive high speed data through their mobile phones through 3G. All the dates announced earlier have been put on hold and no official notification has been issued yet. The Government has estimated to generate $ 630 million from the auction of 3G, having set a base price of $210 million for each license but failed to do so yet. The failure of launching of the 3G spectrum till the end of June 30 this year will leave influential negative impact and will further swelling the already widen budget deficit of the country. Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) is the third-ranked mobile operator, with a 19 per cent market share, behind Norway's Telenor and Mobilink, a unit of Egypt's Orascom Telecom, which respectively claims 25 and 30 per cent of Pakistan's 118 million mobile subscribers. At a senate standing committee specially convened at the Cabinet Secretariat in Islamabad, the senate voted against relaxing the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Rules so that the 3G license auction could go forward as planned. The official PTA states that, "The current
3G delay distracting potential buyers

maintained, but the committee questioned that who will determine that the group selected consists of real experts and not personal choice of the government. Advocate Anusha Rehman Khan was the convener of the committee. The committee expressed serious reservations over the process of order to make the method of auction more transparent, three points - efficiency, competitiveness and revenue generation - should be kept in front. All these points were ensured in the UK while auction of 3G licence. Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) Chairperson Ms Rahat kounain Hassan informed the committee that detailed information was not provided to her so as to present the CCP point of view over the transparency of the auction of 3G licence. She assured to provide detailed presentation over the process subject to the condition that detailed information was provided to her by the PTA. The committee again directed the PTA to provide detailed information regarding auction of 3G licence to provide presentation in the next meeting of the committee. Speaking on the occasion, Telecom Ministry of Information Technology member Ismail Shah said that the government is going to offer three slots of spectrum and one of defunct licence of Instaphone. Any company that has the licence of Instaphone has to start function immediately and for three spectrum slots if new entrants remain successful, they can lay the equipment and system but commercially they can start function after June 2013. He said four new entrants (one for Instaphone and three slots of spectrum) can participate in the process of auction for 3G licence. n
The failure of launching of the 3G spectrum till the end of June 30 this year will leave influential negative impact and will further swelling the already widen budget deficit of the country
schedule of Mobile Cellular Auction is under review. Fresh dates will be posted in due course of time." Rather regrettably, the constant delay has given the auction the faade of a joke than anything else. Since myriad factors have been involved in the auctioning, the reasons for the delay are not very clear cut either, nor could one say that only the cabinet, or only the stakeholders or only the relevant government body are responsible for the delay. Each has its own point of view, and is trying to introduce the 3G licenses in a manner in which, they feel, that it will, eventually, help to benefit the country in the best possible manner. Chairman PTA had requested the government to wave off the PPRA rule to allow a quick transaction of the 3G licensing but no development in this relation has been done yet. Pakistani mobile operators have been contemplating the launch of 3G Technology, for at least the past 3 years. It is pertinent to mention here that after the multi-billion corruption scandal in India, authorities in Pakistan are hesitant to launch the 3G licensing. Briefing the committee, PTA Chairman Dr Muhammad Yasin said the Information Memorandum will be revised after completion of the consultant process. The government has already considered the option of creating a group of local experts for auction of the 3G licence, but during a meeting with the prime minister it was decided to hire a consultant for this purpose, he
UK model is the best one and the government of Pakistan has to follow it. In order to make the method of auction more transparent, three points efficiency, competitiveness and revenue generation - should be kept in front. All these points were ensured in the UK while auction of 3G licence, says Anusha Rehman
auction for spectrum of 3G licence. Ms Khan informed the participants several world models are available for Pakistan that have already done the 3G auction and Pakistan has to follow the best one in order to earn maximum revenue. She said that UK model is the best one and the government of Pakistan has to follow it. In
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InsighT
Flare Report
ateen Telecom has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Punjab IT Board for enabling elearning in the province. Chief Minister Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif and Naeem Zamindar, CEO Wateen Telecom signed the agreement at the PITB E-Government Exhibition held at Arfa Technology Park. With the agreement, Wateen Telecom will provide an e-learning portal for graduate and post-graduate students to access and gain vital educational content form. The online portal will include text books, past papers, solved past papers and tips for students on preparing for examinations. This project aims at providing free access to
Naeem Zamindar CEO Wateen Telecom said that with better online access, Wateen envisions that a student in Chichawatni can have access to the same education available at Harvard or Cambridge
education with just the click of a button and promises to leap-frog the country to economic progress and prosperity with a skilled and educated workforce. In order for students to access this portal in universities and colleges, Wateen intends to provide the facility of Wi-Fi Hotspots. These Wi-Fi Hotspots will be free to access for students, to help them in their education and research. This portal is a small step towards realizing Wateens vision of enabling every man, woman and child in Pakistan through leading edge technology. With growing online access, the youth of Pakistan faces a dearth of quality education. Currently government spends on the education sector are limited. This ultimately means that through leading edge technology, Wateen Telecom will change the traditional way of learning, replacing it with a more convenient and a quick way of gratifying the thirst for knowledge. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr. Naeem Zamindar CEO Wateen Telecom said that With better online access, Wateen envisions that a student in Chichawatni can have access to the same education available at Harvard or Cambridge. Today we are creating an opportunity for students of tomorrow to benefit from and improve Pakistan economically and socially. The e-Government Exhibition, hosted by PITB, was visited by over one thousand students from various schools and universities. All the main ICT firms, including Wateen, participated in the exhibition with their stalls accessible for the general public. The first ever two-day E-governance Exhibition was held under the aegis of Punjab Information Technology Board at Arfa Software Technology Park. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated the exhibition. Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board Dr. Omar Saif and other officials were also present on this occasion. As many as 42 software projects completed jointly with various departments of
Wateen to educate you online
projects displayed in the exhibition included diseases surveillance system, centralized blood bank system and high court case management system. The management of Punjab Information Technology Board also displayed software of getting online FIR registration of FIR at one hundred model police stations. The other projects included online law portal, 24 hours helpline, dengue tracking system and E-library. Talking on this occasion Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board Dr. Umar Saif said that Punjab CM had not only encouraged full utilization of information technology for ensuring cooperation of government departments to the citizens without any hindrance but also took
practical steps for its use. He said that the CM had appreciated the performance of PITB and termed it a milestone with regard to good governance. PITB also signed various projects with prominent companies Oracle, Cisco, Huawei, Microsoft, Teradata, Transworld and Wateen Telecom. PITB will set up an IT academy jointly with ORICAL where certification programmes of ORICAL technologies recognized at international level will be launched under concessionary fee. PITB will set up Microsoft innovation centre with the cooperation of Microsoft Company where projects of modern technologies and employment scheme will be started which will be aimed at helping the students in providing jobs through
CEO Wateen Telecom Naeem Zamindar and Chairman PITB Dr Omar Saif signed a MoU for enabling e-learning in the presence of Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif.
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provincial government have been displayed in the exhibition which are playing an effective role in good governance, transparency and providing assistance to citizens. More than 1,500 guests from different backgrounds including students and professionals attended the exhibition. Those witnessing the exhibition have an opportunity of direct discussion with project managers of various departments on this occasion. Modern software
online programmes. The services of those secretaries of various departments were appreciated who played their important role in introducing information technology with the help of PITB in their respective departments. n
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Event
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he car4u project was officially launched at Arfa Karim IT Tower, Lahore. Honorable, Chief Minister Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated the event. The event was organised by CEO & Co-Founder Car4u, Mr. Sakib Berjees. More than 20 CEO's of the Banks/Insurance sectors, leading senior Parliamentarians, members of the Armed forces, federal and provincial Secretaries and a large number of students from across the country attended the ceremony.
many innocent lives. Every year tens of thousands Pakistanis die in road accidents & millions suffer life disabilities injuries. Car4u is a leading state of the art website, which has been developed by 13 highly professional IT developers in London and Los Angles. Road Education Service is completely free for Pakistani people. Moreover, government is going to make its content compulsory in their schools, colleges and universities. During the ceremony, an impressive
of this country to overcome invalued losses in road accidents. Its indeed a great effort by Mr. Sakib Berjees. Car4u provides services in; Education, Motoring and Businesses. It also provides insurance services, sell & purchase facility and much more for more information visit car4u website: www.car4u.com.pk. Its main aim is to educate the masses regarding road safety and in traffic management to avoid traffic incidents, which caused loss of The car4u project was conceived following the tragic events of 26th September 2011 where 47 students died during a road traffic accident in the Salt Range of KalarKahar. The website will also promote e-commerce in Pakistan. With the use of cutting edge technology and aesthetic design, Car4u is destined to become an essential tool in the fight to combat the tragic loss of life due to road traffic accidents, and at the same time serve as an example to new start up businesses by promoting a new era in e-commerce. Car4u is a mile-stone effort to educate the people
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video demonstration was presented by Car4u staff. Chief Minister encouraged and appreciated Car4u's CEO for this remarkable effort in this noble cause. Chief Minister said that overseas Pakistan's businessman must follow this example of coming back home and work with self help initiative. Chief Minister offered his unconditional support for this noble cause. Car4u's CEO said that he is proud to serve the nation by educating them about road safety and traffic management. n
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Telepedia
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Event
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fone in collaboration with LUMS Community Service Society and Special Olympics recently held Special Olympics 2012 in LUMS. The aim was to offer an exciting platform to those children who are physically and mentally challenged and motivate them to take part in activities and perform to a level where they acquire a sense of achievement. Around 400 students from 20 schools took part in the Special Olympics. Since each child had a distinctive disability, the Special Olympics team had organized different kinds of activities for each category. From 50 meters race to interactive activities for children on wheel chairs, the event ensured that all children were catered for. The main objective of this event was to let the special children have a taste of the passion and excitement which every sportsman on the field experiences and due to the continued efforts of the Special Olympics team the objective was achieved. Winners received medals and all the participants got ribbons to establish the belief that no participant was a loser on that day. The event received accolades from the chief guests, Dr. Ali Khan and Professor Junaid Ahmad from LUMS. The Chairman of Special Olympics Anees ur Rehman was extremely pleased with the set up and dedication showed by the LUMS community service society. Most importantly, the children were thrilled as they were given an opportunity to perform without any inhibitions and were encouraged by everyone present on the occasion. Speaking at the event the president of LCSS Talha Naushad said, "The LUMS Community
Services Society is extremely grateful for Ufone to have sponsored the Special Children's Olympics Lahore Chapter Games. The event was a roaring success with all the participants and volunteers having a day to remember. Without the support of the Ufone team this event would not have been possible and we are delighted to have worked with the company in executing such a brilliant event and look forward to working again in the future for such noble causes."
Akbar Khan, Chief Marketing Officer at Ufone said that it is always a pleasure to work with young children. Ufone has done immense work in the field of child health care and as an organization is very sensitive to the needs of young children with special needs. Ufone will always stand by such initiatives taken by young students and will continue to extend maximum support. It was a wonderful feeling to see smiles on the faces of the participating children at the LUMS Special Olympics 2012. n
Flare Report
Telepedia
parliamentary panel expressed their serious concerns over non-competitiveness in the much-awaited auction of 3 G license and constituted a sub-committee in this regard to ensure transparency in the auction. Meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology was held in Islamabad recently under the chairmanship of Ch Muhammad Barjees Tahir to discuss the 3G policy in the country whether 3G auction went through competitive process. Chairperson of Competition Commission of Pakistan Rahat Konain briefed the committee about competitiveness in process of 3G auction but committee showed resentment over the briefing and directed Chairperson CCP to give details about preparation and consultation with all stakeholders. Members said that chairperson don't have facts regarding the
Indicates new corruption scam

Chairman Standing Committee said that 3G auction process seems like it would be the new big scandal of corruption in the country. He said that it is not minor thing as this matter is of about Rs.50 billion. PTA and ministry have differences over this small issue then how the process of 3G would be fair and transparent?
matter. During the meeting Secretary Information Technology and Telecommunication told that new policy for the auctioning of 3G is under process and auction would be done on previous policy. Standing committee showed concern over the information that how auction could be done over expired policy. Chairman of the committee Barjees Tahir said that how can the auctioning be fair and transparent under the umbrella of expired policy. Sardar Talib Nakai asked about the qualifications of new telecom operators which would take part in the auction process of 3G in the country and said that auctioning of 3G spectrum without any new policy is not good. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and Ministry of information technology and telecommunication put the responsibility on each other about the formulation of policy for 3G auctioning. Chairman said that PTA and ministry have differences over this small issue then how the process of 3G would be fair and transparent? Humayun Saifullah said that ministry of information technology and telecommunication has wasted the time and remained unable to hire the services of a consultant during four years. Member of the committee Sardar Muhammad Shafqat Hayat said that every person has information that government is ready to award 3G license to Mobilink and Zong so after that why this process is being adopted for auctioning? Barjees Tahir said that 3G auction process seems like it would be the new big scandal of corruption in the country. He said that it is not minor thing as this matter is of about 50 billion rupees. At this chairman constituted a sub-committee under the supervision of Anusha Rehman to see the auctioning process of 3G in the country. Secretary Privatization Amjad Ali informed the 3G auction is not mandate of privatization commission while Humayaun Saifullah said that spectrum is the asset of government and privatization commisnection, for these they have proposed various measures including regulators would be ready for ENUM so IP numbering will allow even more convergence and consumer rights would be maintained. While, the auction has been delayed to sell thirdgeneration (3G) mobile telecoms licences for indefinite time, which if completed would have raised a minimum of $630 million for the cash-strapped country. The auction of three 3G licences had been scheduled to be held on March 29, according to a January government memorandum, and would be open to the five existing mobile operators plus potential new entrants. Potential bidders were due to submit expressions of interest from January 21, but they have yet not been invited to do so. All the dates announced earlier have been put on hold, what the new date is we dont know. The first step was not even taken yet. No official notification has been received by any operator. The government, which is still owed $800 million by Etisalat as part of the UAE firms $2.6 billion acquisition of a 26 percent stake in PTCL in 2006, expects to raise at least $630 million from the 3G auction, having set a base price of $210 million for each licence. That would have raised much-needed money for Pakistans government, which battling doubled-digit inflation and a sharply widening trade deficit, while foreign investment into the country has also plunged. n
3G auction!
Chairman said that annually billion of rupees lost due to grey trafficking in the country and PTA is doing nothing in this regard. He said there is immediate need to do legislation in this regard. Chairman Barjees Tahir constituted sub-committee to discuss the bill of Humayaun Saifullah about grey trafficking and directed the committee to submit its report on immediate basis. Meanwhile, Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Dr. Muhammad Yaseen has said that the market driving factors are high speed integrated services for which cellular network is merging towards the 3G that would bring Rs 5 billion investment to the country. He said that, for launching 3G technology Pakistan is facing regulatory, technology and economic challenges. Chairman said that the regulator has to deal with maintaining QoS, Security and IP, numbering and intercon-
Standing Committee showed concern over the information that how auction could be done over expired policy. Chairman Barjees Tahir said that how can the auctioning be fair and transparent under the umbrella of expired policy
sion should be involved in it. Chairman of the standing committee also quizzed the PTA officials that why they are using delaying tactics and creating hurdles in the Pakistan telecommunication bill 2010 presented to stop the grey trafficking in the country.
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Islamabad: Secretary General of the UN agency International Telecom Union(ITU), Dr. Hamadoun Toure, visited Pakistan Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n C o m p a n y L i m i t e d s (PTCL) state of the art Network Operations Centre to apprise himself of the countrys largest telecom companys network operations. Dr. Toure, who is undertaking his first official visit to Pakistan in connection with the in-
ITU Secretary General visits PTCL
ternational World Telecommunication & Information Society Day 2012 celebrations, toured PTCL NOCs impressive premises and was briefed about its vast and round the clock operations. PTCL is playing a leading role in the provision of quality and affordable ICT services to the people of Pakistan, said Dr. Toure on the occasion. By connecting the length and breadth of the country and reducing
Islamabad: Secretary General ITU, Dr. Hamadoun Toure (center right); PTCL President & CEO, Walid Irshaid (center left); ITU Regional Director Asia & Pacific, Dr. Eun-Ju Kim (left); PTCL Chief Technical Officer, Muhammad Nasrullah (right); and senior officials of Ministry of IT & Telecom and PTCL pose outside PTCL National Operations Center during SG ITUs visit to PTCL.
the digital divide, PTCL it is truly honoring the global objectives and values espoused by ITU. The ITU Secretary General is also accompanied by Regional Director ITU Asia & Pacific, Dr. Eun-Ju Kim. The visiting dignitaries were particularly impressed by PTCLs low
turnaround time for problem resolutions. PTCL is highly honored to receive the visiting dignitaries of ITU on their historic visit to Pakistan, said PTCL President & CEO, Mr. Walid Irshaid, who welcomed the dignitaries at the NOC premises. We are proud to demonstrate Pakistans
best Network Operations Centre, which is providing secure data communication, while also ensuring a fault resilient and highly available network that is fully capable of proactive identification. The ITU delegation later visited PTCL Headquarters where they interacted with the
Companys senior management. PTCL also hosted a luncheon in the visiting delegations honor, which was attended by distinguished guests from Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Ministries of IT & Telecom and Finance, Frequency Allocation Board, Ufone, and Universal Service Fund. n
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akistan is at the crossroads of Information Technology (IT) revolution. With the right emphasis at the budgetary level and proper implementation of IT friendly policies, Pakistan would very soon be among the leading IT destinations of the World. However, if faced with continued apathy at the hands of policy makers, the IT industry is bound to remain underdeveloped. The result would be that our economy will continue to suffer due to outdated practices in an environment of poor access to information for quick decision making and development. A number of initiatives at the highest level have clearly laid out the path to achieving IT driven economic growth. The current IT policy is a voluminous and comprehensive document that addresses the challenges in helping IT play its due role in taking the country to a higher level of development. However, we have consistently failed in converting these ideas into action. Different memorandums of understanding (MoU) were signed between Punjab government and the world renowned IT companies for enhancing mutual cooperation in information technology sector. The function held at Arfa Software Technology Park was attended by Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Chairman Planning & Development, Provincial Secretaries, Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), representatives of IT companies and computer experts. MoUs were signed by Chairman PITB Dr. Umar Saif, on behalf of Punjab government, with Chief Executive Officers of IT companies. The first MoU was signed with Microsoft to get students trained in internet based self-employment methods. Under the second MoU Cisco will set up Cisco Network Academy. Huawei will provide infrastructure for development of information and communication technology; various training facilities to be also provided in the province. Students will be provided training in oracle technology and certification facility by Oracle. Teradata will establish the most modern development center in Arfa Software Technology Park which will result in generation of job opportunities to 200 persons. Transworld will provide fiber optic link at Arfa Software Park. Wateen Telecom will offer free of cost Wi-Fi internet facility to the students in educational institutions throughout the province. These agreements were aimed at transforming IT sector in accordance with international standards and providing access to Pakistani students to different computer programmes of world reputed companies. As a result of these projects, modern experts will become available to Pakistan in IT sector, job opportunities will be provided to the youth and also help in setting up of new software houses of computer technology. Addressing the function, the Chief Minister said that Punjab government besides setting up of computer labs in 4286 schools and distributing laptops among 1.25 lakh talented students on merit, has made possible access of youth to international computer companies. Similarly, Pakistani youth will get opportunities of learning modern software programming in information and communication technology sectors which will result in development of Pakistani computer industry. We will move the country ahead by promoting information technology with the collaboration of international companies, says Shahbaz Sharif. The Chief Minister informed that Punjab government is launching an e-employment scheme with the cooperation of Microsoft for 1.25 lakh stu-
Pakistan would very soon be among the leading IT destinations of the World. However, if faced with continued apathy at the hands of policy makers, the IT industry is bound to remain underdeveloped. The result would be that our economy will continue to suffer
dents who have received laptops. Under this project, various techniques of earning livelihood will be imparted to the students through internet, he added. He said that free Wi-Fi facility is being provided to the students in educational institutions. Similarly, Pakistani students will get awareness about latest research and changing trends relating ing laptops scheme have been foiled. This is the most transparent project in the history of the country, he added. He said that 21st century is the century of technology and modern inventions in which the developed nations are reaching the heights of progress through development of human resources. He said that these agreements of computer technology are reflection of confidence in Punjab government by the international companies. Shahbaz Sharif said that promotion of information technology has also helped in achieving targets of good governance. He said that Punjab government has completed 42 IT projects successfully in 18 different departments which directly benefited the masses. He said that Intelligent Transport System is being introduced in Lahore for controlling traffic through computer technology. He asked Pakistani computer companies to work hard for getting their share in international computer industry and adopt new trends of research so that Pakistan could become a new center of information technology in south Asia. The Chief Minister distributed leadership awards among secretaries of provincial departments and police officers who have completed IT projects. Chairman PITB Dr. Umar Saif and representatives of IT companies also spoke on the occasion. Later, the Chief Minister inspected Punjab egovernment exhibition and visited stalls set up there. The purpose of this exhibition is to inform the people about the services being provided to the masses through IT in different departments. n
Addressing the function, the Chief Minister said that Punjab government besides setting up of computer labs in 4286 schools and distributing laptops among 1.25 lakh talented students on merit, has made possible access of youth to international computer companies
to their subjects and will be in constant contact with the world of knowledge. He said that Punjab governments projects are resulting in promotion of knowledge economy. He said that the culture of IT has been promoted in educational institutions due to laptop scheme. He said that the nefarious designs of those criticiz-
Cover Story
Zubair Ahmed Kasuri
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orld has become a global village and this is due to prompt, easy and accessible communication. Mobile communication market is one of the most important service markets in Pakistan. This service has changed peoples daily life and significantly influenced business activity of organization. The Government has tried to introduce competition and promote private and foreign ownership through deregulation policy in 2003. The policy towards fixed line services has been conservative, while the one towards the mobile services has been open and free. Since the admittance of new cellular techDr. Mohammad Yaseen Chairman, PTA nology and new operators, mobile telephony has grown rapidly in Pakistan. Telecommunication has shown an immense rapid growth in Pakistan and it has become a sizzling concern in different perspectives like economic growth, foreign investments, a great no of newly well paid jobs and new businesses and there has been a great research on all these areas. But a very important thing which we see that this telecom segment and especially cellular one has become an essential part of ones life and people who are using these services can even not imagine living without these technologies. Telecom segment has changed the shape of communication everywhere. Telecom sector has emerged as a fast growing industry during past few years and now Pakistan is promising as one of the most progressive country where the number of mobile phone subscribers has reached 118 million, while the teledensity reached to 68.2 percent. For the reason different companies are being attracted to invest heavily in this division. Due to the enormous competition among differ-
Cover Story
in the market by all the cellular service providers. These schemes make the people rushed to different networks. Now, we have 118 million cellular users and increasing day by day. These Inami schemes brought a war-like competition among the operators. These schemes have been introduced to attract customers to their respected network while giving a fair chance to become the lucky winner of House, car, gold, money etc. The number of mobile phone users in the country runs in millions which indicates improved living standard of the people. Telecom sector was in the midst of a revolution with the overall mobile phone subscriber base already hitting 118 million mark and registering a tenfold increase in the customer base. Everyone from top business executives to daily wagers looks busy on mobile phones in offices, on roads and in market places in the Pakistan. India might be worlds fastest growing telecom market but the growth is deeper in Pakistan where a larger percentage of population has a mobile connection. In contrast of a lower per be winner of the scheme, filed a writ petition in the Consumer Court against the PTCL for nonpayment of his winning prize. The Consumer Court declared the case in favour of lawyer and directed the PTCL management to pay the inami scheme amount to him earliest but PTCL did not pay his inami scheme cash of Rs. 10 lack. The lawyer knocked the door of Supreme Court of Pakistan for the imidiate recovery of his winning prize. The apex court has directed the Islamabad High Court to hear the petition and give decision within 60 days. On this, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has taken suo motto action against the mobile phone operators, who issued advertisements to mislead the customers and directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to take stern action in case of non-compliance of the apex court order. When Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) watched the scenario, it issued a letter on April 9, 2012, Ref: Misc/DG (S)/12/PTA with subject: different prize/inami schemes offered by CMOS. In the letter written by PTA said that it
Pakistan is promising as one of the most progressive country where the number of mobile phone subscribers has reached 118 million, while the teledensity reached to 68.2 percent. Cellular mobile operators and broadband service providers have offered many Prize/ Inami schemes for the last two years through electronic and print media to attract the customers and common man. There are many schemes offered by these companies especially Sonay Ki Jeet, SMS crore ka, SMS Khazana, return tickets etc.
ent companies of both service providers and mobile set providers, mobile phone is almost in reach of every common man in Pakistan and as a result of this brisk demand, companies are investing seriously in this fragment. Prize or Inami schemes have been introduced
Letter from PTAto all telecom companies
head income and almost equal prices of handsets as well as call tariffs as in India, Pakistan has much higher mobile penetration of about 68.2 percent. This is more than 65 percent in India. Cellular mobile operators and broadband service providers have offered many Prize/ Inami schemes for the last two years through electronic and print media to attract the customers and common man. There are many schemes offered by these companies especially Sonay Ki Jeet, SMS crore ka, SMS Khazana, return tickets etc. Some months back, PTCL had introduced prize scheme for new connection amounting Rs 10 lakh. A Lahore-based lawyer, who claimed to
has been observed that various complaints are being received to PTA on regular basis that cellular mobile operators are offering different prize schemes to their customers. From the contents of such alluring prize schemes, it has been observed with serious concern that these prize schemes are prima facie contrary to law, PTAs aforesaid direction and in violation of regulation 8(4) and 8(5)(i) of Telecom Consumer Protection Regulation, 2009. Keeping in view the nature, content and increasing number of the complaints on the subject issue, PTA considers these prize schemes as being misleading and against the law, hence, you are hereby directed to stop all types of Prize
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Cover Story
Schemes including genuine schemes with immediate effect in the interest of consumers and submit compliance report. Above mentioned text has been taken from the letter issued by PTA. All the Inami schemes offered by various cellular and broadband companies floating for the last two years but PTA did not take any action or sent a warning letter to stop these schemes; this questions PTAs performance as a watchdog or regulator. All the PTA officials including its chairman seem to be involved in corruption cases, if Supreme Court of Pakistan has not taken suo motto action, PTA would still be in the cradle rabbit. After the apex court directions, suddenly PTA came into action and wrote a letter to the cellular and broadband service providers companies to save its skin. Sources closed to the matter informed that PTA letter issued in back date after the Supreme Court ordered the PTA to submit complete details regarding the role and regulation for cellular and broadband internet companies. Cellular and broadband internet companies approached the Islamabad High Court against the decision of PTA. On this, Islamabad High Court has given stay order on April 20, 2012 while the hearing of the case was under proceeding in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. On May 9, Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered Islamabad High Court to decide the case within 60 days. Its merit mentioning here, PTAs role has raised many questions; before the Supreme Court verdict, PTA did not aware of these prize schemes. After the Supreme Court suo motto action, PTA had issued the back date letter to the cellular and internet service provider companies. Sources in the cellular and broadband service provider companies lamented the PTA role and said the issuance of the letter was merely mental torturing the mobile phone and internet serves for his vested interests, like his former boss Mr. Yaseen received kick backs to guard them and by not conducting any quality of service survey. During these inami schemes offered by cellular and broadband service providers, Chairman got millions to serve the very interests of operators instead of customers, which the utmost obligation of PTA is to insure if any operator is not violating customers rights.

various companies as Mobilink Jazz Khazana Ki Jeet, Warid Karoro Ka SMS, Ufone Shahkar, Telenor Sonay Ki Jeet, Zong Dubai Return Ticket offer etc. If we calculate the amount of rupees a local mobile phone company bagged under the umbrella of inami scheme. Suppose this company has existing customers only 1 crore and all users use Rs 200 for a single entry in the scheme; it counts to Rs. 2000 million. While it has asked all its customers to use as many balance it would give them more chance in lucky draw. Suppose customers from other networks shifted to this companys network are 5 million who used Rs. 200; it counts to Rs 1000 million. Lets be realistic and does not consider multiple entries and new customers. The net random total will be Rs 3000 million. While it gives 10 xlis cost was 13,000,000. Hence very tight calculated minimum revenue this company would have got out of this scheme was Rs 2987 million. The mobile phone companies have received million of rupees from the consumers in respect of prize schemes and other bundle offered. The question is that why PTA did not take any action against these companies and remains silent spectator. Even PTA did not take consumer opinion whether these prize schemes will continue or not. The government should have to take stern action against the regulator by forming a Parliamentary Committee to probe the matter and ask the regulator, if the inami schemes are violation of law then who has given these companies the nod to offer such schemes; if it is in violation of law then why PTA remained silent for the last two years. The chairman of the regulator in his 4 years long tenure did nothing for the reverend customers but bagged kick backs and remained disloyal to his office and post. Dr
The government should have to take stern action against the regulator by forming a Parliamentary Committee to probe the matter and ask the regulator, if the inami schemes are violation of law then who has given these companies the nod to offer such schemes; if it is in violation of law then why PTA remained silent for the last two years. The chairman of the regulator in his 4 years long tenure did nothing for the reverend customers but bagged kick backs and remained disloyal to his office and post. Dr Yaseen not only received kick backs but also looted public purse
PTCL prize scheme case is under proceeding in Honourable Court and PTA is deliberate the taunted the mobile phone companies. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had is-
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service providers, while PTA letter has no legal existence. They added PTA should have taken us into confidence before issuing the letter. Source in the telecom and IT industry showed distrust and criticize the role of Chairman PTA Dr. Mohammad Yaseen. They said PTA under the chairmanship of Dr Yaseen, telecom and IT sectors showed decline, while he failed to cope the situation professionally. Experts opined that, if the chairman truly follows the book and refused kick backs our telecom sector has the potential to attract more FDI in the country like it fetched billions in 2006-07, while faced huge decline in his tenure. During Dr Yaseens four years regime, this sector witnesses only decline. Telecom experts marked the regime of Dr Yaseen as disastrous for the Pakistans Telecom and IT sector. During his 4 years tenure he only
sued the letter and directed the prize schemes. PTA said that it has been observed that various complaints are being received to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority on regular basis that cellular mobile operators are offering different prize schemes to their customers. Flare has got copy of the letter, PTA has issued to operators. There exists divide in the opinion of consumers and cellular and broadband service provider companies on the prize schemes. Although, PTA did not take the companies into confidence before issuing directives; prior to Supreme Court verdict; PTA becomes silent spectator. The government should form a Parliamentary Committee to probe the prize schemes issue and ask the PTA to perform its duty and take care of the consumers rights. There are many prize schemes introduced by
Yaseen not only received kick backs but also looted public purse. The Apex court should take suo motto notice and formed a judicial commission to ask the PTA Chairman, why he was unmoved on inami schemes. The court should also asked Dr Yaseen what he did in his 4 years tenure for the people and telecom sector; even he couldnt introduced the most lucrative 3G technology. The august court should have to intervene and asked the regulator to ensure protection provided to investors. If boss of the regulator accepts kick backs, who will protect investors? The national economy reaches on the verge of collapse, it needs extensive FDI; this could come to recue if the regulator performs its true role to protect investors invaluable investment and at the same time guard the consumers rights as well. n
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Interview
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resent days most alluring entrepreneurial success in Pakistan can be seen in the history of Superior Group of Colleges. Despite the abundant complaints against recession and particularly difficult economic times in Pakistan, Superiors ongoing and rapid expansion has established the glory of determination and hard work. We are honoured to have a detailed interview with the Chairman Superior Group of Colleges Ch Abdul Rehman. Lets take seeds of inspiration from this ambitious success persona. Flare: Please tell us about your early life and your family. Abdul Rehman: I am thankful to Flare Magazine for considering me able enough to appear and share my experience. I was born near the locality of Montgomery Park, Lahore. We are two brothers and one sister. My elder brother started his career as a banker but now he is Director Operations at Superior University. My sister is the youngest one. My father passed recently, he remained extremely honest, hard working and dutiful officer throughout his government job. My grandfather, Ch. Fazal Muhammad was a brave and honest police office during British rule. The superiority of our family and historical pride lies in fear of God, honesty, bravery, extreme loyalty with our motherland Pakistan. Today we are committed for the welfare of our nation. Flare: How was the time of your student life and how did you chose education as your career? Abdul Rehman: I completed Matriculation from Dawn Basco School. In fact our mother taught us to work very hard and read too extensively to gain top position and distinctions. She
hailed from a highly educated family so giving high standard of education was her core ambition. She instilled true passion for education in our hearts and minds. About career I must tell that due to my mothers wish, I aimed at becoming a doctor but due to reasons it could not be done. Then I opted for commerce, following my elder. I topped in
The thunderous successes achieved by Superior Group of Colleges is a living indicator of the fact that we always believe in quality education and we are reaping it in the form of affirmative response not only from our students but also from a large number of parents who repose trust to our consolidated system of education and our distinctive academic strength lies in focusing on quality education, personality development, true professionalism and career planning that help in overall growth of the Country
B.Com exams and completed M.Com from Hailey College of Commerce, University of the Punjab. Soon after achieving this degree, my father got my passport stamped with Australian visa and offered it to me. However, I did not go to Australia by choice. At that time I had a passion to contribute to my country for that eventually I ended up in the education field. Because teaching was the tool with which I could offer extensive to my countrymen. Flare: Please share with us the history of development and expansion of Superior Colleges? Abdul Rehman: The journey of the Superior College started in the year 2000 with a small campus at Tipu Block, Garden Town, Lahore. In the very first year, colleges were opened up in four cities other than Lahore namely Faisalabad, Okara, Multan and Rahim Yar Khan, which were highly appreciated because the people keen at excellent education were satisfied by the quality education and the standard of this echelon of knowledge. Today, we have 44 campuses of Superior colleges all over Punjab and a 200 Kanal purpose built university campus at Raiwind Road, Lahore. By the grace of Almighty Allah, hoards of young people prefer Superior for being adored with modern education. Flare: It is heard that you have declared student unions and politics as crime in your institutes, is it true? Abdul Rehman: See, student unions can never help improve their stature, nor it polishes their skills. It is indeed harmful for youth. That is why we have arranged proper forums for students extra curriculum activities in Superior colleges and university. I myself have seen educational insti-
Flare Report
Interview
tutes politics very closely and I know how political parties take advantage of student bodies. When I established my college I decided not to leave room for any such nonsense activities in my institute. To nurture students strengths we have established forums as Superior Executive Club for the students of Management Sciences and Business and Management, Superior Thinkers and Intellectuals Forum where students attend to the lectures of the learned. Similarly, we have Superior IT Club, Superior Economist Club, Superior Lawyers Group and Superior Journalists Club etc.
Flare: How Superior is promoting research culture in education? Abdul Rehman: We have two research centers at our university i.e. Azra Naheed Centre for Research & Development (ANCRD) and Chaudhary Muhammad Akram Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CMACED). The aim of establishing these centers is to promote research culture in Pakistan and hence increase the number of PhDs scholars here. Another objective of these centers is to bring ground implications of Western research theories and concepts in our country because there is a great disparity between the basic values and cultures of the East and the West. Today, I can proudly acclaim that Superior University has successfully produced numerous people having PhD and a great number of researchers. We also organize an international conference every year, in which scholars and researchers take part from all cross the world. This initiative is helping to promote Pakistan's soft image before the world. Flare: Are there any plans for Superior faculty development? Abdul Rehman: It is one of our primary objectives. We have been taking various steps to develop our faculty by providing them with opportunities to seek PhD degree from foreign universities. Various faculty members are doing PhD with full scholarship from Superior. Moreover, regular trainings and workshops are arranged to add to their skills and knowledge. Intellectual capital is the backbone of a university that is why we pay special attention towards its improvement. Flare: Being a huge infrastructure, what are the HR and financial challenges faced by Superior University at the moment? Abdul Rehman: There are no such challenges that we confront at present. We have Department of Superior Human Resource Development at Superior which is doing so well. However, I must mention that we do not stop our human resource from enjoying greater opportunities while at the same time we believe in investing on more competent people to have them in Superior.
Flare: Daily Nai Baat is another remarkable venture as being perceived by the media clich. How this all happen and what motivation brought you into print media? Abdul Rehman: Since we are educationists, we do understand that a vigorous stance needs to be taken for educating not only the youths but entire society and print media is such tool to accomplish this task. Department of Mass Communication Development at Superior University kept working on it for long and with complete preparation we finally launched daily Nai Baat. Here we are serving one and only objective of bringing impartial, true and reliable news through a credible team of journalists. It is now being published from Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Karachi while being circulated to the whole country. Our purpose of educating people can be traced well from this content rich newspaper, exclusive daily editions and three weekly magazines unique of their kind i.e. Sunday Magazine, Khawateen Magazine and Kids Magazine. Flare: You take new initiatives with high confidence, is there any person who inspires and supports you in such decisions? Abdul Rehman: Throughout my life, my immediate inspiration remained my fathers personality. He was an incredibly sagacious man who taught us to do only honest efforts and never bow before tyranny. In his times, he had the guts to stand up for truth and raise his voice against corruption and injustice. So, I believe I inherited same qualities from him and then to take new initiatives as you asked, I have faith in Allahs promise that Man gets whatever he strives for (Al-Quran 53: 39). So being Muslims, without
fulness and righteousness of vision. I think that is what my people believe about me. No matter how adverse the circumstances are, I never fail to fulfill my promise. Besides being righteous, I am people-centric. To me, people take precedence over money. I value individuals and want to serve them in the best way possible. Flare: What book on personal and leadership development would you recommend to our younger generation? Abdul Rehman: Instead of reading books, I would recommend for the younger generation to astutely observe the successful people and adopt their strengths. I firmly believe in practicality, therefore, no matter what your profession is, always watch the top leader and try to emulate his good qualities. Flare: Serving as the chairman Superior group of colleges and Chief editor Nai Baat simultaneously, how do you manage work\life balance? Abdul Rehman: I must say that my team is very supportive and that is the secret of successfully managing different spheres of my work-life. I believe in team development and empowering my subordinates. However, a leader has to be autocratic sometimes to get the work done, because if he is not able to handle the system, it would eventually collapse. Secondly, when at work, I pay full attention to it without indulging in any distractions and same goes for personal matters, family time is fully devoted to the family. Flare: How do you cope with stress? Abdul Rehman: Whenever I am stressed or worried, I offer Namaz or go to my parents' grave and pray there.
anybodys fear we set our purpose, put maximum efforts with values of truth, honesty and hard work and then we leave the results on Almighty Allah. Flare: How can we inculcate ethical values among our youth? Abdul Rehman: It is imperative for the parents to instill ethics and values in their children to develop them into positive and progressive people of society. Only parents can raise decent and ethical children in today's complicated world to help us staying intact with our values. Flare: Being the employer of a big organisation, how would you define your management and leadership style? Abdul Rehman: I believe in inspirational leadership. People should follow a leader for his truth-
Besides, I also go to the Masjid where I meet many positive people and find consolation and motivation in that networking. Flare: What would be your message of hope to the readers? Abdul Rehman: There are many reasons to be optimistic. I have seen many positive people in the last few years. These people are undeterred by the disparaging attitude of the society and are indomitable towards achieving their goals and some of them have been exceedingly successful in their endeavours too. Besides, awareness among the people has increased largely. Media has been playing a vital role in this regard by bringing the injustices to the forefront and I can clearly see a silver lining for the future of Pakistan.n
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nvironmentalists, academics, researchers and social justice activists expressed grave concern over the illegal dumping of electronic wastes (ewastes) in Pakistan. The concerned citizens have demanded the government for a formulation of an integrated national policy, implementation and effective monitoring with the participation of the stakeholders. E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in Pakistan and has emerged as top lucrative business in the country. Pakistan is one of the highest e-waste generating countries in the world. It produces 20 to 50 million metric tons of e-waste. Most importantly the country does not have the expertise, or the skills for e-waste management. Rather impromptu e-waste recyclers are the major culprits of environmental hazards. The recycling trade grew into largest suppliers of metal scraps for the booming construction industry and other spent fuels which have caused hazards on environment, health and life in the region. Hazardous E-waste has become one of the biggest health risks of this century in Pakistan, with rising trend of bulk imports of used and obsolete computers and other electronic equipment from the West, taking full advantage of yet to be enacted E-waste laws in the country. The people, especially the youth, are buying E-Waste of the West as branded computers due to lack of awareness about the grave risks it is posing to the environment, human life and animals. No one knows when Pakistan will be able to effectively cope with the problem of hazardous E-waste, perhaps not before the adults and children start suffering from serious health disorders by exposing to lead and other lethal chemicals present in E-waste, says an environmental expert.
The people, especially the youth, are buying E-Waste of the West as branded computers due to lack of awareness about the grave risks it is posing to the environment, human life and animals
deal with E-waste hazards. The existing Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997 does not cover the safe handling and disposal of hazardous E-waste and prevention of its import. Although Pakistan is a signatory to the Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, the government has done little to check and regulate toxic imports. computers, its accessories and other obsolete electronic equipment, which contain large amount of hazardous waste, are being shipped to Pakistan with complete disregard to their lethal effects. These obsolete electronic products, which are difficult and expensive to dispose of in developed countries because of their hazardous nature, are imported and used as cheap and second-hand machinery in Pakistan. It is a well known fact the developed countries get rid of their undesirable computers and other equipment considered scrap by sending shipments out to developing countries and Pakistan is a prime example of such behaviour, says environmental expert Dr Iqbal. It is observed that a large quantity of computers, its accessories and related gadgets are used in houses and offices, exposing adults and children to toxic elements. In order to avoid such type of waste and consequent hazards, it is important not to import old and out-dated electronic gadgets, especially computers and cellular devices, says Dr Iqbal. He says besides a host of heavy metals which continue to pollute our water bodies, land, soil, and air the disposal of computers and other E-waste requires scientific supervision and proper channels. This modern era problem has not so far received much attention from non-governmental or environmental bodies in the country. So it is alarming that the workers in the computer recycling industry as well as consumers who buy used equipment due to its low cost are oblivious to the threats to their health. n
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According to environmentalists, the toxic materials found in computer equipment include lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, barium etc, warning that - older the computer, the higher the level of toxic elements. According to reports, one of the most toxic equipment is Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) present in monitors and monitor-converted TVs, which contain deadly metals such as lead, which damages the nervous and reproductive systems and poisons the blood and kidneys. It also adversely affects plants, animals and microorganisms. Cadmium, found in chips and infrared detectors, accumulates in kidneys and damages them. Another heavy metal, mercury, which is used in a large number of electronic items, enters the food chain and harms the brain and kidneys. There is no law in the country to effectively
E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in Pakistan and has emerged as top lucrative business in the country. Pakistan is one of the highest e-waste generating countries in the world. It produces 20 to 50 million metric tons of e-waste
According to a UN report, the world collectively generates 20 to 50 million tonnes of Ewaste every year. Sensing the gravity of the problem at global level, an international conference, Environmentally Sound Management of E-waste, is being held on January 8 to 11, 2012 in Tehran. A delegation from Pakistan has also been invited to participate in the conference. It is learnt that tens of thousands of used
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orwegian telecom operator Telenor Pakistan has lost its major corporate clients Lesco and many others recently due to overcharging and poor service. Lesco has changed its all existing Telenor mobile numbers and opted Zong. Sources in the PEPCO revealed that, it is planning to switch over all the existing Telenor mobile phone numbers to Zong network. In this regard, paper work is in progress and soon they will finalise it. Telenor Pakistan is losing its major corporate clientele gradually. What will be the future of Telenor in Pakistan? It is high time for the management of Telenor Norway otherwise it will also collapse in Pakistan like India. Recently, Zong has entered into an agreement with Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) for providing mobile cellular services, Ali Kamran, Di-
Poor service, over-charging

It maybe recalled that Telenor was the first operator in telecom industry who started charging on balance inquiries back in July 2009. It is also pertinent to mention here, that balance inquiry charges were approved by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, but it had asked operators to give 30 days prior notice to customers before increasing any charges. It shows that the regulator has gone soft and lenient in three years that they arent restricting operators for 30 days notice before making any change in tariffs. Like we reported earlier PTA has lost control over operators at all which is giving operators freedom to impose new charges (every other month now), while PTA stands there like onlookers, despite they are public servants. Earlier, Telenor started extra charges to postpaid customers under service fee umbrella. Telenor has done it again; it has once again become the first operator in the Pakistani market to impose charges on postpaid customers for calling helpline service. Telenor, without notifying customers even with an SMS notification (something they keep sending their customers every day but for promotions only) imposed Rs. 2 plus tax for every call made to helpline. Just a prompt message is being played during helpline calls, explaining that postpaid customers will be charged Rs. 2 plus tax for talking to customer representative. Prepaid customers were already paying charges plus taxes for seeking help from cellular operators. Postpaid customers are usually considered premium due to high paying tariffs they bear. It merits mentioning here that ARPU (Average Revenue per User) for postpaid customers for Telenor in Q4 2011 was Rs. 771 as compared to Rs. 236 for prepaid customers.
Additional charges are something cellular customers in Pakistan are facing every other day now. Telcos claim offering of lowest call rates in the region seems more of just a catch line now. I am wondering when they will stop justifying low ARPUs because of low calling rates, as low calling tariffs are supported by humongous additional charges. PTA should have act now, PTAs primary function is to ensure the customers rights been protected, if it is so helpless to protect users rights then the bigwigs have no right to sit in public offices and living a lavish life on public purse. Telenor reported a plunge in quarterly net profit owing to a big write-down in India where the group has lost its licences for mobile services. In the first quarter, net profit amounted to 583 million kroner ($100.5 million) from nearly 2.8 billion kroner last year. Telenor, the
Telenor losing major corporate clientele

Sources in the PEPCO revealed that, it is planning to switch over all the existing Telenor mobile phone numbers to Zong network. Telenor Pakistan is losing its major corporate clientele gradually. What will be the future of Telenor in Pakistan?
rector Corporate Sales, Zong and Sharafat Sial, CEO, LESCO signed the documents on behalf of their respective companies. Telenor Pakistan is planning to increase balance inquiry charges by 50 percent from all its prepaid customers. It is best way to boost and cheat the customers who show willingness to balance inquiry. The customers of Pakistani market are innocent and simple; they are soft and easy target for Telenor like company. They become victims but in reverse open biggest telecom operator in the Nordic region, made a write-down of 3.9 billion kroner announced recently, after the Indian Supreme Court withdrew the firm's licences to operate mobile services, judging that they had been sold under irregular procedures. The value of Uninor, the Indian subsidiary in which Telenor had invested at least 17 billion kroner, now stands at zero in the group's accounts. But operating results rose. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose by 5.2 percent to 7.7 billion kroner from slightly less than 7.4 billion kroner.
PTA shall act now, PTAs primary function is to ensure the customers rights been protected, if it is so helpless to protect users rights then the bigwigs have no right to sit in public offices and living a lavish life on public purse
revenue streams; Telenor use tactics and introducing various useless packages which has nothing to do with the customers needs but a revenue generating mechanism. A message that is being displayed on Telenors website reads that charges for all balance inquiries over USSD are being revised to Rs. 0.15 + Tax, i.e. Rs. 0.18 including tax. Telenor was earlier charging Rs. 0.10 plus tax and Rs. 0.12 including tax for all kind of balance inquiries.
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Just two days after Telenor Chairman Harald Norvik announced his plans to quit, Jan Erik Cross Lake - another top representative at the Norweigan firm - has said he will resign to protest against government's decision that lead to Norvik's resignation. He said, "The reason for my resignation is that I disagree with the largest shareholder in the background, timing and implementation of the process that led to the chairman of Telenor ASA resigning.n
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eeping in view Ufones vision to engage the youth in activities which promote the image of Pakistan, Ufone in collaboration with AIESEC is conducting project Pakistan Tum He To Ho which is aimed to highlight the positive side of Pakistan in the international arena. AIESEC, the worlds largest student-run organisation, is the international platform for young people to explore and develop their leadership potential to have a positive impact on society. Their platform enables organisations to interact and source high-potential university students and graduates from all over the world through our projects, exchange programmes, conferences, and virtual communication tools. With the further weakening & dampened perception of our nation, the Pakistani youth feels the
ception of Pakistan before visiting and how their thought process had changed after spending a couple of months here. They also pointed out similari-
ties and differences between different cultures and encouraged exchange programs which gave students an opportunity to visit different countries and learn about their culture and norms. This workshop was also an eye opener for Ufone employees as there were quite a few things which they realised that they take for granted but are very intriguing to a visitor from another country. The interns also had a one on one session with Akbar Khan, Chief Marketing Officer at Ufone and got some insight on the workings of Ufone as a competitive telecom company in a highly challenging market. All groundwork done by these interns will be shared with AIESEC members across the globe which will ensure that the Pakistans soft image is portrayed all around.
pressures associated with belonging to a country to which much negative stereotypes are attached. Project Pakistan Tum He To Ho aims to fight such stereotypical thinking. AIESEC representatives from foreign countries are currently in Pakistan to conduct Ufones project Pakistan Tum He To Ho and as part of the project they conducted a cultural diversity workshop for Ufone employees. It was a highly interactive session where the international interns discussed their per-
Akbar Khan explained Ufones vision for project Pakistan Tum He To Ho in very simple and profound words, PTHTH is a project very close to our hearts, the idea was conceived by Abdul Aziz President & CEO Ufone and was created to engage Pakistanis across the globe. PTHTH is a platform to highlight the positives of one of the toughest nations in the world. And even after so much negativity we still stand as one hoping to make Pakistan a better place for generations to come. n
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InsighT
Awais Munawar
According to the reports of FIA, cyber crimes are rampant across the country and a number of educated, respectable and distinguished girls are being blackmailed
s Facebook and other social websites are becoming popular day-by-day in Pakistan, an important Asian country, hundreds of girls are being blackmailed by the social networking sites forcing them to limit activities to their homes and even to commit suicides. According to the reports of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), cyber crimes are rampant across the country and a number of educated, respectable and distinguished girls are being blackmailed. "About 99 percent of complaints are being lodged by girls that their accounts are hacked and profile picture edited," FIA sources revealed. "After that indecent pictures are uploaded on Facebook and other social websites," they complained. "Hackers also develop fake accounts in the name of these girls and after that use vulgar language while communicating with family members and friends of such girls." According to a survey report, there are more than 20 million Internet users in Pakistan and 5 million people use Facebook and other websites. "FIA's cyber crime wing receives 70 percent of complaints regarding Facebook," the sources said and added that hundreds of girls are compelled to leave their education and attracting jobs after being blackmailed through hacked Facebook accounts. Five hackers were arrested recently on charges of blackmailing of innocent and educated girls via Facebook. Many edited indecent videos and pictures have been recovered from their possession. Most of incidents of blackmail occurred after culprits failed to get engaged with any girl or breaking up engagement with that girl.
leaving common people at the mercy of criminals," they said. "Personal data like details, pictures and videos which are uploaded on different social media sites including Facebook are being used wrongly and everyone should be cautious while uploading his or her personal bio data." No doubt, social networks are embedded into our everyday lives. We plan our weekends around Facebook invitations. We learn a friend is having a baby through an update on Twitter. We learn about a co-workers promotion through their LinkedIn profile being updated. Like it or not, social networks have become a part of our daily interactions. Its all about being responsible for what you put out there for the world to see. No more than one decade, do you remember what your life was like ten years ago? How you communicated with people? How you received your news? Shared information? In this past decade our lives have been forever transformed and the power of media, specifically social media, has significantly impacted the world around us. In the last few months we have seen more than ever just how important social media is, as we watched three of the most powerful dictatorial regimes of the Arab and African world being toppled, organised and facilitated in no small part via social networking sites such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Even as those revolutions are changing the Middle East region, it seems a transformation is also taking place within the Muslim community.
"As revenge they hack the accounts to teach a lesson to that girl and her family," the FIA officials noted. Many girls have been rusticated from their educational institutes and colleges after their fake porn movies and pictures were developed and uploaded on internet. According to FIA Cyber Wing Sindh, efforts are being put up to arrest culprits involved in blackmailing of relatives of government officers; so far only a couple of culprits have been apprehended.
About 99 percent of complaints are being lodged by girls that their accounts are hacked and profile picture edited; after that indecent pictures are uploaded on Facebook and other social websites
In a scenario where the social networking sites have changed lives of people of Pakistani and other countries, it has also affected lives of millions. In countries like United States, United Kingdom, India, European states and last but not least Pakistan, Facebook has been termed as a security threat emerging as a tool to blackmail people and even risking their lives. "The major reason behind this growing trend is lack of effective laws of Cyber Crime in Pakistan
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Social networks and media have definitely changed the spread of Islam and the perception of Muslims in the minds of many. The impact of Facebook and Twitter in changing entire nations can be seen in the uprisings of the Arab spring that were largely dependent on social media as a means of communicating and fuelling the passions of the people who overthrew their countries dictators. The same can be said of Islams relation to social media. Social media presents a huge opportunity for us to reach out to people who may not know about Islam or Muslims. Thousands of Americans have never met a Muslim but they have access to us through social media. n
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Interview
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Fr e e d ow n lo ad | fl a re. p k
Flare conducts an interview of Mr. Frank Teng, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Changhong-Ruba who says with the slogan of 3S that envisages to satisfy the employees, satisfy the customers and satisfy the shareholders, Changhong, Chinas largest consumer electronics and home appliances manufacturer with presence in more than 110 countries and revenues exceeding $9.2 billion, has launched its products in Pakistan in collaboration with Ruba Group as co-brand Changhong-Ruba.
ince being established in 1958, Changhong has grown into one of the largest consumer electronics providers in China, specialising in R&D, manufacturing and marketing of consumer electronics products. Changhong follows a simple business philosophy: to devote talent and technology to creating easy life for distinguished customers, which ultimately contribute to a better world. It believes that living by strong values is the key to good business. At Changhong, a rigorous code of conduct and these core values are at the heart of every decision it make. Integrity is its most valuable asset. It drives Changhong to behave honestly and keep its promises, and thus win customerstrust and respect.
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Excerpts from interview: Flare: How did you plan to launch products in Pakistan? Frank Teng: Pakistan is the most promising market to trade in. We have launched our venture in Pakistan under a long term strategy with a plan to become number one leader in Pakistans electric appliances industry. Initially, the launch is more focused on its co-brand, and top of the line
LED, POP, LCD series which is expected to take the market in terms of technology, quality and price. Changhong-Ruba is set to bring change in the market with quality standards and affordable prices. Flare: Do you think Changhong can capture Pakistani market? Frank Teng: Yes, with a mission to create social value, Changhong-Ruba is working with the spirit of responsibility, innovation and perseverance. We commit to create high-class products and high-quality service. Commercial reputation would be the comprehensive reflection of our highquality products, fast and efficient service, market size and high popularity. Changhong brand has around 60 years history and is the No.1 best selling of TV in Chinese market for last 17 years, and one-third of Chinese families is using Changhong TV. With the rapid development in recent years, Changhong has transformed itself as an integrated multinational corporation (combined R&D and manufacturing of military industry, consumer electronics, core components, etc.) and been advancing to become a content and service provider in worldwide. In Pakistan, Changhong in collaboration with local partners i.e. Ruba will perpetually advance
with time, adhere to the commitment and carry out the digital Changhong strategy. Flare: Do you see bright future prospects for Changhong-Ruba in Pakistan? Frank Teng: Yes, Changhong-Ruba will always persist in self innovation, breeding its own core technology abilities, promoting refinement management and adopting brand strategy. We are confident to make Changhong-Ruba a respected and trustful enterprise with leading temperament in consumer electronic industry in Pakistan like rest of the world. Flare: Changhong has launched TV & AC so far, what will next? Frank Teng: In the first stage, we have introduced range of TV and AC products in Pakistan for which a state of the art unit has been established. We are planning to introduce range of mobile phones in the second stage to capture the huge Pakistani market. Changhong want permanent presence in Pakistan to provide quality electric appliances to Pakistani population at reasonable price range. We are not in a hurry, rather we are here as a part of long term planning to capture local market as a No.1brand. Pakistan has a huge market with very good supply chain for electric appliances. n
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Frequency spectrum is the main engine for socioeconomic uplift: Dr. Toure
Secretary General ITU praised the Board and Ms Nargis Sethi for making spectrum available for the 3G/4G and Broadband and on her strategic thinking of creating a dedicated Spectrum Re-farmation Directorate in the FAB
r. Hamadoun Toure Secretary General ITU World, the Telecom icon and the Head of the UN Agency for Telecommunication, visited Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) HQs, Islamabad recently and co-chaired FAB Board meeting along Ms. Nargis Sethi Cabinet Secretary and Chairperson FAB. Dr Hamadoun Tour, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) since January 2007, was re-elected for a second term at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, Guadalajara, Mexico, in October 2010. He also holds number of decorations, honourary titles and memberships, bestowed upon him by several countries. On the occasion, Ms. Nargis Sethi in her welcome speech thanked the distinguished guest and Dr. Kim Regional Director ITU for visiting FAB and sharing his views and experience with Pakistan. She also commented that being Secretary to Government of Pakistan and a working woman, she was delighted to know that the ITU has chosen World Telecom Day Theme 2012 as Women and Girls in ICT emphasizing the gender equality on which the present gov-
ernment in Pakistan has also focused in the current years. Ms. Nargis shared her views after the deregulation of telecom sector in Pakistan in 2003-2004, the appetite for spectrum for ICT has increased exponentially and the radio based services have transformed the way we live and play especially in the era of mobile miracle. Ms. Nargis thanked the Secretary General ITU for
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Dr. Toure also praised the government on their women empowerment actions and highlighted that woman empowerment is main agenda of the Millennium Development Goals of the ITU and therefore, this year ITU theme 2012 is Women and Girls in ICT
extending support to FAB being acting as administration of Pakistan in achieving coordination and for registration of Paksat-1R at ITU. She also thanked him for deputing a reputed ITU consultant Mr. Adrian Foster to Pakistan for recommending and drafting a Spectrum Management Policy for Pakistan which was very much needed for the country. The co-chaired FAB Board meeting was also attended by Executive Director FAB, Member Telecom MoIT, Chairman PTA, Chairman PEMRA, DG (Technical) ISI, Additional Secretary MoIB, representative of Defence Ministry and senior officers of FAB. Mr. Iftikhar Ahmed Executive Director FAB in his presentation of FAB highlighted that the Board is a sector regulator since 1951 earlier established as Pakistan Wireless Board (PWB) to regulate use of frequency spectrum, approval for sitting of radio/ wireless base stations etc and later as Frequency Allocation Board under Pakistan Telecom Act, 1996. It is a powerful government autonomous board comprising of Secretary Cabinet as Chairman/Chairperson, Executive Director as Vice
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Chairman and Members from Ministry for IT and Telecom, Ministry of Defence (SO-in-C GHQ), Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, DG (Tech) Security Agency, Chairman PTA and Chairman PEMRA. He pointed out that frequency spectrum in 450 MHz, 479 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz and 3.6 GHz were assigned to mobile and WLL operators in 2004 on implementation of GoP Telecom De-regulation Policy-2003 and Mobile Cellular Policy-2004 and US$ 582 million and Rs. 14 billion had been accrued from 2004 spectrum auction whereas additional amount of US$ 582 millions accrued during 2005-2007 on renewal of rest of mobile licenses. Similarly, frequencies for broadcasting sector had been made available and assigned to quite large number of operators across the country. The ED FAB further pointed out that FAB has re-farmed frequency spectrum and made it available for 3G mobile as well as Broadband & WLL services. Frequency blocks for 3G in 2.1 GHz band were arranged in block size of 9.8 MHz such that this will make two carriers of WCDMA technology which will be assigned to operators. With this arrangement FAB has created necessary guard band protection between the 3G mobile band and the already assigned spectrum for WLL/ CDMA2000 in 1900 MHz band. This arrangement has saved one carrier of WCDMA worth over 100 million dollar in Pakistan. FAB, in the light of ITU recommendations and international best practices has developed a framework for frequency spectrum re-farmation/re-deployment for introduction of new technologies and services in Pakistan. The framework is a set of systematic procedures which will be followed for spectrum re-farmation in future in Pakistan through which desired frequency spectrum would be made available systematically and efficiently on time while taking care of all stake holders. He viewed that such a framework/ systematic set of procedure has been adopted by world leading economies like USA, France, Australia and ITU Secretary General appreciated the move. The ED FAB also highlighted that the Board has also set a proper timeline for assignment of frequency spectrum to various categories of spectrum users according to which spectrum for microwave links, HF/ VHF land mobile private users would be assigned for five years only whereas old/ prior to 1996 assignees have to reassign frequencies as they are no more valid.
Executive Director FAB, Mr. Iftikhar Ahmed receives Dr. Hamadoun Toure Secretary General ITU on his visit to FAB Headquarters, Islamabad
mobile technologies and its commercial deployment with a view to analyze Eco System for LTE which is very important for economies like ours. Once Eco System for LTE is finalized then one would be able to surely identify the best frequency band in which the operators and the country would get benefit from economies of scales and the use of the most harmonized band worldwide.
Three Blocks of 3G Frequency Spectrum for Auction It was explained that a Technical Committee has been formed by the Board which is engaged in the identification of suitable frequency bands for IMT/ 4G/ LTE for Pakistan. This committee is studying the progress of the 4th Generation
The ED FAB put some light on Gigabit Wireless Ethernet technologies which can deliver data rate in Gbps and is being deployed for LAN/ MAN and other backbone networks for applications such as Fibre Replacement, Standby Access, Campus Connectivity, High Definition Video/ Graphics/ Maps, Storage Ac-
cess, Wireless Backhaul, Local Loop, LAN/MAN/WAN Extension. He shared that in the light of ITU Radio Regulations and International best practice like that in USA, UK and other European countries, the frequency band 71-76 GHz/ 81-86 GHz was planned for Gigabit Ethernet point to point links in Pakistan. The band is arranged in 19 channels of 250 MHz each which is capable of data links for application indicated above and would be assigned to operators on link by link basis for efficient deployment and maximizing re-use of the band. The ED FAB also shared that new technical monitoring systems/ facilities in FAB have been added which has enhanced the effectiveness of the monitoring capabilities of FAB for an extended frequency ranges and analyzing technical parameters of wide range of technologies. These monitoring facilities will support availability of interference free spectrum for operation by Mobile/ WLL/ Broadcast / microwave links and others as well as licensees of PTA and PEMRA. He alsoshared brief statistics of some of the activities performed by the FAB.
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Flare Report
Statistics of some of the activities per formed by FAB are: Cellular BTSs assignments: 28363 WLL BTSs assignments: 3451 Microwave Links assignments: 72011 Wireless Stations in HF/VHF assign ments: 10568 Broadcasting assignments: 701 Interference Complaints Mitigated: 5801 cases (2008-11) Satellite Coordination with 50 countries and ITU for Paksat-1 and Paksat-1R Dr. Toure praised the performance of FAB and viewed that it is the powerful Board where in all the important organs like the Telecom and Broadcasting regulators, the policy making ministry MoIT, the defence and technical/ security agencies of the government are members of the Board. Dr. Toure further viewed that the government need spectrum for their strategic government organization at the same time the spectrum is also arranged for the telecom sec-
Dr. Hamadoun Toure Secretary General ITU Co-chairs FAB meeting along with Chairperson FAB Ms. Nargis Sethi, Secretary Cabinet Divsion
tor which is the main engine for the development of the country. He emphasized that if we try go fast we go alone and if we go together we move far and therefore we should go together to go far and fast. He viewed that the composition of Board/ Frequency spectrum management setup in Pakistan is extremely good and it is such that the needs of all important sectors like Telecom, Broad-
casting and government entities are deliberated upon by all stakeholders under one senior most and neutral person i.e. the Secretary Cabinet and so quick decisions for sectors growth can be made efficiently. The independent and autonomous spectrum management / regulatory body is always welcomed by the investors. He praised incorporation of FAB sponsored amendment in footnotes in ITU Radio Regulations during World Radio Conference-2012 (WRC-12). He appreciated the Pakistan role in WRC-12 held in January 23 February 17, 2012 at Geneva, Switzerland. He praised the Board and Ms. Nargis Sethi for making spectrum available for the 3G and Broadband and on her strategic thinking of creating a dedicated Spectrum Re-farmation Directorate in the FAB. He appreciated the good efforts of FAB for re-farming and releasing spectrum for further progress of Pakistan as future of Pakistan has largely based on the progressive decisions of the FAB Board. He also viewed that monitoring system that FAB have is very important for good spec-
trum management and keeping it clean from interference hazards. Dr. Toure also praised the government on their women empowerment actions and highlighted that woman empowerment is main agenda of the Millennium Development Goals of the ITU and therefore, this year ITU theme 2012 is Women and Girls in ICT. He further praised the government for appointing fulltime dedicated minister for the Telecom Sector under whose leadership the telecom sector especially the Broadband sector willflourish and will create jobs for the talented engineers of Pakistan. He pointed out the telecom industry is tool for progress for Pakistan and he has good feeling about Pakistan and he was pleased to see such a good and friendly environment in the country. Dr. Toure also viewed that Pakistan is moving ahead with the 3G spectrum auction and showed confidence on the capabilities of Pakistan. He also offered ITU assistance in the 3G spectrum auction process if any is required.
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dvocating its commitment of spreading smiles and bringing joy to the children across Pakistan, Ufone held a fun carnival for the children of SOS village to inaugurate the recently developed play area. SOS Pakistan recently built a new establishment in Islamabad boasting a spectacular facility but was in dire need for swings for the children to enjoy. Ufone took up the task of putting up the swings and hosting a fun filled carnival which comes in the wake of a successful plantation activity at the SOS villages of Lahore and Islamabad. The members of the Ufone Volunteer Group took a dynamic part in all the activities. For the entertainment of the kids jumping castles along with carnival rides were set up which were thoroughly enjoyed by all and sundry. The children were fascinated by the cotton candy treats and the mischievous clown who danced and did tricks for them. A refreshments corner was arranged with an unlimited supply of drinks and food for the children to snack on in between all the fun they were having. Additionally a dance competition and musical chairs was also organized and gifts were distributed amongst the winners. Akbar Khan, Chief Marketing Officer at Ufone, joined the children in their enthusiasm and shared a special moment of bonding with them as together they enjoyed the magic show and story-telling competition. Ufone, one of the leading telecom companies in the country, has been at the forefront of many social initiatives which have been taken to benefit the populace. Since inception Ufone has been a socially responsible organization, and over the last few years, has carried out various CSR projects related to child health care, mentor and counseling programs for school going children and on highlighting the need for a green and healthy environment. Akbar Khan said, Just looking at the elation and eagerness on the faces of all these young children gives us so much satisfaction. Ufone wishes to strengthen its bond with SOS Childrens Vil-
lages as these children are our future. He stressed upon the need for maintaining a healthy environment for the children of Pakistan and emphasized that physical exercise was very important which will be facilitated by the newly set up play area. He said that these children should be nurtured into becoming leaders of tomorrow and committed that there would more such fun initiatives in the forthcoming months as Ufone believes in spreading smiles and bringing delight to the children of Pakistan. n
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martphone shipments to emerging markets will drive new growth in the years ahead -- the implications are significant; it's a major shift in focus. According to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), China became the leading global market for smartphone shipments in 2012, moving ahead of the United States. Looking ahead to 2016, two additional emerging markets, India and Brazil, will enter the top 5 country markets for smartphone user adoption. "Due to their sheer size, strong demand, and healthy replacement rates, emerging markets are quickly becoming the engines of the worldwide smartphone market," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst at IDC. Users in emerging markets seek more than simple voice telephony, and smartphones offer the ideal platform for mobile entertainment, social networking, and business usage.
on-year, in marked contrast to the 81 percent growth seen across the Asia Pacific region. Shipments in China doubled and overtook those in the US for the first time. In Q1, China represented 22 percent of global smart phone shipments, while the US accounted for 16 percent. A year earlier these figures were the other way around. Of the top 10 countries for smart phones, half are now in the Asia Pacific region. "As well as seasonal factors, such as the Lunar New Year, the iPhone's arrival at two of the country's carriers helped boost volume and raised Apple's share to 19 percent," said Nicole Peng, Canalys Research
benefited from being able to offer competitivelypriced Android smart phones and are hot on the heels of the top three. Canalys also points out that these vendors" ambitions are not confined to the price-sensitive end of the market. "A key facet of Huawei's brand strategy for 2012 is to move up and compete in higher value devices and services," Peng added. "It is developing a clearer marketing proposition that, combined with its cloud services, will prove more attractive to consumers in China." Two-thirds of the smart phones shipping in China in the first quarter were based on Android, and more than a quarter of all Android smart phone shipments globally are in China. A multitude of international and local vendors are using Android to address the Chinese market, offering an ar-
home of smartphones
Overtakes USA as the largest smartphone market
Global shipments of smartphones in the first three months of this year grew 45percent year on year to 146 million units. Shipments in the USA rose just 5 percent year-on-year, while in China doubled and overtook those in the US for the first time
Meanwhile, mature markets, such as Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, will experience continued growth in smartphone adoption - but their growth will not compare to the emerging markets. However, smartphone growth within emerging markets will have its challenges. "The total cost of ownership remains a hurdle for potential smartphone buyers," added Llamas. "Smartphones still represent a significant investment for consumers in many countries." This fact was acknowledged by a number of industry executives at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, who stressed the need for lowcost devices -- as low as $50, or less -- to spur widespread adoption. Another notable barrier to adoption is the cost of a monthly mobile data service plan. Global shipments of smartphones in the first three months of this year grew 45percent year on year to 146 million units, but significant country and regional differences were apparent. Shipments in the USA rose just 5 percent yearDirector for China, based in Shanghai. But it was Samsung that took the lead. Canalys estimates its smart phone share in China stood at 22 percent in Q1. 'Samsung expanded its smart phone business substantially through its existing mobile phone channels. Its wide range of localized devices helped increase uptake across all carriers, and it combined this with significant marketing spend to drive consumer awareness."
China becomes
Users in emerging markets seek more than simple voice telephony, and smartphones offer the ideal platform for mobile entertainment, social networking, and business usage
Nokia fell to third place in China, but the launch of the Lumia devices with two operators in Q2 should help it regain traction in what has now become the most important market in the world. Local vendors, such as ZTE, Huawei and Lenovo, have
price points. Canalys notes that the dynamics of app stores are very different on these devices compared to other parts of the globe. "Third-party app stores are ubiquitous on Android devices in China, to a degree not seen anywhere else in the world. The absence of the Google Play store as standard is a factor, but vendors targeting this market must understand the intensity of competition between these stores and how it has promoted innovation," said Tim Shepherd, Senior Analyst at Canalys. "If the big international app store providers want to attract Chinese consumers, they must quickly reach the point where they can offer a large selection of good-quality, locally-relevant apps and content. This can be achieved organically, through partnerships, or by acquiring a major third-party Chinese app store. But they must also offer suitably localized and relevant featured app listings and ensure the content does not stagnate." Shifting trends in the channels in China mean that vendors must also keep a close grip on their programs, resources and incentives. "Operators are becoming a more important route to market in the large cities as they work to drive 3G uptake. And retailers are looking at new ways to attract consumers, for example by focusing on initiatives such as back-to-school programs rather than relying on those timed around traditional holidays. Vendors need to be aware of all these changes if they want to succeed in the world's largest smart phone market. n
ray of devices at a wide range of
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Sultan of swing joins Ufone family, leaves Mobilink

The TVC of Ufone shows Wasim playing with a ball in a prison and then breaking the jail. Wasim escapes prison, as he ran away and made it to the open air eventually a vehicle filled with Ufone family members stops by him and Akram enters the vehicle and becomes Ufone family member. This is probably the best shot Ufone played for a MNP advertisement
asim Akram, the legendary cricketer also known as Sultan of Swing has left Mobilink as its brand ambassador by joining Ufone family. The former brand ambassador for Mobilink, Wasim Akram appeared in a Ufone TVC. The TVC of Ufone shows Wasim playing with a ball in a prison and then breaking the jail. Wasim escapes prison, as he ran away and made it to the open air eventually a vehicle filled with Ufone family members stops by him and Akram enters the vehicle and becomes Ufone family member. This is probably the best shot Ufone played for a MNP advertisement. This trend may trigger a new race of snatching brand ambassadors from other operators. As, in the recent past Mobilink snatched Ali Zafar from Telenor, and recently netted Atif Aslam from Warid Telecom, but this time Ufone
did the trick and played a switched shot for a humongous out of the park, it freed Wasim from the problem-suffered network to great quality network Ufone (as shows in the ad). All this started when Salman Wassay, Direc-
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This trend may trigger a new race of snatching brand ambassadors from other operators. As, in the recent past Mobilink snatched Ali Zafar from Telenor, and recently netted Atif Aslam from Warid Telecom, but this time Ufone did the trick and played a switched shot for a humongous out of the park
tor Marketing at Zong and the key person behind Zongs uplift since its inception, has resigned and joined Ufone as Chief Commercial Officer; as Salman Wassay banked a vast experience of marketing and brand promotion. This new war of snatching each others brand ambassadors and management staff will heat up competitions temperature. This will also provide oxygen to the already burning fire among leading advertising firms. But this is the time where the business of advertising is on its zeal. All the operators are spending a huge budget on its brand promotions and services. Everyone is in the hunt for a free hit. As every operator wants to bag as many customers as many they want. They wanted to be the best choice among the lot. This cutting-edge competition will benefit the invaluable customers of these cellular networks. n
Flare Report
Telepedia
Using the phone to climb up that corporate ladder does sound like a daunting challenge; but it is rather easy, all you have to do is talk and we all do it all the time. How to talk?
e all have cell phones, either on the table or in our pockets believe it or not, the mobile phone can be employed as a strong tool for your job search. It can either be a huge time eater or an effective networking tool how you use it, all depends on you. Using the phone to climb up that corporate ladder does sound like a daunting challenge; but it is rather easy, all you have to do is talk and we all do it all the time. How to talk? That is a complete different chapter. If you use the phone as if it were a simple transfer device of your voice, there are high chances you will not be able to make a lot of progress. It is difficult to build rapport on the phone because you cannot see and cannot use/read body language. The solution to this is rather simple, how many times have you seen a suited professional talking on the phone and using hand gestures quite often right? Well that is because you are not supposed to stop using your body language while talking over the phone. Even though you may look strange to those around you, dont be concerned with that. Getting your whole body involved as you converse over the telephone just like you would in person, helps you making a point. Now that we have some common problems out of the way, we are in a better position to understand and appreciate the rules for a job seekers call. These additional cautions when taken under consideration can improve the benefits of conversations over the telephone: Receptionists are often very easy to get by; however, there are some who are really strict and probably will not put you through easily. Receptionists are sometimes termed as gatekeepers because that is exactly what they are supposed to do filter the important from the un-important. They are in charge of who goes in and out of their
bosses space. It is important to you because you need to get through to the hiring manager. You will not be able to get past them if you sound too polite, and you surely will not be able to get past should you begin to sound forceful or rude. The key here is to have a modest yet a very professional tone. Introduce yourself, but do not show them your real intent. For example, you cannot say Salaam, I would like to talk to the hiring manager, I am looking for a job. For that you will receive a cold response, something along the lines of we publish all our vacant positions on our website
Every telephone service now offers an answering machine which you can employ to take care of calls when you are not available. When in the job hunt mode, you cannot afford to miss even one call remember when opportunity calls, she does not like to meet a closed door
www.xyz.com, you are free to apply through that and we will get back to you if there is an interest. Not exactly what you are looking for. Instead, be professional and say something like Salaam, this is AB C and I would like to speak with your manager 90% of the times the gatekeeper will not ask you another question beside perhaps where you are calling from before patching you through. If you know the name of the manager beforehand, that would make your chances even better.
If you tried to sound as professional and serious as you can; but still you couldnt get through, try calling at lunch or before/after hours. A busy manager is someone who is at his/her desk for longer than the receptionist is. The automated system in most companies by passes the reception after/before hours and connects you straight to the management. Your primary goal is to get in touch with the hiring management; if you can manage a telephonic conversation, well and good. If not, you should at least secure his/her e-mail address. It is very important to remember that this process will eventually help you move to the job of your choice it is not going to land you a heap of job offers by itself. Asking for a job directly or as the saying goes "right out of the chute", labels the conversation. Try to get as much information as you can without revealing your true strategy. Ask them a little about the opportunities at the organization, chances are the individual will give you an e-mail address to send your resume at. Once you have that email do not hang up, keep going with your conversation for a few more moments just so the manager knows the call was not just another I need a job call. Whenever you send your resume through, make sure you make a reference to the telephonic conversation you had. Every telephone service now offers an answering machine which you can employ to take care of calls when you are not available. When in the job hunt mode, you cannot afford to miss even one call remember when opportunity calls, she does not like to meet a closed door. Set up your answering machine so even if you are unable to attend the call, the person is at least greeted. Needless to say, it is not a good idea to have a funky greeting on your answering making. Remember, only you can decide if you want to be professional. No one can do it for you if that is not what you strive to be. Let the phones ring! n
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International
Mosaic
Pupils demonstrate to German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C) a receptor for mobile phone radio waves at the Siemens pavilion at the Girls Day career event at the Chancellery in Berlin
Softbank Corp President Masayoshi Son (C) poses with eBay Inc President and CEO John Donahoe (L) and PayPal President David Marcus during a news conference in Tokyo.
A model poses with a third generation iPad at a shop in Bangkok.
Guests take pictures of themselves with their iPhones during a fashion show by designer Bill Gaytten.
A model displays ASUS's Zenbook UX21 laptop during a media event in Taipei.
A model displays a robot vacum cleaner "Cocorobo" produced by Japanese electronics giant Sharp at a press conference in Tokyo.
An Indian model display Sony Cyber-Shot Hi-zoom series digital still camera during a launch in New Delhi.
Sony employee Yo Kikuchi displays the company's new shock-proof digital camcorder "Handycam HDR-GW77V", equipped with a 20 mega-pixel CMOS image sensor and a 3.2 - 32mm/F1.8 - 3.4 zoom lens in Tokyo.
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n behalf of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), it gives me great pleasure to commemorate the international 2012 World Telecommunication & Information Society Day (WTISD) celebrated globally every year on May 17. Indeed, the ever-evolving ICTs have acted as a catalyst for the world in creating new and better opportunities, sustaining economies, improving health care, providing information & education, and increasing our knowledge and vision. This years theme for WTISD entitled Women and Girls in ICT aligns the basic objective of ICTs to create equal opportunities and openness for all -- irrespective of gender or creed -- with a special focus on women and girls. Gender equality is a basic human right enshrined in the UN Charter, and it is one of the main objectives of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). ICTs are tools that can help accelerate progress towards achieving this critical target. This years focus is on special efforts for women and girls, using the power of ICTs to provide new digital opportunities to end discrimination and empower the female half of the worlds population to achieve their rightful place as equals in the world. As Pakistans largest integrated telecommu-
Message on World Telecom & Information Society Day

and 1 million Broadband customers in over 1000 cities, PTCL is reaching the countrys furthest areas where others have not. We are fueling the Broadband revolution in Pakistan with our EVO 3G Wireless Broadband offering true mobility and fastest wireless Internet within the reach of every citizen of Pakistan. At PTCL, we are determined to utilize the full potential of ICTs by providing women with the telecommunication tools, products and services they need to empower them to be free and make their own decisions. We strongly believe that by promoting across-the-board affordability, accessibility and mobility for its products and services, PTCL is playing a real part in reducing gender barriers in Pakistan by providing freedom to access information, communication and education in every corner of the country. Whether it is our highly popular EVO student package, or outreach in womens universities/colleges in Balochistan, or Internet powering of Punjabs primary schools, or powering snow-capped Chitral with Wireless Broadband, PTCL is truly empowering the youth and women of Pakistan to get on the information communication highway and become part of a globalized world for the better. n
Mr. Walid Irshaid President & CEO PTCL nication company, PTCL stands committed to the envisioned goals of WTISD 2012. We passionately believe in creating innovative yet affordable ICT and telecom solutions, products and services that meet the needs of all segments of Pakistans society. With over 3 million fixed line users
PTCL continuous journey of economic growth

eading the telecommunication industry from the front, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) is now the country's largest converged services carrier, providing all telecommunication services from basic voice telephony to data, internet, video-conferencing and carrier services to consumers, including telecom operators, and the corporate sector nation-wide. Having an immense potential to be an instrumental agent in Pakistan's economic growth, PTCL management has set high goals for its self since its inception and is growing every passing day. Most obliging fact being that during the latest quarter ending March 31, 2012, PTCL showed revenue growth of 11.3 percent and scored a net profit of Rs 1.4 billion. Its operation and effectiveness during the nine months ended March 31, 2012, is herald of business advancement and innovative farsightedness. With the garland of strengths including PSTN (fixed lines), wireless local loop, broadband, corporate business solutions, carrier and wholesale services, operations performance, informa-
PTCL showed revenue growth of 11.3 percent and scored a net profit of Rs 1.4 billion. Its operation and effectiveness during the nine months ended March 31, 2012, is herald of business advancement and innovative farsightedness
tion technology, human resource development market communication, customer care, quality and revenue assurance and international business. The company has firmly continued to grow in the emergent broadband market - both in wire line and wireless segments. With the 61 percent growth in Broadband customers, respective revenues have grown and increased by 77 percent. For the PSTN customers, introduction of various new packages commensurate with the needs of different segments of society as well as rationalisation of the tariff helped in increasing the landline usage thus arresting the revenue decline. Concurrently, PTCL group revenue turned up to be Rs 28.3 billion which is 9.7 percent higher as compared to the same period last year. Harmonising the corporate services also registered an increase of 5 percent in its revenues. Of this, PTCL's revenue was Rs 14.8 billion. Likely, continuing with its vision of providing quality services an increase of 9 percent in company's administrative expenses was recorded which is fair enough. Though Pakistan experienced the revolution of telecom industry in the last decade, PTCL has been working in this sector from its birth, which was many decades before from the revolution in the telecom sector; while during the last decade, other companies from around the world have jumped into the playing field with PTCL. However, the company seems determined to remain the leading information/communication technology service provider in the region by achieving customer satisfaction. Keeping the previous growth records of the company in mind it can be easily predicted , that the revenue gains will continue to improve the bottom line in coming quarters as PTCL is readily diversifying its revenue streams away from the Voice business and going aggressive in segments like wireless broadband. Undoubtedly PTCL has been playing an important role as an instrumental agent for every segment of society as it is a company committed to excellence and paving the way to a brighter future for the country. n
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Fr e e d ow n lo ad | fl ar e. pk
PTCL upgrades services in tough BlackBerry launches App World in Pakistan terrains of Chitral
Islamabad: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has upgraded its services in Chitral through a challenging team effort in the hilly and snow covered region. This past winter season saw an unusually high rate of snowfall and severe hail storms due to which PTCLs Lowari Hill repeater got damaged, affecting is DSL and Wireless services in different areas of Chitral. Covered in 10 feet of snow, the Lowari Hill top repeater is situated at a height of 10,256 feet and is in accessible by foot in winters. It serves as a nerve centre of PTCLs telecommunication services to Chitral. Despite the harsh weather condition in the area Karachi: After a three-year wait, Research in Motion has finally launched the highly-anticipated App World the official store for applications for BlackBerry-toting customers in Pakistan, according to its local partner Emitac Mobile Solutions (EMS). The Canada based manufacturer of Blackberry smart phones had earlier enabled the App World on a test-basis in February for a day in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Blackberry users are now able to access the applications. More than six million apps are downloaded daily across the globe from BlackBerrys App World. It was bound to happen, said a telecom source. While commenting on the development, he said RIMs intentions were clear from the test launch in February. The rising popularity of Apples iPhone and Googles Android-powered phones, the source said, may have forced this development. Smartphones are more about
where wind speed is around 110km per hour, PTCL immediately undertook repair work with full diligence to streamline services to this important region. In the midst of heavy snow and storm, a team comprising eight people was dispatched. It managed to transport heavy-duty equipment to the site with the support of 30-40 locals on foot.
PTCL upgraded the services by repairing the foundation of the tower, thus restoring DSL as well as wireless services for different areas of Chitral, said GM Wireless North, Wajeeh Anwer. We did not let harsh terrain and weather to come in the way of our firm commitment to provide quality and uninterrupted telecom services to valued customers in Chitral. n days. PTCL continues to provide the most affordable telecommunication packages and special offers to its customers, said PTCL Senior Executive Vice President Commercial, Naveed Saeed. With this revision, we have made 24/7 connectivity possible with unmatched voice quality and, that too, at the lowest rates in the industry for all our valued customers.n
PTCL brings unbeatable Pakistan Plus Package

Islamabad: In an unbeatable new offer, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has upgraded its Pakistan Plus Package, now giving more free minutes, exceptional voice quality and free conference calling facility to its valued customers. PTCL customers can now avail never-ending on-net 1,100 nationwide free minutes along with conference call facility at minimal charges of Rs.249 per month. With the new Pakistan Plus Package, PTCL landline customers can also enjoy the liberty of nationwide unlimited free calls from PTCL to PTCL and Vfone on Sun-
applications, according to experts. RIM was slow to open its doors as iPhone and Androidpowered phones gave its Pakistani users unlimited access to their application stores Apples App Store and Android Marketplace, respectively. BlackBerry once dominated the North American market for smartphones, boasting more than a 50 per cent share of the market but now sits just under 15 per cent in the US, according to market research firm Neilsen. But the company continues to do well throughout the world where its BBM service is popular, according to research group Canalys. We are very excited to be part of the App World launch in Pakistan, said EMS CEO Babar Khan in the statement. Launched in April 2009 in US, Canada and UK, App World is now available in over 130 countries. App World allows access to third-party applications while paid ones can be purchased using valid PayPal accounts and credit cards. n
PTCL extends creative customer outreach in Lahore
Gulf Air offers 3000 bonus miles for Falconflyer Members

like to continue this positive momentum this year too as we continue to offer exciting promotions and new schemes to our Falconflyers. Our customers are the most important factor in steering our business to success. Therefore, we are very keen to introduce a number of enhancements in line with market changes on the one hand and our passengers needs on the other hand. Thats why we have also partnered with several other organizations like Citibank, American Express, Batelco and Ahli United Bank, concluded Mr. Makhlouf. The new loyalty programme Falconflyer is packed with privileges for all three categories of the programmes card holders. For instance, Gold, Silver and Blue members get three free economy tickets to the GCC and Middle East region when traveling once to Manila on Falcon Gold.
Islamabad: To extend the reach of its innovative products and services to its valuable customers, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) recently conducted a creative town marketing campaign in Lahore. Part of PTCLs customer engagement drive, the campaign was a creative blend of marketing initiatives, kiosk activities, sales camps and outdoor branding at Wahdat Road, G1 Market Johar Town, Samanabad, Pak Arab Housing Society, Davis Road, Shahdara, Model Town Link Road, MM Alam Road Gulberg, Karim Block AIT,
Faisal Town, Neela Gumbad Anarkali, Dharampura, Gulberg Center, Liberty Main Market, Icchra, Jalal Sons Gulberg, Rahat Bakers Cantt, Dharampura Lala Book Depot, Sawera Store Shadman, Liberty Main Market, Al-Fateh Store Liberty, Al-Fateh Store DHA, CSD Shop the Mall and CSD Shop Cavalry Ground. Regularly conducted in major cities of the country, PTCL town marketing campaigns provide customers with a firsthand experience of its latest products and services, as well as offer on-spot sales. n scheduled for May 15th, 2012 in Karachi. Nokia has said that they chose Pakistan for the global launch of its upcoming devices to demonstrate the importance of Pakistani market for Nokia. An invite sent to media men and bloggers read. Nokia envisions is to connect the next billion people and the first ever announcement from Pakistan of the upcoming devices have been planned specifically with this goal in mind launch on May 15th, 2012. n
Manama: Bahrains national carrier, Gulf Air has launched a new promotion for its popular Falconflyer programme. Under the promotion, new members, who enroll before the 31st May, will earn a generous 3,000 bonus miles once they complete one trip in Economy of Falcon Gold within the first 3 months of their membership.
Gulf Air Chief Commercial Officer Mr. Karim Makhlouf stated The Gulf Air Falconflyer a revamped and improved version of our previous Frequent Flyer programme- has become an instant hit among our customers since we launched it last year because of its generous and innovative incentives and offers. We would
Nokia to hold a Global (handset) launch event in Pakistan

Nokia has finally selected Pakistan for a global launch event for two of its handsets, most likely to be feature phones with mid-range specs. More details about the phones are embargoed but we can tell you that these two phones will have internet rich features specifically aimed for emerging markets like Pakistan. Event is
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NEWS
Zong kicks off United Football Tournament

pating in this knock-out tournament. Football matches will be held among all these teams and the winning team comprising 16 players will be sent to Manchester United Soccer School. In addition, 16 outstanding players during the matches will also be going to the school. Commenting at the occasion ZONGs Chief Commercial Officer, Sajid Mahmood said This is the biggest activity supporting football in the history of Pakistan. ZONG recognizes that football is possibly the fastest growing team game in the country today in terms of popularity, and is proud to be the pioneer supporter of talent in Pakistan. For us this is much more than just sponsoring a sporting activity. It is about courage, determination, the desire to compete and excel and above all to prove to the world that Pakistan does not lack in talent in any way. Previously, ZONG has approached schools to identify schools teams and set-up trial camps to form teams with maximum number of 16 players per team. The teams registered from schools and through trials have now been given the chance to prove their mettle by competing against each other. These trials were conducted in major cities of Pakistan which includes Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad/ Rawalpindi, Multan and Faisalabad. A team of professional coaches conducted these skill-based trials and selected the best players to form 64 teams, consisting of 16 players in each team. Previously it was planned to select only 8 teams through trials and 120 teams from schools, but after overwhelming response from individuals, ZONGs management decided to increase the number of teams selected through trials and make the number of teams even in both categories. Manchester United Soccer Schools (MUSS) offer coaching courses for footballers of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, from six year olds through to adults. ZONG have teamed up with MUSS to offer 32 lucky winners the chance to participate in a 5 day program at their state of the art facility in Abu Dhabi, which will include a series of fun and challenging coaching sessions focusing on a variety of different technical areas such as dribbling, short passing, turning and finishing. The program will also look to develop the young players in other fields, such as tactical understanding, and mental, physical and social growth. n
ZONG Kickoff United Football Tournament 2012 was recently to great public excitement, simultaneously in five cities of Pakistan. The tournament is for the selection of 32 young boys who will get trained in Manchester United Soccer School,
Allied offers mBanking services

Pakistan from SAP were present on the occasion along with other officials. Pakistan happens to be one of the fastest developing markets in the world for mCommerce and these services will create opportunities of unprecedented scale for bank customers. Allied Banks decision to deploy mCommerce solution will enable it to offer mobile phone based financial and non-financial services to its customers. On the occasion, Sherwani commented Allied Bank, being one of the largest banks in Pakistan, has been capitalizing on technology to provide fast and cost efficient services to its customers. The imminent implementation of mCommerce solution would further enhance Allied Banks capacity to extend its services to wide range of banking customers and help in extending financial inclusion to the hitherto untapped market segments. Asad A Khan of Abacus Consulting commented We are pleased to be a part of this goal in transforming the financial ecosystem in Pakistan in partnership with Allied Bank. At Abacus Consulting, we are fully committed to leverage our vast knowledge in the field of mCommerce. Our on ground team of experts in the field of mCommerce combined with senior managements robust efforts for client satisfaction shows our seriousness towards developing mCommerce and mBanking in Pakistan. n
Abu Dhabi. The CCO of ZONG Mr. Sajid Mahmood kicked-off the ball in Pakistan Sports Complex to begin the tournament. A total of 128 ZONG registered teams of young boys within the age bracket of 13-17 years of age are partici-
Allied Bank Limited has inked a technology support agreement for the deployment of mobile banking services with Sybase and Abacus Consulting, said a press release. Sybase is a SAP Company with expertise in mobile commerce services while Abacus Consulting will help Allied Bank in adapting the technology for mobile financial services. Khalid A. Sherwani, President/CEO, Jalees Ahmed, Executive Director Strategic Planning, Zia Ijaz, Group Chief Commercial & Retail Banking & Mujahid Ali, Group Chief Information Technology from Allied Bank, Asad Ali Khan, President, Abbas Ali Khan, Senior Partner from Abacus Consulting and Hasan Jamal, Country Head
PTCL Sukkur wins regional cricket tournament
Islamabad: In a nailbiting contest, Pakistan Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n Company Limited (PTCL) Sukkur team won the annual regional cricket tournament held in Karachi. The Sukkur Telecom Region team won the match by defeating Karachi Tele-
com Region-III. Held at DHA Rahat Cricket Ground, the tournament was attended by a large number of PTCL employees and their families. PTCL SEVP Business Zone South, Furqan Habib Qureshi, was the chief guest on the occasion.
The Champions Trophy of the match went to STR. Mr. Nadeem (KTRIII Karachi) received award for Best Batsman while Mr. Mansoor Shah (STR) received the awards for Man of the Match of Final, Best Bowler and Man of the Series. n
Ufone sponsored COAS Open Golf Championship concludes

Rawalpindi: Matloob Ahmed, one of the Ufone sponsored golfers, won COAS Open Golf Championship - 2012 There were more which concluded re- than 400 participants cently at Rawalpindi in the event from all Golf Club. across Pakistan. The tournament throughout was led by Matloob Ahmed and Muhammad Nazir both Ufone sponsored golfers but at the end this was Matloob who stood strong to take away the winning prize. Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani handed over the winning cheque of Rs. 2 million to Matloob Ahmed at the grand prize distribution ceremony. Ufone recently announced its ongoing commitment to sports in Pakistan by signing up the top golfers Pakistan has to offer. This is the first time in the history of Pakistan that golf has been endorsed at such a massive country wide scale. Ufone has signed on Shabbir Iqbal (Pakistan No.1), Matloob Ahmed (Pakistan No.2), Muhammad Munir (Pakistan No.3) and Mubariz Ahmed (Pakistan Junior Champion) along with other upcoming talent. This step has reaffirmed Ufones conviction to support sports in the country. Soon after the signing of these players, Muhammad Munir won Mangla Open 2012 and the KP National Ranking Open Golf Tournament 2012 and Matloob has soon followed suit. Speaking at the occasion beaming Matloob Ahmed said that Ufones endorsement has built his self-confidence. The platform provided by the company has encouraged golfers to play local and international tournaments which has increased the spirit of competition between them and drives them to perform at their very best. n
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Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani gives away winning cheque of Rs. 2million to Matloob Ahmed, one of the Ufone sponsored golfers, at the prize distribution ceremony of COAS Open Golf Championship 2012.
NEWS
NA body directs PTA for detailed presentation

Islamabad: In an apparent attempt to prevent grey trafficking's losses in the country, a parliamentary panel directed Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to come up with a detailed presentation in the next meeting. Meeting of National Assembly sub-committee on Information technology held under Convenor Anusha Rehman to discuss issues to ensure transparency of 3 G/Instaphone auction in the country. During the meeting Chairman PTA Dr Muhammad Yaseen told the committee that 3 G technology would not be for the long time therefore 4G/LTE has been associated with the 3G. He said that 4G/LTE are launching globally and in this regard a policy directive has been issued by Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani. The Chairman PTA said that on different time we received different directives from Prime Minister's Secretariat. Convenor Anusha Rehman said that the process of auction should be competitive and auction should be done in an efficient way to generate more revenue for the country. The Chairman PTA informed the committee that under the directions of prime Minister Expression of Interest of four companies have been received for consultancy over 3G auction. Convener directed ministry of Information technology to give details about dissent note of Dr Asim Federal Minister for Petroleum & Natural resources about hiring a international consultant for the auction. Anusha Rehman directed chairman PTA to provide all the details of 3G auction process. She also directed to provide list of telecom companies which are not defaulter in any sense. Anusha Rehman said that there should be some mechanism about formulation of ASC and it should be ensure that its members should be experts in information technology. Convener directed PTA that during Information memorandum infrastructure sharing among different telecom operators should be mandatory. Committee directed him to share all the details regarding hiring of consultant with ASC and sub-committee. During the meeting chairperson Competition commission of Pakistan Rahat Konain said that PTA has not provided her the complete date so committee directed Chairman PTA to provide her all the information. In another meeting of Information technolo gy and telecommunication convener Anusha Rehman directed Chairman PTA to give details about grey trafficking switches in the country and also to give volume of the grey trafficking in the country and how much it is providing loss to the national exchequer. Anusha Rehman directed officials of PTA to thoroughly discus the bills of Humayaun Saifullah and Khurram Jahangir Watto. National Assembly standing committee on information technology which met under the chair of Chairman Muhammad Akhtar Kanju to investigate the allegations leveled against Zia Imran ExMD Pakistan Software export board and termination of Talib Baloch employee of PSEB. Joint Secretary Information technology Rashid Bashir Mazari told the committee 2nd inquiry is under progress against Zia Imran while Talib baloch was terminated after absence of two months. Committee observed that Talib Baloch is an honest officer and have been victimized. Standing committee agreed to send the case to the board of Governors of and asked the board to behave leniently with Talib Baloch. n
PTCL holds family gala for its employees
Islamabad: As part of an ongoing employee engagement drive, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) held a fun-filled family gala for its employees at the headquarters building in Islamabad at the conclusion of its painting extravaganza on Energy Conservation for Future Generations. Renowned artists Mr. Jamal Shah, Mr. Abbass Shah and Mrs. Nahida Raza attended the event as guests of honor and judges for 1st, 2nd, 3rd prizes and one best painting seLahore: Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, is offering one lucky traveler a breathtaking four night vacation for two in Kenya. All guests travelling with Etihad Airways from Pakistan to Khartoum, Cairo, Nairobi, Tripoli, Seychelles, Casablanca or Johannesburg before May 31,
lected from amongst hundreds of paintings. The family gala was also attended by PTCL President & CEO, Mr. Walid Irshaid, Senior Executive Vice President HR, Mr. Syed Mazhar Hussain and other senior officials. Live music and poetry performances, as well as an on-the-spot painting competition brought much excitement to the event. Food and cultural stalls gave it a festive look and feel. A prize distribution ceremony was also held to award the top three paintings with a cash will be automatically entered into a lucky draw. The winner will get to stay at the Serena Beach Hotel and Spa in Mombasa. Amer Khan, Area General Manager Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, said: We are delighted to offer our guests the opportunity to experience the magic of Africa, specifically the
prize of Rs. 40,000 for each winner. The winners were selected from 40 short-listed paintings from all regions for the final event of the Painting Extravaganza. A total of 500 paintings originally were submitted by PTCL employees and their families from all over Pakistan to participate in the competition. PTCLs employees along with their families enjoyed the colorful display of paintings and participated in the fun filled activities with fervor. n awe-inspiring scenic beauty of Kenya, our first recently launched destination in East Africa. Etihad operates 23 weekly flights to Abu Dhabi with daily flights from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and twice weekly from Peshawar. Etihad Airways started daily operations to Nairobi earlier this month. n quirements and power consumption. In addition, ZTE's advanced intelligent network management system can effectively lower the human resource requirements for product maintenance, further reducing TCO. "We are extremely glad to partner with Telenor and will endeavor to provide the most reliable power product and solutions, helping it to win larger markets and achieve faster growth," said Li Guangyong, general manager of ZTE's power product line. n
Etihad Airways offers holiday in Kenya
Karachi: Burj Bank Limited (BURJ) formally appointed Path Solutions as their core banking solutions provider in a signing ceremony held recently in Dubai. The agreement was signed between Mr. Ahmed Khizer Khan, President & CEO, Burj Bank and Mr. Mohammad Kateeb, Group Chairman & CEO, Path Solutions. We have signed Path Solutions iMAL to facilitate the delivery of worldclass banking services as we aggressively grow our customer base in the country, said Ahmed Khizer Khan, President and CEO of Burj Bank. He further stated that the AAOIFIcertified core banking so-
Burj Bank selects Path Solutions for business growth

lution would give us a competitive advantage by helping us in exponentially improving the service experience. The solution will also allow Burj Bank to reduce costs, improve efficiency and ensure best value while providing differentiated Shariah-compliant banking products. Burj Bank is currently the fastest growing Islamic bank in Pakistan with 50 branches throughout the country and plans to expand to over 300 branches in the next five years. iMAL Islamic core banking solution will facilitate the Corporate and Retail financing, trade finance operations, branch automation, Investment
banking, risk management & alternate delivery channels at Burj Bank. Commenting on the win, Mohammed Kateeb, Path Solutions Group Chairman & CEO said, Pakistan is a country of key focus for us and we continue to be committed to the needs of the local banks in Pakistan. Winning this strategic deal will solidify our position in the country as the preferred provider of Shariah-compliant core banking solutions. We are proud of partnering with Burj Bank and we look forward to working closely with them to harness the power and flexibility of iMAL for business transformation. n
ZTE to supply power systems for Telenor base stations

ZTE has signed a global frame agreement with Telenor to supply ZTE power systems for the operator's base stations. ZTE will provide nine Telenor business units in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Montenegro, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan and Bangladesh with DC power systems (rectifiers) through to the end of 2013. Telenor Group has 140 million mobile subscribers and mobile operations in 11 markets. It also has 31.7 percent stake in VimpelCom which that operates in 19 additional markets. ZTE proposed highefficiency DC power systems optimized according to the low TCO design concept set out in ZTE's Efficient Matrix. This solution combines high-efficiency modules with compact design, reducing both space re-
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NEWS
PTCL earns net profit of Rs 1.4 billion

Islamabad: Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) has gained net profit of Rs 1.4 billion in its third quarter earnings for FY 2011-12. PTCL CEO & President, Walid Irshaid in a meeting of the company's Board of Directors said that PTCL's profits and revenue growth during third quarter of FY 2011-12 is a strong indicator of its dynamic corporate direction as well as our customers' continued satisfaction and trust. During the meeting the PTCL CEO and President announced the Company's nine-month financial results for the period ending March 31, 2012. It is also showing a growth of 11.3percent in revenue. "Through optimal use of resource, we want to achieve enhanced revenue, greater levels of customer satisfaction, as well as improve our shareholders' value," said Irshaid. According to the PTCL BoD announcement, PTCL's group revenue stood at Rs 28.3 billion during the period under review, showing a growth of 9.7percent over
FY2010-2011. Of this, PTCL's revenue was Rs 14.8 billion. Despite the economic challenges faced by Pakistan, PTCL remained strong throughout 2012 in emerging segments of Broadband in Wire-line as well as Wireless, and other corporate services. PTCL was declared the leading operator in Pakistan by PTAs 2011 Quality of Service survey for providing the highest quality Broadband Internet service to consumers. PTCL was declared the Best South Asian Telecom Operator 2011 by the global telecommunications forum, SAMENA. PTCL also launched Pakistans first ever 3G enabled tablet with built-in
EVO Wireless Broadband. Currently available in more than 100 cities of Pakistan, the 3G EVO Tab is a 7inch touch screen tablet powered by Google Android Froyo 2.2, which offers uninterrupted wireless broadband Internet connectivity on the go. We are constantly innovating and improving our customer experience, said Mr. Irshaid, while recounting the successes of PTCLs most recent business offerings. We strongly believe that PTCL will remain the market leader and a service provider of choice throughout Pakistan for providing cutting-edge integrated telecom solutions to our customers. n However, as and when directed by the courts, or by the MoIT, it blocks websites through its licensees, sources said. For the purpose of controlling and blocking of websites whose contents are blasphemous and against the religious and cultural values of our people, an Inter-Ministerial Committee has been constituted in 2006. The Committee evaluates and examines materials and requests, for blocking of websites (URLs), and recommends to MoIT for issuance of necessary directives after scrutiny, for filtering/blocking by PTA. The committee is bound to keep a vigilant eye on the websites and in the eventuality of any objectionable material concerning the religious faith of any group would take prompt action before it reaches to the public-at-large. n
Karachi: wi-tribe Pakistan has developed a strong foundation of meeting its customers needs through a range of products and services. Living up to its reputation of No.1 in customer satisfaction, wi-tribe has recently introduced three new internet packages that address the internet needs of the 3 most significant customer segments: Families, Students and Small Businesses.
wi-tribe personalising internet experience
PTA supports blocking of websites

ernment through policy directives/legislation and PTA will implement such policies as a telecom regulator within its legislative frame work. Sources said there is no denying of the advantages of the internet but the same should not be at the cost of religious norms. "Government has always believed in the freedom of expression however, it should not prejudice the right of self respect and dignity of the other person". The official sources in PTA said: "Our mandate is to regulate the establishment, maintenance and operation of telecommunication systems and services in Pakistan". It does not regulate the contents transmitted directly or indirectly, nor does it control the sources of the said contents outside Pakistan.
Islamabad: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) fully supported the recent initiative by the government to provide a cost effective, automated and transparent system for blocking of blasphemous and objectionable contents. The concerns of the society with regard to discomfort were suffering by a majority of the people by publications and promotion of material including blasphemous and un-Islamic, offensive, objectionable, unethical and immoral.
Official sources in Ministry of Information Technology (MoIT) disclosed that Information Communication Technology (ICT), Research and Development (R&D) Fund of MoIT has floated an Expression of Interest (EoI) in line with the demands of the people who wanted a ban on blasphemous and objectionable contents that were being used to harass, deface and blackmail the innocent citizens of Pakistan. Now all such issues will be addressed by the gov-
All three packages have been designed keeping in view specific customer requirements, each adding greater freedom and convenience to their broadband experience. The Family package offers round-the-clock endless internet, designed specifically to meet the collective needs of a multi-user household. The Student package is optimized to give more value to students in the timings when they need internet the most. The Business package, offering higher speeds than before, is designed to give small and medium enterprises the competitive edge to stay ahead in this fast paced business environment. When we introduced the Family, Student and Business packages, our goal was to offer our customers with an even more personalized experience. Shortly after launch, we found a much higher level of interest than anticipated. To us, this further reinforced the need to address our customers individuality, empowering them with greater freedom, said Ali Fahd, Director of Marketing, wi-tribe Pakistan. n
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winners of the Ideas Hunt Competition for e-Governance held by the PITB. Wateen gave away latest laptops to the winners of the competition where Anwar Khan (Head of Consumer Sales Wateen Telecom), represented the company and distributed prizes and certificates amongst the winners. Speaking on the occasion Anwar Khan said, The ideas generated through this exhibition are a further proof of how internet accessibility can be a harbinger of social change, a philosophy that Wateen wholeheartedly believes in, says a press release. The Ideas Hunt Competition was a part of the e-Governance exhibition for the IT
Wateen distributes laptops to winners PTCL gets 1 million Broadband users Mobilink posts 10 % Lahore: Wateen Telecom industry commentators, acIslamabad: Pakistan PTCL claims that its growth in revenues distributed laptops to the ademia, government de- Telecommunication Compa- DSL broadband services are
partments and public at large, held at the Arfa Technology Park from April 28 29, 2012. The objective of the event was to create awareness amongst the public and other stakeholders about the IT based good governance projects of the Punjab. The eGovernance Ideas Hunt Competition was held among students and citizens which attracted an astounding 570 ideas from citizens. There were 44 departments that the ideas were written in support of, which included Health, Education, Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Agriculture, Local Government, Food, Revenue, Irrigation and Population Welfare, among others. n ny Limited (PTCL) announced that it has achieved one million broadband customers in the country, that is over or around 50 percent of broadband market share. Walid Irshaid, President and CEO PTCL displayed his message on its official website. He said with over 3 million fixed line users and 1 million Broadband customers in over 1000 cities, PTCL is reaching the countrys furthest areas where others have not. We are fueling the Broadband revolution in Pakistan with our EVO 3G Wireless Broadband offering true mobility and fastest wireless Internet within the reach of every citizen of Pakistan. offered in 1,000 cities countrywide while companys wireless broadband service namely EVO is stretched to over 180 cities and Nitro in 70 cities. PTCL has been aggressively pushing its DSL and EVO/Nitro since it started offering DSL broadband services in 2007 and EVO in 2009. With declining number of landline users, PTCL is now heavily relying on broadband customers for its revenues, which allow the company to attain better margins thanks to higher ARPU. According to recently reported PTA stats, Pakistan had 1.9 million broadband customers till February 2012. n
Mobilink has posted a 10 percent YoY increase in revenues for first quarter 2012 with EBITDA up 15 percent in local currency, said the financial statement issued by Mobilinks holding group Orascom Telecom. Mobilinks revenues were negatively impacted by currency devaluation, translating into 4% revenue growth in US$ terms compared to 10% growth in local currency terms. Mobilink generated PKR 25.9 billion in revenues during first three months of 2012, 10.2 percent up from PKR 23.5 billion during the same period a year ago, mainly due to higher administrative fees and better revenues from VAS and data services.EBITDA showed an increase of 15% in local currency terms. The increase is a result of improved cost control measures for cost of sales and tariff optimization, the statement said. n
NEWS
Telecom firms resist CDA policy; avoid towers sharing

Islamabad: Hundreds of the telecom towers, dotting the skyline of Islamabad, pose serious threats to the lives and properties but the companies concerned are resisting the Capital Development Authority formulating policy to streamline their operations. Being the license issuing authority for installation of all Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) Towers in the city, the CDA has been striving to bind the companies share each other's towers so that their mushroom growth could be curtailed. However, according to a senior CDA official, the telecom companies have been resisting the CDA's policy and seek no role of the CDA contending that any such law would be contrary to the government's policy of facilitating the telecom investors. Currently there are around 458 BTS towers installed in Islamabad area falling under CDA premises and the number is on constant increase as telecom sector is yet getting boost. He said the CDA had launched a citywide drive to check which of these towers were legally installed and whether all of them fulfill their safety measures, besides examining the sustainability of the buildings on top of which such towers are installed. Under this drive, the CDA had also imposed fine worth Rs48 million on all telecom companies. However, a mobile phone company moved the court challenging the CDA's role to regulate functioning of telecom towers claiming that the city administration had nothing to do with their operations. The CDA had imposed fine on the company for not getting 36 of its 102 towers in Islamabad. The firm also refused to share the tower with others or let others share theirs. "If all companies
share their towers, the number of installations would be reduced from existing 458 to 300," said the official. Under tower-sharing policy, the CDA charges equal license fee from the recipient company, however as incentive, the civic body would give exemption of two-year license fee to the firm sharing equipment. He said even Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has also been writing to the CDA stressing for formulation of friendly policies for telecom companies. Though earlier, the then PTA chairman had endorsed the CDA's tower-sharing formula besides asking the companies to abide by it, later it claimed that civic authority's rules were not in consonance with
government policy. The PTA also asked the CDA to facilitate telecom investors asking the civic agency to reduce annual license fee from existing Rs 150,000 to one time charges of maximum Rs 30,000. However, the CDA has refused any such favour as it would incur annual loss of Rs 45 million to cash-strapped civic body. "We had already reduced fee in 2005 from Rs 500,000 to 150,000, so they cannot decrease it further," said the official. The upcoming BTS Towers Policy was meant to disallow BTS Towers at rooftops and remove them in case any suitable space is available there in the surrounding. Earlier, in a report, the National Disaster Management Authority
had also termed BTS towers at rooftop as hazardous recommending their removal, but the companies neither remove these nor submit building safety assessment certificate. Besides vibration of generators troubling the residents, the weak structure of building, on top of which these towers are installed, also poses danger to lives and properties. As another solution to diminish the risk for buildings it ugly look, the CDA has also encouraged the installation of camouflaged BTS tower so that the installations may not give ugly look. "Such towers are camouflaged like slim tree or any other eyecatching structure," the official maintained. n
Mobilink redefines youth empowerment with new 'Jazba'

Lahore: Mobilink has revamped the persona of 'Jazba', its vibrant and spirited youth brand, which now aims for a more focused approach towards the individuality, passions, values, aspirations and potential of Pakistan's youth. The revamped persona of Jazba, was anises to now both empower and enable the youth of Pakistan through the medium of mobile communication. The youth of this country are the pride and future of Pakistan, and the new Jazba promises to help them express their individuality as a means of self-discovery
nounced with the launch of a new brand vision for the youth of Pakistan, i.e. 'Juro Gey to Jano Gey', which is based on the idea of 'Unlocking the Unknown', in other words committing to one's passion to discover possibilities. The launch was also accompanied with the announcement of Atif Aslam as the new face of the brand, with his persona and passion reflecting the redefined vision and brand attributes of Jazba. Jahanzeb Taj, Vice President Marketing, Mobilink, emphasized, "The Jazba brand was launched as a tribute to values that are both personal and universal emphasis. This revamp of our brand vision prom-
and growth." Jazba now offers a multitude of superior offerings encased in one package, thus, surpassing all previous offerings within Pakistan's cellular industry. The brand offers tremendous valuefor-money to the young, spirited telecom enthusiasts, thus gaining unprecedented advantages in communications. It will continue to provide its subscribers with the best user experience, with exceptional download speeds, uninterrupted service distinct calling and unbeatable SMS rates. The brand has also taken the lead by developing one of the most engaging digital launches in Pakistan's cellular history. n
Karachi: Teledensity in Pakistan crossed the 70 percent mark by end of February 2012 mainly on the growing subscriptions of cellular mobile phone companies in urban and rural areas of the country, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) stats revealed. The teledensity of cellular phone stood at 67.2 percent; wireless sector teledensity reached at 1.8 percent and landline teledensity settled at 1.6 percent, making overall teledensity at 70.6 percent. Pakistans teledensity is the second highest in South Asia after India that reached 78.10 percent. It remained on top among the region till January 2011 with modest annual growth, however corrective measures and saturated markets slowed down its growth. The teledensity is defined as the number of customers per 100 people. Hence it is roughly said that 70 percent of the population own and avail telephony services through different technologies. The mobile phone connection has risen to 116 million on different networks, constituting the lions share in the field of telecom sector in terms of subscribers and their technology selection. Similarly, the wireless phone companies have increased their number of connections to 2.7 million by February whereas the landline connections decreased to stand at 2.9 million in the country. In the cellular sector,
Pakistans teledensity reaches 70pc
Mobilink grabbed the largest subscribers base with 35.2 million. It was followed by Telenor and Ufone with 28.8 million and 22.4 million connections, respectively. The subscribers number of Zong and Warid stood at 14.9 million and 14.6 million users, respectively. Analysts in the telecom sector said that the growth in cellular subscribers base showed the penetration of the mobile phone operators in the rural and small areas besides the metropolis. They said that mobile phone users of multiple SIMs have been on the rise for availing on-net calls and SMS packages of different networks for affordability and increasing services utility. Besides, there are millions of connections inactive for months but the cellular operators try to reactivate them by offering free balance to subscribers. In this regard, the cellular operators have introduced several prize schemes to attract new and retaining customers to maintain their growing base. In the wireless sector, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) and TeleCard are market leaders with 1.43 million and 0.743 million, respectively. In the landline sector, PTCL and NTC are market leaders with 2.7 million and 104 million connections, respectively. The wireless operators competitive packages in the limited cities witnessed gradual growth particularly on daily consumption against fixed charges. n
Islamabad: Pakistan Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n Company Limited (PTCL) recently engaged students of Bahadur Khan Women's University in Quetta as part of its nationwide customer outreach initiative. The PTCL sales team set up a month-long facilitation camp at the university campus, which provided students with information about the Company's products and services. Students were also given classroom briefings on PTCL's
PTCL reaches out to students of BKW University
Mobilink gives away awards to retailers
Mobilink organized various sessions to mark the success of its retailers of Jazz Inami Hungama Promo. The winning retailers were given the prizes in Mardan and Peshawar where Singers and comedian also performed. The Grand prize of 800 CC Suzuki Mehran was won by Retailer Mansoor Khan from
highly popular student package. The event generated keen interest and fervor among the students as well as the university staff. Considering PTCL's popularity, Bahadur Khan Women's University Quetta has allotted a permanent notice board for regular promotions and information of PTCL products and services. A PTCL Focal Person will further help students with hassle-free service provision and friendly customer care. n Temaragarh. The three 70 CC motorcycles were won by retailers from Swat, Bannu & D I Khan. In addition Super & easy prizes were also distributed among winning retailers by Management. Speaking at occasion Regional Director congratulated the winning retailers. He also thanked the retailers for their level of participation in retailers promo & assured that such promos would be announced from time to time. n
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NEWS
PTA unveils telecom review report

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) recently released its latest Telecom Review, which highlighted positive growth in telecom indicators despite abysmal state of the economy. The telecom revenues reached an all time high of Rs387.15 cially in rural areas. However, most operators are wary due to commercial considerations. To somewhat offset the impact of declining voice tariffs, the MNOs have been levying additional service charges on pre-paid recharges and assistance services. The objectives of the tariff guide were to inform the customers about their rights, the operators obligations, tariff packages, and avenues for remedies & redressals of their complaints against the operators. The Review also informs that PTAs crackdown on illegal SIM phenomenon has resulted into blockade of 12.6 million active SIMs and rejection of another 11 million illegal activation requests. Through the process of Automation of PreSale Documentation, the regulator expects the phenomenon to recede. During 1HFY12, PTA received 16,642 complaints, 97 percent of which are claimed to be resolved, and 133,000 subscriptions are said to be suspended for unsolicited & illegal communications. Roughly 69 percent of the complaints were against the MNOs, mostly about spamming, unsolicited telemarketing, and obnoxious & fraudulent communications. Around 29 percent of the complaints were against PTCL. Expectedly, the telecom watchdog discussed the most-anticipated development of the sector, the auctions of the 3G mobile spectrums (and the Instaphone license). However, it kept mum on the revised timeline of the delayed auctions, and mostly reiterated what was earlier published in the information memorandum. PTA is expected to complete the auctions by June 30; however, that appears uncertain right now. n
ZTE delegation calls on President

Karachi: A delegation of Zhongxing Telecom (ZTE) headed by Mr. Zhang RenJun, Senior Vice President, called on President Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House Karachi. Zhang RenJun was accompanied by M. Luo PingFan, President South East Asia, Peng Aiguang, CEO ZTE Pakistan and Najeeb Sadiq, Executive Director ZTE. Ministers Federal Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Senator A. Rehman Malik, Syed Naveed Qamar and Dr. Asim were also present during the meeting besides other senior officials of the concerned departments. Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar was also present. Briefing about the
meeting Spokesperson said that Zhang RenJun briefed the President about his companys business in Pakistan in the telecom sector. The President appreciated their interest in further expanding their business in Pakistan reiterating that the Government would provide all possible facilitation to the foreign investors. He said that Pakistan offered excellent investment and business opportunities and would welcome Chinese investment in all the sectors especially in introduction of the latest telecom technology. Zhang RenJun thanked the President for meeting and appreciated Governments support to them in their business pursuits. n
US mobile ad firm eyes Pakistan

Trevor Healy told reporters in Singapore the California-based company will ride on SingTel's more than 400 million mobile subscriber base across Asia to boost its business. Amobee was fully acquired by Singtel -Southeast Asia's biggest telecom firm by revenue -- in a $321 million deal last month. SingTel had said its 100 percent buyout of Amobee would boost mobile ad sales in India, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan, where it has large affiliates. "The indicators are that Asia will be a really strong market... I would think that we are going to have more traction in Asia than in the US just by our contacts here," Healy said at a media event. Amobee's USbased clients include technology giants Google, Skype, Microsoft and eBay. "The most interesting thing in Asia is that a lot of the younger population have skipped the Internet generation, they are a 100 percent mobile. The device that they are most comfortable with is the mobile phone or a tablet," he added. Revenue from Asia make up only 20 percent of the company's current revenues, but Healy said he expected it to rise to a third within a year. "In Asia every single market is different, which is a great opportunity from a pitching perspective because you can pitch your company to so many different types of companies," he said. n in the final event of the Painting Extravaganza to be held later this month. Following its inauguration, the exhibition was opened for all employees to visit along with their families and enjoy the colourful display of paintings depicting PTCLs rich diversity of age groups and regions. n
billion in FY11, as the total teledensity had improved to 69.2 percent by December 2011. Telecom players, mostly the mobile network operators, invested $371.5 million during FY11. However, owing to some disinvestments, the sector FDI was at negative $164.6 million last year. The 1HFY12 taxation proceeds from the sector stood at Rs58.1 billion, and PTA expects the total FY12 contributions to cross Rs120 billion. The telecom economy of Pakistan is driven by the MNOs. The Review highlights that the mobile teledensity is the most in Sindh (over 80 percent), followed by Punjab (66 percent), but less than 50 percent in both Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There is still room for expansion in the voice segment, espe-
This shows in the aggregate topline of the MNOs which reached roughly Rs280 billion in CY11, as per the Review. The average revenue per user was hovering at $2.43 per month in December 2011, compared to $2.53 in December 2010. Pakistan is no doubt a heavy texting market. The countrys SMS traffic was ranked sixth in 2010 in Asia-Pacific, only behind China, the Philippines, Indonesia, India and Japan, according to Portio Research, a UK-based telecom research company. The Review estimates that in FY11, Pakistanis generated over 256 billion SMS, nearly 50 percent more than 175 billion in CY10. In the end, the PTA mentions the measures it has taken as the custodian of the sector.
3G auction to be fair, on time: Pervaiz Ashraf
Islamabad: Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Raja Pervez Ashraf said that he would try his level best to ensure the timely and fair auction of 3G licenses; though he didnt give any deadline. He said it was big challenge for him to under-take this challenging task of uplift of the IT Ministry. He said his first and foremost effort would be to spread the network of IT in each and every corner of Pakistan including far off areas of GilgitBaltistan. E-governance is the
governance of tomorrow and the government would try its utmost to introduce e-governance in almost all sectors of Pakistan and CDA would be made first model. He said his main focus would be on timely completion of various best policies of the IT. He said the government is fully committed to launch various pilot projects of e-governance in country and computerization of whole of revenue system including Patwar-khanas would be encouraged by federal government. n Artist & Curator, Ms. Shehlla Moazzam were also present on the occasion. More than 500 paintings were submitted by PTCL employees and their families from all over Pakistan, which were evaluated by the guest artists. Of these, 40 paintings have been short-listed from all regions for participation
PTCL organizes exhibition on energy conservation

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) held a painting exhibition on the theme of Energy Conservation for Future Generations for its employees and their families as part of its employee engagement drive, held in PTCL Headquarters. The colourful exhibition was inaugurated by PTCL President & CEO, Mr. Walid Irshaid. Senior Executive Vice President HR, Mr. Syed Mazhar Hussain; Director Jharoka Art Gallery, Mrs. Nahida Raza; Senior Art Professor, Ms. Geytee Ara; and Contemporary
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Pakistan 5th TeleCon concludes

Karachi: Fifth Pakistan 2012 Telecommunication conference was organised in Karachi. Chairman PTA Dr. Mohammed Yaseen was the chief guest on this occasion, while Mr. Menin Rodrigues, president & Chief Executive Officer, SHAMROCK Communication (pvt) Limited, IT & telecom industry experts, stakeholders, CEOs of telecom companies, academia and media representatives attended the seminar. On the occasion, Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammed Yaseen said that, for launching 3G technology Pakistan is facing regulatory, technology and economic challenges. Chairman said that our market driving factors are high speed integrated and interactive services for which our cellular network is merging towards the 3G and Core and access networks towards IP and NGN Platforms. So this convergence can bring more revenue as expected of 5 billion to the country and more over better quality of services and cheaper services to the consumers will be provided. The regulator has to deal with maintaining QoS, Security and IP, numbering and interconnection, for these they have proposed various measures including regulators would be ready for ENUM so IP numbering will allow even more convergence and consumer rights would be maintained. Chairman also added that, according to the economic growth of Pakistan as given by World Bank knowledge assessment, Pakistan is ranked 117th out of 144. After these improvements, social and economic impacts on ICTs
will highlight for every 10 points in Internet Penetration per 100 will be translated to 1.21 percent GDP growth (WB). Other than this there are more business and entrepreneurship opportunities. Chairman, said that there is almost 185 percent growth in mobile internet users which clearly portrays the trend towards 3G. If we focus on its applications than broadband enhancing policy comes first which can trigger the multiplier effect with the economy. Public and private partnership is introduced which has both social and economic impacts e.g. health, educa-
tion, transport, smart grid power line and Gas, and mobile banking. Increase in growth of mobile internet also shows increase in mobile broadband services which shows potential investment for mobile banking. He said that, we have set our goals like knowledge based Pakistan, E-Pakistan (E-govt, E-health etc) and more Government revenue and we are focusing on these goals but apart from technology inception there is more need of technology awareness in Pakistan like technology adoption in public sector. Our goal of seeing Pakistan as knowledge based society
and economy will soon be achieved by this, Chairman further added. Mr. Menin Rodrigues, president & Chief Executive Officer, SHAMROCK Communication delivered welcome Remarks to the participants. During the seminar speakers of national and international fame focused numerous developmental challenges faced by Pakistan in the exceedingly competitive environment of telecom sector. The telecom experts (further) shared their wisdom and experience to draw tangible conclusions for ensuring rapid economic growth. n
Zong promotes Usman Ishaq as PTCL launches tree Executive Director Commercial plantation campaign
sources informed. He has played a key role in developing marketing strategy and providing direction for the sales, paving a way for Zong to become leading telecom operator in terms of new subscribers in recent past. During his ongoing tenure at Zong, Usman has put his best earlier in Sales & Distribution Department with record new sales and then he achieved beyond expectations in Marketing Department when he was made Director Marketing around 8 months ago. His major contribution in revenue generation and increased subscriber base has made CMPak one of the fastest growing companies in Pakistan. It merits mentioning here that this post of Executive Director Commercial has been introduced in Zong recently. As Executive Director Commercial Usman assigned full responsibility to assist CCO in defining strategy for the entire department in order to achieve Companys objectives. n Islamabad: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the countrys largest and only integrated telecom service provider, commemorated the international planting a Blue Pine sapling in the central gardens of the PTCL HQs building. As part of this campaign, PTCL is planting 200 tree saplings in its HQs grounds as committed to sustainability, and this tree plantation campaign is yet another step in our ongoing efforts to preserve and protect our precious environment for future generations.
Karachi: Director Marketing Zong Usman Ishaq has been promoted to Executive Director Commercial on the basis of his proven outstanding performance especially during last 8 months since he was appointed as Director Marketing, reliable
Telecom brings together 9 South Asian nations

Nepal: Minister for Information and Communications, Raj Kishor Yadav inaugurated the 13th meeting of the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators Council (SATRC-13). Nine countries including Nepal, India, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives are participating in the three-day meeting. According to Chairman of Nepal Telecommunication Authority, Bhesh Raj Kandel, the participating countries will discuss on rules and regulations related to the regulation of the telecom sector and problems and policy. The meeting is jointly organised by Nepal Telecommunication Authority and Asia Pacific Tele-community where the participating countries will also discuss on Asia Pacific Tele-community Strategy 2012-2014. Addressing the meeting, Minister Yadav said that new technologies are being developed in information and communication sector including the telecom sector since the past some years and added that there was challenge to make this technology accessible to the people. n Spam, Unsolicited, Fraudulent, and Obnoxious Communications Regulations 2012 in order to receive feedback from all stakeholders of the industry. All telecom operator should be implemented the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for curbing unwanted and obnoxious communica-
Earth Day 2012 by kicking off a tree plantation campaign at its headquarters here, says a press release. In a graceful ceremony attended by PTCL officials and employees, Senior Executive Vice President HR Syed Mazhar Hussain launched the tree plantation campaign by tion on their network, PTA said. In the result of fraudulent communication, if balance is transferred, the subscription of the originator shall be terminated along with IMEI number of the handset. In addition, the operator shall take all reasonable steps to refund the amount to com-
well as PTCL residential colonies spread across Islamabad. PTCL has made significant strides this past year to reduce its carbon footprint by encouraging a paperless environment and using recycled material for its products, said Mr. Hussain on the occasion. We are firmly plainant. Besides the telecom operators shall be asked to closely monitor communication and keep an eye on the fraudulent communication on their networks. The users involved in fraudulent and repeated fraudulent should be mentioned in blacklist and grey list and provided their data
In 2009 United Nations designated April 22 as International Mother Earth Day. It is commemorated annually in more than 175 countries to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earths natural environment. n or record to the authority time to time. The subscriptions of telephone users generating spam calls and SMSs shall be suspended by all telecom operators on receipt of complaints and maintained a monthly backlist of all violators for updating about them to the authority. n
Karachi: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has decided to control over the criminal, unethical and spam calls on the network of telecom networks with proper check and balance and proper
PTA seeks control over obnoxious, fraudulent calls
mechanism aimed at protecting consumers from unwanted communications. The authority has issued a draft regulation with revision and amendments of clauses in Protection from
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PTCL EVO Nitro reaches Rawat

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has launched its 3G EVO Nitro wireless Broadband service in the Rawat Industrial Estate, near Rawalpindi. President Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce & Industries (RCCI), Mr. Javed Akhter Bhatti inaugurated the state-of-the-art wireless Broadband services of PTCL EVO Nitro in a colorful ceremony held at RCCI Industrial Estate, Rawat. PTCLs Executive Vice President Estate Management, Mr. Kanwar Ghulam Mustafa and General Manager Wireless, Mr. Wajeeh Anwer, were also present on the occasion. PTCLs 3G EVO wireless Broadband is the only wireless Broadband network providing Rev A and Rev B con-
nectivity in Pakistan, said PTCL EVP, Mr. Kanwar Ghulam Mustafa while addressing local industrialists gathered on the occasion. It gives unlimited data volume downloads in unlimited usage packages while giving consumers a superior 3G experience. President RCCI, Mr. Javed Akhter Bhatti thanked PTCL for connecting the Rawat Industrial Estate with 21st centurys global Information Super Highway, noting that it will yield a muchneeded boost in Rawats industrial productivity. n
Warid offers free minutes with new SIM

Lahore: Warid Telecom, the most reliable cellular service provider in Pakistan announces an amazing offer where on purchase of a new prepaid SIM, customers will be given 1500 free on-net minutes over a period of three months on a minimum recharge of Rs. 50 every month. This offer is valid for all new prepaid customers and port-in customers. With the help of Warid Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service, non-Warid customers can also switch to Warid Telecom network to get the benefits of this amazing offer. Warid Telecom has established the credibility and transparency of its promotions by making communication not just simple and easy, but rewarding and worthwhile. n
APNS delegation calls on CM Punjab
Atif Aslam joins Mobilink as brand ambassador

Mobilink has signed Atif Aslam as brand ambassador for its Jazba brand. Jazbas new brand philosophy indicates that Life is too short for buts and what ifs. Your mission is to commit. Atif Aslam, probably youths most favorite pop singer, has recorded an exclusive song for Jazba as well as a TVC, as part of the launch of Jazbas new persona. The energetic pop icon will give a new life to Jazba. n
Lahore: All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) delegation calls on Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Lahore recently under the leadership of its President Sarmad Ali and Vice-President Rameeza Majid Nizami. Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan and Secretary Information Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani were also present on the occasion. The APNS president informed the Chief Minister about the problems being faced by national and regional newspapers. Felicitating the newly-elected members of the executive committee of APNS, the Chief Minister said that Press is the fourth pil-
lar of the state and the persons associated with this sector are playing an important role in highlighting social and economic issues. He also issued instructions for the payment of the outstanding dues of advertising agencies and newspapers and assured that the problems faced by newspapers and journalists will also be resolved as soon as possible.Members of executive committee of APNS appreciated the public service projects of Punjab government. They said that it is laudable that the international institution has described the programme of laptops distribution as transparent.n
wi-tribe announces Pakistan Developers challenge

wi-tribe has announced Pakistan Developers Challenge 2012 (PDC 2012); bringing together the greatest young minds of Pakistan onto one, single pioneering platform. Bringing together academia and global technology industry giants HEC, Microsoft, Intel, P@SHA and Dell the PDC 2012 invites students, graduates, aspiring developers, professionals and virtually anyone in the development community to be part of the contest. wi-tribe Bazaar supports both Windows Desktop and various Mobile app platforms, in recognition of the opportunity that a local market of 22 million internet users has to offer. Talking about PDC2012, Mustafa Peracha, CEO, wi-tribe Pakistan said, wi-tribe Bazaar is our effort to support and encourage the local IT industry and software developers in particular. For us, Bazaar is a forum for and by Pakistani software developers. At wi-tribe, we are only acting as a catalyst by providing the platform. Feeling strongly about the potential this platform offers towards the growth of the local IT industry, we expect great things to come out of the Pakistan Developers Challenge 2012. PDC 2012 seeks to offer a rewarding opportunity to Pakistans flourishing developers community, ushering in a new era of commercial viability for Pakistans technology industry. n
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Nokia chairman indicates company no longer leader

Nokia chairman Jorma Ollila indicated in an interview with Finnish media that his company was no longer the world's biggest mobile phone maker after 14 years at the top. "Nokia was number one for 14 years and still has the chance to be so again," Ollila told. The former Nokia chief executive, who will be leaving his position as chairman of the board, thus provided the first hint that the company is no longer leader. Media reports have indicated for more than a week that Nokia was losing the top spot to Samsung, who along with Apple is already well ahead of Nokia in the lucrative smart phone sector. Nokia announced disastrous first quarter results recently, posting a net loss of 929 million eu-
ros ($1.2 billion) and showing sales down 30 percent year-on-year for the first three months of the year. The company also acknowledged that it had sold just 82.7 million mobile devices during the quarter, down from 108.5 million a year earlier. Odon De Laporte highlighted an increase in Ericsson's gross margin since the fourth quarter of 2011. Gross margin is the percent of total sales that a company retains after taking into account the cost of their production and associated services. "Sure, the report shows there is low activity, especially for the network division, but seeing the gross margin bouncing back is definitely a relief," Laporte. Ericsson's gross margin climbed to 33.3 percent in the first three months of the year, from 30.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, but remained below the 2011 first quarter level of 38.5 percent. On February 16, Sony said it had finalised the acquisition of Ericsson's share of their mobile telephone joint venture Sony Ericsson, which was renamed Sony Mobile Communications. n
While Samsung is not set to release its full first quarter results with details of the total number of units sold until now, analysts reportedly expect the figure to land somewhere between 85 and 92 million units. Nokia has for more
than a year been undergoing a major restructuring, phasing out its Symbian smartphones in favour of a partnership with Microsoft. Recently, ratings agency Fitch cut its debt rating to junk status. Ollila remained upbeat however, pointing out that Nokia had in the past also run into bouts of trouble but had always landed on its feet again. "I am absolutely convinced there is a turnaround in sight," he told, adding that "there are indications that it will come at the end of this year." n
The Swedish telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson posted a first quarter net profit that was more than double the level recorded a year earlier, owing to a major one-off di-
Unit sale to Sony boosts Ericsson's Q1 profit
Net profit leapt however by 116 percent to 8.8 billion kronor thanks to a 7.7 billion kronor contribution from the sale of a 50-percent stake in Sony Ericsson, a statement said.
vestment. The world leader in mobile telephone networks also said sales had fallen by four percent to 50.97 billion kronor (5.7 billion euros, $7.6 billion), while operating profit excluding the sale of its half the joint venture Sony Ericsson was 56 percent lower at 2.8 billion.
Meanwhile, "sales of high-performance mobile broadband developed well in North America, Japan and Korea, while other regions such as Europe including Russia, parts of Middle East and India were weaker," chief executive Hans Vestberg said. Cheuvreux analyst
Top 5 smartphone vendors market share in Q1 2012

Apple, Samsung, Nokia, Research In Motion and LG are the top 5 smartphone vendors in the world in Q1 2012. Though Samsung in the first quarter overtook Nokia to become the world's largest cellphone brand for the first time, Samsung remained in second place in the smartphone segment of the cellphone market, behind Apple. In the smartphone segment of the cellphone market, Apple shipped 35 million units in the first quarter. Samsung shipped 32 million smartphones. Apple's smartphone shipments declined 5 percent, compared to 11 percent for Samsung. Sequential declines in the shipments of smartphones as well as cellphones reflect normal seasonal patterns in which sales decrease following the peak holiday period in the fourth quarter. "With cellphones now accounting for more than 40 percent of Samsung's overall revenue, it's clear that the company's continued investments in smartphone hardware and software R&D are paying off," said Wayne Lam, senior analyst, wireless communications at IHS. Samsung's latest Galaxy S III handset shipments will start soon This indicates Samsung is likely to make further progress in market share in 2012. Global smartphone shipments are set to rise by 35 percent this year, while those for feature phones, entrylevel phones and ULCHs will all decline. The smartphone segment will be single-handedly responsible for the overall cellphone business expansion of 7.4 percent in 2012. Next year, smartphone shipments will rise to account for more than half of all cell-
Increased demand for smartphones like the Apple iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy S2 benefited Everything Everywhere in the first quarter, helping Britain's biggest mobile phone operator to post a rise in underlying revenue. The joint venture, which combines France Telecom's Orange and Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile, it added 151,000 net new contract customers in the first quarter, compared with 160,000 a year ago. Everything Everywhere, which leads Telefonica's O2, Vodafone and 3 in terms of British customers, said service revenue, excluding regulated cuts in so-called termination rates, rose 2.9 percent, a faster rate than the 1.2 percent recorded in the final quarter of 2011. Chief executive Olaf phones for the first time, at Swantee said the im52 percent, up from 43.5 per- provement was driven by cent in 2012. Smartphones represented 34 percent of Samsung's handset shipments in the first quarter. In contrast, smartphones accounted for just 14 percent of Nokia's shipments. Samsung has offered handsets on multiple smartphone operating system platforms, including Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows Phone and Samsung's own bada. By betting on all hors- rapid data revenue growth es, Samsung is ensuring that as the group upgraded cusit is backing a winner. tomers to smartphones and To make Nokia's Windows phone strategy pay off, higher-value post-paid Nokia must convince the agreements. "We now have 71 perleading carriers to visibly back Windows Phone as well cent of our post pay cusas convince consumers of a tomer base with a smartvaluable and differentiated phone," he said in an inexperience. terview. Android original equipSmartphones typically ment manufacturers (OEM) come on 18-month or twolike HTC, LG Electronics, Sony and Motorola Mobility year contracts, helping restruggled in the fiercely com- tain customers. The petitive smartphone market. group's churn or customer attrition rate, was just 1.2
Everything everywhere gets boost from smartphones
percent. "In Q4 we had the best churn in the market," Swantee said. "It's too early to tell this quarter but I expect again we will have the best churn in the industry." Swantee said the group was seeing a strong performance from the iPhone and Galaxy S, the latest version of which will launch in London. He also said initial sales of HTC's new Team One handsets were "pretty positive" and the group was seeing "some good continuous performance on the entry products around the Blackberry range". Everything Everywhere does not issue firstquarter earnings, but Swantee said cost savings, targeted at 3.5 billion pounds by 2014, were firmly on track. "For the first quarter we continued strongly on
People in China are not only making coveted Apple gadgets, they are snapping them up as the booming nation becomes a top market for the trend-setting California company. Aftershocks of blockbuster Apple earnings powered by demand for iPhones in China echoed in rising stock markets. Demand was "mind-boggling" in China, where revenue for the quarter was a record-high $7.9 billion, according to Apple chief executive Tim Cook. Sales in China during the first three months of this year were triple what they were during the same period in 2011. Apple took in $12.4 billion in China in the first half of the current fiscal year, putting the company easily on course to eclipse the $13.3 billion in Chinese sales it accrued in the prior 12-month period.
Apple enjoying fruit of China's labour
the cost programmes that are behind synergy capture and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) improvement," he said. Everything Everywhere said its service revenue was down 2.5 percent down to 1.5 billion pounds when including cuts imposed by the regulator to charges for connecting calls between networks. n
"China has an enormous number of people moving into higher income groups, middle-class if you will, and this is creating a demand for goods," Cook said. "There is tremendous opportunity for companies that understand China, and we are doing everything we can to understand it." Cook said that Apple had the "mother of all Januaries" that included launching the iPhone 4 in China. Apple is hustling to open more stores in China and said it was thrilled with its freshly-minted relationship with China Telecom to provide service for iPhones. "The China market should really scare Apple competitors," said Creative Strategies lead analyst Tim Bajarin. "They have only been there a very short time and it is already 12 percent of their total business." The number of retail outlets selling Apple gadgets is about 11,000, a number expected to double within two years. "Apple will clearly invest a lot of money in the China market," said NPD analyst Stephen Baker. "They will do what they have to do to localize and invest in China." n
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Google's Android system has grabbed more than 50 percent of the US smartphone market, while Samsung cemented its leadership as the top device maker, a survey showed. Even though Apple's hot iPhone is surging, it has not dented the lead of the Android system and the South Korean manufacturer, according to a quarterly survey from research firm comScore. The Android system snagged 51 percent of the operating system market in the three months ending in March, up from 47.3 percent in the prior quarter, comScore said. Apple's operating sys-
Android, Samsung hold off Apple in US market
tem had 30.7 percent of the during the three months market, up from 29.6 per- ending in March, up nine percent from December. cent.
The biggest loser was BlackBerry, which saw its platform share fall to 12.3 percent from 16 percent. Microsoft's share also slipped to 3.9 percent from 4.7 percent and Symbian held steady at 1.4 percent. The survey found more than 106 million people in the US owned smartphones
Samsung remained the top maker of mobile devices including smartphones, with 26 percent of the US market, from 25.3 percent three months earlier. Second was fellow Korean LG with 19.3 percent, down 0.7 points, and Apple was third with 14.6 percent, up from 12.4 percent and overtaking Mo-
torola. A separate report earlier this year concluded worldwide shipments of smartphones soared 54.7 percent in the final three months of 2011 from the same period a year earlier, with Apple leading the space. An IDC report found smartphone makers shipped 157.8 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011. Apple had a 23.5 percent share of the global smartphone market, followed by Samsung and Nokia with 22.8 percent and 12.4 percent respectively. Android and iPhone smartphones accounted for slightly more than 90 percent of US smartphone sales in the fourth quarter of 2011, industry-tracker NPD Group reported earlier this year. n
Nokia files Germany bars Microsoft sales patent suits on Motorola suit against HTC, A German court ruled that US Internet giant Mi- RIM, ViewSonic
crosoft can no longer sell its products locally because it infringes patents held by US communications firm Motorola Mobility. Microsoft said the ruling covers sales of its computer operating system Windows 7 and the Xbox games console but insisted it would have no practical impact. German customers could still order its products from its distribution centre in the Netherlands, it said. Microsoft decided to close its German distribution centre in early April, anticipating that the ruling would go against it. A Microsoft spokesman said the company would also appeal the ruling, given by a tribunal in Mannheim. High-tech patent disputes have become increasingly common as giants of the industry, especially Apple, Microsoft, Samsung and Motorola, slug it out in the courts to protect their products in a hugely competitive market. Last month, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a preliminary ruling that Microsoft had infringed Motorola Mobility patents in its Xbox 360 videogame console. A final ITC ruling is expected later this year which could force the Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft to work out a licensing deal with Motorola or risk having its top-selling videogame console banned from US stores.n
Microsoft counts on allies Jawbone releases 'Big' in mistimed tablet market speakers for smartphones
Microsoft is counting on friends to make it a hit later this year when it crashes a tablet computer party at which Apple has been the star ever since the launch of the iPad. The US software colossus turned a draining patent lawsuit with Barnes & Noble into a mutually beneficial alliance that could make Nook digital books a cornerAndroid operating systems and Apple iPads have proven that while buyers like slick hardware, they love devouring videos, music, applications, digital books and other "content." "Sometimes we focus too much on the technology," said Michael Cherry, an analyst at Directions On Microsoft, an independent firm that tracks the Redmond, Jawbone began rolling out an even louder version of its portable wireless speakers, which have caught fire among smartphone and tablet users. The Big Jambox speakers could be pre-ordered online at jawbone.com for $299. They will roll out in other countries in the coming months. Jambox has been catching on in Australia, Brazil, Europe, Japan, and elsewhere, with smartphone and tablet adoption evidently driving sales of the easy-tocarry wireless speakers engineered for rich sound. "Jambox was the first wireless speaker to bring stunning audio quality to the music, movies and games normally trapped between earbuds on mobile devices," said Jawbone chief executive Hosain Rahman. "With Big Jambox we utilized state-of-the-art audio technology to fill a much larger space with amazing sound without sacrificing portability." The original Jambox is credited with starting a wireless speaker trend with a sleek, pocket-sized sound system that synchs to gadgets using Bluetooth capabilities. Big Jambox amplifies the technology in the original Jambox, which is about a third of the size of its newlyunveiled sibling and boasts being the top-selling wireless speaker in the United States. "The world is changing as a result of the smartphone," Jawbone vice president of product management Travis Bogard said as he gave AFP an advance listen to Big Jambox. "Digital downloads and streaming services are putting the world's content right in our hands," he added, gesturing from his iPhone to his iPad. Big Jambox can connect wirelessly to two gadgets at once. Google, Apple, Microsoft and an array of startups offering services that let users store films, music, and more in the Internet "cloud" should enhance the allure of adding rich sound to content streamed to gadgets. "So many of us are using smartphones and tablets," Bogard said. "And streaming services and cloud data storage are a reality... It is all coming together at the right time." n just 10 million in the same period a year earlier, on sales that had fallen by 12.3 percent to 3.2 billion euros. The profits were due largely to 659 million euros in earnings from the sale of Alcatel's Genesys unit, however. The company maintained its full year targets for 2012, including an adjusted operating margin higher than the level reached in 2011, and a strong positive net cash position at the end of the year. n
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stone of a content "ecosystem" vital to selling Windows 8 tablets. Microsoft said that it will make a $300 million investment in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary focusing on the bookseller's digital reading capabilities, including its Nook tablet, and its college businesses. "It is not a surprise they are making this kind of investment," said Gartner Research analyst Michael Gartenberg. "Barnes & Noble is probably the best partner for them, and it insures Windows has a book and magazine service as part of its overall ecosystem." Tablets powered by Windows 8 software are expected by the end of this year. Amazon.com Kindles based on free Google-backed
Washington-based technology firm. "The success of tablets isn't going to be because it is running Windows, but because it has the apps people want and a price people want to pay for that kind of device," he continued. Cherry is certain Microsoft will make more alliances to cultivate a rich ecosystem for Windows tablets. "This is just the beginning; there will be more deals," the analyst said. "When you are late to the party you often have to encourage partners to work on the platform." Ironically, Microsoft launched tablet software a decade ago only to see it fail because publishers and readers weren't ready for it, according to analysts. n
Nokia, one of the world's leading mobile phone makers, said it had filed patent infringement lawsuits against mobile phone and electronics groups HTC, RIM and ViewSonic in the United States and Germany. "Though we'd prefer to avoid litigation, Nokia had to file these actions to end the unauthorised use of our proprietary innovations and technologies, which have not been widely licensed," Nokia said in a statement. The lawsuits concerned a total of 45 patents. The Finnish company said its actions included a complaint to the US International Trade Commission against Taiwan's leading smartphone maker HTC, and suits against HTC and US electronics group ViewSonic in the US Federal District Court of Delaware. It was also filing suits against HTC and Canadian BlackBerry maker RIM in the Regional Court in Dusseldorf, Germany, and against all three companies in the Regional Courts in Mannheim and Munich, Germany. Nokia said the innovations protected by its patents "are being used by the companies to enable hardware capabilities such as dual function antennas, power management and multimode radios." They also "enhance software features including application stores, multitasking, navigation, conversational message display, dynamic menus, data encryption and retrieval of email attachments on a mobile device," it said. n
Bond-buying-at the tap of a mobile phone

For the average Kenyan, buying government debt could soon be as simple as paying for groceries at the supermarket: that is, with the tap of a few buttons on their mobile phone. This is the premise behind a project about to be launched by the World Bank and Kenyan regulators that aims to capitalise on the success of M-Pesa, the east African country's hugely popular mobile money transfer service. Under the scheme, which is at the beginning of the pilot phase, anyone with a mobile phone will be able to buy Treasury bills, and eventually bonds, offered by the central bank. Would-be investors only need a cell phone line and a subscription to a mobile money service, which will enable telecoms operators to open an electronic account with the Central Bank of Kenya on their behalf. The CDS accounts, as they are known, are a requirement for anyone wishing to take part in debt auctions. "Today, any Kenyan can pay their electricity bill with the phone," said Yira Mascaro, who leads the World Bank's financial and private sector development group in Nairobi that is behind the initiative.n
The French telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent posted a jump in 2012 first quarter profit, but its shares were hammered owing to disappointment over its operating margin. Alcatel-Lucent said its net profit leapt to 398 million euros ($524.8 million) from
Alcatel posts 398 mn euro Q1 profit after unit sale
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Apple avoiding billions in global taxes: report

Gadget giant Apple is avoiding billions of dollars in taxes by setting up small offices around the world to collect and invest the company's profits, American media reported. The report said an office in Reno, Nevada, where the corporate tax rate is zero, was one of many that the California-based technology giant uses to legally sidestep state income taxes on some of its gains. California's corporate tax rate is 8.84 percent. Record sales of iPhones and iPad tablet computers, particularly in China and other parts of Asia, saw Apple report recently that it made a $39.2 billion profit in the quarter ended March 31. It quoted Apple executives who said the Reno office and others in Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the British Virgin Islands and other low-tax places were among the legal methods the company was using to reduce its global tax bill.
Students adopting ebooks faster

Students in the United Kingdom who recently participated in ebrary's Global Student E-book Survey reported a greater preference for digital over printed books and higher usage than their global counterparts in a similar survey conducted in 2011. When asked how often they would choose e-books over printed books, 58 percent of UK students stated they would "very often" to "often" choose the digital version if it were available compared to 48 percent of global respondents. Over 85 percent of UK students indicated they use ebooks up to 10 hours per week and only 10 percent stated that they never use e-books. In contrast, 52 percent of global participants indicated they use e-books up to 10 hours per week, and another 46 percent stated they never use e-books. Approximately 5 percent of UK students indicated they
use e-books more than 10 hours per week compared to 2 percent of global respondents. Additionally, more than 80 percent of UK students reported that their awareness of digital resources is good to excellent, compared to less than 69 percent of global participants. Only 6 percent of UK students indicated they did not know their libraries offered ebooks compared to 38 percent of global respondents. "ebrary was surprised to see such a variation of results in the UK," said Kevin Sayar, President and General Manager of ebrary. "One explanation may be that UK students know when they are using digital books, whereas other students may mistake e-books for online journals or other formats. It is also possible that UK librarians are doing more in terms of e-book training and promotion. We are excited to work with participating libraries, both in the UK and abroad, to dive deeply into this data and develop and share insights and best practices." n
Nearly three million Americans cut their cable television subscriptions last year as an increasing number turned to the Internet, a survey shows. The Nielsen survey released recently found that some of those cutting cable moved to packages from telecom provider or satellites, but overall subscriptions fell by 1.5 million, or around 1.5 percent. Still, the survey found American TV watching is not dead. Some 98 per cent of video watched is on TV sets, and the number of high definition TVs grew by eight AT&T ordered million. But the TVs are into pay creasingly connected to the compensation to Internet or devices such as game consoles, allowing for Muslim woman streaming content. "After several years of USA based AT&T has been ordered to make a com- against the company after pensation payment to a for- she claimed he had endured mer employee who sued the years of harassment from company for workplace dis- co-workers. crimination after she conShe claimed that Bible verted to Islam. verses were left on her desk Susann Bashir, a fiber op- and that co-workers asked if tics network builder who had she was going to blow up the been with the company for 10 building or called her a "towyears converted to Islam in elhead" and a terrorist. 2005. She had already startThe final blow came ed a discrimination case when she alleged that a su-
The newspaper said Apple had "devised corporate strategies that take advantage of gaps in the tax code," citing former executives who had helped craft those policies. In Reno, Apple uses a subsidiary named Braeburn Capital to manage and invest the gadget company's money, the report said, and when those investments succeed, the Nevada address shields the profits from being subjected to tax. n
Internet TV on rise as Americans cut cable television
consistent year-over-year growth, traditional TV viewing declined one half of one percent or roughly 46 minutes per month," the Nielsen report said. "This may be the result of leveling off after a period of sustained growth, weather and economic factors or of other viewing options. As more homes adopt DVRs and transition to timeshifted viewing, timeshifted TV growth has offset the bulk of live TV declines. Other potential factors include time spent using game consoles, tablets and other emerging devices." The average watcher spent 153 hours per month on "traditional TV," and some 27 hours on "timeshifted" TV, either from a digital recorder or on-demand service. Another 24 hours were spent per month overall on the Internet, and four hours watching Internet videos. Usage of video on mobile phones was little changed in the year, at around four hours per month, the survey found. n pervisor snatched off her hijab during a routine meeting. She sued. A jury has now upheld her complaint, and awarded damages of $5 million, although that will be capped by local state laws which limit compensation payments to five times the lost wages plus legal fees. n
Norwegian telecom giant Telenor wrote off the rest of its mobile business in India worth 3.9 billion kroner (513 million euros, $680 million) after New Delhi scrapped licences in a massive fraud probe. It warned too that it could withdraw completely from India, one of the world's fastest growing telecom markets, in light of increased uncertainty since the mobile phone licences were scrapped. Telenor said that "as a precautionary measure ... it has decided to write-down the remaining fixed and intangible assets in India. "After the write-down, Telenor has no further accounting exposure related to India," it said, adding that the charge will be included in its first quarter results due for release on May 8. India's Supreme Court earlier this year cancelled second-generation (2G) mobile licences issued in 2008 to a host of companies with foreign partners on the grounds the sale was rigged, costing New Delhi $40 billion in lost revenues. n
Telenor writes off rest of India mobile business
Samsung's new smartphone debuts in London

South Korea's Samsung Electronics has unveiled a faster and larger version of its flagship smartphone as it seeks to cement its position as the world's best-selling mobile phone maker. The Galaxy S3, introduced in London, offers facerecognition technology, improved voice-activated controls and a more powerful processor that lets users watch video and write emails simultaneously. The 4.8-inch (12.2-cm) screen is 22 percent larger than the Galaxy S2, its hugely popular predecessor. But Samsung says the phone is not much wider than the S2 due to a smaller frame. Samsung shipped 44.5 million smartphones in the first quarter, exceeding the 35.1 million of US rival Apple, according to figures from market researcher Strategy Analytics. It said the Korean firm also overtook Nokia as the biggest maker of all types of mobile phone. Samsung is now pinning its hopes on the S3 to further erode its rivals' market share before an expected new version of Apple's iPhone this year. Samsung, the world's largest technology firm in revenue terms, reported a record net profit of 5.05 trillion won ($4.44 billion) in the first quarter, thanks mainly to strong smartphone sales. But it faces growing competition not just from Apple but also from Chinese makers offering cheaper products such as Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp. n
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Smartphone shipments to reach 1.7 billion in 2017
Smartphones will outperform the overall market for mobile phones, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.9 percent for the period 201117 to reach 1.7 billion units, according to Ovum. Predictions show Android as the dominant operating system over the next five years as handset vendors rush to make it their primary smartphone platform. In its latest forecast,
the analyst house reveals global annual mobile phone shipments will grow at a CAGR of 6.3 percent between 2011 and 2017, driven primarily by demand from emerging markets where connection growth will continue to fuel handset shipments. New shipments in developed markets, such as North America and Western Europe, will be almost entirely made up of smartphones,
while feature phones will continue to play a small role in emerging markets in 2017. "Android will dominate the smartphone market over the next five years," said Adam Leach, principal analyst at Ovum. "While Apple has defined the smartphone market since it introduced the iPhone in 2007, we're now seeing a sharp rise in the shipment volumes of Android, signaling its appeal to leading handset manufacturers." Smartphones based on Android accounted for 44 percent of the smartphone market in 2011, significantly up from 17 percent in 2010. However, its share will reach 48 percent in 2017, as Android-based smartphones are expected to grow at a CAGR of 26.8 percent over the forecast period. Apple's iOS will be the second most widely deployed software platform in 2017, accounting for 27
percent of the smartphone market, a slight increase on the 23 percent share of the market it reported in 2011. Sitting some way behind the Android/iOS duopoly will be the remaining smartphone players. "Although it will remain behind Android in terms of shipment volumes, Apple will continue to be a key player and innovator in the smartphone market over the forecast period," says Leach. "We expect Microsoft, despite its slow start, to have established Windows Phone as a relevant smartphone platform by 2017." The Windows Phone platform, with the assistance of Nokia, will account for 13 percent of the smartphone market in 2017. Despite losing significant market share since its high point in 2009, RIM's BlackBerry platform will still represent 10 percent of the market in 2017. n
Samsung, IT firms to make wireless charger

Samsung Electronics said it has joined forces with other IT giants like Qualcomm and SK Telecom to develop a different wireless charger from the current device-on-pad method. The worlds largest maker of smartphones said it has formed a group called the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) to introduce the resonant wireless battery charger. Members include Germanys Peiker Acustic, U.S.-based accessory firm Ever Win International, furniture company Gill Industries and Israels Powermat along with Samsung, Qualcomm and SKT. Low battery life has often been thought of as the biggest issue when using smartphones, especially those running on the fourth-generation Long Term Evolution networks. The so-called resonant Qi charger could deliver 5 watts through a 40 millimeter table top into a Q receiver, indicating that the handsets does not have to be placed on the charger but some distance away from it. For instance, one could charge its smartphone by just putting it on top of the wood-made desk while the wireless charger is located in its drawer, said Samsung officials. A4WP will expand its presence in the market jointly with the commercialization of the wireless charger, said Kim Ki-ho, executive vice president of Samsungs Digital Media and Communications research and development center. n
Smartphones the indispensable thing

More Americans can't live without their smartphones anymore. A study released shows people using their mobile devices increasingly to settle a dispute, coordinate a meeting, find a restaurant or get emergency information. The Pew Internet & American Life Project said 70 percent of all cell phone owners and 86 percent of smartphone owners have used their phones for one of seven key activities, which include solving an unexpected problem, getting directions or learning the score of a sporting event. "Overall, these 'just-in-time' cell users, defined as anyone who has done one or more of the above activities using their phone in the preceding 30 days, amount to 62 percent of the entire adult population." The younger users are even more reliant on their mobile devices: 88 percent of those ages 1829 had performed one or more of these activities in the past 30 days, compared with 76 percent of the 30-49 age group, 57 of those ages 50-64, and 46 percent of the owners age 65 and older. Some 31 percent of men use their phones to look up information that settles an argument or disagreement, compared with 22 percent of women, the study found. And some 65 percent of smartphone owners say they have used their phone to get turn-by-turn navigation or directions while driving, with 15 percent doing so on a typical day. The survey conducted between March 15 and April 3, 2012 among 2,254 adults found that 88 were cell phone owners and 46 percent had smartphones. n
Telcos, TRAI at war
NEW DELHI: A new tariff war has begun in the telecom sector, this time between the telecom companies and the regulator. Mobile operators find the new spectrum charges proposed by the Telecom regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) too high, and are claiming it will send call rates soaring. TRAI calculates that the new spectrum prices, which are about 10 times higher than what the incumbent operators paid, will lead to a rise of at the most 3.6 paise per minute in tariffs. The industry body, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), sees the impact at 30 paise per minute. COAI represents Gsm-based mobile telecom service providers including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Unitech Wireless and Videocon. TRAI has, however,
rejected COAI claim. A look at COAI calculations shows that it has major anomalies, a TRAI official said. The impact on tariff is calculated by the total projected minutes of usage, divided by the additional cost of spectrum. Telcos have taken TRAIS price of 3.6 paise as base and tried to modify it. Operators will use spectrum for both voice and data. TRAI has taken this into account. COAI has considered that there will be only revenue from voice and not data, the official said.
The industry has also pegged the total cost of spectrum at three times of TRAIS calculations. We are basically considering only that spectrum that the companies will pay for now, the TRAI official said. If licence renewal of a company is after 10 years, it cannot be considered now. COAI says that only outgoing calls are charged, hence only half the number of minutes would be bearing the impact of spectrum charges effectively doubling the impact on the user tariff. n
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Calling young social entrepreneurs

ing operations showing preliminary results are welcome. From these, the 12 most outstanding entries - judged to have the greatest possible social impact and potential for business success - will win the chance to attend and participate in ITU Telecom World 2012, which takes place from 1418 October in Dubai. The 12 finalists can benefit from one-on-one mentorship sessions with top level representatives from various sectors, hands-on workshops focused on developing entrepreneurial skills and the chance to showcase concepts and projects at a centrally located stand before the uniquely influential audience of World 2012 delegates. They can also benefit from the rich opportunities for networking
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has launched the second edition of its Young Innovators Competition, giving young, talented social entrepreneurs the opportunity to attend its key global networking and knowledge sharing event, ITU Telecom World 2012, and the chance to win funding, mentorship and ongoing support. Open to 18-25 year olds worldwide, the Young Innovators Competition calls for
projects/concepts which engage the power of ICTs to meet real-world developmental challenges relevant to one of eight core areas under the theme Youth Innovation for Development: Cybersecurity, Education, Empowerment of Women, Environmental Sustainability, Healthcare, Human Rights, Transparency and Youth Employment. Submissions consisting of everything from well researched concepts to ongo-
with the leading names and key decision makers from industry, government and academia plus visionaries and digital thought leaders present at the event. Participation in this competition offers a great opportunity for the next generation of young visionaries to demonstrate their ideas and innovations on a truly global stage at our event, and show how their fresh digital thinking can change the world for the better, said ITU secretarygeneral Hamadoun Tour. Crucially, the reach of the Young Innovators Programme will also extend way beyond the event, building a cohesive international community of highly talented social entrepreneurs working on ICT-based initiatives in areas that are vital to developmental issues facing the world today. n India will have significant implications on the future of telephony and broadband as well as India's global competitiveness, he added. "The entire industry looks to the government for a fair, transparent and sustainable telecom regime," Mittal said. Total revenue of the company, however, was up by 15 per cent at Rs 18,729 crore for the March quarter, compared to Rs 1,293 crore in the year-ago period. Its revenue from India and South Asia was at Rs 13,421 crore in the quarter under review. n years. Amid the sleaze allegations, Austrians' confidence in their political elites has plunged. Polls showed 85 percent thinking in 2011 that there was corruption on a national level, up from 66 percent in 2009. "Improvements were necessary in order to bring us up to international standards on tackling graft," Chancellor Werner Faymann said after a meeting of his grand coalition approved the new "transparency package." The measures, which Faymann said would be turned into a bill by May 15 and go before parliament before the summer, "will prove to people that we can become a role model for Europe." Political parties will in future have to inform the audit office of all donations above 5,000 euros ($6,600), down from 7,260 euros now, while lawmakers will have to declare any income from outside legislative work. n
China's 4G targeting 30% global mkt share in 10yrs

TD-LTE-Advanced dominated by China was formally identified as one of the two international standards of the fourth-generation mobile communication by International Telecommunication Union in January this year. It started the highspeed era of mobile communication and was expanded rapidly in the whole world. The scale test conducted in 6 cities last year in China made a positive achievement and pilot cities will be further increased this year. are 220,000 base stations for TD-SCDMA network and we will strive for increasing the number of base stations to 400,000 within 3 years so as to step to 4G. 4G brings a quicker network speed with usability no worse than the one of 3G and service charge expected to be no more than that of 3G. People do not need to replace the mobile phones with different standards. With additional devices like network converter, you can convert 4G signal into WIFI to receive. And you can con-
Smartphone Bharti Airtel Q4 net down boosts NTT 28pc at Rs 1,006 cr India's largest telecom (Rs 106 crore), 3G interest company by subscribers, cost (Rs 84 crore), forex DoCoMo Bharti Airtel has reported a fluctuation losses (Rs 132
consolidated net profit of Rs 1,006 crore in the fourth quarter ended March, down 28 percent from Rs 1,400 crore a year earlier. This was the telecom major's ninth straight quarterly profit decline as intense price competition and losses on foreign exchange eroded earnings. The consolidated net income was impacted by higher costs on account of 3G licence fee amortisation crore) and tax provisions (Rs 198 crore), the company said in a statement. "I'm pleased that the year ended with the company's customer base crossing 250 million across 20 countries. Our launch of 4G LTE, the first in India is a testimony of our commitment to the broadband agenda," Bharti Airtel CMD Sunil Bharti Mittal said. However, the recent regulatory developments in
Leading Japanese mobile phone carrier NTT DoCoMo said net profit sagged in 2011 due to an additional tax burden, but growing smartphone use had boosted operating profit. Net profit for the year to March slipped 5.4 percent from a year ago to 463.9 billion yen ($5.7 billion), mainly due to changes in the tax code, the company said. But operating profit rose 3.5 percent to 874.5 billion yen, on sales of 4.2 trillion yen, up 0.4 percent from the previous year. Solid earnings came as strong sales of smartphones have increased revenue from subscribers expanding their use of data services, DoCoMo said. For the year to March 2014, the company forecast net profit would jump 20.1 percent to 557 billion yen. Operating profit should edge up 2.9 percent to 900 billion yen, on sales of 4.45 trillion yen, up 5.0 percent. DoCoMo is by far the market leader in Japan with just over 60 million subscribers versus 35.1 million at KDDI and about 28 million at Softbank. n
"It still needs 2 or 3 years to issue a 4G license. We would rather slow down to be well-prepared for the purpose that finally users can receive a mature and high-quality product", Miao Yu, minister of Industry and Information Technology. It needs to solve two problems of base station density and immature terminal for the commercialization of TD-LTE. Currently, there
vert and receive it through special devices if in the public area or at home. It is said that the charge policy for TD-LTE is not yet formulated. Just for this, Li Yue, president of China Mobile, says the "TD-LTE" standard created by China will occupy 30 percent share of the global market in 10 years. n
Austria toughens antigraft laws after scandals
After a series of corruption scandals implicating top politicians, Austria is moving to reform its antigraft legislation, which is deemed too lax by many. Reporting rules on political party donations and lawmakers' incomes will be toughened in a bill in May that is expected to become law before the summer -high time, according to many observers. "We have a party financing law that required no transparency, and which allowed no checks and envisioned no sanctions," said the former chief of the court
of auditors, Franz Fiedler, now an advisor to anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International. Political analyst Anton Pelinka said "a clear rule is required once and for all for public grants to parties and for party spending to be published," adding that violators must face "the most severe sanctions". The coalition government of the social-democratic SPO and conservative OVP on April 27 agreed a reform package to crack down on political corruption following a string of highprofile scandals in recent
Microsoft teamed up with US bookselling giant Barnes & Noble in a venture aimed at grabbing a bigger share of the rapidly growing market for electronic books. The world's biggest software group will make a $300 million investment in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary focusing on the bookseller's digital reading capabilities, including its Nook tablet, and its college businesses. The move ends a long patent dispute between the two firms and brings them together to battle Amazon's popular Kindle tablet and ebook reader, as well as the surging Apple iPad. The Nook, which is the
Microsoft teams up with Barnes & Noble on ebooks
Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-Hee, currently embroiled in an inheritance dispute with his siblings, remains South Korea's richest man, according to a Forbes magazine ranking published recently. The 70-year-old, who
Samsung chairman tops S. Korea's rich list
B&N competitor in the segment, will get an application for Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system. This "will extend the reach of Barnes & Noble's digital bookstore by providing one of the world's largest digital catalogues of e-books, magazines and newspapers to hundreds of millions of Windows customers in the US and internationally," a joint statement said. The investment will give Microsoft a 17.6 percent stake in the as-yet unnamed unit that "will accelerate the transition to e-reading, which is revolutionizing the way people consume, create, share and enjoy digital content," the statement said. transformed the company into the world's top chipmaker and second-largest mobile phone maker, has an estimated net worth of $10.8 billion, up $1.5 billion from 2011, said the US publication. "Despite the dip in the KOSPI (Seoul's benchmark stock index), a 52 percent rise in shares of Samsung Electronics propelled Lee Kun-Hee's net wealth," Forbes said in a statement.
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iHome iDM5 Executive Work Station

The name iHome often conjures up iPod and iPhone docks as well as iOSpowered speaker systems for me most of the time, and I am not quite sure whether the same applies to you or not. Well, this time around, iHome's latest release that they call the iHome iDM5 Executive Work Station has every intention to make tablets as well as Bluetooth-enabled smartphones all the more functional, where it comes with a rather compact footprint so that no additional clutter is added to your work area. Not only that, there is also a full size QWERTY keyboard to keep company the built-in speakers, where other hardware specifications include a microphone and a couple of USB ports that allows you to juice up two power thirsty devices simultaneously. Those who have long grappled with a sense of lack of space and want to get more organized at work will definitely do well to take a closer look at the iHome iDM5 Executive Work Station.
Skype Humoticons unveiled

Humor might be said to be something that is lacking in many people these days, or rather, a sense of humor if you want to be more specific. After all, we have all gotten so serious in our lives, moving about from one task to another and always living under a sense of pressure. Even when we are talking to one another, there is this underlying tension as to who has the right in the conversation. Well, this kind of tension does not disappear even when we are holding a conversation online, and these days, apart from Facebook, many of us do keep in touch with one another using Skype. Skype started off as a VoIP program, and over the years, it has done more than just that, and is now keeping up to 200 million people connected to each other simultaneously, be it via messaging, through a phone call, a video call, or simply a Skype-to-Skype conversation. Skype is not a company that remains as it is, and this time around, they have a new It's Time for Skype marketing
Safe Snapp a Digital Witness in an App

Could any more people end up missing? I cant even open a paper, watch the news or check my e-mails without hearing yet another tragic story of somebody's loved one disappearing. As a mom its particularly scary. You would think with all of our satellites and GPS devices there would be something out there that's better than what were doing now. What could it be? Someone seems to be thinking in a better direction, check out Safe Snapp, these folks are just released one of the more innovative self-defense tools on the market made especially for your iPhone. This unique mobile app, or the fact that an app like it actually exists, might just be enough of a deterrent to save some lives. Heres the deal, SafeSnapp provides iPhone users with the ability to place not only themselves, but a would-be attacker at the exact time and location before an attack can happen.
The iPhone Lens Dial

I admit it, I have a Nikon DSLR and a Sony Cybershot, but somehow I end up taking more pictures on my iPhone. I guess it makes sense since is always available, easy to remember, and takes a pretty good shot, for a phone. But inevitably I will miss quite a few of those perfect pictures, If only I could have been just a little closer I always walk away kicking myself for not having at least grabbed the Cybershot. So who could blame me for being intrigued by the iPhone Lens Dial? Not only does this complete 3 lens optical system, made specifically for your iPhone, look cool, but it boasts fisheye, wide angle, and telephoto lens capabilities. The lenses are optical quality coated glass set into an aircraft grade aluminum case with both portrait and landscape tripod mounts.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5

When it comes to a compromise between DSLR performance and that of a standard issue digital camera, there is no other better example than the Micro Four Thirds family from Panasonic and Olympus, although others might want to pull in Samsung and Sony into the mix, but I would say that the two Japanese giants are at the front of the race at the moment. Having said that, Panasonic continues to work hard to remain at the top of the pack with the Lumix DMC-GF5 camera being announced. This is the latest interchangeable lens system camera from Panasonic that will feature a newly developed 12.1-megapixel Live MOS sensor and redesigned Venus Engine, ensuring that you will end up with stunning results that resemble true-to-life images that boast of exceptional resolution, image rendering and color reproduction. It does not matter if you are shooting in lowlight conditions, as they boast a maximum 12800 high ISO sensitivity.
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Take photos with your fingers

You remember when you were a little kid, and there was no such thing as digital cameras back then? Most of the time, when our parents wanted to snap photos of their exuberant and energy filled children running around, a stern shout is required to make sure we all stop in our tracks, tuck in our shirts, straighten out ourselves and pose in front of the camera. Dad would then use his hands to frame a particular shot, by making an L-shape with his thumb and pointing finger on both hands, merging them into a rectangle, followed by clicking on the shutter button. Who would have thought that such a physical act would finally end up in the 21st century as a gesture that might just kick start the way we shoot photos? These days, digital cameras are all the rage, and even smaller kids do have a DSLR that they can call their own. Well, the Ubi-Camera might just change or rather, revolutionize the way things are run allowing you to capture photos that have been composed simply by framing them using your hands.
Sony 57 DSLR is ready take over the 55

Sony certainly knows how to branch out in terms of product variety, and one of the niches that they have tried out in recent memory (instead of spearheading it) would be the digital camera market, and I must say that their DSLRs are decent offerings, although you still find most wedding photographers stick to Nikon or Canon for their work. Well, this has certainly not stopped Sony from rolling out newer models in due time, and this time around, we have the Sony 57 that will be the latest addition of their popular line of A-mount cameras which employ Translucent Mirror Technology. Just what does the innovative Translucent Mirror design offer? For starters, it is capable of directing incoming light to the CMOS image sensor and the AF sensor, both at the same time, so that full-time continuous AF during both still and video shooting will be able to happen. Not only that, users are also able to frame.
Creative Labs Aurvana In-Ear2

With the growth of portable audio and video, earphones/earbuds have become a necessity. Yet not all are created equal. If you are seeking a high quality portable experience look to Creative Labs Aurvana In-Ear2. This sequel to their award-winning Aurvana In-Ear headphones continues their trend of noise isolation technology in a comfortable, lightweight, convenient style. Creative Labs has enhanced sound quality over gen 1. Having tested on an airplane, in the gym and just sitting at home I can say highs and lows were easily achieved. Bass was no problem, yet not overwhelming. Ambient noise was dissipated and volume levels were maintained which will help you hear what you want to hear. The outer world will not disrupt your video, music or podcast while using Aurvana In-Ear2. They also did a great job of blocking others from hearing my material.
SanDisk Sansa Fuze Review

The Sansa Fuze from SanDisk, is a cool little MP3/4 player along the same vein as the iPod Nano. We've recently been sent one to play with so here are our thoughts and findings (or a review so to speak). Aesthetically the Fuze is a cute little player.The physical UI consists of a rotating front dial which also acts as the 4 navigation buttons with the center button for selection. The display crisp with a resolution of 220 x 176, large enough for watching the odd music video but you wouldn't want to watch a feature length film on it. Sound quality was good (though as with just about any MP3 player the supplied headphones aren't the greatest).
Microsoft Kinect Hacked to play

Living Rooms all around the world are shaking with fear of users actually taking swords and attacking their big screens thanks to a new hack for the Microsoft Kinect that allows gamers to play World of Warcraft without a keyboard. It's no secret that the Kinect is rapidly becoming the most hacked device since the Hackintosh, but students at the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies have takent he next step in developing a software hack which enables gamers to use the motion device to immerse themselves even deeper into the online Mid-evil world.
Transparent toaster!
You may miss the bus or get splashed by white van men speeding through puddles on your way to work but one of the worst things to happen in the morning has to be over-doing your toast. No matter how often you set that dial, someone's always moved it by the time you use the toaster again and the result? Imperfect toast and wasted bread. Well, worry no more. This see-thru toaster will ensure your bread is just how you like it, everytime. Keep an eye on your bread so that you can pop it up when it looks exactly the way you like it. It currently needs a bit of tweaking but we'll let you know when it's available for toasting heaven!
LightPad turns the smartphone into a tablet

What you are seeing here is the LightPad from QP Optoelectronics, and it is designed to turn the smartphone into something more tablet-sized. Why would anyone want this? Have you ever done something on your smartphone that is so much easier to do on a laptop or tablet? I don't even like sending text messages because I can't stand touchscreen keyboards. Fortunately, the LightPad has a keyboard attachment. There is a video after the jump if you want to see how it works, and the display that you see here is a projector with a 854 x 480 resolution for an 11-inch screen. Future models of this will have the same size display but with 1280 x 720 resolution. I'm not certain if the present model will have this feature, but the projector can be turned around to create a 60 inch display on the wall.
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Destruction is at your fingertips in Prototype 2, and you don't have to work hard to conjure unbelievable chaos. Through streamlined controls, nonexistent difficulty, and a bevy of impressive-looking attacks, Prototype 2 transports you to a consequence-free world in which you can happily cleave soldiers and smash helicopters to your heart's content. This relentless accessibility is Prototype 2's biggest strength and weakness. With nary a moment of genuine challenge to be found, you sprint from one entertaining event to another, laughing at the delightful absurdity of it all. But without any barriers to overcome, there's little sense of accomplishment. Prototype 2 isn't the slightest bit novel, but it's so utterly ridiculous that it's hard to wipe that mischievous smile from your face. There's little reason to perform such an act other than the delicious enjoyment you get from tormenting those weaker than you. As your opposition becomes better equipped and more plentiful, the door opens for even more ridiculous sequences of gleeful violence. Like an anthropomorphic arrow of hatred, you propel yourself from tormenting tanks on the ground to hellfire helicopters in the air, mashing them into a flaming ball or ripping off their imposing guns to lay waste to those stupid enough to tag along beside them. Eventually, you gain the ability to pilot these craft, and though moving is slow going compared to the chaotic sprinting you're used to, it's a fair trade-off considering the impressive firepower you're given access to. Destruction exists everywhere in Prototype 2; you just have to decide in what way you want those who challenge you to perish. Prototype 2 is a safe sequel. It doesn't add anything particularly new or inventive to the genre, but small tweaks make it more accessible than the original game. Most importantly, it's an unabashedly fun adventure that doesn't have any doubt about what it wants to be. This is a game about killing enemies in an open-world environment. Love endures all things. Heartache. War. Watching your soul mate devour the pulsating flesh of hideous beasts. Pandora's Tower is an action role-playing game crafted around this somewhat unusual premise. It's equal parts fairy tale and wince-worthy body horror. An original approach to combat and a clever time-management mechanic set the game apart from the usual hack-and-slash affair. Throw in some intelligent dungeon crawling, and this bloodthirsty love story makes for a refreshing change of pace. It's an unusual premise, albeit one reminiscent of Shadow of the Colossuswith added devouring. Each of the masters resides in a tower, a self-contained dungeon that you must traverse to reach your prey. These dungeons are filled with typical puzzles, traps, and beasties, all determined to get in your way. It's not just a simple case of exploring, though. Elena's curse gradually worsens, and the only way to prevent her from beasting out is to feed her flesh. As you trek through each tower, a gauge in the bottom corner shows the progression of the curse. Should you fail to reach the tower's master in time, you need to head back to the Observatory and give Elena a gruesome, fleshy top-up. It's pretty handy against monsters as well. Using the chain, you can rip weapons and armor from enemies, pick up an enemy and slam it, or even spin an enemy around to send it flying. It can be used to restrict an enemy's arms, to pull it off its feet, or to restrain it and drag it around. All the while, you can charge the chain up and then yank it free with a flick of the remote, dealing massive damage to a foe. Then, after felling a monster, the barbed end can be used to tear free some precious flesh. Once you get to grips with the chain, it's immensely satisfying. Nothing beats slamming a giant hornet into an ogre-type beast and dragging the ogre off its feet, or simply using the precision aim to fire off a volley of damaging shots. The monster slayer speaks to the soldier with quiet confidence. He signals with his fingers, his yellow eyes shine, and the soldier reveals his secrets without the slayer ever needing to unsheathe his sword. The witcher is gifted for his patience, and now, Xbox 360 owners are similarly rewarded: one of 2011's finest adventures has come to Microsoft's console, and it was well worth the wait. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Enhanced Edition is a treat for the mind and a joy for the senses. This superb role-playing game hits hard, drawing you into its dark fantasy world and requiring you to make difficult choices with palpable consequences. As Geralt of Rivia--the titular witcher--you seek answers in lush landscapes and burning battlefields, where great despair casts long shadows on even the sunniest meadows and lakes. In fact, a deep undercurrent of pain and suffering flows beneath each character and event. A mother's unspoken agony taints the wonder of childbirth. A father's drive to protect his son may brand him a coward in his own progeny's eyes, but it's a price he's willing to pay, and Geralt isn't one to turn down a bit of coin--or in this case, some pertinent information. Many quests, including those new to this edition, involve the game's signature moral dilemmas. Whom do you believe: a soldier with hygiene problems haunted by a wraith, or the wraith that accuses the soldier of her own murder? Do you absolve a pair of nobles of treason, condemn them, or spare one and sacrifice the other? In this complicated world, there isn't necessarily a right choice. There is no meter to determine whether you are being "good" or "bad," and Geralt is neither hero nor villain. Not including the prologue and epilogue, The Witcher 2 is split into three acts. The first is primarily concerned with following the killer's trail, while the second greatly expands the plot. The convoluted plot seems poised to explode in the final episode, only to fizzle at the end. The lack of closure intimates a sequel, and the final act is abrupt when compared to the robustness of the first two. Nevertheless, there is no reason to feel slighted, as the journey is entertaining and reasonably lengthy, given several hours of additional gameplay over the PC version's initial release. Yet what makes The Witcher 2 most impressive isn't its length or its vastness; it isn't an open-world, content-stuffed game in the way of the Elder Scrolls series.
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CONTENTS

MAY 15 - JUNE 15, 2012

29 Rahat rocks Warid event

30 Superior produces leaders: Dr. Abdul Rehman

Changhong-Ruba 42 creates high-class products

14 Wateen to educate you online

Ufone sponsors LUMS 18 Special Olympics 2012

May 15 - June 15, 2012

Editor Assistant Editor

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Lack of marketing skills

Samsungs journey of looting customers on the up

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Warid Telecom cares

Informs its loyal subscribers for system upgradation

Ad published in newspapers on May 09, 2012.

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3G delay distracting potential buyers

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Wateen to educate you online

Forum Mall,Karachi +92-21-35823824

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Indicates new corruption scam

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ITU Secretary General visits PTCL

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Zubair Ahmed Kasuri

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Letter from PTAto all telecom companies

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Poor service, over-charging

Telenor losing major corporate clientele

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ray of devices at a wide range of

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Sultan of swing joins Ufone family, leaves Mobilink

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A model poses with a third generation iPad at a shop in Bangkok.

Message on World Telecom & Information Society Day

PTCL continuous journey of economic growth

PTCL brings unbeatable Pakistan Plus Package

PTCL extends creative customer outreach in Lahore

Gulf Air offers 3000 bonus miles for Falconflyer Members

Nokia to hold a Global (handset) launch event in Pakistan

Zong kicks off United Football Tournament

Allied offers mBanking services

PTCL Sukkur wins regional cricket tournament

Ufone sponsored COAS Open Golf Championship concludes