http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=39259


Cellphone users jump by 145pc


By Imran Ayub

KARACHI: Cellphone subscriber base grew by more than 145 per cent during calendar year 2006, as continued popularity of the service attracted over 28 million new customers during the period, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Latest figures compiled by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority suggest total number of cellular service users stood at 48.50 million by December 2006, which were 19.6 million by the end of 2005.

“It shows an increase of 147.44 per cent, which is the highest in a single calendar year,” said the official at PTA. “There is also a 4.5 per cent increase if we compare such figures with the previous month (November 2006). In fact, there is an exceptional jump in cellular subscribers’ number.”

He said during 2006 almost 29 million new connections were sold by the six cellular companies on comparatively cheaper tariffs and increased network reach of the service providers.

“So there was over 28 per cent mobile density rate by November 2006,” said the PTA official. “The four major companies - Mobilink, Ufone, Al Warid and Telenor - earned better market share during 12 months of 2006, which attracted subscribers with different tariff packages and incentives.”

The figures, gathered by the telecom watchdog, show by December 2006 Mobilink led the market share with 22.70 million subscribers, followed by Ufone, which was serving 10.10 million people across the country.

With the arrival of the UAE-based Al Warid Telecom and Norwegian Telenor both competition and subscriber base grew at a much faster pace, as the new entrants attracted 7.6 million and 6.6 million subscribers respectively by the end of December 2006.

The PTA data says by December 2006 Paktel, which offers both AMPS (advanced mobile phone system) and GSM (global system for mobile communications) services enjoyed 1.3 million subscribers and the only AMPS service Instaphone had a share of 0.2 million by the year-end.

The cellular density witnessed phenomenal jump in the last two years as mobile phone subscriber base grew by staggering 170 per cent during 2005-06, outnumbering almost six-decade old fixed line telephony service by more than 500 per cent in 16-year operations.

Analysts see cellular service growth in line with the expectations, but say 2007 appears challenging for the cellular companies, when MNP (mobile number portability) is expected to be in place.

“A cutthroat competition is expected among the operators during 2007, after the MNP is implemented by all the cellular operators across the country,” said Anwaar Ahmed Khan, a telecom analyst at Capital One Equities.

“The MNP would decide the real market leader. After the MNP implementation the companies must have to improve their service quality to keep their subscribers intact.”

The MNP is a system, which enables a mobile phone subscriber to carry the same number while changing the service provider. The system, which requires over Rs500 million, was scheduled to be implemented in November 2005 was delayed for more than a year on unknown grounds.

Now the regulator has set January 2007 as new deadline for the project completion and seems confident to meet it.

“The MNP is almost ready to be launched,” said the PTA official. “There were some complications in the project, which have been removed and proper service would be available to subscribers within newt few weeks.”

Pakistan economic is growing at it's fastest pace

These markers are very good for the upgradation of our economic ranking in international market.

Even more meat for phone snatchers....

Bro,

Why you are so bitter ? Please leave your anger and bitterness before you make comments here, you alo know that any thing posted here represnts "Pakistan".

One more thing dear,

Phone theft, Hnad bag theft and street crimes are on rise not only in Pakistan but all around the world. There are lot of resons including the economic differences, unemployment, drugs abuse and 24/7 wars and distruction on media.

Its a positive development and we must be happy as the people are getting connected with rest of the world.