CONTENTS Leading Telecom News Magazine CONTENTS April, May 2008

Interview:
Pak-Czech Relations
The Man Behind Building Better Ties
Basic Services be not Sacrificed for 3G: Telenor CEO
24

26
Committed to Excellence 30
Zafar Iqbal GM HR & Admin Warid Telecom
We Know How to Deliver 46
Raja Irfan Ullah, GM Pearl Continental Rawalpindi

Telecom:
Mobilink Securing a Future for Cricket 14
Milestone in History of Telecom Sector 16
Deeper Economic Relations with China 17
Campaign to Educate Youth about Misuse of Cell Phone 22
PTCL Moving Closer to Customers 36
PTCL Losing Ground Under Etisalat 37

Cover Story: 48 PTCL Selects Alcatel-Lucent to Deliver “Broadband Pakistan” 38

Complain Your Telecom Service 42
Card Payphone Industry Shifting Towards Wireless Networks 45
8 Years of Alam's Anarchy
Failure-Favouritism- Corruption- Claims What’s Next? 75
Sony Ericsson Winning Hearts at CNET Asia 77
Warid, Ufone Sign Agreement 87

Cover Story:
8 Years of Alam's Anarchy 48
Failure-Favouritism- Corruption- Claims

IT:
Point of View 44
Customer-Focused Self-Service Not an Oxymoron 89

Abu Dhabi Group Growing Greatly in Georgia | 12

Technology:
SBP Forecasts Worsening of Trade Deficit 18
UPS Appliances Sale Gains Momentum 28
Samsung Touts "The Best Air Conditioners" 79

Events:
Warid International Held 1st CIO Forum 10
Abu Dhabi Group Growing Greatly in Georgia 12
MANCON 2008 Leading the Way with Wateen 20
Canon Sharing Responsibilities… Making a Mark 34

Informative:
Coming Mobile 52
Current Mobile 54
Mobile Review 60
Pak-Czech Relations Committed to Excellence MOTO YUVA W230 69
Laptop 72
The Man Behind Building Zafar Iqbal GM HR & Admin Warid Telecom

Better Ties 24 30 Briefs:

National 92
International 97

Basic Services be not 26 PTCL Losing Ground

6 Sacrificed for 3G: Telenor CEO Under Etisalat 37 PTCL Moving Closer to Customers 36
 Poor Services of Telecom Companies
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has reported a major rise in
customers' complaints in last quarter of 2007. Earlier, last year, the PTA had
introduced a toll free number 0800-55055 for consumers to register their com-
plaints against telecom services providers. However, the PTA again did very lit-
tle to aware the consumer regarding this number where they could register
their complaints.
The PTA says that it received 3,886 complaints about all telecom services
providers in the country including the PTCL, cellular companies, WLL and
value added services.
The authority report says that it has received over 74 percent complaints
against PTCL.
The PTA has said the cellular companies were hit by 889 consumers, who
complained about their services. Interestingly more than 56 complaints were
against Mobilink and Telenor. These complaints reflect the dissatisfaction over
the services provided by the cellular companies.
According to the report, complaints regarding the quality of services
increased as compared to the previous quarter. Major problems identified were
the network congestion and connectivity issues of cellular companies.
The report said that complaints against spam SMS and anonymous calls
also increased by a great deal. Most of these spam SMS had originated from
unregistered SIMs, however, the cellular companies were asked to block these
numbers.
Now the cellular companies are offering the different packages and the low
call rates are announced to prove them cheapest service providers, but it is
still a major concern of a subscriber to have quality of services. The cellular
companies need to improve and ensure quality of services with this race of
cheap call rates.

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8
Ringing Phones in Mosques
People should switch off their mobile
phones inside a mosque. It seems so
annoying when mobile phones ring right
in the namaz. This completely distracts
namazis attention. A mosque is the house
of Allah so people should have respect
and regard for the solemn place. Ring
tones, which are generally based on
Indian film songs, are definitely disturbing
but the careless attitude of the people carrying these mobiles in the mosque
is simply intolerable.
People remember to keep their cell phones on the silent mode while in
a meeting but forget to do the same while entering the mosque. It is a meet-
ing more important for us than the sanctity of the mosque? By not switch-
ing off their phones, people disturb earnest namazis. Through prayers lead-
ers request namazis every time to switch off their mobile phones, the peo-
ple either forget it or deliberately avoid acting on the advice.
Syed Nehal Alvi, Karachi
Another PTCL Package
PTCL is on a money making streak at the expenses of its helpless cus-
tomers. After the forceful imposition of the Pakistan Package and the local
call package, PTCL has now introduced line rent packages for VPTCL wire-
less phone users. All the VPTCL customers who are availing packages
without a line rent have been forcefully shifted to a package with a line rent.
PTCL sold these connections on the basis that users would not have to pay
a line rent but now it has imposed permanent tariffs on all connections. The
practices of imposing fleecy packages forcefully are by no means accept-
able. Sadly, PTA has done nothing to stop PTCL from doing these acts. The
role of PTA is that of a watchdog, but it has so far remained silent vis-à-vis
PTCL. All the NGOs for consumer protection are also silent on this issue.
PTA must take notice of this issue and penalize PTCL for swindiling its cus-
tomers.
Adil Saleem, Rawalpindi
Mobile Mania
Although mobile phones have diminished distances, increased fun and
entertainment and connected broken hearts worldwide, it hasn't proved to
be a cure for the ailments of our society. It has surely solved some prob-
lems but gifted many evils at the same time.
Today, everyone from age 10 to 60
demands to have a mobile. Various luring
packages from different networks have forced
people, especially the youth, to spend most of
their time with mobiles.
Worryingly enough, the youth is specifical-
ly targeted with luring packages by various
networks. They waste their costly time instead
of utilising it for the betterment of their future,
which is without any doubt more important
than any other activities.
Moreover, this has created a group that does business by snatching
and selling them, which has polluted our surroundings at large and
spreads fear all over.
Eventually, I must urge our youth to channel their energies in positive
activities which are beneficial to them. Our youth is capable of improving
the current state of affairs, not only of our nation but also of the world.
Saleem Hassan Baloch, Karachi
Send us your letters at flare.mag@gmail.com or at our postal address. Flare reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and space.
Mobile Number Portability
Under the mobile number portability (MNP), a mobile phone user was
assured by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) at the time of
launching of the MNP facility that a customer can retain an existing mobile
number along with its operator's code while shifting connectivity from one
mobile phone operator to another.
It is a circuit-switch network service provided by the cellular phone
operators to the mobile phone users, with the ability to change service
providers, locations, or service types, without changing their mobile phone
numbers, along with it original access code.
To launch the MNP facility in March 2007, cellular phone companies
operating in the country invested between $25 million and 30 million each
for implementation of mobile number portability.
The PTA had also set up Pakistan Mobile Number Portability Database
Company Limited (PMD) to cater to the project's needs, and all the six cel-
lular phone operators - Instaphone, Paktel (which is now called China
Mobile) Ufone, Mobilink, Telenor and Warid - became PMD's members.
At the time of launching the MNP facility, PTA Chairman Maj-Gen (r)
Shahzada Alam Malik had said that more than 52 million mobile sub-
scribers would be able to avail themselves of this facility that would
encourage healthy competition for quality service and competitive tariffs.
He had assured the mobile phone users that customers could change
the mobile phone operator and can retain the same mobile phone number
with its original access code.
With the launch of the MNP facility, cellular mobile operators started
porting requests from the recipient operator to the donor operator after
completion of the consumer's obligations of porting requests within four
working days.
On March 8 at 10.14pm I received an SMS from Instaphone company
on my Instaphone phone number 0320-405-1234 which read as: "Dear
Customer: Our dialling code 0320 is changing to 0364 from 1st April 2008.
Dial 0364 before dialling any Instaphone number".
I called the Instaphone helpline to get more clarification on this SMS
but was told that Instaphone Company has to comply with the orders of
the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.
To retain my mobile number with its access to original code 0320, I
changed my service provider from Instaphone to Mobilink by fulfilling all
the formalities and started enjoying the service of Mobilink.
On March 29 I received another SMS, this time from Mobilink
Company. It read: "Dear Mobilink Customer: As per the new numbering
policy of PTA from April 1, 2008, dialing code of your mobile number will
be changed from 0320 to 0364".
The PTA chairman should be able to explain why I cannot retain my
original access code of Instaphone 0320 despite changing the service
provider (from Instaphone to Mobilink) under the MNP system, introduced
after heavy investment of $ 25 to 30 million that has been contributed by
each service provider to introduce the MNP system.
If a customer cannot retain his mobile number with its original access
code, what was the need then for introducing mobile number portability?
SYED A. MATEEN, Karachi
Another Phone Tower
A leading cellular company is constructing one of its towers in a
densely populated locality of Sahiwal, Freed Town. These mobile towers
have the hazardous affects on human life. The higher authorities of both
the regulators and the concerned companies are requested to behave
responsibly and stop this construction.
Salim Ahmed, Sahiwal
9
 Event Usman Yaqoob
arid Telecom International held its first
W annual Chief Information Officer - CIO
Forum at Royal Palm Golf and Country
Club in Lahore from March 17th-19th 2008.
Chief Information Officers, Heads of IT from five
operations including Warid Telecom Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Uganda, Congo and Wateen
Telecom attended the forum to discuss the chal-
lenges associated with exponential growth in a
complex set of services. Industry experts from
ITS, SUN Microsystems, SAS, SAP, Cisco and
Aepona also attended the forum.
Warid Telecom International is quickly evolv-
ing as a major player in the emerging markets of
The participants at first annual Chief Information Officer (CIO).
10
South Asia, Africa and now Eastern Europe.
With five live networks in four countries offering
comprehensive telecom solutions, WTI now
enjoys strategic position in the regional telecom
space. The exponential growth and addition of
complex set of services also poses CIO's with
number of challenges. Effective use of technolo-
gy, alignment with business goals, standardiza-
tion and recognition of emerging trends are just
some of these challenges. WTI CIO Forum has
been created to address challenges.
The main objective of this forum was to bring
together IT management from across the group
to share their experiences, discuss technology
www.flare.com.pk
roadmap, talk about various emerging industry
trends and try to leverage synergy that exists in
various projects and operations. Though this
was the first meeting of CIO Forum, but it is
envisaged that they will meet approximately
once in a year hosted each time by member
operations.
The steering committee of the CIO Forum
was chaired by Mr. Marwan Zawaydeh -CEO
Warid Telecom Pakistan and Group CTO and
also includes Mr. Mohammed Ali - CIO Warid
International and Mr. Javed Mushtaq -CIO Warid
Telecom Pakistan.





 Event Flare Report www.flare.com.pk

HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan Education Minister of UAE, and HE Sheikh Tahnoon President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia is giving away a Medal to HE Sheikh
Hamid Ashraf President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia. Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan Education Minister of UAE. HE Sheikh Tahnoon Hamid
Ashraf is also present.

HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan Education Minister of UAE is addressing, President HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan Education Minister of UAE is giving a Sword
Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia is also present at the occassion. to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

bu Dhabi Group of UAE has acquired National Bank of Georgia. hundred percent stakes and complete manage-

A hundred percent stakes of Standard

Bank, the largest bank of Georgia, a rap-
idly growing Eurasian country, through a Sale
Purchase Agreement signed by Mr. Bashir
Ahmed Tahir, CEO, Abu Dhabi Group in Tbilisi.
Minister of Higher education and Science of
United Arab Emirates His Highness Sheikh
Nayan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan visited Tbilisi in
February. His Highness was invited by the
President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili.
His Higness is a founder and the chairman of
management board of Abu Dhabi Group, one of
the largest investment groups in the Middle East.
Mr. Bashir. A.Tahir, CEO of Dhabi Group is also
a member of the visiting delegation from Abu
Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi Group has already invested in
two sectors and has two projects in Georgia:
12 One of them is JSC KOR Bank, Georgia which
has received the operations license from
"The first branch of JSC KOR Bank should
be operational in 6 months. 10 million dollars
have been paid as a capital requirement for this
banking license", group representative said.
"Another sphere of investment is in
Telecommunication market under the company
name Warid Telecom Georgia Ltd . More than 80
million dollars is expected to be invested in this
sector till the end of 2008 . License for WiMax
frequency was purchased 3 months ago for
more than 10 million dollars. According to the
plans of Dhabi Group Georgia, Warid Telecom,
Georgia wireless internet and enhanced teleph-
ony services will cover the whole territory of
Georgia by the end of current year, 2008.
Under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh
Nayan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi
Group is swiftly growing its presence world over
in an array of industries. With its present deal
with Standard Bank, Abu Dhabi Group acquires
ment takeover of the bank.
Mr. Bashir Ahmed Tahir, CEO of Dhabi Group
said that this investment is an opening of anoth-
er prosperous door for the group. He said that
we are familiar with Georgian market and econ-
omy as Abu Dhabi Group already operates a
WiMAX service in the country. Mr. Bashir A. Tahir
was of the view that this complete acquisition is
defiantly going to do good for Pakistani people
as well. "We will use Pakistan's skilled and qual-
ified workforce, whom the Group trusts, to
enhance operations of Standard Bank" added
Mr. Bashir A. Tahir.
Abu Dhabi Group holds largest single invest-
ment in Pakistan, through its many ventures that
are successfully doing wonders for the people
and economy of Pakistan. The Group proudly
shares the success stories of Bank Al-Falah,
Wateen and Warid Telecom.





www.flare.com.pk
Event

HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan Education Minister of UAE, HE Sheikh Tahnoon Hamid Ashraf, and Minister
of Economic Developement Ms Ekaterina Sharashidze are addressing.

HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan.

Mr. Bashir A. Tahir, CEO of Dhabi Group is answering a journalist. Mr. Bashir A. Tahir, CEO of Dhabi Group during an interview with a journalist.

Bashir Ahmed Tahir, CEO, Abu Dhabi Group, signing the acquisition agreement of Standard Mr. Nadim Ahmad Dogar, Mr. Imran Khizar Hayat, and Mr. Hamid Ashraf during a sign-
Bank of Georgia by Dhabi Group that will hold hundred per cent stakes and complete manage- ing cermony of Standard Bank of Georgia.
ment takeover of biggest bank of Georgia.
13
 Telecom Flare Report
akistan has a long history of excelling in
P various sports, so much so, that they have
been recognized world over and been
awarded some of the highest international rank-
ings, awards and accolades. It is however, dis-
appointing to see that in recent times our inter-
national ranking and reputation has slipped as a
result of our bad performances in the internation-
al arena.
Hockey, squash, snooker and cricket are just
a few of the sports where Pakistan has proven
itself as a world class contender. In the past,
Pakistan was a country whose sporting legends
included the likes of Jansher
Khan, Mohammad Yousaf, Imran
Khan, Wasim Akram, Jehangir
Khan, Roshan Khan and Hassan
Sardar and these sportsmen dedi-
cated themselves to helping
Pakistan achieve global fame. It is
however, unfortunate to see the
current state of affairs where our
teams have fallen into disarray,
under perform and suffer from a
lack of new blood within their
ranks. It begs the question though,
how can one blame the players
when there is no investment or
efforts being exerted to groom the
players or uncovering new talent?
Let us take the example of
cricket; the lack of patronage from
the government, sporting federa-
tions and corporate quarters has
The recently-concluded
"Mobilink - Hunt for Heroes"
initiative is a formidable
example of the shifting of
responsibility and level of
involvement. This search
was conducted through
Mobilink's association with
the Pakistan Cricket Board,
and involved nationwide
trials to uncover raw talent
manifested itself in the lackluster performance
14 that is now seen on the playing grounds. It is
www.flare.com.pk
Securing a place for cricket in the rating the revival of sports into
hearts of our people is not a challenge,
it is to secure a future for cricket with-
their agendas.
The recently - concluded
"Mobilink - Hunt for Heroes" initia-
tive is a formidable example of the
in our country, which is the real chal- shifting of responsibility and level
of involvement. This search was
lenge. It goes without saying that we as conducted through Mobilink's
a nation do not want for talent; we as a association with the Pakistan
Cricket Board, and involved
nation want for the structure and secu- nationwide trials, to uncover raw
talent. The forum provided an
rity of our national sport open and transparent platform for
youth to exhibit their tal-
ent and skill, and was the
culmination of months of
strategizing by the com-
pany on how best to con-
tribute towards building a
solid base for the revival
of cricket in Pakistan.
Mobilink has emerged as
a pioneer in the history of
Pakistan cricket by being
the first organization to go
into inner rural areas and
conduct a nationwide tal-
ent hunt. Reports indicate
that it has been the
largest 'hunt' for cricket-
ing talent nationwide as
more than 12,000 talent-
ed boys, under the age of
16 participated. It yielded
Mobilink President & CEO Zouhair Abdul Khaliq and PCB Chairman Dr. Nasim Ashraf are sign- to the forefront some
ing a contact to secure a future for cricket in the country. superbly talented crick-
obvious to all, that due to the lack of consisten- eters who will now be trained, groomed and
cy or introduction of modern techniques, techno- given opportunities to play cricket at the highest
logical or adequate human resource, Pakistan is level in the country.
struggling to qualify for tournaments when at one Securing a place for cricket in the hearts of
time, we ruled the cricketing pitch. A case in our people is not a challenge, it is to secure a
point is the 2007 Cricket World Cup where our future for cricket within our country, which is the
team lost to Ireland, a new comer to the game real challenge. It goes without saying that we as
itself. a nation do not want for talent; we as a nation
Juxtaposed with the difficult time that our want for the structure and security of our nation-
nation is facing, the sporting arena has provided al sport. Although Mobilink has provided the
a much needed outlet to the nation. Cricket is nation with a ray of hope, it is now up to the con-
not just our national sport, it is a national pas- cerned governing bodies to ensure that there is
sion, where the love of the people for this sport a future for these young hopefuls. It can only be
can be seen from the deserted streets, whenev- hoped that the talent uncovered through this
er Pakistan plays in a final. In such times, how- "hunt" will help provide the much needed boost
ever, there is a glimmer of hope with organiza- to bring our team back into form, and once again
tions from the corporate sector now realizing the take the nation to international fame and
importance of including sports into their corpo- glory.





rate social responsibility mandates and incorpo-
 Telecom Flare Report
t is universal truth that China is Pakistan's all-
I weather, time-tested friend. The two countries
have strategic and close relations in every
field. China Mobile Communication Corporation
delegation led by its Chairman and CEO, Wang
Jianzhou had meet President Pervez Musharraf
and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani who
came here to launched its cellular phone service
namely Zong in Pakistan.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Gilani
said Pakistan's telecom sector has gone through
``a rapid growth. The entry of China Mobile
augurs well to further enhance economic ties
between the two countries.''
The increase in teledensity created several
growth opportunities and interest of major tele-
com companies was acknowledgment of invest-
ment friendly environment in the country.
Jianzhou said China Mobile invested $700
million in Pakistan and another
$800 million will be invested by
the end this year keeping in
view business prospects and
close ties between two coun-
tries. ``By the end of this year
we will install 5180 new sites to
cover 90 per cent areas of
Pakistan and provide jobs to
about 5000 people.''
A new brand
Zong launched in
Pakistan by the
China Mobile
Company have
offered free
calls for life to
one favourite
number from 12:00
am to 7:00 am in addi-
tion to many other attractive
offers of the packages.
During Break Time Hours call all Zong num-
bers at Rs 3.99 per hour from 12 noon to 2.00
pm and midnight to 7.00 am same charges
apply. Friends and Family cost Rs 1 per minute
call.
Another package introduced by Zong 12
Aanay in which only 75 paisa per 30-second call
rate. One of the Zong package offers 4 paisa per
seconds, friends and family 2 paisa per second
call.
Warid Telecom and Telenor have already
been introduced lowest call rate packages.
The question is that how could China Mobile
capture the already strong competitors in the
market like Mobilink, Warid, Telenor and Ufone.
They obviously would be give tough time to new-
comer in the field of telecom sector. But, China
Mobile Company is the world largest mobile
phone company in terms of its market value,
subscriber base and network scale.
Telenor Pakistan launched its operations in
March 2005 as the single largest direct
European investment in Pakistan.
Warid is operated by Abu Dhabi Group led by
Sheikh Nahayan bin Mabarak Al Nahayan.
16
Warid started it services in May 2005.
Mobilink, a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom,
started its operations in 1994, and has become
the market leader both in terms of growth as well
as having the largest customer subscriber base
in Pakistan.
PTML is a wholly owned subsidiary of PTCL
established to operate cellular telephony. The
company commenced its operations, under the
brand name of Ufone in 2001.
ZONG the first international brand of China
Mobile launched in Pakistan Set to shake up the
burgeoning cellular industry in the country, the
core essence of ZONG is to allow people to
communicate at will; without worrying about tar-
iffs, network coverage, capacity issues or con-
gestion. ZONG will be supported by innovative
communications, trend setting customer service
and an unmatched product offering, which will
redefine the standard of the cellular industry and
establish China Mobile as a serious contender
for the number one position.
Mr. WANG Jianzhou, Executive Director,
"Today is a landmark day not
only for China Mobile but
also for the cellular industry
in Pakistan. We are continu-
ing to invest hundreds of mil-
lions of dollars in Pakistan
and we have a very long-
term view of this market" Mr.
WANG Jianzhou
Chairman and CEO China Mobile
Communications Corporation, who came to
Pakistan especially for the launch stated at the
event that: "Today is a landmark day not only for
China Mobile but also for the cellular industry in
www.flare.com.pk
Pakistan. We are
continuing to invest
hundreds of millions
of dollars in Pakistan
and we have a very long-
term view of this market.
CMPak is our first venture outside China and we
are very optimistic about its success. China
Mobile has the resources and technical expert-
ise to aim at becoming one of the largest opera-
tors of Pakistan also." He appreciated the efforts
of all the China Mobile team and thanked all the
members who made this dream come true for
the company.
"ZONG will become a part of people's hearts,
their minds and will bring about a change in their
lives that every one desired but few thought
would be possible," Mr. Zafar Usmani, Chief
Operating Officer, CMPak Limited said.
Salman Wassay, Director
Marketing, CMPak Limited com-
mented about the new adver-
tisement campaign for ZONG
and said, "The unique feature of
ZONG is customization of tariffs
according to the needs and
wishes of its customers. ZONG
can mean different things to dif-
ferent people, but to each one of
them it will promise and deliver
unmatched value for every
paisa they spend to stay in
touch."
With the launch of ZONG
China Mobile will adhere to its
core value proposition of
"Responsibility Makes
Perfection" and spare no effort
to improve its competitiveness
by implementing the concept of
scientific development.
China Mobile aims to establish a comprehen-
sive network with large coverage, high quality,
rich variety of businesses and first-class cus-
tomer services.
China Mobile is not only a profitable compa-
ny with robust financial performance and stable
cash flow, but also the one with growing poten-
tials and prospects. Looking forward, China
Mobile defines its strategic goal of "becoming a
world leader in the telecommunications world
and achieving leapfrog evolution from excel-
lence to pre-eminence".
Officially established on April 20th, 2000,
China Mobile Communications Corporation
("China Mobile" for short) has a registered capi-
tal of 51.8 billion RMB Yuan and assets of over
400 billion RMB Yuan. China Mobile Limited has
set wholly-owned subsidiaries in 31 provinces
(autonomous regions and municipalities directly
under the central government) in China and
went public in Hong Kong and New York Stock
Exchange. Currently, in terms of its market
value, subscriber base and network scale, China
Mobile Limited is the largest among all the over-
seas listed companies.





 www.flare.com.pk
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani talking to a delegation of China Mobile led by its Chairman Mr. Wang Jianzhou, who
called on him at Prime Minister House, Islamabad on April 5, 2008.
rime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani
P has pointed out that the existing close
multifaceted relationship between
Pakistan and China is being translated into
deeper trade and economic relations. He made
these remarks while talking to Chairman China
Mobile Communication Corporation Wang
Jianzhou.
The head of the Corporation, who also
called on the President Pervez Musharraf, was
visiting Pakistan in connection with the launch
of its brand by the name of ZONG. The compa-
ny has already invested $700 million in
Pakistan telecom sector and was in the process
of investing another $800 million by the close of
the year. This is, by all means, a major invest-
ment by a single company in a short span of
time and augurs well for further expansion and
healthy competition in the cellular sector that
has demonstrated phenomenal growth during
the last few years.
The entry of Chinese company would surely
help improve quality of service and offer variety
of products at affordable costs to the con-
Flare Report Telecom
sumers besides creation of employment oppor-
tunities in the length and breadth of the country.
This is particularly so in view of company plans
to focus on rural areas where there is great
scope for expansion of telecom services. China
Mobile intends to install 5180 new sites, which
would cover 90% areas of Pakistan and would
provide jobs to around 5,000 people. This is
only a glimpse of the Chinese interest and con-
tribution to the economic growth and develop-
ment of Pakistan.





17
 Banking Aamir Attaa
tate Bank of Pakistan (SBP) anticipates
S further widening of trade deficit in the
remaining part of the current financial year
on account of impact of rising international com-
modity prices and high international prices and
growing demand of various products.
The SBP in its second quarterly report issued
on March 31 estimated that real Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) of the country would be in the
range of 6.0 to 6.5 percent against original target
of 7.2 percent besides of elevated inflation in the
range of 8.0 to 9.0 percent much above the tar-
get of 6.5 percent for year, thanks to unanticipat-
ed high commodity prices, a main cause to bring
about stringent inflationary pressure in the econ-
omy.
In FY08 the central bank projected Monetary
Asset (M2) growth in the range of 15.5 to 17.5
percent against initial target of 13.7 percent,
which was recorded at 19.3 percent in FY07.
"The current account deficit is projected to be
around 6.0 percent of GDP during FY08 reflect-
ing the rising import growth and slow expansion
in textile exports," SBP said.
The central bank estimated exports at $19.7
billion for current fiscal year against $18.9 billion
The rise in the fiscal deficit
during first half of financial
year 2008 has more troubling
implications than the
increase in the previous year.
Another troubling aspect is
that the fiscal deficit may be
understated. Evidence sug-
gests that at least a part of
the subsidy on fuel prices
during July-February of
financial year 2008 was not
financed from government
account
of original target and $17.1 billion in FY07, con-
trary to this central bank projected import to
$32.1 billion, which was recorded $17.1 billion in
FY07.
SBP calculated worker remittances in the
range of $6.0-6.5 billion compared to $5.8 billion
original target and $5.5 billion of FY07. Central
bank observed that reducing the fiscal deficit in
18
remaining part of the fiscal year will be challeng-
ing but is nonetheless essential.
The SBP said that a part of deceleration in
revenue growth during H1-FY08 was likely to be
reversed as substantial non-tax receipts were
expected in the later half of the fiscal year how-
ever; the annual growth in tax collection was
likely to remain weak.
The report added the combination of rising
fiscal deficit and weak external receipts had
pushed the government
borrowings from SBP to
a record Rs359.3 billion
during July -March
FY08, compared to
only Rs25.6 billion in
the corresponding peri-
od of last fiscal year.
"Growing macro-
economic imbalances,
particularly widening
fiscal and current
account deficits contin-
ued to create complica-
tions and add to infla-
tionary pressure," the
SBP said and main-
tained that Pakistan
had been so far largely
been untouched by continuing turmoil in the
international credit markets.
SBP observed that rise in fiscal deficit in H1-
FY08 had more troubling implication than the
increase in previous year and noted that modest
increase in the fiscal deficit during the preceding
two years had been relatively less troubling, as
(1) revenue growth had remained strong, and (2)
rise in spending essentially reflected the impact
of post earthquake relief and reconstruction
(excluding this the fiscal deficit remained below
4.0 percent of GDP); these substantive expendi-
tures would fall sharply in a few years.
In both of the year the current expenditure
during the first half of the fiscal year had
remained below 7.0 percent of the full year GDP,
in the contrast, the fiscal deficit during the first
half of FY08 is estimated to be roughly 3.6 per-
cent of the estimated annual GDP- nearly twice
the figures for the last two years, this incorporat-
ed a decline in revenue growth as well as rising
current spending.
The report said that impact of the widening
current account deficit, driven essentially be the
trade deficit was compounded by a decline in
financial & capital account balance in the same
period.
The SBP said that sustained larger current
account deficits pose risks to macroeconomic
stability. Over the last few years, Pakistan was
able to comfortably sustain current account
deficit due to favourable domestic and interna-
tional investment conditions that encouraged
large non-debt creating financial inflows into the
country.
As a result, Pakistan was not only able to run
large deficit but also added to its foreign
exchange reserves. However, that will be an
increasingly risky strategy, given the stresses on
the domestic economy as well as the relatively
www.flare.com.pk
less favourable dynamics in the international
capital markets.
Pakistan's need to improve its infrastructure
and its dependence on imported inputs, reduc-
ing the current account deficit to sustainable lev-
els must perforce target export growth. The most
efficient measure here would be those targeting
a reduction in inflation and to reduce the cost of
doing business in Pakistan.
The Report said the information available by
mid-February 2008 suggests that agriculture
sector is likely to record reasonable growth dur-
ing the fiscal year. Prospects of achieving the
targeted 4.8 percent growth for the year, howev-
er, remain dim, largely due to disappointing per-
formance of cotton and rice crops.
The Report pointed out that large-scale man-
ufacturing (LSM) has been encountering head-
winds since the start of FY08. Domestic as well
as external factors are responsible for the rela-
tively slower growth in this sector compared to
the stellar performance of preceding years.
These factors include: the continued strong
increases in the international commodity prices,
domestic energy woes and dampened demand
(particularly for textile exports). Economic losses
in the aftermath of December 27, 2007 have fur-
ther weakened the chances of meeting the
annual target. Overall, the slowdown in LSM dur-
ing H1-FY08 was broad based and was seen in
11 out of 15 industrial groups.
Most of the indicators for the services sector
suggest robust growth in this sector during the
first half of FY08. Wholesale and retail trade
seems likely to perform well given a significant
increase in imports (which accounts for more
than half of the value addition in this sub-sector).
"This sub-sector is also likely to benefit from
expansion in the network of domestic and for-
eign chain store," the Report added.
A part of the deceleration in revenue growth
during first half of financial year 2008 is likely to
be reversed as substantial non-tax receipts are
expected in the later half of the fiscal year.
However, the annual growth in tax collections is
likely to remain weak relative to the previous
year.





 Event Farooq Malik www.flare.com.pk

he third annual world management confer-

T ence, MANCON 2008 launched on March

11, 2008. The 2-day event, inaugurated by
Senator Nisar A. Memon, Federal Minister for
Information and Broadcasting, has been organ-
ized by the Nutshell forum and sponsored by
Wateen Telecom. On the occasion, Senator
Nisar A. Memon said, "Events such as MAN-
CON are critical for the developing corporate
sectors of the Asian countries and are an excel-
lent effort for promoting a positive image of the
region to the international community."
Christopher Armitage, Regional Vice
President of TeraData, spoke about the transfor-
mation of organizations through the usage of Mr. Nisar A. Memon receiving a plaque from Mr. Furqan H.
A group photograph of Muhammad Azfar Ahsan and Furqan
technology and its importance for growth. H. E. H. Qureshi with some senior panelists and speakers. Qureshi, GM. Corporate Solutions, Wateen Telecom.
Ebrahim Khalifa Al Dossary, Advisor to the Prime
Minister of Bahrain, and Vice President of the
Arab Management Society, spoke about brand-
ing the Asian leadership and shared his thoughts
on the transformation of the management into
leadership.
The first day of the conference focused on
the dynamic role of the business leadership in
Asia, and how they compete with the global mar-
ket. The conference was organized as an idea
sharing platform that allows attendees to grasp
the ever changing scenario of Asia and to come
up with innovative solutions to challenges arising
in these tumultuous times. The event com-
menced with very positive response from the
corporate sector and is a significant step H. E. Ebrahim Khalifa Al Dossary receiving a plaque from A group photograph of Muhammad Azfar Ahsan CEO, Nutshell
towards improving the sector.




Mr. Furqan H. Qureshi, GM. Corporate Solutions, Wateen. Forum and Furqan H. Qureshi GM. Corporate Solutions,
(Wateen Telecom) with some senior panelists and speakers.

ateen Telecom has placed an order video codecs over Wateen's WiMAX network. improving the quality of our services", said Tariq

W with Grandstream Networks for the

supply of a large volume of IP-based
telecommunication devices and Consumer
Premises Devices to add to its nationwide
deployment of the WiMAX network.
Grandstream Networks is a leading designer
and manufacturer of IP-based communication
products for broadband networks.
Through the contract, Grandstream will pro-
vide Wateen Telecom users with the GXV3000
IP video phone and HandyTone ATA devices
which will give subscribers access to high speed
data, voice and video services over Wateen's
WiMAX network. This deal will give Wateen's
fast growing consumers and corporate users
access to affordable and secure video telephony
and data services over its IMS platform.
The GXV3000 comes with a multitude of fea-
tures and is an innovative and award winning
design by Grandstream. It features unparalleled
performance, robust technology, and is compet-
itively priced. The device will provide Wateen
20 subscribers with high quality and affordable
video telephony solutions using the H.264/H.263
Grandstream HandyTone ATAs are award win-
ning VoIP IADs that provide support for secure
access of voice and data services over broad-
band networks. The HandyTone ATA are small
compact devices that will enable subscribers to
make high quality voice or fax calls using tradi-
tional telephones or fax machines over Wateen's
IP network.
Wateen Telecom partners with
Grandstream video telephone
and CPE devices to bring
Pakistani consumers for a
more feature-rich communica-
tion experience
"Wateen Telecom is pleased to be in a part-
nership with Grandstream Networks. These
devices will help us significantly in meeting the
rising demand for our WiMAX based services.
These devices are an excellent value-addition to
our services and will play a crucial role in
Malik, CEO of Wateen Telecom.
"We are very excited to partner with Wateen
Telecom in their launch of advanced multimedia
telephony service through their next generation
WiMAX wireless network and state-of-art IMS
convergent communication platform", said David
Li, CEO of Grandstream Networks. "The
Wateen-Grandstream partnership demonstrates
a mass scale showcase of tomorrow's rich
media advanced communication technology and
services at a personal and affordable level
today. We look forward to working closely with
Wateen to further enrich this experience for their
customers."
This partnership accentuates Wateen
Telecom's commitment towards offering high
quality and affordable services to its subscribers,
giving them the opportunity to enjoy true wire-
less connectivity and freedom. It also affirms
Grandstream's continued dedication to offering
innovative and affordable IP voice & video solu-
tions and making broadband connectivity a glob-
al reality.





 Telecom Azhar Javed
akistan is a developing country and its per
P capita income which was $847 in 2007, is
expected to be around $950 this year.
Due to rapid increase in telecom sector where
even a labourer who earns Rs 250 per day has
mobile phone set as he can afford it.
During the fiscal year 2007 a record of 28.7
million new subscribers were added to the grow-
ing customer base cellular telephone industry,
taking the total cellular subscribers to 73 million
in the country.
This means that there are, at an average, 40
cellular users for every 100 people in Pakistan.
This testifies the country's improving economic
conditions and expanding infrastructure growth.
Some shopkeepers are
involved in this dirty business
just to mint money and even at
the cost of leading youth
astray. They copy nude clips
on just Rs 10 per clip in the
mobile phone and thousands of
young guys copy daily. There is
urgent need to take the matter
seriously and ban such
heinous business
The phone sex through video
clips on mobile has become
extremely popular. And now
home made sex movies of
common couples are being
transmitted all over the coun-
try
Only imposing blanket ban on
mobile phone in some colleges
won't do much good, rather a
massive campaign should be
launched to educate the youth,
and also render them alterna-
tive options for recreation and
22 entertainment
The number of cellular users grew by a massive
83 per cent. Pakistan is one of the world's fastest
growing telecom markets.
Mobile phone usage is 23% among the urban
population in Pakistan. Among the three major
cities, Lahore (22%) has the lowest mobile
phone usage while Karachi
(35%) and twin city
Rwl/Islamabad (37%) are not
too different in their usage. The
growing up population (age 16 -
25 years) exhibit the highest
usage of mobile, standing at
27% with the young adults (age
26 - 40 years) following with
22% and the mature ones (age
41 - 55 years) with 21% user-
ship.
The youth is mostly mobile
users in the country and almost
everyone has one or two sets in
their pockets. The youth consti-
tute almost 60 per cent of popu-
lation of the country. If their
mobile phone keeps silent for some time, they
would get worried and check to make sure they
haven't set it wrong.
Unfortunately, the youth is misusing the
mobile phone as it is life saving instrument in the
emergency but it is observed that they use it
negatively and its impact would be harmful.
The new trend among the youth is send to
www.flare.com.pk
nude clips and short messages to the friends
and colleagues via SMS, MMS or copies from
the computer. Some shopkeepers are involved
in this dirty business just to mint money and
even at the cost of leading youth astray. They
copy nude clips on very cheap rates just Rs 10
per clip in the mobile phone and thousands of
young guys copy daily. There is urgent need to
take the matter seriously and to ban such
heinous business of download clips in the mobile
phones.
A latest incident occurred in one of the
famous college of Lahore where the girls had
made porn clips and downloaded on the internet.
The Government of Punjab has put a ban on
girls studying in the colleges to bring mobile
phones with them. While the parents and major-
ity of girls are praising this step, some girls are
very acrimoniously objecting to this. Principals
and teachers of girl's colleges are very much
satisfied with this step, and according to them
this would save many families lots of grief.
The management caught couple of girls
passing on obnoxious SMS and MMS along with
dirty pictures. Mobile phone is a very useful util-
ity, but the frustration of our youth has made its
usage a curse. Girls are not only receiving nude
pictures, clips, text messages and other invita-
tion through mobiles without and with consent,
but also they are exploiting and being exploited
the boys outside the boundaries of their homes
and colleges.
Only imposing blanket ban on mobile phone
in girl's colleges won't do much good, rather a
massive campaign should be launched to edu-
cate the youth, and also render them alternative
options for recreation and entertainment.
The phone sex through video clips on mobile
has become extremely popular. And now home
made sex movies of common couples are being
transmitted all over the country over the cell
phones.
Even in the universities the students are
involved in the heinous acts. It has become a
common practice to share obscene video clips
via infrared and Bluetooth. There is a dire need
to take necessary actions to stop these practices
in the country by educating the youth through an
effective campaign.





 Diplomatic Enclave M. H. Khalid
H.E. ALEXANDR LANGER
Ambassador of Czech Republic to Pakistan
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe and a
member state of the European Union. The country has borders with Poland
to the north, Germany to the northwest and southwest, Austria to the south,
and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague, a major
tourist destination. The Czech Republic is a pluralist multi-party parlia-
mentary representative democracy.
The diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Czech Republic are not
new but it is really disappointing that these relations were sleeping. Now
both the countries have activated relations and the credit goes to H.E.
ALEXANDR LANGER who is taking keen interest to strengthen these ties.
24
www.flare.com.pk
How did you find Pakistan?
I came here in the beginning of October 2003, for the 1st time in this
part of the world. In 1995, I published a book 'The March to the South'
and book was dealing to analyze current situation in Central Asia and
Transco Asia. From this point of view I was connected to this part of the
world. Every thing was new to me and for my family in the beginning.
Especially food and weather, in my country temperature in winter is
about -20 C but here in Islamabad it is not like this.
Our homes are more accustomed to prepare winters but here I don't
see to prepare and to face weather. Every thing is interesting here
especially, mountains in Pakistan are challenging as well. Our moun-
taineers are interested because of these mountains. I have travelled
around Pakistan beautiful places are here and historical and cultural
places are really impressive like Taxila, and Moenjodaro. People should
pay more attention to these places to preserve these interesting sites. I
have visited the northern areas of Pakistan but the only problem is
security, may be the cultural misunderstanding, I don't know how to call
it but it is a serious problem.
Flare: You wrote articles on Nationalism, Religion and Public Broadcasting
in Post-communist states, how you build your interest in this area and
why?
H.E. ALEXANDR LANGER: First I tell you that I have never idealized com-
munism. Czech Republic is a part of former Czechoslovakia which was
a communist state but now communist regime is over so what we
should do now? It was difficult for the countries to keep their identity
within communist regime, for some nations religion is a part of their
national identity, for some nations not. The most interesting to me is
what to do for the nation building after communism? And through which
instrument it should be done? For this point of view I found a public
broadcasting system. It is very important because you can listen and
watch electronic mass media and print media is also a source to con-
vey your message. One can float the message through media and you
can do what you want to do? This is how I started interacting with
national affairs and started writing about nationalism, religion and pub-
lic broadcasting in post communist era.
H.E. ALEXANDR LANGER shows his interest in Flare Magazine.
Flare: In 1970 you were expelled from the University for Activities in
Student Movement, do you think that the student politics should be
allowed in institutes?
H.E. ALEXANDR LANGER: I would go back in the history and I want to
remember my past, when I was expelled from the university I started
working as a shop assistant and shop window cleaner and I used to
earn small amount of money it was not even enough for public trans-
port. I used to go on foot but my friends were very good so I was not
facing any problem at that time.
I was involved in the student movement when I was expelled from
the university. I was representing the philosophical faculty. I want to
explain that even in these tough times, I was earning small money. At
that time there was no concept of heavy marketing. I was not forced by
multinationals to purchase the things. But think about these young
unemployed people. I am afraid that lot of people especially, in Asia, it
www.flare.com.pk
is customary to accuse US that they are cultural
imperialist. This advertising is a brain washing
but on the other hand it gives money.
It is a difficult question. We have a strong,
educated and civilized society. I think its good
when young people are interested in politics its
good for national growth and integrity. What we
learned through our society is the involvement of
people in democratic and political system.
Education institutions are basically a learning
point for any student who is new and agile and
want to groom his personality. So, I think political
activities should be allowed but must be free of
torture for gaining positive results.
Flare: You have been working in Institute for
International Relations, Prague; As an expert do
you believe in clash of civilizations? How we can
make this world peaceful?
H.E. ALEXANDR LANGER: Like many other things
globalization is also inevitable. We can not stop
internet and technology even more than our
mentality. Some people are not prepared for
sharing these values. How these people are
more prepared Muslims, Christians and
Buddhists. People in different societies prepare
and accept some things which are not accept-
able to other countries. Clash of Civilization is
inevitable, I don't think so. People across the
Education institutions are
basically a learning point for
any student who is new and
agile and want to groom his
personality. So, I think politi-
cal activities should be allowed
but must be free of torture for
gaining positive results
world are accepting new things and coming clos-
er to each other. Today, one has more knowl-
edge about other religions like Islam,
Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism. So with the
more knowledge and know-how one can't clash
but to accept the reality. There might be a debate
but not the clash. Extremism flourishes from the
minds and hearts of the people who are hurt by
any power due to expansionism or militarism, as
I told you earlier that I worked as a shop assis-
tant and I had not enough money but one
can take advantages of these snub human
rights and can prepare any young man to do
the wrong. If we all accept the others' right
to live freely then these theories will be no
more in the world. That is the only way to
make this world peaceful.
Flare: What about the state of telecommunica-
tion sector in Czech Republic?
H.E. ALEXANDR LANGER: We have privatized
telecom sector; three mobile companies are
operating in this sector. We are growing very
fast in this sector and hope we will continue
in the future as well.
In 1989, the telecommunications infra-
structure was sorely lacking compared to
that of most Western countries. The govern- H.E. ALEXANDR LANGER poses during an interview with Flare. LANGER for giving us time. We are
ment recognized the need to improve this
infrastructure, and therefore developed exten- coordination and cooperation between Pakistan
sive plans to upgrade the area. In addition, pri- and Czech Republic in view of strong diplomatic
vatization and the subsequent foreign invest- relations?
ment in the telecommunications industry have
injected required cash into the country and have
enabled the build-up of some areas.
In 1994, the Czech Government set January
1, 2001 as the date for official deregulation of the
telecommunications market in the Czech
Republic. However, there has been a push for
an earlier opening of the industry both from
politicians and trade representatives, as well as
from the market itself.
Flare: How would you characterize the level of
We are thankful to H.E. ALEXANDR
also grateful to Miss Petra.
Diplomatic Enclave
If we all accept the others'
right to live freely then
these theories will be no
more in the world. That is
the only way to make this
world peaceful
H.E. ALEXANDR LANGER: It is really disappointing
that from 1991-2003 there were no high rank vis-
its from both the countries. When I came here I
tried to wake up the sleeping ties between both
the countries and in a result of my efforts, our
foreign and environment ministers visited
Pakistan. Last year Czech PM visited Pakistan
on May 10.
I personally believe that to continue the
strong diplomatic relations there is a need of offi-
cial visits from both sides to collaborate in vari-
ous fields. We have increased the trade ties with
Pakistan four times. The relations were sleepy
and now it is waking up and we hope for the
best.
Flare: What has been done to liberalize the visa
policies as to enable entrepreneurs and the peo-
ple of the two countries to move freely?
H.E. ALEXANDR LANGER: I think issuing a visa
there is a risk that the applicant will not remain in
my country if it is confirm I will give visa, this is a
main thing and secondly we receive fake docu-
ments for visa requests.
People request for visa, we call them in
embassy but they refuse to come unfortunately,
we can not send visas to them. We interview all
applicants and after satisfaction we issue visas
to the genuine applicants and they could enjoy
the tour. During discussion you can judge how
the applicant is experienced and it is difficult to
issue visa to such persons who do not fulfill the
requirements. Security and national interest is
our prime concern while issuing visa. During dis-
cussion you can judge how he is experienced
but we have to defend our national interests
while issuing the visas.
Flare: Would you like to tell us about trade and
economic ties between the two countries?
H.E. ALEXANDR LANGER: The relations are being
activated and trade is higher for four times now.
I think, gradually we are moving towards good
relations and as member of EU, we hope to
come closer in coming years. I would prefer
to exchange more cultural values and eco-
nomic ties between the two countries.
Flare: Can you sum up your assessment of the
current state of the relationship between the
two countries?
H.E. ALEXANDR LANGER: I told you when I
came here, the relations were sleeping, and
we activated relations or woke up these rela-
tions. In the end of this month we will open
the consulate in Lahore and on May 1st, I
will open consulate in Karachi. We are mov-
ing forward.





25
 Interview Flare Report
he government's progressive policies have
T boosted the market liberalisation process
and discouraged monopolies. There are
three main areas of policy emphasis that will
help responsible growth in the future.
CEO Telenor Pakistan Tore Johnsen, in an
interview, said, "We understand the govern-
ment's ambition of introducing Third Generation
(3G) services in the market, but growth and
investment in basic mobile infrastructure should
not be sacrificed or slowed down; there are still
far too many people without basic access to
mobile telephony."
Right now, operators are focused on invest-
ing in far-flung areas and un-served people, who
need connectivity for basic services. This would
improve their productivity and enable them to
Infrastructure sharing is the
internationally recommended
practice of using one tower to
carry antennas for multiple
mobile operators instead of hav-
ing separate towers for each
operator, just makes common
sense. At the moment, Telenor
Pakistan has the largest number
of shared sites. As a socially
responsible company, we believe
that more should be done to
encourage and enforce infra-
structure sharing. It is an effec-
tive way of reducing operational
expenditure, while achieving
long-term environmental bene-
fits and maintaining quality for
our customers
reach out. If a huge fee is demanded for 3G, it
will just divert this investment with limited bene-
fits for those who are still waiting to be connect-
ed with the basic voice services, as their data
needs are being limited by lack of literacy, con-
26 tent and affordability.
"Therefore, we ask the govern-
ment to consider 3G not as a licens-
ing opportunity, but rather an alloca-
tion of additional spectrum linked
with roll-out obligations, not a hefty
upfront fee. The Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the
Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) should also
make additional Universal Mobile
Telecommunications System (UMTS) spectrum
available in order to have equitable spectrum
allocation," he stated.
"Another thing is infrastructure sharing; the
internationally recommended practice of using
one tower to carry antennas for multiple mobile
operators instead of having separate towers for
each operator, just makes common sense. At the
moment, Telenor Pakistan has the largest num-
ber of shared sites. As a socially responsible
company, we believe that more should be done
to encourage and enforce infrastructure sharing.
It is an effective way of reducing operational
expenditure, while achieving long-term environ-
mental benefits and maintaining quality for our
customers."
About alternative energy sources, he said,
"We are the first in the industry to have started
using solar energy to power a commercial site.
We aim to help reduce the load on the national
power grid through innovative solutions and in
the longer term, we mean to upscale this pilot
project to other parts of the country after assess-
ing its success."
He said that the government here has a role
to play by encouraging such innovation. The
industry must boldly experiment with alternate
energy solutions in order to connect the remote,
unconnected populations of Pakistan in a sus-
tainable manner.
He said that, "We appreciate the presence of
a stable regulatory environment with a clear
licensing framework in Pakistan. Ministry of
Information Technology and
Telecommunications (MOITT) and PTA have
been successful in providing a level playing-
field, and have fostered a culture of industry con-
sultation."
According to PTA, SIM-card penetration fig-
ures in Pakistan are 50 per cent. Even then, the
Pakistan telecom market is one of the fastest
growing in the world and we believe that there is
still room for substantial growth in the market,
but at a slightly slower pace. The competition is
very stiff with five active players competing for
www.flare.com.pk
Tore Johnsen,
Chief Executive Officer
Telenor Pakistan.
new customers.
From a customer point of view, the way the
market is expanding and competition increasing,
the result has been excellent, resulting in low
prices, constantly improved services and
expanded coverage.
"We will continue to expand our network,
both the coverage and the capacity because of
new customers.
In addition, we will invest in platforms and
continue to offer attractive and innovate services
to our customers. By the end of 2007, we had
"We are the first in the industry to
have started using solar energy to
power a commercial site. We aim
to help reduce the load on the
national power grid through inno-
vative solutions and in the longer
term, we mean to upscale this pilot
project to other parts of the country
after assessing its success."
invested USD1.8 billion in Pakistan. We will con-
tinue to invest several hundred million US dollars
a year."
"Telenor is continuously looking into new
business areas, but currently we have no plans
to take part in the fixed business. Broadband
services, on the other hand, are very attractive
and are being offered via 3G, Wi-Max or related
technologies."
"Telenor is already listed on the Oslo Stock
Exchange. At the moment, we do not have any
plans to list locally."
Growth in the telecom sector will continue
and its contribution to the GDP will remain high.
Percentage share of GDP will depend on gener-
al growth of the Pakistani economy and the per-
formance of other sectors.
"Our success has several dimensions," he
said, which included success with customers,
success with employees, shareholders, commu-
nity, public sector and international
success.





 Technology Flare Report
dea for Un-Interrupted Power Supply in
I Pakistan is gaining momentum, not due to the
damage and security concerns, but the power
supply outage that has put the nation with no
other option but to get a power back-up solution
for their basic electrical necessities.
After intensive loadshedding routine,
throughout the country, the demand and prices
of Un-interrupted Power Supply (UPS) has seen
a record hike in national electronics history. The
high demand of UPS has been observed
throughout the country mainly in major cities
including, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore,
Karachi, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Multan, Peshawar
and others.
By cashing the demand, UPS manufacturers,
whole sellers and retailers have substantially
increased prices, while they are also running out
of their stocks as well. A comprehensive survey
conducted by 'Flare' in Rawalpindi and Lahore
has revealed the increasing trend of getting UPS
for not only computers but also for other electri-
cal home appliances. Survey showed that on
28
average a retailer is selling twenty five plus UPS
units each day. It merits mentioning that this
average was not more than 2 pieces a week just
few months back.
Retailers are running out of their stock, and
they have started accepting only advance
orders, while the UPS units are delivered in at
least a week or ten days after the order is placed
in cash. A shopkeeper Mohammad Imran, from
College Road Electronics Market in Rawalpindi,
told 'Flare' that he has 4 workers who remain
busy in preparing UPS units whole day long, but
they are able to produce only 16 UPS units dur-
ing a 14 hours working day. He said he has not
witnesses such demand of any appliance in his
twenty three years' carrier.
Mr. Imran was of the view that due to rush in
preparing units, there remain countless flaws
due to inexperienced and low aged electricians;
which in result may cause damages to valuable
electrical appliances. He further added that the
price has been doubled.
Survey conducted by 'Flare' showed that a
ony Group P
mph LC
Sy U
he
T
VARIOLINE
K IT
CHEN TD
S (PVT) L
QU
A LIT
Y KITCHE
www.flare.com.pk
local made 1000 Watts UPS unit, which can
entertain 3 ceiling fans, 2 tube lights couple of
energy savers, is being sold in PKR 10,000. This
price does not include the battery that may cost
the customer additional PKR 6000 for 130
ampere battery.
It was learnt that UPS united are available of
different scales that ranges from PKR 5,500 to
PKR 150,000 in price, excluding batteries.
Market sources told that customers are rushing
to get their UPS units before the summer hits the
country with its full force. While there are also
anticipations that load shedding timings may
increase as well as the heat will spread across
the country.
Power concerns in the country are badly
affecting the masses, particularly the business
community who are more dependent on power
supply than even before. Keeping an eye on the
situation, government has to come up with solid
policies to increase the power generation in the
country.





.K
.
NS
 w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Chairman and CEO of China Mobile Limited Wang Jianzhou, speaks during an
announcement of the company's results in Hong Kong. China Mobile Ltd.,
China's dominant mobile phone carrier, said that its 2007 profit rose 32 per-
cent from a year earlier on rapid growth in its subscriber base.
Roberto Lima, president of Brazil's leading mobile phone company, VIVO,
gives an interview during the Reuters Latin America Summit in Sao Paulo.
Pictorial
President Pervez Musharraf talking to Mr. Wang Jainzhou, Chairman China Mobile, who called on him in
Rawalpindi on April 5, 2008.
Deputy Director General SCO Brigadier Syed Raiz Hussain Shah and Chief Technical Officer CTO CMPAK Xu
Haiyong signing the memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between CMPak limited (a china mobile company)
and Special Communications Organization commonly known as SCO held at HQ SCO in Rawapindi.
CEO, Telenor Pakistan, Tore Johnsen and Director Sales and Service, Telenor Pakistan, Mirza Sajid Baig inaugu-
rating Sales & Service Centre in Commercial Market, Rawalpindi. The new centre is one of its kind with 10 cus-
tomer counters including exclusive counters for MNP and value added services, Customer Meeting Room,
Persona Postpaid Lounge and serving over 600 customers on daily basis.
29
 Interview Flare Lahore
Zafar Iqbal
GM HR & Admin
Warid Telecom
Biography
Born and bread in the city of Faisalabad
(Lyall pur) Mr. Zafar Iqbal moved to Lahore after
completing his graduation. He did his masters in
political science and law from Punjab University.
During student life he was offered a position as
Management Trainee in Intercontinental Hotel
(IHC). Mr. Iqbal has worked for various organiza-
tions in Pakistan and Abroad namely
Intercontinental Hotel Corporation (IHC owned
by Pan American USA), ITL (Saudia Arabia),
Mariott Islamabad, Mobilink and Hilton Hotels
(USA). He Joined WARID Telecom on 9th
August 2004 as "GM Government Relations &
Regulatory Affairs". He was appointed GM HR in
January 2005.
In a candid meeting with GM HR we had an
opportunity to explore the personal aspects of
his life. He highlighted his views and we were
able to get his take on the following questions.
Flare: Could you please highlight on the vision &
goal of Company?
Zafar Iqbal: Our vision is to be the best
Telecommunication provider in Pakistan and
abroad. Focusing on that, "we have got the best
Human Resources and I feel that WARID will
again emerge in the market as a preferred
employer and will be the Leader in the next few
years".
Our objectives are to be the best employer,
we will be providing the best and the most con-
ducive work environment where employees feel
proud to work.
Flare: How did you implement the HR policies dur-
ing the initial stages?
Zafar Iqbal: The moment I was appointed GM
HR, I reviewed all the policies which were vague
in an ad hoc state. Immediately the 1st thing I did
was to implement Group Life and Medical
Policies for employees welfare. The team played
a vital role in reviewing and revising the policies
and now all the policies and procedures are in
place and updated.
Flare: What are the opportunities available for
30 telecom graduates and post graduates in this
industry?
Zafar Iqbal: Telecom is flourishing all over the
world especially in Pakistan and the developing
countries. I believe that all the telecom compa-
nies should join hands and make a Telecom
Foundation (Academy) like Etisalat Academy.
This would give graduates practical knowledge
with the theoretical studies and also minimize
Training as well as other related costs.
Warid is proud to open the unlimited
opportunities worldwide for a new
generation, a generation that is rap-
idly becoming a part of the global
telecom industry. Our mission is to
accomplish the needs of our cus-
tomers, satisfy our employees and be
accountable to our stakeholders. Our
goal is to provide long term benefits
not only to our customers but, a
healthy working environment to our
human resources to align HR objec-
tives with company goals and vision
Flare: What means of recruitment do you adapt to
attract talented resources?
Zafar Iqbal: Initially during the pre launch
phase, massive recruitment and hiring were car-
ried out and services of recruitment agencies
were also considered. Now we have fully func-
tional recruitment & development department in
place to cater not only the resource require-
ments of Warid Pakistan but also facilitate WTI
and Wincom. To attract talented pool of candi-
dates we accept walk-in Resumes, advertise on
web portal and Newspapers, also consider inter-
nal introductions and recently we are launched
iRecruitment on oracle platform to facilitate the
external candidates. For certain critical and sen-
sitive positions we do refer to recruitment agen-
cies inside and outside the country.
www.flare.com.pk
Flare: Can you highlight your training methods?
Zafar Iqbal: The difference in liberal
economies and the developing countries is the
training and couching. Countries like France and
Germany protect this right of employee through
statutes however, we in Pakistan do not have
such system in place but at Warid we truly
believe in the importance of this phenomenon.
Training & Development is a separate wing that
looks after development of the employees.
Training programs are designed and conducted
after formal Training Need Analysis (TNA). We
finalize the content with the leading national and
international consultants and provide cus-
tomized trainings after subsequent discussions
with division heads.
Flare: What is the scope for promotion and growth
within Warid?
Zafar Iqbal: Our organization structure pro-
vides levels and tiers which defines clear career
paths. Regular appraisal system is in practice.
Merit and performance based promotions are
done and it is a continuous process which pro-
vides clear growth opportunities for our workers.
Flare: What is the Company's success story?
Zafar Iqbal: Record growth in terms of sub-
scribers (3 million customers in 300 days) was
on of the major milestone in company's success.
Evolution of Wateen Telecom, Wincom and glob-
al presence in the form of Warid Bangladesh,
Warid Congo and Warid Uganda within short
period of two years is exemplary. Our strategic
partnership with Sing Tel has not only increased
the worth of the company but has also provided
us the best practices within the industry.
Flare: How do you envision the company looking
like 3 to 5 years from today?
Zafar Iqbal: Our goal should be to become
number two as soon as possible. In three to five
years we should lead the market. This would
only be possible if our workforce is fully motivat-
ed, as they play a vital role in the success of the
company. Passion should be reinforced so that
we can achieve our goals and vision.





 Event Flare Report www.flare.com.pk

Canon Sharing Responsibilities…

Making a Mark
he Islamabad Open Championship was Printing industry. Mega Business Machines has

T played at Super Sports Park from 21-23

March. The event was sponsored by,
Canon. Chairman CDA Kamaran Ahmed Lashari
graces the opening ceremony as chief guest. In
his address, he urged the young boys and girls
to do every possible effort to groom in the game
and make a mark at the international level. He
promised more activities like this in the near
future to shine the new talent for the growth and
promotion of game.
More then 150 local boys have competed for
the top honors of three day game. The competi-
tion was held in 6 categories boys' under-15,
girl's under-16, women's singles, men's singles,
men's doubles and veterans' singles.
At the end of the event national sales man-
ager Tasueef Ahmed Khan presented awards to
the winners. A large number of spectators were
also present at the occasion cheering the final
wealth of experience in support, sales and serv-
ice with strong network across Pakistan and is
well-positioned to work with Camera and Printer
users, distributors and resellers to make avail-
able Canon products and technology to the
Pakistan Market.
Mr. Tauseef Ahmed Khan while talking to
journalists promised to keep on working this
trend to boost other games like cricket, hockey
and football as well. „„„„„
Tauseef Ahmed Khan (National Sales Manager) Mega Business
Machine is giving a trophy to a winner.
tions to people around the world, Canon has
built more than 200 companies worldwide,
employing more than 120,000 people in
research and development, production, sales
and marketing activities and in the new era,
Canon is not only in photography area but is now

Tauseef Ahmed Khan and Chouhdry Shahid Navid (Regional
Sales Manager) Mega Business Machine present at the event.
day of the event.
It is worthy to mention here that the Canon
ignites to make the best camera for the world in
the 1937 With a goal to bring the best innova-
Tauseef Ahmed Khan (National Sales Manager) Mega Business
Machine is giving a trophy to a winner.
a renowned brand in digital imaging.
Mega Business Machines (MBM) has been
appointed as new partner of Canon to facilitate
Canon's expansion into Pakistan's rapidly bur-
geoning Photographic and digital imaging and

xtension of interconnect agreement sign- were also present on the occasion. formance and other benefits for their respective

E ing ceremony between Ufone (PTML) and

Special Communications Organisation
was held at SCO headquarters on April 3.
Deputy Director General of SCO and Vice
President Customer Operations Ufone signed
the agreement on behalf of their respective
organisations. SCO Director General, President
& CEO Ufone and senior officers from both sides
SCO is a pioneer telecom operator providing
landline, GSM, WLL, Internet dialup and broad-
band services as family network in the most dif-
ficult terrains of Azad Jamu and Kashmir (AJ&K)
and Northern Areas (Nas) of Pakistan.
Under the interconnect agreement, the points
of interconnectivity will be chosen at different
hierarchical levels on the basis of economy, per-
subscribers. SCO and Ufone have agreed for
exchange and transportation of mutual two-way
local, nationwide dialling and overseas traffic
amid linking their respective networks.
Subscribers of both operators will also be per-
mitted into each others network under the claus-
es of agreement while moving through the area
of operation of each other. „„„„„

okia Siemens Networks announced On the services front, Nokia Siemens in addressing the needs of customers. We are

N that it has signed a contract with PT

Hutchison CP Telecommunications to
strengthen HCPT's GSM/WCDMA network
coverage. Under the new contract, Nokia
Siemens Networks is commissioned to broaden
HCPT's network coverage in both islands,
including network planning and implementation
of another 2,800 base stations, Release 4
34
mobile softswitch and Media Gateways.
Networks will also continue with its project man-
agement role and provide network management
services. To ensure seamless network configu-
ration, Nokia Siemens Networks is also appoint-
ed to install the core networks for HCPT in
Kalimantan and Sulawesi.
Rajiv Sawhney, President Director of HCPT,
said: "This expansion supports the momentum
we have built up with the success of our service
confident that Nokia Siemens Networks' abilities
in managing and deploying large-scale networks
will enable us to rapidly expand our coverage
and launch new services."
Nokia Siemens Networks will start to deliver
its solutions and services on April 2008 and will
continue to work with HCPT to accommodate
major expansion plans over the next 3 years
across all the islands. „„„„„
 Telecom Ismail Qureshi www.flare.com.pk

he PTCL management has announced tomized pack-

T three new value added services last

month. With these packages PTCL
responded well against critics who blame the
ages everyone
can get exact-
ly what they
company for not giving any choice to customers want at a price
with Pakistan Package and every customer has that suits
to pay Rs. 199 with making a single call to long them.
distance. If any using PTCL connection for local Answering
call even then he was charged for the same a question, Dr
amount. With these 3 packages PTCL cus- Sadik said that
tomers will a have the choice to shift to their the VSS was
favorite package for internet, local calls or long purely volun-
tary scheme
Value Plus offers 1,200 inter- and the PTCL
did not force
net minutes in addition to 25 any one to
nationwide calling minutes apply for VSS.
He said that
per month, in the form of the the PTCL's
deficit touched President Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) Dr. Sadiq Al-Jadir addresses a press
brand-new Value Plus pack- Rs9.5 billion conference in Islamabad. PTCL Executive Vice-President Ali Qadir Gillani also present at the occasion.
age which is available for owing to vari- package.
ety of reasons and there is not single factor The third package, Basic Plus is designed to
Rs75 only. With these pack- behind it. meet the needs of the low usage segment and
ages PTCL responded well includes basic services along with voicemail and
Basic Plus is designed to call waiting, which are also included in the other
against critics who blame the two packages. Customers not currently sub-
company for not giving any meet the needs of the low scribed to the Pakistan Package will be automat-

choice to customers with
Pakistan Package
distance calls. During the press Conference
media raised questions over the poor perform-
ance, deteriorated image of the company, net-
work related difficulties and the fact that there
were almost 3,000 silent phone lines within
Rawalpindi city only.
The PTCL management said that existing
problems in the network were mainly due to
ongoing development work in different parts of
the country.
PTCL management accepted that miseries of
landline phone consumers have increased due
to dug up roads that have left underground
cables disconnected and damaged from a
numerous places.
The management of privatized telecomm
giant has launched three new projects and under
one initiative it has converted the subscribers of
Pakistan Package into Pakistan Plus with the
same charge of Rs199 per month.
Dr Sadik Al-Jadir, SEVP (Commercial), stat-
ed that PTCL subscribers could pick the pack-
36
age that is just right for them. With three cus-
usage segment and
includes basic services
along with voicemail and
call waiting, which are also
included in the other two
packages. Customers not
subscribed to the Pakistan
Package were shifted auto-
matically to Basic Plus on
1st April, 2008
The management said around 10 million sub-
scribers approach PTCL every month and 82 per
cent are able to get response on 17
enquiry and 18 complain services
within 20 seconds. The three pack-
ages include Pakistan Plus, Basic
Plus and Value Plus each of which
caters to a different demographic bar-
ring none.
Pakistan Plus offers 2,500 min-
utes of nationwide calls for a fixed
package charge of Rs199. Moreover,
for the convenience to customers, all
current subscribers of Pakistan
Package will automatically be shifted
to Pakistan Plus on 1st April 2008.
PTCL is now also offering a pack-
age with 1,200 internet minutes in addition to 25
nationwide calling minutes per month, in the
form of the brand-new Value Plus package
which is available for Rs75 only.
This package keeps in view the needs of the
Internet savvy user, in particular. To select this
package, customers are requested to contact
the helpline 12401240 and select Value Plus
ically shifted to Basic Plus on 1st April 2008.
With its dedicated 24-hour helpline 12401240,
PTCL will make it easy for subscribers to get
information about the new price plans and to
switch between plans.
Due to many packages announced by mobile
companies and other competitors, it eminent
that PTCL is facing tuff challenge to retain its
customer base and their management looks
busy after long time to survive in deregulated
era. Overcharging, line problems and quality of
services were major areas of concern for cus-
tomers and it was said that PTCL is actually put
the customer last.
This new trend of packages and relief to cus-
Pakistan Plus offers 2,500
minutes of nationwide calls
for a fixed package charge
of Rs.199. The package
also includes free voice-
mail and call waiting.
Moreover, for convenience
to customers, all sub-
scribers who were on
Pakistan Package have
been shifted to Pakistan
Plus
tomers is good for the company and its new
management. If PTCL has to grow greatly then
its management should wake up and act likes
this in near future as well. Otherwise WiMAX
and mobile competitors will not allow this gigan-
tic organization to remain in the market.





 www.flare.com.pk Flare Report Telecom

TCL has lost more than 1.2 million sub-

P scribers in last two years, after the Etisalat

has taken over the control of Pakistan's
national and largest telecom company.
A very senior official from PTCL, requesting
anonymity, told 'Flare' that the company is losing Etisalat took over the control of PTCL two years ago and its claim to boost the telecom infrastructure and communi-
its customers very fast due to increasingly num- cation in the country end in a smoke. A worker busy in repair and maintenance work at a communication box is a
bers of complaints and ordinary services. While glaring example of Etisalat management failure in bringing the advancement in its infrastructure. It seems that we
mourning the current situation of PTCL, the offi- are still living in the dark ages.
cial showed his reservations enough over man-
agerial policies and future strategies that are
being adopted.
More than 30 thousands PTCL employees opted for VSS,
The trained staff has quit PTCL through VSS,
which has caused major problems for newcom-
left the company in open air without any trained staff.
ers in operating software to manage company Company management has no plan to tackle this alarm-
records and operations. Few very important
records are either shuffles around or it's missing; ing situation. Increasing number of PTCL's lines com-
due to bad transformation of control from VSS
holding employees to new workers. plaints are not being rectified that's causing another
More than 30 thousands PTCL employees
opted for VSS, left the company in open air with- impossible challenge to meet for the operations
out any trained staff. Company management
has no plan to tackle this alarming situation.
Increasing number of PTCL's lines com-
plaints are not being rectified that's causing
another impossible challenge to meet for the
operations.
It must be noted that PTCL is loosing its rev-
enues by a great deal due to decreasing num-
bers of subscriber and tough competition from
cellular companies. Pakistan
Telecommunication Co Ltd (PTCL) reported a
24.7 percent fall in net profit for 2006-07 finan-
cial year. PTCL earned net profit of 15.64 billion
rupees ($258 million) for the year ended on
June 30 2007. During the period, earnings per
share fell to 3.07 rupees from 4.07 rupees.
PTCL's plan for laying fiber optic and new
copper cable is either delayed or not in the cur-
rent plans, which was announced at takeover
of company by Etisalat. It must be noted that
dying copper buried in the length and breadth
of Pakistan, is loosing its performance to meet
international standards.




37
PTCL staffers engaged in repairing work of cabinet wires of telephone lines which was damaged due to explosion.
 Telecom Flare Report
lcatel-Lucent announced a multi-year
A agreement with
Telecommunication Company Limited
Pakistan
(PTCL) to deliver its broadband access solution,
enabling PTCL to provide high-speed services
throughout Pakistan.
Supporting PTCL's nation-wide program
branded "Broadband Pakistan", Alcatel-Lucent
will deploy 100,000 IP DSLAM lines throughout
the country, including rural regions and outlying
districts of urban centers. Alcatel-Lucent's
turnkey solution will be supported by network
element management tools that include provi-
sioning, fault management and disaster recov-
ery. Alcatel-Lucent will also provide network inte-
gration services including project management,
application/software integration, installation,
TCL is enthusiastically striving to face the
P challenges of the dynamic telecom indus-
try in Pakistan, said SEVP Corporate
Development, PTCL Sikandar Naqi.
With reference to the recently Iaunched
nationwide and local call promotions by the
PTCL, Naqi said the introduction of free voice
mail in major cities was a step forward in the
right direction. "In the vigorous telecommunica-
tion industry, the customer satisfaction is a key
component in the success of a telecom provider
in Pakistan. With the mobile providers coming up
with new promotions day in and day out, the
akistan Telecommunication Company
P Limited (PTCL) organised 'Customers
Facilitation Camps' in different areas of
the twin cities of Rawalpindi-Islamabad in March
to provide facilities to people, says a press
release issued here on March 30.
The camps organised at Saddr, Cantt;
Commercial Market, Satellite Town; Chaklala
Exchange in Rawalpindi and Jinnah Super
Market, Melody Market, F-11 Exchange, I-10
Exchange in Islamabad.
TCL's Helpline 1080 for restoring blocked
P numbers due to non-payment mostly
remains dysfunctional due to frequent
power breakage and power load shedding.
Many of PTCL customers in a survey have
complained that the Helpline operators either do
38 not respond or they do not reactivate phone
deployment, and testing.
"Broadband Pakistan is a
major initiative for PTCL and our
country-wide deployment plans
are very aggressive. As the
leader in IP DSLAM solutions,
Alcatel-Lucent is a strategic
partner for us to support our
ambitious business objectives and deliver best
quality services to our customers," said Walid
Irshaid, President and CEO, PTCL.
"This agreement with PTCL demonstrates
our strong commitment to support them in deliv-
ering innovative multimedia and Internet servic-
es as broadband further develops in this coun-
try," said Frédéric Rose, President of Alcatel-
Lucent's activities in Europe, Africa and Asia.
PTCL needs to step up. By providing the free
voice mail service, "we have given our cus-
tomers the ability to stay in touch any time, any-
where," he said. "To provide the service free of
charge by bearing the burden of its cost to
improve customer satisfaction it proves PTCL's
keenness to give better service at low cost".
A shopkeeper in the capital namely Ahmed
Hasan said "It's an excellent service that "mes-
sage retrieval is free simply by calling 1277."
Even deactivating the service is as easy as dial-
ing #06#.
Though PTCL is making huge strides in the
The last programme in this connection was
held at I-10 Market, Islamabad. The customers
placed orders for new telephone services. They
placed orders for various services and products
like new telephone connections, Wireless Local
Loop (V-fones), Broad Band DSL, Student
Package Broad Band and also took first hand
information about PTCL services. Eight different
counters were arranged for providing different
kinds of PTCL services and products.
The customers took keen interest in PTCL
number on the pretext of load-shedding.
It must be noted that the reactivation of a
phone is important for both customers and the
company for the revenue generation.
PTCL Spokesman said on this issue that he
was not aware of any such development; howev-
er, he assured that he would take notice of the
www.flare.com.pk
Alcatel-Lucent will provide
its 7302 solution which is part
of the market-leading ISAM
(Intelligent Services Access
Manager) product family and its
5523 ADSL Workstation (AWS)
for network element manage-
ment.
Alcatel-Lucent's ISAM product portfolio leads
the DSLAM market with a cumulative market
share of 41%, more than double its nearest com-
petitor. With more than 180 customers deploying
the ISAM product portfolio - including 80% of the
top 20 DSLAM operators in the world - Alcatel-
Lucent continues to be the undisputed leader in
the DSLAM market.





right direction, the telecom industry is also mov-
ing faster than ever and the need to keep pace
has never been greater. Another primary service
to enhance customer satisfaction is call waiting
which is essential in today's world.
Free voice mail service is one way of provid-
ing better service but there are other value
added services that PTCL does not provide as
yet. At a time when PTCL is establishing its
brand identity and introducing customer friendly
packages and services, it should take the oppor-
tunity to provide services either free or with min-
imal charges to the customers.





Broad Band, DSL and wireless (V-fones) servic-
es and other products.
The PTCL executive vice president Business
Zone North, general manager Islamabad
Telecom Region, senior manager (Ops)
Rawalpindi and other senior officers were also
present there. They received the complaints of
the customers, suggestions and
proposals.





report.
PTCL faces huge traffic on its helpline after
auto-activation of PTCL's new packages, which
requires manual deactivation.





 Telecom Flare Report www.flare.com.pk

ake a note of this number 0800-55055.

M Buried deep in the PTA site, 0800-55055

is the number you need to call for com-
plaints about all things related to telecom in
Pakistan. This toll-free service for consumers
was started sometime last year. Another wel-
come step but awareness remains low. Why is
this number not listed on the PTA home page?
Let's take a look at the complaint numbers
which are included in the quarterly telecom
report by PTA - which by itself is a very informa-
tive and professional piece of work. These com-
plaint numbers are lower than expectation.
Generally complaints represent a small percent-
age of the actual issues. The hesitation to com-
plain can be because of lack of awareness about
the complaint process, lack of time etc but,

Pakistan Telecommunication
Authority (PTA) has received
3,886 complaints against tele-
com services providers, includ-
ing PTCL, Mobile, WLL and value
added services in the last three
months of the year 2007. PTA
has devised a mechanism to
receive consumer complaints for
various telecom services and
their resolution on priority
mainly because its such a hassle to write or call
when you don't even know if its going to make
any difference.
Among the services, maximum complaints
were received against the PTCL, which still
holds monopoly over fixed-line services in
Pakistan and cellular mobile sector comes at
second place with 23 per cent of the total com-
plaints.
The PTA report says that 2,886 complaints
were received against the PTCL whereas the
number of complaints for July-September 2007
quarter was 5,784. Similarly, 889 complaints
were registered against the cellular companies
as compared to 1,317 complaints during the last
quarter.
The complaints submitted against the cellular
mobile sector reflect dissatisfaction over the numbers as most of these calls were from
services provided by mobile phone operators. unregistered sims.
Complaints related to quality of services all the On the other hand, complaints against the
mobile phone companies increased as com-
pared to the previous quarter.
fixed-line decreased by 17 per cent as compared
to the last quarter. Most of the complaints were
The main problem identified is the congestion related to billing and new telephone connec-
and connectivity in the networks of mobile phone tions. The main concern highlighted by majority
companies. In addition, complaints related to of consumers was about staff demeanor and
obnoxious calls and spam SMS continue poor complaint handling. The review report also
unabated. In this regard, the companies were highlighted that peer performance of Internet
asked to warn the subscribers and block the service providers remained on the rise that
include overcharging by
the card payphones and
refund of security.
Another interesting
item from the PTA report
is the breakdown of
complaints by mobile
companies. It clearly
shows that more than
50% of the complaints
are with Mobilink and
Telenor.

PTA Struggling to Counter Grey Traffic

akistan Telecommunication Authority fails To control this leakage and to take appropri- and PTA has devised a comprehensive strategy

P to counter grey traffic in the country

despite taking several measures. This
causes a huge loss of approximately Rs 3 bil-
lion annually to the national exchequer and to
the existing operators, PTA Industry Analysis
Report 2007 revealed.
Grey telephony is a term referred to the ille-
gal telecom traffic in which calls from foreign
countries are brought in the country as local
calls while using illegal means. This is an
offence under Telecom Reorganisation Act
42 1996.
ate steps, the Government of Pakistan consti-
tuted a high-level committee, which decided to
go ahead with the purchase of technical solu-
tion for this problem. This committee mandated
PTA to acquire technical solution to detect/block
all illegal traffic bypassing legitimate gateway
exchanges in Pakistan.
PTA, in January, has signed an agreement
with Inbox Business Technologies to acquire
and deploy the appropriate technical solution.
On this issue the Chairman PTA feels that grey
traffic is a menace in countries like Pakistan
to check this.
The main objectives of the technical solution
include automated detection of grey traffic for
its consequent elimination, revenue assurance
for Long Distance International (LDI) operators
and measurement of Quality of Service (QoS)
parameters of IP traffic in the country.
After successful deployment, the solution
would be able to filter IP traffic of the country
for detection of illegal Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP) on data circuits for consequent
legal action against the culprits.





 IT Muhammad Afzaal Waseem
fter disappointing from the PTCL broad-
A
band service I decided to terminate their
DSL service and planned to subscribe the
newest broadband player LinkdotNet.
I thought linkdotNet had a wonderful DSL
service because it is backed by the Orascom
Telecom Company but I was wrong. I had a very
bad experience in subscribing their service. I
have not tried their DSL service yet so I cannot
say anything about the quality of service. Here I
would like to share my personal experience with
LinkdotNet.
I applied for 512 Kbps LinkdotNet DSL on 1st
March, 2008 through their online web form. After
submitting the form, the next message said that
our sales person will contact you to fill the hard
copy of same form in 2 business days but
nobody bother to call me.
I called their UAN customer service number
and CSR told me that we usually don't care the
online registrations so you have to go to nearest
branch to subscribe the service. On 6th March, I
applied for the service and paid Rs. 1050.00 at
their main office in Babar Block New Garden
Town branch. The Front Desk Officer informed
me that the service will be activating in 7-10
days. I again called their customer support after
10 days and they said 10 days means "10 work-
ing days" so I have to wait until 20th March.
In the mean time an interesting thing happen
which I would like to share with you. A person
called on my cell number and asked me my
office address. When I asked the reason he said
that you have requested an online order for 512
Kbps DSL and I want to come for the collection
of payment. I told him that I have already sub-
scribed the service. Few days later another per-
ustomer support and services area is
C experiencing tremendous growth in the
Gulf Region. An increasing number of
companies are paying special attention to cus-
tomer services in order to gain and retain their
customers, and creating a better image in the
market. And in order to provide prompt customer
care and high quality services in a completely
documented way, these organizations are set-
ting up customer service contact centers. The
Contact Center technology is considered to be
the ideal way of retaining existing customers as
well as winning new accounts.
ZRG International, the market leader in
Contact Center Technology in the country
recently participated at the world's premier finan-
cial technology event MEFTEC that was held
under the auspices of the Central Bank of
Bahrain.
The event consisted of an exhibition and a
conference that was attended by at least 200
CIOs and over 500 delegates from around the
globe. Visitors including CIOs and CTOs from
various financial institutes were impressed to
44
learn about the successful Contact Center envi-
son called at my home phone and asked the
same from my wife, she also told him that we
have already subscribed and paid for it.
After 10 working days I went to their main
office to inquire about the status of my
LinkdotNet DSL, the guy informed me that there
are some issues with the PORTS in Faisal Town
Telephone Exchange and our engineers are
working on it. Moreover he informed that it will
take two or three more days to complete the
process.
Today is 26th March, I also called to the
same guy in LinkdotNet's office he said that
every thing is installed except the phone line
need to be split and it will be done on 27th.
This is one story about the newest DSL serv-
ice provider but there are many others who are
fed up with their pre internet connection.
Hammad Yousaf who is my colleague in Naseeb
Networks told me that he has paid them on 26th
Feb and still waiting for the service. They are
giving the same lame excuses to everybody.

Pre-Connection service is worst than PTCL,
how about the QoS?

Will we get better customer service and qual-
ity of service in Pakistan?
ronment in Pakistan and gave excellent feed-
back about the deployment of latest solutions
and the utilization of advanced technology by
ZRG in Pakistan.
ZRG International is a recognized
market leader in the area of
Customer Support Contact Center
Technology that has helped many
leading organizations in improving
customer services and in achieving
customer retention goals. ZRG con-
tinues to engage in international
events to project an impressive
image of Pakistan's IT capabilities
www.flare.com.pk
If they don't have


enough infrastructure,
why they are playing with
the innocent people?

Why they are unable to install
it in 20 days? Do they need one
month or so…
Last but not the least I rec-
ommend you to make sure that
they have enough ports in your
exchange before paying them.
I went to their office to check
the status as their UAN number
was not reachable and IVR says
"All operators are busy"
The FDO guy told me that the
status in the system is not updated after
25th March and he also said that your
connection will be activated tomorrow. Lets
see what happen… I am sure nothing will hap-
pen as their team is the laziest team in the entire
DSL world in the country.
I again called their UAN 111-600-222 and a
guy told me that their higher management
noticed my problem via my blog and my connec-
tion will be installed today. I didn't believe that it
will be done today.
After few hours I received two calls from dif-
ferent people and they informed me that my
phone line is ready for DSL connection and they
want to come to my home for installation. I asked
them that I am in office now, just email me my
login credentials and I will setup DSL router
myself.





The writer is Dy. Manager Consumer Installation
(CW) what he wrote is his personal opinion.
ZRG continues to engage in such internation-
al events to project an impressive image of
Pakistan's IT capabilities. Such efforts are bound
to benefit the country in the long run and will
result in increased software export earnings.
ZRG International is a recognized market
leader in the area of Customer Support Contact
Center Technology that has helped many lead-
ing organizations in improving customer servic-
es and in achieving customer retention goals.
ZRG solutions are deployed in 35 mission criti-
cal Contact Centers including majority of Banks,
handling millions of calls each day in addition to
self-service applications using latest technology
that is more flexible than any other solution in
the Market. ZRG has helped leading brand
name companies in telecom, financial services,
courier, shipping and insurance sectors to
achieve their customer services and retention
goals.
ZRG's Contact Center Solution is a flexible
technology, built on open standards that can be
easily integrated with your current setup and has
no limitations for future expansions.





www.flare.com.pk
Card Payphone Providers (CPP) sector is
continuously losing its business charm due to
rising popularity of wireless based networks
across the country.
According to the report issued by Pakistan
Telecom Authority (PTA), the connections for
Public Call Offices (PCO) based on fixed-line
have declined sharply by 50 percent for last one
year while Wireless Local Loop (WLL) and
mobile PCOs have witnessed more than 85 per-
cent growth in the same period.
There were around 188,438 Fixed-line PCO's
all across Pakistan at the end of September
2006 which has declined to 121,358 at the end
of December 2007. On the other hand, there
was no Mobile PCO in 2006, which has reached
57,936 at the end of December 2007 while WLL
PCO's have increased from 156,550 in
September 2006 to 262,116 in December 2007.
A significant number of entrepreneurs, who run
their PCO in the country, are replacing rapidly
their Fixed-line PCO system into WLL for its
mobile portability, PTA report added.
Currently there are 300 card payphone com-
panies operating in Pakistan. Around one year
back there were 336 card payphone companies
operating, out of which 36 have cancelled their
license. It is mentioned that a number of new
companies have applied for Voice Calls Value
Added services license during the last one and a
half year. Now, these compa-
nies are joining hands with
the existing mobile
Companies to establish
Mobile PCOs rather than
fixed line PCOs.
The three private cellular
phone giants- Mobilink,
Telenor and CMPak have
been witnessing growth in
the WLL and Mobile PCOs
since they got license from PTA. Similarly, some
old players of CPP industry themselves got
licenses for WLL and now they are offering serv-
ices on their WLL networks. It has been
observed that total card payphones have
increased by about 43 percent at the end of
December 2007 compared to the same period of
last year. Total payphones reached to 471,410 at
the end of December 2007, which were 321,155
Flare Report Telecom
at the end of December 2006. When compared
with last quarter, Payphone number has
increase by about 19 percent.
A comparison of payphones by services
show that Fixed-line PCO share has declined
from 42 percent in March 2007 to
32 percent in December 2007
while the Mobile and WLL PCOs
share has increased by 3 percent
and 7 percent respectively in the
same period. Telecard is the
main player since 1990 for pro-
viding PCO services in Pakistan,
which still holds its position in this
industry. However, the group has
shifted most of its business from
fixed- line of PTCL to WLL at their own network.
Currently, more than 38 percent PCO's
belong to Telecard group which counts 179,021
at the end of December 2007. PTCL comes at
second place in card Payphone business that
still has 151,358 PCOs at their fixed-line and
WLL networks. It is expected that Mobile CPP
industry will further grow in coming years.





45
 Interview Tahir Khan
Q: Tell us about yourself and your experiences and
hobbies?
Raja Irfan Ullah: Born in Quetta where my
parents were stationed at that time. Initial
Schooling was done at Grammar School Quetta,
followed by a stint at the Lasalle at Multan, and
the Divisional Public School Model Town Lahore.
Graduated From the FC College in Lahore and
did Masters in English literature from the Punjab
University as a private candidate. Joined the
Inter-Continental Hotels in 1979, and continued
with them till their transition to the current Pearl
Continental Hotels in 1985. I left the country in
1988 after leasing a 100 room property in Nepal.
Branched out into the Travel and rent-a-car seg-
ments too, and worked as consultant in the Far
East. Returned to Pakistan in 1998 and re-joined
the Pearl Continental Hotels. I worked in Lahore,
Karachi, Bhurban, Peshawar and Rawalpindi.
Favorite Hobbies have been trekking into the
splendor that is the breathtaking Northern Areas
of Pakistan. Thinking about them brings very
fond memories and saddens the heart too, when
I hear that it is no longer safe to travel.
Q: What is your role in the Hashoo Group and what
prompted you to join this group?
Raja Irfan Ullah: Since, I played a major part
in the transition from the Inter-Continental Hotels
to that of the Pearl Continental or the Hashoo
group, I have personally grown with the
Company, and strive to take care of its interest
as my very own. This is emphasized by the fact
that I have been in a top slot in a very important
station for the past 5 years.
Q. Where will you place PC Rawalpindi?
Raja Irfan Ullah: After the extensive renova-
tions will be second to none. Add to this the fact
that we have a reputation of being a very "Warm"
hotel make us favourite hotel.
Q: What big difference do you feel while compar-
46
www.flare.com.pk
Raja Irfan Ullah,
GM Pearl Continental Rawalpindi
ing your past and present experience and the cur- Q: What factors affect the economic development
rent one? of a country; would you like to comment on
Raja Irfan Ullah: This is a very fast paced Pakistan's economic output especially with regard
environment, and you just cannot afford to slow to telecom sector?
down and risk someone else overtake you. My Raja Irfan Ullah: Telecom will always play a
experiences outside Pakistan where this major role in the development of a worthy infra-
progress had reached a few years earlier, has structure in any developing Nation. Likewise
Pakistan has benifitted tremen-
dously with the recent telecom
boom.
Q: Pakistan is known for encoun-
tering uncertain situations, be it
war against terrorism, political
instability, law and order situation
or sectarian violence, what reme-
dial measures would you like to
prescribe for Pakistan?
Raja Irfan Ullah: Unity, Faith
and Discipline.
Q: Are conditions conducive in
Pakistan for foreign investment?
Raja Irfan Ullah: If China and
Tahir Khan interviews Raja Irfan Ullah, GM Pearl Continental Rawalpindi. India can do it we are much
smaller package and more easy
really helped me to cope and deal with the cur- to maintain. In ROI terms we are still one of the
rent pressures. best to invest.
Q: Has there been any noteworthy step-forward by Q: 2007 was declared "Year of Tourism" by the
your hotel on account of your joining; where do Government of Pakistan, would like to comment on
you see PC Pindi from now onwards? (kindly write destinations in Pakistan and was the timing appro-
more about wi fi and hi fi- the facilities that you priate for this declaration?
are giving to the guests) Raja Irfan Ullah: Unfortunatly the timing was
Raja Irfan Ullah: We have been in the process way off. Countries advised their citizen against
of renovation for the past 4 years, and this travelling to Pakistan.
involves millions that were spent to upkeep the Q: Any words of wisdom for the readers?
services and adding modern facilities like Wi-fi Raja Irfan Ullah: Believe in what you do, and
facilities in the Hotel premises, a brand new well do what you believe in.





equipped business centre, A brand new kitchen,
a 11000square foot pillar less "Marquee" New
Renovated Guest rooms with an E-floor, and 42
inch plasma Tv's in every room to mention a few.
 Cover Story Special Report www.flare.com.pk

Chairman PTA Maj-Gen (Retd) Shahzada

Alam Malik has badly failed to head this very
important Organisation. There were dozens
of instances where the regulator kept its
eyes closed over numerous issues despite
realizing their intenseness. Not only this, the
authority failed in making successful policies
which in result wasted billions of rupees of
cellular companies and consumers alike

Chairman PTA,
Maj-Gen (Retd) Shahzada Alam Malik.

48
A computer generated image of PTA headquarters Islamabad.
www.flare.com.pk Cover Story

remendous growth, millions of sub- Authority, Maj Gen (R) Shahzada Alam Malik

T scribers, billions of calls, thousands of

cities covered, high penetration, billions of
foreign direct investment, lowest call rates,
Consumer are suffering from
various quality issues, cellular
has repeatedly enjoyed 3 times extension in his
tenure, which is a record as its own in the histo-
ry of Pakistan. He has been grabbing the chair-
emergence of new telecom companies, remark- companies failing to maintain manship of Pakistan Telecommunication
able statistical charts, voices of 3G, round the Authority since the President Pervez Musharraf
clock glowing advertisements, highly paid the ARPU level, price war took over, who is largely known as a very close
employees, charities, high claims and what not? friend of Alam Malik. It must be noted that the
If you are judging the telecom growth by reaching its dead level, and extension of Maj. Gen. (R) Shahzada Malik was
above mentioned parameters, then hold a sec-
ond, may be you are badly misguided…. you
the government that has been beyond the regulation.
It was very shocking to know that Mr. Malik,
might need to reconsider/recheck the facts that badly effected with terrorism has badly failed to head this very important
actually depict the realities. We have been Organisation. According to various market
amply shouting of this (artificial) growth that has issues, millions of mobile con- sources there were dozens of instances where
been result of remarkable make-up carried out the regulator kept its eyes closed over numer-
by the cellular companies and above them, the nections that are either un- ous issues despite realizing their intenseness.
regulator.
We have, in fact, already started experienc-
registered or they carry fake Not only this, the authority failed in making suc-
cessful policies which in result wasted billions of
ing the consequences of this tragic, falsely information are amongst rupees of cellular companies and consumers
reported telecom growth. Pakistan alike.
Telecommunication Authority must have been biggest challenges for the law Chairman's son holds more than two dozens
feeling guilty about all concerns that have aris- of franchises of cellular companies, who also
en, but kept secret, in previous half a decade or enforcement agencies hold a telecom company for providing telecom
so. The watch dog services. It is reported
has failed to maintain that he has been
a fairly balance com- awarded many fiber
petition amongst the optical projects with-
companies, in fact it is out the evaluation of
the regulator that has the company; which is
let the situation reach explicit violation of
this worsen scenario. Pakistan Telecom act,
The Pakistan whose chapter two,
Telecommunication Paragraph three
Ordinance 1994 states as following
established the pri- "A member of the
mary regulatory Authority shall not
framework for the According to mobile cellular policy the above mention is set of standards for quality of service measure- have any direct or
telecommunication ment for mobile phone companies. indirect financial inter-
industry including the estab- est, or have business con-
lishment of an authority. nection with any person,
Thereafter, Telecomm (Re- any establishment or firm
Organization) Act No XVII was which renders telecommu-
promulgated in 1996 that nication services in
aimed to reorganize the tele- Pakistan or abroad or sup-
com sector of Pakistan. Under plies telecommunication
Telecom Reorganization Act equipment to any telecom-
1996, Pakistan munication sector in
Telecommunication Authority Pakistan or abroad"
(PTA) was established in The explanation of this
January 1997 paragraph is also explicitly
According to PTA's official mentioned in telecom act,
website, the regulator have to which is as following;
regulate, establish, operate "Explanation.-any
and maintain the telecommu- involvement of the spouse
nication systems and provi- or blood relation of any
sion of telecommunication member of the Authority
services, promoting and pro- with any telecommunica-
tecting the interests of users tion establishment or firm
of telecommunication services shall be considered as a
of the country and promoting The sale of mobile phone SIMs have become a nuisance for national security as direct financial interest or
the availability of a wide range criminals behind terrorist threats, bomb hoaxes, kidnapping for ransom, fraudulent connection of the member
of high quality, efficient, cost prizing schemes, irritating and repetitive unknown calls and text messages, identity with such establishment or
effective and competitive theft, you name the illegal activity and you will find the use of these unregistered firm"
telecommunication services SIMs. A SIM can be purchased quite easily and cheaply from the hawkers without This is an astonishing
throughout Pakistan. ID card. This phenomenon is facilitating criminals while the PTA has failed to take situation, where the chief
Instead of complying with regulator is himself over-
any action against such sales.
its role, while having a look at ruling the telecom act,
current telecom situation in the country, we can badly effected with terrorism issues, millions of upon which the whole telecom setup is based.
easily term the PTA's role as unsuccessful, mobile connections that are either un-registered Market resources have pointed out so many
where the consumer is suffering from various or they carry fake information are amongst instances that makes a very strong and logical
quality issues, cellular companies failing to biggest challenges for the law enforcement contempt against Mr. Malik who is allegedly
maintain the ARPU level, price war reaching its agencies. found involved in cashing benefits from cellular
dead level, and the government that has been Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication companies for letting them play in an open field
49
 Cover Story www.flare.com.pk

without any restrictions. Evidences of such tricks Mobile Number Portability was another ven- unchanged. By availing the MNP, users using
are Quality of Service surveys that were never ture; huge budgeted and largely advertised proj- the services of any cellular operator, if not satis-
carried out in time. It maybe recalled that first ect was another example of Pakistan fied with their present operator, could apply to
Quality of Service survey was any other operator to which they
conducted in year 2003, which considered more effective in
resulted into a huge sum of PKR terms of rates, disconnections,
60 million as fine to Mobilink on voice quality, signal problem or
June 6, 2003; however, the busy lines.
authority could not conduct the Many cellular users who had
Surveys to judge the quality of availed the MNP registered
networks afterwards; which is a complaints with their cellular
clear violation of Mobile Cellular operators but failed to receive
Policy, chapter 6 section 3 that incoming calls and availing dif-
states ; ferent info services offered by
"The GoP intends to ensure the operators.
that (cellular) licensees provide According to a top official of
a good quality of service. The PTA, the MNP system was
following table is indicative of installed and was made opera-
the QoS measures to be includ- tional without proper planning
ed as an Annex to the Mobile Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Maj. Gen. (Retd) Shahzada Alam Malik and research and, thus, went
Cellular Licenses. The PTA will called on Shaukat Aziz at Prime Minister House.-APP (File Photo). down.
set the QoS parameters after MNP system was launched
consultation with the Licensees before final by importing the latest technical equipment from
issue of the license" Chairman's son holds more the United States and different European coun-
Another failure of PTA and its chairman is
several flopped projects. IMEI is one of them.
than two dozens of franchises tries. The officer also revealed that lack of tech-
nical expertise was the main cause of the failure
The project was introduced in January 2007 of cellular companies, who of the MNP.
without any market analysis and faced massive Senior officials from cellular companies told
failures. The system that was launched to block also hold a telecom company "Flare" that authority force them to pay the fail-
stolen mobile phones was only count of words ure project's expenses while the PTA had grant-
as it shows failure of PTA's policies and the lack for providing telecom servic- ed these projects to their favorite ones. Officials
of sensibility in leadership. PTA made cellular
companies to spend millions on this particular
es. It is reported that he has said that there if ever inquired properly, there
may arise billions of Rupees which were reshuf-
project. been awarded with many fiber fled with-in the PTA in the name of such mega
Under the system, cellular subscribers were project, which could not help the consumer or
given a number where they could register their optical projects without the telecom player at all.
phone's International Mobile Equipment Identity The need to change this regime is inevitable
(IMEI) number and National Identity Card num- evaluation of the company; as Alam's future looks bleak in this scenario and
ber with PTA's database. In case their mobile
phone is stolen, the customers were given a
which is explicit violation of the 8 years of absolute power will end shortly.
We hope that with much needed change as we
chance to get their mobile phones blocked by Pakistan Telecom Act, chapter seen in other sectors, telecom companies and
verifying their NIC numbers and IMEI numbers. customers will get relief from this inefficient offi-
It was found on the very first day of IMEI two, Paragraph three cial who has only promoted favoritism, corrup-
launch that very easily available software tion and failure in telecom sector of the country.
named as "Twister" that can be downloaded Telecommunication Authority's bad policies, We may hope that all these misdeeds will be
from internet could change IMEI of any phone in which saw a fatal crash when all cellular compa- compensated in coming years through better
seconds. Once IMEI of phone is changed, it nies spent Rs. 5 billions. MNP was launched on planning and visionary relationship.





could be re-used even the phone is blocked by March 27, 2007; however, the issue could not
PTA. Millions of Rupees were wasted in the remain in minds for more than a week.
name of awareness campaign to educate the The MNP system was meant for enabling
telecom users about the reporting of snatched or mobile phone users to switch over to any cellu-
stolen mobile phones. lar operator by keeping their mobile number

ouTube world's largest clip sharing web- in un-safe hands they camera phones and their evil usage.

Y site, where more than one million videos

are displayed each day to visitors from
around the globe, is consistently gaining the
are uploaded
YouTube and made
on

available for the world

However, one can do his best to
adopt telecom manners in order to
escape from such an embarrassing
momentum and popularity in Pakistan. to view it. situation.
After the rapid growth observed in camera As per YouTube Never allow anyone to shot your
mobile phone users in the country, trends of policies, unless the picture or video in his/her camera,
making multimedia videos and then uploading it videos are not copy even if he/she is of your family or
on YouTube is becoming a general approach in right protected, you friends. As in case of stolen mobiles,
the public. can share those videos these video or pictures are exposed
The categories of these Videos, uploaded on and then even reuse to robbers, and they can use them as
YouTube, vary ranging from songs to general them on any website, they feel.
events, to public shows and private parties. by using YouTube's In case your personal video or any
However one can easily find hundreds of very embedded player. undesired video is uploaded, that
delicate and personal videos of innocents who This very serious invades your privacy, you have an
are shot by spy cameras. These videos are issue can't be avoided option of flagging the video on
50 recorded for the fun; however, when they reach with easily available YouTube.





 w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Informative

Nokia 6300i Samsung F110

Size
Size
Dimensions 106.4 x 43.6 x 11.7 mm, 56 cc, Weight 93g
Dimensions 101.5 x 45 x 14.5 mm,
Display
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 31x41mm, Downloadable wall-
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, 2.0 inches,
papers, screensavers
Ringtones
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization, Download, Vibration Yes
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, Customization Download, VibrationYes
Memory
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photo call, Call records, 30 dialed, 30 received, 30
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records, 20 dialed, 20 received, 20
missed calls, 1 GB embedded memory
missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 512 MB card included, 30 MB
Data
of user memory
GPRS Yes, EDGE Yes, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0
Data
Features
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 10,
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes
236.8 kbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USBYes,
Colors Black, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video, Measuring speed, dis-
miniUSB
tance, calories, stride, heart rate, Managing workout plan and result
Features
MP3/AAC/eACC/WMA player, Stereo FM radio, T9, Picture editing
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML (Opera mini)
Organizer, Built-in handsfree
Games Yes + Downloadable, Colors Grey Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels,
video(QCIF), Java MIDP 2.0, Nokia Maps, FM stereo radio with RDS
Design: 6.8
Push to talk, MP3/MP4/AAC/ACC+/eAAC+/WMA player, Voice memo
Features: 6.8
Voice command, T9, Calendar, Calculator, Built-in handsfree
Performance: 6.7
Battery
Stand-by Up to 340h, Talk time Up to 3h 30 min

Design: 7.0
Features: 7.0
Performance: 7.1

Nokia N78
Size
Dimensions 113 x 49 x 15.1 mm, 76.5 cc, Weight 101.8g
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches, Downloadable
themes
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, Customization Download, Vibration
Yes, Stereo speakers,
Memory
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall, Call records
Detailed, max 30 days, Card slot, microSD (TransFlash), hotswap, 70 MB
internal memory, 96 MB SDRAM memory, ARM 11 369 MHz processor
Data
GPRS Class 11, 118.4 kbits, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 32, 296 / 177.6
kbits, 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB
Features
OS Symbian OS, S60 rel. 3.2, Messaging, SMS, MMS, Email, Instant
Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS feeds, Games
Yes + Java downloadable, Colors Black, Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pix-
els, autofocus, Carl Zeiss optics, video(VGA 15fps), flash; secondary CIF
videocall camera, Built-in GPS receiver, A-GPS support, Java MIDP 2.0
MP3/M4A/AAC/eAAC+/WMA player, Stereo FM radio, FM transmitter
3.5 mm audio output jack, Push to Talk, Voice command/dial, PIM includ-
ing calendar, to-do list and printing, Document viewer, T9, Photo/video edi-
tor, Integrated handsfree South Korean models display Samsung Electronics' new digital mobile phone, Anycall Haptic SCH-
Battery W420, during its unveiling ceremony in Seoul, South Korea. Samsung Electronics on Tuesday
Standard battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh (BL-6F), Stand-by Up to 320h, Talk announced the launch of the new Samsung Anycall Haptic SCH-W420, a powerful high speed multime-
time
dia phone with a touch sensitive 16:9 wide screen and intuitive user interface.

Motorola Z6w Samsung G400 Soul

Size Size
Dimensions 105 x 45 x 17.3 mm, 69 cc, Weight 110g Dimensions 102.8 x 51.5 x 15.2 mm
Display Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches, Screensavers and Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches, External touch-
wallpapers, Downloadable logos, screen display TFT, 256K colors (240 x 320 pixels), 2.2 inches,
Ringtones Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, MP3, AAC, Customization Download, Vibration Yes Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Download, Vibration Yes
Memory Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 Phonebook Yes, Photocall, Call records 30 dialed, 30 received, 30 missed
missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 64 MB internal memory calls, Card slot, microSD (TransFlash)
Data Data
GPRS Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Class 12 GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, 3G HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, UMA, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0
USB Yes, v2.0, miniUSB Features
Features Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email Browser, WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS
OS Linux - based, Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging feeds, Games Yes + downloadable, Colors Silver, Camera 5 MP, 2592?1944
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML (Opera 8.5), Games Yes, Colors Black pixels, autofocus, video, flash; secondary videocall camera, Java MIDP 2.0
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QCIF), flash, Java MIDP 2.0 Mobile blogging, Google search, MP3/AAC/eACC+/WMA player, FM radio
MP3/AAC/AAC+ player, T9, Organizer, Calculator, Built-in handsfree with RDS, T9, Picture editing, Organizer, Built-in handsfree
Voice dial, Voice memo
Battery Design: 8.2
Stand-by Up to 400h Talk time Up to 7h Features: 8.1
Performance: 8.2
Design: 6.5
Features: 6.4
Performance: 6.3

52
w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k Informative

Nokia 6210 Navigator Motorola W161

Size Size
Dimensions 103x49x14.9 mm, 89 cc, Weight 117g Dimensions 114 x 43 x 14 mm, Weight 85g
Display Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches, Downloadable Type Monochrome graphics, Size 128 x 128 pixels
themes Ringtones
Ringtones Type Polyphonic (32 channels), Amount 10 preset, Customization, Vibration
Type Polyphonic, MP3, AAC, Customization, Download, Vibration Yes Yes
Stereo 3D speakers Memory
Memory Phonebook 200 entries, Call records 10 dialed, 10 received, 10 missed calls
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall, Call records 60 SMS messages
Detailed, max 30 days, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), hotswap, 120 MB Data
user memory, 64 MB SDRAM memory, ARM 11 369 MHz processor USB Yes, v1.1
Data Features
GPRS Class 32, 107 / 64.2 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 32, 296 / 177.6 Messaging SMS, Games 3 embedded, Languages 7 African languages and
kbits, 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0, English, Camera No, FM radio, iTAP, Calculator, Currency converter
miniUSB Calendar
Features Battery
OS Symbian OS 9.3, Series 60 UI, Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Stand-by Up to 465h, Talk time Up to 9 h 50 min
Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games Yes + Java download-
able, Colors Black, Red, Camera 3.15 MP, autofocus, 2048x1536 pixels, Design: 7.1
video(VGA 15fps), flash; secondary videocall camera, Built-in GPS receiver Features: 7.1
A-GPS function, Accelerometer rotation, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/MPEG4 Performance: 7.3
player, Stereo FM radio, Office applications, T9, Voice command/memo
Push to talk, PIM including calendar, to-do list and printing, Integrated hands-
free
Battery
Stand-by Up to 220h, Talk time Up to 3h 40 min

Sony Ericsson T303

Size
Dimensions 83 x 47 x 14.7 mm, Weight 93g
Display
Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels, 1.8 inches, Wallpapers, screen-
savers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Download, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook Yes, Call records 30 received, dialed and missed calls, Card slot
No, 8 MB shared memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, USB Yes
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes + download-
able, Colors Shimmering Silver, Shadow Black, Camera 1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024
pixels, Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio with RDS, TrackID music recognition
MP3 player, Voice memo, Built-in handsfree, Calculator, Calendar
Stopwatch, Tasks, T9
Battery
Stand-by Up to 400h, Talk time Up to 9h

Design: 6.5
Features: 5.7
Performance: 5.9

Nokia shows the N810 WiMax Edition. The Web tablet, which features a 4.1-inch touch
screen and a slide-out keyboard, is likely to join a tiny laptop from ASUSTek Computer as
the first gadgets that can use Sprint Nextel Corp.'s WiMax network.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 Nokia 5000

Size Size
Dimensions 110 x 53 x 16.7mm, Weight 145g Dimensions 106 x 46 x 11.1 mm, 54 cc, Weight 74g
Display Display
Type TFT touchscreen, 65K colors, Size 800 x 480 pixels, 3 inches Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches, Downloadable wallpa-
Full QWERTY keyboard, Optical joystick navigation pers, screensavers
Ringtones Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Composer, download, Vibration Yes Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Download, Vibration Yes
Memory Memory
Phonebook 1000x20 fields, Photo call, Call records, 30 received, Card slot Phonebook Yes, Photocall, Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls
microSD (TransFlash), 400 MB internal memory, 128MB RAM, 256MB storage Card slot No
memory, Qualcomm MSM7200 528MHz processor Data
Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, Bluetooth Yes
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No, EDGE Yes, 3G Features
HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP Messaging SMS, MMS, Email Browser, WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes, Colors
Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0 Cyber Green, Neon Blue, Perfect Purple, Camera 1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels
Features Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio, MP3 player, Nokia Xpress Audio Messaging
OS Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Advanced calculator, Calendar, Built-in handsfree
Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/HTML (IE), RSS feeds, Games Yes + Battery
downloadable, Colors Solid Black, Steel Silver, Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 Stand-by Up to 336h, Talk time Up to 4h 45 min
pixels, autofocus, video(VGA@30fps), flash; secondary videocall camera
Built-in GPS receiver, A-GPS function, Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio with RDS Design: 7.8
MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, Motion sensor (with UI auto-rotate), TrackID music Features: 7.9
recognition, Picture editor/blogging, Organiser, T9, Built-in handsfree, Voice Performance: 7.9
memo/dial
Battery
Standard battery, Li-Po, 1500 mAh
Design: 8.5
Features: 8.4
Performance: 8.5

53
 Informative w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k

Nokia 1650 Nokia 1208

Rs. 3,550
Size
Dimensions 104.2x43.8x17.8 mm, 69cc, Weight 80g
Display
Type CSTN, 65K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels, 35 x
28 mm, Themes and wallpapers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (32 channels), Customization
Download, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook Yes, Call records 20 dialed, 20 received,
20 missed calls, 8 MB user memory
Features
Messaging SMS (up to 250), EMS, Instant
Messaging Games Snake Xenzia, Beach Rally,
Soccer League, Colors Red, Black, FM radio, T9
Calendar, Calculator, Personal budget manager
Currency converter, Voice memo, Built-in handsfree
Flashlight
Battery
Stand-by Up to 420h, Talk time Up to 8h
The Nokia 1650 is a stylish & contemporary
handset which comes with many user friendly & use-
ful call features. The handset is compact & sturdy
with measures of 17.8mm in depth, 104.2mm in
height & 43.8mm width. The one touch shortcut key
allows the user to gain quick access to features
including the messaging service, contact details, cal-
endar, loud speaker & flashlight feature.
Design: 7.0
Features: 6.8
Performance: 7.0
Rs. 2,450
Size
Dimensions 102 x44.1x17.5 mm, 67cc, Weight 77g
Display
Type CSTN, 65K colors, Size 96 x 68 pixels, 29 x 23
mm, Themes and wallpapers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (32 channels), Customization
Download Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 200 entries, Call records 20 dialed, 20
received, 20 missed calls, 4 MB user memory
Features
Messaging SMS, Games 3 embedded, Colors Red,
Black, Camera No, Flashlight, T9, Calendar,
Calculator, Currency converter, Built-in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 365h, Talk time Up to 7h
The Nokia 1208 is a cell phone for those who
want to minimize their cell phone usage expenses. It
includes call Time Tracker, Cost Tracker, and Pre
Paid Tracker functions. It also produces a Call
History and Call Duration Summary.
Practical sharing of the phone is made possible
by the ability to have up to 5 separate phone books,
each phone book capable of storing 200 contacts. A
shared contact list can also be constructed. One
Touch short cut keys enable direct access to mes-
sages, calendar, contacts, and loudspeaker opera-
tion. There is even a small flashlight.
Design: 6.7
Features: 6.8
Performance: 6.7

Samsung C140
Rs. 2,200
Size
Dimensions 104.2 x 44.2 x 16.2 mm, Weight 71g
Display
Type UFB, 65K colors, Size 128 x 128 pixels
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (16 channels), Customization, Download
Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 500 entries, Call records, 30 dialed, 30 received,
30 missed calls, Card slot No, 600 KB shared memory
T-101 Melody Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
Rs. 2,399 Features
Messaging SMS, EMS, Browser WAP 1.2.1, Games No
Call Restriction. Colors Misty Gray, Light Gray, Camera No, T9, Organiser
FM Radio with Speaker Phone. To Do list, Calendar, Currency converter, Voice memo
Built in MP3 & MP4 Player Built-in handsfree
Time synchronisation. Battery
300 Message Memory. Standard battery, Li-Ion 800 mAh, Stand-by Up to 490h
250 Phone book entry. Talk time Up to 5h
Volume Menu.
65k Colour Display. Samsung C 140 is a good low-priced phone. Light
Multiple Languages. weight with very good screen resolution and very accessible
180 Min talk time. and easy to use keypad. The phone may be classed as quite
basic but don't let this put you off, it contains everything a
user would require to be able to contact others and also
receive calls and sms messages, if unable to answer a call
or away at the time this inst a problem as the phone contains
an in built answering machine.

Design: 7.1
Features: 6.6
Performance: 6.9

54

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w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Nokia 3500 Classic
Rs. 8,300
Size
Dimensions 107 x 45 x 13.1 mm, 59cc, Weight 81g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels, 1.8 inches
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, Customization
Download Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 2000 entries, Call records 20 dialed, 20
received, 20 missed calls, Card slot, microSD (TransFlash)
8.5 MB user memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Yes
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 (with
A2DP) USB Yes, miniUSB
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games downloadable, Colors
Grey, Pink, Mandarine, Azure Blue, Camera 2 MP,
1600x1200 pixels, video, Java MIDP 2.0,
MP3/MP4/AAC/AAC+ player, Stereo FM radio, T9
Calendar, Calculator, Built-in handsfree, Voice memo
Battery
Stand-by Up to 280h, Talk time Up to 3h
The Nokia 3500 classic offers traditional features in a
timeless design. The sleek, comfortable Nokia 3500 clas-
sic will be available as a collection of vibrant colors with
eye-catching keypad split line coloring. The metal frame
around the phone accentuates a sophisticated design lan-
guage and offers protection as well. The Nokia 3500 clas-
sic comes with an FM radio, 2 megapixel camera, instant
messaging and space for 2,000 phone contacts.
Design: 7.1
Features: 6.6
Performance: 6.9
Sony Ericsson K530i
Rs. 9,600
Size
Dimensions 102 x 46 x 14 mm, Weight 92g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, 2 inches
Wallpapers, screensavers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, Customization
Download, order now, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records
30 received, dialed and missed calls, Card slot Memory
Stick Micro (M2), 16 MB shared memory,
Data
GPRS Yes, HSCSD Yes, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, Bluetooth
Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0
Features
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Browser
WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML(NetFront), RSS feeds, Games
downloadable, Colors Warm Silver, Thunder Black
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video; secondary video-
call camera, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player
FM radio with RDS, TrackID music recognition, T9
Picture blogging, Picture editor, Organiser, Voice memo
Battery
Stand-by Up to 395h, Talk time Up to 9h
The Sony Ericsson K530i is a slim 3G phone that
gives full and fast access to the Web, plus performance
imaging with a 2 megapixel camera and a variety of
news, weather and entertainment features. It will even
give you the weather forecast. It's also the first phone to
be compatible with the new GPS Enabler HGE-100, also
announced, which plugs into the phone to turn it into your
own personal satellite navigation system.
Design: 7.2
Features: 7.2
Performance: 7.3
Above prices are subject to change as per market
Informative
Samsung E200
Rs. 7,200
Size
Dimensions 108 x 45 x 9.9 mm, Weight 95g
Display
Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 176x220 pixels, 1.8 inches
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, Amount 30 pres-
set, Customization Download, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records 30
dialed, 30 received, 30 missed calls, Card slot
microSD (TransFlash), buy memory, 20 MB internal
memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD
No, EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G No, WLAN No
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB
Yes, v2.0
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML
Games Yes, order now, Colors Black, Silver, Red
Camera 1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels, video, Java MIDP
2.0, Stereo FM radio, MP3/AAC/AAC+ player, T9
Organiser, To Do list, Built-in handsfree, Voice memo
Battery
Standard battery, Li-Ion 800 mAh, Stand-by Up to
250h, Talk time Up to 3h 30 min
Very good and easy to use; Get your fun frames
and effects for both pictures and videos to make up
them look good. Samsung E200 is very slim and good
looking easy to hold handset which has easy to press
buttons
Design: 7.5
Features: 7.4
Performance: 7.4
LG KE770 Shine
Rs. 7,900
Size
Dimensions 105 x 46 x 9.9 mm, Weight 79g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, 1.77 inches
Mirror effect screen, full metal body, Downloadable wallpapers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, Customization
Download, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records 50 dialed,
50 received, 50 missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash),
buy memory, 70 MB internal memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Class
10, 236.8 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v1.2 with A2DP, USB Yes
Features
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Browser WAP
2.0/xHTML, Games download, Colors Silver, Camera 2 MP,
1600x1200 pixels, video, flash, Java MIDP 2.0,
MP3/AAC++/3GP/MPEG4 player, T9, Organiser, Voice memo
Document viewer
Battery
Stand-by Up to 200h, Talk time Up to 2h 30 min
The screen is 1.7 Inch in size & displays up to 262,000
colors on a high resolution screen. The handset comes with
no opening mechanisms due to its bar design which makes
the handset easy to use & comes with a keypad lock to avoid
any buttons being pressed when the handset is being carried.
The KE770 Shine Bar comes with a beautifully metal effect
keypad which is etched into the handsets casing & is neatly
situated below the phone mirror effect screen. The handset is
extremely slim with a total depth of 10mm & the KE770
weighs only 79 grams includes the fitted battery. The battery
provide up to 200 hours of standby time & approximately 2.5
hours of talk time from a fully charged battery.
Design: 7.2
Features: 7.2
Performance: 7.3
55
 Informative w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k

Nokia 6120 classic LG KG195

Rs. 13,900 Rs. 5,600
Size Size
Dimensions 105 x 46 x 15 mm, 66 cc, Weight 89g Dimensions 100 x 45 x 12.4 mm, Weight 69.9g
Display Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels, 1.8 inches
Downloadable wallpapers, screensavers Downloadable wallpapers
Ringtones Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, AAC, Customization Type Polyphonic (64 channels)
Download, Vibration Yes Memory
Memory Phonebook 500 entries, Call records 10 dialed, 10 received,
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, 10 missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 64 MB
Photocall, Call records, Detailed, max 30 days, Card slot, shared memory
microSD (TransFlash), 35 MB of user memory, - 64 MB Data
SDRAM, 128 MB ROM, ARM 11, 369 MHz CPU GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, Bluetooth
Data Yes, v1.2 with A2DP, USB Yes, v1.1
GPRS Class 11, HSCSD Yes, 43.2 kbps, EDGE Class 32, Features
296 / 177.6 kbits, 3G HSDPA, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML,
A2DP, USB Yes, miniUSB Games
Features Yes, order now, Colors Black, White, Camera VGA, 640x480
OS Symbian OS v9.2, S60 rel. 3.1, Messaging pixels, video, FM radio, Scheduled FM recorder,
SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, Browser MPEG4/MP3 player
WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games Yes + Downloadable Java MIDP 2.0, T9, Organiser, Voice memo
Colors Black, Pearl White, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pix- Battery
els, video(QVGA), flash; secondary QVGA videocall cam- Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 3h
era, Video calling, Java MIDP 2.0, FM stereo radio
Push to talk, MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, Office applications Full Time Masti, Non Stop Fun with LG KG 195. The
(Excel, PDF, Powerpoint, Word, Zip), Voice memo, T9 phone features all multimedia and music options, with quite
Calculator, Built-in handsfree a room for songs and pictures in memory. Standby battery
Battery time is reported up to 300 hours and talk time of over 3
Stand-by Up to 250h, Talk time Up to 3h hours.

The 6120 Classic is a quad-band GSM and dual- Design: 7.7

band 3G phone. The 6120 model supports the 850 and Features: 7.8
2100 Mhz 3G bands. It features a 2" QVGA screen, a Performance: 7.8
microSD slot, 35 MBs of free storage, 64MBs of RAM, 369
Mhz ARM11 CPU, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP/AVRCP sup-
port, a 2.5mm audio jack, miniUSB, 2 MP camera with
flash, QVGA video-call camera, a Li-Ion 890 mAh battery
and an FM stereo radio.

Design: 8.2
Features: 8.1
Performance: 8.2

Motorola KRAZR K1 Sony Ericsson W610i

Rs. 11,500
Size
Dimensions 103 x 42 x 16 mm, Weight 102g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, 30 x 37
mm, Second external CSTN, 256K colors display (96 x
80 pixels), Screensavers and wallpapers,
Downloadable logos
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Download
Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 1000 x 20 fields, Photo call, Call records
40 dialed, 40 received, 40 missed calls, Card slot
microSD (TransFlash), 20 MB internal memory
Data
GPRS, Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE
Class 12, Bluetooth Yes,v1.2 with A2DP, USB Yes
Features
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes, order now
Colors Cosmic Blue, Silver Sail, Camera 2 MP,
1600x1200 pixels, video(CIF), Java MIDP 2.0
MP3/AAC/AAC+ player, T9, Organizer, Calculator
Built-in handsfree, Voice memo
Battery
Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 6h
Rs. 13,000
Size
Dimensions 102 x 46 x 14 mm, Weight 95g
Display
Type TFD, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, 1.96 inches
Wallpapers, screensavers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3, Customization Composer, down-
load, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 1000 x 20 fields, Photo call, Call records 30 received,
dialed and missed calls, Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2), 512 MB
card included, Up to 64 MB user memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Yes, 28.8 kbps
EDGE Yes, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port Yes, USB Yes,
v2.0
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, Browser WAP
2.0/HTML (NetFront), RSS reader, Games Yes + downloadable
Colors, Plush Orange, Satin Black, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels,
autofocus, video, flash, Java MIDP 2.0, Walkman player 2.0
FM radio with RDS, TrackID music recognition, T9, Image viewer
Picture editor, Picture blogging, Organiser, Built-in handsfree
Voice memo/dial
Battery
Stand-by Up to 350h, Talk time Up to 7h

Motorola dictates the design direction in mobile
phones for years, and their most apparent examples
are the RAZR-phones, that became the most popular
device and the ones the other manufacturers regulate
their models with. After a few models from the RAZR
and SLVR families achieved their missions as best-sell-
ers, Motorola decided to use another style that was
sure to become a hit - shiny reflective surface. We first
saw it in pre-production units of the PEBL U6 (called V6
at that time) but it didn't hit the stores due to the easy-
to-catch fingerprints thing, and was available in ordinary
black, and various "sweet" colors later. After a while, the
same glass-finish appeared on the H5 Miniblue
Headset, which is still not commercially available.
The W610 Walkman® phone is all about the detail, whether this
is detail in design that builds on the look of earlier Walkman® phones
or the detailed combination of mobile music with a credible digital cam-
era. The W610 stores up to 470 full-length music tracks on the 512MB
Memory Stick Micro™ (M2) provided, and offers the inventive
TrackID™ music recognition application; a feature that lets the user
record a clip of an unknown music track onto their phone and immedi-
ately receive a notification of the track name, artist and album. Add to
this a 2.0 megapixel camera with auto focus and the W610 is a credi-
ble fusion of phone, music player & digital camera.
Design: 8.2
Features: 8.1
Performance: 8.2

Design: 8.0
Features: 7.7
Performance: 7.7

56

Above prices are subject to change as per market

w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Nokia E51
Rs. 18,800
Size
Dimensions 114.8 x 46 x 12 mm, 61 cc, Weight 100g
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches
Five-way scroll key, Downloadable themes
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Download
Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields,
Photocall, Call records Detailed, max 30 days, Card slot
microSD (TransFlash), hotswap, 130 MB user data mem-
ory, 96 MB SDRAM memory, ARM 11 369 MHz proces-
sor
Data
GPRS Class 32, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 32, 3G
HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11g, VoIP over
WLAN, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port
Yes, USB Yes, v2.0 miniUSB
Features
OS Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI, Messaging
SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, Browser WAP
2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games Downloadable, Colors
Black, Silver, Camera, 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels,
video(QVGA@15fps), Push to talk, Java MIDP 2.0
MP3/AAC/video player, FM radio, Document viewer
T9, Voice command/memo, PIM including calendar, to-do
list, Integrated handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 310h, Talk time Up to 4h 20 min
The E51 is likely a direct replacement of the E50,
though it also looks like a slimmed-down version of the
chunky E90 after losing the QWERTY keyboard. But this
workhorse is no slouch even with a slim figure.
Design: 8.2
Features: 8.4
Performance: 8.3
LG KE970 Shine
Rs.14,800
Size
Dimensions 99.8x50.6x13.8 mm, Weight 119g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inch-
es, Mirror effect screen, full metal body, Downloadable
wallpapers
Rintones
Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, Customization
Download, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records
50 dialed, 50 received, 50 missed calls, Card slot
microSD (TransFlash), buy memory, 50 MB internal
memory, 300 text messages
Data
GPRS Yes, HSCSD No, EDGE Yes, 3G No, WLAN No
Bluetooth Yes, v1.2 with A2DP, Infrared port No,
USB Yes
Features
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Browser WAP
2.0/xHTML, Games Yes + download, Colors Silver,
Titanium Black, Gold, Pink, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200
pixels, autofocus, video(QCIF), flash, Java MIDP 2.0
MP3/AAC++/3GP/MPEG4 player, T9, Organiser
Voice memo, Document viewer (.ppt, .doc, .pdf, .xls, .txt)
Battery
Stand-by Up to 280h, Talk time Up to 3h
Because of its metal frame, the LG KE970 Shine is
nicely weighted, but a lot heavier and a tad longer and
wider than the Chocolate. However, surprisingly it is
1.5mm thinner than its colleague and makes for a trim
and compact proposition. The spring-assisted slider
action is very slick, while the etched keypad is respon-
sive.
Design: 6.2
Features: 5.8
Performance: 6.0
Above prices are subject to change as per market
Informative
Sony Ericsson W950i
Rs. 21,200
Size
Dimensions 106 x 54 x 15 mm, Weight 112g
Display
Type TFT touchscreen, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels,
39 x 53 mm, Handwriting recognition, Wallpapers, screen-
savers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, AAC, Customization
Composer, download, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records Practically unlimited, 4 GB internal memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE
W958c only, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with
A2DP, Infrared port Yes, USB Yes, v2.0
Features
OS Symbian OS v9.1, UIQ 3.0, Messaging SMS, MMS, Email
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML(Opera 8.0), RSS reader
Games Yes + downloadable, Colors Mystic purple, Java
MIDP 2.0, RDS FM radio, MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, T9
Image viewer, Picture editor, Organiser, Voice memo
Built-in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 340h, Talk time Up to 7h 30 min
Sony Ericsson, yet the W950i is nothing like typical bar-
type handsets we have seen the company's series of music-
phones. For a start, it looks and feels more like a smart
phone, sharing an almost identical design as the M600i and
offering both button and touchscreen inputs. Then there is the
omission of an onboard camera which is a first for the
Walkman lineup. The biggest surprise of all is that there is no
memory card slot. In its place is a massive 4GB onboard stor-
age memory, which will certainly appeal to music lovers.
Design: 7.8
Features: 7.6
Performance: 7.8
Samsung i450
Rs. 24,000
Size
Dimensions 101 x 52 x 17.8 mm, Weight 114g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Download, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook Yes, Photocall Call records, 20 dialed, 20 received, 20
missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 40 MB built-in
memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Class 10,
236.8 kbps, 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
USB Yes, v2.0
Features
OS Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI, Messaging SMS, EMS,
MMS, Email Browser, WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games Yes
Colors Dark Blue, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video, flash;
secondary VGA videocall camera, Java MIDP 2.0, Flash player
FM radio with RDS, 3.5 mm audio jack, WMV/3GP/H.263/MPEG4
player, WMA/MP3/AAC/AAC+/OGG/ASF player, Organiser
Document viewer (MS Word, Excel, PPT, PDF), Built-in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 500h, Talk time Up to 5h
In the range of music-inclined devices, also known as Beatz
or Ultra Music, this is the top-of-the-line offering both quality- and
price-wise. That's where we come across a phenomenon when the
line-up's bottom end is represented by the Samsung F210, a hand-
set styled after an MP3 player-pendant, the mid-range solution,
which the Samsung F330 actually is, comes in the form of a con-
ventional slider, and the Samsung i450 boasts dual-slider action.
Design: 8.1
Features: 8.0
Performance: 8.1
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Nokia N93i
Rs. 37,200
Sony Ericsson W890i
Size
Dimensions 108 x 58 x 25 mm, 115 cc, Weight 163g Rs. 25,500
Display
Size
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 36 x 48
Dimensions 104 x 46.5 x 9.9 mm, Weight 78g
mm
Display
Second 65K colors OLED display (128 x 36 pixels),
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches
Twist and rotating screen, Downloadable themes,
Wallpapers, screensavers
Ringtones
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, Customization
Type Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3, AAC, Customization
Download, Vibration Yes
Download, Vibration Yes
Memory
Memory
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields,
Phonebook 1000 x 20 fields, Photo call, Call records
Photocall
30 received, dialed and missed calls, Card slot
Call records Detailed, max 30 days, Card slot miniSD,
Memory Stick Micro (M2), 2 GB card included, Up to 32 MB
hot swap
shared memory
50 MB shared memory, 64 MB SDRAM memory, ARM 11
Data
332 MHz processor
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Yes
Data
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, WLAN No
GPRS Class 32, 107.2/64.2 kbps, HSCSD Yes (via PC
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0
dial-up)
Features
EDGE Class 32, 296 kbps; DTM Class 11, 236.8 kbps, 3G
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging,
Yes, 384 kbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0
Browser, WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML (NetFront 3.4), RSS reader
with A2DP (latest firmware only), Infrared port Yes, USB
Games Yes + downloadable, Colors Espresso Black, Mocha
Yes, v2.0, Pop-Port
Brown, Sparkling Silver, Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels,
Features
video(QVGA@30fps); secondary videocall camera, Java MIDP
OS Symbian OS 9.1, S60 3rd edition, Messaging SMS,
2.0, Walkman player 3.0, TrackID music recognition, T9
MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML,
FM radio with RDS, Image viewer, Picture editor, Organiser
HTML
Built-in handsfree, Voice memo
Games Yes + Java downloadable, Colors Silver, Black,
Battery
Camera
Standard battery, Li-Po 950 mAh (BST-33), Stand-by Up to 360
3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, 3x optical zoom, Carl Zeiss optics,
h, Talk time Up to 9h 30 min
autofocus, video(VGA 30 fps), flash; secondary CIF video call
camera, Video calling and download, UPnP technology
Thiner than a CD casing, Sony Ericsson W890i is the
Java MIDP 2.0, Push to talk, MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, T9
newest member of the SE Walkman series, an elegant and slim
Stereo FM radio, TV out support, Voice command/memo
device that comes fully equipped for special occasions. The
PIM including calendar, to-do list and printing, Photo/video edi-
beauty has brains: W890i has the Walkman player, turbo 3G and
tor, Integrated handsfree
the 3,2 megapixels camera.
Battery
Stand-by Up to 280h, Talk time Up to 3h 30 min
Smooth, with curved edges and a classy metallic finish, W890i
equals style. Using this device for the Internet connections is a
A 3G, 3-megapixel handset with a 3x optical zoom, cam-
nice experience, since it embeds the turbo 3G for fast speed
corder styling and Wi-Fi to boot. But it was also large, heavy
data transfers.
and complex to get to grips with--a real Rubik's Cube of a
phone. But after revolution comes evolution, so can a slimmed-
Design: 8.3
down, blinged-up successor, the N93i, celebrate its successes.
Features: 8.2
Design: 8.0
Performance: 8.4
Features: 8.0
Performance: 8.0

Samsung Armani P520

MOTORAZR2 V9 Rs. 41,500
Rs. 24,500
Size
Size Dimensions 87.5 x 54.5 x 10.5 mm, Weight 85g
Dimensions: 103 x 53 x 13.3 mm, Weight: 125 g Display
Display Type TFT touchscreen, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels,
TFT, 256K colors, 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches, Second 2.6 inches
external 256K colors, 2 inches display (240 x 320 pix- Ringtones
els) with contextual touch interaction Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, Customization
Ringtones Download, Vibration Yes
Type: Polyphonic MP3 Memory
Memory Phonebook 1000 entries, Photo call, Call records 30 dialed,
3.5G edition with 4GB expandable memory 30 received, 3 0 missed calls, Card slot microSD
Data (TransFlash), 60 MB embedded memory
MicroUSB v2.0 high speed, 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, Data
EDGE Class 12, GPRS Class 10, Integrated Stereo GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No
Bluetooth wireless technology with A2DP and AVRCP EDGE Yes, 3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with
profiles. A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0
Features Features
2.0 mega pixel camera, Windows Media Player 11, Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML
Pre-loaded games, WAP 2.0/xHTML, MotoSync™ - Games 2 + downloadable, Colors Black, Camera
Over the air synchronisation of Email, Phonebook and 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, video(CIF), Java MIDP 2.0
Calendar, Java MIDP 2.0. MP3/ACC/ACC+ player, Document viewer (.pdf, .doc, .ppt,
Battery .xls), Organizer, Voice memo
Talk Time: approximately 210 min Battery
Standby Time: approximately 260 hour Standard battery, Li-Ion 880 mAh, Stand-by Up to 220h
Talk time Up to 6h
A remarkably sleek and well-designed flip phone,
this latest version of the RAZR2 bears that certain You will definitely notice the Armani phone ones you
"wow" factor and comes in a glossy mahogany sheen see it. It is different but in the good way: as it can be
that shines both inside and out. It offers a satisfying expected from a phone branded under the Armani name, it
mix of classic features alongside new and innovative is highly stylish and pleasant both for the eye and the hand.
functions like V9 is enabled for Motorola's "MotoSync," It is very small and thin, comes in unique color and has
which can synchronize mobile email, phonebook and metal battery cover, which helps for both the great feel and
calendar to the personal computer and "See What I look.
See," which lets users to stream live video images to
other wireless customers during a call. Design: 8.2
Features: 7.5
Performance: 7.5

58

Above prices are subject to change as per market

 Informative w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k

Samsung i640 / i640V

Samsung i640 is an HSDPA capable 3.5G slider phone with an
unusual 320 x 240 pixel display. In almost all regards, the i620 and
i640 are completely identical. The one significant difference between
the two devices is that the i640 boosts the speed of HSDPA down-
loads to 3.6 Mbps from the rather slow 1.8 Mbps on the previous
model.
A quick tour around the specifications on the SGH-i640 show that
this is a capable enough device. The 2.4" wide aspect QVGA display
is pretty good. i640 also suffers from a pretty camera.
On the other hand, there is a practical QWERTY keyboard and
the Samsung i640 runs Windows Mobile 6. So, it seems obvious
that Samsung are pitching the SGH-i640 against BlackBerry hand-
helds and other messaging devices, rather than aiming this at the
consumer market.
Internal memory is stated to be 141MB and this is expandable
with microSD cards. As with many Samsung devices, the i640 is tri-
band GSM only with 2100 MHz WCDMA for 3G and 3.5G support.
Physically, the i640 measures 95 x 61 x 16mm and weighs 126
grams.
The SGHi-i640's battery life has been quoted as a maximum of
6 hours with up to 15 days standby, although it's not clear if that is
on 3G or GSM. The 1200 mAH battery should be sufficiently beefy
to keep the i640 running for quite a while.

Nokia 6650
Nokia 6650 is a rare clamshell phone from Nokia with HSDPA (3G broadband)
and GPS (satellite navigation) support. It's also notable for being another occasion
where Nokia have recycled the name of an older handset.
One immediately obvious thing to even a casual observer is that the Nokia 6650
very closely resembles the Motorola RAZR range. The flat keypad, slim profile and
even the "kick" under the number keys are all characteristic of Motorola handsets,
but it's not the first time that Nokia have made a RAZR-like phone - the disastrous
Nokia N76 is another example.
The Nokia 6650 is a pretty interesting device in its own right. The inclusion of A-
GPS (Assisted GPS) is unusual in a clamshell phone, and on top of that the 6650
has HSDPA high-speed data giving download speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps.
Inside is a 2.2" 240 x 320 pixel display, with a smaller display on the outside
with dedicated media keys. The Nokia 6650 has a microSD slot, FM radio and Blue-
tooth.
The camera is a fairly basic 2 megapixel unit, but it does come with a flash. As
far as we can tell, the 6650 lacks a secondary video calling camera - but these are
sometimes well hidden, so we could be wrong.
We don't know if this is an S60 smartphone or not, and Nokia have not specified
the size, weight and battery life at the time of going to press.

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Motorola Z9 (MOTO Z9)

Motorola has officially announced Moto Z9, which supports 3G and GPS.
This is no Nokia N95 beater - there's a fairly basic 2 megapixel camera with
flash, a QVGA resolution screen, HSDPA support, stereo Bluetooth and mi-
croSD expandable memory.
Apart from the GPS, this is a 3G capable phone with HSDPA high-speed
data. It does support quad-band GSM though, so travelers using the Z9 will at
least be able to use the phone when on the run.
The media player on the Z9 supports MP3, WMA, eAAC+, Real and WAV
formats, plus streaming video. The media control keys light up when available,
which is quite a nice feature. On top of all this, the MOTO Z9 has a web
browser, email client and instant messaging support.
It's a surprisingly weighty phone coming in at 4.9 ounces or 139 grams.
That's heavier than the N95, and the Motorola Z9 has fewer features too. Talk-
time is up to 4 hours with a maximum of 13 days standby time.
The Motorola Z9 is available in US; however it may revolve around the
globe in three to four months. Its price would be between PKR 10,000 to PKR
12,000.

Nokia 6300i
The Nokia 6300 was (in our opinion) one of the best phones of 2007. Despite being around
for a little while, the 6300 is still hugely popular and it delivers all the features that most people
want in a very attractive package.
So, Nokia are playing pretty safe with the new Nokia 6300i - which is largely the same spec-
ification as the original 6300, except that it now has WiFi and can support VoIP calls (internet
telephony).
But wait a moment.. didn't Nokia already make a WiFi version of the 6300? Yes, they did -
the Nokia 6301 appears to be almost exactly the same phone in every respect apart from the
colour of the case. A close examination of the specifications shows a few minor software en-
hancements, but other than that, this is the same as the existing 6301.
As we said, the original 6300 was a very good phone, and the 6300i retains the 2" 240 x 320
pixel display, 2 megapixel camera and sensible layout. Although this being 2008, 2 megapixel
cameras are a bit basic and the video capture resolution is only 176 x 144 pixels at 15 frames
per second. The microSD slot in the 6300i can support memory cards of up to 4GB (up from
2GB on the 6301 and 6300). There's a 512MB memory card included in the standard sales
package, with Nokia Maps installed There's also a desk stand and stereo wired headset as
standard.
Nokia say that the 6300i will be available during Q2 2008, at around PKR 10,000. That rep-
resents pretty good value, and is significantly cheaper than the 6300 and 6301 at launch.

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Nokia N82 in Black

A new coat of paint does not make a new phone, but in the case of the Nokia N82 in Black there's
a little more to this variant than just a different color.
Most features are identical to the original Nokia N82, but the Black version now supports geotag-
ging, a feature that was all the rage at last month's big Mobile World Congress event. Put simply, this
version of the N82 will record the GPS position of your photograph, so its exact location is recorded.
This is useful for sorting photos, but certain filesharing sites can also read the GPS location data for
easy identification.
Although it's a fairly normal looking phone, the Nokia N82 comes with A-GPS (assisted GPS), a
5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, WiFi, HSDPA high-speed data, 3G UMTS / WCDMA,
a stereo FM radio and microSD expandable memory. This is basically the same package as on the
original N82 - so it's a pretty formidable handset underneath.
In addition, the black N82 comes with a free trial of Nokia's navigation package, support for N-
Gage gaming and on top of that, this is a Symbian S60 smartphone - so users can add more appli-
cations later.
This is really just a software upgrade of the original platform, so presumably owners of the original
silver N82 will be able to upgrade their handsets to support geotagging. It would be nice if this was
enable for N95, N95 8GB and E90 customers too.
Nokia say that the N82 in Black should be available during Q2 2008, at an estimated price of
around PKR 35,000.

MOTOROLA U9
Motorola now know how to buck a design trend. That was until recently, when Motorola
decided to continue on with the success of the PEBL design and launch the new Motorola
U9, a direct upgrade to the popular PEBL phones which were originally named U6. U9
comes in Black, Wine Red, Pink and Purple colors, but in Pakistan only purple & pink are
available.
Motorola have obviously worked hard on the looks of this model and to be fair they
seem to have got it right. Instead of opting for the pastel colors of before, the manufacturer
has now gone down the metallic route giving the casing of the phone a glossy glint of ex-
pense and sophistication, these are not expensive phones but the new U9 model do look
far more expensive than the original.
What most girls are fond of is lanyards for their phones and the U9 can be carried with
one - the holes can be found on the top edge. Dressed to impress, the Motorola U9 is
snazzy, sexy and seriously fashionable especially for girls who want exclusivity; and with
more color variants on the way this new U-Series range looks set to be as successful as
the original U6 models, if not more so.

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Samsung F110 (SGH-F110)/Adidas mi-

Coach
As a phone, the Samsung F110 comes with a fairly basic 176 x 220 pixel display, a 2
megapixel camera and it looks a little on the plain side. It does have 1GB of non-expandable
memory, which makes it useful as an MP3 player and it comes with Bluetooth as well.
But in its other guise as the Adidas miCoach, the SGH-F110 forms the heart of a personal
training system that integrates with a fitness coach application with an optional heart rate
monitor, stride sensor, a web application to create training applications and of course some
snazzy Adidas sportswear to go with it.
It's not just a case of a Samsung slider with an Adidas badge slapped on it, Adidas have
worked with the Athletes' Performance Institute at Arizona State University to come up with a
complete package for its users.. people who we suspect are somewhat more sporty than the
average Mobile Gazette reader.
We understand that you can even upload data from the miCoach sensors to your blog in
real time. So, if you've just run a marathon and are absolutely exhausted, it saves you all the
effort of having to write about it.
It looks like a pretty good niche product. Our worry would be this - compatibility. What hap-
pens if you equip yourself with all the sensors and gadgets that come with the miCoach, and
then your handset becomes obsolete? The average lifespan of a mobile phone for many
users is around two years, so it could be that the F110 will be obsolete before you have got-
ten the full use from it.
Samsung and Adidas say that the F110 miCoach is available now.

Trend T-786i Dual Sim GSM

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

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MOTOROLA RAZR2 V9
The latest incarnation of RAZR handsets to make an appearance in the mar-
ket is RAZR2 V9. Motorola offers its newest mixture of high fashion and high
functionality in the V9. A remarkably sleek and well-designed flip phone, this lat-
est version of the RAZR2 bears that certain "wow" factor and comes in a glossy
mahogany sheen that shines both inside and out.
It is an exciting evolution of the RAZR™ brand and the ultimate iconic feature
phone. RAZR2 V9 has a stainless steel frame which makes it durable and re-
silient helping to ensure an ultra-thin shape with a strong structure. It defines the
next trend in 3G HSDPA 3.6 Mbps technology which helps connect users to the
Internet. With mesmerizing appearance and a new, richer multimedia experi-
ence, RAZR2 V9 is the ultimate stylish feature phone for the media-hungry con-
sumer. It's a sleeker outside and a more powerful inside. It is a beautiful phone
that will keep consumers both connected and in style.
Motorola's RAZR2 V9 offers a satisfying mix of classic features alongside
new and innovative functions like V9 is enabled for Motorola's "MotoSync," which
can synchronize mobile email, phonebook and calendar to the personal com-
puter and "See What I See," which lets users to stream live video images to
other wireless customers during a call.

LG KE970
The LG KE970 is a beautiful and highly capable mobile phone which is better known as the LG
Shine. The beautiful KE970 Shine is the second Black Label Series mobile handset deigned by LG.
The highly attractive mobile phone has been given the name LG Shine due to its stunning appear-
ance & mirror effect casing. The LG Shine comes in a super slim casing with a tactile slide opening
mechanism.
The phone comes with a shiny stainless steel casing & with a large mirror effect screen. The
screen displays a real mirror when the LG Shine is in its closed position, for all to admire. The
handset has a roll bar navigation tool which allows the user to scroll through menu with ease. The
keypad is etched into the stainless steel surface & the keys have a blue backlight which is highly ef-
fective. The keypad can be accessed when the handset is in its slide open position.
The LG KE970 Shine is an appearance & feature focused mobile phone which will be admired
by all. The LG Shine is from the same family as the popular LG KG800 Chocolate which is also a
slide opening mobile phone with a high quality finish and imaging focused features. It has also been
developed for the Korean mobile phone market where it is known as the LG SV420 Shine. The LG
SV420 is identical in design to the European LG KE970 Shine.
The large screen provides a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels on a 2.2 Inch high colour screen. The
screen provides the user with a sharp and clear viewing tool which comes with the stylish mirror ef-
fect feature. The user can take photos and record video footage with ease using the built in imaging
features. The user can save, edit, share & store their photos and video footage. The LG KE970
Shine comes with a photo album & video gallery which allows the user to store & locate their pho-
tos and video easily.

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Sony Ericsson T303

T303 is a very compact device, it has a long battery life and it looks good. But
the specification reads like a handset from a few years ago. The Sony Ericsson
T303 has a basic 128 x 160 pixel TFT display, a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth
and an FM radio. Overall size is 83 x 47 x 15mm and the T303 weighs 93 grams.
Sony Ericsson T303 comes with a multimedia player, but just 8MB of non-
expandable memory. Yes, we did say megabytes and not gigabytes. That's enough
for about a single song and no more. More usefully, the FM radio comes with
TrackID to help identify the song that is playing.
Talktime is an impressive 9 hours, with up to 16 days standby time, significant-
ly better than other similar models. There will be three variants, the T303a is a 850
/ 1800 / 1900 MHz GSM variant for North America, the T303c is a 900 / 1800 / 1900
MHz version for China and the T303 is a 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz version for the rest
of the world (in previous Sony Ericsson naming conventions, this would have been
the T303i).
It's an attractive looking phone, but a very basic one - so price will be a key
issue. We would say that anything more than PKR 7,000 or so would be too expen-
sive. The T303 should be available from mid 2008.

Nokia Morph & Nokia Remade

One of two very different concept phones from Nokia, the Nokia Morph is a the-
oretical future device based on nanotechnology that can change shape and size
according to function. The concept is currently a theoretical one only, and is the
result of research between Nokia and the University of Cambridge.
Nokia say that it is possible that some nanotech elements could be incorporated
into handsets within the next seven years, but there are potential pitfalls with nan-
otechnology too. Even though Nokia's Dr. Tapani Ryhanen says that they "seek a
safe and controlled way to develop and use new materials," there is always the
"grey goo" problem which might accidentally destroy the world.
The Nokia Remade is an utterly different approach to handset design. Utilising a
high proportion of recycled materials in its construction, the Remade uses a body of
recycled aluminium, plastic and rubber to reduce the reliance on new materials. The
display and screen have also been redesigned to minimise environmental impact,
and overall the Remade contains many technologies that seem easily reachable.
Nokia have certainly made an effort to come up with some practical and achiev-
able ways of reducing the environmental impact of the mobile phone manufacturing
process, something that they started with the Nokia 3110 Evolve, but what is sur-
prising is that this level of recycling is not already taking place, and that it is only
Nokia who seem to be pushing this forward.
Remember, both of these handsets are concepts, but the Remade device con-
tains technologies that are very likely to be seen during next year. As for the Morph..
well perhaps we will see the Morph and Remade battle it out to destroy or defend
the earth sometime in the future? Who knows?

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Sony Ericsson W910i

It looks like just another "Walkman" brand slider, but the Sony Ericsson
W910i manages to pack lot of features into a relatively tiny package.
Weighing just 86 grams, the W910i is actually a 3G UMTS device with
HSDPA (3.5G) support, a 320x240 pixel resolution screen, expandable
memory, an FM radio, 2 megapixel camera (plus a video calling camera) and
Bluetooth. This makes the W910i one of the lightest 3G phones on the mar-
ket.
Despite the somewhat conservative styling, the W910i is very much a
"next generation" music phone from Sony Ericsson. The old Disc2Phone
software has been upgraded to a full set of media manager applications,
including the PlayNow data and file manager, and the W910i also supports
a feature called "SenseMe" that plays tracks according to your mood. No, we
don't think that the W910i has a mood ring built in.. but what it does have is
a some clever software to help categorise your tracks, plus a motion-sensi-
tive "Shake" control to randomly select a song that matches your selection
criteria. The W910i also supports stereo Bluetooth playback.
The motion sensor can also be used in gameplay, and games can be
played in either a landscape or portrait orientation. It isn't quite a "PSP
Phone", but it comes fairly close.

Samsung J700
The Samsung J700 mobile phone blends sleek styling with
essential features, creating a high-class handset with a practi-
cal price. The reflective slide-open casing is less than 15mm
deep, yet it has room for a music player and an FM radio.
You'll also find a 1.3 megapixel camera for your photos and
videos, along with an expandable memory for storage. In
addition, mobile internet browsing offers plenty of opportuni-
ties for more entertainment. Plus there's Bluetooth and USB
connectivity, making it easy to transfer your music and share
files.
But it's not just the features of the Samsung J700 that'll
attract your attention. The slim design and the glossy casing
have turned it into a contemporary fashion statement. Here's
a handset that you'll enjoy using, and you'll enjoy being seen
with.

67
w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k Informative

MOTO YUVA W230

The Motoyuva W230 is an entry-level handset that is simple and easy to use. It is a slight upgrade from the previous Motoyuva
that was simply a basic radio mobile. The new version promises to be a step ahead by incorporating an MP3 player. There are
enough basic features, and with GPRS as bonus, plenty of users will be happy with this handset. It’s great to see mobile phone
manufacturers incorporating multiple features into low-end handsets targeted at the entry-level segment.

The phone has been an absolute delight. I had originally been planning and decided on buying Samsung’s C160 or C170. Both
had FM radio along with GPRS - two of my most needed features. That was until this bolt from the blue came out from
Motorola. It has a terrific feature of micro SD slot something unheard of in this low-end price range. Along with an mp3 player
it was a cool music phone with some good looks to boot. I rather liked the candybar design of the W230; it’s ergonomic and
lightweight and the blue keypad light combined with the black phone at night looks awesome!

Most people are scared of Motorola when it comes to messaging but it’s not that difficult actually. If you are switching from
Nokia you will probably have a problem for the first month. But most young people should catch up. But if you are a Nokia
lover and are reluctant to change about speed of text messaging better stick to Nokia. But as they say Change is good!

The user interface is decent and not at all bad. Nokia is probably better by about 5% but that’s not such a big difference because
Nokia has no phones in this price range with this much features. When coming to the biggest feature of this phone, the music
experience, it’s great. If you like listening to some good music with some good clarity and quality then it’s for you. Headphones
are pretty loud and the speakers are good. You can set Mp3 alarms and can have Mp3 ring tones as well. The MP3 player is
strictly a no-frills job. It has a simple interface and the handsets navigation-pad can be used as controls for the player. For that
alone, the W230 is a worthy purchase for the music-loving buyers, especially when considering the W230's pocket-friendly price.
Another big plus considering the price of the W230 is the ability to access and surf the web with just one click, utilizing the
now standard WAP 2.0 and XHTML.

FM radio is clear and sound is a bit louder than Mp3 player. You can also record FM and use it as alarms. The
special feature of the W230, apart from the very loud and crisp audio is sharing your FM radio station via SMS
to others. You can also record 1 minute worth of FM radio and turn it into your alarm or SMS alert. Though it
may look a bit cheap, it still delivers in terms of performance. Motorola’s consumer studies show that in terms
of features, the camera has been moved down to number 3 with a preference for music as the second most
important feature on a phone. First of course are the calls and SMS.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

The W230 is the cheapest mobile phone with good MP3 audio playing capability. The W230 is
capable of playing up to 2GB of music via microSD card. Perhaps the closest reservation I had
was the fact that it doesn’t use a 3.5mm audio jack for audio. Instead it used a 2.5mm jack for
audio accessories. I realize that the inclusion of a 3.5mm slot is reserved only for the ROKR series,
the latest one being the ROKR E8. Hence, this is why it is called the “W” of “wow so cheap!!”
series.

69
 No Line Rent
Competitive Rates
Crystal Clear Voice
Free VAS
 w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Nokia shows the N810 WiMax Edition. The Web tablet, which features a 4.1-inch touch screen and a slide-
out keyboard, is likely to join a tiny laptop from ASUSTek Computer as the first gadgets that can use Sprint
Nextel Corp.'s WiMax network, in addition to laptop cards and desktop modems.
Bob Frymire of Ecino, Calif. checks out a map at the CTIA wireless show at the Hilton convention center
in Las Vegas.
A Motorola logo is seen on their building at an industrial estate in Singapore. Motorola will end its
mobile phone production in Singapore by the end of this year, a move that will affect 700 jobs at the
plant, local media reported.
Pictorial
Japan's electronics giant Sony employee displays the new 10 mega pixel digital
camera "Cybershot DSC-W170", equipped with a 10.3 mega-pixel CCD at the com-
pany's showroom in Tokyo. The new Cybershot features the new face detection
technology which enables it to recognize the faces of children and adults. By
selecting "children priority" or "adult priority", the camera automatically adjusts
focus and exposure for the subject.
NTT DoCoMo's popular mobile phone "Raku-raku phone" (L), produced by Fujitsu
and Softbank's new mobile phone "Kantan Keitai" (R), produced by Toshiba is dis-
played at a press conference in Tokyo. NTT DoCoMo and Fujitsu filed an injunction
to sell Softbank's mobile handset targetting elderly people for easy use as it looks
very similar.
71
w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k Informative

LG KG288 LG KU990 Viewty

Laser Cut Keypad The LG Viewty KU990 might sound like it's a digital photo
Laser cut keypad has improved durability of keypad a lot com- frame but it's actually LG's latest camera phone that features
pared to rubber keypad of previous model and It also accom- an impressive 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and
plished beautiful shape at the front design xenon flash.
White LED Backlight Not only can this handset brag about its camera, but it should
With adaptation of white LED, KG288 shows luxurious appearance also be very proud of its lovely large touchscreen, which lets
when backlight is on
you view images easily. On top of this, it has the ability to
One Piece Back Cover
One piece back cover has improved physical strength on the back upload videos directly to YouTube and to shoot video at 120
side and It also has formed neat design for KG288 frames per sec-
FM Radio ond, which
KG288 offers FM Radio function, which we believe is the most allows you to
welcomed function for VLT User. Most of user of this tier use FM slow it down and
Radio function to enjoy music and getting news while moving or watch it in slow-
traveling and entertainment needs is continuously increasing.
motion, as seen
in the clip below.
This feature's
ideal for shoot-
ing fast-moving
sports footage.

Design
Many camera phones take good pictures but
don't look that great themselves -- fortunately the
LG KU990 Viewty is not an ugly camera phone.
LG KG290 In fact, we can go so far as to say it's one of the
best-looking camera phones we've seen so far.
Size
In line with LG's latest and greatest handsets, the
Dimensions 92 x 46 x 17.7 mm, Weight 90 g
Display KU990 has an understated design that feels func-
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels, 1.77 inches, Downloadable tional but also exudes a certain amount of class.
wallpapers It feels light but not plasticky and looks more like
Ringtones a high-end handset than the cheap LG phones
Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, Customization Download, Vibration we've seen in the past.
Yes Similar to the LG Prada and Apple's iPhone, the
Memory
KU990 features a large touchscreen with three
Phonebook Yes, Photocall, Call records 40 dialed, 40 received, 40
missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), buy memory, 5 MB shared mechanical keys at the bottom, the end and send
memory call keys, and the cancel key. While the touch-
Data screen is prone to fingerprints and scratches, it is
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No, EDGE No3G very attractive.
No, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, Infrared port No, USB Yes Positioned at the top-left section of the back of
Features the handset is the KU990's star feature, a 5-
Messaging SMS, MMS, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes, order
megapixel camera, which disappointingly isn't
nowColors Black, Gray, Camera 1.3 MP, 1280x960 pixels, video, Java
MIDP 2.0 MP3/WMA/ААС++ player, FM radio, Calculator, Organiser, protected by a lens cover. Next to the camera is
World time Voice memo, Built-in handsfree xenon flash and autofocus light, similar to on the
Battery Sony Ericsson K810i.
Stand-by Up to 200h, Talk time Up to 2h On the right side of the KU990 are two dedicated camera keys and a switch to change
Design: 7.3 - Features: 7.3 - Performance: 7.1 modes. The mode switch is a little tough to change at times but the shutter key is well-
sized and very easy to press, which isn't always the case on camera phones.

Specifications
Size
Dimensions 103.5 x 54.4 x 14.8 mm, Weight 112 g
LG KG270 Display
Size Type TFT touchscreen, 256K colors, Size 240 x 400 pixels, 3 inches, Flash UI,
Dimensions 98 x 45 x 12.9 mm, Weight 60g Downloadable wallpapers
Display: Ringtones
Type TFT, 65K colors Size 128 x 128 pixels, Downloadable wallpapers Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, Customization Composer, Download,
Ringtones: Vibration Yes
Type Polyphonic (16 channels), Customization, Download, Vibration
Yes
Memory
Memory: Phonebook 500 entries, Photocall, Call records 40 dialed, 40 received, 40 missed
Phonebook 300 entries, Call records 10 dialed, 10 received, 10 missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), buy memory, 100 MB shared memory
calls Data
Card slot No GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No, EDGE Yes, 3G HSDPA,
Features: 3.6 Mbps, WLAN No
Messaging SMS, Browser No, Games Yes, order now, Colors Pink, Bluetooth Yes, v1.2 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0
Black
Camera No, Java, FM radio, T9, Organiser, Calculator, Built-in hands-
Features
free Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games Yes,
Battery: order now, Colors Black, Dark Silver, Camera 5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus,
Standard battery, Li-Ion 750 mAh, Stand-by Up to 250h video(VGA 30fps, QVGA up to 120fps), strobe flash; secondary VGA videocall cam-
Talk time Up to 3 era, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/MPEG4/WMV/AAC/DivX player, FM radio with RDS,
Organiser, Document viewer (DOC, XLS, PDF), Voice memo, Built-in handsfree
Design: 7.6 Battery
Features: 6.3
Performance: 6.5
Standard battery, Li-Ion 1000 mAh, Stand-by Up to 430h, Talk time Up to 4h
Design: 8.4 - Features: 8.3 - Performance: 8

73

20+ C-Level Speakers Include:
Anuraj Gambhir, President,
SPICE TELECOM
Rajesh Sawhney, President
Entertainment, RELIANCE
Irfan W. Khan, Executive Vice
President, TELENOR PAKISTAN
Rajesh Kumar, Chief of Strategic
Planning & New Technologies, BSNL
Neil Chakravarti, Senior Vice
President, ZEE TELEFILMS
Shahid Chughtai, Head of
Corporate Quality Assurance,
WARID TELECOM
Rajat Kakar, General Management,
UNIVERSAL MUSIC INDIA
Adrian Scrase, VP International
Partnerships, ETSI
Arif Malik, Sr. Manager / Head
Of Revenue Assurance & Business
Intelligence, WARID TELECOM
Paul Shoker, CEO,
SPICE MOBILE VAS
"Excellent, educative and a great experience"
(CS, MTNL, Mumbai)
Endorsing Association:
www.ComWorldSeries.com/IndiaSAsia
Fax: +44 (0)207 017 4747
3584 AW.indd 1
Op d fo
at
ten
er r F
11th
at R
or EE
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s
Annu
Even
t India &
South Asia
Com23-24 April 2008
Mumbai, India
Capitalise On Mobile Broadband, Convergence And Digital
Content In The World’s Fastest Growing Telecoms Market
Evolved from GSM > 3G India to deliver an expanded programme & geographical focus
Gain Mission-Critical
St Age
6 amed a
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Harbinder Narula, Head of
Insights On:
Content Acquisitions & Partnerships,
GOOGLE
> Illustrating The Potential Benefits Of Infrastructure
Sharing For 3G
Ashish Thomas, Director,
SINGTEL GROUP INNOVATIONS
> Dealing With Future Spectrum Challenges
Anil Tandan, CTO,
IDEA CELLULAR > How Do Indian And South Asian Telecom Players Breed
Pankaj Sethi, President Steady Innovation?
Value Added Services, TATA
TELESERVICES > Evaluating The Evolution Of Mobile Technologies Such
Jagbir Singh, Group CTO Mobility, As: GSM, CDMA And WiMax
BHARTI AIRTEL
Senthilkumar Sundaram,
> Rural Penetration: Is It An Opportunity For Increasing
Head - Mobile Business, MSN ARPU Or Subscriber Growth?
Arvind Kumar Srivastava,
> The Role Of Mobile Advertising In Driving Mobile Content
General Manager of GSM, MTNL
Sales And Carrier Revenues
Roberto Gavazzi,
Senior Project Manager, > Mobile Broadcast TV Services: What Will Work And
TELECOM ITALIA
Where Is It Going?
Umair Mohsin, Segment
and Pricing Manager, > Evaluating The Progress And Technical Challenges For
TELENOR PAKISTAN
Developing 3G Low Cost Handsets
Part of the: Com
World Series
Produced by:
www.ComWorldSeries.com
Supporting Associations: Sponsors:
www.ComWorldSeries.com/IndiaSAsia
Register Today
Telephone: +44 (0)207 017 5506 itmevents@informa.com
Operators: operators@informa.com
4/3/08 10:31:23
www.flare.com.pk
AMSUNG has announced its new brand
S positioning for SAMSUNG Mobiles, which
is reflected in its new, spunky, tagline -
'Next is What ?' being used in all its communica-
tion material for mobiles .
Samsung released 5 new mobile phones
along with the appointment of Aamir Khan, the
famous Indian actor, as its brand ambassador
for the South Asian country.
The new handsets released includes
Samsung SGH-G800 (or simply G800),
Samsung i550, Samsung i450, Samsung D880
and Samsung J210.
Samsung G800 is a high-end slider phone
that offers HSDPA connectivity (7.2 Mbps), a 5
Megapixel camera with auto focus, xenon flash,
3x optical zoom and video recording, Music and
video players, TV out, Stereo FM radio,
Bluetooth printing, Internet and email capabili-
ties, document viewer, 160MB of internal memo-
ry and microSD card support.
Samsung i550 is a candybar that also fea-
tures HSDPA connectivity (but only at 3.6 Mbps),
plus Symbian OS 9.2, Wi-Fi, a 3.15 Megapixel
camera with flash, auto focus and video, GPS,
Google Maps, trackball for easy navigation,
Flash player, Multimedia player and so on.
Samsung i450 is another Symbian phone,
but it's a music-centered slider that has mid-end
features including a 2 Megapixel camera,
Flare Report Telecom
HSDPA, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP,
USB 2.0 and so on.
Samsung D880 packs dual-
sim technology, allowing you to
use two SIM cards at the same
time. It also has a 3.15 Megapixel
camera, Music player, TV out,
Bluetooth and other nice but com-
mon features.
The last phone introduced by
Bollywood actor Aamir Khan poses with a Samsung mobile phone at a press conference in
Mumbai, India. Samsung Telecommunications India announced the appointment of Khan as its
brand ambassador for Samsung Mobile phones in India.
Samsung in India is Samsung these qualities in Aamir Khan. We are indeed
J210, an improved version of very proud and privileged to have him as our
Samsung J200 created for users Brand Ambassador," said Mr. H. B. Lee,
who want more affordable hand- President & CEO, Samsung South West Asia
sets, which offers a 2 Megapixel Headquarters.
camera, Bluetooth, FM Radio and Globally, Aamir Khan is the second brand
other basic features. ambassador chosen by Samsung this year. A
Samsung will try to leverage on few weeks ago the company partnered with
Aamir Khan's popularity for advertising the Elissa, the famous Lebanese singer, which
newly announced phones as well as its future became Samsung's music category brand
devices. "The Samsung brand stands for quali- ambassador and launched Impulz i450 (another
ties of innovation, change, self-expression and version of the i450 phone) in the Middle-
75
excellence in performance. And one can find East.





 www.flare.com.pk
Telecom

ony Ericsson was very impressive at the recent CNET Asia Readers' Choice 2007/8 awards, winning three out of only four pos-

S sible GOLD awards for mobile phones. These awards are voted by the CNET readers in the region and reflects the appeal of
Sony Ericsson products to the readers.
Best Camera Phone
GOLD - Sony Ericsson K850i
Sony Ericsson K850i Cyber-shot Best Music Phone
The phone has dedicated camera Clean sweep in the music phone
controls; microSD and Memory Stick category!
Micro compatibility; Xenon flash and Sony Ericsson W910i Walkman
LED light; Bluetooth stereo; HSDPA The phone has slim design; built-
connectivity. in motion sensor; large 2.4-inch
According to CNET: The K850i LCD; HSDPA connectivity.
Cyber-shot is one of the best camera- According to CNET: The W910i
phones available in the market right is great for those looking to pur-
now, thanks to its dedicated controls, chase a trendy music phone with a
good performance and natural-looking little bit of fun, but which doesn't lack
images. in features.

Sony Ericsson W660i Walkman

The phone has classic yet func- Sony Ericsson W580i Walkman
tional design; thumb-friendly con- The phone has slick and slim
trols; Bluetooth stereo; FM radio; design; funky features including
external memory card slot. Walkman music player and
The W660i's decent all-round pedometer; solid build.
feature set, straightforward design Sony Ericsson's W580i is a
and user interface are likely to sexy, thin slider that you'll want to
attract the mainstream crowd. carry in your pocket for its MP3
music player, radio or just to use
the built-in pedometer.

The ringtone "Nokia tune" is actually based Similarly, the "Ascending" 2006 (1st in network communications,

1 on a 19th century guitar work named "Gran

Vals" by Spanish musician Francisco
Tárrega. The Nokia Tune was originally named
"Grande Valse" on Nokia phones but was
changed to "Nokia Tune" around 1998 when it
became so well known that people referred to it
as the "Nokia Tune."
2) The world's first commercial GSM call was
made in 1991 in Helsinki over a Nokia-supplied
network, by Prime Minister of Finland Harri
Holkeri, using a Nokia phone.
3) Nokia is currently the world's largest digital
camera manufacturer, as the sales of its cam-
era-equipped mobile phones have exceeded
those of any conventional camera manufacturer.
4) The "Special" tone available to users of
Nokia phones when receiving SMS (text mes-
sages) is actually Morse code for "SMS".
SMS tone is Morse code for
"Connecting
Nokia's slogan.
People,"
The
4th non-US company).
8) Unlike other modern day hand-
sets, Nokia phones do not automatically
"Standard" SMS tone is start the call timer when the call is con-
Morse code for "M" nected, but start it when the call is initi-
(Message). ated. (Except for Series 60 based hand-
5) The Nokia corporate sets like the Nokia 6600)
font (typeface) is the 9) Nokia is sometimes called aikon
AgfaMonotype Nokia Sans font, originally (Nokia backwards) by non-Nokia mobile phone
designed by Eric Spiekermann. Its mobile phone users and by mobile software developers,
User's Guides Nokia mostly used the Agfa Rotis because "aikon" is used in various SDK software
Sans font. packages, including Nokia's own Symbian S60
6) In Asia, the digit 4 never appears in any SDK.
Nokia handset model number, because 4 is con- 10) The name of the town of Nokia originated
sidered unlucky in many parts of Southeast/East from the river which flowed through the town.
Asia. The river itself, Nokianvirta, was named after the
7) Nokia was listed as the 20th most old Finnish word originally meaning sable, later
77
admirable company worldwide in Fortune's list of pine marten.





 www.flare.com.pk Technology

Samsung Touts
"The Best Air Conditioners"
amsung Electronics Co., which has elements and premature aging. of light and deep sleep during the

S always taken aggressive steps in provid-

ing exceptional cooling solutions world-
wide, has surpassed anything on the market with
its new spilt type air conditioner that not only pro-
vides powerful cool fresh air, but actually
improves the quality of the air you breathe.
Samsung's new air conditioners are master-
pieces that merge design with health mainte-
nance. Samsung has made art functional.
With growing concerns for the environment
and health, Samsung's air conditioners are
equipped with the Micro Plasma Ion feature,
which most effectively eliminates viruses such
as influenza, avian influenza, and the corona
virus associated with SARS. MPI technology
generates activated hydrogen and oxygen ions,
which exterminates viruses and allergy-causing
microbes in the air by safely neutralizing them. It
is the world's first technology that is able to neu-
tralize harmful activated oxygen using active
hydrogen, so you are protected from harmful
"Based on our precise studies
over several years, the Micro
Plasma Ion technology not only
protects individuals from harmful
elements such as viruses, aller-
gens, bacteria and molds, but also helps protect
their skin from the harmful Active Oxygen (OH
Radical) that accelerates the aging process of
the skin." said Jingak Chung of Samsung
Electronics.
"Another main feature of Samsung Air condi-
tioners is the Good Sleep Mode, this impressive
temperature control program automatically
makes adjustments to the air temperature during
sleep to maintain optimum skin temperature so
you can enjoy a comfortable sleep and refresh-
ing morning" added Baber Kazmi .
Through extensive research, Samsung
developed a precise temperature control pro-
gram that keeps people at optimal comfort levels
during sleep. People go through different stages
night requiring different tempera-
tures to accommodate the
changes in body temperature dur-
ing these stages. For simplicity,
Samsung has established 3 main
stages of temperature change: During the
"Falling Asleep" Stage, the air conditioner cools
the room quickly by 2 degrees; then in the
"Sound Sleep" Stage the insensible air stream
and controlled temperature maintain optimum
skin temperature for deep and comfortable
sleep; during the last stage "Wake up" the unit
increases room temperature to raise human
body temperature for a refreshing morning.
Samsung's Good Sleep Mode increases
sleep efficiency by more than 10% compared to
sleep modes used by other competitors. With
precise temperature control, you are assured of
restful sleep. The mode also saves up to 30% in
energy consumption compared to normal cool-
ing saving you money.

Samsung Home Theater

Wonderfully Wireless
amsung Electronics, a market leader and performance and offer a clean yet sophisticated

S award-winning innovator in consumer

electronics, is making high-definition
video more accessible than ever to consumers
with its stunning HT-X810 Home Theater Sound
Bar. A self-contained home theater speaker sys-
tem with integrated up converting DVD player,
wireless subwoofer and Bluetooth connectivity,
the HT-X810 is designed to enhance the digital
living room experience and complement
Samsung's HDTV's. Samsung's HT-X810 Home
Theater Sound Bar delivers dynamic, cinema-
quality sound with the streamlined look and con-
temporary convenience of a single wall-mount
unit.
"Focusing on ease of use and offering
Bluetooth capability for connecting to various
portable devices, the HT-X810 is an ideal addi-
tion to any wall-mounted HDTV to boost audio
design," said Jingak Chung, Senior Manager of
Digital Audio & Video Marketing at Samsung
Electronics. "Samsung continues to find ways to
bring flexible, high performance home-theater
products to consumers that can easily fit into any
home décor. The HT-X810 is a great flat panel
TV matching A/V system."
"The HT-X810 Home Theater Sound Bar has
a piano black finish-a look every bit as venerable accommodates a multitude of playback options,
as its performance is exceptional. This self-con- including DVD-Audio, CDs, DivX, JPEG, MP3
tained, wall-mountable home theater speaker and WMA files" briefed Khurram Farooq.
system is designed specifically to fit with all From MP3 players to cell phones to PCs, the
Samsung TV models 40-inches and above, HT-X810 is all about seamless connections. Not
making it a great addition to any room. It fea- only does it easily connect with any Bluetooth-
tures a slot-loading DVD player with Full HD enabled device to expand wireless audio listen-
1080p playback on standard DVDs and a HDMI- ing capabilities even further, it also integrates
CEC output allows the user to control both the easily with a variety of different devices and file
TV and home theater with one remote. It also types.

KalSoft carries out Exchange

Migration at Dubai Islamic Bank
alSoft Pvt Ltd has successfully concluded Dubai Islamic Bank Collaboration and Unified Communication requirements have been imple-

K Pakistan's (DIBPL) migration of Exchange Server 2003 to

Exchange Server 2007, along with Disaster Recovery and Unified
Messaging. This was announced in a statement issued on April 1st.
KalSoft Pvt Ltd and Dubai Islamic Bank had signed an agreement to
carry out migration of Exchange Server 2003 to Exchange Server 2007,
along with Disaster Recovery and Unified Messaging at Dubai Islamic
Bank.
The aim of this implementation was to enhance DIBPL's electronic
communications by empowering them with the latest technology upgrades
that can be offered through Exchange 2007. With the vision of having a
robust, secure and scalable solution, all of DIBPL's Messaging,
mented in a cost effective manner.
Dubai Islamic Bank, as the world's first Islamic Bank, has the unique
distinction of being a pioneering institution that has combined the best of
traditional Islamic values with technology and innovation that character-
izes the best of modern banking. Together KalSoft and DIBPL aim to be at
the forefront of technological advancements towards maintaining high
service standards in the coming years.
This implementation has allowed DIBPL to simplify their everyday busi-
ness activities boost employee productivity and further speed up business
decision-making which in turn enables DIBPL to continue delivery of world
79
class services to its valued clientele.

 w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k Pictorial

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse unveils the new Instinct mobile device during a keynote during the CTIA wireless show at
the Hilton convention center in Las Vegas. Sprint Nextel Corp. said it is betting heavily on the touch-screen
phone that appears to be the closest thing the U.S. market has seen to Apple Inc.'s vaunted iPhone.

Wang Xiaochu, chairman and CEO of China Telecom Corp. speaks during a
press conference in Hong Kong. China Telecom said that its net profit sank 13
percent in 2007 as widespread substitution of mobile phones for fixed phone
lines bit into its traditional stronghold.

Tata Group of Companies Chairman Ratan Tata smiles as he answers journalists at a press conference in New
Delhi, India. Ford Motor Co. is selling its storied Jaguar and Land Rover brands to India's Tata Motors Ltd. in a
deal that will net the U.S. automaker $1.7 billion roughly a third of the price it paid for the two luxury brands.

A girl stares at a humanoid robot playing a trumpet during a press preview of

A model walks past a BMW X6 XDrive 50i on display at Bangkok Motor Show on the outskirts of Bangkok,
indoor shopping mall Tressa in Yokohama, west of Tokyo. 81
Thailand.
 w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k Pictorial

A group photo of journalists who participated in a training workshop regarding 3G technology arranged by Telenor Pak-
istan in a local hotel in Islamabad.

Lahore; Players of MCB team and Associated Group struggling to get hold
on the ball and score goal during Bank Alfalh Chukkers for charity exhibi-
tion Polo Match 2008. MCB team and Associated Group teams Match draw
by 5 - 5 Goals.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takao Doi uses a computer in the Harmony node of the In-
ternational Space Station while Space Shuttle Endeavour is docked with the station in NASA handout photo.

A tour guide (L) collects a navigation system from a tourist and gives him a
walkie-talkie before a group of South Korean tourists drive in their private
cars to cross border in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the two Ko-
reas in Goseong, far northeast of South Korea. It is not allowed to bring in
any form of navigation systems into the North. The walkie-talkies were dis-
tributed to the driving tourists for communications in emergency as it is not
allowed to bring in any mobile phone into the North. Hyundai Asan on Mon-
day began a private-car tour to Mount Kumgang resort in North Korea in
Thomson Corporation Chairman David Thomson speaks to shareholders before they voted in favor of the company's
which 20 vehicles are allowed for the three-day tour to the North.
multibillion-dollar takeover of Reuters Group PLC to create a new company, Thomson Reuters, in Toronto.

83
 w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Pictorial

Web search engine page Google is shown on a computer screen with a black background to support Earth Hour in
this photo taken in Toronto. Google has changed their page background to from white to black in order take part
in Earth Hour, where people were encouraged to turn off their lights for off one hour to make a statement about
climate change.

A foreign visitor uses his mobile phone in front of a model of a Scud-B missile
(R) at a war museum in Seoul. North Korea has sent jet fighters to test the
South's air defences and threatened to reduce its wealthy neighbour to ashes
as it tries to push the new government in Seoul to back off from its hard line
with Pyongyang.

Swiss astronaut Claude Nicolier (R) holds the Swisscube satellite with Nicolas Steiner, electrical engineer of the
project at the Space Center of the Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne. The SwissCube satellite
project, the first 100% Swiss satellite, will be designed and built by students in 17 labs from 6 different schools
and universities.

Kenyans wait to apply for Safaricom shares after the launch of the Initial Public
Offer (IPO) in Nairobi. Thousands of Kenyans queued to buy shares in mobile
phone firm Safaricom on shrugging off calls for east Africa's biggest IPO to be
delayed until a riddle over a mysterious third shareholder was resolved.

A worker sprays part of a television at a factory located in Clark, a former U.S. military base which is now a free 85
trade zone in Pampanga province, north of Manila.
www.flare.com.pk PR Telecom

arid and Ufone signed an agree- today is in line with

W ment to facilitate each other oper-

ators in sharing a common infra-
structure including sites and towers for the
PTA's policy
encourage mobile
to

operators to share a
next ten years. The agreement between common infrastruc-
two telecom companies was based on pro- ture. This mutual
viding an improved quality of services for infrastructure usage
their valued customers as well as speed- will not only be a
ing up of network rollouts. This mutual con- great way of promot-
sent based initiative would not only help ing our corporate
reduce costs for these companies in devel- social responsibility
oping separate sites for their networks but but will also play a
also allow an environment friendly solution significant role in
to communication needs. protecting our envi-
Speaking at the occasion, President ronment.

and CEO Ufone, Abdul Aziz, said "Ufone
has always committed itself to providing a
high quality network for its customers." At
the same agreement signing ceremony,
CEO Warid Telecom, Marwan Zawaydeh, CEO Warid Telecom, (R) Marwan Zawaydeh and President & CEO Ufone, (L) Abdul Aziz are exchanging the
agreement to facilitate each other in sharing common infrastructure.
said, "This agreement that we have signed

arid Telecom is organizing a series of Pakistan. Educating the retailers will also help in the backbone of any leading organization. This

W nationwide Warid retail sales confer-

ences with the aim to educate its retail-
ers. These retail conferences while building
direct relationship between retailers and Warid
Sales teams, will also familiarize the retailers
with new sales standard operating procedures
(SOPs) introduced by the Pakistan Telecom
Authority (PTA).
Management of Warid Telecom is constantly
trying to evolve its sales functions in the ever-
changing GSM retail environment. The retail
sales conferences are being organized to imple-
ment a strong and systematic Warid - Retailer
relationship program, in all major cities of
eradicating the ambiguities found in the daily
sales processing. First conferences of this series
were organized simultaneously in Islamabad,
Gujranwala and Dera Ghazi Khan.
Marwan Zawaydeh- Chief Executive Officer
Warid Telecom said, "The prime objective of this
relationship programme is to establish a comfort
level with the Retailer while building a rapport
through bonding initiatives and developing inter-
est for innovative services and products by
Warid Telecom."
Thomas Yeo- Chief Commercial Officer
Warid Telecom said on the occasion that a
dynamic sales network is always considered as
is the reason that a complete series of sales
conferences will be held to further strengthen
and enhance our sales network. This conference
will provide a platform to our retailer where the
feedback is highly appreciated. Our customers
deserve the best and we want the best trained
and educated retail staff to approach our valued
customers because at Warid, We Care."
The Sales Conference will be covering a
detailed introduction of Warid Telecom, its prod-
ucts, services and awareness campaigns. This
management and retailer interaction will also
help in obtaining the trade feed back from the
participants.

ricsson and Warid Telecom Pakistan have has demonstrated to be a reliable the way towards Warid's

E signed a contract that will see Ericsson

undertake a major expansion of Warid's
GSM network, including its Core, Radio,
Transmission network equipment and VAS plat-
forms.
Under the agreement Ericsson will supply,
install and commission Warid's GSM/GPRS
expansion of Core, Radio and Transmission
Network including site acquisition and civil
works. The scope also includes expansion of
OSS and BSS software as well as expansion of
Warid's MPBN network. In addition, the IN and
VAS platforms will be expanded and upgraded.
Chief Executive Officer-Warid Telecom,
Marwan Zawaydeh, says: "As per our group's
commitment to telecom sector in Pakistan,
Warid Telecom focuses to deliver a superior
quality network, introduction of new services and
richer mobile communications experience to our
valued subscribers. Warid Telecom is pleased to
strengthen its partnership with Ericsson, which
and committed partner in the past
with a strong technology roadmap
and global experience."
The deal reinforces Ericsson's
strong track record in Pakistan.
Under the agreement Ericsson will
continue taking responsibility for the
design, rollout, operations, manage-
ment and maintenance of Warid
Telecom's network.
President and Country Manager
of Ericsson Pakistan, Zibber Mohiuddin, says
Ericsson is proud to be selected to continue as
Warid Telecom's strategic partner. "This contract
marks an important milestone in our long-stand-
ing partnership with Warid Telecom. We are
confident that, with our extensive local presence
and in-country technical leadership we will play
a vital role in success.
Ericsson's rollout expertise, coupled with
strong capabilities in managed services will pave
aggressive growth plans. We
look forward to being the part-
ner of choice for Warid Telecom
well into the future."
It was further pointed out
that Ericsson is committed to
ensuring that Warid exceeds its
high expectations in Pakistan.
The traffic being carried by
Warid network is increasing and
the Ericsson solution will enable
Warid to cater to these increased capacity
requirements and cover its target market in a
timely manner. Deliveries will start immediately.
Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and
Broadband Internet communications through its
continuous technology leadership. Providing
innovative solutions in more than 140 countries,
Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful
communication companies in the world.




87
 Telecom Flare Report
elenor Pakistan in collaboration with
T AeroMobile has commercially launched
the world's first in-flight mobile service.
The new service allows Telenor Pakistan's post-
paid customers to use their GSM services while
in flight on Emirates Airline aircraft equipped with
the AeroMobile system.
The first in-flight mobile phone calls using the
Telenor Group's GSM network took place on
Emirates flight EK751 on 20th March flying
between Dubai and Casablanca with full
approval from aviation authorities. Dubai-based
international carrier Emirates, has guidelines for
the appropriate use of phones on board, includ-
ing requesting passengers to have their phones
switched to "silent" mode during the flights. The
airline's cabin crew is able to monitor use of the
system and is in full control of its use throughout
flights.
AeroMobile's in-flight solution allows passen-
gers the convenience of safe use of their per-
sonal mobile phones during flights as on the
ground. Calls are billed directly to passengers'
existing mobile phone accounts as international
roaming calls. Before the launch of the service
on Emirates airline, mobile phone use in aircraft
88
had only been allowed in limited, short-term tri-
als which did not support voice calls.
Chief Marketing Officer Telenor Pakistan Lars
Christian Iuel said: "Once again, leading on the
innovation front we are proud to be the first in
Pakistan to present in-flight mobile services to
subscribers. Now all Telenor Persona customers
can stay connected with their business & loved
ones, even while in the skies."
www.flare.com.pk
Chief Executive AeroMobile Bjorn-Taale
Sandberg added: "We are delighted to join with
Emirates and Telenor Pakistan in delivering a
genuine world first for the airline industry."
"Emirates and Telenor Pakistan have set an
industry-leading standard for passengers' com-
munications in launching AeroMobile services.
We have gone to considerable lengths to ensure
that all safety and regulatory issues have been
fully addressed. We believe that the ability to
communicate efficiently, easily and safely when
on board flights will become an every-day fea-
ture of business and leisure travel very quickly."
AeroMobile is a partnership between ARINC
Inc and Telenor ASA. The partnership establish-
es a GSM provider for the sky. AeroMobile's
unique value proposition lies in the combination
of Telenor's world-class experiences as a
telecommunication and satellite service provider
and ARINC's position and reputation as an aero-
nautical communication systems provider.
The service is available only on AeroMobile
equipped Emirate aircrafts, under the standard
international roaming terms. Passengers must
not use their mobile phones unless they are on
an AeroMobile equipped aircraft.





 www.flare.com.pk
he world has become extremely competi-
T tive. There is no more room for aspirations
to further improve. Lack of commitment in
any sphere of customer interaction is now a
completely non-acceptable practice. Companies
have now started hiring expensive consultants
and advisors to create the ambiance and culture
to drive home customer focused self-service
programs. The entire markets revolve around
quicker, faster, more reliable, truly stable and
equally secure sites and interactions that foster
and hone the customer centric experience.
Millions of dollars are being
spent in different applica-
tions and technology archi-
tectures to create a robust
and self-sufficient self-serv-
ice application that can justi-
fy and meet the requirements
of the customer base
Millions of dollars are being spent in different
applications and technology architectures to cre-
ate a robust and self-sufficient self-service appli-
cation that can justify and meet the requirements
of the customer base. University of Kentucky
has revamped their MBA program to inculcate
class work revolving around ecommerce and
customer centric applications. The Northwestern
University has created a separate divisional
wing that researches and monitors the overall
customer centric parameters in various indus-
tries to truly gage the level of satisfaction from
their end.
In the market, the value and demand for cus-
tomer focused self service applications have
been exponential in nature. "Self-service invest-
ments focused solely on cost-reduction benefits
are no longer a competitive differentiator.
Improving the customer experience is now the
goal of leading centers. When implemented
properly, self-service can be a win-win solution
for the customer and for the enterprise" states
Ken Landline, program manager with Yankee
Group's Enterprise Research group. The drastic
change that has taken place to endorse this rev-
Etisalat Seeking Chances in Indian Market
AE state owned Telecommunication
U Company, Etisalat is in serious talks with
Spice Telecom and other Indian telcos to
seek their chance in entering Indian Telecom
industry.
Company resources have confirmed the high
level official meetings between Etisalat and
Spice telecom. Though, Etisalat management is
also considering other telcos than Spice
Telecom too.
Market analysis's reveal that Etisalat can not
olution has taken place at all the customer touch
points. The call center being the catalyst for this
revolution has seen significant changes in the
overall dimensions and tools related to gauge
customer commitment and loyalty. The IVR and
choice menus are now absolute and customized
solutions are now making its way into the work-
ing semantics of hundreds of corporations
around the world. Voice recognition applications
are now becoming the central points of contact
between the customer and the corporation.
Voice recognition software allows the customer
to interact with the system and change basic
demographics of their profile without long wait
time for punching in serial numbers or other links
to validate the account. The voice itself becomes
the validation process as well as the command
line interface for all transactions. Simple state-
ments like "change my address to xxdx" will be
immediately implemented in the system without
the hassle of touching the numbers on the
phone to register the new requirement.
Online billing with the complete bells and
whistles is another avenue that needs to be
explored. Excluding America, the rest of the
world has an immense learning curve to pass
through before even coming up to the basic
requirements of the needs of today. Customers
want individual and undivided attention. Web
sites should be customized to their needs and
requirements. In many of the cases, corpora-
tions are now even using avatars for each cus-
tomer. The avatars are really the user guides
In the market, the value and
demand for customer
focused self service applica-
tions have been exponential
in nature. Self-service
investments focused solely
on cost-reduction benefits
are no longer a competitive
differentiator. Improving the
customer experience is now
the goal of leading centers
buy Spice telecom due to an agreement
between Spice Telecom and a major stake hold-
er of the company Telekom Malaysia; under
which Spice telecom can not sell its share for
another two years.
Spice's Chairman Bhupendra Kumar Modi
and his family holds majority of Spice shares that
counts almost 41 percent of total value.
Etisalat is already operating in 16 different
countries, including Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi
Arabia. It merits mentioning here that Etisalat
Ahmed Saeed IT
that provide the automation to multitude of
requirements. Some critics even link the avatars
as cheap replacements to online support agents.
This might not always be the case. The online
agents have excessive thinking power whereas
the avatars are only as good as the code.
Irrespective of the methodology that the
corporations used to create self-service tools, it
is imperative to keep a stringent check and bal-
ance on the suggestions and inputs that the cus-
tomers provide while using the tools. On the
Web-based side, multimedia interaction record-
ing tools let contact centers uncover such things
as how well customers navigate the Web site;
what information they are looking for, and how
easy it is to find; and what actions or issues lead
most online customers to abort their self-service
transaction and call, email or request a chat ses-
sion with an agent.
Self-service has become a normal trend that
originates from the frustration and time delays of
the older versions of customer interactions with
touch points. Only two years ago, IVR flows
were being optimized to provide a clear and
more comprehensive picture of the mindset of
the customer and suggest ideas to allow the
customers to get to the information quicker. That
was the primary function of the IVR, but now the
voice recognition and other self service applica-
tions have changed all that. You do not loose out
on a customer by giving him the tools to suc-
cess, rather you give him the opportunity to be
served in the mannerism of his choice. „„„„„
had bought twenty six percent shares of PTCL
with its management control and its subsidiaries
including Ufone for USD 2.6 billions. It must be
noted that Etisalat's was discounted to give 2.6
billion in installments that will end in 2010.
UAE telecom giant is clearly in mood of
investing abroad, while reaching saturation point
in its homeland. Etisalat just started a Software
Development unit in India to develop software
products and mobile applications. „„„„„
89
 w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k Pictorial

Customers test 3G phones at a China Mobile outlet in Shanghai, China. China, the world's largest mobile phone
market, started offering 3G service using locally developed TD-SCDMA technology in eight cities.

A journalist working at the Mideast center of the Arab Summit in Damascus.

Egypt's foreign minister said a minor cabinet minister, rather than the president,
will head its delegation to the Arab League summit in Damascus in a snub to
host country Syria.

An employee of Sony displays the company's new digital photo frame "S-Frame", which offers vivid color images
on a 9-inch LCD display with various viewing modes among single photo, index, slideshow and clock display,
seen at the Photo Imaging Expo in Tokyo.

A model rides on personal mobilities Toyota i-Real next to performing dancers

at Bangkok International Motor Show in Bangkok, Thailand.
Japan's electronics giant Sony employee displays the new 10 magnifying power zoom lens digital camera "Cyber-
91
shot DSC-H10", equipped with a 8.1 mega-pixel CCD at the company's showroom in Tokyo.
 National
KHL Announces 48% Rise in Revenues
KHL, (Konnect Holden (Pvt) Limited) a subsidiary of
Akbar Associates, Pakistan's leading telecom infrastructure
provider has announced 48 percent rise in its revenues as
compared with last year.
KHL's revenues that has hit Rs. 515 million in fiscal year
2007 is forty eight percent greater than of Rs. 348.1 million
in the same period of time last year. Company statement
said that KHL's profit before tax rose by 57 percent and prof-
it after tax by 37 % to Rs. 60.3 million and Rs. 33.8 million respectively.
KHL has contributed Rs. 27.5 million to state's revenues which were Rs.
23.4 million.
Mr. Usman Sheikh, CEO, KHL expressed on the occasion as a land-
mark achievement for the company to attain such heights in revenues. He
said that KHL is committed to provide quality network services for growing
telecom demands of the country.
Mobilink Attracts Job-Seekers at Rozee Job Fair
Mobilink, the country's leading cellular service
provider with more than 30 million customers and part
of the Orascom Telecom group made a significant
impact on aspiring job-seekers at the recently held
Rozee Job Fair. More than 3,000 young men and
women thronged the Mobilink booth to acquire employment information.
The cellular company, which has emerged as one of the premier
employers of exceptional talent, continued to play a leading role at this
year's job fair. As a 'gold sponsor' of the event at the national level for the
third consecutive time this year, Mobilink maintained its strong presence at
the first two installments of the event, which took place on 3rd and 9th
March in Pearl Continental Hotel, Lahore and Convention Centre,
Islamabad respectively.
"Ours is a continuing journey to find Pakistan's talented young people
Cellphone Users Cross 80.30 Million
The number of cellular subscribers in Pakistan touched 80
million mark with a cellular mobile density of 50.76.
Approximately 4 million subscribers were added during the
two months of this year, which shows the rapid use of cellu-
lar phone in the country.
Latest figures released by the PTA show cellular phone
connections reached 80.30 million mark by February 2008.
The figures gathered by the telecom watchdog show that by February
2008 Mobilink led the market with 31.36 million subscribers followed by
Ufone, which was serving 16.84 million people across the country. Telenor
Pakistan holds the third position with 16.01 million subscribers and Warid
is at the fourth with 13.60 million subscribers. Meanwhile, the aggressive-
ly marketed Paktel has managed to grab 2.14 million subscribers.
Industry analysts are predicting that the market share in coming two
Industry Speakers Confirm Participation at TeleCON'2008
Eminent speakers from a cross-section of the
telecommunication industry and academia have con-
firmed reading of their papers in TeleCON'2008,
Pakistan's first global telecommunication congress
being held on April 29-30 in Karachi. More than 400 del-
egates, including speakers from abroad are expected to
take part in one of the largest assembly of telecom experts.
The 2-day congress, endorsed by the Pakistan Telecommunication
Authority (PTA) and organized by SHAMROCK Conferences International
will focus on the convergence of business with a fresh mix of developing
technologies, including current and future initiatives.
Speakers from the PTA, GSM Association, Mobilink, Telenor, PTCL-
Etisalat, Multinet, Motorola, Wateen Telecom, Ericsson, Nokia-Siemens,
Systems Limited, Alcatel-Lucent, Nortel Networks, CM Pak, Qalcomm
USA and prolific telecom researchers from Pakistan's top engineering
92
institutions will be reading exclusive papers. Several others are expected
w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
KHL provides infrastructure services to telecom operators
in Pakistan; the long haul fiber optic cable measuring more
than 5,000 kilometer, PTCL Peshawar-Landikotal OFC proj-
ect, PTCL Islamabad-Murruee OFC, PTCL Shinkari-Dassu
OFC Project, PTCL Subsidiary Routes of south zone on
turnkey basis, and many other projects either completed or
near to completion, which are exclusively carried out by KHL.
The group also enjoys support from Aljabar Group of Sheikh
Mehmood bin Talal of Saudi Arabia
It may be recalled that KHL snatched PTCL's ever largest Backbone
Copper Rehabilitation and Revamping project that includes the identifica-
tion and restoration of all damaged links throughout the country, from a
Chinese company. This project is demonstration of Pakistan's largest tele-
com operator's trust on KHL, and heavily relied on a Pakistani infrastruc-
ture provider company to cap growing network bugs in PTCL's lines.

and giving them the opportunity to pursue an enriching, chal-
lenging and rewarding career in our company. The Rozee job
fair has proven to be a good platform to interact with quali-
fied, deserving and high caliber individuals," said Ali Raza
Mehdi, Vice President Human Resources, Mobilink.
"Mobilink has partnered with Rozee to create awareness about
employment opportunities for the large pool of human resources through
out Pakistan. Our goal is to help talented young men and women realize
their dreams of securing promising careers," he added.
The company's powerful brand pull was not limited to aspiring job seek-
ers only as members from the media also thronged the Mobilink arena to
cover the response from potential candidates. The third chapter of the
Rozee job fair will be held on March 30th at the Expo Centre Karachi,
which will conclude the job fair series for 2008.

months may change. Competition for the second and third
place is growing fast. There is a very close tie between Ufone
and Telenor. Telenor Pakistan is at 3rd place with a difference
of only 833,640 subscribers. Telecom industry is booming
throughout the country as two million mobile subscribers
were added every month throughout the last year. Previous
year the sector grew by 80 percent while average growth rate
in last four years has been more than 100 percent.
Mobilink continues to remain the leading operator in the sector with
maximum market share both in terms of subscribers and revenues. Among
all the new entrants, Telenor has shown its strength by capturing a good
market share and has left behind its closest competitor, Warid, within one
month's time to claim the second position.

to join the elite group.
"Globally, the telecommunication industry is evolv-
ing dramatically with the advent of amazing new tech-
nologies; all these will be the focus of papers being
read by presenters who have confirmed their participa-
tion," said Menin Rodrigues, Chairman,
TeleCON'2008. "The urgent need to know and understand what holds
good for the telecommunication sector in Pakistan will be the core of dis-
cussions at the congress", he added.
Pakistan's first 2-Day Global Telecommunication Congress with a spe-
cial focus on emerging trends and technologies for today & tomorrow, all
in an era of digitalized and wireless environment has already attracted the
attention of several delegates for participation. Due to limited capacity,
prospective delegates have been advised to register at www.shamrock-
conferences.net before April 10, 2008.

 w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k National

Bank Alfalah & KalSoft Sign Technology Agreement!

KalSoft Pvt Ltd. a leading integrated IT solution provider
and Bank Alfalah have signed an agreement according to
which KalSoft would be executing the complete IT integra-
tion project for Bank Alfalah, one of the most progressive
institutions in the country with more than 200 branches in
74 cities. The agreement was signed by the representa-
tives of Bank Alfalah and KalSoft Pvt Ltd.
Khurram Kalia CEO KalSoft in his statement said that this initiative is a
rapid response to the customer's demand of quality services and the infor-
mation and integration challenges the corporate sector confronts every
day. He said that the Solution is targeted for all banks that have Temenos
or other MQ Series Compatible CBA and are looking for a Middle-ware
solution.
Bank Alfalah has acquired this Microsoft platform to attain a functional-
ly rich, scalable, integrated centralized banking system to establish top
notch industry standards. Bank Alfalah has a distributed environment
which needed to be integrated utilizing the current infra-
structure to extract the optimum integration and communi-
cation standards that are continuing to evolve within the
financial services industry.
One of the major challenges facing BAFL was the real-
time updates & validation of individual and consolidated
data on both CBAs to ensure consistency, integrity and
accuracy. KalSoft would assist BAFL in overcoming this challenge by
delivering industry standards based service-oriented middleware solution
built on the innovative .NET platform and SQL Server 2005. The solution
is highly flexible & scalable fulfilling not only current but future needs of
BAFL.
The project will facilitate single client view across the enterprise and
has the ability to support huge numbers of users with non-stop resilience.
This initiative by KalSoft will provide a strong foundation to ensure the co-
existence of their two applications Temenos and Bank Smart.

Telenor Pakistan Creates Mobile Service for Blood Donors

Telenor Pakistan and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society
(PRCS) launch Pakistan's first-ever mobile blood donor serv-
ice, whereby donors with Telenor Pakistan's mobile connec-
tions will be able to register themselves in a blood donor data-
base via SMS and also through the web at Telenor Pakistan's
Corporate Responsibility website. At the same time, the blood
bank will be able to SMS blood donation requests to registered
donors in a target area. The service is aimed at connecting
potential donors and blood banks with possibly tremendous
reach and speed in order to address blood demands during
emergencies.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary General PRCS Brig (R)
Muhammed Illyas said, "It is extremely challenging to reach out to regis-
tered or potential donors quickly for blood donations. Moreover, donor
retention in itself is difficult. There are not many approaches available to
registering/reaching donors aside from conventional social networking
sessions or urgent phone calls to a limited number of registered donors.
We are thankful to Telenor Pakistan for extending help facilitate blood
donations through an easy mobile solution. This is a good
example of how the social sector and corporate sector can col-
laborate through technology for the benefit of the society." He
also informed the participants about the core areas of work of
PRCS and hoped that PRCS and Telenor Pakistan will further
strengthen their cooperation in other fields in the service of
humanity.
Speaking at the occasion, Executive Vice President
Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Telenor Pakistan Irfan
Wahab Khan said, "As far as we know, this is the first mobile
service in the Pakistani market to be customized to meet the
needs of a social sector organization. We want this service to be used
extensively by reputable blood banks, so that during emergencies blood
could be provided to those who need it on an urgent basis. The service if
taken up by such institutions has the potential to save thousands of lives."
The service software will be given to select blood banks completely
free of cost. Currently launched at Islamabad/Rawalpindi, the mobile serv-
ice has the potential to be extended to major cities.

3G Spectrum Auction Expected in June

Auction for the licences of third generation
mobile phone services is planned in June 2008
for introducing the latest telecom technology in
Pakistan. Sources in cellular industry and
Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) informed that
PTA had planned to award three licenses
through competitive bidding among existing cell
services only.
The third generation (3G) services would
enable mobile users to access high speed
Internet, video calls and other value added data
services. "Currently GSM is the main cellular
technology in use in Pakistan, whereas
WCDMA/UMTS is the preferred technology for
3G for which spectrum shall be auctioned,"
sources remarked.
"Since existing licenses of mobile operators
are technology neutral, therefore no new license
for 3G shall be issued instead spectrum shall be
assigned for the remaining period of license
term," they said. Conditions for rollout payment
of fees and Quality of Service (QoS) shall be
added in existing licenses with assignment of
spectrum. Auction methodologies ensuring fair
competition would be finalised in couple of
weeks.
Base price for spectrum (US$ per MHz per
Year) shall be derived from auction winning price
of 2004 which is $291 million for 13.6 MHz GSM
spectrum for 15 years. Sources informed that
the Cabinet Committee for Regulatory Authority
(CCRA) had allowed issuing only three 3G
licences to existing cellular operators only
because the cost of laying telecom infrastructure
was very high. An open auction for new entrants
may delay 3G launching. Thus it would be better
to limit the auction to existing cellular services
that already have the required infrastructure in
place, they remarked.
Telenor Pakistan Executive Vice President of
Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Irfan Wahab
welcomes the advent of 3g and understands
government's ambition in this regard, but asks
for a reasonable pricing/allocation mechanism.
Telenor rationale is that growth and invest-
ment in the basic mobile infrastructure should
not be sacrificed or slowed down - there are far
too many people still without basic access to
mobile telephony. "Right now operators are
focused on investing in far flung areas and un-
served populations, who need connectivity for
basic services, to improve their productivity, and
to reach out. If a huge fee is demanded for 3G,
it will just divert this investment with limited ben-
efits for those who are still waiting to be connect-
ed with basic voice services - their data needs
being limited by lack of literacy, content, and
affordability," Irfan remarked.
He requested the government to consider 3G
not as a licensing opportunity but rather as allo-
cation of additional spectrum linked with roll out
obligations and not hefty upfront fee. PTA and
FAB should also make additional UMTS spec-
trum available in order to have equitable spec-
trum allocation, Irfan remarked.
Irfan was of the view that the Telenor felt that
our proposed "beauty contest" approach as
adopted by many countries including Malaysia
and Norway is much better than open auction,
which has resulted in financial problems and
major delays in rollout after 3G auctions in
Europe. Also, this way, operators will be able to
work on 3G side by side, even as they keep on
focusing on provision of mobile services to those
93
who are still unconnected and remain a priority.

 National
PTA Sets up 77 Tele-Centres to Promote Rural Telephony
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), has established around
77 tele-centres (Rabta Ghar) in the country to provide basic telecom facil-
ities in rural areas. These tele-centres have been set up under the first
phase of a project which will also ensure employment opportunities, said
a PTA official. He said the Authority had planned to establish a total of 353
tele-centres in all provinces including NA and AJK.
He said tele-centre is a small establishment under which telephones,
fax and Internet services are provided to a community. The official said
deployment of the remaining 276 Rabta Ghar's are in progress and
expected to be completed by the end of 2008.
He said the necessary equipment including a PC 1, wireless PCO,
Internet enabled wireless set, printer, scanner copier and fax machine has
Mobilink Awards Announced
Mobilink, the country's leading cellular service provider with more than
30 million customers and part of Orascom Telecom announced the launch
of 'The Mobilink Awards' - a celebration and recognition of the country's
unsung heroes.
These awards are the first of their kind in Pakistan and seek to
acknowledge and recognize excellence in all disciplines. The Mobilink
awards are divided into various categories including; performing and visu-
al arts, liberal arts, science, commerce, engineering and sports.
Mobilink has an established history as a responsible corporate citizen,
and has already played a pivotal role in recognizing and paying tribute to
the memorable legends of Pakistan, including Noor Jehan, Mehdi Hassan
and Farida Khanum.
Zouhair A. Khaliq, President & CEO, Mobilink, stated "The Mobilink
Awards are about celebrating infinite possibilities that can be achieved by
an individual or an organization when they are wholly committed. We want
to recognize and honor their dedication to excellence and show them as
beacons of hope for the nation"
Bilal Munir Sheikh, Vice President Marketing, Mobilink while speaking
Wateen Powers the Entertainment Scene
'Club Caramel', one of the most popular musical events of Lahore in
2007, is back this year in Karachi. This has been sponsored by Wateen
Telecom and will feature Caramel - The Band with Kiran Chaudhry and
Adnan Sarwar, one of the leading live acts in
Lahore.
Club Caramel is a unique event focusing on live
performances, sound and light extravaganza, and a
DJ/post-party, giving the feel of a dance club. The
2007 event proved to be very successful and was attended by several
stars of the Pakistani media. This year's guest's lists include major cor-
porate guests, celebrities as well as fashion icons and will be one of the
most energetic and lively events of the year. The show will consist of
several western numbers such as Show Tunes, Disco/Pop, Dance, and
Trance numbers. Caramel will perform some of the biggest commercial
hits of top western artists such as ABBA, The Beatles, Madonna, Lynard
Telecom Firms invested $8bn in Last Four Years
Telecom companies have invested over 8 billon dollars
during the last four years, particularly in the mobile sector
whose investment share accounts for 73 per cent. The cellu-
lar sector has invested over 2.7 billion dollars, which become
a major share of investment by the sector.
Local loop segment of the industry is also taking off and in
2006-2007 about 7.8 million dollars were invested by this
sector while LDI operators have invested about 603 million
dollars during this period that is about 15 percent of the total investment
by the sector.
It is expected that the trend of investment may continue in the next five
years because a large potential market still exists in the country and all
operators intend to grab their share.
94
China Mobile acquired Paktel which has contracted out 500 million dol-
w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
already been provided free of cost and deployed at the 77 tele-centres in
collaboration with the telecom industry. Each Rabta Ghar costs Rs50,000.
The official said in addition to that each Rabta Ghar owner is provided
comprehensive training and self-learning CD's for future references.
Talking about the procedure to acquire Rabta Ghar, he said for the pur-
pose, the Authority sought applications from all over Pakistan and short
listed genuine applicants after appropriate verifications.
He said the main objective of tele-centres is to connect the vast popu-
lace living in rural areas to the rest of the world through the Information
superhighway, giving them unlimited opportunities to avail. It has many
benefits for the development of rural population, which in turn will con-
tribute to literacy development in the country.

to the media elaborated that
"Pakistan is a nation brimming with
talented individuals and organiza-
tions that have excelled beyond the
call of duty. Through our nation-
wide campaign we hope to estab-
lish the country's largest-ever plat-
form, to acknowledge and honor
our nations best and brightest."
Submission of entries will be via
an integrated automated entry sys-
tem at www.areyouahero.com.pk
and a jury comprising of eminent
and respected citizens, will be the
judges for this unique initiative.
Entries will close on 31st May
and the final winners will be announced in August 2008.

Skynard, Bee Gees, Kylie Minogue, Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson,
and many more.
The event has been organized by Oxygen Entertainment (Pvt)
Limited and is a one of a kind event in the country.
The concept has been derived from the increasingly
popular clubbing scene in the country, and is an
excellent celebration of spring season. Wateen
Telecom is very keen on sponsoring events such as
Club Caramel since its commercial launch and is consistently promoting
the Pakistani entertainment industry.
Events like these play a significant role in portraying the true nature
of the country to the outside world; of a modern country with a forward-
looking, progressive population. Club Caramel is a positive development
for improving Pakistan's image abroad.

lars in 2007-2008 for improvement of quality of service and
infrastructure expansion.
Wateen Telecom, which has already laid down 5,400 kms
of optical fibre across the country, has announced that it will
invest 600 million dollars in the next two years for improve-
ment of its infrastructure.
The telecom sector has emerged the largest recipient of
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Pakistan during the last
few years as competition has compelled many companies to expand their
infrastructure, which requires more investment from foreign sources.
The telecom sector has attracted record inflows of FDI in the last two
years and has emerged the only sector of the economy that attracted such
huge investment where its share in total FDI crossed 54 per cent.

 w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k National

Warid Introduces In-flight Connectivity for its Customers

Warid Telecom now broadens its horizons and extends
its international roaming coverage from continents and
oceans to the open skies. Warid Telecom announced its
commercial launch with AeroMobile - an in-flight connec-
tivity solution provider partnered with Emirates Airlines.
Warid Telecom's international roaming users can now use
their phones on any Emirates flight equipped with the
AeroMobile communication system.
Warid's partnership with AeroMobile enables roamers a safe and cost-
effective way to use their mobile phones while flying. AeroMobile's equip-
ment allows customers with convenience of making and receiving calls
and SMS facilities during flights. Users are conveniently billed directly to
their mobile account with IR charges. For passengers safety, Warid's
AeroMobile services should only be used with phones switched to "silent"
mode.
After Warid's interest in AeroMobile services, Emirates has decided to
accommodate additional routes for the airlines. The latest
installation of these GSM services will be carried out on
Boeing 777 for all Warid users. Increased features of
GPRS data applications will also be launched for sub-
scribers after this year.
On the occasion, Marwan Zawaydeh - Chief Executive
Officer Warid Telecom said, "In-flight mobile services are
an increasingly important facet of the telecommunications
industry. We are committed to do our maximum to facilitate Warid user in
Pakistan, abroad, on land, sea or air."
Thomas Yeo - Chief Commercial Officer Warid Telecom added,
"AeroMobile - our latest partnership in communication services is a revo-
lutionary way for our users to stay in touch with their loved ones and busi-
ness contacts during flights. Warid Telecom wants to ensure that every
window of opportunity is provided for its users.

Telenor Successfully Participates at Rozee Job Fairs

Telenor Pakistan, the PSHRM Preferred Graduate
Employer for 2007, concluded its participation in Pakistan's
biggest job fair ROZEE.PK. Some 20,000 jobseekers visit-
ed the Telenor Pakistan stall in Lahore, 33000 in Islamabad
and more than 50,000 in Karachi. The job seekers were
able to meet Telenor Pakistan representatives and experi-
ence first-hand Telenor Pakistan's unique hiring process.
Telenor Pakistan had a number of activities going on at
their stall. Apart from the exciting interaction with prospec-
tive candidates, Telenor Pakistan representatives also
imparted much needed career counseling to the job seekers. Telenor
Pakistan's stall was the only one with EDGE-connectivity to allow candi-
dates to apply for jobs on Telenor Pakistan's job page. To share Telenor
Pakistan's rewarding culture, job applicants were also given the chance to
participate in lucky draws.
Excited at the success of the ROZEE.PK job fair, Telenor Pakistan's
Vice President Human Capital Nayab Baig said:
"Participating in the ROZEE.PK fair is part of Telenor
Pakistan's ongoing War on Talent, and our search for the
brightest and the best in Pakistan definitely goes beyond
conventional talent searches. Telenor Pakistan takes pride
in its transparent and merit-based recruitment process. It
offers rapid career progression coupled with extensive
training and ample opportunities of international exposure
for its employees."
Telenor Pakistan's Human Capital Division continues its
search for talent this year through its visits to 30 of Pakistan's best univer-
sities close to their graduation dates to interact with graduating classes
and share with them as to why Telenor Pakistan is the Employer of Choice
with the young talent of the country. It is also exploring further collabora-
tion with ROZEE.PK to work on innovative ways of winning the War on
Talent.

Cell Phones' Codes Changed

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has announced
successfully migration of cellular mobile subscriber numbers from seven
to eight digits from April 1. Dialing code of all mobile companies have
also been changed four to three digit.
According to details, as part of New Mobile Numbering plane, all
mobile numbers in the country would now comprise eight digits by mov-
ing the last digit of the dialing code would
be reduced to three digits 0321-50xxxxx
would now be 032-150xxxxx.
It is important to note that numbers of
Mobilink, Waridf, Ufone and Telenor will
remain the same 11 digits as before. For
Paktel(China Mobile), Instaphone and
SCOM.(AJK&Northern Areas), in addition
to aforementioned shifting of subscriber
numbers, digits of their dialing code would
also change(i.e. 0304-52xxxxx and 0335-
50xxxxx will be 035-51xxxxx).
All these changes have become effec-
tive from April 1. Untill June 30, all old and new numbers could be dialed.
From July 1 onwards, only new numbers will be valid, a PTA spokesman
said.
The spokesman said that PTA with the help of all the cellular, fixed
line and WLL operators has ensured that this change remains hassle-
free for consumers.
However, in case the callers face any difficulty they may contact their
concerned operators and may contact PTA complaint cell number 0800-
55055, if the interruption in their service continues.

95
 Pictorial w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k

An Afghan man living in Iran waits for his mobile phone's battery to be charged in Behesht Zahra ceme-
tery, in south of Tehran. On "Sizdah Bedar", the 13th day of the Iranian New Year, Afghans living in Iran
believe it is a bad omen to stay indoors, and most people spend the day amongst nature as well as visiting
cemeteries to honour their deceased relatives.

A model poses with the Palm Centro at its launch in Mumbai, India. Palm, Inc.,
one of the global leaders in mobile products, launched its smartphone Centro,
priced at Rupees 13,990 (about US$ 346), its smallest and lightest palm phone to
date.

A Buddhist monk checks his mobile phone at the Yong He Gong Lama Temple, a Tibetan-style landmark in
Beijing. Thousands of ethnic Tibetans who work or study in Beijing, an economic boomtown compared to
their backwater hometowns, are laying low in the face of police checks after recent riots and protests in
western China.

A Nokia concept phone made of recycled material is seen at a trade show in

This illustration released by XCOR shows a two-seat rocket ship capable of suborbital flights to altitudes
more than 37 miles above the Earth. The Lynx, about the size of a small private plane, is expected to begin
flying in 2010, according to developer Xcor Aerospace, which planned to release details of the design at a
96
press conference.
Barcelona. Developing and testing new phone models were once like state
secrets. But now, the handset giant is starting to flash new concepts to selected
consumers, testing their appetite for new services.
 www.flare.com.pk
SM players may be forced to respond to
G the Tata-Virgin deal, which analysts term
as innovative, but not disruptive as the
returns to service are lower than the industry
average. This is because, for subscribers, which
are key to the success of tariff plan, Virgin's
offerings are cheaper by 25-30%, compared to
similar schemes offered by other players.
"Comparing the tariffs with Rs 200 card of
Bharti, the leading wireless operator, reveals
that Virgin's plan is 25-30% cheaper, i.e., for the
same price, the consumer could make outgoing
calls for 140 minutes as against 85 minutes in
Bharti's plan," according to a report by broker-
age house Morgan Stanley.
The report also adds that Virgin's Rs
200/month plan (with Rs 99 one-time cost) tar-
gets the best selling Average Revenue Per User
(ARPU) segment and adds to the Tata
Teleservices kitty as the telco did not have tariff
plans to target this segment. "Tata Teleservices
has not been a market leader, and this launch
ew entrants to the telecom sector and
N those which have got GSM licences
under the dual-technology policy of the
government will form an association parallel to
the existing lobby, COAI, to fight for their rights
and bring fair competition in the Indian telecom
sector.
Seven companies including Videocon-pro-
moted Data Com, Shyam Telelink, Swan
Telecom and S Tel have been issued licences in
ndia s prominence in the mobile phone sector
I was reconfirmed after a report by the Indian
telecom regulatory body suggested that its
mobile subscriber base would surpass than that
of the US soon.
According to a Telecom Regulatory Authority
of India (TRAI) report, the wireless segment had
seen an addition of 8.53 million subscribers in
the month of February 2008 as against 8.77 mil-
lion subscribers in January 2008. India s total
wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA and WLL)
base stood at 250.93 million at the end of
February 2008, the report stated.
Airtel added maximum new users in the
month of February 2008. It enrolled 2.26 million
users followed by Reliance Communications
(1.6 million) and Vodafone Essar (1.4 million) in
Feb 2008.
should enable it to garner better market share,"
the report said.
"We find it innovative because under the
plan, incoming is rewarded - which may lure
consumers. In reality, it is costlier per minute
than the average
Revenue Per Minute
(RPM) of Rs 0.75-
0.8 for India based
on last quarter
results. This leads
us to believe it is not
disruptive. We do not expect Tata Teleservices to
be in competition with Virgin Mobile due to prod-
uct differenciation," the report adds.
At the same time, it is also learnt that other
operators are also keen to adopt the Tatas'
model. For instance, sources Reliance
Communications (RCom) is also scouting for
similar partners, and is interested in roping in
European mobile operator, Orange (the mobile
services arm of France Telecom) and also other
January this year and have deposited the
required spectrum fee with the government, but
are yet to be allocated radio frequency.
CDMA operators Reliance Communications
and Tata Teleservices were given permit to pro-
vide GSM services across the country under the
cross-over technology policy of the government.
One of the new operators has accused the
existing GSM players of cartelisation and adopt-
ing tactics to delay the allocation of spectrum to
Compared to the US and China, India's
monthly wireless subscriber addition of 8.5 mil-
lion users is the highest. Given the phenomenal
growth in the wireless segment, TRAI has pre-
dicted that India would have the second largest
wireless subscriber base after China in the first
half of April 2008. TRAI also expects India s total
subscriber base to cross the 300 million mark in
April. According to CTIA (an Association of
Wireless operators in US), the subscriber base
of USA is 256 million at present.
However, despite the phenomenal growth in
numbers, the telephone density in India hovers
around the 25% mark. This means that only one
out of every four Indians has a telephone con-
nection.





International
global players, "Reliance Communications is
looking at roping in two to three global telcos on
franchisee deals similar to the Tata-Virgin Mobile
tie-up," the source added.
However, when Orange was contacted over
the issue, the company spokesperson said:
"Orange/France Telecom Group dismisses the
rumors of a tie-up with Reliance
Communications in India as being the result of
market speculation."
Besides, RCom is also eyeing this franchisee
model as it launches GSM services on a pan-
India level. When contacted, RCOM executives
refused to comment. But sources close to the
company said that RCom was looking to pursue
this business model. "The type of services that is
required in markets such as the north-east is dif-
ferent from that required in the metros - so
RCom may tie-up with multiple players as fran-
chisees to address the requirement of different
regions," the source added.





the new players so that they could not start
mobile services at the earliest.
The COAI has three major telecom operators
namely Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar and Idea
Cellular and two regional operators -- Spice and
Aircel -- as its members.
Differences in the existing association had
came to fore during the recent controversy over
spectrum allocation and issuance of new tele-
com licences.





An Indian Woman is busy on her mobile phone. It is estimated
that mobile users would surpass than that of US in India.
97
 International
Tech Mahindra Hardens on British Telecom Deal
The company made this announcement after trading hours on 17
March 2008. Meanwhile, BSE Sensex was up 33.75 points or 0.23% to
14,843.24. On BSE, 1,484 shares were traded in the counter. The scrip
had an average daily volume of 52,387 shares in the past one quarter.
The stock hit a high of Rs 644.65 and a low of Rs 630 so far during the
day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 1687 on 7 May 2007 and a 52-
week low of Rs 615 on 22 January 2008.
The mid-cap scrip had outperformed the market over the past one
month till 17 March 2008, declining 7.68% compared to the Sensex's fall
of 18.25%. It had underperformed the market in the past one quarter,
declining 44.41% compared to Sensex's decline of 22.38%.
The company's current equity is Rs 121.36 crore. Face value per share
Indian Telecom outfit mkt to Ring in $6.5 bn Revenue
India, the world's fastest-growing telecom market, is also making
steady progress in the telecom manufacturing space. Latest figures from
the Department of Telecom (DoT) indicate that revenue from the telecom
manufacturing sector is set to cross the $6.5 billion (Rs 23,656 crore) fig-
ure in fiscal 2007-08. At the current growth rate, the Indian telecom equip-
ment manufacturing sector is set to become one of the largest globally by
2010.
However, telecom hardware manufacturing in India is dominated by
international majors, including Nokia, Ericsson, LG and Alcatel-Lucent
while indigenous domestic manufacturers continue to contribute very little.
The DoT said the entry of many foreign players has transformed the
manufacturing scene in India and the country now produces 'a wide range
of telecom equipment using state-of-the-art technologies designed specif-
ically to match the diverse terrain and climatic conditions'. The DoT has
also pointed out that the telecom manufacturing space has brought in for-
eign investment to the tune of $1.5 billion (Rs 6,000 crore).
Yahoo Backs Google Social Networking Effort
Yahoo Inc. said that it supported a programme by
archrival Google Inc. to develop applications for social
networks and that it would help create a joint foundation
to keep it alive. Google launched its OpenSocial net-
work in November to lure developers already creating
popular Web applications on social networks such as
Facebook.
Many social networks, including News Corp.-owned
MySpace, Friendster and Hi5 Networks Inc., support
OpenSocial, a set of technological specifications that
lets software developers build applications such as games and photo
shows that can run on any social network.
The scope of OpenSocial is increasing, and its applications reach more
than 200 million users, said Joe Kraus, Google's director of product man-
agement. "If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go togeth-
er," Kraus said of the OpenSocial effort, which is currently endorsed by
more than 15 companies.
Yahoo, Google and MySpace also said that they would create the
Indonesia Acts on Internet Porn
Indonesia's parliament has passed a bill crim-
inalising those who access internet sites contain-
ing violent or pornographic material.
Anyone found guilty of the new offence could
be jailed for up to three years, or have to pay a
heavy fine. The legislation allows the courts to
accept electronic material as evidence in cases
involving internet abuse. One of those involved in
drafting the bill said children, in particular, need-
ed protection from online images.
98 It passed with wide majority support from all
w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
is Rs 10. The current price of Rs 635.15 discounts its Q3 December 2007
annualized EPS of Rs 64.77, by a PE multiple of 9.81.
Tech Mahindra will provide maintenance and support services to British
Telecom (BT) for business critical BSS (business support system) and
OSS (operating support system) applications and platforms.
The payment will be made evenly over five years. Tech Mahindra's net
profit rose 8.57% to Rs 196.4 crore on 6.09% growth in net sale to Rs
911.6 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q2 September 2007.
The company provides information technology (IT) services and solu-
tions to the telecom sector. It provides a variety of services ranging from
IT strategy and consulting to system integration, design, application devel-
opment, implementation, maintenance and product engineering.

"Production in telecom equipment has increased from Rs 17,833 crore
in 2005-06 to Rs 23,656 crore in 2006-07 and the projected figure for the
year 2007-08 is Rs 26,253 crore. Rising demand for a wide range of tele-
com equipment, particularly in the area of mobile telecommunications, has
provided excellent opportunities to domestic and foreign investors in the
manufacturing sector.
The last three years have seen many telecom companies setting up
manufacturing units in different parts of India," the DoT has said in its
annual report for 2007-08. Ericsson has set up a GSM radio base station
manufacturing facility in Jaipur, along with its R&D centres in Chennai and
Gurgaon while Elcoteq, Nokia and LG Electronics have set up handset
manufacturing facilities in Bangalore, Chennai and Pune, respectively.
Flextronics, too, has set up a telecom SEZ in Chennai. Other foreign
majors that have set up manufacturing bases in India include Motorola,
Foxconn, Aspocomp, Salcomp, Samsung, Siemens, Cisco, Perlos and
Soletron, among others, the report adds.

OpenSocial Foundation to maintain a neutral, communi-
ty-governed forum for developing applications. It will be
established as a nonprofit entity, with assets to be
assigned to the new organization by July 1.
"Common specifications are beneficial to the devel-
oper community at large and encourage innovation" and
eventually will enrich the Web experience for people,
said Wade Chambers, Yahoo's vice president of plat-
forms. He declined to provide specific examples of how
Yahoo plans to use OpenSocial applications.
Facebook, which received $240 million last year from Microsoft Corp.
for a small stake, has not yet endorsed OpenSocial. It offers its own spec-
ifications for application developers. Yahoo is also the subject of a $42-bil-
lion hostile offer from Microsoft, which has not signed on to OpenSocial
either.
But Chambers said Yahoo would welcome Microsoft or any other com-
pany that wanted to sign on. "Any large player should be open to partici-
pate," he said.

10 factions in the chamber. "I think we all agree there's
no way we can save this nation by spreading pornog-
raphy, violence and ethnic hostility", said the
Information Minister, Mohammad Nuh.
Another MP said that current legislation failed
properly to address pornography in the electronic
media, and that access to it was far too easy. The
intention is to start implementing restrictions on sites
containing banned material next month, using special
software.

 w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k International

China Netcom Posts Surprise Profit Gain

China Netcom Group Corp., the second-largest
fixed-line telephone company of China, posted an unex-
pected increase in full-year profit after signing up more
Internet customers.
Net income last year rose to 10.58 billion yuan ($1.5
billion), from 10.55 billion yuan, in 2006, the Hong
Kong-listed company said. Sales gained to 82.5 billion
yuan from a restated 81.8 billion yuan. The average of
24 analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for
profit of 9.87 billion yuan.
Netcom's gains from Internet users offset declining revenue from
phone calls as mobile carriers lured customers by cutting rates. The com-
pany increased its online subscribers by 31 percent to 19.8 million last
year, while revenue from the service rose 40 percent to
13.8 billion yuan.
``In 2007, the substitution of fixed-line voice services
by mobile voice services accelerated,'' Zuo Xunsheng,
Netcom's chief executive officer, said in a statement to the
Hong Kong stock exchange. ``The increasing use of
Internet by all sectors of the public is accelerating. Access
to the Internet is increasingly regarded not as a luxury but
a household necessity,'' he said.
China's fixed-line subscriptions fell last year for the
first time, dropping by 2.3 million, according to data from the Ministry of
Information China. The country's mobile-phone users rose 86.2 million,
more than the population of Germany, in 2007.

Motorola to Break into Two Companies

Motorola bowed to pressure from investors,
announcing a plan to split its struggling cell phone busi-
ness from other operations to form two separate pub-
licly traded companies.
The widely expected deal comes as the suburban
Chicago cell phone maker faces a second straight year
of agitation from billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who has
become increasingly frustrated with Motorola's eroding
phone sales.
Executives said the move will allow the two companies to better focus
on their respective strengths and weaknesses, while accelerating the turn-
around plan for the cell phone unit, which has seen its fortunes slip after
trend-conscious customers lost interest in the Razr flip phone.
"The creation of the two independent publicly traded companies pro-
vides improved management focus and a capital structure that's more tai-
lored to the individual business needs," said CEO Greg Brown, who will
remain at the helm of the split company's non-cell phone
unit. "And it will provide some improved alignment and
agility and will help us going forward."
Specifics of the deal haven't been disclosed, but
Motorola said its handset business will operate separate-
ly from another company offering its TV set-top boxes and
modems and its computing and communications equip-
ment. Motorola said it anticipates the transaction will be
tax-free, allowing shareholders to own stock in both of the
new companies. If the deal is approved by regulators, the two units would
be separated in 2009.
Officials haven't said whether one company or both will retain the
Motorola brand name or which company will distribute stock to existing
shareholders. Icahn called the announcement "much delayed and long
overdue" and continued to push for the election of his four board mem-
bers.

SK Telecom Completes Acquisition of Hanaro Telecom

Hanaro Telecom officially became a subsidiary of SK
Telecom, the No.1 mobile operator in Korea. Hanaro
Telecom appointed Mr. Cho Shin, the head of SK
Telecom Internet Business and other three SK Telecom
officials as member of the board of directors.
Mr. Cho Shin, who spearheaded the acquisition deal
as the head of fixed and mobile convergence (FMC)
business of SK Telecom, was elected as the new CEO.
On the same day, SK Telecom paid 1.877 trillion
KRW to AIG-New Bridge Consortium, the largest shareholder in Hanaro
Telecom. With the payment, all the legal and administrative procedures to
acquire Hanaro were completed. SK Telecom's shares in Hanaro
increased to 43.59 percent. Mirae Assest Financial Group and LG Group
hold 9.22 percent and 3.06 percent respectively.
With all the acquisition work is done, Hanaro Telecom plans a major
reshuffle and reorganization. The company expects that
the acquisition by the bellwether in the nation's mobile
industry, could lead to synergy in fixed and mobile conver-
gence area. In that context, Hanaro, facing competition
from KT and LG Group, is expected to launch triple play
and quadruple play services combining mobile service of
SK Telecom and broadband, IPTV, and fixed phone serv-
ice of Hanaro Telecom.
In particular, competition with KT Group over IPTV is
projected to be fueled because the acquisition with the wireless carrier
would be a big boost for Hana TV, the IPTV service of Hanaro which holds
the largest subscribers in the industry.
In addition, SK Telecom plans to spread the business culture of SK
Telecom across Hanaro Telecom through a series of workshops. A new CI
is coming out soon, too.

New Intel Processors - Fewer Watts, High Performance

Intel Corporation has further increased its
energy-efficient performance lead with the intro-
duction of two low-voltage 45 nanometer (nm)
processors for servers and workstations that run
at 50 watts, or just 12.5 watts per core and fre-
quencies as high as 2.50 GigaHertz (GHz). The
Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor L5400
Series takes advantage of Intel's unique 45nm
manufacturing capabilities and reinvented tran-
sistor formula that combine to boost perform-
ance and reduce power consumption in data
centers.
Benefiting companies with power-con-
strained, high-compute density environments,
the Quad-Core Intel Xeon L5400 processors are
as much as 25 percent faster1 and have a 50
percent larger cache size than Intel's previous-
generation, low-voltage Quad-Core Intel Xeon
processors, while at the same time maintaining
the low 50-watt thermal envelope. The quad-
core L5420 and L5410 processors run at 2.50
GHz and 2.33 GHz, respectively, and feature a
unique 12 megabytes (MB) of on-die cache and
dedicated 1333 MHz front side buses (FSB).
"Using Intel's hafnium-infused high-k metal
gate transistors has allowed our quad-core
45nm low-voltage server chips to attain new
heights in power-efficient performance," said
Kirk Skaugen, vice president and general man-
ager of Intel's Server Platforms Group. "These
chips deliver the speed needed while using mea-
ger amounts of energy."
A number of systems vendors are supporting
the L5400 series and L5210, including Asus,
Dell, Fujitsu, Fujitsu-Siemens, Gigabyte, HP,
Hitachi, IBM, Microstar, NEC, Quanta, Rackable,
Supermicro, Tyan and Verari. Next quarter, Intel
will also begin shipping a new dual-core low-volt-
age processor that will boast a 40-watt rating
and clock speed of 3 GHz, with a 6 MB cache
size and a 1333 MHz FSB. Intel is also extend-
ing the existing Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor
5400 series for embedded market segments by
offering the Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor
L5410 with support for a 7-year life cycle.
Since unveiling the industry's first 45nm
processors last November, Intel today is ship-
ping more than 35 different server, desktop and
notebook processors with Intel's Hafnium-based
high-k metal gate formula and 45nm technology.
99
 International
he Turkish government has been blocking
T access nationwide to Slide Inc and its pop-
ular multimedia Web software after a local
court ruled the site let users post photos and sto-
ries insulting the Turkish republic's founder, the
company said.
Slide joins Web services such as YouTube,
Facebook and MySpace that have been barred
by countries including Turkey, Pakistan,
Thailand and China for offering Web services
that violate national laws restricting political
speech.
Turkish law forbids insults to "Turkishness,"
state institutions or insults to Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey in the
1920s and 1930s. Famous authors, academics
and political figures have faced prosecution.
he teenager allegedly led a criminal gang
T that used malicious software to infect 1.3
million computers worldwide A New
Zealand teenager accused of involvement in an
international cyber-crime ring which skimmed
millions of dollars from bank accounts has been
convicted of illegal computer hacking.
Owen Thor Walker, 18, allegedly led a group
of hackers who used his programmes to send
malicious software to and steal data from at least
1.3 million computers worldwide, resulting in
losses of US$20 million.
Mr Walker, who was arrested as part of an
FBI investigation in December, pleaded guilty to
ouTube, Google's popular video-sharing
Y site has launched YouTube Insight, a
video analytics tool that allows users to
view detailed statistics about the videos they
upload.
YouTube Insight gives people free access to
detailed information, such as when, where, and
how often their clips are viewed. So far, the met-
rics have only been available to partners and
advertisers. Only total views and users' ratings
were available to those providing the 80 million-
plus videos circulating on the site.
The YouTube Insight application allows the
nearly 3 million users who post videos on the
site to see when, how, and where their clips
reach their popularity pick. Now, anyone who
posts a video will know what day of the week, or
100 hours of the day, and in which location the video
John Duncan, Slide's general counsel, said
the company started getting complaints in
February from Turkish users of Slide services
shortly after a court ordered Turkish Telecom,
the nation's Internet service provider, to block
Slide Websites.
The order appeared to have been handed
down on January 24 by a court in Civril, Turkey,
Duncan said. Civril is located about 185 miles
southwest of the capital Ankara.
Slide officials said they never received formal
notice of the action against the company. The
company said it had been unable to identify the
offending material but that Turkish Telecom had
complied with the court's order.
Duncan said Slide's policy was to comply to
remove offensive content from its site.
six charges relating to using comput-
ers for illegal purposes.
Some of the crimes carry a maxi-
mum sentence of seven years in
prison, but the judge who heard the
case in court in Thames, south of
Auckland, suggested that a prison
sentence was unlikely.
Hackers frequently send out
viruses and other malicious pro-
grammes via e-mail which infect the
recipient's machine and allow the
hacker to take control of it.
The computer then becomes part of a vast
clip is the most
viewed.
This could help
the most successful
content publishers,
whose videos attract
million of viewers to
determine program-
ming strategies, very
much like advertisers
do. But the tool might
prove useful to
advertisers as well,
allowing them to test the popularity of their ads
in different parts of the country.
This could allow a company that uploads a
video for free on YouTube to see where the clip
is most popular and buy ads that target that
www.flare.com.pk
In this file photo a protester holds a sign as he stands behind
a por trait of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of secular and
modern Turkey, during a rally to suppor t the ban on head-
scarves and to protest against the government in Ankara
"It is not exactly clear to me what the sub-
stance of this material was. We support free
speech, but we take down specifically insulting
material. We might well take this down" if it could
learn what items had provoked the action, he
said.





network of 'zombie' machines known
as a 'botnet', which can be directed
to attack other machines or steal per-
sonal details such as bank account
and credit card information.
Mr Walker, who used the online
name Akill, designed a virus which
was undetectable by antivirus soft-
ware, and made nearly NZ$40,000
(£15,750) selling it to other hackers,
police said. The programme he wrote
was "among the most advanced"
investigators had encountered, they
said.





region on YouTube.
YouTube will hold back
some data for its paid
advertisers, including
information on what per-
centage of a video view-
ers watch.
It merits mentioning
here that YouTube
accounts for one out of
every three videos
viewed online, or over
three billion of the over
nine billion videos viewed in January 2008.
Insight is another attempt by Google to
squeeze revenue from YouTube, which the
online advertising behemoth purchased in
October 2006 for $1.65 billion.