Pkrevenue.com

Category: IT & Telecom

Explore IT and Telecom stories with Pakistan Revenue, your go-to source for the latest updates on Pakistan’s technology and telecom sector. Stay ahead with real-time industry insights and economic developments.

  • PTA renews licenses of three cellular phone operators in AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan

    PTA renews licenses of three cellular phone operators in AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) has renewed licenses of three leading cellular mobile operators for Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.

    The ceremony for renewal of licenses was held in PTA headquarters, Islamabad on Thursday.

    Three Cellular Mobile Operators i.e. Telenor Pakistan, PMCL (Jazz) and PTML (Ufone) have deposited payment (50 per cent of the PTA determined license fee) amounting to Rs3.19 Billion against their license renewal fee with PTA.

    The event was attended by Federal Secretary for IT & Telecommunication, Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput, Chairman PTA, Major General Amir Azim Bajwa (R); Member Finance PTA, Muhammad Naveed and Member Compliance & Enforcement PTA, Dr. Khawar Siddique Khokhar; Executive Director, Frequency Allocation Board (FAB); Joint Secretary Gilgit Baltistan Council; Deputy Secretary (Finance) and Deputy Secretary (Welfare & Development) AJ&K Council and senior officers of PTA. CEOs of Telenor, Jazz and Ufone along with senior representatives of CMOs also attended the event.

    On the occasion, Chairman PTA lauded the efforts of the cellular operators for playing a crucial role in providing connectivity across these regions.

    He also appreciated the tireless efforts of concerned officials of PTA, FAB and MoIT for timely conclusion of the renewal process. He further stated that AJ&K and GB are the prime areas of tourism in Pakistan and the license renewal will pave the way for provision of 3G/4G and Next Generation Mobile Services to the consumers of these areas as well to the tourists.

    Continuous efforts are being made to bring state of the art telecommunication services to far flung areas enabling access to a multitude of opportunities for businesses, education and health.

    On this occasion Secretary IT & T, Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput congratulated the mobile operators on renewal of licenses. He said that AJ&K and GB have immense importance in government policies, and it is the government’s priority to provide advanced telecom services in these regions. He said that there are vast opportunities for public-private collaboration in various sectors including telecoms.

    It is pertinent to mention that due to license renewals, this will not only contribute towards uninterrupted provision of better telecom services to the people of AJ&K and GB but will also help in promotion of competition and investment in the telecom sector.

  • SBP, JazzCash sign MoU for increasing financial literacy

    SBP, JazzCash sign MoU for increasing financial literacy

    KARACHI: National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF) – a subsiday of State Bank of Pakistan – and JazzCash, Pakistan’s leading FinTech Company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for increasing financial literacy amongst youth of Pakistan, the SBP said on Saturday.

    NIBAF and JazzCash aim to jointly promote financial literacy through the engaging and interactive game called “PomPak – Learn to Earn” developed under SBP’s project, National Financial Literacy Program for Youth (NFLP-Y).

    PomPak, utilizes a story-based narrative by following the journey of two families setting up a small entrepreneurial venture. This helps to keep the players engaged while effectively inculcating ethical behavior and financial skills such as budgeting, saving, and banking. PomPak is available in both English and Urdu for three age groups: children (9-12); adolescents (13-17); and youth (18-29).

    Anyone who completes the course is awarded a certificate of financial literacy jointly from NIBAF and NFLP-Y. It can be played on a desktop computer or can be downloaded from Google Play and the App Store for other devices.

    JazzCash, under its partnership, is going to provide SBP access to more than 26 million Pakistanis by promoting the PomPak application on its platform. This will help the application reach a wider audience, thus increasing its usage and eventually promoting financial literacy of the nation resulting in a highly positive socio-economic impact.

    Riaz Nazarali Chunara, Managing Director, NIBAF stressed on the role of increased financial literacy for promoting financial inclusion. He said that being Pakistan’s first e-learning financial literacy game, PomPak has revolutionized the way financial education is delivered. He went on to add that NIBAF is really proud of what PomPak has achieved since its launch and this partnership with JazzCash will contribute majorly towards our commitment to provide free of cost financial education to all.

    While emphasizing on the significance of the MOU, Erwan Gelebart, Chief Executive Officer JazzCash, said that there is ample scope for financial enablement and education through JazzCash.

    Creating a strong business and building a better Pakistan in parallel are key contributors of long-term success for JazzCash. This agreement will contribute in achieving the aforesaid objectives as we look forward to upskill the youngsters of Pakistan, he said.

    Under the guidance of SBP, NIBAF is implementing National Financial Literacy Program for Youth to impart essential financial education to Pakistani youth and school going children. In the last three years, the project has successfully reached more than 45 districts of Pakistan making over 750 thousands financial literate in this category.

  • Telecom sector gets relief measures in budget 2021/2022

    Telecom sector gets relief measures in budget 2021/2022

    ISLAMABAD: The telecommunication sector has received several relief measures in the federal budget 2021/2022 that will help new investment in this sector.

    According to budget commentary released by KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co. Telecommunication is one of the largest service sectors of Pakistan contributing substantial revenue in the form of taxes on telecom services and income tax on profits.

    The Finance Bill 2021 proposes several relief measures for this sector, some of them were being demanded for long, such as grant of ‘industry’ status for tax purposes.

    These measures will help to attract investment in telecom infrastructure and reduce the cost of doing business and consequential relief to the public.

    Following tax relief measures are proposed for this sector:

    —Grant of industry status which will resolve several anomalies in taxation of this sector. Also, it will make it possible for telecom companies to import plant and machinery without collection of advance tax after obtaining exemption certificate from the Commissioner.

    —Reduction in rate of withholding tax on receipts from 8% at present to 3%. As the said tax is also minimum tax, this will entail a reduction of 62.5% in effective tax rate on income for those with low profits.

    —Reduction in rate of federal excise duty on telecom services from 17 percent to 16 percent. This will however only be relevant for services rendered in Islamabad as services rendered in provinces are subject to provincial sales tax.

    —Abolition of fixed sales tax on SIM cards. However, this will not affect existing cases in litigation.

  • Budget 2021/2022: FED reduced on telecom services

    Budget 2021/2022: FED reduced on telecom services

    ISLAMABAD: The government has announced reduction in Federal Excise Duty (FED) from 17 percent to 16 percent to facilitate businesses and provide relief to the general masses.

    Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin while presenting federal budget 2021/2022 on Friday said the government had decided to reduce FED on telecom services.

    He said that to facilitate businesses and provide relief to the general masses, rate of federal excise duty on telecommunication is proposed to be reduced from 17 percent to 16 percent.

    Further, the finance minister announced withdrawal of federal excise duty on Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charged on POS by banks, so that businesses are encouraged to carry out transactions through POS machines.

  • CCP directs DHA to give ROW to Nayatel

    CCP directs DHA to give ROW to Nayatel

    KARACHI: Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) on Tuesday directed the management of Defence Housing Authority (DHA) – I Islamabad to provide a level playing field for Nayatel by giving right of way (ROW) to provide its cable internet and telephony services on the same terms and conditions as are being offered to other existing operators.

    The CCP conducted an enquiry after taking a suo motor notice of the complaints and concerns received from the residents of DHA-I Islamabad, stating that had been deprived of an alternate choice of CIT services provider, which was restricted to only two operators i.e. Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and DHAI Teleman.

    They alleged that DHA was not letting Nayatel to operate in the area despite the company’s interest to provide its services.

    The ROW is a platform for internet service providers for the provision of CIT services.

    According to the complaints, DHA management had given ROW to PTCL and DHAI Teleman in DHA-1 while denying the same to Nayatel on equal terms and conditions.

    It was alleged that DHA’s management had created a barrier to entry for Nayatel by offering dissimilar conditions and demanding a higher price of ROW that the already existing internet service providers.

    The CCP’s enquiry concluded that DHA management, prima facie, abused its position in violation of Section 3 of the Competition Act, 2010 by not allowing Nayatel to operate in the relevant market and recommended to initiate proceedings against DHA under Section 30 of the Act.

    After hearing the parties, the bench passed the order, in which it applied the ‘essential facility doctrine’ to the matter and observed that in the current era, the CIT services are an essential need for the citizens, both for personal as well as commercial use.

    The order further stated that the residents of DHA-I were demanding CIT services from Nayatel, being a Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) based CIT service provider, however, DHA-I management, abusing its dominant position, refused to issue an NOC to Nayatel to install its infrastructure within DHA-I Phase-I and other sectors.

    As per the order DHA-I held a dominant position in the relevant market and had already granted ROW to four parties i.e. PTCL, Transworld, Wateen and its very own subsidiary DHAI Teleman for providing (G-PON) and allied CIT services to the residents of DHA-I, the lincensee seeking the ROW was Nayatel.

    The already existing service providers are on cost sharing basis with DHA-I rather than on a revenue sharing basis. The order observes that DHA-I has failed to explain any logic as to why there has been a disparity between the charges offered to Nayatel and other incumbents, which amounts to discrimination and application of dissimilar conditions to the same transaction, under Section 3(I), read with subsection 3(e) of the Act.

    The order also finds support from the directive issued by the ministry of information technology and telecommunications in October 2020, called the “public and private right of way policy directive” which stated that ‘the public authority shall not discriminate any licensee towards charging of right way fee and there shall not be any differential or preferential treatment in right of way fee for any type of licensee including other utility service providers and those wholly or partially owned by the federal or provincial government or the public authority.

    Keeping in view all circumstances and with a view to give a chance to DHA-I to correct its behavior and to offer Nayatel within 90 days from the date of the order to use the ROW on terms and conditions no less favorable than the incumbent service providers.

    The CCP has not imposed any penalty on DHA for now. But in case of non-compliance, DHA-I shall be liable to pay Rs2 million for violating Section 3 of the Competition Act, 2010 in addition to appropriate penalties for non-compliance under Section 38 of the Act.

    DHA-I has been further directed to file a compliance report before the registrar of the commission no later than 7 days from the date such offer is made to Nayatel.

  • PKIC to make Rs500 million investment in Planet N

    PKIC to make Rs500 million investment in Planet N

    KARACHI: Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company (Private) Limited (PKIC) announces that it is making an equity investment of Rs500 million in Planet N (Private) Limited. This is the largest equity investment by a local Financial Institution in a Tech Investment Platform in Pakistan. It was approved by the Board of PKIC in December, 2020.

    This investment will help Planet N expand its operations and will also motivate other investors to explore opportunities to develop and strengthen tech entrepreneurship and disruption in the country.

    With total assets of over rs107 billion and equity of over Rs38 billion, PKIC is Pakistan’s leading DFI engaged in investment and development financing activities in the country. PKIC was established as a joint venture between the Governments of Pakistan and Kuwait in 1979. It is a “AAA” (Triple A) rated financial institution.

    Planet N has invested and nurtured tech start-ups such as Tapmad TV, Dawaai.pk, PublishEx, Tez Financial Services, Datalift, PiePie, Kashat, JinglePay, etc. spread across various jurisdictions including Pakistan, UAE, Egypt, Singapore and USA. It currently has more than 30 companies in its portfolio focusing on financial inclusion, fintech, digital media, data science & AI. This portfolio is expected to grow further after the equity investment by PKIC.

    Speaking on the occasion of the signing ceremony, MD PKIC Mubashar Maqbool expressed his elation at this investment by PKIC and stated that PKIC has a firm desire to support all priority sectors of the economy, especially the growing technology sector, by providing traditional as well as innovative financing solutions to its prospective customers.

    Maqbool hoped that this landmark investment should inspire other players, investors, family business houses, and investment companies to do the same and would also encourage the young entrepreneurs in the tech sector.

    CEO Planet N Nadeem Hussain said he has always tried to encourage local investors to aid young entrepreneurs with innovative ideas. His initial investment in tech companies has seen exponential gains and he hopes that having PKIC as an equity partner will initiate a big disruption in the local- investors- horizon and their approach towards tech-based investments.

    Irfan Siddiqui, CEO and President Meezan Bank Ltd, chief guest to the occasion said that this is one of its kind investment by a local DFI into a Tech disruption investment company paving the way for further investment by other financial institutions that will help tech start-ups in Pakistan.

    Also, present on the occasion were Ariful Islam, Deputy CEO Meezan Bank Ltd, Khurram Hussain, MD Pak Libya Holding Co. and senior management from PKIC, Planet N, and Arif Habib Limited (AHL). AHL acted as the Financial Advisor to this landmark transaction.

    Planet N was founded by Nadeem Hussain in 2016; with a vision to invest in growth oriented hi-tech companies. Hussain is the founder and ex-CEO of Telenor (previously Tameer) Microfinance Bank.

  • PTA receives Rs15.82bn from mobile operators as 2nd installment for license renewal fees

    PTA receives Rs15.82bn from mobile operators as 2nd installment for license renewal fees

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Thursday said it has received an amount of Rs 15.82 billion (equivalent of $103.17 million) against second installment of License Renewal Fee from two Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs); Telenor Pakistan and Pakistan Mobile Communication Ltd. (Jazz).

    The amount is being deposited in Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF) as per practice under Pakistan Telecom Re-organization Act 1996.

    PTA has so far deposited PKR 135.81 billion (equivalent of USD 862.22 million) with the Government, received against 50% of total License Renewal Fee and first instalment of the same from three CMOs.

    With the amount of second installment received from two CMOs now, the total receipts on this count have become PKR 151.63 billion (USD 965.39 million). The second license renewal fee instalment of CMPAK (ZONG) for USD 54.086 shall be due in October 2021.

  • Jazz awarded project worth Rs344 million for providing broadband service

    Jazz awarded project worth Rs344 million for providing broadband service

    ISLAMABAD: The Universal Service Fund (USF) on Monday awarded contract worth approximately Rs344 million to Jazz for providing High Speed Mobile Broadband services in Jacobabad, Shikarpur & Kashmore districts of Sindh province.

    Federal Minister for Information Technology (IT) and Telecommunication, Syed Amin Ul Haque, Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar and Federal Minister for Privatization, Mian Muhammad Somroo witnessed the contract signing ceremony in Jacobabad on Monday.
    The contract was signed by Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary, CEO, USF with Aamir Ibrahim, CEO, Jazz. Addressing the ceremony, Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication, Syed Amin Ul Haque said, “Sindh is not governed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) or Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), and for the past 12 years, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has been occupying the province- a party that does not care about the people or their interests.

    During its 12 years in power, PPP gave the people of this province nothing but poverty, unemployment, broken roads, sewerage and water issues, along with health and education problems. Journalists are also being subjected to false charges, bullying, intimidation, torture and even murder. We strongly condemn this and demand that the cases against the journalists be dropped immediately and that justice be provided to the families of the ones who were martyred.”

    The Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication added that necessary steps were being taken for the development of Sindh including the provision of High Speed Mobile Broadband services to millions of residents of Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Kashmore and surrounding areas.

    Syed Amin Ul Haque said that the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication has launched 9 projects worth over Rs8.48 billion in the last two years focusing on improvement of network coverage and provision of High Speed Mobile Broadband services along with a number of optical fiber cable projects in Sindh.

    The completion of these projects will provide facilities to 17.7 Million people in 19 districts of the province. Currently, 1,900 km of optical fiber cable is being laid which will serve educational institutions, health centers and businesses, allowing citizens to access High Speed Internet.

    He added that within the next few days, a 709 km long optical fiber cable project will be launched at a cost of PKR 2.1 Billion, making it another important milestone in digitalizing Pakistan. Syed Amin Ul Haque said that an indication of Sindh government and its Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah’s lack of interest in the people of the province was the fact that he never participated in the launch events for these welfare projects, despite being invited by the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication several times. He added that the Sindh government was not concerned about the public and public-interest projects.

    He stated, “We have not made false promises to you, but have framed our plans and are beginning to take practical steps for Sindh. Because we believe in the politics of service, we have nothing to do with the politics of opposition.”

    He prompted journalists to hold the Chief Minister of Sindh accountable for development funds of more than PKR 1500 Billion that were sanctioned for the people of Sindh in the past 12 years and question where such a huge amount was spent and how has it improved lives of the citizens.

    While addressing the ceremony, Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar and Federal Minister for Privatization, Muhammad Mian Soomro thanked the Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication, Syed Amin Ul Haque for launching projects worth billions of rupees for the province of Sindh.

    Sharing his views on the development, CEO Jazz, Aamir Ibrahim said, “Jazz invested US$ 462 million during the last two years mainly to expand its 4G footprint in rural and semiurban areas and bridge the digital divide as we collaborate with the Government of Pakistan in realizing the #DigitalPakistan vision.

    “Today, close to 60 percent of Pakistan’s population has access to Jazz’s 4G network. Through this contract, Jazz in collaboration with USF will equip over a million unserved residents of Jacobabad, Kashmore and Shikarpur districts with high-speed mobile broadband, creating socioeconomic opportunities and uplifting lives.”

  • PTA issues billing advisory for telecom consumers

    PTA issues billing advisory for telecom consumers

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued advisory for telecom consumers to avoid billing shocks while subscribing broadband internet packages.

    The PTA on Sunday said that following options may be considered/exercised to avoid billing issues and avail mobile broadband services at affordable rates/prices:

    — Standard / baseline mobile data (default) rates are generally costly/expensive, therefore, consumers are encouraged to opt/subscribe for daily, weekly or monthly mobile data bundles/packages/offers as they are more affordable / cheaper and provides good value for money.

    — Consumers who do not wish to use mobile internet may change their mobile handset internet settings as follows:

    > click on settings

    > Select network/ SIM cards / internet / mobile data

    > Select SIM card/Mobile Data options

    > Select preferred network type / voice and data

    > select 2G or 3G

    — To void ‘bill shocks’, data connection may be switched off while not in use.

    — Before subscribing any mobile broadband data package / offer/ bundle, “terms and conditions” should be read carefully. Subscription of new or additional bundle may result in removal of existing bundles’ free incentives and resource such as SMS, minutes and data.

    — After activation of any specific offer or package through mobile application, consumers are advised to use the same after receipt of confirmation SMS from operator.

    — In case any complaint related to auto subscription of offer, package or bundle, overcharging, billing related issue, helpline and quality of service etc. consumers can contact concerned operator first. In case of no response from concerned operator, the issue may be escalated to the PTA.

  • Turkey’s BiP communication introduces new feature

    Turkey’s BiP communication introduces new feature

    KARACHI: Turkey’s secure life and communication platform BiP has introduced new feature, allowing users to convey their group chats easily from other applications, a statement said on Friday.

    Turkey’s secure life and communication platform BiP has witnessed 2 million downloads in Pakistan and 80 million downloads globally.

    Reaching out to 80 million users globally, BiP sustains innovative investments and introduces group chat import enabling users to move their existing group and individual chats including videos and photographs automatically at once.

    Unlike other applications, users are not obliged to manually add every fellow user one by one as BiP handles the import directly by adding all participants in.  

    Commenting on the most recent feature of BiP Burak AKINCI, CEO of BiP, said: “Digitization is becoming a norm rapidly. A messaging application is not only a messaging application anymore but more of a living ecosystem via we communicate, work and trade. Users need to feel safe and secure in that ecosystem. In an era where we are under continuous cyber-crime threats as businesses and individuals, consumers’ protection and consent are critical.

    Data ethics and security has paramount importance for us. A protected and seamless migration experience is a symbol for our dedication in a thorough and fulfilled CX.”

    Underlining the importance of the Pakistani market, AKINCI said: “Exceptional relations between our countries have been a great motivation for us from the day one. In just a couple of months we’ve reached more than 2 million downloads with very high rates of like scores in various platforms.

    “We also pursue productive collaborations with operators and local content providers in the Pakistani market. We’ll gratefully continue to invest in innovative and localized solutions to make Pakistanis’ everyday lives and digital interactions easier and safer.”

    Messaging and group video calls up to 10 people with HD quality are the most popular features for Pakistani users. The messaging traffic per user in March becomes 4 times of the value in January for Pakistani users.

    The peak day for the downloads is Monday and Lahore comes up as the first city in terms of download numbers within the country.

    BiP’s awarded instant translation   and secret messaging are other significant features that are highly preferred by Pakistani consumers. BiP instantly translates written words and phrases in 106 languages, including Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto and Sundanese.

    BiP has received the ‘Most Innovative Mobile App’ award at 2020 Global Mobile Awards under ‘Connected Consumer Category’ with this built-in real-time translation feature. Secret chat is another highly preferred feature in the Pakistani market as it enables users to make the chats disappear from the chat screen with the period they determine.

    Secret chat creates a solid sense of security and privacy for its users, with no data backed up by BIP or decrypted. In BiP, no data is shared with third parties, and all data is kept under high-tech data centers in Turkey. Nothing is imposed on the users, and everything is operated under their consent only.

    Operating in 192 countries, Turkey’s life and communication platform BiP offers HD-quality group video call with up to 10 people along with instant messaging and voice call features.

    Allowing up to 1000 users in groups chats, BiP also enables shortcuts for frequently communicated users or groups on home screen.

    BiP has also recently announced superior features such as dark mode and personalized menu. The application makes text formatting seamless with its recent feature which makes users to emphasize their words with bold, italics, strikethrough or underline in addition to chat archive… Paying genuine attention to localization BiP has also introduced its Ramadan and Cricket Channels in Pakistani market.

    Throughout Ramadan BiP users may follow all location based iftar and suhoor timings, menu alternatives and meal recipes and spiritual insights via exclusively designed Ramadan channel. Cricket channel is another locally designed medium which tells live scores, team info, live news and evaluations about cricket.