The mobile phone network operator industry in Pakistan is a growing industry. According to figures from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), there were 152 million mobile 'phone subscribers' in Pakistan in March 2019. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The mobile industry in Pakistan has traditionally been marked by intense competition. However, as they step into the year 2023, there has been an unforeseen decline in the importation of mobile phones. This unexpected downturn in the mobile import market has triggered a sudden surge in mobile prices across Pakistan. Several factors contribute to this phenomenon, including the devaluation of the Pakistani rupee and an associated increase in taxes, which stands out as a prominent catalyst. Additionally, the current state of Pakistan's democracy, a lack of domestic production capacity, and the high costs associated with imports are further exacerbating this situation. Furthermore, rising inflation and the depreciation of the Pakistani currency have compelled major smartphone brands to raise their mobile device prices. [5]
PTA figures for 2007, for comparison, reported 48.5 million subscribers, [6] rising to 102 million (over 60% of the population) by December 2010. [7]
In 2007, the largest cellular mobile telephone service providing company in Pakistan was Mobilink, and other companies included Wateen (a member of Dhabi Group). [6]
In 2010, there were five mobile cellular phone service operator companies in Pakistan. [7]
Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) was an analog mobile phone system standard originally developed by Bell Labs and later modified in a cooperative effort between Bell Labs and Motorola. It was officially introduced in the Americas on October 13, 1983, and was deployed in many other countries too, including Israel in 1986, Australia in 1987, Singapore in 1988, and Pakistan in 1990. It was the primary analog mobile phone system in North America through the 1980s and into the 2000s. As of February 18, 2008, carriers in the United States were no longer required to support AMPS and companies such as AT&T and Verizon Communications have discontinued this service permanently. AMPS was discontinued in Australia in September 2000, in Pakistan by October 2004, in Israel by January 2010, and Brazil by 2010.
The economy of Pakistan is classified as a developing economy. It is the 24th-largest in terms of GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP) and 46th largest in terms of nominal GDP. As of 2023, the country has a population of 232 million people. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on a per capita income basis, Pakistan ranked 161st by GDP (nominal) and 138th by GDP (PPP).
Telecommunications in Pakistan describes the overall environment for the mobile telecommunications, telephone, and Internet markets in Pakistan.
Telecommunications in the Philippines are well-developed due to the presence of modern infrastructure facilities. The industry was deregulated in 1995 when President Fidel Ramos signed Republic Act No. 7925. This law opened the sector to more private players and improved the provision of telecom services are better and fairer rates, leading to the creation of many telecommunication service providers for mobile, fixed-line, Internet and other services.
Local number portability (LNP) for fixed lines, and full mobile number portability (FMNP) for mobile phone lines, refers to the ability of a "customer of record" of an existing fixed-line or mobile telephone number assigned by a local exchange carrier (LEC) to reassign the number to another carrier, move it to another location, or change the type of service. In most cases, there are limitations to transferability with regards to geography, service area coverage, and technology. Location Portability and Service Portability are not consistently defined or deployed in the telecommunication industry.
Pak Telecommunication Mobile Limited or Ufone is a Pakistani GSM cellular service provider. It is the third mobile operator to enter Pakistani market. It started its operations under the brand Ufone, in Islamabad on January 29, 2001.
Paktel was the pioneer cellular operator of Pakistan. It was the trend setter company granted license to carry out cellular phone services in Pakistan, set up by Cable & Wireless. It carried out AMPS services until 2004 when the company switched to GSM technology.
Instaphone was Pakistan's first mobile communication service. It was launched by M/s Pakcom Ltd., a telecommunications company and the industry pioneer in the country. The company was jointly owned by M/s Arfeen and Millicom International (Luxembourg) and was acquired later by the Arfeen Group.
Telenor Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited is the second largest cellular & digital services provider in Pakistan owned by Telenor Group, which is an international provider of voice, data, content and mobile communication services in 9 markets worldwide in Scandinavia and Asia. Telenor started out as a public company in 1855. Khurrum Ashfaque is the current CEO of Telenor Pakistan since August 2023.
The telecommunications industry in China is dominated by three state-run businesses: China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile. The three companies were formed by restructuring launched in May 2008, directed by the Ministry of Information Industry (MII), National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Minister of Finance. Since then, all three companies gained nationwide fixed-line and cellular mobile telecom licenses in China. In 2019, all three telecoms were issued 5G national licenses.
The termination rate is one of the three components in the cost of providing telephone service, and the one subject to the most variation.
Warid was a GSM, HSPA+ and LTE based mobile operator in Pakistan. It was the seventh mobile carrier to enter the Pakistani market. It commenced commercial operations on May 23, 2005 by the Abu Dhabi Group, a business conglomerate in the Middle East and a major investor in Pakistan. It was the first venture of the group in the field of Telecommunication.
Telecommunication Company of Iran, or TCI, is the fixed-line incumbent operator in Iran offering services in fixed telephony, DSL and data services for both residential and business customers, all throughout the country. It was established in 1971 with a new organizational structure as the main responsible administration for the entire telecommunication affairs.
The Internet in Pakistan has been available since the early 1990s. Pakistan has about 130 million internet users, making it the 7th-largest population of internet users in the world. Information and communications technology (ICT) is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. In 2001 just 1.3% of the population used the Internet. By 2006 this figure had grown to 6.5% and in 2012 to 10.0%. As of July 2021; the percentage of internet users in Pakistan is 54%, which translates into approximately 118 million citizens having access to internet. Inadequate infrastructure is adversely impacting Internet speeds, encompassing technology, available backhaul, and international Internet bandwidth. This is the primary reason why Pakistan's Internet speed lags behind that of neighboring countries and even some less developed nations worldwide.
Telecommunications in Taiwan comprise the following communication media, deployed in the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China and regulated by the National Communications Commission of the Executive Yuan.
CMPak Limited, doing business under brand name Zong, is a Pakistan based mobile data network operator, owned by the company China Mobile.
Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited (PMCL), doing business as Jazz, (Urdu: جاز) is Pakistan's largest mobile network and internet services provider formed by the merger of Mobilink and Warid Pakistan.