Telecommunications in Pakistan
Perception survey[edit]
LIRNEasia's Telecommunications Regulatory Environment (TRE) index summarizes stakeholders
perception of the regulatory and policy environment and provides insight into how conducive the
environment is for further development and progress. The most recent survey was conducted in July
2008 in eight Asian countries, including Pakistan. The tool measured seven dimensions: (i) market
entry; (ii) access to scarce resources; (iii) interconnection; (iv) tariff regulation; (v) anti-competitive
practices; (vi) universal services; and (vii) quality of service; for the fixed, mobile, and broadband
sectors.[1]
The survey found that in Pakistan the mobile sector was most active, followed by broadband; while
the fixed-line sector remained somewhat static. The parameters that improved compared to the 2006
survey were: interconnection, tariff regulation, regulation of anti-competitive practices, and universal
service obligation in the mobile sector; and market entry, interconnection, regulation of anticompetitive practices and universal service obligation in the fixed sector. Market entry received a low
score in the mobile sector due to the perception that the cost of a new or renewal mobile license was
prohibitive, thus posing a serious barrier to entry. However, this conclusion may have been incorrect,
as the license fee, at least in the case of renewal by Mobilink GSM, was paid in installments over a
period of three years. Thus, lack of complete information on the part of survey participants may have
skewed the results.[1][7]
Mobile telecommunications[edit]
Further information: List of mobile phone companies in Pakistan
Instaphone and Paktel were the pioneers in mobile communication in Pakistan during the 1990s.
They were joined by Mobilink in 1998 which was owned by Motorola until its sale to
ORASCOM.[8] The trio offered AMPS services before switching to GSM in the early
2000s. Ufone joined the mix in 2001. The sector was highly regulated which led to high call rates
and poor service quality.[9]
In January 2004 the Ministry of Information Technology issued its Mobile Cellular Policy with
objectives to:[10]
1. Promote efficient use of radio spectrum;
2. Increase choice for customers of cellular mobile services at competitive and affordable
prices;
3. Encourage private investment in the cellular mobile sector;
4. Recognize the rights and obligations of mobile cellular operators;
5. Provide for fair competition among mobile and fixed line operators; and
6. Provide an effective and well defined regulatory regime that is consistent with international
best practices.
The deregulation bore fruit as international companies Telenor (Norway) and Warid Pakistan set up
operations in the country in 2005.
Subscriber base[edit]
The mobile telecommunications sector is seeing very large year-to-year growth in Pakistan.
Approximately 90 percent of Pakistanis live within areas that have cell phone coverage and more
than half of all Pakistanis have access to a cell phone.[6] With 118 million mobile subscribers in
March 2012, Pakistan has the highest mobile penetration rate in the South Asian region.[11]
According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Mobilink continues to lead the market
with 35.7 million subscribers, followed by Telenor with 29.3 million, Ufone with 23.1
million, Zong with 15.6 million, and Warid Telecom with 14.3 million.[11] All telecom companies are
working to broaden their networks in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Northern Areas, which were
largely ignored until recently. Five of the seven Agencies of the tribal areas have mobile coverage.[12]
SMS[edit]
Pakistanis collectively sent over 151 billion text messages during the year 2009. Nokia has cited
Pakistan to be producing the third highest SMS traffic in the world in 2010.[13]
Fixed-line telephones[edit]
Fixed-line subscriptions declined from a peak of 5.2 million in 2005-06 to 3.4 million in 2009-10.[11]
When dialing on landlines, calls made within cities are considered local calls and you just dial the
local number. Calls to other cities (e.g. Karachi to Lahore) are considered long distance calls, e.g.,
when dialing to Lahore from Karachi you have to dial the code for Lahore then followed by the
number of the destination, therefore you dial 042-XXXX-XXXX. For international calls, you dial "00"
followed by the country code, e.g., for calls to the UK from Pakistan you dial 00 - 44 - XXXXXX.
The country code for Pakistan is 92.[6]
