Pakistan Rolling Out High Speed Broadband Access Service

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan is working on a major roll-out of bonded VDSL2 to deliver 50 Mbps, five times the top speed of the nation's highest level of service today, at a construction cost of just $200-300 per home passed.



Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the nation’s state-controlled phone company, is deploying VDSL2 Bonding technology to provide existing digital subscriber line (DSL) customers with speeds up to 50 Mbps. The project leverages Alcatel-Lucent’s VDSL2 Bonding expertise and will be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2011, according to a report in Daily Times.

VDSL2 technology is a good cost-effective option for Pakistan to upgrade existing DSL because it could serve as a platform to deliver broadband, video, and phone service, much like AT&T’s U-verse known as triple-play. VDSL2 Bonding takes two copper-based VDSL2 lines per subscriber and aggregates them—almost doubling the bandwidths available to existing customers, or expanding high-speed broadband access to areas that are underserved today.

PTCL selected VDSL2 over fiber to the home (FTTH) primarily because of cost. With fiber installs twice as expensive as a DSL upgrade, a developing country like Pakistan couldn’t justify the higher price. VDSL is expected to be an important part of broadband expansion in the developing world, particularly in Africa, southeastern Europe, and central Asia. Longer term, Pakistan is building Fiber To The Home (FTTH) network for much higher bandwidths, and several thousand homes have already been wired with fiber as a pilot roll-out in Islamabad by a Pakistani Internet service provider (ISP) called Nayatel.

With just over a million broadband subscribers as of October 2010, Pakistan’s broadband subscriber base is small. But it is in the midst of explosive growth with an increase of 63.5% from the 643,892 in December 2009. While the DSL remains the main technology used to access broadband services in the country, alternative wireless solutions WiMAX and EV-DO are catching up fast. The number of DSL users grew by 96.5% from 262,661 in June 2009, according to Business Monitor International (BMI). By contrast, subscriber figures of WiMAX and EV-DO increased by 246.6% and 708.5% over the same period to reach 306,665 and 181,947 respectively. The popularity of mobile broadband services is likely due to more affordable pricing plans bundled with low-cost mobile devices. Moreover, two-thirds of the population reside in rural areas where fixed-line infrastructure remains poor and wireless broadband service therefore becomes an attractive and relatively cheaper method to bring connectivity to the underserved regions.



At current pricing, PTCL offers a basic broadband service package with a 256kbps connection limited to 1GB of data for Rs. 299 ($3.50) a month. This low-cost package is designed for users interested in email and light browsing, not heavy downloads and uploads.

The next level is the popular 2Mbps unlimited package for around Rs. 1499 ($17.78) a month. And then there is 10Mbps service for an expensive Rs. 8500 ($100) a month. With the upgrades, PTCL can either raise speeds, reduce prices, or a combination of both. Other than the 256kbps service, all other broadband packages from the company offer unlimited use.

Considering all the massive negative propaganda in the Indian and western media about Pakistan, it is interesting to see that some Americans are noticing the high-speed access build-out in the "failed state" of Pakistan by a state-owned telephone company.

In a provocatively titled post "Osama bin Laden Getting Faster Internet Than You Have: Pakistan’s ..., an American blogger Philip Dampier complains as follows: "While America’s heartland is being wired for 3Mbps DSL service, residents in Pakistan are getting ready for speeds up to 50Mbps thanks to a major broadband expansion in the country".

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[Riaz Haq]

A Pakistani's tweets captured the events in Abbottabad in a twitter stream hours before Obama announced the killing of Osama Bin Laden, according to CNET news:

Even before U.S. special forces succeeded in their mission to capture or kill Osama bin Laden earlier today, Twitter users were recording a rough outline of the events to come.

Sohaib Athar, who describes himself as a 30-ish independent software consultant "taking a break from the rat-race by hiding in the mountains with his laptops," happened to be in Abbottabad, Pakistan, about 10 hours ago.

Athar heard the helicopters used during the raid. He shared updates live on Twitter, according to the microblogging service's timestamps. And he's likely to be a footnote in history as a result.

President Obama announced bin Laden's demise this evening, saying the elusive al-Qaeda leader was killed in a firefight and the identity of his body had been confirmed. (See related CNET story.)

Here are some excerpts from the conversation that Athar and other Twitter users had over the last 10 hours:

https://twitter.com/ReallyVirtual/status/64780730286358528
Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event). about 10 hours ago via TweetDeck

https://twitter.com/ReallyVirtual/status/64783440226168832
A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope its not the start of something nasty :-S about 10 hours ago via TweetDeck

https://twitter.com/ReallyVirtual/status/64792407144796160
@m0hcin all silent after the blast, but a friend heard it 6 km away too... the helicopter is gone too. about 9 hours ago via TweetDeck in reply to m0hcin

https://twitter.com/m0hcin/status/64791032579108864
Just talked to family in Abbottabad, say they heard three blasts one after another, don't know what really happened. about 10 hours ago via web

https://twitter.com/ReallyVirtual/status/64793269908930560
@m0hcin the few people online at this time of the night are saying one of the copters was not Pakistani... about 9 hours ago via TweetDeck in reply to m0hcin

https://twitter.com/m0hcin/status/64794837077065728
Seems something nasty happening in #Abbottabad, God save us. about 9 hours ago via web

https://twitter.com/ReallyVirtual/status/64796769418088448
Since taliban (probably) don't have helicpoters, and since they're saying it was not "ours", so must be a complicated situation #abbottabad about 9 hours ago via TweetDeck

https://twitter.com/ReallyVirtual/status/64798882332278785
The abbottabad helicopter/UFO was shot down near the Bilal Town area, and there's report of a flash. People saying it could be a drone. about 9 hours ago via TweetDeck

https://twitter.com/tahirakram/status/64797447821602816
@ReallyVirtual Damn. Unusual. Was it of Pakistan Army? about 9 hours ago via TweetDeck in reply to ReallyVirtual

https://twitter.com/ReallyVirtual/status/64800262354763776
@tahirakram very likely - but it was too noisy to be a spy craft, or, a very poor spy craft it was. about 9 hours ago via TweetDeck

https://twitter.com/ReallyVirtual/status/64892915167657984
@kursed Well, there were at least two copters last night, I heard one but a friend heard two, for 15-20 minutes. about 3 hours ago via TweetDeck in reply to kursed

https://twitter.com/naqvi/status/64883228590350336
i think the helicopter crash in Abbottabad, Pakistan and the President Obama breaking news address are connected. about 3 hours ago via web Retweeted by ReallyVirtual

https://twitter.com/ReallyVirtual/status/64892915167657984
Uh oh, now I'm the guy who liveblogged the Osama raid without knowing it. about 2 hours ago via TweetDeck


Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20058790-281.html#ixzz1LD0zXP60

[Riaz Haq]

Here's a Telecom report on growing base of broadband subscribers in Pakistan:

Pakistan ended October 2012 with 2.25 million broadband subscribers, up from 2.21 million in September, according to figures from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). Most subscribers used DSL to connect to the internet, with the numbers rising to 913,102 from 904,154 a month earlier. Furthermore, the number of EV-DO internet users grew to 700,214 from 666,886 in the prior month. However, the Wimax internet base fell to 587,967 from 591,680 in September and the number of HFC internet users slipped to 34,141 from 35,343. There were also 9,299 FTTH users in October, up from 8,971 a month earlier, and 3,069 broadband subscribers used other technologies.

http://www.telecompaper.com/news/pakistan-ends-october-with-225-mln...

[Riaz Haq]

Here's a Financial Post story on $100m deal for satellite Internet access in Pakistan:

With the launch of the first four satellites in [external] O3b Networks’ satellite fleet only 78 days away, O3b announced today a strategic agreement with Pakistan’s largest ICT company Interactive Esolutions. Using multiple O3b beams to provide coverage of the entire country, Interactive will be providing a full suite of services in Pakistan, including trunking services to underserved regions, cellular backhaul for mobile operators and enterprise and e-government services across the country.

O3b Networks will deliver fiber-like speed at sub 150 millisecond latency and affordable prices, opening the door to new applications and growth opportunities for customers in Pakistan.

Mr. Shahid Mahmud, Chairman/CEO Interactive Group said, “We are extremely excited about this agreement as we strongly believe that the Pakistani market offers immense appetite for bandwidth and data. Our customer base varies from Telecom operators to large and small enterprise across the country. We anticipate great demand in the Oil & Gas sector, Health, Education, Shipping and Government sectors. We are happy that Interactive will be contributing to the growth of broadband through this state of the art technology. We firmly believe that together we will usher in a new era of Internet usage proliferating the positive effects of connectivity amongst the people of Pakistan.”

“We are honored to support Interactive Group in continuing their history of technical innovation and service to Pakistan,” said Steve Collar, CEO of O3b Networks. “Pakistan, with its burgeoning population and growing economy is in desperate need for state of the art communications infrastructure. By overcoming the geographical hurdles presented by mountainous terrain, working together with Interactive we can ensure that broadband connectivity is available across the entire country.”

O3b’s unique eight satellite, Medium-Earth-Orbit fleet enables affordable, high-speed connectivity in places where traditional satellite and fiber offerings are unavailable or extremely costly.

http://www.financialpost.com/m/markets/news/Networks+Interactive+So...

[Riaz Haq]

Here's a Dawn report on fiber optic plans for Pakistan:

Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rehman on Thursday announced to lay optic fiber across Pakistan for spreading telecom facilities to create equal opportunities for masses.

She stated this while making a surprise visit to the fiber optic route of Chirah-Lehtrar-Kotli Sattian.

“An optic fiber cable of about 40 km has been laid and has proved to be an asset for a populace of about 101,000 people and further initiatives will be taken in future by the ministry of IT to spread optic fiber across all the union council's of the country to connect the entire nation,” she said.

So far more than 4,250 km of optic fiber cable has been laid to connect the un-served tehsil's and towns. With these achievements, USFCo and ministry of IT has created a success story for the public-private partnership entities nationally and internationally, she added.

“The ministry of IT, Telecom and USFCo stands committed to the envisioned goal of spreading innovative yet affordable ICT and telecom solutions to the masses across the country and this project has particularly played an important role in facilitation of ICT services and has generated socio-economic benefits for the locals of this area.”

Anusha during her visit to the site was accompanied by the secretary MOITT and the senior management of USFCo.

http://dawn.com/news/1059171/it-ministry-to-lay-optic-fiber-across-...

[Riaz Haq]

#UAE’s Yahsat launches broadband services in #Pakistan #Internet Access

http://tribune.com.pk/story/914146/uaes-yahsat-launches-broadband-s... …

A satellite broadband service of the UAE-based Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), YahClick, has officially launched services in Pakistan.

“Customers across Pakistan will now be able to connect to a satellite broadband via a small dish and modem, without the frustration of congested networks,” Yahsat said in a statement.

The statement added customers can connect to the satellite anywhere in the country, including places where terrestrial infrastructure is currently not available.

Read: March statistics: Broadband subscriptions edge past 12 million

“Our consumer launch in Pakistan is a significant milestone for YahClick. Regulatory approval by the Pakistani authorities for consumer use, paves the way for us to continue our global growth strategy in this promising market,” Yahsat CEO, Masood M Sharif Mahmood, said.

“We are confident that with the launch of our service in Pakistan, we will attract even more businesses and home users who are striving for better connectivity and access to global online, social, cultural and knowledge communities.”

Satellite technology is being used by YahClick to send and receive high-speed broadband internet signals in Pakistan linking some of the country’s most important infrastructure, including over 154 ATMs for many banks, and supporting election offices in remote areas and also connecting 1,600 students.

“YahClick will help Pakistan accelerate its economic growth and social development by improving access to information and reducing operational costs for internet access in the most remote and currently underserved areas,” Mahmood added.

Read: Stakeholders criticise tax on internet usage

Almost 34,000 subscribers have been acquired by YahClick for its satellite broadband service, up till now. Across 13 countries out of its 28 country footprint, the service has been installed of which seven are in sub-Saharan Africa.

[Riaz Haq]

Zong Fiber – The Latest Technology In Town!
By Usama Muneer

https://www.streetbuzz.pk/zong-fiber-latest-technology/

Zong, one of Pakistan’s most popular telecom companies, has introduced the latest technology in town: High-speed fiber optic internet. By doing this, Zong has become the first and only mobile network operator in the country which is offering this advanced and much-anticipated connectivity service. If you’re frustrated by low internet speeds and poor connections, then you can breathe a sigh of relief because this Zong fiber optic technology is the answer to all your prayers!

Previously, Zong has been the pioneer of 4G technology in Pakistan and has since been a popular choice among customers nationwide as provider of quality internet services. Zong has been reported to be the most preferred 4G network with more than 12 million subscribers. Not only this, but the network has more than 11,000 operational 4G sites and thus, has facilitated its users in enhancing their digital experience with speed, efficiency and style.


Recently, The Consumers Association of Pakistan has selected Zong for the “Best in 4G Services” award. Needless to say, this is living proof that Zong has been leading the Pakistani market and is loved by internet users across the country. Furthermore, Zong is committed to continue investing for the expansion of the 4G ecosystem and promises to deliver state of the art services to offer unparalleled connectivity to its uses.

Taking their mission forward, the telecom company has now come up with direct-to-home fiber optic internet which is a step forward towards reinventing internet services in Pakistan. Through this Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Broadband technology, Zong 4G has committed to deliver top-of-the-line services and the fastest internet speed to its valued customers across the nation.

To launch Zong Fiber, a two-day event will be held in Karachi. To begin with, the service will only be available to select areas in Karachi. The company has also announced that the first 100 connections will enjoy the added benefit of no installation charges. Introducing these latest services, Wang Hua, Zong 4G Chairman and CEO has said,

“Zong Fiber allows us to directly deliver the fastest internet to our valued customers’ homes. We have always endeavored to bring new digital experiences to the lives of our customers. Our objective of people empowerment only strengthens our commitment to provide sustainable and top-of-the-line internet technology to the people of Pakistan.”

Wang Hua has also called the development of Zong Fiber a “tremendous milestone” for the telecom company. It remains to be seen how well customers respond to Zong’s latest advancement and how successful this service is, but with all this in front of us, it’s hard not to have high expectations from Zong’s latest venture.

If the service is as good as it looks, it’s a no-brainer that this will be the future of technology in Pakistan. The tech junkies are buzzing with excitement, and it’s for a good reason!

We absolutely can NOT wait to hear all the reviews from those who get to experience Zong Fiber firsthand, and hopefully try it ourselves soon! The future of internet sure looks bright, and for that, we’re counting on you, Zong!

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan had almost 128 ISPs in 2007, with customers concentrated in the areas of Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore. PTCL offers free dial-up Internet service to all its landline subscribers. In 2006 NayaTel began to offer Fiber to the User (FTTU) triple-services in the capital city of Islamabad. In 2005 Telekom Malaysia acquired 78 per cent equity in Multinet Pakistan,^[15] and announced the launch of ‘Project Ittehad.’The blueprint of the project suggested that the company would lay down 4,500-km high-speed and higher capacity fibre optic link, which would link 77 cities of the country. Project was estimated to be completed in 14 months and resulted in a highly accessible, fully redundant and resilient DWDM backbone with 20 gigabytes per second operational capacity and 48 cores of dark fibre. Multinet has 12,000 km long self-healing and scalable optical fiber network covering over 120 cities of Pakistan.^[16] Broadband access is available in major cities, wireless broadband Internet has been introduced by the Wireless local loop (WLL) networks in many major cities, and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) networks are being deployed. Most Pakistani companies, educational institutes, and government departments maintain web sites, which has further increased the demand for Internet access.^[17]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_Pakistan}

[Riaz Haq]

IT Ministry Launches Optical Fiber Cable Projects Worth Rs. 5 Billion

https://propakistani.pk/2022/06/02/it-ministry-launches-optical-fib...

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) has launched three more projects of Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) worth Rs. 5 billion for six districts in Sindh.

The projects will provide high-speed connectivity to 4.2 million people in Larkana, Hyderabad, Badin, Qambar Shahdadkot District, Jamshoro, and Badin, and will be completed in 16 months. The contract for the projects was signed between the Universal Service Fund (USF) and Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).Speaking at the signing ceremony, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said in line with the vision of Digital Pakistan, the MoITT has been running diverse projects through the Universal Service Fund (USF). These projects are playing a huge role in the socio-economic development of the locals.

Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin uI Haque speaking at the occasion said that the ministry aims to connect all the citizens of Pakistan through the USF as digitalization has become a priority for businesses and communities.

Under its Next Generation Optic Fiber (NG-OF) Network & Services program, the USF has contracted over 16,000 km of OFC to benefit 31.5 million people across the country by providing access to information and e-suite services, such as e-healthcare, e-finance, e-agriculture, and e-education.

The minister added that the MoITT is enabling the rural and remote communities to compete better and support economic development for a positive impact on the national GDP while contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

[Riaz Haq]

5G technology to be launched next year

https://www.nation.com.pk/06-Dec-2022/5g-technology-to-be-launched-...

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication is likely to launch 5G technology next year in the country to cope with the challenges of the digital world. The official of ministry of IT and telecommunication said that the provision of broadband services across the country was the topmost priority of the ministry of IT. He said that the ministry of IT through the Universal Service Fund (USF) had launched some 70 projects of optical fiber cable (OFC) and broadband infrastructure development in four provinces at a cost of Rs 65 billion. “All projects are underway in far-flung areas would be completed by June next year,” he added. “In the province of Sindh alone, 20 projects of NGBSD and OFC worth Rs16.3 billion have been started so far in 20 districts, including Tharparkar, Nawabshah, Khairpur, Larkana, Badin, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Mirpurkhas, and Dadu,” the official said. He said that projects of connectivity of the un-served and underserved communities of Balochistan, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces had also been launched. He said, through USF aimed to connect all the citizens of the country as digitalisation had become a priority for businesses and communities. Under its Next Generation Optic Fiber (NG-OF) Network and Services programme, USF had contracted over 16,000km of Optic Fiber Cable (OFC) to benefit 31.5 million populations across the country.

[Riaz Haq]

Jazz and Huawei Successfully Accomplished Nationwide Rollout for FDD Massive MIMO in Pakistan

https://www.lightreading.com/jazz-and-huawei-successfully-accomplis...

Jazz and Huawei have commercially deployed FDD (Frequency Division Duplexing) Massive MIMO (Multiple Input and Multiple Output) solution based on 5G technology in a large scale. The solution has been developed and tailored to the needs of boosting network capacity and user experience.
This customized solution has been the first launch of Jazz and Huawei, supporting Jazz leap into the 4.9G domain. This innovative solution has tremendously enhanced the network capacities along with superior 4G experience for the valued subscribers. The average network traffic increased by around 30% and the average single user speed increased by around 170%.

Jazz’s Chief Technology Officer, Khalid Shehzad said, “We see that our customers are increasingly using high-bandwidth applications which resultantly puts pressure on existing network capabilities. Massive MIMO essentially allows us the freedom to provide more data at greater speeds, enabling our customers to use the enhanced services on their existing 4G devices. Network speeds will be faster than ever, which will significantly improve the end-user experience. Jazz is committed to developing an ecosystem that supports the government’s Digital Pakistan vision and the evolving technology needs of individuals and businesses.”

Huawei provides the industry's unique intelligent beam scheduling and intelligent beamforming technology which are native for 5G. Massive MIMO improves the capability of the handsets to transmit more efficiently. Currently Huawei FDD Massive MIMO has been deployed in more than 70 networks and over 20,000 units have been shipped. The level of collaboration between Jazz and Huawei goes beyond to more domains. For example, the first 400G transmission, the first core network cloudification, the first large-scale commercial use of VoLTE, and the first 3G sunset city. In Pakistan, Jazz maintains a leading position in network performance and innovations, and it leads the development of the entire ICT industry.