Pakistan ready for 3G

The Government representation has said that Pakistan is ready for the introduction of the 3G spectrum for telecommunication. This was announced at an interactive one-day seminar titled 'Has the clock struck 3G?' in Islamabad to discuss the future of 3G telecommunication in Pakistan. The seminar, hosted by the SouthAsia Forum – a private sector think tank, highlighted key challenges in the advent of 3G and provided a platform for a candid discussion on the much debated subject of whether the Pakistani market is mature enough for it.

The seminar was jointly sponsored by Telenor Pakistan and Nokia Siemens Networks with the PTA and Huawei Technologies co-sponsoring the event. The seminar was inaugurated and chaired by the Chairman PTA Dr. Mohammed Yaseen. He assured all present of the PTA's cooperation and support towards the introduction of new technology and said that the PTA would soon be inviting applications for the 3G spectrum. The Chairman praised the thriving telecom sector of the country and its growth of 40% since last year. Earlier the SouthAsia Forum Chairman Syed Jawaid Iqbal introduced the concept of the seminar and thanked the regulator and participating companies for coming forward to address this important issue faced by the telecom industry in the country. 

Other participants of the seminar included Noor-ud-Din Baqai, Member Telecom, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT), Mudassar Hussain, Director Telecom, MoITT, Jon Eddy Abdullah, CEO Telenor Pakistan, Irfan Wahab Khan, Executive Vice President, Telenor Pakistan, Saad Muzaffar Waraich, Country Director, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), Lasse Makinen, Member Global 3G Team, NSN, Bernard Tam, Expert, Business Consultant Group, Huawei Technologies, Faisal Ijaz Khan, Warid Telecom, Aadil Rauf, MD Nortel Networks and Mian Mohammad Saleem, Deloitte Pakistan.

The seminar on the future of mobile communication served to provide a common platform to discuss issues, suggest solutions, share strategies and request policy support. Telecom operators were of the view that the 3G auction should be carried out soon as possible to provide broadband to the masses without delay and gap the digital divide. The event ended on the note that the groundwork for the launch of the 3G spectrum is complete and that it would not be too long before actual introduction of the new technology.