Information and communications technology

Information and communications technology (ICT) is often used as an extended synonym for information technology (IT), but is a more specific term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage, and audio-visual systems, which enable users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate information.

The term ICT is also used to refer to the convergence of audio-visual and telephone networks with computer networks through a single cabling or link system. There are large economic incentives (huge cost savings due to elimination of the telephone network) to merge the telephone network with the computer network system using a single unified system of cabling, signal distribution and management.

Information and communication technology expenditure (% of GDP) in Pakistan was reported at 4.37 in 2008, according to the World Bank. Information and communications technology expenditures include computer hardware (computers, storage devices, printers, and other peripherals); computer software (operating systems, programming tools, utilities, applications, and internal software development); computer services (information technology consulting, computer and network systems integration, Web hosting, data processing services, and other services); and communications services (voice and data communications services) and wired and wireless communications equipment.

Information technology in Pakistan is a growing and rising industry that has a large potential. Matters relating to the IT industry are overseen and regulated by the Ministry of Information Technology of the Government of Pakistan. The IT industry is regarded as a successful sector of Pakistan economically, even in financial crisis. The government of Pakistan has given numerous favors to IT investors in the country since last decade, that resulted in the development of the IT sector. In the years 2003-2005 the country's IT exports saw a rise of about fifty percent and amounted a total of about 48.5 million USD. The World Economic Forum, assessing the development of Information and Communication Technology in the country ranked Pakistan 102nd among 144 countries in the Global Information Technology report of 2012.

As of 2011, Pakistan has over 20 million internet users and is ranked as one of the top countries that have registered a high growth rate in internet penetration. Overall, it has the 27th largest population of internet users in the world. In the fiscal year 2012-2013, the Government of Pakistan aims to spend Rs. 4.6 billion on information technology projects, with emphasis on e-government, human resource and infrastructure development.

The first dial up E-mail service was introduced by Imran-Net in 1992-93. The state-owned Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) started offering access via the nationwide local call network in 1995. The country has been pursuing an aggressive IT policy, aimed at boosting Pakistan’s drive for economic modernization and creating an exportable software industry. In 2001 Micronet Broadband launched the first DSL service. 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. 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.

Broadband In Pakistan:

Broadband is offered at speeds that range from 1 Mbit/s to 50 Mbit/s in all major cities. The largest broadband providers are PTCL and Wateen. Smaller DSL providers are Micro Net, NayaTel, Maxcom, Multi Net, World Call, Cyber Net, Speed.Net, Gerry's Net, fiber2home, Witribe, Brain Net, SkyNet and COMSATS.

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In August 2007+, PTCL launched its Smart TV service, an IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) service. IPTV along with high-speed broadband internet and voice telephony is available on the subscribers existing telephone lines at the same time on one bill. This and similar offerings continue to blur the boundaries between telephones, the Internet, and traditional television and radio broadcasting.

PTCL and World Call provide wireless broadband using the Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Rev. A standard, with speeds of up to 3.1 Mbit/s. PTCL provides its service under the brand name EVO which is available in more than 100 cities.[15] In August 2010 PTCL upgraded to EV-DO Rev. B (Phase 1). This new service, called EVO Nitro, offers speeds of up to 9.3 Mbit/s. PTCL broadband is truly leading the broadband revolution in the country and is changing the way people communicate and share information. In a short span of only 5 years PTCL DSL broadband service has expanded from 3 cities to over 1100 cities. This massive growth has been due to unmatchable speeds unlimited downloads and unbeatable options that PTCL Broadband provides. With basic speeds ranging from 256 kbit/s, 1 Mbit/s, 2Mbit/s, 4 Mbit/s & 8 Mbit/s to VDSL ultra high speeds of 10 Mbit/s, 20 Mbit/s and 50 Mbit/s Broadband offers speeds further up to 100 Mbit/s on Fibre to the home broadband service. PTCL broadband therefore ensures pr ovision of Broadband to every household and business of Pakistan.

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The wireless broadband network has transformed the concept of broadband usage- offering freedom of mobility. From a dongle offering speeds up to 3.1 Mbit/s to blazing speeds of 9.3 Mbit/s on 3G EVO nitro; to EVO cloud a personal mobile hotspot connecting 5 devices at a time, to Pakistan’s first 3G enabled Tablet EVO TAB; to EVODROID a 3G enabled Smartphone; the wireless network just like its predecessor has many feathers to its cap Within a span of few years the wireless network expanded to more than 200 cities, the largest in the count.

PTCL is providing a new service offering up to 36 Mbit/s with CharJi EVO, enhanced, hyper-fast, next generation wireless broadband. This new service is only available in 4 cities Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and KRI.

Wateen Telecom launched its WiMAX services in Pakistan in 2007. Connections are available at speeds from 256 kbit/s to 9.8 Mbit/s. Wi-Tribe and Mobilink are also offering WiMAX, as is Augere under the brand name Qubee.

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PTCL

Introduction:

PTCL is largest telecommunication company of Pakistan. It has reached its service to almost every part of the country. (PTCL) is proud to be Pakistan’s most reliable and largest converged services carrier providing all telecommunications services from basic voice telephony to data, internet, video-conferencing and carrier services to consumers and businesses all over the country with more the 2000 exchanges all providing at least the fixed line network and the dialup internet service

Whether it is an office in the largest city of Pakistan or a home in a small village, PTCL is present in every corner of Pakistan to serve its customers providing several services.

Some of its services are named below:

• Broadband

• IPTV

• EVO Wireless

• Dialup Internet

• Telephone

PTCL is established since 1947 by establishing Posts and Telegraph’s Department, proceeding to establishing Pakistan Telegraph and Telephone Department in 1961, then in 1990-91, it went to become Pakistan Telecom Corporation, after which in 1996, PTCL became listed in all stock exchanges of Pakistan, further in 1998, its subsidiaries of Mobile Services, and Internet Services started on the name of Ufone and PakNet, coming to the year 2000, it Finalized its Telecom Policy. It also announced in year 2003, the Telecom Deregulation Policy, finally in 2006, Etisalat (The Telecom Company of United Arab Emirates) took over its Management and it is still holding the status of backbone for country's telecommunication infrastructure despite arrival of a dozen other telecoms including telecom giants like Telenor, China Mobile, Wateen Telecom, and others.

The Head Office of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited is situated in Sector G-8/4, Islamabad, which is headed by the "President". Besides, it has Regional Headquarters like:

• Islamabad Telecom Region,

• Rawalpindi Telecom Region,

• Hazara Telecom Region Abottabad,

• Northern Telecom Region-I Peshawar,

• Lahore Telecom Region (South),

• Lahore Telecom Region (North),

• Multan Telecom Region,

• Faisalabad Telecom Region

• Southern Telecom Region-I Hyderabad

• Southern Telecom Region-II Karachi

• Southern Telecom Region-V Sukkur

• Western Telecom Region Quetta.

• Switching network Central region Lahore.

These Regions provide Telecommunications services to the customers in their respective areas. Apart from these, PTCL has an Optical Fiber Construction Region Lahore and Optic Fiber System Islamabad, each headed by a General Manager.

Switching Technology

There are 7 different kinds of switching technologies currently operational in PTCL network.

• Alcatel

• Siemens

• NEC

• Erricsson

• Huawei

• J.S telecom

• ZTE

With these different switching technologies PTCL is running its huge network and providing different communication facilities to its customers.

Broadband:

PTCL Broadband is the largest and the fastest growing Broadband service in Pakistan. In less than two years of it launch, PTCL has acquired over 150,000 Broadband customers in over 150 cities and towns across Pakistan, leading the proliferation and awareness of Broadband services across Pakistan.

With its entry in this market segment, PTCL opened up a broadband culture in Pakistan, where till a couple of years back there was very little awareness in the country about broadband & high speed internet services. PTCL made the broadband technology affordable by lowering the barriers to entry, by geographically bringing the service within the reach of a common user across Pakistan and by continuous improvements in customer care for the service.

Unique offers that makes PTCL’s Broadband unmatchable are special packages for the student segment, FREE modem and installation, FREE dial up service for its Broadband customers and FREE access to movies, music, classical Pakistani dramas, cricket matches, gaming, educational and religious content on PTCL’s entertainment portal ‘BUZZ’, (made exclusive only to PTCL Broadband subscribers). PTCL also offers multiple FREE personalized e-mail accounts exclusively to its broadband users. In addition, PTCL recently doubled its broadband speed for all its existing and new customers at the same price, making 1 MB as its minimum offered speed.

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QUBEE

Qubee is a new and exciting company from Augere providing fast and reliable broadband internet services to residential and business customers across Bangladesh. Qubee is the creation of a group of global telecoms professionals who saw that a new technology called WiMAX could really change the internet experience for millions of people worldwide. WiMAX means that you don’t need telephone lines or cable to get connected: all you need is to live close enough to a transmitter to receive the internet wirelessly.

Augere was established in September 2007 by an experienced team of global telecoms executives with the vision of delivering ‘broadband for all’. It is omitted to achieving this through the delivery of fast, reliable broadband internet services in emerging markets using Wimax technology. Augere has an established leadership team in place with over 150 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry. The Company successfully raised $125m in a first round of investment from France Telecom, New Silk Route and Vedanta. The acquisition of spectrum and licenses is well underway. Augere currently has access to spectrum in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uganda. Licenses are also being actively pursued in countries across Africa, South and South East Asia.

Augere’s first commercial network launched in Pakistan in July 2009 and was closely followed by the Bangladesh network in October 2009 under the brand name QUBEE. QUBEE believes that everyone should be able to enjoy trouble-free access to the internet and the world of opportunities that it brings. The company’s aim is to make a magical internet experience available to everyone, every day, without exception.

Currently the company is busy building a network of base stations to offer their brand of internet access right across Bangladesh. Initially QUBEE is starting in Dhaka, but quickly plan to do the same in cities nationwide. To build a network like this needs to be done properly. So the company gathered a highly talented team right here in Bangladesh to build a company that’s determined to improve the internet experience for millions of people – not just here, but ultimately all over the world.

Qubee Services - offered by Sharp Communications (Pvt.) Ltd. A wholly owned subsidiary of Augere Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd. The internet is one of the most liberating, exciting features of life in the 21st century. They are making it their business to make the very best internet service available to everyone, at prices anyone can afford, with customer service and support that’s second to none. They aren’t just making the internet work; they are making it work beautifully. And now it’s yours to enjoy. Qubee is the brainchild of a group of global telecoms professionals who wanted to introduce a totally new internet experience for millions of people worldwide. WiMAX is the new 4G technology, which does not require telephone lines or cables to get you connected to the Internet World, and the fast way to experience this fast speed browsing, is by joining our Qubee Family! Qubee is fast, reliable and affordable! With their range of different speeds and volumes, they provide WiMAX for all! So whether you are a youth who browses and downloads at night, a working person who gets to surf only on weekends, or a 24/7 all-rounder, they have packages from the smartest to the fastest! All designed for your internet needs! With their strong network of transmitters, they are offering their Internet services in the Big Cities of Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi & Islamabad.

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Comparison Of PTCL and Qubee

Following are some comparison points of PTCL and Qubee:

1. Rates:

PTCL

|Package |Connection |Speed |Usage Limit |Monthly Charges |
|Student Package |DSL |1.0 Mbps |Unlimited |Rs. 1250 |
|DSL 12 Mbps Unlimited |Wifi Modem |12.0 Mbps |Unlimited |Rs. 9000 |
|DSL 16 Mbps Unlimited |Wifi Modem |16.0 Mbps |Unlimited |Rs. 11000 |
|DSL 6 Mbps Unlimited |DSL |6.0 Mbps |Unlimited |Rs. 4999 |
|DSL 8 Mbps Unlimited |Wifi Modem |8.0 Mbps |Unlimited |Rs. 7000 |
|DSL 4 Mbps Unlimited |Wifi Modem |4.0 Mbps |Unlimited |Rs. 2100 |
|DSL 2 Mbps Unlimited |Wifi Modem |2.0 Mbps |Unlimited |Rs. 1549 |
|Economy Package |DSL |1.0 Mbps |10 GB |Rs. 499 |
|Economy Package |DSL |2.0 Mbps |10 GB |Rs. 750 |
|3G EVO 256Kbps |Non Pstn/Pstn |256 Kbps |Unlimited |Rs. 1200 |
|EVO 3.1Mbps 30GB |USB Dongle |3.1 Mbps |30 GB |Rs. 1199 |
|EVO 3G 3.1 - Basic |USB Dongle |3.1 Mbps |50 GB |Rs. 2100 |

Qubee

|Package |Connection |Speed |Usage Limit |Monthly Charges |
|Conquer Max |Wifi device |2.0 Mbps |Unlimited |Rs. 1900 |
|Venture Max |USB Dongle (Shuttle) |1.5 Mbps |Unlimited |Rs. 1700 |
|Venture Max |Wifi device |1.5 Mbps |Unlimited |Rs. 1700 |
|Explore Max |USB Dongle (Shuttle) |1.0 Mbps |Unlimited |Rs. 1500 |
|Explore Max |Indoor |1.0 Mbps |Unlimited |Rs. 1500 |
|Discover Max |USB Dongle |512 Kbps |Unlimited |Rs. 1000 |
|Discover Max |Wifi device |512 Kbps |Unlimited |Rs. 1000 |
|Conquer Max |USB Dongle (Shuttle) |2.0 Mbps |Unlimited |Rs. 1500 |
|Explore 12 |Shuttle Device |1.0 Mbps |12 GB |Rs. 1000 |
|Explore 12 |Wifi device |1.0 Mbps |12 GB |Rs. 1000 |
|Explorer Weekend |Shuttle Device |2.0 Mbps |12 GB |Rs. 1100 |
|Conquer 12 |Shuttle Device |2.0 Mbps |12 GB |Rs. 1400 |
|Venture 12 |Shuttle Device |1.5 Mbps |12 GB |Rs. 1200 |

2. Promotion:

|PTCL |Qubee |
|Print Media |SMS |
|Electronic Media |Internet |
|Local cables |Brochure |
|Radio | |
|Internet | |
|Brochure | |
|Bill Boards | |
|Newspapers | |

PTCL has advertised its broadband through all the possible means it could get its hands on and without a doubt no one in Pakistan can claim that I have never seen the add or heard about PTCL broadband.

On the other hand only a hand full of people know about Qubee ass its marketing strategies and reach to the customer has failed and is unknown to many people of Pakistan.

3. Congestion Time:

Only speed is not everything to check for a broadband connection. Sometimes companies sell a lot of bandwidth e.g. 1000Mbps=1Gbps in an area but at backend they only have BW (Band Width) of few Mbps e.g. 40-50 Mbps. When simultaneously many customers like 400-500 uses internet, the bandwidth gets choked at backend. In result, connections of clients become very slow in that area. Try to get a test connection before purchasing and check speed in peak internet traffic hours like 8-10 PM or Saturday nights etc. Very long congestion times show company end BW issues.

PTCL faced this problem in 2006 and was in very poor condition. Then it was privatized and the reforms came in PTCL. Now PTCL has resolved the congestion time issue as they are coming into fiber optic and the bandwidth offered by them is delivered to the end user.

As Qubee is operating on WiMAX so the delivery of the promised bandwidth has been a problem with Qubee. Many users were interviewed regarding this issue. During peak time the internet was not even browsing or if it cared to browse it gave a maximum speed of 10-12 kbps.

4. Reliability

In some areas companies have infrastructure maintenance issues like power unavailability, problematic hardware, manpower shortage etc. It is better to ask about downtime issues from customers of the same area not from some other area or city. If a downtime occurs once after two or three months it is ok but if service remains down for some time after every few days then there is some service issue.

In this regard PTCL is reliable. I am a user of PTCL. I haven’t had an issue for about four months from present date. Even when I get an issue and the complaint is made; the concerned people get on the complaint as soon as they can and rectify the issue being faced.

As far as Qubee is concerned following are the reviews from a blog page:

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There are many more comments like above from different blogs and sites. This shows the issue of reliability encompassed by Qubee in Pakistan. The problem sustains for an unidentified period and no particular action is taken immediately. So, the customers of Qubee are really frustrated by its service.

Conclusion:

Broadband is an accelerator of economic development because it provides significant direct and indirect benefits to the economy. Pakistan is far behind in broadband penetration, despite the fact that Government issued an aggressive Broadband Policy back in 2004 with a modest target of 200K till 2007 (at the end of 2007 there are around 115,000 Broadband connections). Although Pakistan has made giant strides in the field of telecom, it has been left behind in the field of Broadband Internet.

As far as PTCL and Qubee is concerned; PTCL has provided its customers with quality service and many economically suitable packages for low income level people. Apart from the economic suitability of PTCL, it also offers a very good and up-to the mark quality to its customers while Qubee is failing in doing so.

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Submitted By:
Umaer Mushtaq (14107)
Madiha Younas (13016)
M. Suffian (13410)

Information and Communications Technology

PTCL Vs. Qubee