the-south-asian

The basic statistics as on December 1998 are produced below:[ Data taken SE Asia Workshop on Internet : South Asian Realities and Opportunities,Dhaka, April, 1999 By Noor-ud-Din Baqai chepsp@paknet2.ptc.pk,Chief Engineer, Pak Telecom, Pakistan

Infrastructure	Dec. 98	March 2003
Network Capacity [ ALI]	3.52 (M)	4.4 Million
Telephones in service [ ALIs]	2.82(M)	3.69 Million
Total Population	130 million	145 million
Teledensity June 1998	2.20 %	2.54- 2.73 %
Pending demand	NA	244,000
Network Digitalization June 1998	78.27%	100%
Fiber Optic cable length	3902 km	6204 km.
No. of exchanges installed in 1997-98	42
Total exchanges	2577	2700
New NWD Stations added (1997-98)	143
Total NWD Stations	1076	1781
No. of NWD Calls (During 97-98 – Jjuly - Dec)	525.48 (M)
No. of NWD Units (during 97-98)	3540.630 (M)
New Telegraph Offices opened (1997-98)	1	346 – total.
PCOs & Payphones Rural Urban	10,787 6,762 12,500	105,000

PTCL is listed on the Karachi Stock exchange and comprises about 30% of the weight-age of the KSE 100 index. In 1995 under the Chairmanship of Mian Javed, the PTCL in its first four years installed nearly 2 million telephone lines, about 200 percent increase in total capacity. Today, the number of working lines has been raised to about 2.82 million. The fixed line telephone density is 2.2 telephones per thousand people, which is higher than in some countries of the region. The number of telephone lines is expected to total nearly 4 million within the next 2 years. In addition PTCL started a very aggressive roll out of the conversion of the old analog telecom technologies to digital telecom including installation of Fiber Optic backbone between Karachi and Lahore in the initial phases.

These were reflected in the PTC’s decisions to not allow anyone to even attach a Fax machine or a small Telephone Exchange to a telephone line in 1980. Such products required "Licenses". The PTCL also still has a monopoly over the Voice calls sector of the telecomm market. This is the sector that is poised for growth, thanks to new Voice-Over-Internet- Protocols [VOIP] data compression technology. It is an area where the PTCL is fearful of losing the market share and which ironically will increase overall revenues due to falling phone call prices [commoditization] and subsequent increase in call volumes – more or less the same scenario as happened in the case of the Fax machines, where increased Fax volumes from Pakistan to Japan [due to Trade ] led to an explosion of PTCL revenues..

The National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) is another telecommunication network operator established by the Government of Pakistan. It has inherited 5 percent of the assets and infrastructure of the PTC, including a nation-wide microwave trunk backbone. NTC has the mandate to provide domestic telecommunication services to the armed forces, defense projects, federal government, provincial governments and other government agencies and institutions. However, it is not allowed to sell its capacity on the telecommunication system to any entity other than government agencies or the PTCL. For international calls, NTC users have to use PTCL facilities. NTC is also licensed by PTA.

Lastly, the Special Communications Organization SCO is involved in a Rs. 370 million teecomm development plan is being launched soon to link the remaining parts of Azad Jammu Kashmir with rest of the world through a digital telecommunication system. Under the telecom expansion programme, it involves the laying of Rs 249 million new cable network in various parts of Azad Kashmir comprising the mobile telephone facilities, international gateway for Long-distance calls ,a total of 36,158 new telephone connections (both digital and non- digital) by the end of the last year-2001. These connections included 25,955 digital telephone connections and 10,202 non- digital telephone connections.Facilities, including Long Distance * International are to be introduced at first leg of the plan in near future in Mirpur, Muzaffarabad and Rawalkot districts, ISDN telephone connections on request of the concerned subscribers especially for the banks, newspaper managements and the major business institutions and launching of WEBSITE of SCO to promote the concessional tariff for the users from 25 kilometer to 80 KM, from 80 Km to 160 KM and from 160 km to above. the existing Paknet and Voolernet internet service providers have been directed to improve their services to ensure the quick and smooth link with the international network. Expanding internet facilities existing in Mirpur, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Bhimbher and other districts. Existing 16 digital telephone exchanges across the AJK. and expansion in the digital exchanges have already been made in Bhimbher, Bagh and Kotli districts in a total of 152 towns and villages by the end of 2003. Currently 140 telephone exchanges of different sorts including digital and non- digital were functioning in different parts of AJK. 20,000 new telephone connections in existing and remaining parts of the AJK, computerised BMIS billing system has recently been installed, the SCO was encouraging the involvement of the private sector to establish the ED-PCO’s (Extra Departmental Public Call Offices) across AJK. The number of the ED-PCOs in AJK has, so far, raised to 451 and the number of the SCO-controlled PCOs across the liberated territory has reduced to 56.

This was carried out in 1995 by Telstra [ Australian telecoms company] with the design of the repeater huts being done by Designman –an Islamabad civil engineering firm. Other private sector companies now actively involved in the expansion and development of telecom services are Tellabs and Newbridge-Alcatel for the Digital Cross-Connect Switches, and LTE Pakistan’s own Fiber-Optics cable manufacturer. Currently all major metropolitan Exchange-to-Exchange links are Fiber-Optic [henceforth " Fiber" ].

" …. On the national backbone log distance fiber links PTCL has hardly any spare capacity.However we have spare dark Fibers to be illuminated. PTCL sapre fiber pairs are now being lloaded with 10 Gb DWWDM equipment on backbone network within next 12 months. Dedicated capacity [ 400 to 500 Mbits(2/3) STM1 would be allocated for Data /Internet requirements in backbone network, once this project is implemented. The new DWDM project would provide capacity to PTCL at lower cost, which will enable further lowering of prices of leased capacities toISPs and other customers. …………………"

"PTCL has provided Universal Internet Access to 540 cities, towns, villages for the Internet . Some facts need to be considered like urban teledensity which in Pakistan is 10 % , The rural teledensity is less than 0.3 % on average. …….coming to the question of Ghotki , the population is 52,000 and there is a telephone exchange with capacity of 2,000.Ghotki is connected with Sukkur with a 2 MB [ 30 circuits] …all were meant for voice .Out of this 10 % are meant for Internet [ interview by A.M Bhatti – Internet Magazine Feb 2003]……….