Comment by Riaz Haq on October 25, 2020 at 12:48pm

Two of Pakistan’s MNOs complete 5G trials

https://www.developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/market-reports-...

In January 2020 Zong and Jazz completed 5G trials, having been awarded six-month licences. The capacity of LTE infrastructure and the lack of compelling user cases for 5G suggests that network operators are not yet pressed to launch commercial services.

BuddeComm notes that the outbreak of the Coronavirus in 2020 is having a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. During the coming year the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure. Overall progress towards 5G may be postponed or slowed down in some countries.

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Key Developments
Regulator postpones renewal of Telenor Pakistan’s GSM licence due to COVID-19 crisis;
China-Pakistan Fiber Optic Project becomes operational;
Jazz reported having 19.1 million LTE subscribers, completes 5G trials;
Universal Service Fund (USF) and Ufone sign contract to provide broadband coverage for the Makran Coastal Highway;
Report update includes operator data to Q2 2020, regulator’s market data to July 2020, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of COVID-19 on the telecoms sector, recent market developments.

Comment by Riaz Haq on January 31, 2021 at 7:57pm

The final stretch of a cross-border fiber optic cable is set to be laid by China in Pakistan to create the Digital Silk Road (DSR), Nikkei Asia reports. The DSR is part of the broader Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
https://www.rt.com/business/513985-china-builds-digital-silk-road/
The fiber cable will link to the Pakistan East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) submarine cable in the Arabian Sea, to service countries participating in BRI, and Europe. It is currently being laid between Pakistan’s Rawalpindi city and the port cities of Karachi and Gwadar. The $240-million project, which is in partnership with China's Huawei Technologies, was approved by the government last week.

The laying of sea cable in Pakistan's territorial waters will begin in March, following government approval this month for Cybernet, a local internet service provider, to construct an Arabian Sea landing station in Karachi.

The Mediterranean section of the cable is already being laid, and runs from Egypt to France. The 15,000 kilometer-long cable is expected to go into service later this year.



The PEACE cable will provide the shortest direct internet route between participating countries, and will drastically reduce internet data transfer speeds. It is expected to help reduce Pakistan's exposure to internet outages from damaged submarine cables by providing an additional route for internet connectivity.

According to Eyck Freymann, author of ‘One Belt One Road: Chinese Power Meets the World,’ the BRI is evolving to place less emphasis on traditional heavy infrastructure, and more on high-tech cooperation and digital services.

He told Nikkei Asia that "Beijing wants to dominate the physical infrastructure underlying global communications, particularly the internet,”adding: "This will give it an advantage in internationalizing its tech sector and pursuing future tech-related deals with partner countries."

The ambitious multi-trillion-dollar BRI initiative (or the new Silk Road), announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, aims to boost connectivity and cooperation between East Asia, Europe, and East Africa. It is expected to significantly boost global trade, cutting trading costs in half for the countries involved, according to expert estimates.

Comment by Riaz Haq on January 31, 2021 at 7:58pm

Interxion has formed an agreement with PCCW Global to locate the PEACE subsea cable's termination and interconnection equipment in Interxion's MRS2 data centre in Marseille, France.

https://www.capacitymedia.com/articles/3827428/interxion-partners-p...

"Interxion's fluid interconnection environment in Marseille enables the PEACE subsea cable to efficiently service the needs of the vibrant community of interest on the campus, while extending the system's reach to additional markets such as Frankfurt and Paris," said Sameh Sobhy, managing director of Middle East, Turkey and Africa at PCCW Global.

The collaboration on the Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) cable will enable low-latency access to over 160 connectivity providers along with multiple content, cloud, gaming and video streaming platforms.

The PEACE cable will be the fifthteenth subsea cable system to land in Marseille and will expand both PlatformDIGITAL and Console Connect, PCCW Global's software-defined interconnection platform.

"Selecting the right data centre in Europe for the PEACE subsea cable to interconnect with is a critical component to ensure the project's commercial success,” added Sun Xiaohua (pictured), chief operating officer of the PEACE Cable International Network.

“We know that with Interxion we have made the right strategic decision,"

Through the collaboration Console Connect is now available to Interxion customers at MRS1, MRS2 and MRS3. In addition, Interxion customers in Marseille can also access Console Connect's new Internet On-Demand service, which offers internet access on-demand across PCCW Global's Tier 1 IP network.

In addition, PEACE deploys a state-of-the-art "system within a system" configuration that gives each party the required flexibility to design its own subsystem with reconfigurable bandwidth for different points over the lifetime of the cable.

"This collaboration with PEACE and PCCW Global not only solidifies Marseille's future as an intercontinental hub with access to state-of-the-art communication services, but also affords Interxion's global customer base entry into new markets and the ability to connect their often geographically dispersed infrastructure in close proximity to the connected community via PlatformDIGITAL," said Mike Hollands, senior director of market development at Interxion.

"The PEACE cable is well placed to meet the burgeoning exchange of data and video traffic between Europe, Africa and Asia, enabling enterprises to extend their global workflows and efficiently execute their digital transformation strategies."

Comment by Riaz Haq on January 20, 2022 at 7:47pm

Supernet, Avara win Rs250m project in Pakistan

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/01/19/supernet-avara-win-rs25...

ISLAMABAD: In what could be dubbed a major triumph, Supernet Limited and Australian technology partner Avara Technologies (Pvt) Ltd have been awarded a new project worth Rs250 million, enabling in-country engineers and technicians to rectify faults throughout the equipment’s lifecycle.

The new project, valued at approximately Rs250 million, constitutes Phase 3 of the programme for the supply of multiservice multiplexers and associated operations, maintenance, warranty, and support services.

Supernet Limited (Supernet) announced on Wednesday that they, in conjunction with their Australian technology partner Avara Technologies Pvt Ltd (Avara), have been awarded a new project worth approximately Rs250 million within a long-term program that was awarded in 2021 by a major Pakistani customer.

The new project valued at approximately Rs250 million constitutes Phase 3 of the program for the supply of multiservice multiplexers and associated operations, maintenance, warranty and support services.

The program includes the establishment of a repair facility in Pakistan and the transfer of knowledge through an expansive training program enabling in-country engineers and technicians to rectify faults throughout the equipment’s lifecycle.

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Supernet Wins Major Optical Fiber Supply and Deployment Project worth PKR 150 million

https://www.techjuice.pk/supernet-wins-major-optical-fiber-supply-a...

Supernet Limited (“Supernet”) has secured a sizeable telecommunications infrastructure development project from a Pakistani mobile network operator.

The project valued at over PKR 150 million includes the supply of optical fiber and associated equipment and its deployment in different areas of Punjab. The total length of different segments constituting this project is approximately 140 kilometers.

With this project, Supernet has reached a significant milestone of 1,000 kilometers of optical fiber supply and deployment projects awarded by mobile network operators in Pakistan.

Head of Business Unit-Telecoms & Defense at Supernet, Ali Akhtar said:

“We are excited to play our part in the expansion of telecommunications infrastructure in Pakistan and supporting the proliferation of communications and digital services by mobile network operators in the country. We are ever grateful to our customers for repeatedly trusting Supernet. The optical fiber business line is a relatively new endeavour for Supernet and the 1,000 kilometres mark is a testament to our capabilities and the springboard for further growth in this segment. This is a strong start to 2022 and we will strive to keep the momentum going.”

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 27, 2022 at 4:29pm

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}

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 27, 2022 at 4:33pm

‘China commits $10-$15 billion investments’

Pakistan has taken steps to address the outstanding concerns of Chinese investors, says Khalid Mansoor

By Mehtab Haider

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/931815-china-commits-10-15-billion...

Pakistan has received commitments from China for getting investments of $10-$15 billion for various sectors, including for establishing industrial units at 2,200 acres of Gwadar Free Zone, exploring the possibility to establish oil refinery at Pasni and relocation of industries into seven important sectors, including textile, footwear and pharmaceuticals into upcoming the Special Economic Zones.

Adviser to Prime Minister on CPEC, Khalid Mansoor, on Monday said that Pakistan took steps to address the outstanding concerns of Chinese investors such as payment of dues to independent power producers, making revolving funds functional and changing Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act. This change in SEZ Act will pave the way to bypass 37 approvals for federal and provincial governments for making investments in SEZs.

"The government has paid Rs50 billion to IPPs while another installment of the same amount will be given by the end of the ongoing month. The Revolving Fund has been made functional," PM's Adviser on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Khalid Mansoor said while addressing a news conference here on Monday. The Pakistani delegation under PM Imran Khan had returned from China after attending Olympics Winter 2022 and on the sidelines, they held meetings with Chinese leadership, including President Xi Jin Ping.

However, both sides could not make the progress on the much-awaited multi-billion-dollar project for the construction of Mainline-1 (ML-1) to upgrade the rail line from Peshawar to Karachi. The official sources said that the resolutions of outstanding concerns, including repayments for IPPs and making Revolving Fund functional, would result in paving the way for achieving progress on striking financing agreement on ML-1.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar told The News on Monday that the prime minister held meetings with 19 Chinese companies, inviting them to invest in Pakistan. He said that they shared the detailed documents with Chinese authorities on investment potential and comparative advantage of Pakistan in seven sectors, including textile, pharmaceutical, automotive, information technology, footwear, furniture, and agriculture.

A consortium of three Chinese companies Huazhong Technology, China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) and Zhejiang Seaport Company will set up a paper and metal recycling Park at Gwadar, which will include multiple units at an estimated cost of $4.5 billion. The park is expected to create 40,000 employment opportunities.

A Chinese textile company will establish a Special Economic Zone, which will be a Chinese textile cluster, with an investment of USD250 million.

Three Chinese companies, SINOMACH, Royal Group and Zhengbang Group, have expressed interest in investing in agriculture sector projects, such as FMD free zones, agricultural mechanization, production of pesticides, poultry and cattle feed, etc.

In information technology sector, five Chinese companies have expressed intent to invest around USD2.4 billion. These include Hunan Sunwalk Construction Group (optic fiber network), Fourishtech (research lab and mobile phones assembling and parts manufacturing) and Neusoft Medical Systems (medical diagnostic equipment); Global Semiconductor Group (semiconductor testing and assembly); NAV E-Vehicles (Pvt) Ltd (electric vehicles). MoUs have already been signed for the first two projects.

In the energy and water sectors, two large Chinese companies, China Energy Group and Power China, expressed interest for investment in water sector projects. In the housing sector, three Chinese companies, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCE), China Railway Group Limited and CHINAMEX have expressed interest in implementing various projects.

In the petroleum and mining sectors, three Chinese companies i.e. China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC), East Sea Group Limited and Consortium of Sino Infrastructure Hong Kong Orientals Times Limited (SIOT) and Beijing Century Industrial Development Co. Ltd (CENTINCO) expressed interest in investing in various projects, including refineries. Investment agreement on industrial cooperation was signed between China and Pakistan during the PM’s visit.

Khalid Mansoor said that a number of companies came up with investment proposals for the phase-2 of CPEC that would entail multi-billion dollar investments in Pakistan. He said most Chinese companies had shown their interest to invest in country. He said the prime minister had about 20 back-to-back meetings with top executives of Fortune-500 companies to attract investment.

The adviser said that the Chinese companies had been facilitated with a compliance regime and they were not required to obtain NOCs from 37 different departments before launching any investment project in the special economic zones. They would be required to comply with the Pakistani law that would be audited later and subjected to penalties and other fallbacks in case of violations of law.

He said that Chinese companies would also help develop agriculture of the country on modern lines to enhance per acre yield and seed quality. Some companies were interested to grow maize and soybean in Pakistan while another large corporation was interested in setting up an LNG storage at Karachi Port whereas a factory for value-added products would be set up on Lahore-Kasur Road in the textile sector.

The adviser said that another Chinese company, Royal Group, was interested in investing $50 million in the auto sector of the country. Chinese companies wanted to invest $200 million in making medical devices whereas an investment of $2 billion by the Chinese companies would be made for laying optical fiber.

Responding to a question on Pakistani request for additional financial support and debt rollover, Khalid Mansoor said they acknowledged it and would consider and get back to us.

Comment by Riaz Haq on July 20, 2022 at 4:43pm

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).

Comment by Riaz Haq on November 26, 2022 at 4:48pm

‘One Network’ catches the eye at IDEAS-22

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2386761/one-network-catches-the-eye-at...

The ‘One Network’ is an advanced communication project, under which 3,000 kilometres of underground fibre optic cable is being laid along the motorways across Pakistan. After the completion of the project, it would meet Pakistan's telecommunication requirements.

According to the One Network chief operating officer (COO), 2,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable haf been laid under the motorways communication infrastructure. People traveling on the motorways would get relief from the rush situations. It would also eliminate cash payments at toll plazas.

The system would also be linked to the motorway police to keep check on any violation of the traffic rules, such as wearing of seat belt and the speed limit. Besides, in case of emergency, people would get timely recovery or rescue assistance.

The ‘One Network’ covers M1 to M16 Motorways in Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Pindi Bhattian, Multan, Sukkur, Karachi, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Dera Ismail Khan, Swat and Hazara, besides the Lahore Ring Road and Lahore-Faisalabad route.

The FWO is also conducting six diploma courses. According to the principal of this project, Col (retd) Atif, about 45 short courses of three to six months of duration were also offered. The graduated from here were associated with technical fields in Pakistan and other countries.

Comment by Riaz Haq on December 7, 2022 at 5:35pm

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.

Comment by Riaz Haq on December 26, 2022 at 8:52pm

ONE Network, Cybernet complete first phase of cross-country long-haul fiber network

https://www.brecorder.com/news/40211289

A new ultra-low latency long-haul fiber network is being deployed jointly by One Network, the largest ICT and Intelligent Traffic and Electronic Tolling System operator in Pakistan, and Cybernet, a leading fiber broadband provider. The network will span the entire length of the country and provide much-needed capacity and redundancy to the communications, internet, and media infrastructure in numerous cities, towns, and districts.

The first phase of the project, which includes 1,800 km of fiber network along motorways and road sections linking Karachi to Hyderabad (M-9 Motorway), Multan to Sukkur (M-5 Motorway), Abdul Hakeem to Lahore (M-3 Motorway), Swat Expressway (M-16), Lahore to Islamabad (M-2 Motorway) and separately from Lahore to Sialkot (M-11 Motorway), Gujranwala, Daska and Wazirabad have been deployed.

Both partners are now moving expeditiously to install and test a multi-terabit transport network and attain ready-for-service (RFS).

The second phase which includes Hyderabad to Sukkur, Multan to Pindi Bhattian (M-4 Motorway), Hazara Expressway (E-35), Hakla to D.I.Khan (M-14 Motorway), and Islamabad to Peshawar (M-1 Motorway) has commenced and is expected to go live by Q1 2023.

Based on learnings from disruptions due to infrastructure damages in recent floods, the project has implemented extra measures to withstand natural calamities. All critical components including optical networking equipment, distribution networks, and power systems are deployed in such a manner that they continue to function in a range of disaster scenarios. Furthermore, the network is being enhanced through multiple rings, and swap arrangements with other network providers to provide an unprecedented level of reliability.

Asif Siddique, CEO of One Network, said: “This national long-haul project is the backbone to enable One Network to deploy state-of-the-art platforms for electronic toll collection (ETC) and intelligent transportation systems (ITS) for our National Motorways – the economic backbone of our country. Built along the national motorways, the fiber transmission network will provide a robust information highway linking many Pakistani cities, towns, and districts. The infrastructure has been built, and will be maintained, by keeping in mind the capacity and communication needs for our nation and its citizens for the next 25 years”. The infrastructure shall also be available for all cellular mobile operators to provide quality of service to their 3G/4G subscribers along the motorway routes. “We are building safe and reliable long-haul fiber infrastructure with an aim to contribute to improving quality of service and digitalization efforts of the government of Pakistan,” added Mr. Asif Siddique.

Danish A. Lakhani, CEO of Cybernet, said, “Our goal is to provide a high-capacity fiber network that continues to function in critical times. With careful planning of the fiber plant including ring-based protection and regular, proactive maintenance we aim to construct a robust national fiber backbone for use by everyone – but one which will be owned and managed by local Pakistanis. Such a backbone will not only serve the people, businesses, and institutions of Pakistan but also meet the needs of international customers who require high-capacity, cross-border connectivity.”

The new long-haul network will also provide tremendous benefit to Cybernet’s own broadband service (StormFiber) by enabling the company to provide multi-terabit transmission uplink to its broadband access network.

“This transmission network will enable us to further our mission of transforming the Pakistani economy by bringing gigabit fiber broadband service –at an affordable price— to households and businesses in every major city of Pakistan. We are on track to roll out our FTTH-based triple play service to the 25th city in Pakistan by the end of the year”, added Lakhani.

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