May 24, 2005	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 15, 1426

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ISLAMABAD, May 23: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Shahzada Alam Malik on Monday said the authority would soon devise a policy to end the controversy regarding Wireless Local Loop (WLL) services in the cities. “The authority is conscious of the concerns raised by different mobile phone operators about WLL services. In this regard the PTA has held meetings with various stakeholders with a view to formulating a comprehensive policy about WLL mobility,” the chairman told reporters at the commercial launch of a UAE- based cellular company from 28 cities.

WLL services especially benefit low-income groups or people living in remote or rural areas, he said.

Mr Malik said the number of cellular phone subscribers would further grow and would reach 15 million mark by the end of this year from the existing 10 million subscribers.

On an average about 0.5 million cellular connections are being added every month, but with the addition of the sixth mobile operator, the number would further surge to 0.8 million subscribers a month, he said.

Telecom sector has shown a phenomenal growth during the last two years and resulted in creating thousands of new jobs in the market and revenue generation for the country, he said.

The chairman was also hopeful that activation charge for the new mobile phone connection would further go down to Rs500 from the existing Rs1,000 in the budget.

To a question, he said all six cellular operators had agreed to constitute a supervisory board to implement Mobile Number Portability (MNP) — a system which enables a subscriber to carry the same number while changing cellular mobile operator.

MNP is likely to be implemented by the end of this year, he said.

Referring to the show-cause notices issued against two leading mobile cellular companies for poor quality of service, the chairman said the authority had already received their replies and public hearing would soon be held to ascertain the opinion of the people in this regard.

Speaking on the occasion, General Manager (Government and Regulatory Affairs) of the UAE-based cellular company Omer A. Haider said the company had launched service from 28 cities in the first phase with a network capacity of 1.5 million.

In the second phase, coverage would be extended to 100 more cities by the end of this year. So far the company has invested $400 million, he said, adding that tehsil headquarters in the rural areas would also be reached out by 2006 in accordance with license terms. Details of the company’s tariff was also announced on the occasion.

APP adds: The PTA has asked all LDI operators to reduce international settlement rates significantly to narrow the financial incentives available for illegal traffic termination. The reduction in rates would decrease inflow of grey traffic in Pakistan from other countries.

The authority has announced that the revised settlement rates shall be $0.1350 per minute compared to their existing level of $0.1629 per minute and shall be effective from July 1, says a press release issued on Monday.

It said the PTA had already taken initiatives to address the issue of illegal call termination in the form of administrative actions in collaboration with the PTCL and other related agencies.

In the presence of high economic incentives, however, it is unlikely that the administrative measures alone would overcome the problem.

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