April 23, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 24, 1427

Mobile phone subscribers in Sindh are estimated at 30 per cent out of a total 24 million of cellphone users in the country. Punjab holds a 45 per cent market share followed by five per cent in Balochistan and 20 per cent in the Northern Areas.

Out of 24 million subscribers, Mobilink holds the largest market share with 11.5-12 million people followed by Ufone six million, Warid Telecom three million, Telenor two million, Paktel about one million and Instaphone 0.5 million.

The 24 million subscribers look quite an unusual figure as compared to over 150 million population in the country but the pace of getting cell phones has been gaining momentum.

In 1999-2000 there were only 300,000 subscribers that jumped to 2.4 million by 2002-2003 and further rose to five million by 2003-2004. By end of April 2005, cell phone subscribers reached 10.5 million.

“I think cellphone subscribers in Pakistan will double in the next 18 months from the current 24 million,” an official in Ufone said adding that the mobile phone operators were now focusing more on luring customers from the rural areas.

He said there was an estimated 50-60 million cell phones market in the country and the time was not far when this target would be achieved. He added that it did not mean that mobile phones would rule the country but there was also ample scope for landline and wireless local loop (WLL) connections.

He said that an estimated five million people had PTCL landlines, while less than one million people had WLL facility. Obviously, the number of PTCL and WLL subscribers will also rise along with mobile phone subscribers.

The official said that currently there was a 50-50 per cent penetration of mobile phone users in both rural and urban areas.

Out of 30 per cent total mobile phone users in Sindh, Karachi accounts for a 20-22 per cent share. Lahore has a 10-12 per cent share.—ASK