KARACHI, May 18: Cellular phone operators have planned to implement mobile number portability (MNP) by the end of this year with the support of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

A new independent company — Pakistan Database Limited — has been formed, with its and all the existing mobile operators’ CEOs in the board of directors to look into the details under the supervision of the PTA and discuss various technicalities for the implementation of MNP. More than 50 per cent of the groundwork has been done.

This was informed by Warid Telecom chief executive officer Hamid Farooq while giving an overall picture of the mobile phone scenario in Pakistan in a chat with Dawn.

In reply to a query about the delay in implementation of MNP, he said: “The real cause of delay is technical hindrances that all the operators are facing. They have to install special equipment and share their data with each other.”

He claimed that Pakistan would be the first country in the region to implement this system. “It is a prerequisite for true competition. However, it is recognized that the mobile market is already competitive, but it cannot be considered truly competitive until users have the right to change operators at minimal cost and with minimal inconvenience,” he added.

On the quality of services offered by the cellphone operators, Mr Farooq said the PTA and other government authorities would have to carefully monitor the quality of service levels being maintained by the operators. “The PTA should progressively adopt objective measurement of quality service parameters in accordance with the internationally accepted key performance indicators (KPIs).”

Due to an increase in competition, airtime tariff and other mobile charges are coming down. The operators are introducing lower international rates. The mobile subscriber strength is expected to increase much more than the existing figure of 27 million customers. This exponential increase in subscriber base has resulted in mobile tele-density rising to 17 per cent, up from 2.5 per cent in April 2004. The subscriber base is expected to cross 35 million, with mobile tele-density of over 21 per cent at the end of 2006.

“I feel the existing six players are more than enough for the current market, as all the new and old operators have aggressive plans to expand their network capacity in 2006 and 2007,” Mr Farooq said.

“The total investment in the mobile sector stands at around $7 billion, and an investment of $2-3 billion is expected in 2006 and 2007.”

He said the abolition of activation tax in the new budget would definitely affect the consumers, as the operators would incorporate the saving of tax in the packages they would offer to the consumers.

“We have sent a joint proposal signed by the CEOs of all operators to the ministry, requesting the adjustment of activation tax against other input tax, exemption from minimum taxation, offshore accounts, certificate of tax exemption for payments to non-residents, with holding tax on interest and separate input/output rates for sales tax on the telecom industry,” he added.

On confrontation between the mobile phone operators and Wireless Local Loop (WLL) players, Mr Farooq said the industry was happy with the PTA decision about limited or single cell mobility for WLL operators, but the challenge for the authority would be to ensure a complete implementation according to the agreed mandate.

“The terminals used for WLL should be similar to those of fixed line so that there could be a clear distinction between mobile and WLL services. The WLL operators have launched services in dense urban areas where mobile operators already have their network in place. This is defeating the very purpose of having WLL for the sake of expanding telephony services in rural and far flung areas at a rapid pace. It is creating price war and intense competition in an already highly competitive mobile market,” Mr Farooq pointed out.

He said WLL was more suitable for the rural areas where there was no fixed line facility. It is also more economical, as rates are 1/3rd of the fixed line and large-scale growth is expected in the rural areas in future and PTCL alone will not be able to meet the demand.

“It will be beneficial for those areas where fixed telephony is non-existent. WLL should focus on the rural areas, with single cell mobility which will help in improving tele-density in Pakistan and providing communications services to remote and under-served areas. However, we feel the PTA should strictly monitor WLL companies and take proper action against the companies violating the rules as per the licence,” he added.

Meanwhile, it has been observed that customers are literally going wild to own mobile phones and shopkeepers in the famous mobile market at Abdullah Haroon Road are now doing a roaring business.

Mobile phone companies are introducing new models almost every day, and due to intense competition, the resale value of mobile phones has been vanishing. “If you buy a mobile phone at any cost or above Rs10,000, it loses its value by Rs2,000-3,000 immediately,” said a mobile phone dealer.