Ufone ends trial, launches 3G commercially

Starting May 24, users will be charged for services as per tariff.

KARACHI:

In a move that will mark the beginning of a whole new era of technology, the country’s telecom sector is going for the commercial launch of the third-generation (3G) mobile internet services today.

Ufone, a subsidiary of Dubai-based Etisalat Group, commercially launched its 3G services in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi, the company said in a statement on Friday.

Starting from May 24, the users will be charged for 3G services as per the tariff in areas where it had been activated on a free-trial basis, the statement said.

Ufone, along with other telecom operators, had acquired 5 megahertz (MH) bandwidth in 3G spectrum in April’s spectrum auction – the company had been offering high-speed mobile broadband in specific areas of big cities as a trial run.

The Pakistan Telecom­munication Authority (PTA) formally awarded 3G licences to the telecom operators on Thursday, May 22, fulfilling the final formality before
the companies launch their services on a commercial basis.

“Today is a landmark day, not only for Ufone but also for the cellular industry in Pakistan,” the press release quoted Ufone’s Marketing General Manager Taimur Cheema as saying. The company, according to the statement, would strive to meet customer expectations and operate in compliance with the Information Memorandum – the policy document that contains, among other details, the guidelines for the rollout requirement of 3G services.

The mobile broadband offers higher data transfer rates to the users who can stream videos on the go, download data at extraordinary speed, make video calls from their mobile phones and even watch TV.

Additionally, it has massive application for the social sector – in form of e-health, e-education and e-governance provided through mobile broadband – that can be of great benefit to rural areas in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2014.

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