Week in Review: Week ending on 16th of August
Saturday, August 16, 2008 8:14Wow! What a hectic week it’s been! With Ramadan right around the corner, it feels like everyone is just packing all their events, activities and launches in just before the month of fasting.
The most important news of this week has been the 8th ITCN Asia 2008, where hundreds of companies exhibited their products and services. Mustafa Kamal, City Nazim Karachi and Raza Haroon, IT Minister for Government of Sindh officially inaugurated the event, and whether it was a success or not, well, you can probably judge that by the tons of paper that may or may not have exited the doors of the expo over the 3 days. After all, it was the 8th biggest expo, which leads us to wonder where the 7 other BIGGEST expos in Pakistan are happening at.
The show received an immense response form the audience and several new technologies were introduced at this grand platform. Besides the exhibition, conference section was comprised nearly all the leading IT professionals of Pakistan.
PTCL, in collaboration with Etisalat Academy introduced a unique method of learning by inviting everyone to the world of easy learning via the easy learning initiative, which was originally launched under the auspices of G77 of the United Nations.
At the launch of this new scheme, Dr. Sadik the objective of this initiative is human development and learning for everyone. The significant feature of this learning is that anyone can reach to the contents of these courses via internet. The library contains more than 500 quality courses in the field of Information Technology and several other professional courses, which are all being presented through the pre-paid cards technology.
Additionally, PTCL is all set to introduce IP TV facility on mobile phones from August 14 and talking to reporters on Monday at ITCN Asia 2008, Dr. Sadik accepted the fact that PTCL is witnessing a huge decline among its subscribers and he mentioned the mobile phone trend as the most important factor in landline decline. He said that PTCL is certainly improving its services and very soon, users will be provided with best of services and latest new offers.
Chairman of PTA, Dr. M. Yaseen said that all telecom operators will make sure that quality services are provided to customers and it has been PTA’s basic priority to ensure the provision of outclass services to normal consumers. He said while addressing a session at ITCN Asia 2008.
Federal Secretary of IT and Telecom Ministry, Hifzur Rehman said that Pakistan software exports are set to grow by 50 percent by the next fiscal year with the continuation of its policies for IT. He also mentioned that government is very much inclined towards the growth of IT and is focusing on the establishment of most advanced IT parks in Karachi and Lahore.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) held a one-day workshop on 11 August at Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry with an aim to educate the taxpayers and consultants about the process of e-filing of returns. The FBR has made it mandatory for all Sales Tax and Federal Excise registered persons to file all their returns electronically. The Board had planned a series of workshops and seminars to educate the taxpayers, the press release added.
IBM has announced new software and services for mobile devices that have most of latest applications, which were only found on the PC. The latest IBM devices will have the features of business as well as entertainment, which will make it easier for professionals to handle their business and also communicating with their friends and family. IBM also announced new business consulting services to help companies in managing a mobile work environment, which will be called as Mobility@Work. The consulting and implementation services can result in better productivity by as much as 30 percent than before.
Federal Secretary of IT and Telecom Ministry, Hifz-Ur-Rehman said that country’s IT market has exceptionally emerged and has become the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. He also appreciated the fact that Pakistan’s IT industry has played a key role in networking with International businesses, which has certainly highlighted Pakistan in the global market. However, he said that Pakistan is still far behind many other leading countries in technology an innovation, for which we will have to work even harder.
It is being heard that Telenor, which is the largest mobile network in Chitral, is over charging its customers, violating their advertised call rates. Users have faced several unbearable circumstances while using Telenor’s services. Some evidence say that users are being charged for rupees 10 per minute when called on any other network including PTCL, which certainly has created problems for Telenor’s subscribers.
WorldCall, which is one of the leading Broadband and telephony providers in Pakistan, is having a tough time dealing with its profits. The profit after-tax of WorldCall Telecom Limited has declined to Rs. 76.218 million in the fiscal year, ending on June 30, 2008. However, this amount was Rupees 623.536 million in the corresponding period of last year. The company’s earning per share stood at Re. 0.10 in the period under review against Re. 0.83 of last year. Whereas company’s net revenue increased to Rs. 4.508 billion in this period against Rs. 4.312 billion in the same period last year.
Chairman Senate, Mohammad Mian Soomro said that telecom sector possesses great importance in Pakistan’s economy and the same sector has progressed astonishingly in the last few years, and undoubtedly, Government is giving special attention to this section. Any policy or government’s act that occurred in the last few months has been a part of controlling terrorism and misuses of phones, not for hampering the growth of this sector in anyway.
According to CEO of Ecommerce Gateway, Khursheed Nizaam, nearly 0.3 million people visited ITCN Asia 2008. The exhibition lasted from 11th of August to 13th, where hundreds of exhibitors showcased their products and the entire event was organized by Ecommerce Gateway.
The Senate Standing Committee on Interior has suggested amendment to section 131 of the PTA Act to increase punishment for the illegal use of telephone. Now, users would be served with at least three-year imprisonment and Rs. 1 million fine if he/she uses phone for illegal purposes. This amendment has been suggested because of a Kidnapping case, where the kidnapper called for Ransom from a WLL phone, which had no registration records. The committee has asked IT Ministry, Interior Ministry and PTA to prepare a draft within three weeks to be placed before the parliament for legislation.
Inbox Business Technologies and Wateen signed an outsourcing agreement of which its expected that the quality of services will be enhanced in and efficient and precise manner. Besides Metropolitan cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, Inbox has also deployed dedicated resident engineers at various exigent localities of Pakistan like Sargodha, Gujrat, Bahawalpur, DG Khan for providing the most extensive systems.
Besides Metropolitan cities like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad; Inbox has also deployed dedicated resident engineers at various exigent localities of Pakistan like Sargodha, Gujrat, Bahawalpur, DG Khan, etc, in order to provide the most extensive systems support coverage to Wateen.
The Contact Center, which is being provided to Wateen by Inbox, is authorized to provide technical support and field services to Wateen personnel by enabling them to log their problem statements, which sure is going to build a better relationship of company with its customers.
