Wateen Hosts Business Analysts Briefing

December 22, Karachi: Wateen Telecom held a business analyst briefing in Karachi on 22nd December 2010. The briefing was attended by major brokers of Karachi Stock Exchange, representative of mutual funds, investment companies and financial institutions.

Mr. Naeem Zamindar, CEO Wateen Telecom, expressed his gratitude to all the investors and stakeholders for their interests and active participation. He briefed them about Wateen's financial performance for the first quarter (ended September 30th, 2010), gave a thorough analysis of the opportunity and challenges that it faces, its broad product portfolio, strong market positioning and financial viability and future outlook with brief insights of Wateen's business plans for the next 12 to 18 months.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Zamindar said "Our strategy is twofold. First is to monetize Wateen's positioning and strategic asset base, the largest fiber optic network with over 11,000 Kms of fiber laid across Pakistan, the largest WiMax network, a cable TV, telephony and internet network, the largest supplier of satellite capacity, a long distance international calling business and a multi-national corporate solution and system integration business. Secondly, we will rationalize our cost structure so that we can grow profitably. With clear market leadership in converged technology and product offering, Wateen will define the future landscape of ICT in Pakistan." Wateen Telecom is Pakistan's largest alternative communications provider in the country giving services to the financial, telecom, media, IT & education sectors.

Telenor Does Not Support Proposed VimpelCom Acquisition of Weather Investments

As formally communicated to VimpelCom Ltd.'s Chairman yesterday, based on the information available to it and recent developments, Telenor ASA has determined that the proposed acquisition by VimpelCom Ltd. of Weather Investments S.p.A. is not in the best interests of VimpelCom shareholders and therefore does not intend to support the transaction.

"We strongly support VimpelCom's expansion in accordance with the principles agreed at the time the company was created. However, in our capacity as a shareholder of VimpelCom Ltd., we do not believe this transaction makes strategic or financial sense for VimpelCom's shareholders," said Telenor spokesman Dag Melgaard.

Telenor ASA holds a 36% voting and 39.6% economic interest in VimpelCom Ltd.

Wi-tribe Ranked Pakistan’s No. 1 Broadband Company

In its 2010 annual report, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced that wi-tribe Pakistan successfully ranked number one in both the ‘Technology Neutral’ and ‘Technology-wise’ categories for highest Quality of Service,

despite being the youngest broadband company, after just over one year of launching commercial services. PTA’s acknowledgment of wi-tribe’s service quality emphasizes that the company is passionate about delivering nothing short of excellence to its customers.

To celebrate this achievement, PTA Chairman, Dr. Mohammed Yaseen, was invited by wi-tribe Pakistan’s CEO, Mustafa Peracha and his team for a cake-cutting ceremony at wi-tribe’s head office in Islamabad. During the ceremony, wi-tribe’s CEO Mustafa Peracha expressed his delight on the recent achievement, stating, “I am elated about wi-tribe’s success in Pakistan. I’m also thankful to PTA for recognizing our effort to take broadband to the next level.”

On the team’s effort he said, “Today, I proudly share wi-tribe’s feat with my dedicated team, our community, customers and partners, who have continuously extending their trust and support. We aim to deliver an exceptional and personalized broadband experience to our customers, and believe in constant evolution, which will continue to reflect in all our offerings.”

In addition to recognizing wi-tribe’s quality-driven approach, the report also concluded that wi-tribe is the fastest growing broadband operator in Pakistan, successfully delivering high speed internet to customers in all its cities of operation.

During the last five years, Pakistan’s broadband subscriber base has increased by leaps and bounds. People from all walks of life, including professionals, students, academics and corporates are all finding high speed internet to be essential towards their respective progression. wi-tribe realizes the need to serve growing demands, with no compromise on quality of service.

With a focus on delivering high quality broadband internet across its network of operations, wi-tribe enables instant connectivity with its plug ‘n’ play devices, offering the latest in affordable internet technology.

Nokia Calling All Innovators Pakistan 2010 Competition Results Announced

Nokia awards top three Pakistani mobile application developers

The prize distribution ceremony of Nokia Calling All Innovators Pakistan 2010 developer competition was held at a local hotel here in Karachi. The competition winner received the grand prize of 1,000,000/- PKR in cash; along with paid travel and accommodation to demo the winning application at a Nokia specified event. The two runners-up received 500,000/- PKR in cash and 300,000/- PKR in cash respectively.

These prizes were decided by the panel of judges comprising of Mr. Muhammad Amir Malik, Mr. Zia Imran, Ms. Jehan Ara and Mr. Farhan Chawla. The winners in all four applications categories also received a one-year membership in Forum Nokia Launchpad, which is designed to accelerate mobile application development and elevate business visibility in the mobile world. It is ideally suited to companies that operate in the mobile space and work on Nokia platforms. All Forum Nokia Launchpad members have access to exclusive resources and support. (Value of 400 Euro) Commenting on the award ceremony of Calling All Innovators Competition in Pakistan, Imran Mahmood, General Manager, Nokia Pakistan said, “We are overwhelmed with the number of developers who submitted their applications for the competition. It only reaffirmed our belief that Pakistan has some of the finest developers to offer. It is truly a milestone for us to reach the final stage of first Calling All Innovators competition in Pakistan. It has been a sheer pleasure to see that we have a large group of technology enthusiasts in this country.”

Talking about the competition, Teemu Kiijarvi, Forum Nokia Developers Relations Manager said, “It is a great achievement and a proud moment for the Nokia team as well as the Pakistani developers to come together on a single platform. This event only marks the beginning of a fruitful and winning partnership between Forum Nokia and Pakistani developers. We want to have a dialogue with the developers and engage them with our platform and offerings to offer them the services that are tailored around their needs. Calling All Innovators is a step towards this goal.” Speaking on the occasion, Chief Guest Dr. Mohammed Yaseen, PTA Chairman said, “Today’s event symbolizes the progress of Pakistan’s telecom industry. It is an honor for us to have players like Nokia in the industry who are playing a critical role in furthering not only their business but are also fuelling the growth of industry on the whole. By providing a breeding ground for Pakistani developers, Nokia is really taking a lead in bringing to Pakistani consumers the most relevant mobility experience. It is a positive sign for the telecom industry that companies like Nokia are diverging into new grounds and signifies a shift in telecom industry.” Through Calling All Innovators competition, Nokia aimed to offer new opportunities for local developers to grow their business – whether it was someone new to mobile or an experienced coder. The competition challenged mobile and web application developers to submit entries for locally relevant content in English or Urdu in any of these four categories; Eco/Being Green, Entertainment, Productivity and Life Improvement. Details about each of these categories are available on http://www.callingallinnovators.com/about_the_contest.aspx The entries were submitted on http://www.callingallinnovators.com/login.aspx. Submissions closed in June 2010 and the final winners were announced at the prize distribution ceremony. All eligible entries received were judged by the industry experts. Criteria for choosing the winner included quality and functionality; uniqueness and innovativeness; usability and creativity; and ability to fulfil users’ needs in terms of relevancy and customer adoption.