Mobilink

Mobilink (PMCL) Ltd.
Native name
 موبی لنک‬
Formerly
 Jazz, Indigo
Public Limited Company
Industry Telecommunication
Genre Subsidiary
Fate Merged into Jazz
Successor Jazz
Founded June 11, 1994[1]
Founder Jamsheed Shahzad Khan Rind Baloch[2] and Motorola
Headquarters Islamabad[3], Pakistan
Area served
 More than 20000 cities, towns, and villages across Pakistan[4]
Key people
 Jamsheed Shahzad[5]
(President and CEO)
Products Mobile Telephony, WiMAX, VoIP, DSL, PCO and Mobile Banking[6]
Revenue Rs104 billion (2016)
Number of employees
 2300
Parent VimpelCom Ltd.
Website www.mobilink.com.pk

Mobilink (Urdu: موبی لنک‬‎) was a trade name of Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited (PMCL), a mobile operator in Pakistan providing a range of prepaid and postpaid voice and data telecommunication services to both individual and corporate subscribers. Its head office is in Islamabad, and the current President and CEO is Jamsheed Shahzad. The network claims to have been the first GSM-based mobile operator in South Asia.[7]

History

Mobilink started operations in 1990 as the first GSM cellular mobile service in Pakistan with a joint venture by Saif Group and Motorola Inc., who later sold it to Orascom Telecom, an Egypt-based multinational company and then they also further sold it to Vimpelcom Group, a Russian Company.

The Orascom group, who formally owned Mobilink has a major share in TWA (Transworld Associates) which operates an undersea fiber-optic cable from Karachi, Pakistan, to Fujairah, UAE.[8] As of June 2010, Mobilink had issued two listed bonds valued at PKR 30.2 billion and PKR 60 billion.

Re-branding

As part of Orascom-Vimplecom deal, all Orascom operations were bound to re-brand in all operating markets. Just like Orascom had announced to rebrand itself to become Global Telecom Holding in late 2012, in line with the outcome of the deal, Mobilink has reshaped itself along with changing the architecture of its brands.[9]

Radio Frequency Summary

Frequencies used on Mobilink's network
Frequency Protocol Band Class
900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE 2G
1800 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE 2G
2100 MHz UMTS/HSDPA/HSPA+/DC-HSPA+ 1 3G
1800 MHz LTE 3 4G

In April 2014, Mobilink participated in the Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) auction held by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Mobilink won the bid for the 2100 MHz 3G license. In July 2014, they announced that their 3G network would be the country's largest with over 9000 3G-ready cell sites.

In November 2015, Mobilink announced its merger with Warid Pakistan, the merger was completed in July 2016 and the companies were going to plan for integration and merging into a single brand in the future.[10] In November 2016, Mobilink announced that Warid customers would be able to use their 3G network,[11] and Mobilink customers will be able to use Warid's LTE network.[12]

Subsidiaries, joint ventures, and holdings

Mobilink is a communications access provider offering customers access through different channels. The four key platforms Orange operates are:

  1. Mobile Phone Telephony
  2. Broadband access
  3. Internet
  4. Mobile Banking

Mobilink (PMCL) acquired and merged the different external or internal divisions managing each platform and now all operate under the different brands.

Jazz X (Haier Co-Branded) Mobile Phones

Mobilink along with Haier Mobile division has launched co-branded handsets including feature phone, smartphones, and tablets.

Jazzcash

Mobilink has partnered with Waseela Microfinance Bank to mark its entry into the branchless banking segment. With Mobicash, customers have access to the simplest way to conduct their financial transactions, related to paying bills, sending/receiving money within Pakistan, purchasing top-ups for their cell phones (Pre-paid).[13]

LinkdotNet

LINkdotNET (an Orascom Subsidiary) commenced its operation in Pakistan by acquiring two already existing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) named as World Online (WOL) Telecom Limited and Dancom Online. LINKdotNET merged the resources of these two companies and by putting in more investment launched its operations officially on 2 February 2008. It was offering its services in more than 130 cities in Pakistan and in two years this company raised its customer base up to 35,000. LINKdotNET provided services for both home and commercial users and was the second largest broadband service provider in Pakistan after PTCL (Pakistan Telecommunication Limited).

Under the brand name of Infinity, Mobilink had started its WiMAX services in major cities of Pakistan.

Orascom took over the management

Despite having the 26% of Mobilink GSM business share, in April 2001, Orascom (GTH) took over management control of the company. As the market leader, Mobilink serves approximately 38.1 million customers and has a 28% market share (as of March 31, 2014).[14]

On March 30, 2000, Mobilink was 26% acquired by Orascom Telecom (now Global Telecom Holding), telecom company. Orascom has mobile telephony holdings in a number of countries in Africa and the Middle East.[15]

Governance

President and CEO

  • 2016: Aamir Ibrahim[16]
  • 2014: Jeffrey Hedberg
  • 2008: Rashid Khan
  • 2003: Zouhair Abdul Khaliq

Board of Directors

List of people in board of directors to whom Mobilink is governed.[17]

Name Position
David Dobbie Board Member
Hassan Helmy Board Member
Vincenzo Nesci Chairman and Board member
Aamir Ibrahim CEO and Board member
Mikhail Gerchuk Chairman and board member
Niaz Brohi Board Member
Alex Shalaby Board Member
Emad Shawky Farid Independent Member

The Mobilink Foundation is a registered non-profit organization, which provides support for the local community not only financially but also through dedicated volunteer hours. Being a philanthropic[18] organization, it is purely based on employee volunteerism. No administrative costs or overheads are incurred age the organization and therefore, every single penny that is donated to Mobilink Foundation goes directly into making a difference on the ground.

Torchbearers

The Mobilink Foundation Torchbearers clock an average of 4 to 5 dedicated hours per person per month during official working hours. On average the volunteers spent more than 4,500 hours in 2012 in community service initiatives.[19]

Awards and recognition

  • Excellence in Service Delivery, an award based on a survey by rozee.pk for best service providers in different sectors.[20]
  • Pakistan Center of Philanthropy Award[21]
  • Ethical Corporate Award 2014 [22]
  • GSMA's Global Mobile Award 2013 [23]
  • Overseas Investors Chamber Award 2010 [24]

Other Internet Free Services

Mobilink also provide free services like access to Wikimedia Foundation's Wikipedia Zero. Free Facebook is also available with no photos on Mobilink.

Merger with Warid

Mobilink previously announced its merger with Warid Tel in November 2015.[25] The case was under review at Pakistan telecommunication authority. After scrutiny PTA finally approved the merger on 24 May 2016. In January 2017, Mobilink CEO, Aamir Ibrahim, stated that the Warid brand name would be history, and both companies would be re-launched under the 'Jazz' brand name.[26][27][28][29][30] After the acquisition of Warid now Mobilink joins the 4G service provider in Pakistan.

See also

References

  1. ↑ More Magazine. "Mobilink celebrates 20th anniversary with cash prizes worth millions". More Magazine. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "Jamsheed Shahzad - Executive Management". Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "About Us". Mobilink. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "Coverage". Mobilink. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "Mobilink - Har Dil. Har Din". Mobilink. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Jamsheed Shahzad - Executive Management".
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ "ProPakistani".
  9. ↑ "Mobilink Warid Merger Gets Completed". 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  10. ↑ "Warid Customers Can Now Enjoy Mobilink's 3G Packages". 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  11. ↑ "Mobilink Starts LTE Trials, Warid Customers to Enjoy 3G Trials". 2016-11-17. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  12. ↑ "JazzCash".
  13. ↑ "Company Profile".
  14. ↑ "MOBILINK TO BE 26% ACQUIRED BY ORASCOM TELECOM".
  15. ↑ http://www.morenews.pk/2016/07/02/lucky-aamir-ibrahim-becomes-ceo-of-mobilink-warid/
  16. ↑ "Board of Directors - Mobilink - Har Dil. Har Din". Retrieved 2015-07-26.
  17. ↑ "Awards And Recognition".
  18. ↑ "A Few Words About Mobilink Foundation".
  19. ↑ "Jazz Awarded for Excellence in Service Delivery". Paktechinfo.com.
  20. ↑ "Mobilink Jazz Won the Pakistan Center of Philanthropy Award". Paktechinfo. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  21. ↑ "Mobilink wins the Ethical Corporate Award 2014 for mLiteracy Program".
  22. ↑ "Awards History 1996-2014 | Global Mobile Awards". www.globalmobileawards.com. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
  23. ↑ http://www.vimpelcom.com/Profile/Understanding-VimpelCom/Brands/Mobilink/
  24. ↑ "Mobilink and Warid to merge into single company". Hotchpotch Post. 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  25. ↑ "Pakistan Telecommunication Authority approves Mobilink's merger with Warid". Business Recorder. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  26. ↑ "Mobilink, Warid merger approved". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  27. ↑ "Warid Telecom ::". www.waridtel.com. Retrieved 2017-01-10.
  28. ↑ "Mobilink and Warid are now one happy family — but what's in it for customers?". DAWN.COM. 2016-07-23. Retrieved 2017-01-10.
  29. ↑ "Mobilink and Warid are Merging into One Brand: Jazz". 2017-01-06. Retrieved 2017-01-10.
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