Telenor Pakistan

Telenor Pakistan (Urdu: ٹیلی نار پاکستان‎), branded as Telenor 4G, is a Pakistani mobile data and digital services provider, owned by Norwegian company Telenor Group. Currently, Telenor Pakistan has a total subscriber base of 45 million[2] with 27% cellular market share in Pakistan and more than 1,900 employees.

For other uses, see Telenor (disambiguation).
Telenor Pakistan
Subsidiary
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded2004
HeadquartersIslamabad, Pakistan
Area served
Pakistan
Key people
Irfan Wahab Khan (CEO)
ProductsMobile Telephony, Internet, Devices
Revenue NOK 1,480 million (2019 Q4)[1]
NOK 224 million (2019 Q4)[1]
ParentTelenor ASA
SubsidiariesTelenor Bank
Websitewww.telenor.com.pk

History

Telenor acquired a license for providing GSM services in Pakistan in April 2004, and launched its services commercially in Karachi, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi on 15 March 2005; it expanded its services to Lahore, Faisalabad and Hyderabad on 23 March 2005. Telenor Pakistan's corporate headquarters are in Islamabad, with regional offices in Peshawar, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Hyderabad, Quetta and Karachi.

The official opening of Telenor Pakistan was held in Islamabad in which former president of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf was the guest of honor and was attended by Telenor delegation headed by president and CEO of Telenor Group Jon Fredrik Baksaas along with then CEO of Telenor Pakistan Tore Johnsen. The first call at the inauguration was made by former President Pervez Musharraf to the prime minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg, who was visiting Australia at the time. Telenor Pakistan's new headquarter named ‘345’ was inaugurated in Islamabad on 1 November 2017 by the then prime minister of Pakistan Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. The new headquarter was built at a cost of $80 million.[3]

Operations

Coverage

Telenor Pakistan covers more than 80% of Pakistan's population in urban and rural areas with a network of over 11,000 cell sites of which 80% are 3G and 70% are 4G enabled. The company has been awarded a number of projects under Universal Service Fund (USF) of which the one currently in progress in the Broadband for Sustainable Development (BSD) program under which more than 100 new cell sites will be established to bring connectivity to 1.7 million in Dera Ismail Khan and Mohmand Agency.[4] In the past, Telenor worked on USF Projects for cell site installation in Bahawalpur-Cholistan district in 2009 and provision of 3G services in Kohistan district in 2017.[5][6]

Radio Frequency
Frequencies used on Telenor Pakistan's Network
Frequency Protocol Band Class Channel width
900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE 2G 4.8 MHz
1800 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE 2G 3.8 MHz
2100 MHz UMTS/HSDPA/HSPA+ 1 3G 5 MHz
850 MHz UMTS/HSDPA/HSPA+ 5 3G 5 MHz
850 MHz LTE/LTE-A 5 4G 5 MHz
1800 MHz LTE/LTE-A 3 4G 3 / 5 MHz

Sales and distribution

Telenor Pakistan's distribution network has over 220,000 touch points across Pakistan that include franchises, sahulat ghars and retailers that offer GSM products and Easypaisa services. In 2017, company owned customer sales and service centers were converted to Digital Customer Touch Points that include Self Service Booths, IVR, web and social media customer services. [10]

Next generation mobile services (NGMS)

Telenor is the first to officially launch 4.5G (LTE Advanced) in Pakistan. It has done so by aggregating two LTE bands, FDD-LTE Band 5 (850 MHz) and FDD-LTE Band 3 (1800 MHz), a portion of which has been re-farmed for LTE, it was previously used on the 2G (GPRS/EDGE) network. Telenor's new LTE-A network will initially be available in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.[7]

Launch of Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE)

After conducting trials and internal testing, Telenor Pakistan launched Voice over LTE (VoLTE) on 29 January 2019. This makes it the first network in Pakistan to launch VoLTE.[8]

Telenor's VoLTE in Pakistan is based on an open source platform and has been developed in-house.

VoLTE has been rolled out to Telenor's Infinity branded smartphones officially on 4 June 2019. Support for other smartphone manufacturers will follow soon.[9]

5G trials

On 13th March 2020, Telenor had successfully conducted 5G trials, achieving connectivity speeds in excess of 1.5Gbps. This also marked 15 years of its operation in Pakistan.[10]

Telenor is the only operator in Pakistan testing 5G using non-Chinese hardware, delivered by Ericsson and Nokia. All other operators (Chinese-owned Zong and Egyptian-Russian-owned Jazz) are testing 5G with Chinese hardware, mostly from Huawei.

Inauguration of New Headquarters in Islamabad

Telenor Pakistan's new headquarter '345' was inaugurated on 1 November 2017 by then prime minister of Pakistan Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and is situated in Gulberg Greens, Islamabad.[11]

Easypaisa
Main article: Easypaisa

In 2008, Telenor acquired majority shares of Tameer Microfinance Bank Limited for its mobile financial services project.[12] They named the branchless banking service "Easypaisa" and launched it in October 2009.[13] Easypaisa was Pakistan's first branchless banking deployment. Later 'Mobile Wallet' was introduced where normal Telenor Pakistan subscribers could now open a mobile account and make transactions themselves using their cellphones. Easypaisa was cited by CNN as the "model to follow" in launching mobile banking services.[14]

Easypaisa is Pakistan's first and largest mobile money service and third largest in the world (according to CGAP), catering to over 18 million customers. It currently has over 75,000 agents across Pakistan. In October 2014 Telenor Easypaisa introduced several types of accounts at different levels.[15]

Tameer Bank was acquired by Telenor Group in 2016 to become Telenor Microfinance Bank and Easypaisa became a part of the bank. ANT Financial Group which owns the global payment platform Alipay, acquired 45% stake in Telenor Bank for $184.5m in March, 2018.[16]

Digital ecosystem

Telenor Pakistan started off as a cellular service provider in 2005, but has diversified its offerings. Telenor Pakistan offers a number of 4G-enabled handsets including Telenor Infinity E3, Telenor Infinity E2 and Telenor Infinity A2.[17] The company also provides its customers branded mobile handsets from Samsung, Apple and Motorola, in addition to 4G MiFi and 4G Wingle[18] and 3G broadband devices such as 3G Wingle.[19] The company launched Digital Customer TouchPoints in the form of kiosks.[20]

Telenor Velocity is Pakistan's first telco-led accelerator.[21]

Telenor Pakistan has entered into partnerships with various stakeholders. Telenor Pakistan collaborated with UNICEF to implement digital birth registration through cellular devices. Telenor Pakistan has collaborated with the government on various initiatives that include rehabilitation of middle level public schools in Punjab, establishing an Open Mind Pakistan Assistive Technology Training Center to assist people with disabilities, and creating services to support the agriculture sector through its Connected Agriculture Platform for Punjab (CAPP) and Khushaal Zamindaar ("prosperous landlord") programs to facilitate farmers to improve yields & alert farmers to unfavorable weather conditions.[22]

Awards

Telenor Pakistan has won a number of awards. In 2011, it won the Prime Minister of Pakistan Trophy for Largest Foreign Direct Investment (Telecom Sector) which was awarded by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industries.[23]

Telenor Pakistan and Tameer Microfinance Bank's Easypaisa won the Shaukat Khanum Social Responsibility Award in 2011.[24] Easypaisa also won the Best Mobile Money Transfer Entrant of the Year Award at the Mobile Money Awards in 2011. In 2012, Easypaisa was declared as the third largest mobile money service by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP).

In 2014, Easypaisa won the Best NFC/Mobile Money Product or Service and Best Mobile Product or Service for Women in Emerging Markets awards at the 19th GSMA Global Mobile Awards in Barcelona, Spain.[25] Telenor Pakistan was named the Best Place to Work in Telecom Industry by Engage Consulting and PSHRM in 2017.[26]

At the 2018 Pakistan Advertisers Society (PAS) Awards, the company won Best in Telecommunications and Best in PR awards for its campaigns.[27] Telenor Pakistan was awarded the "Best Practice Award" by Center for Global Inclusion at the Diversity and Inclusion Conference 2018.[28]

See also
  • Djuice
  • List of mobile phone companies in Pakistan

References
  1. "Telenor Q4 2019 Report" (PDF). www.telenor.com.
  2. "Telecom Indicators | PTA". www.pta.gov.pk. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  3. "PM inaugurates new Telenor Pakistan Campus '345'". The Nation. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  4. "USF awarded the Broadband for Sustainable Development Program to Telenor Pakistan - PhoneWorld". PhoneWorld. 13 January 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  5. "Telenor and USF to Provide 3G Services in Kohistan - Rs4.6 Billion Project Launched". PakWired - Latest Startup and Technology News from Pakistan. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  6. TeleGeography. "Telenor Pakistan completes USF project". www.telegeography.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  7. "Telenor Launches Pakistan's First 4.5G Network". Retrieved 6 December 2018 – via propakistani.
  8. "Telenor Becomes Pakistan's First Network to Launch VoLTE". Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  9. Pakistan, Telenor [@telenorpakistan] (4 June 2019). "Telenor becomes Pakistan's 1st VoLTE technology enabled network! Now experience HD voice quality & instant call connectivity with Telenor VoLTE!pic.twitter.com/7zcFOUts3S" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 June 2019 – via Twitter.
  10. "Telenor celebrates 15 years in Pakistan with successful 5G trials". PakistanToday Profit. 13 March 2020.
  11. "Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi inaugurates new Telenor Pakistan Campus "345"". www.telenor.com.pk (Press release). 1 November 2017. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  12. "Breaking: Telenor Pakistan acquires 51% of Tameer Microfinance Bank". propakistani.pk. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  13. "About Easypaisa". www.easypaisa.com.pk. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  14. Steve Mollman (15 January 2010). "Cell-phone banking offers financial help to Third World". CNN.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018 – via Digital Biz.
  15. "Case Study Telenor Pakistan Easypaisa" (PDF).
  16. "Telenor Group and Ant Financial in strategic partnership to deliver inclusive financial services in Pakistan - Telenor Group". www.telenor.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  17. "4G Mobile Phones". www.telenor.com.pk. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  18. "4G Mobile Broadband". www.telenor.com.pk. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  19. "3G Connect". www.telenor.com.pk. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  20. "My Telenor App". www.telenor.com.pk. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  21. "About Us".
  22. "Four million farmers digitally empowered - Telenor Group". www.telenor.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  23. "Telenor Opens Sales and Service Center in Islamabad". 22 August 2011.
  24. "DailyTimes - Your Right To Know". www.dailytimes.com.pk.
  25. "Easypaisa wins two awards at the GSMA Mobile World Congress | Pakistan Advertisers Society". pas.org.pk. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  26. "Telenor Pakistan wins 'Best Place to Work' Award | Teleco Alert". www.telecoalert.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  27. "Telenor wins at 8th PAS ceremony | The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  28. "Telenor Pakistan awarded best practice award – Daily Pakistan Observer –". pakobserver.net. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
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