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Telenor Plans To Launch Pakistan Operations within 12 Months
Islamabad, May 27: Norway`s biggest telecom company Telenor ASA (TEL.OS) plans to roll out its services in Pakistan within the next 12 months following its acquisition of cellular license, the company`s chief executive said Wednesday.
Islamabad, May 27: Norway's biggest telecom company Telenor ASA (TEL.OS) plans to roll out its services in Pakistan within the next 12 months following its acquisition of cellular license, the company's chief executive said Wednesday.
"Our services will be available to the public sometime in April next year," Telenor President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas told reporters after the formal ceremony of the license acquisition.
Telenor last month won one of the two licenses on offer in an open bidding for $391 million. The other winner was Warid Telecom, a group backed by Abu Dhabi-based investors.
Baksaas didn't say how much the company will invest in the initial capital spending and its funding plan, but said its investment may touch around a billion dollars over the next five to seven years. Pakistan granted new licenses because the four existing players have been unable to meet the growing demand for mobile phone services in a country with a population totaling more than 145 million.
The existing cellular incumbents serve nearly 3 million subscribers of which Mobilink, a unit of Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CI), has two million. Pakistan's mobile phone market is expected to grow by two million customers a year, making it one of Asia's fastest-growing.
Baksaas said he was very optimistic about the growth prospects in Pakistan, where phone penetration has been very low. "We've a great success in countries with low phone penetration and we will use this experience in Pakistani market as well," he said.
Telenor operates in 11 countries, including Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia, and has a customer base of 35 million.
Analysts said Pakistan's average revenue per user is still $10 to $11 a month, which makes it a very attractive market for new players. But Baksaas said the company's success in Pakistan will largely depend upon the authorities promise to maintain a level playing field for all players. "This is extremely important for Telenor," he said. State-run Pakistan Telecommunications Ltd., or PTCL, has the dominant market share of fixed line services, while its mobile phone subsidiary U-Fone also enjoys a substantial cellular market share.
Bureau Report
Telenor last month won one of the two licenses on offer in an open bidding for $391 million. The other winner was Warid Telecom, a group backed by Abu Dhabi-based investors.
Baksaas didn't say how much the company will invest in the initial capital spending and its funding plan, but said its investment may touch around a billion dollars over the next five to seven years. Pakistan granted new licenses because the four existing players have been unable to meet the growing demand for mobile phone services in a country with a population totaling more than 145 million.
The existing cellular incumbents serve nearly 3 million subscribers of which Mobilink, a unit of Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CI), has two million. Pakistan's mobile phone market is expected to grow by two million customers a year, making it one of Asia's fastest-growing.
Baksaas said he was very optimistic about the growth prospects in Pakistan, where phone penetration has been very low. "We've a great success in countries with low phone penetration and we will use this experience in Pakistani market as well," he said.
Telenor operates in 11 countries, including Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia, and has a customer base of 35 million.
Analysts said Pakistan's average revenue per user is still $10 to $11 a month, which makes it a very attractive market for new players. But Baksaas said the company's success in Pakistan will largely depend upon the authorities promise to maintain a level playing field for all players. "This is extremely important for Telenor," he said. State-run Pakistan Telecommunications Ltd., or PTCL, has the dominant market share of fixed line services, while its mobile phone subsidiary U-Fone also enjoys a substantial cellular market share.
Bureau Report