PTCL rewards Pakistani Cricket Team with Rs 3 million on winning Twenty20 World Cup

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Islamabad: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd announced to give a reward of Rs 3 million to the winner of 20-20 World cup Pakistan Cricket Team.

As per details, a ceremony was arranged in the honor of the Pakistan Cricket team here on Thursday in the presence of Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board Ijaz butt; President PTCL Mr. Walid Irshaid presented the cheque to the Captain Pakistan Cricket team Younis khan.

President PTCL Walid Irshaid, while congratulating team on their outstanding performance said that this victory is an inpiration for the whole nation and PTCL would continue its un-interrupted support for the development of cricket in the country.

Captain Younis khan and Shahid Afridi were presented Rs 0.5 million each, along with an amount of Rs 2 million for the whole team. Senior officials of PTCL Mr. Naveed Saeed, Mr. Mazhar Hussain, Mr. Muhammad Nehmatullah and Mr. Ali Qadir Gilani were also present on the occasion.

PTCL-Habib Rafiq International Signs Sales Strategic Agreement

Tweet Pin It Islamabad: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), in order to provide sales and after sales support of PTCL corporate product portfolio to the SME market has signed a strategic agreement with Habib Rafiq International Pvt Ltd (HRI).

According to details of the agreement, Habib Rafiq International (Pvt.) will provide PTCL’s next generation technologies and network, to their existing and new customers in the SME segment and will be responsible for 24 hour after sales support and customer care.
PTCL Senior Executive Vice President, Commercial, Mr. Naveed Saeed addressing on the occasion said, that with this partnership the SME market will receive the best of both worlds – Best-of-breed communication products from PTCL and best-in-class support from HRI. He also added that HRI will help PTCL to maintain its leadership position in the telecom market of Pakistan by providing high quality products and customer services to SMEs.
Mr. Shafiq ur Rahman, CEO Habib Rafiq International while commenting on the occasion said that HRI backed by PTCL will now be able to deliver technologies and services that are unmatched in the SME market.

Govt sets $280m IT exports target for 2009-10

Tweet Pin It By Ijaz Kakakhel ISLAMABAD: The government set a target of $280 million earning from export of Information Technology products during the fiscal year 2009-10. However, this amount was very low as compared to IT exports by other regional countries, according to the Annual Plan 2009-10.
For increasing the software and IT exports, besides attracting large multinational businesses in the country, local entrepreneurs and investors in large numbers should be attracted through incentives and infrastructure support.

For this purpose, development of IT incubators to establish IT companies and venture capital funds should be encouraged by providing them with ‘one-window-facilitation’ to start their business. A government-backed programme to establish IT incubators should also be designed.

To attract large international businesses, the local IT companies need to complement their expertise as well as augment their capacity through clustering as well as mergers/acquisitions on successful business propositions. Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures with foreign software houses also help in the promotion of software development, software business and transfer of technology.

The system needs to be put in place a proper mechanism of incentives. This would enable the local companies to transform into world-class companies.

For the development of IT sector in the country, the government had allocated Rs 2.3 billion in PSDP 2009-10 for 65 projects. The PSDP earmarked for 2009-10 would further enhance the human resource development, IT industry development, e-government, infrastructure development, and would create employment opportunities in the IT sector.

For development of IT sector, the government would initiate several development schemes including.

National ICT Scholarship Programme: The target for the year was to provide foundation training to about 9,000 students. About 700 successful students from this foundation’s training would get scholarships (target for five years is 3,500 scholarships) for 4-year Bachelor’s degree programme in various national universities.

IT Training for Elected Lady Representatives (Phase-II): Approximately 1,500 elected lady councilors would benefit from this training programme. The project would be completed in March 2014.

Pakistan Software Export Board: The board plans to place 400 interns in various companies in the next year. The project will be completed in December 2009.

Pakistan Computer Bureau: The bureau plans to provide basic IT training to 3000 government employees.

IT industry development: In PSDP 2009-10, emphasis on improving the IT infrastructure would continue so that more international IT companies were attracted to do business in Pakistan alongside the domestic IT companies. In this regard, some of the important projects included in PSDP 2009-10 are:

Phase-II of standardisation of Pakistani IT industry would further strengthen the capacity of IT industry to attract international business. The target for the year was to support 50 companies to attain CMMI level 2, thirty companies CMMI level 3 and 15 companies CMMI level 5. The proposed cost of the project is Rs 290.7 million.

Next phase of strengthening of Pakistani IT industry through international certifications will offer opportunity to Pakistani companies of achieving twenty certifications of both ISO 20000 and ISO 27001. The proposed cost of the project is Rs 170 million.

IT parks construction projects consultancy for both Karachi and Lahore airports would be launched. These parks would facilitate more IT firms to establish their businesses in the country. These projects would cost the government Rs 50 million.

E-government: Machine readable passport/ machine readable visa project (MRP/MRV) Phase-II: The MRP/MRV system would be deployed at 10 RPOs and 40 foreign missions in the year 2009-10. The project would be completed in January 2011.

Replication of e-office (basic common applications) at 45 divisions of the federal government was being implemented. In the next year, e-office will be deployed at establishment, interior and health divisions.

Automation of Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) would facilitate its investors and improve public service at its business units. This would also provide value added services including ATM, Internet and mobile banking etc to the clients of CDNS in future.

Upgradation of NADRA Data Warehouse would further enhance and upgrade the existing system to cater for future needs of NADRA.

Land revenue records management system for Punjab had been revised with an increased scope to cover all 36 districts of the province and an improved implementation methodology focusing at Tehsil level instead of Kanoongoi level to improve the efficiency of land records management and facilitate the citizens to have better access to land records at an affordable cost.

Prime minister’s initiative for providing video conferencing facility for federal and provincial governments would be launched. Overall, there was a provision for providing video conferencing facility at 50 sites in the project based on high definition technology.

Zong to double its cellular sites by end of 2009

Tweet Pin It Friday, June 26, 2009 By Muhammad Yasir KARACHI: China Mobile Pakistan has planned to maximise the coverage capacity of its cellular phone operator-Zong-by increasing its number of cellular sites up to 9,000 across the country with an investment of $500 million by the end of 2009.
Official sources told Daily Times that China Mobile has planned to double Zong’s cell sites in various parts of the country in order to facilitate their subscribers with smooth and fast signals traffic. It has established nearly 4,500 cellular cities in different metropolis and small cities so far.This will be one of the largest cellular cities project ever planned by any of the other operators. According to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the country had overall 26,300 cellular cities by the end of 2008. Five operators have added 8,966 networking sites in the first half of the current fiscal year 2008-09. The Chinese company has invested $1.66 billion so far in Pakistan, including $600 billion invested in the closing fiscal year 2008-09, which is a handsome contribution to foreign direct investment (FDI) in telecommunication and IT industry.According to the officials, the company will invest more to increase its number of services and sale centres across the country that would also generate more number of job opportunities. Currently, the company has provided nearly 45,000 under the brand of Zong.PTA in its latest report noted that the Zong subscribers’ base is the fastest growing among other four competitors. Its users’ base jumped to 6 percent of the overall market share from 2 percent in 2008. However, Zong’s subscribers have increased to 6.23 million by the end of May, which is almost 6.7 percent of the overall 93.138 million subscribers’ pie.The telecom regulator further stated that Zong has penetrated aggressively in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Zong has also expanded it network to hilly cities of Northern Areas like Rakaposhi. China Mobile Pakistan is a 100 percent subsidiary of China Mobile. The pioneering overseas set up of China Mobile came through acquisition of a licence from Millicom to operate a GSM network in Pakistan.

PTCL to shift fixed line numbering plan to 8 digit series

Tweet Pin It ISLAMABAD (June 25 2009): Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) would shift its fixed line numbering plan from 7 to 8 digit series as per the instructions of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. Initially migration from 7 series to 8 digit series would take place in Lahore and Karachi.As per details, Digit "3" will be added in all existing 7 digits numbers of Karachi and Lahore except the numbers starting from "9". Digit "9" will be added in all existing numbers starting from "9". An important point to remember is the numbers are being added to existing numbers not area codes, with the exemption of army exchanges, which would remain same.For the customer's awareness and facilitation, the new series plan will run parallel to old one for a period of three months w.e.f. July 1, 2009 till September 30, 2009. The period from October 1, 2009 till December 30, 2009 will be covered by announcements which would be made in order to facilitate subscribers/ customers.-PR

Upgradation process in Faisalabad

Tweet Pin It ISLAMABAD (June 24 2009): Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) would carry out up-gradation works in Faisalabad Soft Switch Exchange during midnight today (June 24) and tomorrow. "Due to this up-gradation, temporary interruption may occur in the surrounding telephone exchanges of Faisalabad Telecom Region and PTCL service can be disturbed temporarily," PTCL spokesperson said.

Youths hail withdrawal of FED from SMS

Tweet Pin It ISLAMABAD (June 24 2009): Youths have hailed the government's decision to withdraw 20 paisa Federal Excise Duty (FED) on SMS, which it had earlier been proposed in the federal budget. Muhammad Yasin a student said the government has taken a bold step by taking back the decision of imposing tax on Short Messaging Service (SMS).He said the decision would provide relief to majority of people and would be in a position to communicate in just few paisas. A graduate from QAU Fatima said youths don't have financial capacity to afford such high prices for SMS communication. She lauded the PM's steps in withdrawing this decision.Sajid, 22, expressing gratitude over the decision said "now I can continue having communication with my friends, school fellows and relative." Atif Butt another youngster hailed the decision of taking back tax on SMS. He said the decision would facilitate almost all segments of the society including businessmen, students and others etc.Yasir Mubarak said in every country a government takes care of the basic needs of the people including communication facilities which has become extremely important in today's global world. He brushed aside the impression that SMS service was cheap in Pakistan saying sometimes you have to pay Rs 2 for a single SMS. However he lauded the decision of the government to withdraw the SMS tax.Chaudhary Arslan a student said youths have some rights and they deserve it so it was a good decision taken by the government. He said in Pakistan cellular companies were benefiting enormously from this service besides youth.He said SMS service is now a major way of advertisement, adding someone can advertise their services or products in just a few rupees. He appreciated the decision of removing SMS tax from the tax list by the government adding it will have good results for the youth and the low-income group of the society and youth, respectively.

Mobilink hails withdrawal of tax on SMS

Tweet Pin It LAHORE (June 24 2009): Mobilink Pakistan has hailed the government's decision to withdraw the proposed 20 paisa Federal Excise Duty on SMS.


The company has also appreciated the support and foresight of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to create a taxation environment that is beneficial to the consumers and the progress and development of the telecom sector in the long run.Commenting on the suspension of the proposed tax, Omar Manzur, Director Public Relations, Mobilink said the telecom industry of Pakistan has shown tremendous growth during the past decade and has been able to channel enormous foreign investments into the country. With a more relaxed tax regime, the mobile phone operators will be able to continue contributing to the economic well being of the country."At the same time, Mobilink users, the country's largest SMS family, can continue to enjoy SMS on the Mobilink network at existing rates" he added. Manzur acknowledged the stand taken by the respective authorities for withdrawal of the proposed tax in the budgetary debate. "PTA and Ministry of IT and Telecom have demonstrated financial acumen, vision and progressive foresight as they continue to play a very significant role in providing a level playing filed for all Players in the industry," he added.-PR

LG launches GM 200 mobile

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LG Electronics has launched a new inspirational mobile phone GM 200, which is geared towards providing the highest quality mobile audio on the market. This stylish phone has the latest Channel Stereo Subwoofer Speaker System with Dolby, a Smart-Profiling system that adjusts the volume to match your surroundings as well as a 2 Mega Pixel camera, wireless FM, Bluetooth and a Micro SD memory card.

Samsung sees mobile market down 8-9 percent in 2009

Tweet Pin It LONDON (June 22 2009): Samsung hopes mobile phone sales will fall only 8 to 9 percent this year across the industry, slightly less than its previous expectation of a fall of 10 percent, as the global economy begins to recover.
The head of sales and marketing at Samsung's mobile division said the company was still working on the widely held assumption that handset sales would decline about 10 percent, but wider economic recovery might lift that figure a little. "In the second half I do not see any special surge in demand. However, there is a small sign of recovery of the general economy. Hopefully, the mobile industry also will recover some," Lee Donjoo told Reuters in an interview.

"We're focusing on around 10 percent lower. I'm expecting a little less, eventually - minus 9, minus 8, hopefully." Lee was speaking as Samsung, the world's second-biggest handset maker, unveiled a new touch-screen phone it hopes will deliver smartphone-like Internet usability - helping carriers drive data revenues - for an affordable price.

The "Jet" - launched at events around the world including in London - features full touchscreen capability, a next-generation ultra-bright AM-OLED display screen and an improved processor to deliver speedy mobile Internet access.

Lee said Samsung would try to maintain profit margins at current levels but the task was becoming harder. Samsung's telecom unit posted a 12 percent margin in the first quarter.

"Margins are getting tougher and tougher," he said. "We do our best to equal or at least maintain what we achieved before. In Q1 we performed well, so we are trying to maintain it at around that level.

"Lee said Samsung would concentrate on smartphones - with computer-like capabilities - and other premium phones, although it would also produce touchscreen phones for the mass market. "We are all the time trying to sell more in the high end," he said. When asked which segment of the market was most difficult for Samsung, he said: "The low end, because right now price competition is quite tough.

"Asked which smartphone operating systems Samsung would focus on, Lee said the company would continue to use multiple platforms into next year, but would probably shift emphasis to Google's open-source Android software over time.

"Currently, there's a lot of talk around Android, so we will introduce the model of Android, and we are still maintaining our stance in the Microsoft Windows Mobile business." aLee said Samsung was working on a software applications store for mobile users - something Apple has launched for its iPhone with huge success - but had no further details.

SAMSUNG INTRODUCES SAMSUNG JET, SMARTER THAN A SMARTPHONE

Tweet Pin It Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. announces the latest development in mobile handset innovation, Samsung Jet.
Samsung Jet enjoys both advanced features of a smartphone and easy-to-use user interface of a conventional mobile phone.
Supporting the latest smartphone features including user-friendly menu navigations, multi-task manager and Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, Samsung Jet boasts world firsts in both display technology and speed of performance. Its 16M WVGA AMOLED display (3.1”) offers the most vivid and colourful full touch mobile experience available. The WVGA AMOLED screen provides a resolution four times higher than a WQVGA screen. Its 800MHz application processor makes Jet the fastest full touch handset on the market today.
Samsung’s latest TouchWiz 2.0 user interface gives an unrivalled user experience and includes iconic new features such as motion UI, smart unlock and customizable widget screen.
Samsung’s Dolfin browser is designed to let users surf the net and access websites with ease and speed. Users can view up to five web pages simultaneously and bookmark their favourite websites as widgets on the phone’s homepage. The handset features a built in ad-blocker, multiple downloading, and multi-purpose address field, while Dolfin’s unique one finger zoom enables users to zoom in and out of web pages using only one hand.
Other multimedia features include a 5 mega-pixel camera, built-in GPS, DNSe & SRS Sound Effect technology for superior sound quality, and DivX and XviD video support for video downloading and viewing.

Telenor receives Superbrands Award

Tweet Pin It KARACHI (June 20 2009): Telenor Pakistan received the first annual Superbrands Award 2008-09 by Superbrands Pakistan in a ceremony held at a local hotel here at Karachi.

The award was presented to a total of 30 brands from various industries in Pakistan. The award was given for best quality services, consumer satisfaction and market dominance.Superbrands is an international organisation functioning in 82 countries. It has local independent bodies that identify brands that perform above and beyond others within their respective markets.-PR

Sorce: brecorder

Five illegal gateway exchanges busted

Tweet Pin It ISLAMABAD (June 20 2009): Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), in collaboration with Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials, has busted five illegal international gateway exchanges in residential areas of Islamabad and Karachi in last few weeks.

This initiative is a part of the pursuance of its efforts against illegal telecom traffic.PTA detected illegal set-ups through the Technical Facility installed to monitor the illegal business of telecom throughout the country. Upon investigation and confirmation, successful raids were conducted by PTA Zonal offices and FIA at Karachi and Islamabad and operational international exchanges were seized.Chairman PTA Dr Mohammed Yaseen informed that these five illegal operations of grey traffic were causing US $1.7 million per month loss to the national exchequer. He further informed that PTA as a regulator is vigilant and shall take all measures to stop this unlawful activity. The Chairman PTA also warned all those involved in illegal or grey telecom traffic to stop such unlawful activities, otherwise strict action will be initiated against them as per the law.

ISPs, PTA lock horns over illegal VoIP …

Tweet Pin It By Muhammad Yasir KARACHI: The Internet Service Providers (ISPs) has asked Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to establish its own mechanism to detect Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) with their funds deposited in various accounts.

The Internet Services Providers of Pakistan (ISPAK) has played down PTA directives asking them to set up expensive systems for the detection and monitoring of illegal voices traffic available unlimited on internet. Recently, the PTA asked ISPs to detect and monitor all sorts of voice over traffic and internet protocols recently for the safeguard of other telecommunication sector.

ISPAK Convener Wahajus Siraj said PTA has invested a huge amount of operators’ contribution for installation of such a facility and this matter has to be tackled by PTA itself instead of passing on additional burden on ISPs. He said the ISPs could install the VoIP monitoring and mitigating facility if PTA provides funding for such a facility as the industry is already in debt due to selling below the costs and anti competitive practices. There are more than 50 ISPs operating across the country. As per policy, they contributed 0.5 percent of their revenue to Universal Service Fund (USF); 0.1 percent on the account of Research and Development and hundreds of thousands of fee charges for renewal of licences. ISPs cannot take any action against any customer doing illegal VoIP as they are lacking statutory powers to do so, he said and added that if PTA informs of illegal activity done by any customer to the concerned ISP, the ISPs’ action can only be limited to locking that customer’s account and providing customer details to PTA.

ISPs also termed PTA’s action of blocking the IP addresses on internet gateways without any prior notification and evidence as insufficient. They said they had been suffering badly, which has been brought to the notice many times in recent past to the regulator.

PTA has its automated blocking of IP addresses that carry illegal voice traffic that is termination and/or origination of voice packets in a bid to check grey traffic flowing into the country

On the other hand, Chairman PTA Dr Muhammad Yaseen told Daily Times that setting up of VoIP system is not a rocket science that could not be done by ISPs without the assistance of authority.

They only need to install software on their network to block illegal traffic of voices, which they are reluctant to do, he said adding that there are scores of culprits violating authority’s law under the very nose of ISPs. Dr Yaseen added that the authority has warned all the ISPs again and it has decided to conduct massive operation against all the illegal traffic users as per prescribed laws.
He further said the ISPs should cooperate with the authority to stop illegal practices instead of supporting users’ violating watchdog’s laws.

PTA announced publicly that all (registered) call centres should provide their IP addresses to PSEB to make sure that their voice traffic is not blocked. Since the inception of technical facility in May 2008 at the PTA, the IP addresses found to be involved in illegal activities were being blocked manually and in the process, over 14 million minutes (worth around Rs 100 million) have been saved on monthly basis. Now these would be automatically blocked if any IP, not authorised to carry voice is found doing so. Under the current policy, only LDIs and international call centres are authorised to carry voice across national boundaries.

Cellular phone operators seek withdrawal of tax on SMS

Tweet Pin It MULTAN (June 17 2009): Cellphone operators have decided to approach the finance ministry to seek withdrawal of 20 paisa tax per SMS, which, they say, will hinder growth of the industry. It is learnt that cellular phone operators have started evolving a strategy and are preparing to make a presentation to the finance ministry in this regard.
Before going to the ministry, top officials of cellular phone companies will separately meet with each other in a couple of days to make their case strong. Officers of one of the operators are also considering to approach the Competition Commission, as, according to them, the government has offered extra support to one of the companies at the cost of the whole industry.
The government, in the federal budget for 2009-10, has levied 20 paisa tax per SMS, which is in addition to the rate specified for the telecommunication sector. At present, all mobile phone companies except one are offering bulk SMS packages, which are seen greatly favourable for consumers. However, the new levy will reduce revenues of operators, and rates charging process will also become complex as most of the operators are offering unlimited SMS at a fixed rate.
According to data collected from the industry, out of 90 million registered cellular phone customers, over 45 million use the SMS service, each sending an average of seven SMS daily. Daily SMS traffic in the country is estimated at around 315 million and monthly traffic at around one billion.
The Pakistani market is very responsive to SMS-based packages. There has been tremendous growth in SMS usage, estimated at 30 per cent in recent years. Interestingly, a company earned about $50 million from SMS service during 2008-09. But the government's decision will affect the business of this company too.

However, cellular phone companies have appreciated the government's announcement to reduce SIM activation tax to Rs 250 from Rs 500. But they are unhappy with the ratio of reduction in federal excise duty/general sales tax, terming it insufficient.
This tax was not reduced according to their demand to 16 per cent, the equivalent rate of GST for other sectors. In the budget 2009-10, the federal government has reduced general sales tax to 19 percent from 21 percent. In the last budget, the telecom industry was the only industry that was imposed 21 percent GST.

Source :Brecorder

PTCL considers merger options

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Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) is reportedly negotiating with several domestic companies with a view to have potential mergers or acquisitions. The report indicates that incumbent believes the telecoms market in Pakistan is due for consolidation, and it expects the number of mobile operators to drop from six to three. The details of any potential targets for merger have not been revealed yet

Source:WirelessFederation

Pakistan mobile subscriber base has reached 93.138 million, Mobile density grows to 57.90 % in May

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Pakistan mobile subscriber base has reached 93.138 million in May, from 91.978 million in April, as per the figures from PTA. Mobilink leads the market with a subscriber base of 28.812 million from 28.381 million in April. Telenor Pakistan has extended its second place position to 20.481 million customers, from 20.107 million. Ufone secures third place with 19.853 million subscribers, up from 19.712 million in April. Followed to this Warid with 17.651 million customers and Zong had 6.263 million at the end of May. The subscribers of Istaphone dropped to 75,662 in May from 137,568 in April. Mobile density is reportedly 57.90 %, up from 57.10% in April.

NWFP critical of PTCL performance in Swat, Buner

Tweet Pin It ABDUL QADOOS PESHAWAR (June 17 2009): The NWFP government on Tuesday warned Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) against showing lethargy in the restoration of the communication facility in districts Swat and Buner, and demanded of the Federal government to issue directives to the company.
Addressing a media briefing, provincial government spokesman Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that the performance of the PTCL in rehabilitation of the communication system was not up to mark in the Swat and Buner. The provincial government, which claims clearance of the majority areas of Swat, Buner and Dir Lower of the militants, has directed the utility companies for the rehabilitation of their services, destroyed either by militants or military operation.
The government also directed the government employees to report to the District Co-ordination Officers (DCOs) of three districts. However, in the first instance, the provincial government directed the Pesco and PTCL for the restoration of their services in the area.
The spokesman said that Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (Pesco) had completed estimates of the losses of the installation in Swat, Dir Lower and Buner and equipment had also been released from depot of the power distribution company in Nowshera.
The staff of the power company would leave for Buner through Mardan to repair damaged power system in the district. However, he said that the main supply would be restored from Chakdara, district Lower Dir, to the three districts. The total power restoration would take three to four days.
At present, four generators had been provided for carrying out official work in the districts, he added. Mian Iftikhar Hussein, who is also the Provincial Information Minister, castigated the performance of the PTCL, saying that was below the expectation. Therefore, he said they once demand of the Federal government and the ministry concerned to resolve the problem according to the wishes of the people.
Taking exception to the statements of the opposition parties, he said that Federal government had sanctioned Rs 50 billion for the relief and rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs). He said that the pledges, made by different countries and donor agencies, would be considered, and urged the Federal government to hand over all the amounts received from international community.
The provincial government, he said, had spent Rs 339.725 million on provision of medical and other facilities to the displaced persons. About the military operation in Swat, he claimed that the security forces had completed search operation in Godand, Banda and Arkot areas of Swat, and now in control of the Aligrama area and search operation was continuing in Matta.
He said that the provincial government was satisfied with the operation of the security forces against the militants, and urged the security forces to make their operations more effective.
The minister further said that since there was no law of children adoption in the country, so no welfare organisation or generous people would be allowed to adopt IDPs' children and orphans. He said that the Social Welfare Department of the provincial government had established a shelter house for such children. Regarding the number of IDPs, he said that the number of registered IDPs had been exceeded 3.9 million.

WorldCall Wireless Broadband

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Microsoft, Aga Khan Foundation to establish technology centres

Tweet Pin It KARACHI: The Microsoft and the Aga Khan Foundation in Pakistan have inked an agreement to establish the country's first pilot Community Technology Learning Centres in the remote northern areas of Gilgit and Hunza. A statement on Saturday said that by expanding ICT access and training resources to those rural areas, those centres would offer local residents new social and economic opportunities.





It said that joined at the signing ceremony were Al-Nashir Jamal, CEO of the Aga Khan Foundation in Pakistan, Kamal Ahmed, Country General Manager of Microsoft Pakistan. The statement said the pilot project would help build a knowledge economy for Pakistan. This could help foster social and economic opportunities that change people's lives and transform communities, it added.

WorldCall Telecom's loss increased to Rs 299.288 million

Tweet Pin It KARACHI (June 16 2009): WorldCall Telecom Limited's after tax loss has increased to Rs 299.288 million in the half-year period, ended December 31, 2008 as compared to a net loss of Rs 46.354 million recorded in the corresponding period in 2007. The company's per share loss increased to Re 0.35 in the period under review against Re 0.06 in the same period a year back.

According to the financial results, sent to Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) on Monday, the company's net revenue declined to Rs 3.091 billion in this period against Rs 4.319 billion recorded in the same period last year. The company's directing cost also declined to Rs 2.259 billion against Rs 2.854 billion. The operating cost of the company stood at Rs 1.134 billion in this period against Rs 1.210 billion. The company's loss before taxation increased to Rs 390.281 million in the six-month period in 2008 against a loss of Rs 134.719 million in the same period in 2007.

Jazz Free Minutes on Recharge

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Jazz Free Minutes on Recharge

With this latest offer, all Jazz customers can enjoy 75 free minutes on a cumulative Recharge or Reload of Rs. 150 from the 16th – 30th of June.

Following the resounding success of ‘Jazz Ghanta Offer’ and ‘Jazz FnF offer’, this offer is yet another sweetener for Jazz’s valued customers, affirming the fact that Jazz is indeed a “Best Friend for Life”.

Subscription Process
Users can subscribe via sending an SMS to 550 which will be charged as 50 Paisas + tax per SMS.

Offer Details

-This offer is a limited time offer, valid from June 16 to June 30
-This offer is applicable for all Jazz Packages
-Free minutes will be valid for 7 days only
-Free minutes can be used for making calls to Mobilink numbers only
-Free minutes will be posted within first 10 days of July
-Subscriber can check balance of Free Minutes by dialing 123 and then pressing 8
-Amounts shared by a subscriber using Jazz share will be excluded from accumulation of total recharge
-21% tax apply on the above mentioned price

FAQ'S
If I send SMS to 550 after doing one or more recharges, will my recharges be considered

Yes, all recharges that you do from 16th June to 30th June will be accumulated, as long as you send an SMS to 550 during the same period.

What if I don’t send an SMS to 550 and still recharge more than Rs. 150?
You will not be eligible for FREE minutes.

What if I already have some Free minutes in my account?
75 Free minutes will be added to your existing balance of free minutes

How will I know that Minutes have been transferred to my account?
Free minutes will be posted to your account by 10th July and you will be informed via SMS about the posting of Free minutes

Can I make calls to any network using Free Minutes?
No, Free minutes can be used to make calls to Mobilink numbers only

If I receive some balance from Jazz share, will it be accumulated as well?
No, only recharges done using Jazz Scratch Cards or Jazz Load are accumulated within in the promotion

What happens if I share by balance after performing recharge?
The amounts shared using Jazz share will be excluded from accumulation of total recharge.

For example:

-Example 1: If a subscriber does a total recharge of Rs. 250 during 16th June to 30th June but shares Rs. 150 using Jazz Share, his total recharge considered under this promo will be only Rs. 100 and hence he will not be eligible for Free Minutes.
-Example 2: If a subscriber does a total recharge of Rs. 250 during 16th June to 30th June but shares Rs. 50 using Jazz Share, his total recharge considered under this promo will be only Rs. 200 and hence he WILL be eligible for Free Minutes.

What value of recharge is considered for accumulation? Is it the face value or the value net of taxes?
Face value of all recharges done via Jazz Load or Scratch Cards will be considered for accumulation. For example if a subscriber does a recharge of Rs. 150 from Jazz Load, Rs.150 will be considered although subscriber receives Rs. 129 in his account after deduction of tax and service charges. The same applies on scratch cards as well.

Telenor Mobile Classifieds

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Telenor Mobile Classifieds is an extremely useful SMS, WAP and WEB based service which allows telenor subscribers to sell or buy items. Those who want to sell their item can post advert and those who want to buy can search posted adverts.

Telenor mobile classifieds connects buyers with sellers in a very convenient and economical way.

Features
-Post an Ad
-Browse Items
-Create Alerts (Every time a relevant ad is posted, a SMS will be sent to you)

WEB

The service features a dedicated website that allows Telenor subscribers to place classified adverts or view thousands of posted ads.

A user of the web site may post an advert without registering or logging in. Posting an advert without logging in involves:

-Entering MSISDN
-Select Category
-Select City
-Add Text

A user may search for an item using an inbuilt search or browse items by predefined item categories.

In addition the main page will also feature browse categories including:

-Recently added items
-Most viewed items

A logged in user will have following options

-Edit posted ad
-Delete ad
-Create/Delete alerts

SMS

Now you do not have to go any where to sell your item or buy a item. Just pick your phone and get started.

Selling VIA SMS

To sell an item via SMS send

-Sell Ad text to 2277
-Service will respond back with a message containing list of cities.
-Upon selecting desired city service will send you a confirmation message.

Buying VIA SMS

To buy an item via SMS

-Buy Search condition to 2277
-Service will respond back by displaying most relevant ad first
-Reply with ‘n’ to view the next ad.

Removal of Ads

To remove your ad, send ‘rem to 2277.

For assistance send Help to 2277 any time.

WAP

Telenor Mobile classifieds also provides a WAP interface. You can do all of the following via mobile classifieds WAP site

-Post Ad
-View Ad
-Create Alerts

www.telenor.com.pk/wapclassifieds

SMS Charges

-Ad posting (SMS to 2277): Rs.3 + Tax / SMS
-For Ad Search (SMS to 2277): Rs.3 + Tax / SMS
-Ad Browisng: Rs.0.50 + Tax / SMS
-Removal of Ad (SMS to 2277): Rs.3 + Tax / SMS*Terms and conditions apply.

Telenor Sim lagao offer

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Offer:
Get 200 free minutes and 200 free SMS.

Qualifying Customers:
-Customers who have not done any activity since 1 May 2009 will be able to avail this campaign
-To check if you are part of the campaign: Call IVR 2222 or send an SMS containing “FREE” to 2222

Call IVR 2222. (charges are Rs. 1 + tax per min) or Send an SMS containing “FREE” to short code 2222 to avail the 200 free minutes and 200 free SMSs. (charges are Rs. 1 + tax) the 200 free minutes and 200 free SMSs will be posted to the subscriber’s account with in the next 48 hrs

Validity of Free Minutes & Free SMSs: 10 days after the free minutes and SMS have been posted to the subscriber’s account

If the qualifying customers have lost/damaged their SIM they can get a replacement SIM free of cost (Only once) from any Telenor Sales and Service Centre or Franchise during the duration of this campaign

This Offer is being launched for all prepaid packages

This is a limited time Offer

All prepaid customers who have not done any activity since 1 May 2009

-Talkshawk per min
-Talkshawk 30 sec
-Talkshawk per sec
-Talkshawk A1
-djuice
-djuice jagtay raho

Free minutes & Free SMS can only be used for TP to TP calls and SMSs (On Telenor numbers).

PTCL Introduces New Internship Policy

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“In an effort to provide much needed practical exposure to the young students and professional of the country and to get the benefit of this talent for the company, an Internship Program has been initiated. Apart from this the main objective of this internship programme is to initiate an organized talent hunt for PTCL itself. In today’s competitive environment the selection and recruitment of capable and talented human resource has a direct impact on general business performance. Organization’s competitive advantage largely depends on the way it manages its current and potential human resource. Through the successful implementation of this Internship program, PTCL looks forward to rightly identify, recruit, train and develop its most important need of the day i.e. the Human Capital.”

Download INTERNSHIP POLICY

Ufone:Your visa to Talk 100/100

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IDD Bundle Offer - Your Visa to Talk!
Call USA, UK, Germany, China and Canada
Get an unbelievable 100 minutes of talk time for only Rs. 100/-

Now you can talk for hours with everyone you know in USA, UK, Germany, China and Canada, because Ufone gives you every reason to do so!


For subscription SMS “SUB” to 711

To inquire about minutes consumed and balance available, dial *706#

Note:

-In Germany and UK, this service is available on landlines only
-Calls will be charged on per minute basis
-Calls to NTS (UK) is not included in this offer
-21% FED on usage and 10% withholding tax at recharge or bill apply
-Terms and conditions apply
-Using SIMS without proper documentation is a crime – PTA

Proposed GST on computer software opposed

Tweet Pin It LAHORE (June 13 2009): The NetSole Technologies Limited Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Salim Ghauri has expressed his concern over the proposed 16 percent general sales tax (GST) on computer software and said it would play havoc with the growth of Information Technology (IT) sector of Pakistan.

Reacting strongly to the government consideration of levying 16 percent general sales tax (GST) on computer software in budget 2009-10, he said any such move would take Pakistan IT industry back to the square one.

The press reports have suggested that the increased usage and sales of certified computer software worth millions of rupees across the country has urged tax authorities to consider the revenue potential of the business. According to him, the dynamic policies of the Pakistan Software Export Board had helped the IT industry to play on front foot in recent past but present recession in the US and other Western countries had put it again on back foot.

Fate of many IT firms is hanging in the balance because of the sudden drop in sales of their software across the globe, he added. He further pointed out that the volume of internally used software was meagre one than the exported one. The snail pace automation of public sector departments in Pakistan was a hurdle in fast growth of IT in Pakistan.

Telenor reshuffles executives

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KARACHI (June 13 2009): Telenor Pakistan announced on Friday that Irfan Wahab Khan,

Executive Vice President Corporate Affairs and CEO Telenor LDI will take on a new role in the areas of Group Strategy and New Business Development at Telenor Corporate Headquarters in Oslo from August 24.The company has appointed Aamir Ibrahim as its Chief Strategy Officer, a newly created position resulting from the merger of two functions - Corporate Affairs and Strategic Planning.-PR

Ufone Bundle Offer for only Rs 1199 only

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Ufone Bundle Offer
After the overwhelming response of the

first Ufone bundle offer,

For Just Rs. 1199, the bundle includes:

-Handset with voice and SMS features
-Handset with voice and SMS features
-200 free minutes*

*for first 4 months, get 50 free minutes every month for monthly usage of Rs. 100 or more

Note:

-Ufone GSM is a registered trademark brand name of Pak Telecom Mobile Limited
-21% FED on usage and 10% withholding tax at recharge or bill applies
-Using SIMs without proper documentation is a crime – PTA
-To activate your new SIM dial 789
-These handsets can only be used with a Ufone connection
-Free minutes are available for Ufone to Ufone calls only
-Conditions apply

Telecom sector to be disallowed input tax adjustment

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ISLAMABAD (June 11 2009): The government has decided to disallow input tax adjustment facility to the telecommunication sector in the coming budget for 2009-10. Sources told Business Recorder on Wednesday that rate of federal excise duty on telecom sector would be reduced from 21 to 16 percent. However, this reduction would be linked with abolition of input tax adjustment facility.

The analysis of telecom sector shows that the telecom service providers have claimed extraordinary input tax adjustment, but there has been no proportionate increase in sales tax during 2008-09. The government is likely to impose 2 percent additional federal excise duty (FED) on cosmetics and perfumes.

It is expected that the government may exempt sales tax on import and local supply of lysine sulphate, consumed by poultry industry. The government may also sales tax zero-rate ''Provatex CP'', a chemical which is used in the manufacturing of fire retardant fabrics/garments.

Source:brecorder

Samsung holds seminar

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KARACHI: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the world's no.1 manufacturer of LCD monitors and Mobile phones today, held a seminar to impart information on the state of the art technology of the "Thin Client". The representatives of many companies attended the seminar, while some media scribes were also seen at the briefing session.

Samsung 730XT rides the crest of the wave with its ultra-secure, enhanced security features and efficient, reduced, total cost of ownership. With a dedicated Thin Client capability, it is not only an exceptional monitor, but also a remote graphical desktop, which makes the need for peripheral equipment, like a CPU, redundant. Hence, this stylish monitor, with a built-in thin client module, gives a clean and clear desktop

Telenor USB DATA Package

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Telenor Pakistan proudly introduces new USB DATA Package with amazing bundle offer for our valued Persona Postpaid subscribers. In USB Data Package, customers can get,

One Year Free Internet.
One USB Stick – E 169,
One Postpaid SIM (with USB DATA package)

Telenor offers widest EDGE connectivity when compared to other operators in Pakistan. By using Telenor USB Sick, our customers can access internet at any time and at any place in more than 2000 cities & towns of Pakistan.

Telenor USB DATA Package Offer:

For the first time in Pakistan, Telenor is proudly introducing free internet package for One Year.

Telenor Smart Stick = Rs. 9,555/- (Inclusive of Taxes) 1 Postpaid SIM with Data 5 Package = Free

Refundable Security = Rs. 500/-

1 year free GPRS/ EDGE (with monthly usage of 4GB)

Terms and conditions

-The Telenor USB Stick is available to all Pakistani Nationals having CNIC or foreigners having required credentials as per GOP/PTA regulations.

-Any Telenor SIM (Prepaid or postpaid with GPRS activated) can be used in Telenor USB Stick; however Postpaid SIMs with Data Package 5 are highly recommended.

-In case of loss of Postpaid USB DATA package SIM card, a replacement SIM with the same MSISDN (EDGE/GPRS/SMS allowed) will be issued after client verification as per standard SIM replacement charges. Voice feature will be inactive by default.
-The device has limited warranty of 1 year from the date of purchase.

Business Rules:

-12 months Line Rent for USB DATA package is built-in in the Telenor USB Stick price. No Line Rent will be charged for 12 months from the date of sale of Telenor USB Stick.
-After 12 months, USB DATA package offer will expire and subscriber will be automatically shifted to Data 3 price plan.
-Customers can activate Voice on their USB DATA package without additional cost or security deposit.
-Existing Telenor USB stick holder can change his / her price plan from Data3 to USB DATA package without any additional cost. Customer will have to show evidence of the ownership of older version of Telenor USB & SIM.

Djuice:SMS ki bharmar pura hafta lagatar

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The What....

Step Aside, the Talking Thumb is here!You heard us right; the thumb does all the talking now. With an amazing Djuice package of unlimited SMS for 7 days and just for Rs 7, your thumb will develop a voice of its own.

So say sayonara to the hassle of subscribing to a new SMS package each day and say hola to the latest Djuice star- your thumb. Freedom of speech never sounded sweeter.

The How....

To activate

Simply call 555 from your djuice connection and press 5 when prompted and you are good to go.

Subscription Fee No Of SMS Validity
Rs. 7 700 7 Days
Rs. 19.99 1000 7 Days
Rs. 39.99 2500 7 Days

Subscription Fee given is exclusive of Tax

Validity....

Offer validity is for 7 days i.e. if the subscription to the SMS package is done on the 1st of June, the subscription will expire on the 7th of june and unused SMS (if any) will be confiscated.

Terms and Conditions:
-All Djuice subscribers can avail these SMS packages.
-SMS can be sent to any number in Pakistan.
-The existing SMS bundle on djuice will no longer be applicable.
-Offer validity is for 7 days i.e. if the subscription to the SMS package is done on the 1st of June, the subscription will expire on the 7th of june and unused SMS (if any) will be confiscated.
-However the customer can extend the validity of the remaining SMS by subscribing to any of the mentioned packages before validity expires
-This is a Limited Time Offer.

PTA busts illegal gateway exchange

Tweet Pin It KARACHI: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) along with FIA in the joint action has busted an illegal international gateway exchange

in a residential area of Islamabad, official sources told. According to details, the illegal setup was detected through the Technical Facility installed by PTA to monitor the illegal business of telecom through out the country. Upon investigation and confirmation, a successful raid was conducted by PTA Zonal Office Rawalpindi and FIA and an operational international gateway exchange was seized. staff report

PTA plans to develop SIM information system

Tweet Pin It KARACHI: Pakistan Telecomm-unication Authority (PTA) has decided to develop a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) information system to address associated risks on security and to ensure subscription regulations in cellular sector, official sources told

The system will gather all mobile subscribers data that would provide their numbers of SIM(s) registered against with their respective Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) numbers and with cellular phone operators of the country.

Analysts of the telecom said the cellular operators’ offers of different calls and SMS packages have attracted subscribers to use more than one SIM of different cellular phone operators. The regulator has allowed 10 connections on single CNIC per mobile operator. It has also blocked 2.92 million excess connections last year. Therefore, the security concerns raises where a SIM registered under one subscriber(s) is being used by another un-identified user. Moreover, sector people told a significant number of subscribers avoid using companies connections and missed the validity dates of connection. They have to re-activate their connections later on often when companies offer free minutes in the case of non-use of the SIM for long time.

According to PTA, the planned system would facilitate mobile subscribers to block those SIM(s) which presently are not under their usage.

Official sources informed PTA intends to develop robust system, which is secure and efficient enough to store a record size of approx 92 million subscribers’ data. The system should also ensure proper data integrity mechanism while answering back to multiple queries in a specific time. The authority has started hiring of consultancy firm to develop SIM information system, which may take six month roll out in the public.

It has intended to develop software-based system that would provide an Internet and SMS based interface to end-users in order to retrieve the registered mobile SIM(s) information. In order to facilitate the consumer, an SMS based system would also be developed empowering consumer to use his mobile phone for accessing required information. The system would provide the ability to send and receive SMS against a pre-defined short code.

SMS based information system will handle all request that comes through any mobile device. A comprehensive SMS based information system is required that could provide the consumer with the mobile number information against the CNIC number. The cellular phone subscribers base has widened to touch 100 million benchmark, however, its density has remained concentrated in 25 to 30 cities. Telecom experts said the information system also assists PTA to know the teledensity of the cities and the traffic volumes of calls and SMS across the country.

SDC to start 'Home IT Business' training programme

Tweet Pin It LAHORE (June 10 2009): Skill Development Council, Ministry of Labour and Manpower is launching a new training programme titled as "Home IT Business"

from June 20 in Islamabad. Announcing the launch of Home IT Business Course, SDC said "it will empower individuals to start their own IT outsourcing business for world market at a very low cost.Participants shall be taught powerful tools for self-employment leading to flexible lifestyle for people who have what it takes to dump the 8-5 schedule. It promised that this training programme will enable the individuals to start their venture from home in a very low cost. In a span of six months these trained individuals will be earning handsome money through their ventures.SDC said after completing this course the IT graduates (fresh or experienced), students and professionals, could capture online business inquiries posted on various outsourcing portals. It encouraged women to join this programme, as this programme will enable them to start their ventures from their home and utilise their university education while remaining within social bounds.

Mobilink increases aid for IDPs to Rs 84 million

Tweet Pin It KARACHI: More than 1,000 families of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) will benefit from the Rs 81 million fund set up by Mobilink

the country’s market leader in cellular communication services and a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom. This is in addition to the Rs 3.3 million raised with the help of Employee donations, SMS fund and Aid Collection Points set up by Mobilink at its select main offices across Pakistan. The fund will be utilized to establish an entire camp that can accommodate up to 1,000 families for a period of 3 months. staff report

Mobile phone towers: IT body expresses concern over environmental hazards

Tweet Pin It The Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunications has expressed serious concern over the environmental hazards caused by the Mobile Phone Towers installed across the country.

Chaudhry Muhammad Berjees Tahir, MNA/ Chairman Standing Committee on Information Technology chaired a meeting on Saturday in Committee Room No 1, Parliament House to discuss comprehensive briefing by Ministry on "3-G Licensing Policy".

The committee taking a serious note of the environmental hazards caused by the Mobile Phone Towers installed at every nook and corner, enquired from the Ministry that why this issue has not been addressed while framing the policy for 2-G Licensing and Ministry must ensure that the environmental pollution and its hazards will be addressed in the new policy for 3-G before presenting it to the Cabinet.

The committee also recommended that the infrastructure sharing be made mandatory in the new 3-G Licensing Policy for Mobile Operators and the committee also recommended that new entrants be encouraged to participate in the auctioning of 3-G Licensing.

Dr Talat Mahesar, MNA, Anusha Rehman Khan Advocate, MNA, Sajid Ahmad, MNA, Pir Syed Fazal Ali Shah Jilani, MNA, Syed Muhammad Saqlain Bukhari, MNA, Khawaja Sheeraz Mehmood, MNA, Secretary IT and Telecom and other senior officials of Ministry also attended the meeting.-PR

National job fair

Tweet Pin It ISLAMABAD: A two day job fair will start here on Tuesday at the International Islamic University (IIU). The first day is specified for male students and the second for female students.

This was stated by IIU President Dr Anwar Siddiqui while speaking on the salient features of the job fair, said a press release issued here.He said provision of employment opportunities to young people, particularly highly qualified university graduates, might lead the country towards prosperity and free it from terrorism and extremism.

He said a common misconception prevailing in Pakistan is that no one can get a job without giving bribe or recommendation from an influential person. Dr Siddiqui said the job fair was aimed at providing an opportunity to employers and qualified youth to interact with each other.

LG launches KS660 full touch-screen dual SIM phone

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KARACHI (June 08 2009): LG Electronics, a world-wide technology and design leader in mobile communications, announced on Tuesday the launch of the LG-KS660, the company's first full touch-screen handset equipped with dual SIM card slots.

Designed for the demanding life of today's businessperson, LG-KS660's slim design and operator-friendly tools help users to manage their time better and work more efficiently.

"Mobile handsets have become an essential part of everyday life, for both private consumers and businesses," said H. S. Paik, President of LG Electronics Gulf FZE. "This has led to easier communications when away from the office, and it is with this in mind that LG developed the LG-KS660 with dual SIM to provide a more useful and smart touch screen for business people.

"Dual SIM capability allows users to operate two SIM cards and use multiple functions simultaneously. With both cards in place and call-waiting functions, it is possible to have as many as four active calls at one time.

The simple touch of the screen allows the easy transition between callers on hold and the person they are speaking to, without switching cards or powering off. Using the phone's stylus, messages can be hand-written while conducting calls and sent immediately as an image.

LG-KS660's dual SIM system also makes the switch between business and personal life effortless. By simply selecting the appropriate SIM on the touch-screen, the business line can be turned off while at home or enjoying leisure time with family and friends.

The phone's 5-megapixel camera captures great private memories, while keeping personal photos separate from important business documents. Likewise, for users who handle multiple businesses or use separate phone accounts for international travel, the dual SIM allows convenient access to both accounts in a single phone.

In addition, enhanced business features are available through the LG-KS660's Smart Desktop, giving consumers a virtual PC in the convenience of a slim mobile handset. The phone's 3-inch touch-screen allows users to quickly access all the information they need to efficiently manage their business schedule. With just one click of the finger, a myriad of widgets, including calendar, to-do list, memo or search tab can be customised for optimum productivity.

Entering text or phone numbers is simple and intuitive with multiple, automatic information input. Numeric and QWERTY keypads, as well as stylus memo pads, transition automatically based on the input needed, whether making a call, writing a message or sending an email.-PR

Source: www.brecorder.com/

Sony Ericsson unveils two 'greener' phones

Tweet Pin It HELSINKI (June 08 2009): Cellphone maker Sony Ericsson unveiled on June 4 two handset models it said are more eco-friendly, adding that the company will push greener features across its product line in the next two years.

The new models, C901 GreenHeart and Naite, will be sold in smaller packages and have user manuals that are electronic. The devices use more recycled materials and consume less energy.
"Today we are announcing a commitment to roll out these innovations across the broader portfolio in 2010 and 2011," Sony Ericsson Chief Executive Hideki Komiyama said in a statement. The role of greener products is increasing rapidly in the cellphone industry, with a recent ABI Research survey saying nearly half of US consumers are likely to be influenced by suppliers' green credentials when purchasing devices.

Sony Ericsson said on Thursday it targets a cut of 20 percent of its carbon dioxide emissions by 2015. The handset industry is closely followed by environmental organisations around the world due to its large scale. More than one billion phones are sold globally each year, which requires the use of sales boxes, add-ons and tonnes of rare raw materials.

The world's top cellphone maker, Nokia, started to renew its packaging in 2006, and has said it saved 100 million euros ($142.9 million) in less than a year.

Sony Ericsson said its new models will use at least 50 percent recycled plastics - similar to Nokia's 3110 Evolve model, which the Finnish firm introduced last year.