The broadband industry also saw a growth as due to the influx of 3G/4G, telcos have now introduced their Mobile Broadband devices as well which add portability as well as multiple devices can be connected at one time. Zong has been a massive hit with the consumers as it’s giving fast and consistent speeds at attractive prices. Including all wired and wireless broadband services available  to consumers in Pakistan, the total number of subscribers now stands at 31 million  which is a growth of a staggering 13.28 million subscribers since the past 9 months starting from July 2015. Cable Net and EvDO technologies took a hit as the number of new subscribers have been going down however Mobile Broadband saw the most growth in number of new subscribers. WiMAX took a huge hit in July 2015 most probably due to Wateen’s exit from the broadband market which almost left its user base in half as shown in the table given below:

Note: *DSL, HFC, WiMax, FTTH, EvDO and others are as of Dec 2015
Note: **DSL, HFC, WiMax, FTTH, EvDo and others are As of Dec 2015

Khurram Zahid

The post Broadband Industry Crosses 31 Million Subscribers – Latest PTA Figures appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

As broadband users ourselves, we are aware of the issues consumers have to deal with. The major ones being not getting the promised speeds for your broadband connection and areas with spotty coverage. PTA seems to be aware of such issues and is planning to launch its own speed testing application for Android platform while an iOS version might be coming out in the near future.

The reason  PTA has decided to implement a speed testing solution of its own is because there is no standards of Quality of service when it comes to broadband internet in Pakistan. Hence there is a strong need to regulate and monitor Broadband companies and their performance as some users get highly variable speeds in different parts of the city. Broadband providers have their own servers on Speedtest.net, however they don’t share the statistics and analytics that they get when users check their broadband speeds. This initiative will help to make sure that the provider is delivering on its promise and consumers are satisfied in all areas with respect to all variables in play, PTA has decided to crowdsource speed testing data by launching its own app which will collect internet metrics from users and report geolocation as well. Thus any coverage or speed issues in a certain area can be pointed out as well as the promised speeds by the broadband provider can be audited by an independent authority to make sure that everything is in check. In the future if PTA makes this data public then users can get to know that which areas get better reception and thus make a smart decision about which provider to choose. Hopefully this new implementation will work in the consumer’s favour and people will enjoy better quality broadband services in Pakistan.

This app is currently in its pilot program with a limited number of users and would be launched properly after the required results start to come out. Are you happy with your internet provider? Do you think this new app will regulate service quality in a much better way? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Khurram Zahid

The post PTA to Launch Speed Testing Mobile App! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

What is an Exchange Point?
Now let’s give you an overview of what an Internet Exchange Point is and what does it do. An Internet Exchange Point (IXP or IX) is a physical infrastructure through which Internet service providers (ISPs) and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) exchange Internet traffic between their networks (autonomous systems). The primary purpose of an IXP is to allow networks to interconnect directly, via the exchange, rather than through one or more third-party networks. For example if you are using a local ISP and if a ping is sent for a website/server that is hosted on TransWorld for example, then traffic is routed through international exchanges that reside outside Pakistan. This traffic will now be routed within our local Internet Exchange after it’s set up.

Now that we have given our readers a brief introduction on the purpose and working of an IXP, you must be wondering that what advantage do you as a user can get by this? Well to mention the major merits of having an Internet Exchange Point are two-fold as not just the end-user but the ISPs can also benefit from this as mentioned under:

Benefits of an Internet Exchange:

* Reduction in costs for the ISPs.
* Lower Latency which in turn means lower Ping times and faster response times leading to better user experience.
* Local content development and hosting opportunities.
* Development of local cloud based infrastructures.
* Improved security and stability.
* Availability of services in case of disruption in international bandwidth.
* Attraction for international companies to create local images of their servers in Pakistan.

We hope that this latest initiative will boost the Quality of Service by all ISPs and in turn benefit the users along with creating new jobs and boosting economy in the process. What are your thoughts about this? Have your say in the comments section below!

Khurram Zahid

The post Internet Exchange Point to offer Better Quality Internet in Pakistan! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

As per this new policy, customers will have to verify their identity through thumb impression to confirm that the CNIC they are using for activation of their internet connection is legitimate, original and it belongs to them.

As per PTA’s SOP, a customer has to present CNIC at Customer Service Centers of ISPs before making a purchase of a new connection. After which customer will have to record the thumb impression that will be matched with NADRA’s database. Finally the customer will be issued a new active internet connection.

It’s pertinent to mention that this implementation will have its fair share of benefits such as issuance of new connections to verified persons and better accountability of unpaid dues. Thus devices issued to customers can be recovered easily in case of discontinuation of services.

Furthermore, it does come with some challenges as well because there would be a huge influx of reverification subscribers at service centers/franchises, hence the staff would be overloaded during this period. Walk-in customers could be highly affected. Hence ISPs should induct sufficient workforce to deal with the rising number of consumers.

Following implementation timelines have been decided for BVS:

1) Deployment of BVS at Customer Service Centers by Nov, 2015.

2) Deployment of BVS at franchises and retailers by Dec, 2015.

3) Cessation of existing process of verification by Jan, 2016.

4) Re-verification of all existing connections, i.e those sold before implementation of BVS should be done within a time period of 2 months after BVS deployment is completed by Feb, 2016.

Khurram Zahid

The post Biometric Verification Now Required For Broadband Internet Connections appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Wired broadband by PTCL is available in many parts of the country and PTCL wireless EVO services are spread across vast areas covering both rural and urban areas. Now 3G services from telecoms are making inroads with high speed broadband that penetrates most urban areas of the country.

Although the companies are complying with regulations and ensuring quality supply, it is important for PTA as a regulator to make the process more inclusive for the consumers. One way of ensuring consumer awareness, inclusion and satisfaction would be to collect broadband speed tests from common people.

Recently Canada’s regulator CRTC (Canadian Radio-Television and Communications) has asked internet users to help test broadband speed. The method is simple, all participants (about 6,200) will receive a ‘Whitebox’ that would be attached with the modem and it will periodically test internet speed when not in active use. The results would help in policy making as well as finding out if the users are getting the speed that was advertised by the internet companies.

Conducting speed tests in similar fashion, PTA can collect accurate and updated speed tests from general population from various parts of the country. The greatest advantage would be to not only hold broadband providers accountable for their services but also ensure that people get the service they paid for.

Another positive sign would be tracking the downtime of the service providers. So many services are unable to maintain continuous internet provision that it would help PTA to tabulate exact performance in various areas and compare it with policies and terms of services the companies signed up. It will not only give more strength to customer complaints, the areas where service issues are greater will cause the company to focus more upgrading infrastructure at its earliest.

Khurram Zahid

The post Tracking Performance of ISPs appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Sibtain Jiwani

smartchoice.pk

The post Pakistan Broadband Landscape – Infographic appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Telecom indicators, as published by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), have shown remarkable increase in the number of broadband subscribers – month by month – over the past two years across all sorts of broadband technologies – wired or wireless.

In 2011, for example, total number of broadband subscribers in Pakistan stood at 0.9 Million and jumped close to 2.0 Million by the end of 2012. These trends were exciting – we know how the Internet has help develop countries and societies across the globe – and we know internet awareness will play a powerful role in the development and progress in Pakistan too.

We ran a quick analysis, threw in some number crunching, and have expect broadband growth to stand at 64 percent by the end of 2014 – with broadband subscribers to cross 4.2 Million by the end of this year. This is rapid growth and the momentum just seems to be increasing with every month. Our extrapolation is based on the existing trend.

The graph above shows a year on year (Y-o-Y) comparison of how broadband penetration has grown in Pakistan. We have already written about how the internet is instrumental in the social uplift of societies and countries and we expect good things to come our way in the days to come.

Feel free to share your comments and feedback with us below!

Khurram Zahid

The post Pakistan broadband growth at 64% – expected to cross 4 Million in 2014 appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

In less than two years, this number has more than doubled to almost 2.25 Million (as per PTA statistics last updated in October 2012). The year on year growth figures are exciting and speak of the prospects the broadband industry has to offer.

Broadband subscribers, by technology, are mentioned below:

• DSL (Landline based): 913,102 subscribers
• EVDO (CDMA Based Wireless Broadband): 700,214 subscribers
• WiMAX (Wireless Broadband): 587,967 subscribers
• HFC: 34,141 subscribers
• Fiber to the Home (FTTH): 9,299 subscribers
• Others/Not Classified: 3,069 subscribers

Broadband internet access with quality local content will definitely lead to social uplift and progress for Pakistan and its people.

Khurram Zahid

The post Pakistan Broadband Subscribers cross 2.2 Million appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

In line with enhancing broadband penetration in Pakistan, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) introduced a broadband policy focusing on a number of areas to not only encourage investment but also to boost awareness among the masses.

Last month, in partnership with a telecom vendor (Huawei), the PTA launched a nationwide broadband “road-show” to encourage ordinary citizens to see for themselves how broadband services can revolutionize their every-day life-styles.

The PTA has also forecast that the number of broadband users in Pakistan will reach some 19.5 million by the year 2020 – a slow but substantial increase in the number of subscribers.

Access to broadband internet is known to have dramatically improved the efficiency, productivity and performance of a society – allowing people access to global information and resources that can be applied to their localities and surroundings.

But all that said, for the over-all social uplift, it is also very important for local information and local content to be generated and be readily available within Pakistan. This should especially include e-Government initiatives and access to forms and documentation online, allowing people to perform a number of day to day tasks online. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has truly revolutionized the way people used to apply for Tax registration and filing of returns and all government departments can take it is a leading example.

We, as a nation, need to focus on generating local content, publishing web content in local languages as much as possible for broadband to have its true effect in uplifting our living standards.

Khurram Zahid

The post Broadband for Social Uplift appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.