3G IN PAKISTAN CONSUMER’S PERSPECTIVE MOBILE HANDSET & DATA MARKET ANALYSIS

Abstract

Since the creation of Pakistan, telecommunication services remained monopolized by a single operator, Pakistan Telegraph & Telephone, for nearly four decades. The T&T department was later converted into a corporation PTC which was then split into PTCL, PTA, FAB and NTC. With the Government Support and international investments in 1990s, new avenues of progress in the telecomm industry were opened. Wireless licenses for the private sector in the telecommunication industry triggered a promising chain of events that resulted in a drastic change in the telecommunication infrastructure and service profile. The introduction of mobile services in Pakistan has played a major role in the tremendous growth of telecom industry over the last decade. The GSM technology based cellular companies received enormous support from all stake holders (the market, consumers and the regulator). The economy of Pakistan received major boost with international investments in this prospering sector. It was a win-win situation for all. This remarkable success was in full confirmation with the principle of deploying the right technology in the right market at the right time. The telecommunication industry in Pakistan today faces a great challenge in the form of transition from 2G to 3G technology. Over the last few years, several dates were announced by PTA for introducing 3G in Pakistan, but now Ministry of Information and Technology has directed to hire a consultancy company for transparent of auctioning of the licenses. The decision to implement 3G in Pakistan is a challenging one. The thesis will focus on 3G implementation in Pakistan keeping in view the consumer’s perspective .i.e. consumer needs, consumer readiness, data demand/market, mobile handset market and other factors which have relation to 3G implementation in Pakistan.