Two New Cell Phone Firms to Join Pakistan’s Telecom Party

Two new cellular mobile licensees are set to launch their service, further intensifying the on-going price competition while concurrently accelerating growth in the market size. Telenor would launch its cellular company from March 15, while Warid is planning to start its service next month. With 6 operators, most having deep pockets, the cellular mobile market structure in Pakistan is more competitive than that in most other regional countries. Cellular tariffs are already sliding downhill with NWD calls becoming even cheaper than fixed line rates. The share of cellular sector in domestic telecom which reached 27 per cent in FY04 is likely to grow at a faster rate.