ICT R&D Fund to Develop Broadband Growth Programme: ProPakistani

ICT R&D Fund to Develop Broadband Growth Programme
PTCL Donates Rs. 2.3 million for the Children of Pakistan Sweet Homes
DG Khan Cement Deploys Oracle E-Business Suite
Pakistan Exports Talent: Nokia Top Brass Promoted to Regional Heads
Sybrid’s Contact Center Go Online
Naeem Zamindar Included in World Wimax Forum BoD

ICT R&D Fund to Develop Broadband Growth Programme

Posted: 26 Mar 2012 06:10 AM PDT

The National ICT Research and Development (R&D) Fund has planed to develop an 'Advanced Technology Programme in Broadband Access Technologies' aimed at supporting the growth of broadband sector through a R&D centered ecosystem at national level.

Sources in the industry said that the national programme will support broadband sector not only for commercial activities but it will also produce kick-start knowledge-based value creation in this sector.

The programme is a collaborative initiative that promotes collaboration and use of best practices around a specific focus area to drive business results.

The institutions will provide free of cost space for the programme while the ICT R&D Fund will provide seed funding for sustaining the programme operations for the first three years including grants for equipment and for some initial R&D projects.

Besides, the individual R&D projects and other activities will be distributed across the programme partners including telecom operators, commercial organizations, academic institutions and others. The utilization of the infrastructure, equipment and facilities under the umbrella of the proposed programme will be open to all industry stakeholders, government agencies, academic institutions and researchers.

The programme is aimed at high economic and social returns within the shortest period of time through increasing utility of broadband services by customer of different walk of lives.

The fund's board, in this regard, has already identified a number of priority themes including telecom, energy, agriculture and others.

Within the Pakistani telecom sector, the broadband sector has experienced the highest growth during the last few years. In 2010-11 Pakistan recorded 46.2 percent growth in the number of broadband subscribers and was ranked fourth worldwide in this regard. (In comparison Sri Lanka and India were ranked 11th and 14th, respectively).

Currently, the total number of broadband subscribers in Pakistan is estimated around 1.7 million but its sub-sector is expected to exhibit similar growth rates during the next few years.

Presently, there are more than 10 broadband service providers competing in the Pakistani market to get a share of this rapidly growing subscriber base. Various access technologies currently deployed include wireless technologies such as WiMAX and EvDO and wired technologies such as DSL, HFC and FTTH. In terms of technology adoption the Pakistani service providers have been the leaders in the region for quite some time.

PTCL Donates Rs. 2.3 million for the Children of Pakistan Sweet Homes

Posted: 26 Mar 2012 05:36 AM PDT

PTCL has extended an assistance of Rs. 2.3 million to demonstrate its support for the recently concluded event specially organized for the children of Pakistan Sweet Homes.

A project of PBM, the nationwide established Sweet Homes provide quality housing and education to nearly 3000 orphaned children across Pakistan.

"As a socially responsible corporate entity, PTCL has always endeavored to stand on the frontlines of social service for the people of Pakistan, whether they are vulnerable groups or affectees of natural disasters," said Mr. Hussain on the occasion of the Annual Sports Gala celebrated by the children of Pakistan Sweet Homes to mark Pakistan Day on March 23^rd.

Held in Jinnah Sports Complex, Islamabad from March 19-25, the Sports Gala was actively participated in by children who were provided an exciting opportunity for fun, games and sports gear through partnership between PBM and PTCL.

The colorful ceremony held at Jinnah Sports Complex, Islamabad was attended by Speaker National Assembly, Dr. Fehmida Mirza; President Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Sardar Yaqoob Khan; Minister of Kashmir Affairs & Northern Areas, Mian Manzoor Watoo; Managing Director, Pakistan Bait-ul- Maal (PBM), Zamarrud Khan, and hundreds of dignitaries and people from various sections of society.

"PTCL takes great pleasure in celebrating this significant occasion with these beautiful and talented children of Pakistan Sweet Homes from all over Pakistan who have made this event vibrant and colorful," said Mr. Mazhar Hussain. "What better day than today for PTCL to be with all of you and reflect the true spirit of Pakistanis as a united nation!"

Speaking on the occasion, MD PBM, Zamarud Khan especially thanked PTCL for its generous gift for the children of Sweet Homes. He also thanked PTCL Senior Executive Vice President HR, Syed Mazhar Hussain for attending the ceremony and encouraging the children.

DG Khan Cement Deploys Oracle E-Business Suite

Posted: 26 Mar 2012 05:30 AM PDT

DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKCC), one of the largest cement-manufacturers in Pakistan, has announced the deployment of Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 to help improve its operational efficiency, enabling it to automate its management and financial accounting system, reducing the time it needed to compile monthly operating results from 15 days to just three days.

"The unique and competitive value that Oracle has provided us in shape of smooth and integrated Procure-to-pay and Order-to-Cash business flows has facilitated us to get various types of real time information rapidly rather online, which saves a lot of time and money," said Muhammad Aslam, Chief Information Officer, DG Khan Cement Co. Ltd. "Integrated information provided by the Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 helps us to make better decisions about purchasing and inventory to run business efficiently."

"Oracle E-Business Suite has a strong footprint in the manufacturing industry and we are delighted that DGKCC has leveraged the most comprehensive suite of integrated, global business applications to further improve their operational efficiency and transform its business with the support of our partners." said Akkasha Sultan Shaikh, Country Manager, Applications Business, Oracle Pakistan and South Asia Growth Economies – West. "The business benefits being enjoyed by DGKCC is a good example for other key players not only in cement industry but also in other manufacturing industries to follow."

Prior to the deployment of the Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12, the company was using standalone legacy systems for financials, payroll,inventory and sales which were neither automated nor integrated. As a result, reports were being prepared manually at the end of month using manual vouchers.

With the help of Oracle Applications, DGKCC has now been able to generate daily cement production and power generation reports automatically at midnight as the system consolidates the production data, dispatches and inventory balances.

Oracle Purchasing enabled DGKCC to increase its efficiency of purchasing activities by helping to enable the company to process more than twice the purchase requests in the same amount of time as compared to its legacy system.

Implemented in house by the DGKCC ERP team, Oracle Daily Business Intelligence and Oracle Business Intelligence Applications are assisting the organization in generating various management reports efficiently in minimum time and gain more insight and greater value from a range of data sources and applications. Some of these reports have been put online and are being updated automatically after predetermined intervals.

DGKCC has also implemented Oracle Order Management, Oracle Inventory Management, Oracle Enterprise Asset Management and Oracle Discoverer which assist the management in quick and informed decision-making.

Pakistan Exports Talent: Nokia Top Brass Promoted to Regional Heads

Posted: 25 Mar 2012 08:30 PM PDT

Pakistan is considered as highly potential country for its talented human resource; this is particularly valid for telecom sector.

This is also evident from the fact that top level professionals at Nokia Pakistan were recently promoted and shifted to different key level positions in various regions.

Haseeb Ihtisham, Marketing Head of Nokia Pakistan has been promoted to region's head to look after company' business in four countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.

Reza Burney, Head of Care at Nokia Pakistan has been designated as Head of Care Near East Region with countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran and Iraq.

Shoaib Kadri has been elevated to Business Controllers Nokia for Near East Region, who also served Nokia in Pakistan under the same capacity.

All these officials were previously working in Pakistan but they were also looking after commercial affairs of Afghanistan through distribution channels.

Arif Shafique, was elevated to the position of Country Manager Pakistan Afghanistan earlier this year, after Khalid Alvi left regional charge of Nokia for personal reasons.

Shafique is also a local talent and has been promoted as head of the organization for his successful performance at Nokia in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Besides, Imran Khalid, who was transferred to Saudi Arabia from Pakistan as Country Manger in June 2011, has also been promoted. He is now Vice President of Near East Region.

Overall, the key officials of Nokia Pakistan and Afghanistan have been recognized as professionally sound and unmatchable in the entire region.

Sybrid’s Contact Center Go Online

Posted: 25 Mar 2012 08:15 PM PDT

Lakson Group subsidiary Sybrid (Pvt.) Ltd., a Business Process Outsourcing company, has completed a state-of-the-art contact center which it will manage for Telenor Pakistan.

The new center – which will create jobs for 500 talented Pakistani individuals – will allow for process handling to meet growing customer needs.

The collaboration has led to an investment of Rs. 100 million by Lakson Group to build the supporting infrastructure.

To mark the completion, an inauguration ceremony was held which was attended by senior officials of Lakson Group, Sybrid and Telenor Pakistan.

Iqbal Ali Lakhani, Chairman, Lakson Group and CEO Sybrid speaking at the inauguration said: "We are proud to have completed the project well before the stipulated deadline. This is the first step Sybrid has taken to providing Telenor Pakistan a holistic customer services package, and we look forward to allowing them to enjoy sustained cost and efficiency advantages through this partnership."

Lars Christian Iuel, CEO Telenor Pakistan in his comments said: "Telenor Pakistan is committed to building a stronger customer-centric organization. Our partnership with Sybrid is a step in that direction and we hope our customers will benefit from Sybrid's expertise in customer handling. In addition, we are excited to offer Lakson Group the Easypaisa platform to enable them to disburse salaries of their workers efficiently. The partnership is an excellent example of mutually beneficial synergies created by both organizations."

To read more, click: Sybrid’s Contact Center Go Online
ProPakistani.PK

Naeem Zamindar Included in World Wimax Forum BoD

Posted: 25 Mar 2012 08:05 PM PDT

The WiMAX Forum has announced the addition of five new members to its Board of Directors:

Tom Mueller, General Manager, Digital Energy – Communications, General Electric
Shoichi Hanatani, General Manager, Hitachi
Scott Morrison, Executive Vice President and President, Telecom Infrastructure Business Unit, NewNet Communication Technologies
Naeem Zamindar, CEO, Wateen Telecom
Ali Tabassi, COO, YTL Communications

All five companies are worldwide leaders in the development and deployment of next generation wireless technology.

"The WiMAX Forum would like to welcome the newest members of its esteemed Board of Directors," said Mohammad Shakouri, Chairperson of the WiMAX Forum Board of Directors. "Each of my new colleagues brings a wealth of experience to their roles, and the WiMAX Forum is fortunate to now have access to their guidance and leadership."

"WiMAX provides a cost effective and scalable solution to the opportunity presented by a developing country like Pakistan where broadband penetration is less than 7% of households and demand is growing exponentially," said Nameen Zamindar, CEO of Wateen Telecom.

"Our focus is on developing a complete business model focused on providing affordable plug and play fixed broadband access and WiFi enabled hotspots to meet this growing demand. We are pleased to bring our experience and drive for success to help lead the WiMAX industry" he added.

Other members of the WiMAX Forum Board of Directors include: Airspan Networks, Alvarion, Clearwire Corporation, Huawei Technologies, Information and Communications Research Laboratories at Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Intel Corporation, KDDI, KT, Packet One Networks, Samsung, Sprint, and UQ Communications.

The WiMAX Forum also announced the election of Dr. Mohammad Shakouri as Chairperson of the Board of Directors.

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Monday, March 26, 2012