Mobile phone subscribers may touch 65 million mark
LAHORE: With the offering of special packages by different cellular companies and introduction of new models of mobile phones at reasonable rates, the number of mobile phone subscribers is likely to touch 65 million mark by 2007.Sources in the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) told Business Recorder, here on Saturday that the mobile phone sector had performed well in the year 2006 with an average net addition of over 1.7 million subscribers per month.According to sources, the overall tele-density in the country had reached 34 percent, registering an ever-high growth of 120 percent mainly due to attractive policies of the government and active role of private sector. Different cell companies are offering attractive packages as the race is on to net maximum number of clients.
“Telecom services are available to nearly 78 percent of the population in the country. The telecom sector has attracted huge investment and generated more than 183,063 employment opportunities in one year”, the sources claimed.They further said the total value of handsets imported in Pakistan during 2005-06 crossed $1 billion. On the other hands, estimates provided by local re-sellers show the number of handsets imported currently stands at around 750,000 to 800,000 per month.They said that Pakistan mobile handset market was witnessing tremendous growth in local subscriber base, as import of handsets through proper channel was increasing.
Advanced technology and sophisticated sets were now commonly available in the local market and handsets with camera and music are becoming very popular and this trend looks to grow in time to come as these features would become standard, they added.According to an estimate there are around 25,000 mobile phone shops across the country. This large number of handset shops has also generated huge employment opportunities in the county and indirectly they are employing thousands of people.
Source: B/Recorder
Date:11/27/2006
” 
” 
” 
” 
