Warid Telecom has finally made an official statement regarding its 4G network roll out in Pakistan. The 4G LTE roll-out plan was disclosed during GITEX Technology Week 2014 in Dubai. The company has announced that Ericsson, the world leader in providing state-of-the-art telecommunication services is the sole supplier of 4G LTE in Pakistan.
Commenting on the announcement, CEO Warid Telecom, Mr. Muneer Farooqui said: “Warid is gearing up for the 4G LTE launch with the best available network solutions and Ericsson has been committed to provide us with the state-of-art technologies and services. Our strong partnership and working relationship with Ericsson has given us complete trust in their technology and execution, making them the preferred partner for this landmark project as well.”
It merits mentioning here that Warid Telecom has already started an internal trial to test the network capacity and service reliability after which public trials will be announced by the company along with a program for 4G LTE enabled devices as well. The company has already started delivering free 4G LTE SIMs to its customers who have 4G LTE enabled handsets.
The announcement marks the extension of Warid Telecom’s long-term relationship with Ericsson in a move that will evolve the mobile broadband experience in Pakistan to pave the way to a “Networked Society”, where all the businesses as well as individuals are empowered to reach their full potential.
While giving an interview to a newspaper, Tariq Gulzar, Warid Telecom chief financial officer told that the company has recently invested over $100 million in LTE and it will get $500 million financing from its sole shareholder the Abu Dhabi Group in the next 5 years.
Pakistan is in the midst of an internet revolution, at the heart of which is the increasing uptake of smart devices and mobility. Connectivity via handsets already exceeds the number of connections through fixed line, and majority of first-time users experience the internet for the first time through their smartphones. With Ericsson’s solutions, Warid Telecom will deliver the optimum customer experience, whenever and wherever they connect in Pakistan.
