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PTCL: transforming telecommunications in Pakistan

The landmark privatisation of PTCL in 2005 to Etisalat has witnessed the reinvention of PTCL from a state-run monopoly to a competitive private sector organisation. PTCL is Pakistan’s only integrated telecom service provider offering bundled voice, data, Internet and TV services at highly competitive rates. PTCL’s continuous innovation is demonstrated by the success of its recently launched services: PTCL Broadband Pakistan has become the largest broadband service in the country with an excess of 400,000 subscribers across 280 cities. In addition, PTCL became the first 3G wireless broadband service provider in Pakistan with the launch of EVO.  PTCL has recently established the largest data centre in Pakistan which is in line with international standards. PTCL introduced Tele Presence in Pakistan that provides its corporate clients with true, in-person virtual meeting experience by connecting them to telepresence studios across the globe.  PTCL’s latest initiative that caters to the rapidly growing demand of the market is its Network Operations Centre. PTCL was also nominated for the “TM Forum Operational Excellence Award May 2010” for the NOC centre. PTCL is also the first organisation to implement the SAP new dimension products including Supplier Relationship Management (SRM), E-Recruitment, Employee/Manger Self Service (ESS/MSS) and Business Intelligence (BI). President & CEO PTCL Walid Irshaid has successfully infused private sector dynamism into a once highly bureaucratic government company. He talks to Blue Chip about PTCL’s plans for the future and shares his outlook on Pakistan’s fiercely competitive telecom industry.
Telecoms have been a major growth engine for Pakistan. What are your views on Pakistan’s telecoms sector?

Walid Irshaid: “Telecommunications in Pakistan has been a high-growth sector and there are still a lot of opportunities. After the market liberalisation in 2005, the floodgates were opened and in just five years, we have seen mobile telephony grow from 5 million to 100 million. Pakistan is among the fastest growing telecom markets in the world.”

Etisalat’s acquisition of PTCL has been very successful; can you elaborate on your expansion plans?

WI: “We look to the future and follow the new trends in the telecoms industry. We should be prepared. Etisalat is operating in 19 markets worldwide, we have a large global footprint and in-depth expertise. Our group strategy is aligned with the other Etisalat companies around the world.”

Despite PTCL’s success in Pakistan, what do you see as the challenges in this industry?

WI: “I wouldn’t use the word ‘successful’. We have managed great changes; we have brought in a new culture; we are bringing value to our employees, customers and shareholders; and we are trying to position PTCL in the right direction. We have managed all of this so far and we have come a long way — but we are not there yet. We are still working on a lot of changes. Our ongoing aim is to make PTCL a stronger and more competitive company.

We are still in the transformational stage where we are changing PTCL from being a state-run monopoly to a commercial enterprise, competing for customers and welcoming competitors. Our challenge in the past has been to shed PTCL’s old legacy of being a state monopoly and to make it stand firm in this highly competitive marketplace.

If you look all over the world: 20 years ago all telecom companies were state-run monopolies without exception. But the telecom sector has evolved and today companies have become global brands. I do not see why PTCL cannot also become a global brand. This is a global industry and you should be prepared to compete not only in Pakistan but all over the world. Today, a sizeable proportion of our business is not in Pakistan but outside; and we are not alone: we have competitors coming from east and west so we have to be strong and secure our share of the international market as well.”

What are your views on the regulatory environment governing the telecoms sector in Pakistan?

WI: “It is too advanced. I earlier spoke of opening the floodgates, I think Pakistan did far too much liberalisation, which is good in a way but in the long term, this may not be prudent.”

What are your views on market consolidation?

WI: “It will happen. Because of the floodgates issue which I had mentioned earlier, the market is a bit overcrowded — there are too many players. When the floodgates are open, people conceive it as a gold rush. So a lot of operators jumped in as they thought that this is an excellent opportunity. Now, they realisethat they cannot continue with this model. That is why I do expect to see consolidation and you will be seeing consolidation big time in the coming few years.”

One recent example of PTCL’s charity work is the funding provided to internally displaced persons in Pakistan. Can you tell us more about PTCL’s other corporate social responsibility initiatives?

WI: “We are the national carrier. We are the national telecom company of Pakistan and we take corporate social responsibility very seriously. We try to see where we can maximise the value of our contribution.”

What drew you to a career in telecommunications?

WI: “Telecommunications has always been an exciting and fascinating industry.”

EVO and Tele Presence are just two examples of PTCL’s more recent offerings. What else does PTCL have in store for Pakistan?

WI: “We have a lot of exciting things in store. Today, in the transformation that I mentioned, we are looking at two things: PTCL was always seen and perceived as the telephone company of Pakistan meaning that our core business was voice communication; connecting people all over Pakistan. With the mobile revolution in Pakistan, we are no more just the telephone company of Pakistan — we are the integrated telecom company of Pakistan. This means that we offer customers a telephone service, broadband service and TV service. This is what we call a ‘triple play’ in this industry. For the corporate world, we are trying to bring solutions which is why we have products like Tele Presence. It is about providing solutions to the business community rather than just providing them with connectivity. This is how we are transforming and repositioning ourselves as we are trying to discontinue our past legacy. The transformation is to change the perception and expectation and the customer-understanding of PTCL.

Today, we are no more the voice company of this country. To the home and the business customer, we bring solutions and bundle services whereby we cater for all choices, ages, products and places. We are the only company in Pakistan that can claim to be an integrated telecom company. We are the only company that can afford the investment.

Broadband users probably don’t realise how much investment we have made to make this connectivity. We have made an investment in your house; in your connectivity to the nearest exchange or point of presence; we have made investments across the country; and we have made investments  to connect Pakistan with the rest of the world. It is a huge investment; there is only one company that can afford this investment and that is PTCL.
That is why I can say that we are the only integrated telecom company in Pakistan.

However, it is an ongoing process and a lot more needs to be done, we have a very clear road map and we are very clear about our future.”


PTCL expands its portfolio of online customer services

To facilitate its customers, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) has launched duplicate bill services on the web where customers can either go to the PTCL portal atwww.ptcl.com.pk or click on the URL http://dbill.ptcl.net.pk to view their bill. They can either download it in PDF format or send it directly to their printer.
The launch of this service saves customers’ time, as now it’s not necessary for customers to visit a PTCL OSS or other places to receive a duplicate bill in case they do not receive their phone bill. They can easily view or print the phone bill at their own convenience from home/office/net café, wherever and whenever they like.

SEVP Commercial Naveed Saeed remarked on the launch of this service that this is another valuable addition to the already-thriving portfolio of PTCL services which are designed especially keeping customer facilitation in mind. He said PTCL is determined to develop systems which are customer-centric and user friendly.

Not only this, PTCL has also developed an effective online interface through which customers can order a majority of products along with the facilitation of submitting their suggestions and feedback regarding PTCL’s services.

EVP Customer Care Jamil Khawaja said that customer care has been at the core of all activities of PTCL and it is their priority to provide customer services through various touch points.

The steps to get duplicate bill have been kept very simple. The customer can visit the website www.ptcl.com.pk or URL http://dbill.ptcl.net.pk. After that, they have to follow the link ‘bill view/print’ or ‘browse’ it. After entering the landline number and customer ID which is mentioned in the landline bill, a duplicate bill in PDF format will appear in a popup window. The customer, with the printout, can walk into any of the PTCL One Stop Shops, revenue offices, customer care centres or PTCL-designated banks to pay the bill.

The module is running smoothly in browsers like Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari.


PTCL declares Rs. 7.86 billion net profit

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) announced its financial results for the 3rd quarter ended on 31st March, 2010 in their meeting of the Board of Directors held on 29th April, 2010. The company announced a net profit of Rs. 2.51 billion compared to Rs. 1.91 billion recorded in the 3rd Quarter last year, i.e. 31% growth compared to the same period last year. On consolidated period for 3 quarters (9 months) from 1st July 2009 — 31st March 2010 the net profit is Rs. 7.86 billion compared to Rs. 7.22 billion for the same period last year.
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) has witnessed landmark success in reinventing itself from a state-run organisation to a competitive private sector organisation. On this journey, PTCL has repositioned itself as Pakistan’s only integrated telecom service provider offering bundled voice data, internet and IPTV services at highly competitive rates.

PTCL success can be evaluated from the fact that its Broadband Pakistan has become the largest broadband service in the country covering over 1000 cities countrywide with 80% market share. With the launch of EVO, PTCL has become the first 3G wireless broadband service provider in the country. PTCL has also won more than 50% of all USF projects, the most significant for the provision of broadband in the under served areas.
To provide valued services to its customers, PTCL has also established the first international standard largest data centre in Pakistan. Along with this, to cater the demands of the market and as part of its on-going infrastructure development PTCL has established Network Operations Centre (NOC). PTCL has been short listed as one of the six finalist for its NOC centers, for the “TM Forum Operational Excellence Award in France, May 2010”.

Continuing its strategy of developing new products and services for its customers, based on most updated and sophisticated technology, PTCL introduced ‘Tele Presence’ in Pakistan, the first of its kind that provides the corporate clients with true in-person virtual meeting experience by connecting them to tele-presence studios across the globe.

PTCL has announced 2010 as the “Year of Customer & Employee Care”. The main focus will be on customers and quality of service. Key words like service quality, and customer satisfaction signifies that PTCL is becoming a more customer focused company and our real success and growth can only come from a happy and a satisfied customer. PTCL has 140 OSS (one stop shop), 4 contact centers and multiple contact points to serve its customers.



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