STAFF REPORT IBD: The telecom indicators are showing a positive growth despite abysmal state of the economy of Pakistan, with a telecom revenues reaching an all-time high of Rs387.15 billion during the calendar year 2011, reveals the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority in its latest Telecom Review.
The telecom players, mostly the mobile network operators, invested $371.5 million during CY11. However, owing to some disinvestments, the sector FDI was at negative $164.6 million last year. The 1HFY12 taxation proceeds from the sector stood at Rs58.1 billion, and PTA expects the total FY12 contributions to cross Rs120 billion.
The Review highlights that the mobile teledensity is the most in Sindh (over 80 percent), followed by Punjab (66 per cent), but less than 50 per cent in both Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There is still room for expansion in the voice segment, especially in rural areas. However, most operators are wary due to commercial considerations.
To somewhat offset the impact of declining voice tariffs, the MNOs have been levying additional service charges on pre-paid recharges and assistance services. This shows in the aggregate topline of the MNOs which reached roughly Rs280 billion in CY11, as per the Review. The average revenue per user was hovering at $2.43 per month in December 2011, compared to

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