WiMAX.Pk – WiMAX portal for Pakistan

Wateen Telecom, once lauded as having established the world’s largest WiMAX network, has been facing a lot of bad press and technical issues lately.

Firstly, their WiMAX service has become even less reliable. Their customer database has been reset quite a few times in the last year and as of now, I can’t even connect to their network despite having great signal quality.

Secondly, they have been accused of hiring writers to post comment spam on prominent blogs and use shady tactics to promote their service. There is an interesting discussion about it on Green & White.

This could be quite a setback for Wateen which was considered Pakistan’s first consumer-level Wimax service provider. Though Mobilink Infinity is limited to Karachi as of now, it must be eating into Wateen’s share in Pakistan’s biggest market.

Looking at Wi-Tribe’s success in other countries and the amount of investment they are putting in to their operations, they could very well give Wateen a run for its money. It’s time for Wateen to buck up or prepare to lose it all.

Here’s a more detailed introduction to wi-tribe, a company preparing to launch its Wimax service in Pakistan:

wi-tribe is a leading wireless broadband provider focusing on emerging markets in Asia and Africa. It has its corporate office in the Kingdom of Bahrain, with Jordan becoming the first wi-tribe enabled market in 2008. wi-tribe was founded by two shareholders – Qtel and ATCO. The Qtel Group is one of the fastest growing telecommunications services providers with a presence in 16 markets in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. A.A. Turki Group of Companies (ATCO) is one of the leading companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

wi-tribe also enjoys a comprehensive technology partnership with Clearwire, one of the world’s leading wireless broadband operators in North America and Europe with more than 470,000 subscribers, as of September 2008. Ground-breaking WiMAX technology allows instant connection to the Internet without the delays and hassles associated with other last-mile solutions. wi-tribe already has experience with bringing this technology to a large user base and will launch its service in Pakistan in 2009.

For more information on wi-tribe and its services, please visit www.wi-tribe.pk.

Last month, Mobilink, a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom and Pakistan’s largest mobile service provider, officially launched their Wimax service by the name of Mobilink Infinity. The service is currently limited only to Karachi and runs on technology provided by Alcatel and Zyxel.

Already having an established network and a huge existing customer base, Mobilink should have had no trouble competing with Wateen Telecom. However, what should have been a wake up call for Wateen may not see the light of day in the rest of the country.

According to blogger Masud Reza, Orascom has cut further funding for the Wimax service and expansion plans have been put on hold. Worse, there is talk of scrapping the whole Broadband Unit. This may be good news for competitors, but it could have serious ramifications for the country’s already struggling technology sector.

Update: Nov 4, 2008. The blog post was older than their launch in Karachi so it probably is just a rumour. Or, maybe they are confusing the other, somewhat struggling, Orascom subsidiary in Pakistan with Mobilink Infinity.

Wateen Telecom has signed a deal to expand its WiMAX operations to 22 Pakistani cities with a potential market of 30 million people. Wateen’s Pakistani Wimax network is already one of the largest in the world and it is a positive sign to see it growing. Whether they have overcome their financial troubles is another question.

Link

Motorola has signed a multi-year contract with Wi-tribe Pakistan under which it will provide a WiMAX infrastructure and related services. wi-tribe is a joint venture with a number of big names behind it, including Qatar Telecom, and has plans to establish networks across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Wateen Telecom and Mobilink have already made waves with their WiMax offerings. This deal brings another contender to the table and should increase the reach of this technology across Pakistan.