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Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has said that it will allow Warid Telecom to launch 4G LTE in the country after getting satisfied with company’s Quality of Service KPIs for 4G network.
PTA, for the first since ProPakistani broke the story about Warid’s 4G plans, publicly admitted that it won’t have any issues with Warid’s 4G LTE deployments, but it will keep an eye on service KPIs and network rollout obligations to ensure that Warid’s customers – both 2G and 4G – aren’t offered with anything lesser than what they should get.
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Warid said that it will invest several hundred million dollars for 4G LTE network in Pakistani market with-in next couple of years.
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This washes out any possibility of PTA not allowing Warid for 4G LTE launch due to pressure from other cellular operators, who are reportedly not pleased with the situation.
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Regulator’s agreement with Warid’s plan was first hinted when Warid published 4G LTE advertisements in major newspapers of the country last Friday.
At this point in time, Warid has already requested PTA to approve its plan for launching 4G LTE on its existing cellular mobile license issued in 2004.
PTA, in response, has asked Warid to submit detailed information and technical plan for 4G network for evaluation.
PTA, while confirming the fact that existing license of Warid is technology-neutral, said that Warid’s current license doesn’t say anything about Quality of Service (QoS) parameters and service Key Performance Indicator (KPIs) for the 4G / LTE services.
PTA emphasized that Warid will have to comply with the QoS parameters and KPIs laid down by PTA for the 4G / LTE services.
PTA said that it might change Warid’s existing Cellular Mobile Telephony License with additional requirements concerning 4G services before giving final approval.
Warid, on the other hands, has confirmed ProPakistani that it has already prepared all the details – relating to QoS and network specifications – as asked by PTA. After submitting these details in next few days, Warid is aiming to start testing 4G LTE services by last week of May 2014.
Warid said that it has aggressive plans pertaining to 4G deployments with investment of several hundred million dollars in Pakistani market with-in next couple of years. An official announcement for this is expected by May end.
Warid confirmed that it has lab tested 4G LTE services on its network. Company said that it is confident about providing all the necessary QoS KPIs as per standards set by the regulator.
Check below a screen for Warid’s 4G network with-in a lab in Lahore:
