Mobilink Signs Passive Infrastructure Agreement with AWAL Telecom

Mobilink and AWAL Telecom have entered into an agreement with which Mobilink rollout plans will take advantage of AWAL Telecom’s diverse network infrastructure.

The multi-year deal is centered on AWAL Telecom’s build-to-suit model, which will allow Mobilink to reduce both operating costs and capital expenditure while providing service to new customers who have yet to be able to experience the benefits of cellular coverage.

This is one of the first of this type of contract to be signed in Pakistan between a tower company and a mobile network operator.

The large, existing coverage of Mobilink’s tower portfolio combined with the ability and know-how of AWAL Telecom to provide Mobilink with additional coverage in the unserved and underserved areas will create a solid platform for future evolution and will enable Mobilink to focus on providing innovative and reliable services.

“We are pleased to conclude the agreement with AWAL Telecom,” said Executive Management of Mobilink. “The partnership will enable us to expand our network in particular in remote/rural areas, helping us achieve our ambition to provide all the Pakistani population with the best network coverage and high-quality services. This agreement is an important milestone in the Company’s efforts to control operating costs while adding a larger footprint for our services”

Marius Armeanca, Managing Partner of AWAL’s Investing Company, said: “We are excited to be working in partnership with Mobilink Pakistan. AWAL Telecom’s expertise in tower management and commitment to top quality service will allow Mobilink to focus on providing innovative mobile services and expanding its subscriber base. At the same time, our ownership and management of the telecoms passive infrastructure will ensure that Mobilink network is continually enhanced and expanded, whilst maintaining low operating costs for the mobile operator.”

Akbar Shaukat, the CEO of AWAL Telecom, said : “The agreement with Mobilink represents an important milestone and sets up favorable premises for consolidation of the existing industry tower portfolio and the development of the build-to-suit model that Awal Telecom has initiated in Pakistan” .

Present to the event, Dr. Ismail Shah, Chairman PTA, suggests infrastructure sharing and encourages the fast implementation of concepts that drive to an effective site sharing industry wide.
Licensing AWAL Telecom to build passive tower infrastructure represents one of PTA’s many efforts in this context. PTA has also actively supported and encouraged AWAL Telecom to build a site base that is to be shared on a non-discriminatory basis with all operators in Pakistan.


    • Simple words mein.. tower rent pe dene wali company.. tower AWAL bnaye aor operate kre gi aor Telecom operators se rent charge kre gi.. in one word.. OUTSOURCING..

    • same as Nokie SIMONS already doing and Huawei as well. Infrastructure provider

  • So towers will be built and owned by Awal and shared with Mobilink for their services. Not a bad idea.

  • This happend to me for few minutes that my download speed went at about 2.2MB/s
    im using 2mbps PTCL connection. normally its @ 250kb/s How did this happen and why??
    i really loved it tho <3

  • I believe a company called Towershare has been providing the same services for couple of years not.

    • Not only Its employees but also of Warid and vendors like Ericsson.

  • But The questions is with already redundant towers after acquiring Warid, What Mobilink is planning to get these extra tower?

  • What is Awal Telecom? Did you heard this name before? What is their profile and portfolio? How many Cell sites they own before this deal? Are they big enough to sign the deal with operator like Mobilink?

    Unfortunately the answers of all the above questions are not very encouraging, it looks like Awal Investment holding is the Mobilink offshore arm which is to created/raised to mitigate the risk which associated with active merger of Warid and Mobilink Network merger and which is associated with shutting down 5000 Warid 2G sites.

    Mobilink can’t walk away from their responsibility to look after Warid and Ericsson staff interest by outsourcing the Warid Network to one of its subsidiary.

    PTA role is also very negative in this regard, as when the time they should enforce Tower Sharing they only become silent spectator and now when there are more than 40000 tower standing nationwide they are encouraging tower sharing. What a joke.

    • Tower sharing is there for almost a decade now and actively encouraged by PTA since long. So we can’t say PTA started encouraging just now. Also I believe all other operators would also be able to share the towers erected by AWAL. The purpose as given in the article is to serve the unserved areas. If Warid or Mobilink already serving in an area than AWAL towers won’t be needed there.
      I can see former Mobilink CTO Marius as the partner in Awal Telecom :)

      • If PTA actively encouraging tower sharing than we should not see 4-5 towers within 100 meter radius, if they promote sharing then they should make it part of GSM license in 2004 if not adopted in early 90s. They are just encourage tower sharing (in 2010) after almost 40000 towers are erected and polluted our cities aesthetically.
        The idea to serve unserved area is taking care by network rollout in remote areas through USF, AWAL is not going to do any value addition.

        Mobilink new arm AWAL will be led by ex-Mobilinkers including Marius and will play a face saving role for Mobilink for offloading 5000 Warid sites on the name of outsourcing their Tower assets to AWAL. Pakistan’s poor economy can’t bear the large number of educated and skilled technical workforce unemployment.

  • That’s what happened when Merger is allowed. Lot of people will be gone. Share tower is very common in America. I work for America’s largest wireless company and we sold all our towers to America Tower so did all other carriers here. They maintain them and our company lease them back. They make money from Sharing other carriers on the same tower and upgrades like 3G to 4G, Anntena change…etc etc.


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