Islamabad – August 8, 2023: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has completed fiberization of the famous and picturesque tourist destination, Nathiagali to provide high-speed connectivity and quality user experience in the region. The blazing fast internet will support social empowerment and growth of the local tourism industry. 

The network overhaul is being carried out under PTCL’s Copper Sunset project, which encompasses the replacement of copper wires with the cutting-edge PTCL Flash Fiber network, which will be the fastest internet in town giving customers blazing speeds of up to 1Gbps with unlimited downloads. A lively cake cutting ceremony was held in Nathiagali to mark the dawn of high-speed connectivity in the region. Vice President, Business Zone North, PTCL, Nauman Durrani participated in the ceremony, along with the company’s top management, employees, and customers. 

Commenting on the development, Vice President, Business Zone North, PTCL, Nauman Durrani said, “We are thrilled to inaugurate our fiberization project in Nathiagali. PTCL Flash Fiber 400K customer journey for 2023 aims to provide its valued customers with an exceptional high-speed internet experience through its Fiber-based network. As part of this commitment, PTCL has completely upgraded its previous copper-based network in Nathiagali. This transformational endeavor aims to open windows of opportunity to strengthen the local economy and support social progress.”

 Being the national telecommunication carrier, PTCL is committed to transforming the user experience through high-quality telecom services. With the company’s ambitious expansion plans, a speedy fiber-based connectivity will be accessible nationwide sooner than expected. 

Islamabad – August 04, 2023: Pakistan’s largest telecommunications operator, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has announced the addition of 50 High Definition (HD) TV channels on its Smart TV, which will be exclusively accessible to PTCL Flash Fiber users. The initiative brings the number of HD channels on PTCL Smart TV to 60, and the overall channel count to 200, which encompass a wide range of genres including, religious, news, Kids, sports, movies, infotainment, music and more, so that every family member has access to choose and age-appropriate content to spend their free time in a quality manner.   

The step aims at delivering a premium viewing experience to the users of PTCL’s top-quality Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) service across the country.    

The HD channels are accessible to Flash Fiber users alone as the FTTH’s lightning-fast speeds and capacious bandwidth not only support the service but also bring a uniquely immersive viewing experience. With Flash Fiber aggressively expanding its network nationwide, the high-quality viewing experience and benefits of high-speed connectivity will be accessible to more and more users in the future.

PTCL is committed to providing Pakistani users access to quality entertainment. In addition to PTCL Smart TV, the company operates a premium OTT platform SHOQ that provides users access to news and entertainment content from top national and international channels and movie studios. All Pakistani data users, regardless of their network, can use SHOQ to access high-quality news and entertainment content on any internet-enabled device.

Islamabad, August 02, 2023: Pakistan’s largest telecommunication and integrated ICT services provider, PTCL Group (PTCL & Ufone 4G) has achieved a momentous milestone in organizational culture by introducing 6 months of Maternity and 30 days of Paternity leaves for its employees. The policy guidelines provide ample time for new mothers and fathers to bond and care for their newborns through availing fully paid maternity and paternity leaves, respectively. To make it more flexible and convenient, paternity leaves can be availed on a staggered basis during the first year of childbirth.

The policy changes reflect the ongoing cultural transformation at PTCL Group that aims to promote employee well-being and help its team members support a healthier work-life balance. PTCL Group is committed to transforming its policies and has introduced multiple initiatives to foster inclusion and support the physical and mental health and well-being of its employees.

Commenting on policy guidelines, Group Chief People Officer, Shoaib Baig said, “We’re thrilled to introduce changes to our Maternity and Paternity policy guidelines, aligning them with the leading employers in Pakistan. Our cultural transformation journey, ‘#TayyarHo’ thrives beyond the workplace, embracing every aspect of life. Being an inclusive organization, we cater a range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies, guidelines and benefits thoughtfully designed for our employees which enable them to give their best to the organization while managing other integral priorities in life. This is a testament to our commitment to becoming an employer of choice.”

The new Maternity and Paternity Leaves underscore PTCL Group's dedication to creating a supportive work environment and fostering a more resilient workforce.

Islamabad, July 26, 2023: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the leading ICT services provider in Pakistan, has announced the implementation of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in its Customer Care operations as a vital part of its digital transformation strategy.

The aim is to improve overall customer experience across all touch points. The initiative will help PTCL firmly align with the highest global standards in digitalization and automation, reinforcing its position as the industry leader.

Commenting on the initiative, Ahmad Kamal, Group Chief Customer Care Officer at PTCL & Ufone 4G, stated: “We are delighted to announce the implementation of Robotic Process Automation (RPA), a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to enhance the customer journey. This cutting-edge technology empowers us to deliver the best customer experience by automating a wide range of activities, including data transfers, customer profile updates, data entry, inventory management, and even complex tasks, all with a remarkable accuracy rate of 100%. The latest initiative positions us to enhance our capacity and efficiency, ultimately delivering an unparalleled experience to our customers."

The implementation of RPA is a clear testament to PTCL's unwavering commitment to make digital innovations and contributing to Digital Pakistan by delivering an unparalleled user experience to its valued customers.

Islamabad, July 19, 2023: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the leading telecom and ICT services provider in the country, has announced its financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2023. The announcement was made during the Board of Directors' meeting held in Islamabad on July 19, 2023.

Throughout the first half of 2023, PTCL Group has sustained its momentum, further solidifying its position as the leading integrated telecom service provider in Pakistan. Despite the prevailing challenging macroeconomic conditions, the Group has achieved a remarkable 26.8% revenue growth compared to the same period of last year. This substantial increase in revenue is primarily attributed to the exceptional performance across multiple segments, including fixed broadband, mobile data, business solutions and banking services.

The business landscape in 2023 continues to be influenced by the adverse impact of macroeconomic challenges that arose in 2022. The escalating energy and fuel tariffs present ongoing obstacles for telecom operators, making it difficult to deliver high-quality services to consumers at affordable prices. Delays in LC opening have affected the operators' network expansion plans. Significant devaluation of the Pakistani Rupee in the first quarter, coupled with rising interest rates and additional super tax over and above regular corporate tax, has greatly impacted the profitability. To mitigate the effects of these challenging issues, policy intervention by the Government is required to provide much needed relief to the sector.

PTCL Group Highlights

• PTCL Group’s revenue of Rs 90.9 billion in 2023 is 26.8% higher as compared to the same period of last year.
• The Group’s profitability was, among other factors, particularly affected by significant Rupee devaluation in the first quarter as the Group has unhedged FOREX liabilities. The Group has posted a net loss of Rs 8.5 billion.
• PTCL continued its growth by posting 17.3% YoY revenue growth.
• PTML’s (Ufone) revenue grew by 22.4% YoY as compared to the same period of last year.
• U Bank has achieved a 96.5% growth in its revenue over the same period of last year.

PTCL Highlights

• PTCL’s revenue of Rs 46.9 billion for the period is 17.3% higher than 2022, mainly driven by growth in Carrier & Wholesale and Broadband segments.
• The company has posted an operating profit of Rs 2.9 billion with an impressive 57% growth over last year and a net profit of Rs 6.9 billion. Increase in non-operating income due to translation gain on the Company’s forex denominated receivables and gain on disposal of obsolete assets due to upgrade and fiberization of the network, played a significant role in achieving 34.5% increase in the net profit as compared to same period of last year.

PTCL Consumer Business: Steady Performance

PTCL achieved 17.2% revenue growth over the same period last year in the fixed broadband business. The Company further strengthened its flag ship FTTH brand, ‘Flash Fiber’ by achieving significant net subscriber additions through exceptional customer experiences and aggressive expansion of fiber network across the country which played a vital role in achieving significant increase in FTTH revenue by 106.5%. IPTV segment also showed a 5.8% revenue growth YoY. Voice and wireless revenue streams continue the declining trajectory as they are impacted by OTT services and tough competition from cellular operators.

PTCL Business Services:

Business services segment continued its momentum sustaining market leadership in IP bandwidth, cloud, data center, and other ICT services segments. PTCL’s enterprise business grew by 21.1% as compared to last year, while carrier and wholesale business continued its growth momentum and achieved 34.9% overall revenue growth. International voice revenue has increased by 18.6% as compared to last year. Despite the current challenging economic environment, overall Business Solutions revenue has shown a remarkable 27.4% year-on-year growth.

As the national telecom carrier and connectivity backbone in Pakistan, PTCL Group is committed to deliver innovative solutions that drive the growth of a 'Digital Pakistan'. This is achieved through the establishment of robust telecommunication infrastructure and a wide range of services, all aimed at enhancing the customer experience and accelerating progress in the country. PTCL collaborated with Vodafone to bring industry leading IoT products, services and solutions to the Pakistani market. The partnership will allow to develop and deliver a full suite of end-to-end IoT services aimed towards accelerating enterprise digital enablement and improving adoption of connected services in the Pakistani society.

PTML – Ufone Highlights:

Continuing its growth trajectory, Ufone recorded an impressive 22.4% YoY increase in its revenue and has achieved 24.5 million subscribers base. Network modernization activities, carried out in the first six months of 2023, resulted in better customer experience for Ufone subscribers. Ufone introduced best value Data Roaming Offer for its prepaid customers, who embarked on the holy pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. Ufone is upgrading its IR services by launching various LTE products with our roaming partners in all major destinations. The company also upgraded its digital wallet ‘UPaisa’ to provide a high-quality user journey by introducing a QR Code Scan feature on its digital app to bring unprecedented convenience to its users and simplify financial transactions.

U Bank Highlights:

Despite an extremely tough macroeconomic environment, U Bank, the microfinance and branchless banking subsidiary of PTCL, continued its growth trajectory and has achieved a remarkable 96.5% growth in revenue and an impressive 27.9% growth in net profit over the corresponding period of last year, while maintaining a strong balance sheet position. The bank stands resolute in its commitment towards financial and social inclusion, utilizing its extensive outreach to provide exceptional services to a diverse clientele across the length and breadth of the country through its rural retail banking, corporate finance & investment banking, Islamic banking, urban retail banking, corporate banking, and digital banking canvases.

Corporate Social Responsibility:

During the first six months of 2023, PTCL Group undertook various CSR initiatives to strengthen its position as a national carrier. Amongst these initiatives, a massive blood donation campaign was held in Islamabad in connection with ‘World Blood Donor Day’. The initiative stems from PTCL Group’s continuous commitment to create shared value and giving back to society. In addition, Ufone embarked on a shared initiative with the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) in Pakistan to raise awareness amongst the citizens regarding the importance of polio eradication through vaccination. PTCL Group endeavors to be a shining example of unwavering determination and bring a positive change in the lives of the people of Pakistan.

Islamabad – July 07, 2023: Pakistan’s leading telecommunications and integrated digital services provider, PTCL Group (PTCL & Ufone 4G) has launched its highly anticipated ‘SummerSpark’ internship program at a vibrant opening ceremony held at PTCL Group Tower in Islamabad.

The 6-week internship program, 'SummerSpark' received an overwhelming response upon opening the registration process, with over 15,475 young graduates from top universities eagerly vying for a spot. After a rigorous selection process, the top 30 candidates with exceptional competencies and potential were selected to participate in the program. These future leaders will enjoy valuable hands-on work experience on various business projects under expert mentorship at PTCL & Ufone 4G offices in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi that will facilitate them to set the stage for the successful commencement of their professional careers ahead.

Sharing his thoughts at the opening ceremony, Group Chief People Officer, PTCL & Ufone 4G, Shoaib Baig said, “We are thrilled to launch the 'SummerSpark Internship Program 2023, which is designed to ignite the careers of Pakistan's highly talented graduates. The internship program aligns with sustainable practices by investing in the long-term growth and success of individuals in the telecom sector. We provide a diverse and enabling environment for the youth to develop and showcase their talent and focus on promoting experiential learning and equip interns with practical skills and knowledge that will pave the way for their future success.”

The 'SummerSpark’ goes beyond traditional mentorship as it helps the participants to fully immerse in the corporate culture, besides learning essential work ethics and functionality. The unique approach enables interns to put their academic knowledge into practice and gain a comprehensive understanding of the organizational ecosystem. Moreover, the program provides a rich summer club experience, enriching the interns' vacation with engaging activities and projects to enhance their learning experiences.

PTCL Group is committed to preparing the next generation of leaders in the telecommunications industry to drive its growth and sustainability. 'SummerSpark’ exemplifies PTCL & Ufone 4G’s long-term commitment by offering an exceptional platform for young talent to kickstart their careers and make a meaningful impact in the field.

July 7, 2023:  Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and Sindh Bank have signed an agreement for deployment of SD-WAN at 200 branches of Sindh Bank.

Zarrar Hasham Khan, Group Chief Business Solutions Officer, PTCL & Ufone 4G and Syed Ata Hussain Jaffri, EVP Head of IT, Sindh Bank, signed the agreement at a ceremony recently held at Sindh Bank Head Office in Karachi. The ceremony was witnessed by Hatem Bamatraf, President and Group CEO PTCL, Imran Samad President & CEO Sindh Bank and their teams.

PTCL is providing Sindh Bank with its state-of-the-art infrastructure and platform solutions that are equipped with latest technology & managed security.

Hatem Bamatraf, President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone 4G, expressed his satisfaction during the signing ceremony regarding the agreement with Sindh Bank, emphasizing PTCL Group’s commitment to assisting the bank in meeting its digital connectivity requirements. As a national carrier, PTCL is at the forefront of driving digitalization throughout the nation. By forging such alliances, PTCL remains dedicated to its pivotal role in advancing both telecommunications infrastructure and delivering cutting-edge, reliable solutions to the banking industry. These endeavors are poised to foster the overall economic growth of the country.”

Imran Samad, President & CEO of Sindh Bank, stated, "We are pleased to partner with PTCL for infrastructure platform solutions, as we focus on adopting state-of-the-art and secure technology for connectivity and digitalization. As Sindh Bank aims to achieve an enhanced operating leverage, this transformative partnership will not only enhance our operations, but also improve security and time-to-market for products and services, offering a digitally enabled financial setup for our customers and partners."

PTCL and Sindh Bank place highest level of commitment to provide best-in-class services to their customers across various industries in Pakistan. This agreement is part of the growth momentum in the diverse areas of ICT and Security Solutions, which is key to a digital banking eco-system in Pakistan.

Islamabad, July 5, 2023:  Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and National Bank of Pakistan Limited (NBP) have signed an agreement for provisioning of primary Data Center colocation services at PTCL’s Tier-III Data Center facility.

Zarrar Hasham Khan, Group Chief Business Solutions Officer, PTCL & Ufone 4G and Amin Manji, Group Chief ITG & CTO National Bank of Pakistan, signed the agreement at a signing ceremony recently held at PTCL Zonal office in Karachi. Jafar Khalid, Group Chief Technology Officer, PTCL & Ufone 4G, Noman Muzaffar, EVP Divisional Head ITG National Bank of Pakistan, Basharat Qureshi, Group VP Enterprise PTCL, Umer Ilyas, Group VP Data Centers PTCL, Umar Farooqi, Group Director Enterprise PTCL, were also present on the occasion, along with other senior officials.

PTCL is providing National Bank of Pakistan with its state-of-the-art infrastructure and platform solutions that are equipped with latest technology & managed security.

During the signing ceremony, Zarrar Hasham Khan, Group Chief Business Solutions Officer, PTCL & Ufone 4G, said, “We are pleased to enter into a partnership with National Bank of Pakistan to support them in their digital transformation vision. As the national carrier of Pakistan, PTCL aspires to be at the forefront of assisting state owned institutions in their efforts to adopt cutting edge technology solutions to drive the national digital agenda.”

On the occasion, Amin Manji, Group Chief ITG & CTO National Bank of Pakistan, stated, “We are pleased to sign this agreement with PTCL as our trusted partner for infrastructure platform solutions as part of the Bank’s digital transformation strategy. This partnership signifies a transformative step forward in the Bank’s approach to infrastructure, platforms and data management. By leveraging PTCL's advanced infrastructure and telecommunications expertise, NBP aims to achieve an enhanced operating leverage, a stronger security and data protection posture, and reduced time-to-market of products and services as the Bank continues its journey to offer a digitally enabled financial lifestyle for its customers and partners.”

PTCL endeavors to provide best-in-class services to its corporate customers across various industries in Pakistan. This agreement is part of the growth momentum in the diverse areas of ICT and Security Solutions, which is key to a digital banking eco-system in Pakistan.

Islamabad – June 16, 2023: Pakistan’s largest telecommunication and integrated ICT services provider, PTCL Group (PTCL & Ufone 4G) has opened up its brand-new Futsal Arena at PTCL Group Club in Islamabad for its employees. This facility will serve as a hub for promoting physical fitness and fostering a vibrant sporting culture within the organization.

The Futsal Arena was inaugurated by United Arab Emirates’ Ambassador to Pakistan, His Excellency, Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Alzaabi, who was accompanied by the President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone 4G, Hatem Bamatraf, senior executives, PTCL Group team members and other honorable guests. Following the inauguration, a friendly yet thrilling Futsal match was played between UAE Embassy and PTCL Group teams.

The worthy Ambassador, H.E.  Hamad Alzaabi commended PTCL Group for its unwavering dedication to the welfare of its employees, while President and CEO, PTCL Group, Hatem Bamatraf emphasized the significance of investing in employee health and wellbeing. The initiative aims to promote a healthy lifestyle, further motivating the workforce to accelerate progress on the company’s long-term ambition of fostering sustainability.

Sharing his thoughts regarding the initiative, Group Chief People Officer (GCPO), PTCL & Ufone 4G, Shoaib Baig said, “PTCL Group values its employees' well-being above all. We prioritize their physical and mental health, encouraging team spirit and unity. The Futsal Arena is an extension of PTCL Group’s ‘Vitality Express’ program that focuses on strengthening employee engagement and well-being through sports and other physical activities. With our new Futsal Arena and ongoing efforts, we create an energized workforce dedicated to achieving organizational goals with focus and determination.”

The UAE Ambassador, President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone 4G, along with GCPO, PTCL & Ufone 4G awarded silver medals to the runner ups and gold medals, along with trophy to the winning team.

Futsal is a fast-paced variant of football played on a smaller field with five players on each side. By engaging in this highly competitive game, the organization aims to promote teamwork, strategic thinking, and an active lifestyle among its workforce. It also aligns with the company’s broader vision of strengthening its standing as the ‘Employer of Choice’ in Pakistan's telecommunication sector.

Islamabad – June 14, 2023: Pakistan’s largest telecommunications and integrated ICT services provider, PTCL Group (PTCL & Ufone 4G) undertook a massive blood donation campaign at its headquarters in connection with ‘World Blood Donor Day’. The initiative stems from PTCL Group’s sustained commitment to creating shared value and giving back to society.

The blood donation drive has been organized as part of PTCL Group’s CSR strategy, which spanned over two days. Top management, senior executives and employees, along with tenants of PTCL Group Tower came forward to donate blood with full enthusiasm. The Group collaborated with the Fatimid Foundation for this initiative.  

World Blood Donor Day is primarily celebrated to raise awareness regarding the importance of healthy blood and its donation as a gift of life to those in pressing need. PTCL Group stands as one of the key proponents of blood donations in the country that encourages people to come forward and donate blood to save lives.

On the initiative, Chief Marketing Officer, PTCL Group, Atif Raza, said, “Realizing the importance of life, we engage in various social corporate responsibility initiatives to generate shared good for our people. Every day, countless lives are at risk due to unfortunate incidents and medical conditions. I believe that a small contribution from our side can create a world of difference for someone who is fighting for life, and our humble initiative aims to create a much larger ripple effect in society.  I am thankful to Fatimid Foundation for collaborating in the cause.”

PTCL and Ufone 4G have a proven track-record of prioritizing social responsibility initiatives for the common good of fellow citizens. The Group uses its prowess in digital technology and connectivity as a lever for promoting socio-economic enablement, apart from reaching out to the most underprivileged segments of society in times of urgent need.

Islamabad – June 3, 2023: Pakistan’s leading telecommunication and integrated ICT services provider, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has been recognized as the ‘Most Facilitating Employer over the Last Five Years’ at the National University of Science and Technology's ‘NUST Placement Recognition Awards 2023’.

Group Chief People Officer (GCPO) PTCL & Ufone 4G, Muhammad Shoaib Baig received the award at a vibrant awards ceremony organized at NUST. This recognition is a testament to PTCL's unwavering commitment to fostering a work culture that provides a growth platform to the future leaders of our country.

PTCL Group encourages strong industry-academia linkages to help align education and training with the evolving industry trends to ensure development of well-trained professional and visionary business leaders in the country. Under multiple, exclusive internship and training programs, PTCL & Ufone not only provide valuable exposure and mentorship to students and fresh graduates but also strengthen the vitality and sustainability of Pakistan’s corporate sector by inducting fresh talent and innovative minds each year. 

Islamabad, April 27, 2023: Pakistan’s largest telecom and integrated ICT services provider, PTCL Group (PTCL and Ufone 4G) has launched its first ever Group Anthem #TayyarHo showcasing the employees’ commitment to serve customers with unparalleled excellence.

The PTCL Group's new anthem is more than just a song. PTCL Group embarked on the #TayyarHo journey about a year ago. What is TayyarHo? It is a call to action for the employees to build a comprehensive ecosystem at PTCL Group which will enable the company to deliver extraordinary solutions & experiences for its customers.

Speaking on the occasion, Group Chief People Officer, Muhammad Shoaib Baig said, “This anthem is a dynamic expression of our passion to deliver the best services & experiences to our customers. At the PTCL Group, we turn challenges into our competitive edge, driving Pakistan towards a digitally connected future. I am certain that this anthem will inspire and energize our teams further to give their best shot despite all odds.”

PTCL and Ufone 4G is committed to fostering a workplace that allows employees to express their talent for personal and professional success and fulfilment.

The anthem is available on all PTCL and Ufone 4G social media platforms.

PTCL Group Anthem - Click here

Islamabad, April 18, 2023: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the leading provider of telecom and ICT services in the country, has announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. The announcement was made during a Board of Directors' meeting held in Islamabad on April 17, 2023.

During the first quarter of 2023, PTCL Group sustained its momentum and strengthened its position as the leading integrated telecom service provider in Pakistan. Despite the ongoing challenging macroeconomic conditions, the Group achieved a 23.2% growth in its revenue compared to the same period of last year. This substantial growth in revenue is primarily attributable to strong performance in the fixed broadband, mobile data, business solutions, and banking services.

The adverse effects of macroeconomic challenges that emerged in the year 2022 continued to affect businesses in 2023 as well. With continuing increase in the energy and fuel tariffs, telecom operators are faced with significant challenges to provide quality services to their consumers at an affordable price point. Pakistan’s balance of payment issues and restrictions imposed by the State Bank of Pakistan on LC opening have impacted the network roll-out timelines of the operators and also resulted in a significant devaluation of PKR against foreign currencies. This deteriorating Rupee-Dollar parity, rising interest rates and additional taxes on telecom operators, over and above the normal corporate tax, have severely affected the profitability. To mitigate the effects of these challenging issues, policy intervention by the Government is required to provide much needed relief to the sector.

PTCL Group Highlights

• PTCL Group’s revenue of Rs 43.2 billion in Q1, 2023 is 23.2% higher as compared to the same period of last year.
• The Group’s profitability was, among other factors, particularly affected by the significant bout of devaluation as the Group has unhedged FOREX liabilities. The Group has posted a net loss of Rs 5.7 billion.
• PTCL continued its growth by posting 17.1% YoY revenue growth in Q1, 2023.
• PTML’s (Ufone) revenue grew by 20.0% YoY as compared to Q1, 2022.
• U Bank continued its growth momentum and has achieved a 73.0% growth in its quarterly revenue over the same period of last year.

PTCL Highlights

• PTCL’s revenue of Rs 22.95 billion for the quarter is 17.1% higher than Q1 2022, mainly driven by growth in carrier & wholesale and broadband segments.
• The company has posted an operating profit of Rs 1.5 billion with a 54.7% growth over last year and a net profit of Rs 5.5 billion for the quarter. Increase in non-operating income, due to translation gain on the Company’s forex denominated receivables, dividend income from a subsidiary and gain on disposal of obsolete assets due to upgrade and fiberization of network, played a significant role in achieving 187.2% increase in the company's net profit as compared to same period of last year.

PTCL further strengthened its flag ship FTTH brand, ‘Flash Fiber’, by acquiring the highest net adds in the industry, this was possible through exceptional customer experience and aggressive expansion of fiber network across the country. The rapid rollout of FTTH and strong performance in the carrier & wholesale segments ensured PTCL’s topline growth.

PTCL’s recently launched an OTT streaming platform ‘SHOQ’, that provides premium entertainment, sports, and news content to all data users, is bridging the gap for need of high-quality content at an affordable cost. Moreover, PTCL Group partnered with PUBG Mobile and launched the biggest E-Sports gaming competition through its gaming platform ‘GameKey’. The Group also partnered with DE-CIX to establish Internet Exchange, and Vodafone to introduce end-to-end IoT solutions in Pakistan. PTCL marked International Women's Day 2023 by launching a dedicated voice package, called SheTalks, for its female customers.

PTCL Consumer Business: Steady Performance

The company’s fixed broadband business achieved 17.4% growth in revenue YoY which is primarily attributable to a two-fold increase in Flash Fiber’s revenue and subscribers over comparative quarter. IPTV segment also showed a 6.2% revenue growth YoY. Voice and wireless revenue streams have seen a decline due to continued conversion of customers to OTT services and tough competition from cellular operators.

PTCL Business Services:

Business services segment continued its momentum sustaining market leadership in IP bandwidth, cloud, data center, and other ICT services segments. PTCL’s enterprise business grew by 12.1% as compared to last year, while carrier and wholesale business continued its growth momentum and achieved 36.9% overall revenue growth. International voice revenue has increased by 22.7% as compared to last year. Despite the slowdown of economic activity, overall Business Solutions revenue has shown a remarkable growth of 27.2% on year-on-year basis.

Being the national telecom carrier and connectivity backbone in Pakistan, PTCL Group strives to provide innovative solutions to accelerate growth for a ‘Digital Pakistan’ through robust telecommunication infrastructure and a diverse portfolio of services with enhanced customer experience. PTCL collaborated with the Ministry of Federal Education to develop an app called Teleschool Pakistan, which aims to provide free digital learning for students. The launch of this app by the Prime Minister of Pakistan in March attracted widespread attention across Pakistan.

PTML – Ufone Highlights:

Continuing its growth trajectory, Ufone recorded an impressive 20.0% YoY increase in its revenue. Ufone has recently gained a momentous milestone of achieving 24 million subscribers resulting in a 0.4 percentage point increase in market share. Network modernization activities, carried out in the first quarter of 2023, resulted in better customer experience for Ufone subscribers. With this improved customer experience, growth in engagement acquisition numbers and better data speeds, Ufone has achieved the 2^nd highest customer net adds in the industry during the first quarter. Ufone 4G recently launched a WhatsApp service for a hassle-free customer experience, collaborated with Nestlé Pakistan Limited to establish an advanced customer service solution for Ufone’s BPO operations and partnered with Islamabad United for PSL8.

U Bank Highlights:

Despite an extremely tough macroeconomic environment, U Bank, the microfinance and branchless banking subsidiary of PTCL, continued its growth trajectory and has achieved a remarkable 73.0% growth in revenue and an impressive 64.5% growth in net profit over the comparative quarter of last year, while maintaining a strong balance sheet position. The bank stands resolute in its commitment towards financial and social inclusion, utilizing its extensive outreach to provide exceptional services to a diverse clientele across the length and breadth of the country through its rural retail banking, corporate finance & investment banking, Islamic banking, urban retail banking, corporate banking, and digital banking canvases.

Corporate Social Responsibility:

During the first quarter of 2023, PTCL Group undertook various CSR initiatives to strengthen its position as a national carrier. Amongst these initiatives, Ufone 4G proudly collaborated with ConnectHear to facilitate communication and socialization for the deaf community. The initiative perfectly resonates with Ufone 4G’s brand philosophy of inclusivity, under which we strive to foster equality and shared growth. 

Islamabad – March 20, 2023: Pakistan's largest integrated ICT provider, PTCL Group (PTCL& Ufone 4G) celebrated International Women's Day 2023 at its Islamabad Headquarters. Saadia Khan, Ex-Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) graced the event as a chief guest while prominent Jordanian molecular biologist, Dr. Rana Dajani also joined the event remotely.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘DigitAll Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality’, which emphasizes the role of technology in empowering women and promoting gender equality. PTCL Group realizes that bringing women into technology results in more creative solutions and has greater potential for innovations that meet women’s needs and promote gender equality. Therefore, it iscommitted to leveraging its technological expertise to create opportunities for women and provide a more inclusive workplace where women can thrive and excel.

The event showcased PTCL Group's commitment to gender equality and women empowerment through its various gender-focused initiatives. Sharing his thoughts, President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf said, “As we join the world in commemorating International Women's Day, we reaffirm our steadfastness in embracing equity in all aspects of our organization.  At PTCL Group diversity and inclusion remain the key drivers of innovation, success, and progress across all our operating companies, PTCL, Ufone & Ubank. Therefore we remain dedicated to create a workplace where all our team members regardless of their gender, feel valued, respected, and empowered to reach their full potential. Our D&I-focused initiatives break down gender-related barriers to help women co-workers/team members to concentrate solely on their personal and professional growth and gratification.”

Employees pledged to embrace equity during the event by sharing their pledges on the pledge wall. The event was followed by Hi-Tea hosted by Pink Club, an exclusive all-female club at the organization. Employees also participated in the campaign "The woman in your life," where they enthusiastically shared personal stories about the women who helped shape their lives and guided them to personal and professional success and gratification.

The event also saw the launch of the DIGIHER Hackathon, an initiative to give talented women the opportunity in the technology field to create usable solutions with a specific outcome in mind. This will include analyzing case studies, collecting extensive data, assessing possibilities, and proposing solutions for business-critical technology-related problems. The event concluded with a surprise performance by Nimra Rafiq who has previously released couple of hit singles. The audience thoroughly enjoyed her power packed performance.

International Women’s Day celebrations are an annual affair at PTCL and Ufone 4G which provide the group the opportunity to reaffirm its pledge to diversity and inclusion. The Group remains committed to its goal of creating an inclusive workplace that values diversity and promotes equity, to set the right precedent for society.

Islamabad– March 8, 2023:  Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) celebrates International Women’s Day 2023 by introducing an exclusive voice package for its ladies segment, SheTalks package. The package offers unlimited PTCL to PTCL minutes, 150 free mobile minutes to all mobile networks, and a free value-added service (VAS) bundle, all for just Rs. 375 per month.

PTCL has designed the package exclusively for women according to their communication needs and budget constraints. The company is also offering the package for both Broadband and SmartTV customers, ensuring that all of the valued subscribers especially women can benefit from this special offer to join the women’s day celebrations with PTCL.

The package offers convenience, affordability, and flexibility, allowing women to stay connected with their loved ones at all times. With the launch of this exclusive package, PTCL hopes that it will cater to the connectivity needs of women all across Pakistan.

Gender inclusivity and women empowerment are two of the foundational components of PTCL’s organizational philosophy. The company leverages its core business and CSR operations to enable and empower women to foster their socioeconomic integration and growth. The exclusive “SheTalks package” is one of the many initiatives PTCL has launched in connection with International Women’s Day 2023.

To subscribe to the package, PTCL customers can visit the PTCL website or call the customer service helpline. PTCL remains committed to providing innovative and cost-effective solutions that cater to the diverse communication needs of its customers.

Islamabad, March 2, 2023: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and Vodafone have agreed to cooperate to bring Vodafone’s industry leading IoT products, services and solutions to the Pakistani market. PTCL and Vodafone will collaborate to develop and deliver a full suite of end-to-end IoT services aimed towards accelerating enterprise digital enablement and improving adoption of connected services in the Pakistani society.

Adopting IoT Solutions in a market like Pakistan comes with various advantages, such as enhanced efficiency and productivity with reduced costs. IoT Solutions create new business opportunities through innovation and redefine traditional business operation models towards a digital transformation. Vodafone is a world leader in the Internet of Things, connecting over 155 million devices and platforms.

Zarrar Hasham Khan, Group Chief Business Solutions Officer, PTCL & Ufone said, “PTCL is the largest ICT services provider having a massive footprint across Pakistan. Being a telecom company, we endeavor to play a pivotal role in driving the digital transformation in the country. We believe that to achieve this goal, strategic collaborations in the IoT segment need to foster as this will create synergies to revolutionize various sectors such as Health, Education, Automotive, Retail, Energy & Utilities, Cities, Agriculture and industries of Pakistan. This will further enable all geographical areas with modern IoT technologies for a better future.”

Giorgio Migliarina, Director of Products and Services, Vodafone Business said: “The collective power of the largest ICT provider in Pakistan with the leading IOT company will allow us to help businesses of all sizes in Pakistan leverage the power of IOT for their digital transformation.”

PTCL being the backbone of connectivity in Pakistan believes in strategic business collaborations to undertake such engagements to adopt and be a part of digital transformation journey. This collaboration will further open new avenues for both Vodafone and PTCL Group in the business field, along with various opportunities for collaborative development.

In connection with its initial investment in Vodafone in May 2022, e& announced its aim at exploring opportunities for mutually beneficial strategic partnership with Vodafone in the rapidly developing global telecom market and supporting the development and adoption of next-generation technologies.

DE-CIX and PTCL partner to establish Internet Exchange in Pakistan

Frankfurt am Main (Germany)/Islamabad (Pakistan), 8 March 2023. DE-CIX, the world’s leading Internet Exchange (IX) operator, and Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the largest integrated Information Communication Technology (ICT) company of Pakistan, today signed a strategic partnership to establish an Internet Exchange (IX) in Pakistan. The IX will be housed as a redundant setup in the data centers of PTCL. As a world-class interconnection platform in the populous South Asian country, it will be operated by DE-CIX under the DE-CIX as a Service (DaaS) model, and built on DE-CIX’s award-winning interconnection infrastructure, including the full set of peering, cloud connectivity, and other interconnection services. Technical implementation is planned in 2023. The interconnection platform is set to serve as a hub for regional connectivity, enabling local networks low-latency interconnection and localization of global content, while increasing network stability, scalability, and security.

“With a population of over 200 million people and Internet usage growing incredibly fast, Pakistan needs local interconnection, and its Internet connectivity will be strongly enhanced through this partnership. We want to serve the great demand for increasing the speed, quality, and stability of Internet connectivity to guarantee the best experience possible for end users and businesses in the market,” commented Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX, after the signing ceremony at the telecoms event Capacity Middle East. “This will also attract more national and international Internet and cloud service providers to do business there and grow a vibrant local digital ecosystem, to offer the people in Pakistan the best access to local and international information, content, and services,” Ivanov continued.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with DE-CIX to bring this state-of-the-art interconnection facility to Pakistan,” said Zarrar Hasham Khan, Group Chief Business Solutions Officer at PTCL & Ufone. “As the largest integrated ICT company in Pakistan, we are committed to advancing the country’s digital infrastructure to support widespread digitalization, and this collaboration is a significant step forward in achieving that goal. Our nationwide network and DE-CIX’s interconnection infrastructure will serve as a foundation to enhance Internet experience of our customers while facilitating the local hosting of content by international platforms. We believe this partnership will not only drive digital enablement across the country but also help accelerate the growth of Pakistan’s digital economy.” 

The IX in Pakistan becomes the 13^th DE-CIX Internet Exchange announced under the DaaS model, joining such success stories as the UAE-IX powered by DE-CIX in Dubai, whose growth and success over the last decade has led to it being recognized as an international Internet hub. The DaaS program includes a set of services – such as installation, maintenance, provisioning, marketing, and sales support – designed for digital infrastructure operators to create their own IX and interconnection platform, fully operated by DE-CIX. DE-CIX delivers the technical set-up needed for an Internet Exchange as a fully pre-configured and standardized “DE-CIX in a box” solution – easy to plug and play. 

About DE-CIX 

DE-CIX (German Commercial Internet Exchange) is the world’s leading operator of Internet Exchanges (IXs). DE-CIX offers its interconnection services in more than 40 metro-markets in Europe, Africa, North America, the Middle East, and Asia. Accessible from data centers in over 600 cities world-wide, DE-CIX interconnects thousands of network operators (carriers), Internet service providers (ISPs), content providers and enterprise networks from more than 100 countries, and offers peering, cloud, and interconnection services. DE-CIX in Frankfurt, Germany, is one of the largest Internet Exchanges in the world, with a data volume of almost 34 Exabytes per year (as of 2022) and close to 1100 connected networks. More than 200 colleagues from over 30 different nations form the foundation of the DE-CIX success story in Germany and around the world. Since the beginning of the commercial Internet, DE-CIX has had a decisive influence – in a range of leading global bodies, such as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) – on co-defining guiding principles for the Internet of the present and the future. As the operator of critical IT infrastructure, DE-CIX bears a great responsibility for the seamless, fast, and secure data exchange between people, enterprises, and organizations at its locations around the globe.

Further information at www.de-cix.net. 

About PTCL: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) is the largest integrated Information Communication Technology (ICT) Company of Pakistan. With a humble start from a telephone and telegraph department in 1947, it has evolved to offer latest digital and telecommunication technologies today. These technology aim to digitalize different business operations of Pakistan, including education, healthcare, and the government. For more information, visit www.ptcl.com.pk 

Islamabad, February 15, 2023: PTCL Group, Pakistan’s leading telecom and ICT services provider has achieved a double-digit revenue growth of 10.2% during the financial year 2022. Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), posted 8.6% growth in its revenues, owing to its strong performance in both retail and business segments, whereas Ufone achieved 7.1% growth in its revenues. The Group’s subsidiary, U Microfinance Bank, kept a strong momentum and posted 35.4% revenue growth during 2022.   

The company announced its annual financial results for the year 2022 at its Board of Directors’ meeting held in Islamabad.

Major Highlights of Financial Performance

PTCL Group

• PTCL Group’s revenue has increased by 10.2% YoY to Rs 151.6 billion, mainly driven by strong performance in the consumer segment led by fixed broadband, mobile data, and wholesale & business solutions, along with microfinance services.

• The Group’s profitability remained under pressure due to significant hike in power and fuel tariffs, devaluation of the Pak Rupee against USD, higher interest rates, and other costs associated with the acquisition of 4G spectrum and related network rollout. The Group has posted a net loss of Rs 7.8 billion.

PTCL

• PTCL continued its strong performance throughout 2022. PTCL’s revenue of Rs 83.4 billion for the year 2022, highest ever in its history, is 8.6% higher than 2021, mainly driven by growth in broadband and wholesale & business solutions segments.

• Flash Fiber, PTCL’s premium Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) service, showed tremendous growth with highest Net adds within FTTH market in 2022.
• The company has posted operating profit of Rs 4.9 billion, which is 17% higher as compared to 2021.
• Net profit of Rs 9 billion, highest since 2013, is 31.7% higher as compared to last year.

PTCL continued to upgrade its existing infrastructure and network, besides expanding its premium FTTH internet Flash Fiber across the country to offer seamless connectivity for greater customer experience. Prompt deployment of FTTH and strong performance in Corporate and Wholesale segments are the cornerstone in PTCL’s topline growth, which along with focus on cost optimization program, has significantly increased the company’s profitability.

PTCL Consumer Business:

PTCL fixed broadband business has shown 12.2% YoY growth propelled by the aggressive FTTH expansion. Flash Fiber showed unprecedented growth of 102.7%, taking lion’s share of the market’s net adds, whereas PTCL IPTV segment also grew by 8.1% YoY. Voice and wireless broadband segments witnessed decline due to conversion of customers to OTT services and competition from cellular operators.  

PTCL has recently launched Pakistan’s largest OTT Streaming platform ‘SHOQ’ to provide premium entertainment, sports, and news content to all data users. As internet penetration has increased manifolds during the last few years, Pakistan needed a high-quality local OTT service that offers affordable entertainment.

Business Services:

Business services segment continued its momentum sustaining market leadership in IP Bandwidth, Cloud, Data Center, and other ICT services segments. PTCL’s Enterprise business grew by 18.8% as compared to last year, while Carrier and Wholesale business continued its growth momentum and achieved 11% overall revenue growth. International voice revenue has increased by 8.5% as compared to last year. Overall Business Solutions revenue has grown by 12.5% on year-on-year basis.

Being the national telecom carrier and connectivity backbone in Pakistan, PTCL Group strives to provide innovative solutions to accelerate growth for a ‘Digital Pakistan’ through robust telecommunication infrastructure and a diverse portfolio of services with enhanced customer experience.

PTML – Ufone:

• In the year 2022, Ufone has recorded positive Net Adds with 3.9% YoY growth in subscriber base and has gained market share within the industry.
• Since the acquisition of spectrum, Ufone has grown from strength to strength registering 7.1% YoY revenue growth in 2022 despite the challenges of increase in Advance Income Tax (AIT) and reduction in Mobile Termination Rates (MTR) and recent floods in the country.
• This growth has been achieved through investment in network, aggressive product offering focusing on data and regional play.
• Year 2022 was marked with a prime focus on data portfolio enrichment. An array of new offerings was launched targeting data-savvy younger segment resulting in more than 40% growth in data revenue.

Owing to its infrastructure modernization and fast deployment of 4G services across the country, the company has set a higher bar in voice and data service quality. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), in its nationwide service quality benchmarking during 2022, declared Ufone the No. 01 voice and data network.

Ufone 4G has officially partnered with Islamabad United, the most successful franchise in HBL PSL history and the winner of the first and third editions of the tournament. The company will be the official telecommunications partner for the franchise for PSL 8.

During the second quarter, VIS Credit Rating Company has assigned initial entity ratings of ‘AA-/A-1’ (Double A Minus/A-One) to Ufone with outlook on the assigned ratings as ‘Stable’. This acknowledges the financial strength of Ufone through an independent rating exercise which also denotes high credit quality and good fundamental protection factors and is a testimony of stakeholders’ confidence in Ufone.

U Bank

U Bank, the microfinance and branchless banking subsidiary of PTCL, continued its growth trajectory and achieved 35.4% growth in its revenue over last year by deepening its advances and investment portfolio, despite the challenging macro-economic situation, further exacerbated by the recent flood. The balance sheet footing of the bank reached Rs 221 billion as the bank continued to diversify its asset classes and funding streams while ensuring positive bottom-line impact. As the six business canvases of the bank, namely: Rural Retail Banking, Corporate Finance & Investment Banking, Islamic Banking, Urban Retail Banking, Corporate Banking and Digital Banking take their distinct forms and structures, the Bank is working towards becoming a Retail Challenger Bank aiming to extend banking services in accordance with the unique needs of its diverse and heterogenous clientele. With the core mission of microfinance at its heart, the business model of the bank is evolving to capture new segments and customer classes to include more of Pakistan into the banking net and further its ambition of financial and social inclusion.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

PTCL Group was at the forefront of relief activities in the wake of one of the most devastating floods in the country. PTCL and Ufone announced free calls to aid rescue services and opened the doors of their medical centers across the country for treatment of sick and injured flood affectees. In addition to the donation made to PM’s Flood Relief Fund, PTCL Group worked with Akhuwat Foundation and Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) to provide clean and safe drinking water and food to affected communities in Sindh and Balochistan. To further support the flood affectees, PTCL Group also donated winter jackets to the impacted communities in areas of Quetta, Pishin and Killa Saifullah.

During 2022, PTCL ran the third cohort of its flagship internship program ‘Justuju’ for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in collaboration with ‘Network of Organizations Working with Persons with Disabilities, Pakistan’ (NOWPDP) and DeafTawk. Ufone also donated ‘Blaze’ devices to the participants of the KP Women Civic Internship program. Furthermore, PTCL Group in tandem with the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) initiated a women empowerment program to promote financial inclusion of women in KP.

PTCL and Ufone provided life jackets to the fishermen communities in Karachi to ensure their safety out in the sea. Ufone also provided food stalls and carts to the local people in Murree to help them earn a livelihood. The Group undertook a series of activities on and off the premises to raise awareness regarding early detection and treatment of breast cancer and our efforts were recognized by the first lady Mrs. Samina Arif Alvi. Moreover, PTCL volunteer force carried out its annual tree plantation drive to contribute to environmental sustainability in the country.

PTCL also provided free calls services to families of Pakistanis stranded in and around Ukraine in the wake of Russian Ukraine conflict.

PTCL Group is playing a key role in supporting Universal Service Fund’s (USF) efforts for the development of telecommunication services in un-served and under-served areas of the country. PTCL signed an agreement for deployment of optic fiber cable in interior Sindh, including Dadu, Jamshoro, Hyderabad and Larkana. During the year, the Group completed network deployment in the far-flung areas of Lasbela, Panjgur, Kech, Qilla Saifullah, Mastung, Bolan and Gawadar.

Lahore – February 13, 2023: Team AGONxi8 Esports has been crowned the ultimate PUBG MOBILE champion of Pakistan after the squad carried the day at the grand finale of PTCL Group’s largest E-Sports gaming tournament ‘GameKey Arena’ at Nishtar Park Sports Complex, Lahore.

Sixteen top PUBG MOBILE squads battled it out to decide the champion in the ultimate showdown, spanning 15 maps. AGONxI8 was the last squad standing, with 3X ESPORTS and 52 ESPORTS taking the second and third spots respectively. 3X Miracle clinched the top fragger spot with 38 kills while AG18 FALAK and 52 XHASSAN seized second and third places with 37 and 28 kills respectively.

Over 700 PUBG MOBILE squads participated in the online qualifiers of the tournament which was played on PTCL Group’s newly launched E-Sports gaming platform GameKey, which provides single window access to all popular online gaming labels to all data users in Pakistan.

PTCL Group awarded a prize pool of PKR 3,000,000 to the winning and runner-up squads at the prize distribution ceremony preceding an enthralling musical concert by popular Pakistani singer, Shamoon Ismail. The champion team was awarded PKR 1,200,000 while the two runner-ups received PKR 550,000 and PKR 300,000 respectively.

The top fragger 3X Miracle received a cash prize of PKR 50 thousand while the two runner ups received PKR 30 thousand and PKR 20 thousand for their matchless exploits in the tournament.

Sharing his thoughts at the event, Amir Pasha, Group Director Public Relations, CSR, Corporate Communication and Media,  PTCL Group said, “Pakistan has immense untapped potential in E-Sports. PTCL and Ufone 4G intend to tap into this unexplored talent in order to enrich the fledgling gaming culture in the country. GameKey Arena tournament, which was played on our newly launched E-Sports gaming platform GameKey, provides a conducive platform for young and experienced players to explore and groom their talents and use the opportunity to test their skills against the best in the game to be able to grow and succeed as professional gamers.”

GameKey Arena was the inaugural tournament on GameKey platform, however, PTCL and Ufone 4G intend to transform it into a calendar event, making it an annual gaming festival for gaming enthusiasts from across the country.

The GameKey Arena tournament received an overwhelmingly positive response. Pakistan’s gaming community appreciated PTCL Group for organizing one of the largest E-Sports tournaments in the country to support Pakistani gamers. Hundreds of thousands of gaming enthusiasts, especially PUBG MOBILE fans caught the action live as important matches were live streamed through Ufone 4G’s social media channels.

Karachi – February 1, 2023: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), a subsidiary of e&, (formerly known as Etisalat Group) has launched its new Over-The-Top (OTT) platform, SHOQ, to provide a superior and immersive viewing experience to all data users in Pakistan. SHOQ hosts a rich repository of selected content that is accessible to all, in line with PTCL's vision of empowering digital transformation for all.

The new platform was launched at a special event in Karachi, which was attended by President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf, CEO, e& life, Khalifa Al Shamsi, CEO evision, Olivier Bramly; CEO and Co-founder, STARZPLAY, Maaz Sheikh, senior PTCL & Ufone officials, industry leaders, showbiz celebrities, media representatives, and prominent personalities from different backgrounds.

SHOQ is bridging the gap in access to high quality content in Pakistan at affordable prices through its collaboration with evision, the media and entertainment division of e& life (part of e&). The partnership will provide PTCL and other data customers with access to media and entertainment content, blockbuster movies and seasons from major Hollywood studios such as Warner Bros, Paramount, 20th Century FOX, among others. SHOQ will also host one hundred most watched local and international live TV channels, Pakistani movies and originals to cater to the entertainment needs of the entire family.

Hatem Bamatraf, President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, said, "We are delighted to introduce Pakistan's largest OTT platform to provide premium entertainment and news content to all data users. With the increasing penetration of the internet, Pakistan needed a high-quality local OTT service, offering affordable entertainment that is tailored to local tastes and preferences. SHOQ has what it takes to be the country's ultimate entertainment solution."

"We are pleased to support the development of Pakistan's largest OTT platform, powered by PTCL." Speaking at the panel, e& life CEO Khalifa Al Shamsi said. "We are confident that this new service will add great value to the people of Pakistan. e& will continue to support the PTCL Group, especially in its new chapter of creating a digital future that empowers every person in society to create innovative digital services and tap into new customer segments, building success upon success."

Olivier Bramly, CEO of evision, said, "We are delighted to be part of the new chapter in Pakistan's entertainment revolution. evision is the largest media and content aggregator in the MENA region, where we have always been an integral part of our customers' lives. We look forward to working with PTCL, especially in a market as large as Pakistan, where there is an explosion in mass content creation and streaming services, bringing unlimited opportunities to everyone."

"We are grateful to PTCL for giving us the opportunity to strengthen our presence and impact in Pakistan. STARZPLAY CEO and Co-founder, STARZPLAY, Maaz Sheikh said during the launch event. " STARZPLAY is a leading subscription video-on-demand service that streams thousands of hit movies, TV shows and other Pakistani and international content. Through PTCL SHOQ, our service will be accessible to all Pakistanis looking to indulge in streaming quality media or entertainment."

SHOQ is a subscription-based streaming app that works on the BYOD model (Bring Your Own Device) and PTCL-provided TV dongles. Users can enjoy the multi-screen services from any place, anytime as long as they have internet access and a digital device, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, Android Smart TVs Android TV Boxes, etc. SHOQ allows registration of up to 5 devices with 2 concurrent sessions at a time. The platform will continue to expand based on user activity and viewer engagement in order to cater to the evolving media and entertainment requirements of its customers.

SHOQ is available for all Pakistani data users at affordable daily, weekly, and monthly with two variants that are Lite & Premium and the packages have prices as low as Rs. 8 per day. Data users can visit www.shoq.com.pk and subscribe to the service. They can also download the SHOQ App from Google Play and Apple Store for the highest quality and seamless streaming experience.

Gamers gear up! As PTCL Group brings the biggest E-Sports gaming competition - ‘GameKey Arena’

Free registrations are open for all gaming enthusiasts under PTCL’s Group’s newly launched gaming platform ‘GameKey’

Islamabad – January 26, 2023: Pakistan’s largest telecommunications group – PTCL & Ufone 4G – is bringing aboard professional and aspiring gamers from across Pakistan to compete in a thrilling PUBG MOBILE tournament on its gaming platform, ‘GameKey’. PTCL Group launched GameKey – a one-window access platform to a curated selection of the most popular online games to provide a seamless and rewarding playing experience to all gamers.

Pakistan has recently witnessed a rising gaming culture with a marked upsurge in the number of professional gamers and gaming squads that compete in national and international tournaments, thereby successfully putting Pakistan on the global gaming landscape.

PTCL’s GameKey aims to strengthen the country’s gaming landscape by nurturing new talent and promoting professional gamers. ‘GameKey Arena’ is driven by the same motivation to help explore new gaming talent while providing a state-of-the-art platform for established players to showcase their talent and mastery of the sport.

Registrations for GameKey Arena are open till 30^th January for professional and aspiring PUBG MOBILE players from across the country, regardless of their data network. The nationwide qualifiers will take place online from 1^st to 8^th February, while the Grand Finale is set to happen on 12^th February in Lahore.

PTCL Group will invite the top 16 squads to Lahore to take part in the grand finale. The champion team will be awarded a prize money of PKR 3 million. GameKey Arena is the first tournament under GameKey, however, it is expected to become a calendar event and an annual gaming extravaganza for Pakistani gamers.

Online gaming enthusiasts hurry up! Get your squad registered for the upcoming tournament: https://www.ufone.com/gamekey-registration/.

Islamabad – December 13, 2022: PTCL Group including Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited and Ufone 4G has donated 3000 warm jackets to help the flood affected communities of Balochistan for the on-going winter season.

The jackets were handed over to Balochistan Rural Support Program (BRSP) to distribute it amongst the flood affected families especially children, women and elderly to protect them from extreme cold in Orak, Panjpai & Kechi Baig, areas of Quetta, Ajram, Surkhab/Niganda & Tuba Kakari/Ibrahim Khan, areas of Pishin and Shna Khwara and Nasai areas of Killa Saifullah.

On the initiative, Group Director PR, CSR & Corporate Communication, PTCL & Ufone, said, “PTCL Group is aware that the plight of flood affected people has been worsoned by extreme winters and women, childern and the elderly have been struggling to protect themselves from cold and winter ailments. These are extremely difficult times and the affected people need our assistance to get through the hardship. That is why, PTCL Group under its continued commitment to the relief and rehabilitation of the flood-hit communities, decided to extend a helping hand to ease their suffering. We are grateful to BRSP for helping us roll out the initiative under our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program.”

On the initiave, Tahir Rasheed, CEO BRSP, said, “Majority of households uprooted by the devastating Monsoon floods of 2022 still await complete rehabilitation and hence remain in dire need of humanitarian assistance to survive. Whilst the affected families brave multiple challenges including food scarcity, clean drinking water, sanitation, shelter and access to health and educational facilities, the harsh winter aggravates the adversity multifolds across cold climatic regions, including Balochistan. Warm clothing and beddings are two of the most needed commodities as extreme cold is setting in with winter diseases galore. We are glad that PTCL Group with its continued efforts and support has once again come forward to uplift the devastated communities.”

PTCL Group was one of the first organizations to respond to Pakistan’s flood appeal for relief and rehabilitation activities across the country. PTCL and Ufone 4G have so far provided food item, clean drinking water, medical support, and free calls to thousands of affected people across Punjab, KP, Sindh and Balochistan in a bid to extend a helping hand.

The company’s CSR program has been envisaged and designed to plug gaps in socio-economic inclusion of the underprivileged segements of society and has been undertaking initiatives to create shared value for various communities across the country.

Islamabad – November 1, 2022: Pakistan’s largest telecommunication group – PTCL & Ufone 4G concluded its month-long breast cancer awareness campaign by organizing a webinar in collaboration with Maroof International Hospital, Islamabad to sensitize its female employees regarding the prevention and early detection of the disease. 

The webinar concluded the awareness drive organized in correspondence with the global ‘Pinktober’ campaign. The guest speaker, Dr. Saira Mehmood emphasized the need to self-examine for early detection, which she said can ensure a full recovery from the otherwise life-threatening disease. 

PTCL and Ufone 4G kick-started their Breast Cancer awareness campaign in early October also called “Pinktober” by illuminating PTCL and Ufone buildings with bright pink colors and turning their corporate logos pink on all digital platforms.  The Group also carried out an SMS broadcast campaign in collaboration with Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital to instill a sense of awareness amongst its entire user base. A weekly breast examination poll was also conducted to encourage the female staff to examine themselves for early signs or symptoms. 

In addition to that, PTCL and Ufone ran a comprehensive digital campaign under ‘The Pink Club’ to create awareness about the disease and associated risk factors amongst all female employees.  The entire PTCL and Ufone staff wore pink ribbons during the month of October to express and exemplify the group’s unwavering commitment to the cause of eradicating breast cancer from Pakistan.  

PTCL Group is leading corporate efforts for prevention of breast cancer in Pakistan. The Campaign aimed to reinforce awareness and inspire action to fight the disease that not only threatens precious lives but also incurs a hefty social and economic cost in terms of medical treatment and patient care. Pakistan’s collective willingness to root out breast cancer is remarkable and a significant drop in the number of cases is expected in the coming years.

Islamabad – October 26, 2022: Pakistan’s largest telecommunication and ICT services provider, PTCL Group signed an agreement with the Network of Organizations Working for People with Disabilities Pakistan (NOWPDP) and Deaftawk to launch the third cohort of its flagship skill training program, Justuju for professional development of persons with disabilities (PWDs). For the 3^rd cohort, the program duration has been extended from six weeks to six months with two months of soft skills training and four months of on-the-job training to allow extended mentorship and learning for professional success.

Justuju internship program is one of the most sought-after internship programs, designed to bridge the gaps in the society through social and economic inclusion of persons with disabilities. Talented individuals are prepared for career through robust training and hands-on experience under expert mentorship at PTCL and Ufone offices.

The program will be implemented in collaboration with NOWPDP, which works to promote socioeconomic inclusion of persons with disabilities, and Deaftawk that bridges the communication gap between individuals with speaking and hearing impairment and the rest of society through qualified interpreters and digital tools. Group Chief People Officer, PTCL & Ufone, Shoaib Baig; Chief Operating Officer NOWPDP, Muneeba Haroon and Project Manager, Deaftawk, Tehmina Zafar signed the agreement on behalf of their organizations. Encouraged by the resounding success of the previous cohorts, the partnering institutions decided to restructure the program and extend its duration to allow for enhanced learning and skill development of the interns.

Speaking at the occasion, Group Chief People Officer, PTCL & Ufone, Shoaib Baig said, “Justuju is one of the key business initiatives by PTCL Group to promote diversity and inclusion within our own ranks and across the corporate world. Nearly 6 percent of Pakistan’s population has some form of disability and excluding them from our socioeconomic system can deprive the country of a valuable talent pool. Justuju was conceived to do our humble part by helping include differently abled people in the process. We are grateful to NOWPDP and Deaftawk for their continued support that helped this program see the light of day.”

Chief Operating Officer, NOWPDP, Muneeba Haroon said, “We are excited to collaborate with PTCL and Ufone to enable and empower the persons with disabilities. Justuju is a successful model and the conducive work environment and support system PTCL and Ufone provide to the interns at the workplace have driven its success. As before, NOWPDP will help identify suitable candidates and provide disability sensitization training to PTCL and Ufone teams, so they are able to fully support the initiative.”

“Deaftawk is proud to be a part of this landmark initiative to help change the course of life for special persons in Pakistan,” Project Manager, Deaftawk, Tehmina Zafar said, “We have been working to promote inclusion of special persons through specialized interpretation services to help in their daily lives. As before, we will facilitate all the training session by providing qualified sign language interpreters to help both the interns and trainers communicate. We hope our contribution will ease the process of learning and growth for the interns.”

Islamabad, October 24, 2022: PTCL & Ufone kicked off their corporate business transformation leveraging RISE with SAP at the core of their organization with the goal to drive efficiency, effectiveness, and innovation. The announcement was made at a signing ceremony held at GITEX Global 2022 in Dubai, UAE, where senior executives from collaborating organizations participated including PTCL & Ufone, SAP, IBM, and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

RISE with SAP embeds SAP S/4HANA, a leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) application providing optimization of resource allocation, real-time data insights, streamlining business processes, and bridging organizational information silos. The SAP offering will be implemented by IBM with AWS being the Cloud platform of choice. PTCL & Ufone will be the first telecommunications provider in Pakistan to benefit from a combination of leading offerings for SAP implementation services with IBM, Hyperscaler Cloud services with AWS, and an ERP solution with SAP.

“Pakistan is one of the fastest growing markets for SAP’s enterprise and corporate solutions and the Telecommunication sector is swift to take the lead in embracing new ERP systems and adopting digital innovations through the Cloud,” said Saquib Ahmad, Country Managing Director, SAP Pakistan.

The business transformation project aims to enable PTCL & Ufone to offer Cloud services, modernize business processes, and gain better business insights. With S/4HANA and its underlying HANA database, PTCL & Ufone can access data on demand and share it with relevant departments in near real-time to significantly improve business operations, collaborate more effectively with partners, and serve their customers better. Companies adopting RISE with SAP can accelerate their digital transformation and innovation objectives and access new business models and markets faster. The reduction of duplication of efforts through improved business insight, while ensuring increased transparency, help organizations gain necessary competitiveness and in the information age. This will be the largest business transformation project on RISE with S/4HANA in the corporate sector in Pakistan, to-date.

“We are honored to migrate PTCL and Ufone towards a new operational journey as the first mover in the region, which will ultimately become the footprint for advancement in the operations of Pakistan’s Telecom sector,” said Hatem Bamatraf, President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone.  

Elaborating on the same, Asif Ahmad, Country Sales Head, IBM Pakistan, said “Adoption of RISE with SAP will empower PTCL and Ufone to embrace new models of business, design internal and external resources and use the accuracy of AI for informed decision-making.”

PTCL & Ufone decided to have the SAP S/4HANA landscape hosted on AWS, a leading global Cloud services provider. With over one million customers globally today, AWS is providing over 200 Cloud services to host an array of applications, including SAP, reliably, securely, resiliently, and highly performant.

Islamabad, October 20, 2022: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and Nokia have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore together to provide innovative ICT solutions to industries, government, cities, and businesses throughout Pakistan.

The purpose of this MoU is to collaborate and tap into the potential of the ICT market and catalyze the digital transformation of enterprises across Pakistan. Under this MoU, PTCL and Nokia will engage in discussions to strategize and build a go-to-market plan to address industry needs selling PTCL solutions with Nokia products and services including Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC), a high-performance, end-to-end private wireless networking and edge computing platform.

Zarrar Hasham Khan, Group Chief Business Solutions Officer, PTCL & Ufone said, “PTCL is the largest ICT services provider having a wide footprint across Pakistan. PTCL is playing a pivotal role in driving digital transformation throughout Pakistan, meeting the need of collaboration in the ICT segment. This will create synergies to revolutionize various sectors such as healthcare, education, automotive, retail, energy & utilities, cities and agriculture as well as other industrial segments across Pakistan, enabling all geographical areas with modern ICT technologies and a better future.”

Imran Durrani, Head of Customer Team for PTCL Group at Nokia, said, “Nokia has deployed mission-critical networks to more than 2,200 leading enterprise customers in the transport, energy, large enterprise, manufacturing, webscale, and public sector segments around the globe. We have also extended our expertise to more than 485 large private wireless customers worldwide across an array of sectors. This MoU with PTCL is yet another testimony to further strengthening the long-term relationship between us. At Nokia we will leverage our industry-leading private wireless products and services including Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) to empower PTCL to cost-effectively offer digital solutions to their enterprise customers across a wide spectrum of segments.”

PTCL endeavors to offer its customers enhanced service quality, faster speeds and enable a simplified network architecture that increases operational efficiencies.

Islamabad, October 13, 2022: PTCL Group, the country’s leading telecom and ICT services provider, has announced its financial results for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, at its Board of Directors’ meeting held in UAE on October 13, 2022.  

PTCL Group remained on the growth trajectory during the third quarter as its fixed and wireless streams continued to perform positively.

PTCL Group Financial Performance

• Revenue has increased by 8% to PKR 110.5 billion YoY, mainly driven by strong performance in the consumer segment led by fixed broadband, mobile data, and wholesale & business solutions, along with microfinance services.
• The Group’s profitability remained under pressure due to significant hike in power and fuel tariffs, devaluation of the Pak Rupee against USD, higher interest rates, and other costs associated with the acquisition of 4G spectrum and related network rollout. The Group has posted a net loss of Rs 5.6 billion.
• PTCL continued its growth momentum by posting 6.7% YoY revenue growth.
• PTML’s (Ufone) revenue grew by 5.4% as compared to the same period of last year.
• U Bank has achieved a 29.8% growth in its revenue over the same period of last year.

PTCL Financial Performance

• PTCL’s revenue of Rs 61.1 billion for the period is 6.7% higher than 2021, mainly driven by growth in broadband and wholesale & business solutions segments.
• The company has posted an operating profit of Rs 3.2 billion, which remained under pressure compared to last year mainly due to increase in operating costs on account of significant hike in power and fuel tariffs.
• Net Profit of Rs 8.2 billion for the period is 45.2% higher as compared to the same period of last year. Increase in non-operating income, due to translation gain on the Company’s forex denominated assets, dividend income from a subsidiary and gain on disposal of obsolete assets due to upgrade and fiberization of network, has helped turn the 12.4% decrease at operating profit level to a 45.2% increase at the net profit level.

PTCL Consumer Business

During the first 3 quarters, the company’s fixed broadband business grew by 11.7% YoY. Within the broadband business, revenues from Flash Fiber, the company's premium FTTH service, showed significant growth of 98.7%. IPTV also showed 8.6% growth YoY. Voice revenue stream has seen a decline due to lower voice traffic and continued conversion of customers to OTT services.

PTCL continues to perform consistently with enhanced customer experience through the company’s seamless fixed broadband, including the fastest internet service in Pakistan through the Flash Fiber brand. PTCL has expanded its FTTH services in 35 cities, and the subscriber base has doubled on a YoY basis as the company continues to tap into the demand for growing internet and data services.

PTCL Business Solutions

While continuing momentum with overall YoY revenue growth of 8.8%, the business solutions segment sustained its market leadership in IP bandwidth, Cloud, Data Center, and other ICT services. PTCL’s corporate business grew by 13.0% as compared to last year. Within the wholesale business segment, carrier revenue grew by 16.2% but the overall wholesale segment revenue has declined as a result of closure of certain international IP leased circuits. International revenue, helped by the favorable impact of currency devaluation, has increased by 13.9% over last year.

PTML (Ufone) Financial Performance

• PTML’s (Ufone) revenue grew by 5.4% as compared to the same period of last year.
• Data remains the main driver of growth for Ufone through continued investment to expand 4G coverage and conversion of customer base to 4G. As a result, Ufone achieved 3.5 million 4G net adds this year.
• Ufone has posted topline growth despite the challenges of increase in Advance Income Tax (AIT) and reduction in Mobile Termination Rates (MTR) and recent floods in the country.
• External factors like the devaluation of Pak Rupee, rising interest rates and hike in power / fuel tariffs have adversely impacted Ufone’s bottom-line.
• During the second quarter, VIS Credit Rating Company has assigned initial entity ratings of ‘AA-/A-1’ (Double A Minus/A-One) to Ufone with outlook on the assigned ratings as ‘Stable’. This acknowledges the financial strength of Ufone through an independent rating exercise which also denotes high credit quality and good fundamental protection factors and is a testimony of stakeholders’ confidence in Ufone.

U Bank Highlights

UBank, the microfinance and branchless banking subsidiary of PTCL, continued its growth trajectory and achieved 29.8% growth in its revenue over last year by deepening its advances and investment portfolio, despite the challenging macro-economic situation, further exacerbated by the recent flood. The balance sheet footing of the bank reached Rs 122 billion as the bank continued to diversify its asset classes and funding streams while ensuring positive bottom-line impact. As the six business canvases of the bank, namely: Rural Retail Banking, Corporate Finance & Investment Banking, Islamic Banking, Urban Retail Banking, Corporate Banking and Digital Banking take their distinct forms and structures, this year will witness Ubank emerging as a Retail Challenger Bank aiming to extend banking services in accordance with the unique needs of its diverse and heterogenous clientele. With the core mission of microfinance at its heart, the business model of the bank is evolving to capture new segments and customer classes to include more of Pakistan into the banking net and further its ambition of financial and social inclusion.

 Corporate Social Responsibility

Being a national carrier and a Pakistani company, PTCL Group during the recent floods has contributed significantly towards the relief and rehabilitation of flood-affected communities across Pakistan. PTCL Group has taken multiple initiatives including donation to PM’s Flood Relief Fund, collaboration with NGOs, PTCL opening the doors of its medical centers nationwide to provide emergency health and care to the affected communities and Ufone 4G offering free calls to help people stay in touch with their friends and family. Ends

Islamabad – October 04, 2022: PTCL Group in collaboration with Akhuwat Foundation has delivered food packages to flood-affected communities in Balochistan that have been facing food shortages in the wake of recent monsoon floods.

The food assistance initiative is part of PTCL Group’s PKR 1.75 billion pledge towards relief and rehabilitation of the devastated communities across the country.

Sharing his thoughts, Head of PR & Corporate Communication, PTCL & Ufone, Amir Pasha, said, “PTCL Group collaborated with Akhuwat to provide food assistance to the people, especially women, children, and the elderly. As nutrition is the most fundamental need at this time, the support will provide relief to the communities. I, sincerely believe that relieving the communities of the worry for basic commodities will help them focus their energies on rehabilitation and return to normalcy.”

PTCL Group was one of the first responders to the calamity by opening doors of its medical centers across the country to provide medical assistance to the flood-affected communities. In addition to this, Ufone 4G provided free calls across the flood-hit districts to aid in rescue and relief activities, while the Group has been providing food and clean drinking water to people in Sindh and Balochistan to protect them from malnutrition and waterborne diseases.

Being a Pakistani company, PTCL Group will continue to support with more such initiatives and interventions in the coming weeks.

Islamabad, Sep 28, 2022: A high level delegation from e& International comprising of top management held meetings with Federal Secretary IT, Federal Secretary Privatization, and other key government stakeholders in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The delegation led by CEO International, e&, Mikhail Gerchuk met with the Federal Secretary IT, Mohsin Mushtaq, Federal Secretary for Privatization, Dr. Iram A. Khan and Chairman PTA, Major General (R) Amir Azeem Bajwa HI (M). The delegation from e& was accompanied by President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf.

During the meeting, Mohsin Mushtaq welcomed the delegation from e& International to Pakistan. Matters of mutual interest were discussed with a focus especially on Telecom Sector and its significance on the national economic growth. The agenda of discussion also included e& International and PTCL Group’s incredible support in developing a strong infrastructure in Pakistan that would surely transform the country into a digitalized economy.

The management and government officials exchanged their views on the ongoing crisis in the country by the recent floods and ways to extend joint support for the people during these tough times. The discussion also included the issue of telecom companies in Pakistan requiring import of communication equipment for their network up-gradation and expansion as well as to maintain the quality-of-service requirements mandated for the sector. In addition, both sides talked about the resolution of prevailing regulatory issues of the telecom sector in Pakistan. CEO International, e&, Mikhail Gerchuk commended the tremendous efforts of the Government of Pakistan including Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication and Ministry of Privatization.

President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf briefed the government officials and dignitaries regarding the Rs. 1.75 billion flood relief package.

Islamabad – Sept 22, 2022: PTCL & Ufone 4G have joined hands with the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) to provide safe and clean drinking water to thousands of people including children and elderly in flood-affected areas of Sindh and Balochistan.

Through this initiative, the locals will stay protected from a range of waterborne diseases caused by floods that have contaminated the wells and underground reservoirs. In order to prevent serious health hazards PTCL and PRCS will provide 72,000 liters of safe drinking water per day to families in Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad, and Jaffarabad districts of Sindh and Balochistan respectively. The provisions will cater the drinking water needs of the flood-affected communities each day.

Commenting on the support, President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf, said: “The flood-affected communities of Sindh & Balochistan are hard pressed for clean drinking water after stagnant flood water has contaminated their water resources. Water is the most basic need of any human to survive, and we aim to provide this necessity to hundreds of thousands of people through Pakistan Red Crescent Society. Being a Pakistani company, we are standing with our brethren during their hour of need.”

Commenting on the collaboration, Chairperson, Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Sardar Shahid Ahmed Laghari, said: “We are glad to join hands with PTCL Group to bring safe and clean drinking water to the flood-affected people of Sindh and Balochistan. According to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a fundamental human right. Unfortunately, the recent floods have taken away that basic right from so many people. However, during these difficult times, we shall continue to support the communities devasted by floods.”  

The initiative is part of PTCL Group’s recent pledge of Rs. 1.75 billion for the relief and rehabilitation of flood-affected communities across Pakistan. Earlier, PTCL Group provided a grant to ensure food security for the flood-affected people of Balochistan, and more humble initiatives are likely to follow in the coming weeks.

Islamabad – September 19, 2022:  Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) Group has entered into a strategic partnership with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) to foster digital and economic inclusion of women entrepreneurs through training and access to digital and financial tools and opportunities for economic growth.

Group Chief Commercial Officer (GCCO), PTCL Group, Adnan Anjum and Chief Operating Officer (COO), PPAF, Nadir Gul Barech signed the agreement at a ceremony held at Ufone Tower, Islamabad, in presence of senior officials from both organizations. This public-private partnership project will enable and up-skill women entrepreneurs to drive their businesses towards sustainable growth and resiliency.  

The year-long, pilot project will be implemented across four union councils and ten villages in the Haripur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, under which one hundred women entrepreneurs will be trained. The partnering institutions will implement a two-week training module using a standardized high-impact curriculum, focusing on digital literacy, business skills, and life skills that will come in handy in driving fledgling and small-scale businesses towards success and sustainable growth.

PTCL will allocate a physical space which will serve as a digitally enabled Hub with access to basic facilities like Internet and training spaces as a central venue for the training sessions. In addition to this Ufone will be providing smartphones with registered SIMs and data packages for the one-year project to ensure their full participation. PPAF will lead the identification and selection process of the women entrepreneurs leveraging its existing presence at community level through partner organizations already engaged in diverse development initiatives. PPAF will also contribute to the overall cost of the project on equity basis.    

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Group Chief Commercial Officer, PTCL & Ufone, Adnan Anjum said: “No nation can achieve economic growth and progress without including half of its population; that is why diversity and inclusion are core themes in PTCL’s business philosophy. I am glad that PTCL and PPAF are joining hands to enable and empower women entrepreneurs to leverage digital technology and access to finance to grow their businesses. PTCL and PPAF share the vision for inclusive growth at the grassroots level because we believe it will translate into a broad-based economic transformation at the macro level.”

Also sharing his thoughts, COO, PPAF, Nadir Gul Barech said: “We are glad to collaborate with PTCL for enabling and equipping one hundred up-and-coming small-scale businesses in District Haripur under our joint pilot and PTCL’s onboarding will be a game changer because of the project’s increased dependency on the internet and digital technology. PPAF has been working to foster economic growth and poverty alleviation across the country and we believe that initiatives like this will go a long way in ensuring inclusive economic growth. We look forward to nurturing our partnerships with other organizations like PTCL for enhancing opportunities for the underserved especially the rural women across the country”.

PTCL and PPAF will onboard more technical and strategic partners to add value to this pilot project, which is expected to produce an extraordinarily replicable model in women's gender inclusion and women empowerment.

Lahore, September 13, 2022: PTCL Group and Akhuwat Foundation collaborated to provide food assistance to flood affected families in five districts of Balochistan, including Qilla Saifullah, Loralai, Sibi, Lasbela and Lasbela (Uthal). President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf presented a cheque to Dr. Amjad Saqib, Founder and Chairman Akhuwat Foundation in Lahore.

Speaking at the ceremony, President and Group CEO PTCL, Hatem Bamatraf said: “PTCL Group appreciates Akhuwat Foundation’s role in bringing relief to the flood affected communities across the country and would like to help the foundation to reach out to more deserving families. The scale of devastation is unprecedented, which is why it is important that everyone contributes to the relief and rebuilding process. Being a Pakistani company, PTCL Group has extended a helping hand during these testing times. The contribution to Akhuwat is part of PTCL Group’s PKR 1.75 billion pledge for relief activities and I hope it will help rehabilitate displaced families.”

Also speaking at the event, Founder & Chairman Akhuwat Foundation, Dr. Amjad Saqib said: “We are grateful to PTCL Group for extending the much-needed support to the flood affected communities of Balochistan. The impact on local communities is extremely overwhelming and the relief and rehabilitation work needs to be paced up. I find it heartening that the corporate sector is stepping up to make a difference in the lives of people, who have lost family members, homes and sources of sustenance. I am positive that our nation will emerge stronger from the crisis due to its resilience and unwavering support from organizations such as PTCL.”

PTCL Group has taken multiple initiatives to provide relief to the flood affected communities. Earlier, PTCL opened the doors of its medical centers nationwide to provide emergency health and care to the affected communities.  In addition, despite power outages, Ufone 4G worked round the clock to ensure that its mobile network remained operational to aid relief activities, besides offering free calls to help people stay in touch with their friends and family.

Islamabad – August 28, 2022: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) Group has opened the doors of its medical centers for flood affected people in Swat, Dera Ismail Khan, Sukkur, Mirpur Khas, Larkana, Hyderabad, Malir-Karachi and Quetta. The centers will operate to facilitate and treat people injured in flood related accidents or fallen ill due to water-borne diseases.

Heavy rains and flooding have caused irreparable losses to life and property across the length and breadth of the country, laying waste to large swathes of settlements, bazars, standing crops and urban centers in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh. The government of Pakistan has declared emergency across dozens of districts in all four provinces, prompting emergency response to the floods. Responding to the emergency, PTCL Group in an endeavor to support the disaster struck communities is extending its medical facilities to the communities affected.

Speaking on the initiative, Shoaib Baig, Group Chief People Officer, PTCL & Ufone said: “Being Pakistani companies, PTCL and Ufone feel great responsibility to stand by our people during this hour of great anguish caused by the recent floods. We are taking all possible measures within our reach to bring some comfort and solace to our distressed brethren.”

Besides, working tirelessly to maintain uninterrupted connectivity for continuation of rescue and relief activities, PTCL Group’s decision to leverage its physical infrastructure will facilitate the people in the affected areas and share some burden of the stressed public health infrastructure of the country.

Islamabad, August 29, 2022 – PTCL Group, country’s largest telecom services provider, has come forward to aid communities affected by floods across various provinces of Pakistan through a relief package worth PKR 1.75 billion.

The package includes donation to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund, NGOs, provision of free calls in flood affected areas, housing loans to displaced people and medical facilities.  

PTCL Group will be providing medical services to affectees in its Health Centers, where a total of 13 doctors and 27 paramedical staff in 8 districts will perform their duties. To further extend Group’s support, Ufone 4G has announced free calls for people in the flood affected communities so that they can keep them connected with their families & friends, and to help them establish contact with the aid agencies and the Government. Moreover, U Microfinance Bank has pledged towards providing low-cost house loans for flood-affected families to rebuild their homes.

In addition to this, PTCL Group has decided to contribute to the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund in order to support Government of Pakistan’s efforts for the rehabilitation of the communities and also donate to various leading aid agencies working in Balochistan and Sindh provinces to provide immediate relief assistance in the affected areas.

PTCL Group’s employees and staff will voluntarily give donation that will be matched by the organization and the total amount will be donated to a leading charity.

Sharing his thoughts on pledging support, Hatem Bamatraf, President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, stated; “These are trying times for millions of people across Pakistan, with everything including lives, shelter and sources of income taken away by one of the worst natural calamities in modern times. At a time like this, a collective responsibility falls on individuals and local organizations alike to stand with their brethren in assisting their journey of rehabilitation. At PTCL Group, we are humbled to play our role in providing relief and support in every area that we can. During this crisis, PTCL Group stands with the affected people and is committed to support individuals, their families and communities countrywide.”

Flooding across Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Balochistan have impacted millions of people with lives lost, properties destroyed, and sources of income wasted for families in various areas. In this time of need, PTCL Group is once again stepping up to shoulder the responsibility of aiding its people in a variety of ways.

Islamabad, August 11, 2022:  Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFEPT) and Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) signed an agreement for the provision of 04 educational OTT channels in order to deliver educational content to students across the country, at a ceremony in Islamabad on Thursday. The channels will boost accessibility to quality educational content to foster learning and growth amongst students of different age groups. 

Minister of Federal Education & Professional Training, Rana Tanveer Hussain was the Chief Guest at the occasion. Federal Secretary-MOFEPT, Aamir Ashraf Khawaja and Federal Secretary IT, Mohsin Mushtaq also attended the event. Contract was signed by Additional Secretary (MOFEPT), Waseem Ajmal Chaudhary and Group Chief Business Solutions Officer (PTCL & Ufone), Zarrar Hasham Khan.

Under the agreement, PTCL will provide 04 channels to the MOFEPT on its OTT Smart TV platform to deliver educational content for live viewing and downloading to students throughout the country. The digital channels will be available free of cost nationwide. The initiative will help MOFEPT in taking a stride toward digitalization of the education system for greater efficiency and improved learning.

During the ceremony, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Federal Ministry of Education and Professional Training said, “The arrangement with PTCL is an important step toward the digitalization of Pakistan’s educational system based on the latest learning and tutoring techniques. We believe the time is ripe for such interventions because there is nationwide penetration of smartphones and speedy internet even across remote regions. We are glad to have found a collaborative partner in PTCL that shares our vision for such a ground-breaking initiative for the advancement of learning in society. Digitalization is the future and we will explore the opportunities for enhancing the scope and reach of this initiative for a sustainable and deeper impact”.

Speaking at the occasion, Waseem Ajmal Chaudhary, Additional Secretary MOFEPT said “The 04 OTT educational channels will be completely free of cost so that the educational material is accessible to students from all socioeconomic backgrounds without any need for a subscription. This step will play a significant role in the socioeconomic development of the country. Moreover, the initiative furthers MOFEPT’s continuous endeavor to foster social good for the people of Pakistan”.

Commenting on the agreement, Zarrar Hasham Khan, Group Chief Business Solutions Officer, PTCL & Ufone said, “PTCL is the largest ICT services provider having footprint across Pakistan and being a company playing a pivotal role in driving digital transformation revolution in the country, needs partners to boost education sector. This will create synergies to revolutionize the educational system of Pakistan and enable all geographical areas with modern learning mechanisms.”

Senior officials from MOFEPT & PTCL also attended the ceremony.

Islamabad, Aug 10, 2022: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has successfully conducted country’s first trial of 1-Terabit transport capacity per wavelength, in collaboration with Nokia.

The trial was conducted in a live network environment, where PTCL Metro Transport Network was upgraded to 1-Terabit per channel, extending its capacity to extreme speeds of 32-Terabit per fiber. The trial was based on Nokia’s Photonic Service Engine Transport Technology, designed to maximize network capacity and provide better customer experience, with faster and higher bandwidth.

This pilot transformation will lead to transport network enablement for future technologies, while creating new opportunities for industries as well as individuals. This is yet another step on PTCL’s roadmap and resolve to prepare its network infrastructure for embracing the growing data traffic demands of high-speed services and bandwidth intensive applications, including Ultra HD Video Streaming, Industrial Automation, Smart Cities and e-learning platforms for its subscribers and enterprise customers.

From a consumer point of view, 1 Terabit-per-second capacity is enough bandwidth to download the entire Game of Thrones video series in HD in less than 2 seconds, and can support 300,000 HD video zoom calls simultaneously.

Jafar Khalid, Chief Technology Officer, PTCL Group, said, "We are committed to digitizing our customer experience by providing state-of-the-art solutions. Keeping this in view, we tested the scalability and evolution of our optical transport network by enhancing the existing capacity to 1-Terabit per channel, to facilitate the ever-growing data traffic demand of our corporate and consumer segments. Nokia’s modern technology and expertise has helped us to test bandwidths up-to 1-Terabit, that will help provide a superior customer experience and enable seamless future expansion of our transport network capacity across Pakistan.”

Imran Durrani, Customer Team Head for PTCL Group at Nokia, said, “This new trial with PTCL is yet another testimony to further strengthening long-term partnership between us. Our industry-leading optical solutions including Photonic Service Switch and Photonic Service Engine are empowering PTCL to cost-effectively enhance network capacity as data consumption continues to rapidly increase. Our pathbreaking Flexgrid architecture allows PTCL to modernize and upgrade its optical network to provide individuals and enterprises with a fast and reliable network connectivity."  

PTCL endeavors to offer its customers enhanced service quality, faster speeds and enable a simplified network architecture that increases operational efficiencies.

Islamabad – July 28, 2022: PTCL and Ufone have swiftly restored their network disrupted by heavy rains and flooding in parts of Balochistan and Sindh in a record time through rapid mobilization of their on-ground resources. The torrential rains also caused major damage to road and bridge infrastructure in the region, further intensifying the challenge of timely restoration of the network, however, PTCL and Ufone field teams were able to live up to their commitment to keeping their customers connected at all times.

Sindh, especially Karachi and the coastal belt of Balochistan received one of the heaviest monsoon spells in the recent past, which resulted in urban flooding, severe damage to roads and bridges infrastructure, and massive commercial power breakdown. PTCL’s Optical Fiber cable deployed alongside roads and bridges also got swept away at multiple locations.

The Northern and Central Zones of the country were no different where exchanges and network nodes got flooded leading to network outages. Baluchistan’s Makran division was the worst hit, resulting in major damage to road infrastructure, electricity transmission lines, and the PTCL OFC network. The cumulative situation resulted in a huge challenge before the PTCL and Ufone field teams to uphold their commitment to keeping their customers seamlessly connected.

As the National Carrier and Backbone of Country’s Connectivity, the company quickly responded to the situation by deploying teams in the affected area to restore the Optical Fiber Cable through a workaround in order to maintain the best possible business continuity. Despite the inclement weather, difficult terrain, and enormity of the challenge, the teams conducted a 24/7 operation with a high level of commitment to best facilitate the customers.  

The company tackled the network disruption across the Southern, North, and Central region caused by commercial power breakdown through the deployment of portable generators until the issue was fixed. The field teams worked tirelessly for days to completely restore connectivity to Turbat, Ormara, Pasni, and Gawadar areas of the worst hit Makran Division in Balochistan and the affected regions of Sindh.

PTCL Group’s effective and timely response to the massive challenge in the face of countless hardships is evidence of its efficiency, resiliency, and readiness to maintain seamless connectivity at all times. The successful restoration of the network amidst a major calamity speaks volumes of the remarkable commitment and resilience of the on-ground teams whose efforts facilitated the smooth conducting of emergency and relief activities and continuity of life and business activities.

Islamabad, July 18, 2022: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the country’s leading telecom and ICT services provider, has announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, at its Board of Directors’ meeting held in Islamabad on July 18, 2022.  

During the first six months of 2022, PTCL Group successfully managed to keep the top line growth momentum, which further strengthened its market standing as an integrated telecom services provider in Pakistan. Growth in revenue is mainly driven by strong performance in the consumer segment led by fixed broadband, mobile data, and business solutions, along with microfinance services that supported the Group in achieving 5.7% growth in revenue over the comparative period despite the challenges of increase in Advance Income Tax (AIT) and reduction in Mobile Termination Rates (MTR).

PTCL Group Highlights

• PTCL Group’s revenue of Rs 71.7 billion in 2022 is 5.7% higher as compared to the same period of last year.
• The Group’s profitability remained under pressure due to significant hike in power and fuel tariffs, devaluation of the Pak Rupee against USD, higher interest rates, and other factors like upfront costs associated with the acquisition of 4G spectrum and related network rollout. The Group has posted a net loss of Rs 3.1 billion.
• PTCL continued its growth momentum by posting 4.7% YoY revenue growth.
• PTML’s (Ufone) revenue grew by 3.5% as compared to the same period of last year.
• U Bank has achieved a 25.0% growth in its revenue over the same period of last year.

 PTCL Highlights

• PTCL’s revenue of Rs 40.0 billion for the period is 4.7% higher than 2021, mainly driven by growth in broadband and business solutions segments.
• The company has posted an operating profit of Rs 1.9 billion. Operating profit for the period remained under pressure compared to last year mainly due to increase in operating costs on account of significant hike in power and fuel tariffs.
• Net Profit of Rs 5.2 billion for the period is 38.8% higher as compared to the same period of last year. Increase in non-operating income, due to translation gain on the Company’s forex denominated assets, dividend income from a subsidiary and gain on disposal of obsolete assets due to upgrade and fiberization of network, has helped turn the 32.6% decrease at operating profit level to a 38.8% increase at the net profit level.

PTCL Consumer Business: Consistent Growth

During the half year, the company’s fixed broadband business grew by 10.7% YoY, whereas IPTV segment also showed 8.6% growth YoY. Within the broadband business, Flash Fiber, the company's premium FTTH service, showed significant growth of 91.7%. Voice revenue stream has seen a decline due to lower voice traffic and continued conversion of customers to OTT services. 

PTCL has achieved consistent performance and enhanced customer experience on the back of the company’s seamless fixed broadband, including the fastest internet service in Pakistan through the Flash Fiber brand. PTCL has expanded its FTTH services in 28 cities, and the subscriber base has doubled on a YoY basis as the company continued to tap into the demand for growing internet and data services.

PTCL Business Solutions: Steady Performance

While continuing momentum with overall YoY revenue growth of 5.1%, the business solutions segment sustained its market leadership in IP bandwidth, cloud, data center, and other ICT services. PTCL’s corporate business grew by 15.0% as compared to last year. Within the wholesale business segment, carrier revenue grew by 9.6% but the overall wholesale segment revenue has declined as a result of closure of certain international IP leased circuits. International revenue, helped by the favorable impact of currency devaluation, has increased by 14.0% over last year.

PTCL strives to provide innovative, dependable, and agile solutions to its partners through robust telecommunication infrastructure and a diverse portfolio of services with enhanced customer experience.

PTML – Ufone Highlights:

• Post spectrum acquisition, Ufone has achieved growth in 4G subscriber base and data services leading to a 3.5% YoY growth in topline despite the challenges of increase in Advance Income Tax (AIT) and reduction in Mobile Termination Rates (MTR).
• Ufone continued to expand its network footprint across the country and has significantly modernized its network to 4G since spectrum acquisition.
• The company has one of the fastest growing 4G subscriber base in the country.
• External factors like the devaluation of Pak Rupee, rising interest rates and hike in power / fuel tariffs have adversely impacted the company’s bottom-line.
• VIS Credit Rating Company has assigned initial entity ratings of ‘AA-/A-1’ (Double A Minus/A-One) to Ufone with outlook on the assigned ratings as ‘Stable’. This acknowledges the financial strength of Ufone through an independent rating exercise which also denotes high credit quality and good fundamental protection factors and is a testimony of stakeholders’ confidence in Ufone.

Ufone’s customer experience remains one of the best within the industry, backed by higher data speeds and industry first innovative products such as ‘UPower’ that has received tremendous response from the customers.

U Bank Highlights:

U Bank, the microfinance and branchless banking subsidiary of PTCL, continued its growth trajectory and has achieved 25.0% YoY growth in its revenue by expanding its advances portfolio. The balance sheet footing of the bank reached Rs 114 billion as the bank continued to diversify its asset classes and funding streams while ensuring positive bottom-line impact. With the core mission of microfinance at its heart, the business model of the bank is evolving to capture new segments and customer classes to include more of Pakistan into the banking net and further its ambition of financial and social inclusion.

Corporate Social Responsibility:

Being a national carrier and Pakistani company, PTCL Group is at the forefront in extending support to the community through various CSR initiatives including collaboration with GSMA to significantly expand its women customer base by the year 2025 and the provision of its flagship Wi-Fi internet devices ‘Blaze’ to participants of the KPK Women Civic Internship Program to support their pursuit of personal and professional growth. PTCL & Ufone 4G joined hands with the National Emergency Center of the Government of Pakistan to extend its support for UNICEF’s Polio Eradication Campaign in Pakistan. PTCL Group also supported the local fishermen community of Karachi to ensure the safety of small-scale fishermen during high tide season by donating life jackets.

Karachi – June 27, 2022: PTCL Group, Pakistan’s largest telecom operators PTCL & Ufone has donated life jackets to the fishermen community of Karachi to ensure safety of small-scale level fishermen during high tide season at a ceremony held in FCS HQ in Karachi.

Chairman, Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS), Zahid Ibrahim Bhatti was presented with life jackets by PTCL Group representatives, to acknowledge the efforts of the local fishermen.

Expressing his thoughts regarding the initiative, Head of Public Relations and Corporate Communication, PTCL Group, Amir Pasha said that “PTCL Group was always on the lookout for opportunities to give back to the community where it is most needed. He said that the Monsoon season is around the corner and there is pressing need to undertake measures to ensure safety of fishermen community, who risk their lives to sustain the seafood supply chain. He said safety is of paramount importance and these fishermen need to be equipped with both training and necessary safety gear.”

Also speaking at the occasion, Chairman Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS), Zahid Ibrahim Bhatti expressed his gratitude toward PTCL Group for the thoughtful intervention. He said that “fishermen are aware of the risk, however, there is a cost involved in taking the necessary precautionary measures, which is unbearable for small-scale fishermen. He hoped that the support coming from the private sector in terms of training and safety equipment will go a long way in reducing safety incidents.”

PTCL Group is widely recognized for its corporate social responsibility initiatives that create impactful shared value. Both PTCL & Ufone are at the forefront to ensure welfare of the communities it serves. Ends

Islamabad – 22 June 2022: PTCL, the country’s premier Telecom and ICT services provider has successfully deployed AirPON Solution from Huawei Technologies, in its Fiber Access Network. AirPON is a unique and innovative Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) solution, that leverages existing cellular mobile network infrastructure to extend Fiber footprint, with improved Total Cost of Ownership and better Time to Market. 

AirPON employs a purpose built pre-connectorized Optical Distribution Network (ODN) components, which offers a unique, efficient and agile deployment, that minimizes fieldwork through plug-n-play approach, while also greatly improving the quality of installation. The infrastructure available at cellular mobile sites is exploited for field deployment of Optical Line Terminal (OLT) Equipment, to serve its housing, power and transport needs. This solution is yet another step forward on PTCL’s roadmap for meeting rapidly growing consumer data traffic demands, by expanding its Fiber Access Network in areas otherwise difficult to reach for deployment. 

Jafar Khalid, Group Chief Technology Officer, PTCL Group, said, “We are committed to uplifting our customer experience through adoption of state-of-the-art products & solutions. PTCL and Huawei achieved another milestone by successfully introducing AirPON solution in our Network. We continue to invest in new technologies and products to modernize our network, with a major emphasis on expediting the reach of high-speed fiber access network to maximum customers, and AirPON solution will be a key enabler in meeting this ambition.” 

Ahmed Bilal Masud, Huawei Pakistan Deputy CEO, stated that “Huawei is always committed to work closely with PTCL Group to explore the right solutions for meeting the evolving business requirements. Our goal is to offer innovative solutions to PTCL Group, while committing to minimize the deployment cost and time to market, with network simplification and emerging technologies. We believe that AirPON will pave the way for increasing fiber reach in the country, and support PTCL to offer fast internet services to its valuable customers.”

PTCL Business Solutions Polo Cup concluded on Sunday at Islamabad Polo Ground. Picture shows winning team along with Zarrar Hasham Khan, GCBSO, Muhammad Shoaib Baig, GCHRO, Naveed Khalid Butt, GCRO, PTCL & Ufone. The event was attended by large number of corporate customers, polo enthusiasts and club members; making it one of the biggest events of the season.

Islamabad – May 26, 2022:  Under corporate social responsibility, PTCL & Ufone 4G joined hands with the National Emergency Center, Government of Pakistan to extend its support for Polio eradication from Pakistan. The national telecommunication group created awareness by leveraging its vast network to promote vaccination against the disease that can physically impair children for life if not prevented in time. 

Unfortunately, Pakistan is one of the only two countries where polio is still prevalent. The Government of Pakistan with the support of National Emergency Center and other stakeholders is constantly working to eradicate the disease to safeguard the lives and future of our children. This time around, PTCL and Ufone 4G stepped up to raise awareness regarding the urgency to vaccinate children to prevent them from getting affected by lifelong physical deformity at the hands of this otherwise easily preventable disease. 

PTCL and Ufone 4G supported the three-day Polio Vaccination Drive from May 23 to May 25, 2022, by sending SMS broadcasts across 11 regions of KPK and the former tribal districts, including Kohat, Orakzai, Kurram, Hangu, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, North Waziristan, South Waziristan, D.I. Khan, and Tank. The Urdu language SMS broadcasts urged parents to get their children vaccinated during every vaccination campaign to ensure their health and safety.   

Sharing his thoughts regarding the campaign, Head of PR & Corporate Communication, PTCL Group, Amir Pasha, said: “We are glad to support the efforts of National Emergency Center and the Government of Pakistan towards eradication of Polio from Pakistan. It is important for us because this is about safeguarding of our future generations from lifelong dependency. We at PTCL and Ufone 4G will continue to leverage our services and infrastructure to create shared value for the society under our corporate social responsibility program. We hope that our efforts make a significant difference in reducing vaccine hesitancy so that our future is in the hands of a hale and hearty generation.” 

“We are grateful to PTCL and Ufone 4G for their cooperation in creating awareness regarding the polio emergency in Pakistan. The Polio Programme is working relentlessly with partners and other important stakeholders to prevent children from falling prey to lifelong disability. We need more cooperation like this for promoting vaccination across all regions of Pakistan so that all children are safe and grow with full potentials,” said Dr. Shahzad Baig, National Coordinator, Polio Eradication Programme. 

The initiative originating from its CSR objectives reflects the group’s commitment to promote social-good and sustainable growth in the country. As the national telecommunication carrier, PTCL Group not only enables and empowers the people through high quality ICT services but also leverages is expertise and resources to touch upon their lives on the basis of need and opportunity. 

Islamabad, April 13, 2022: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the country’s leading telecom and ICT services provider, has announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, at its Board of Directors’ meeting held in Islamabad on April 13, 2022.  

During the first quarter of 2022, PTCL Group successfully managed to keep the topline growth momentum, which has further strengthened its market standing as an integrated telecom services provider in Pakistan. Growth in revenue is mainly driven by strong performance in the consumer segment led by Fixed Broadband, Mobile Data, Business Solutions, and Microfinance services that supported the Group in achieving 3.2% growth in revenues over the comparative period despite the challenges of increase in Advance Income Tax (AIT) and reduction in Mobile Termination Rates (MTR).

PTCL Group Highlights

• PTCL Group’s revenue of Rs 35.1 billion in Q1, 2022 is 3.2% higher as compared to the same period of last year.
• The Group’s profitability remained under pressure due to significant hike in power tariffs, devaluation of the Pak Rupee against USD, higher interest rates, and other factors like upfront costs associated with the acquisition of 4G spectrum and related network rollout. The Group has posted a net loss of Rs 1.6 billion.
• PTCL continued its growth by posting 3.5% YoY revenue growth in Q1, 2022.
• PTML’s (Ufone) revenue grew by 1% YoY as compared to Q1, 2021.
• U Bank continued its growth momentum and has achieved a 13% growth in its quarterly revenue over the same period of last year.

PTCL Highlights

• PTCL’s revenue of Rs 19.6 billion for the quarter is 3.5% higher than Q1 2021, mainly driven by growth in Broadband and Corporate revenue segments.
• The company has posted an operating profit of Rs 1 billion for the quarter. Operating profit for the period remained under pressure compared to last year mainly due to increase in operating costs on account of significant hike in power tariffs.
• Net Profit of Rs 1.9 billion for the quarter is 10% higher as compared to the same period of last year. Increase in non-operating income, due to translation gain on the Company’s forex denominated assets, dividend income from a subsidiary and gain on disposal of obsolete assets due to upgrade and fiberization of network, has helped turn the 39% decrease at operating profit level to a 10% increase at the net profit level.

During the past quarters, PTCL mainly focused on enhancing customer experience by providing the fastest and most reliable internet services under its flagship ‘Flash Fiber’ Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) brand. Through an aggressive and robust commercial strategy, PTCL managed to expand its FTTH services in 27 cities with capacity enhancement for 125,000 new lines during the past year. The rapid rollout of FTTH and strong performance in corporate segment ensured PTCL’s topline growth.

PTCL Consumer Business: Steady Performance

During 2022, the company’s Fixed Broadband business grew by 10.4% YoY, whereas IPTV segment also showed a 9.3% growth YoY. Within the Broadband business, Flash Fiber, the company's premium FTTH service, showed significant growth of 86.6%. The Company achieved the highest ever Fixed Broadband sales in Q1, 2022 since 2015. Voice revenue stream has seen a decline due to lower voice traffic and continued conversion of customers to OTT services.

PTCL Business Services:

Business services segment continued its momentum and sustained its market leadership in IP Bandwidth, Cloud, Data Center, and other ICT services segments. PTCL’s Corporate business grew by 14.0% as compared to last year. Within the Wholesale business segment, carrier revenue grew by 6.6% but the overall Wholesale segment revenue has declined as a result of closure of certain international IP leased circuits. International revenue, helped by the favorable impact of currency devaluation, has increased by 13.7% over last year.

PTCL Business Solutions wing strives to provide innovative enterprise solutions to accelerate growth through a robust telecommunication infrastructure and a diverse portfolio of services with enhanced customer experience.

PTML – Ufone Highlights:

• Ufone posted a YoY growth of 1% in topline in Q1 2022 despite challenges of increase in Advance Income Tax (AIT) and reduction in Mobile Termination Rates (MTR). Excluding the impact of these factors, the normalized growth is 5.3% as compared to the same period of last year.
• Significant network modernization activity and rollout of new sites has been carried out in Q1 2022.
• UPower, a flagship customer-centric product, was launched during the first quarter and has registered tremendous response from the customers.

With the acquisition of 4G spectrum, Ufone’s performance in data segment has improved considerably, achieving the highest number of total data subscribers in the industry during the first two months of 2022 and continues to increase its share of new 4G subscriber acquisitions in the industry. With better data speeds, Ufone has been able to improve customer experience for its users across the country. The recent ‘Mobile Networks Benchmark Report for 2022’ by PTA also declared Ufone as Pakistan’s best quality Voice and Data Network. Attracting significant attention of mobile users across Pakistan, the launch of UPower has resulted in substantial subscriptions to the product. UPower gives its users the freedom to choose from various voice and data bundles tailored to their needs.

U Bank Highlights:

U Bank, the microfinance and branchless banking subsidiary of PTCL, continued its growth trajectory and has achieved 13% growth in its revenue. The bank grew its funding book to Rs 90 billion by leveraging its deposit and corporate finance arms, which is in line with the bank’s ambition to maintain its superior liquidity position. Major strategic initiatives undertaken by the bank include venturing into the low-cost housing loans, Islamic Banking space, and international remittance. The bank plans to invest in technology to make the most of the opportunities available on the digital banking front.

Corporate Social Responsibility:

As part of an effort to build a greener Pakistan, PTCL Group, in collaboration with CDA, arranged a tree plantation drive by engaging its employee volunteer force – PTCL Razakaar. In addition to the benefits associated with the environment, this drive provided an opportunity for PTCL employees to contribute towards the fight against climate change. The same drive was carried out nationwide across North, South and Central Zones, where employees from various cities also planted trees to help support the initiative. Ends

Islamabad – March 16, 2022: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) & Ufone celebrated International Women’s Day through a comprehensive month-long campaign to promote gender equality at workplace under the theme #BreakingTheBias. The campaign has been in line with the PTCL Group’s long-term commitment to women empowerment and participation across all fields. To reinforce the message, PTCL Group has been running digital campaign on social media platforms, where employees are seen making pledges to break the bias against women. 

A special event was organized to celebrate International Women’s Day at PTCL HQ in Islamabad. Former Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Digital Pakistan and e-Governance, Ms. Tania Aidrus graced the event as Guest Speaker. President and Group CEO, PTCL and Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf, Group VP, Talent Strategy and Analytics, e&, Dr. Hannah Haikal, along with senior management and employees from PTCL & Ufone were also present at the event.

On the occasion, Hatem Bamatraf, President & Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, shared his thoughts and reiterated the Group’s commitment towards women empowerment and inclusion. He said, “We are proud to be part of this global movement to end gender bias and exclusion at the workplace. Moreover, PTCL Group is keen to provide an equal opportunity platform to all its employees, regardless of their gender to fully participate and grow. Over the years, we have not only ensured significant gender parity across the organization but also continue to explore various avenues to promote gender inclusivity and acceptance at PTCL & Ufone.”

PTCL and Ufone have been recognized for their diversity and inclusion initiatives multiple times by prestigious platforms. The Group is undertaking efforts to ensure a culture with gender equality, participation, and acceptance at all levels. This acts as a step towards a more sustained and balanced professional working environment in the industry and out in the society. Ends