Telecom Lead Asia: Zong, a subsidiary of China Mobile,
has replaced Warid Telecom to become the number four mobile network operator in
Pakistan.
According to the latest data released by the PTA, Zong edged past Warid
Telecom, with a lead of over 250,000 subscribers in February 2012.
In a span of about five years, Zong has expanded its
subscriber-base from one million to nearly fifteen million by February 2012,
despite being the late and last entrant in a market that was getting
increasingly saturated.
Since June 2008, Zong has been leading the race for net subscriber acquisition.
In the 44 months since, Zong had acquired nearly 40 percent of the markets new
subscriber additions.
In other latest PTA statistics, the overall teledensity
continues to be driven by the mobile teledensity.
As of February 2012, total teledensity had crossed 70.6 percent, as the
cellular mobile teledensity reached 67.2 percent.
The teledensities in fixed and wireless local loop remained unchanged at 1.8
and 1.6 percent, respectively.
The mobile subscriptions (active for at least 90 days)
had reached 116.2 million as of February 2012.
In recent years, MNOs have witnessed extensive uptake and usage from age groups
above 60 and below 18.
Not only is the size of addressable market increasing, but the penetration in
the hitherto virgin territories-especially in the rural and remote areas-is
also driving subscriber growth.
Due to the phenomena like multiple-sim and mobile number
portability, the active customers are believed to be somewhere between 70-80
percent of total subscriptions.
After discounting the total subscriptions by 20 percent and excluding the
population below 10 and above 65 years of age, the mobile teledensity clocks in
above 75 percent, a formidable number, according to a report in berecorder.com.
