Ascend P7: Huawei’s Best Phone Yet [Review]

 

Ascend P series from Huawei is dedicated to the premium devices. Last year’s Ascend P6 proved to be a commercial success for the Chinese manufacturer and also claimed the title of world’s thinnest smartphone. Ascend P7 is no different ─ It builds upon the success of its forerunner while trying to rectify the drawbacks.

Ascend P7 was unveiled in Paris earlier this year and was launched in MENA region last month.

This phone is available all over Pakistan at a price of Rs. 47,000. It is currently sold in black, white and pink colors along with one year warranty of Airlink Communication.

Design:

Ascend P7 features a very similar design to last year’s P6 with a few minor changes, it’s a slightly bigger and a thicker. However the basic layout of the device remains unchanged ─ brushed metal band on three sides and plastic bottom; however glass replaces aluminium on the back.

P7 has a 5-inch LTPS IPS display with 1080p resolution (445ppi pixel density). The screen is super sharp, quality and color saturation of images is very good.

Huawei Ascend P7 offers great viewing angles and is fairly responsive. One thing you will immediately notice is that this phone has very slim bezels and the frame is quite short as compared to other 5-inch screen phones.

Above the screen you’ll find the ear-speaker, notifications LED, light sensors and a unique 8-megapixel camera for selfies, groufies and video calling.

Once again Huawei has decided to put its name below the screen, apparently for no reason at all. I would love this device to have no logo/text on the front, and just a black slab.

The position of volume rocker, power/unlock key and the SIM+memory card slots on the right remain the same, except that the power key is now circular.

The 3.5mm headphones jack now sits on the top of Ascend P7 with noise cancellation mic, whereas the USB port is now on the bottom along with primary microphone; previously these two ports were at very odd locations.

The backside of this device is quite interesting, as compared to the aluminium back of Ascend P6, the new device features toughened glass. There’s a 13-megapixel primary camera along with LED flash on the back and loudspeaker at the bottom.

Beneath the glass there are 7 plates with micro design, resulting in beautiful bluish texture when exposed to light. A shiny Huawei logo sits in the middle.

The glass back and Thermal Gel Cooling technique gets rid of heating problem to some extent, but makes the phone quite slippery. You have to be extra careful while handling this phone and try not to put it on Sofa armrests or on any uneven surface.

The overall design and the build quality of this phone is very nice. It weighs light (124 grams) and easy to hold. The glass on the back makes it quite comfortable to hold for longer duration, but it is a finger print magnet.

A little precaution for P7 users is that the camera’s anti-reflection coating may attract some scratches over the time, though it doesn’t affect the image quality. Make sure not to use “tissue paper” for cleaning the lens.

Operating System & UI:

Ascend P7 is the first device from Huawei to run on Android 4.4.2 KitKat along with the latest EMUI 2.3 out of the box.

Most of you folks who have been following our reviews or have owned a Huawei phone may already know about EMUI. It is a quite unusual customization of Android, with no app launcher and everything is placed on the homescreen. The version 2.3 has many visual and performance improvements. Now it is more fluid and brings some new themes; most of which feature flat and minimal icons.

The new version also includes a simpler interface, with big tiles and text. It is ideal for people who are not comfortable using tiny icons. The phone dialer has been improved and the keyboard is now embedded with swype feature.

Just like previous versions, the notifications panel also incorporates quick toggles and now brightness control is also embedded with-in.

In addition to the soft keys on the bottom there is a new feature called Suspend button which allows quick access to homescreen, back button and some other useful apps. It’s pretty handy while using full screen applications or playing games.

Some other additions include, motion control, notifications manager, harassment filter, network administration and a neat “Mirror” application; which uses the front camera and serves as a mirror.

The newest version of EMUI has a significant focus on phone performance and power saving. The default Phone Manager app notifies you when an application is consuming battery in the background so you may quickly kill it. But this feature is quite annoying as it constantly prompts you to close essential apps. However there is an easy fix for this, just add the essential applications to the “Allowed list”.

If you don’t like the EMUI experience, you can always download a custom launcher (Apex, Nova etc) from the Play Store and use it instead.

Hardware & Performance:

Ascend P7 packs Huawei’s in-house 1.8GHz quad-core Kirin 910T CPU, coupled with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage (you can expand it with an SD card and also use SD card as primary storage).

The performance of this device is quite reasonable, you won’t feel any lag during the normal operation of the phone, and it can run any resource hungry application/game without breaking a sweat.

You can watch 1080p videos and no matter how many apps you install and run on this device it won’t get “slow”.

I was really hopping that Huawei will use its latest octa-core processor in the phone. So due to the hardware difference, it can’t beat the current flagships from other manufacturers in terms of performance and doesn’t not score high on the benchmarks.

But keeping the price in mind, it delivers the best possible performance. P7 easily beats the 2013 flagship devices including Galaxy S4 and HTC One (M7).

It supports the latest 4G LTE network and quickly switches between 4G, 3G and 2G. This phone features a dual antenna layout which allows better signal transmission.

The regular and VoIP calling experience on this phone is spectacular. You won’t hear any noise or echo during calls. The loudspeaker has comparatively low volume but the ear speaker is just fine. This new device also features NFC and Bluetooth 4.0, which were missing in last year’s P6.

Have a look at some of the benchmarks:

Camera & Video:

The camera department is certainly the best among all the features. Ascend P7 is packed with a primary 13-megapixel BSI camera with single LED flash and an unusual 8-megapixel front facing camera for selfie-obsessed people.

The camera applications remains almost the same, with minimal UI and easy to use interface. However Huawei has added some new features including audio-note, watermark and best photo.

The primary camera features a 28mm wide angle 4th generation SONY sensor and f/2.0 aperture. The performance in both day light and indoors is very good. You will get sharp photos with high details and vivid colors.

The low light performance is also sufficiently good, but you’ll easily notice the enhanced noise and grain in those photos.

Taking close ups blur the background and keep the subject in focus by creating a shallow depth of field. However the camera application doesn’t offer the latest Bokeh effect feature found in most of the latest flagships. (Don’t worry you can use Google Camera application, if you are too fond of taking Bokeh-ish DSLR like photos).

The primary camera is capable of recording 1080p videos in 16:9 aspect ratio @ 30fps. It offers software image stabilization, which is not good as OIS. There are comparatively less options to play with in video mode but it does the job well.

Huawei has also introduced the Ultra snapshot feature with P7, which quickly takes a photo when phone is on stand by double pressing the volume down key. Usually it takes 1.2 – 1.4 seconds to take the photo, but it doesn’t auto-focus and the quality is a little low.

Now let’s talk about the front facing camera, which probably is the best secondary camera to date. An 8-megapixel sensor is far better than the 1-2-megapixel sensors used in most high-end phones.

The camera is focused on selfies or should I says groufies, as Huawei included Panorama Selfie option which take 3-different shots from different angles and then stitches them. So there is no need to squeeze people while taking a selfie, instead take a groufie.

The secondary camera is also capable of recording 1080p video and it offers good results during video calls.

Sample Shots:

Ascend P7 is packed with a 2500mAh battery, which doesn’t seems too much on paper. The actual performance depends upon your usage pattern.

Huawei has included a dedicated “Power Saving” application to optimize the battery performance. It automatically adjusts the CPU and network usage to enhance the battery life.

There is also an Ultra Power Saving mode which shuts down most of the phone functions and according to company claims provide 24 hours standby on 10% charge.

In our tests, the phone survived a single day on average usage, but using 3G internet and running resource hungry applications limited the use to just 10-12 hours.

After a full charge, I was able to play Asphalt 8 continuously for almost 3.5 hours, which is actually quite good, but sometimes the battery quickly discharged. Especially the last 25% seems to be very quick.

Most of people charge their phones at night, so one day usage will be adequate for them. Surprisingly the battery performance on standby is great, during 20 hours on standby it only dropped to 1%.

Verdict:

Ascend P7 is definitely the best phone from Huawei to date. It offers a premium design and reasonable hardware along with satisfactory performance and a neat user experience.

The camera and screen are the headlines, albeit it lacks in terms of hardware. However keeping the price tag in mind you shouldn’t compare it with other flagships of 2014.

Speaking of price, I feel that this phone is little overpriced. Eventually the price will go down, but only if Huawei had launched it for PKR 42,000 or around; it could have been the best choice for those looking for premium devices with-in their mediocre budget.

There is a lot to like about this phone and the combination of metal and glass makes it more desirable than the plastic phones. If you could keep good care of your phone, certainly this phone should be in your wishlist.

Do share you opinion about P7 in the comments section below and if you have any related questions don’t shy asking them.

Ufone Wins Call Center Leader of the Year Award in US

Asad Butt (C), General Manager Customer Operations, Ufone, receiving award from representatives of International Quality and Productivity Center (IQPC)

Ufone bagged the “Call Centre leader of the year”award during Annual Call Center Week held in Mandalay (Nevada), USA. The award was presented to the Customer Operations Department for their excellence in customer care.

Ufone participated in the awards organized by the International Quality and Productivity Center (IQPC) and brought home awards in not one but two categories. Ufone’s best practices in Call Center Customer Services were acknowledged internationally and it was crowned winner of the “Call Center Leader of the Year” and runner up in the “Best New Mobile Customer Strategy” award categories.

Mr. Asad Butt, General Manager Customer Operations at Ufone, received the awards on behalf of the company and said: “Ufone Customer Operations Department is honoured to uphold its legacy of providing the highest quality services to all its customers. It is gratifying for our company as we are now in line with those professionals and organizations that are known for their commitment to technological innovation, customer centricity and operational efficiency.”

He added, “It is a moment of pride and glory for the Ufone Customer Operations Department as we move another step forward towards excellence. We are all geared towards getting Ufone recognized at more international forums in the future as well.”

The awards were held in conjunction with the 15th Annual Call Center Week on June 11, 2014. With representation from more than 20 countries, encompassing 37 companies, only 12 of the finest contenders made it to the final round. Approximately 1500 professionals from all around the world attended the event, which was held in Mandalay (Nevada), USA.

Pakistani Entrepreneur Wins mBillionth Award in India

 

 

Abdul Muqsit, a UAE based Pakistani IT professional, has won mBillionth Award South Asia for his Online Pastho Dictionary in “m-Culture & Heritage” category.

Awards were held earlier this week in New Delhi, however, Abdul Muqsit couldn’t make it to the event to receive his award because of visa security issues.

mBillionth Awards South Asia is a platform for recognizing innovations in Telecom and Mobile content/Applications/Models. Launched in 2010, mBillionth Awards aims to to explore, recognize & honour the best practices in Mobile & Telecom Industry across South Asia and Afghanistan.

Abdul Muqsit is a software engineer with proven passion for Pashto language for which has has been working for years to establish an online English to Pashto to English dictionary.

ProPakistani had this chance of covering ThePashto.com back in 2012, however, since then the website has raised its bar by many levels. Currently ThePashto.com has over 16,000 words for English to Pashto to English translation.

Platform capitalizes web 2.0 techniques to allow everyone to add words into dictionary, however each word is reviewed by experts in Pasto linguistics before making it available to the public, thereby accounting for the authoritative and authentic guide to Pashto learning.

In addition to its web availability, ThePashto.com is also available on Play Store for Android phones so they may learn Pashto language while on the go.

You can download Android app for Pashto to English Dictionary here.

Telenor Spares Rs. 10 million to Support IDPs of North Waziristan

(L to R): Muhammad Aslam Hayat, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Telenor Pakistan; Syed Mohsin Ali, Commissioner Bannu and Ubaidullah, Deputy Director Disaster Recovery, PRCS at an IDP camp site in Bannu.

Aimed at extending relief and assistance to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) of North Waziristan, Telenor Pakistan has announced a contribution of PKR 10 million through its emergency response partner, Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

The contribution will be utilized by PRCS to provide clean drinking water and Wash facilities for 3 months to IDPs residing in Bannu District.

Expressing his solidarity with the IDPs, Muhammad Aslam Hayat, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Telenor Pakistan said, “Telenor Pakistan stands by the IDPs in their time of distress and being a responsible corporate citizen we take it as our prime responsibility to provide all-out support to the affected people. Having discussed the ground realities with PRCS, we are channeling our contribution specifically for the provision of clean drinking water and sanitation facilities to reduce the risk of waterborne and hygiene-related diseases amongst IDPs.Telenor Pakistan has always responded to the call of distress in any part of the country whenever required, which is testament to our corporate social responsibility and commitment to Pakistan.”With Telenor Pakistan’s contribution, PRCS will provide clean drinking water to approximately 15,000 individuals by setting up Water Filtration Plants along with Hygienic Sanitation to approximately 1,500 individuals by setting up WASH facilities.

This initiative will not only help check the instance of life threatening diseases amongst children and eminent disease outbreaks, but will also assist current and new influx of vulnerable women & children secure access to clean water and decent sanitation.

As part of its emergency response program, the company has contributed an amount of PKR 404 million since its inception and vows to continue setting the standard for the industry in future.

Timepey Facilitates KPK Government in Distributing Funds to IDPs

Mr. Arshad Khan, DG, Federal Disaster Management Authority (2L) signing the agreement with Mr. Sajid Mahmood, Chief Admin Officer, Zong (1R) in the presence of Sardar Mehtab Abbasi Khan, Governor KPK (Standing, 1L)

Zong, and Askari Bank Limited recently reached an agreement with FDMA to utilize its mobile cash transfer service “Timepey”, to assist the Government’s electronic cash Disbursement to the Displaced Person (DPs) of Northern Waziristan.

The scheme was launched by Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, Governor, Khyber Pakthunkhwa (KPK) during a ceremony held at the KPK house, which was attended by officials from Zong, Askari Bank and FDMA.

Under the program, 25,000 Zong SIMs are being provided to the registered DPs. Zong SIMs shall now be utilized to distribute Prime Minister’s relief package through Zong and Askari’s Timepey Branchless Banking service ensuring transparency and efficiency in the process.

Under this relief package, every dislocated family will be given cash disbursement allowance of Rs.25,000 -37,000 in the first month, i.e., July 2014.

The DPs are being registered at make shift camps by NADRA and are then been given free of cost Zong SIMs. Funds are disbursed on the basis of data verified by FDMA. The first batch of bulk disbursement of the relief package was executed on 11^th July, 2014.

Speaking to the media at the signing ceremony, Sajid Mahmood said, “Zong has always taken the first step to give back to the society and being a responsible corporate citizen we take pride and take it as our duty to help our brethren in need. Zong Timepay is a reliable money transfer service and we feel honored to be the only operator to support the Federal government in this noble cause undertaken by them. Zong/Askari Bank Timepay will ensure reliable, transparent and timely delivery of funds to DPs so they have enough provisions for the Holy month of Ramadan, Eid and days to come.”

Mr. Abdul Farooq, Area Manager of Askari Bank said, “Askari Bank and Zong have a long and strong relationship and with this collaboration with the Federal Government, we are facilitating free of charges safe and timely payment of funds to the DPs. This Ramadan, we are taking a small initiative to lessen their burden and share the blessings of Ramadan with our brothers and sisters”.

Arshad Khan, DG, FDMA said, “Some 66,726 migrating families from North Waziristan were registered in cities of Bannu and Peshawar recently. We are making every arrangement possible to accommodate these families and provide them with the support they require. I would like to thank Zong and Askari bank for putting their best foot forward in this hour of need and agreeing with the government to provide us with an efficient and transparent mechanism to distribute relief amongst these violence stricken families.”

Talking on behalf of the government, Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan added, “The government is aware of the problems being faced by the displaced families and would utilize all available resources to provide relief and assistance to them. The funds assigned under Prime Minister’s program will be used for assistance, relief and rehabilitation of the DPs. Such crisis and difficulties have to be faced by every nation but it is through unity and unanimous support from all quarters, civilian and corporate, that they rise again. The government will remain with the DPs until their complete rehabilitation through its monthly relief efforts thanks to Zong and Askari bank’s Timepey services.”

 

 

 

PTCL Posts Strong Results for First Half of 2014

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), yesterday announced strong second quarter results riding on the back of its growing fixed and wireless broadband business.

PTCL announced revenues of Rs 42.85 billion for first six months of current fiscal year that ended June 30, 2014, up from Rs. 39.98 billion during same duration last year, while gross and net profit of the Company stood at Rs. 15.3 (up from Rs. 13.63 billion during same period last year) and 6.9 billion (up from Rs. 6.29 billion during same period last year) respectively.

The Board of Directors has declared 10% interim cash dividend.

PTCL cash flows remain healthy and stable due to the consistent growth in the subscriber base and strong market position.

 

PTCL Group earned revenue of Rs 68.5 billion during the reported period, showing an increase of 5% over the same period last year. Net profit of Rs. 8.2 billion was recorded, while gross profit was recorded at Rs. 25.6 billion, an increase of 7% over last year.

Check below PTCL’s financial results that are shared with Karachi Stock Exchange:

Walid Irshaid, President & CEO PTCL expressed his pleasure at the strong performance of the company adding that, “Our robust second quarter results again demonstrated the ability of our diversified line of business to perform to the expectation of our shareholders”.

“Despite intensified competition in the telecom market, we have continued to outperform and raise the bar even further for the industry to follow. The growth primarily stems from growing broadband portfolio, while support to the bottom-line also came from improved corporate services portfolio, which has seen a significant increase,” added Walid Irshaid.

 

 

 

Telenor Offers Free 50 Minutes on Every Rs. 100 Recharge

Telenor is offering its Talkshawk customers to get free 50 minutes – for all networks – on every Rs. 100 recharge. The good thing about the offer is that these free minutes can be used for any network.

Even better, there’s no subscription fee or any other charge associated with this promotion. Simply recharge your account and win 50 free minutes.

Offer Details

• Recharge Rs. 100 to get 50 free minutes
• Free minutes can be used for all local networks
• Expiry of free minutes is till midnight

How to avail the offer

• Dial *5*100# before every recharge of Rs. 100 or more to avail 50 free minutes.

Charges

• This offer is absolutely free of cost

Terms and Conditions

• The offer is valid for Talkshawk customers only.
• Customers can avail this offer multiple times during a day but they shall have to dial the string every time before recharge of Rs. 100 or more.
• In case of multiple recharges, customers shall get accumulated resources, but the validity will be till midnight.
• Call setup shall be applicable on free resources and shall be charged.

Chairman PTA Opposes ICH, Calls for its Cancellation

Dr. Ismail Shah, Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, has publicly criticized International Clearing House or ICH, an arrangement by LDI operators – established in October 2012 under the direction of then MoIT – to terminate international incoming traffic into Pakistan through a single gateway while all operators were destined to get a set share of revenues.

Dr. Shah shared his opinion about ICH in an article published in “The News” yesterday, at a time when matter is subjudice in Sindh High Court and is awaiting determination.

It maybe recalled that MoIT had issued a policy directive for the withdrawal of ICH, however, Sindh High Court held the withdrawal directive when a petition was accepted for hearing which maintained that LDI operators were not consulted before the issuance of directive.

Dr. Ismael Shah in his column notes that international incoming voice traffic to Pakistan decreased by 404 percent – thanks to ICH – from 2 billion minutes per month in October 2012 to just 487 million minutes per month in May 2014.

Chairman said that ICH impacted Pakistan’s business competitiveness due to fixation of revenues. He said that ICH posed serious negative implications for the sector at large impeding growth, decrease in taxable revenues, negative perception about the country abroad and inability to abide to Pakistan’s international obligations (WTO in particular).

While narrating the history of ICH, Dr. Ismael wrote:

The said ICH policy directive was criticised from the start and called a controversial development. It was first challenged before the Lahore High Court and then at the august Supreme Court of Pakistan, which through order dated 21st February, 2014 referred the matter to Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) for decision.

The CCP in its detailed order of 30th April, 2013, observed the said ICH Agreement as hard core violations; declared it annulled and void under the provisions of Competition Act, 2010 and advised PTA to restore competition amongst the LDI operators as it existed prior to the said ICH Agreement while imposing heavy penalties on LDI Operators.

However, being aggrieved of the Order of CCP, PTCL and other LDI operators approached High Court of Sindh. The High Court granted interim relief/stay order to LDI Operators on 20th May, 2013 by suspending the operation of CCP’s order.

Chairman revealed that due to its controversial nature, present government wanted to resolve the matter of ICH. For the purpose a series of meeting were held under the chairmanship of Finance Minister with the participation of all stakeholders.

Chairman claimed that PTA carried out a lengthy consultation process to find amicable solution to the issue and only after having studied all the positives and negatives of the ICH, authority concluded that it has not served the purpose it was meant for.

Dr. Shah went on to explain that the cancellation of ICH is expected to bring more foreign exchange in the country as overseas Pakistanis will make calls to Pakistan at cheaper rates and would send their hard-earned money back home thus substantially increasing foreign remittances.

He notes that end of ICH will also increase the total volume of calling minutes which saw 404% decrease after implementation of ICH.

He concluded his column by saying that directive to reverse ICH arrangement is hoped to meet all positive outcomes it is aimed at.

In a related news, PTA and MoIT is going to appear before Sindh High Court today for hearing on ICH case. Reportedly, both MoIT and PTA are fully prepared with hopes that stay order on MoIT’s directive will be lifted immediately and that ICH will be withdrawn as soon as possible.

Is Ufone Preparing to Bring iPhone to Pakistan?

 

Above posted screen was posted on Ufone’s website last night, hinting that Ufone could be the first cellular carrier in the country to officially bring iPhone devices in Pakistan.

While we don’t have any confirmation or any official word from Ufone, the above posted picture can easily be interpreted that operator is planning to bring iPhone devices in Pakistan, a market with over 15 million smartphone users.

“Ufone network is now iPhone ready” can be termed as a vague statement and must not be treated as a conclusive or meaningful phrase, but it be translated that Ufone and Apple collaborated (officially) for something. It can be network tweaking, software upgrade, bug-fixing, network optimisation with respect to iPhone devices or anything else.

Yes, it can also be an agreement for allowing Ufone to officially retail iPhone devices in Pakistan.

On a related note, we know that some operators had to configure their network (software and hardware) to support iPhone’s Face Time when Californian smartphone maker enabled the support for Face-Time calls over cellular networks rather than solely over Wi-Fi.

This happened two years ago in rest of the world but since 3G was made available in Pakistan only recently (Face Time Calls would naturally not work on GPRS/EDGE), there is a chance that this “Ufone Network is Ready for iPhone” may only mean that Ufone’s network now seamlessly support Face Time calls.

Not to forget, Ufone and Telenor recently asked its iPhone customers to update their OS through an OTA update that they were to receive from Apple. Reportedly, both operators had asked Apple to send an OS update to users in Pakistan that included a bug-fix.

It merits mentioning here that a tipster had confirmed me back in May 2014 – at the time of 3G auction – that Apple has plans to bring its iPhone devices in Pakistan. He had further told me that there could be two operators to officially bring iPhone in the country somewhere around September 2014. Due to lack of authoritative confirmations we didn’t carry the story then but we just hope now that this teaser from Ufone is about iPhone’s official launch in Pakistan.

In other news, Apple is rumoured to launch next versions of iPhone on September 30th, 2014. Apple may launch two devices namely iPhone 6 and iPhone Air with different screen sizes, later to fall in phablet category.

Warid Confirms Its customers About 4G LTE Launch in September

Warid Telecom has finally come out of stealth mode for its 4G LTE launch plans as it is now communicating its customers about the launch of 4G LTE services in the country.

While we have been rigorously following and covering Warid’s 4G LTE developments, but it was only recently that Warid officially confirmed its customers about 4G LTE launch date that is likely to be somewhere in September 2014.

Earlier, after a press advertisement during first week of May that properly hinted Warid’s 4G launch, company was reportedly asked by regulator to not to make any public announcements about its 4G plans. Sources say that regulator didn’t want to make Zong unhappy after it invested US210 million dollars for 4G license, while on other hands Warid was going to launch 4G network with its existing license.

This pressure from regulator pushed Warid to go into stealth mode, however, it didn’t stop pursuing the goals of deploying 4G network and kept working without officially confirming anything.

During this, company affirmed its plans of investing 400 million dollars in Pakistani market for deployment of 4G network and closed a deal with Ericsson for the rollout of network.

Warid, during last week, finally decided to go public and committed with its customers about 4G LTE network launch in September.

Check below a letter that company sent to its corporate customers:

Dear Valued Customer,

Warid has a long and successful history of staying a step ahead in the telecom industry in providing the best and the most innovative services to our customers. We have always focused on creating the most reliable network in Pakistan as we continue to enhance the quality cellular services.

Keeping up with our promise to provide state-of-the-art technology to our customers, we are currently upgrading the network to 4G/ LTE (Long-Term Evolution) which is the most advanced mobile communication technology available globally.

The 4G/ LTE technology evolution will be able to provide the most advanced data services and a richer data experience will be available to our customers bySeptember 2014.

Warid has contracted Ericsson, the leading global vendor in provision of 4G/ LTE infrastructure, as its technology partner to ensure steady and quick roll-out of these services. Through this network upgrade, we will further improve what is already considered to be an enjoyable network experience by our customers to complement our seamless voice connectivity.

The Management and Shareholders of Warid Telecom would like to thank its patrons, the customers and the business partners, for exhibiting their patience and having faith in our promise to deliver the best technological solution of voice and data services.

Sincerely,

XXXX  XXXXXXX,
Director Customer Services

 

Warid also sent a text-broadcast to its entire customer-base confirming them about the availability of 4G services soon.

Check below screen of a text message that Warid customer received:

Sources in company shared following text with ProPakistani that is communicated to customer service staff for possible 4G related queries:

Dear All,

In reference to launch of 4G LTE Services, please note that Warid is sending 4G LTE announcement letter to its customers. Please find below given points to handle customers accordingly:

• 4G LTE is expected to be launched by end of September’14
• Copy of formal announcement letter is attached for reference.
• Letters will be dispatched from upcoming 04 Bill run (8th July) via email & postal address to postpaid/corporate customers.
• Letters will be dispatched to those customers where ‘city’ in TABS address will be either Lahore, Islamabad or Karachi.
• Below given are few more FAQs to cater customer’s queries over it:

Q: When Warid is going to launch 4G LTE?
A: 4G LTE will be launched by the end of September’ 2014

Q: Do existing Warid SIM will work on 4G LTE?
A: No, to use 4G LTE, customers would be needing new 4G LTE enabled Warid SIM. SIM price will be communicated later.

Q: What are the charges/offers which Warid will offer for 4G LTE?
A: Charges/offers details will be announced upon launch of 4G LTE.

Q: What is the coverage list for 4G LTE?
A: Initially 4G LTE will be launched in Lahore, Karachi & Islamabad. Further coverage will be expanded soon.

Work Code: (Only for Business Center & Call Center) 3G/4G related info

If you need any further assistance, we would be happy to serve you.
Regards,