LAHORE - In a bid to improve from the lowest rank of subscription amidst tough competition after merger of Mobilink and Warid, the Ufone has decided to upgrade its network, converting the whole provincial capital to 3G, with a new investment of millions of dollars.
Ufone CEO Rainer Rathgeber said the Ufone cellular networking of Lahore region and surrounding cities of Kasur and Sheikhupura has now been converted to 3G-first telecom company to equip data system of whole city with 3G technology. “With this investment our coverage and internet speed in Lahore will increase significantly,” he added.
Rathgeber said that the company’s new investment will delight mobile internet users through the enhancement of user experience and would greatly serve in enriching the overall user experience of the people of Lahore. In an exclusive talk with a selected media group, he said that the company has already completely enhanced the network in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Abbottabad, Sialkot and Quetta where subscribers are already enjoying clear voice and fastest 3G internet experience, he added.
He said the company just focuses the needs of telecom consumers, which is the speed of internet and clarity of voice. “We have spent months and tested our new technology up-gradation in various smaller cities before moving to a provincial capital of Punjab. We aim to raise the user experience of our customers by consistently innovating services and pursuing technological advancements,” he added.
Rathgeber claimed that company’s all cell sites have been converted to 3G keeping up with Ufone’s reputation of being the only operator with 100 percent cell sites being fully 3G enabled in Lahore. To a question, he said high number of SIMs sale does not reflect the real ranking of a cellular company, as selling a SIM is different from having real customers. “We are not happy with being number 4, and we will go up, but we can’t grow by throwing away our SIM cards,” he added.
He said that the deployment of carpet coverage and capacity has also been done in surrounding areas of Lahore like Sheikhupura, Kasur, and Raiwind. Even highways connecting cities nearby to Lahore are now fully 3G enabled. “In addition to this, in the upcoming days we will be expanding our footprint in areas that are developing new housing schemes like, Cantt, DHA and Bahria since the populations of these areas are increasing at robust speed,” he added while responding to a question.
He said, “Cellular operator believes Lahore is the cultural heart of Pakistan and a thriving commercial hub therefore it is crucial to our identity and an important market for us, and our recent capacity expansion in Lahore comes as a testament of this fact.” “We are aware of the fact that customers demand internet with reliable connection and reasonable speed which is why we have reformed our existing network to reflect clear voice and fast internet speed with wider network coverage,” he added.