Warid Telecom to reach 250 more cities

Pakistan's cellular operator Warid Telecom has said it will soon add 250 more cities to its network. These include very remote areas with poor infrastructure and facilities in the country. According to a company statement, it is expanding its network very fast in order to provide its cellular phone services to every corner of Pakistan. The ongoing aggressive expansion phase will soon add new cities to its network especially in Northern Areas, AJK and Balochistan.

Warid Telecom is providing voice and data communications service through its GSM and EDGE network with in over 414 cities (7,600 destinations) all over in Pakistan including coverage on major motorways and highways. Warid's EDGE services are available in major cities like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad. This network capability has been attained by erecting a network of over 4,100 Base Trans-receiver Stations and 42 switching centres.

Warid Telecom's Acting CEO Faisal Khan said, "Our subscribers are enjoying best voice and communications services through our state of the art GSM and EDGE network. We are expanding fast to reach distant corners of Pakistan and all set to become the number one mobile operator."

Chief Technical Officer Warid Telecom, Muhammad Irfan said, "Warid Telecom has deployed the best GSM and EDGE network in Pakistan. Warid Telecom team is continuously working hard to expand its best quality network while maintaining the superiority of its innovative services."

Warid Telecom is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Group & SingTel Group. Abu Dhabi Group entered into a strategic alliance with Singapore Telecom. Subsequent to this transaction in July 2007, telecom giant SingTel acquired 30% percent equity stake in Warid Telecom, Pakistan, for US$758 million.

SingTel's investment in mobile operations include, Advanced Info Service (AIS)–Thailand, (21.4%), Bharti Telecom Group – India (30.5%), Optus Telecom – Australia (100%), Globe Telecom – Philippines (44.5%), Pacific Bangladesh Telecom (PBTL)- Bangladesh (45%), Telkomsel – Indonesia (35%) and Warid Telecom – Pakistan (30%).