Archive for the 'Auegre' Category

Qubee’s Future In Question

Published by Arsalan Mir on February 2, 2010 under Auegre, Government Regulations, PTA, Pakistan, Qubee, WLL, Wimax

pak_qubee+finalTelecard has been in licensing disputes earlier and is now again as PTA suspends the WiMax commencement certificate of Telecard Limited. This takes Qubee’s future at stake as Qubee (brand name of Augere) for operating WiMax services uses Telecard’s spectrum and licenses. Daily times reports the details.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Monday suspended the commencement certificate of Telecard Limited.

The PTA took interim action in respect of their WLL licences, which were being used in conjunction with the 3.5GHz wireless spectrum by Augere Pakistan for supporting their new wireless broadband service launched in Karachi by the name of Qubee.

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Broadband Penetration Target: 1 Million

Published by Babar Bhatti on November 29, 2009 under Auegre, Broadband Internet, Business, Consumer Rights, Data, Digital Convergence, Emerging Markets Telecom, ICT, Infrastructure, Internet, Networks, PTA, PTCL, Pakistan, Qubee, Telecommunications, Wateen, Wimax, fiber-to-the-home, wi-tribe

When compared with cellular phone growth, Broadband has been slow to take off in Pakistan. However the last two years show some progress  in terms of growth (a little over 20K subscribers per month), more choices of services in more places and most importantly a significant drop in cost for broadband access (~Rs.1200 per month on average). Another welcome trend is to move towards unlimited broadband.

PTCL has taken the lead with its DSL and EVO offerings while WorldCall, Mobilink Infinity, Wateen / WiMAX, Qubee,  NayaTel and Wi-Tribe have also offered their services.

According to PTA, “broadband subscriber base grew by 146% adding 245,727 subscribers during July 2008 – June 2009, while broadband connection charges for 1Mbps connection dropped below Rs. 1000. There were 413,809 Broadband subscribers in June 2009 as compared to 168,082 in June of 2008.”

At the current rate of broadband growth we can cross the half-million mark by December 2009. We need to get to 1 million much faster.

Daily Times recently wrote about broadband, excerpt below.

The Sustainable Development Policy Institute’s (SDPI) Study Group on Information Technology and Telecommunication in its 56th meeting discussed the problems that hinder broadband growth in Pakistan. Relevant stakeholders participated in the meeting. Wahaj ul Siraj of NayaTel and Zamir Bhatti of Wi-tribe reviewed the existing policy and infrastructure sharing issues.

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Augere’s Qubee Launched

Published by Arsalan Mir on October 8, 2009 under 3G, Auegre, Broadband Internet, Qubee, Telecommunications, Wateen, Wimax, wi-tribe

Qubee – ‘An Augere Brand’, we discussed earlier, have now been officially launched in Karachi. Qubee has become the fourth player offering WiMAX services in Karachi, the other three being Wateen, Mobilink Infinity and Wi-tribe. The website says that services also are expected to be launched in Lahore, Islamabad, Hyderabad and Quetta in 2009.

Qubee Packages

Qubee offers variety of packages to home users.

Package Speed GB PKR/month
Discover 6 512 6 750
Discover 12 512 12 1,000
Explore 8 1024 8 1,000
Explore 12 1024 12 1,250
Explore 16 1024 16 1,500

Business users have a chance to customize their package on basis of their needs using the qubee tariff planner.

For more information visit their website here.

Augere Brand ‘QUBEE’ – Soon to Launch

Published by Arsalan Mir on July 3, 2009 under 3G, Auegre, Qubee, Telecommunications, Wimax

I discussed the WiMAX evolution in Pakistan earlier. The recent launch of wi-tribe has definitely elevated the level of competition in WiMAX market in Pakistan. Now the latest news is the expected launch of Qubee an Augere brand for WiMAX services in Pakistan.

Qubee is a new and exciting company providing fast, reliable and competitively priced broadband internet services to residential and business customers across Pakistan. We believe that everyone should be able to enjoy trouble-free access to the internet and the world of opportunities that it brings. Our aim is to make a magical internet experience available to everyone, everyday, without exception.

Qubee is the creation of a group of global telecoms professionals who saw that a new technology called WiMAX could really change the internet experience for millions of people worldwide.

The details of the tariff and packages offered is not yet mentioned on their website, www.qubee.com.pk.

They are starting in Karachi, but quickly plan to expand thier network and cover other cities nationwide. The current coverage area for Qubee can be seen on the following link.

Qubee’s launch right after the launch of wi-tribe reminds me of the year 2005 when at the GSM front we saw Warid following Telenor’s launch. Nevertheless Qubee will bring on-air the fourth WiMAX operator of Pakistan, the other three being Wateen, Mobilink Infinity and the recent Wi-tribe. Will this start a price/data-rate war among the WiMAX operators? This will only become clear with time.