Pakistan’s first global telecommunication congress, TeleCON’2008, opened here on Tuesday with full-fledged participation from a large number of telecom companies from Pakistan.
Industry leaders from all over the country attended the well-arranged Inaugural Ceremony which was presided by Dr. Muhammad Yaseen, Member Technical, PTA as the Chief Guest; while the keynote address was given by Mian Mohammad Jawed, a former Founder Chairman of PTA.
Mian Mohammad Javed in his keynote address appreciated the initiative of the organizers and remarked that there was a need for similar forum to discuss the challenges that lay ahead for the telecommunication sector in Pakistan. He acknowledged that from a global perspective, the convergence of technologies was in vogue and that Pakistan should not be left behind in this great communication era that will spell convenience and affordability for people everywhere.
The Chief Guest, Dr. Yaseen who was standing in for Major-General (R ) Shahzada Alam Malik, Chairman PTA, who could not attend the opening ceremony due to pressing commitments in Islamabad; was of the opinion that the telecom industry in Pakistan had grown tremendously due to the prudent and justifiable policies of the PTA; he said the Authority has provided a level-playing field for all players in the sector and due to a robust policy framework, the industry was moving rapidly in the right direction.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Menin Rodrigues, Chairman, TeleCON’2008 welcomed delegates, speakers and chairpersons who he said had arrived from all over Pakistan, including abroad. He said, “We are very happy to welcome delegates, not only from the bigger cities but places as far as Peshawar, Haripur, Mardan, Sialkot and Abbotabad, which was testimony to the fact that the Congress was of great importance to the growth & development of the telecommunication industry in Pakistan.”
Telecom & IT companies being represented at TeleCON’2008 include, Mobilink, Telenor, Etisalat/PTCL, Motorola, Wateen Telecom, Nokia -Siemens, Multinet Pakistan, China Mobile Pakistan, Alcatel-Lucent, Nortel Networks Asia, Ericsson, Warid Telecom, Systems, Netsol Technologies, Limited Qualcomm USA and Central Asian CDMA Forum. NNI