This Week in Pakistan (31st March — 6th April)
This weekly newsletter focuses on the most important new developments within Pakistan’s Technology Sector. To receive this newsletter on a weekly basis subscribe to our mailing list (no spam ever) or follow me on Twitter (@adamdawood). Previous instalments of the newsletter can be found here.
3/4G Auction
Testing by major network providers of their 3G service has begun, with some users posting screenshots of their download speeds and reaching speeds of up to 4Mbps. The Prime Minister is also confident of having international service providers competing within the auction, while leading WIMAX providers have indicated their interest in upgrading their system for the upcoming 4G auction also. All these signs point to a big boost in network speeds across the country after the auction 3 weeks from now. Broadband users in Pakistan have reached 3.35 million after adding over 300,000 new users in the last quarter.
Dawn | Tribune | ProPakistani
Pakistani Team Wins Global Innovation Challenge
Imran Baloch, the District Coordination Officer (DCO) of Bahawalpur district in Punjab and his team have won a £65,000 grant to expand their initiative to use m-governance to monitor and promote education, heath, and agriculture in their district. The team created a performance management system that uses tested technology to ensure high attendance rate of students within the school district. By enabling monitors to report through smart phones and by simply ringing parents, saw teacher and student attendance increase from 78% to 92%.
All Voice Count | Bhawalpur Service Delivery Unit
Startup Showcase — Tune.pk
The most visited Pakistani website according to Alexa is Tune.pk. Tune.pk was built by local entrepreneurs Arsalan Hassan and Jahanzeb Hassan in 2006. Since the YouTube ban in Pakistan, the team has gone on to become the default method of watching videos for those without VPN’s, especially after they released a plugin which allows users to watch YouTube videos in Pakistan.
Other News:
All Pakistani Airports to get free Wifi- from Wateen | Tribune
IT Minister told to consult experts on YouTube Ban | Tribune
JumpStart Pakistan is aiming to change the way entrepreneurship works in Pakistan | ReadtheTech
Stories about Female Entrepreneurs in Pakistan | Tribune