Warid invests in infrastructure to increase market share

KARACHI: Warid Telecom is determined to improve its infrastructure to increase its market share in the telecom sector of Pakistan, its official said.
“Through 2015 and beyond, Warid will continue to upgrade the premium technologies through the development of the telecom infrastructure to bring the very best to our customers,” said Muneer Farooqui, chief executive officer of Warid Telecom – a company of Abu Dhabi Group.
“The company has earmarked $500 million of cash injection to improve its infrastructure over five years,” Farooqui said in an interview.
The telecommunications sector in Pakistan has expanded rapidly over the past few years with approximately 140 million users in 2014.
Currently, there are five cellular mobile operators operating in the country. Mobilink leads the market with the largest numbers of subscribers. It’s followed by Telenor, Zong, Ufone and Warid.
Introduced in 2005, Warid built a strong base of urban customers.
Nonetheless, it did not manage to get hold of rural cell phone users. With revenues falling and a restricted customer base, Warid seemed to be on the decline, with rumours circulating about its imminent closure.
Warid Telecom is a 100 percent owned company of the Abu Dhabi Group and offers state-of-the-art telecommunication services in over 7,000 destinations in Pakistan.
“The future is bright with competition growing stronger and technology advancing rapidly, made even more brilliant with the launch of 4G and LTE,” said Farooqui.
“The competition has gotten tougher with the two major players, Warid and Zong, launching advanced services. The introduction of high speed mobile internet will be a game changer for the telecommunications industry as more and more people turn to faster 3G and 4G services for internet use on the go.”
Warid launched long term evolution services in December 2014. Since its launch, the company has hooked up approximately 75,000 LTE customers, highest in the industry. It has already invested millions of dollars in the import and deployment of LTE equipment
The last year’s report by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said Warid has the highest percentage of satisfied customers and the highest average revenue per user (ARPU).
Its call quality and completion ratio are also the best among all the competitors.
Its ARPU stands around Rs260 per month, well over the industry average (Rs199 as of June 2014) due to its loyal corporate clientele that alone boosts an ARPU of Rs1,400 per month.
Additionally, the company has accumulated the largest post-paid customer base.
It has expanded exponentially with a large number of cell sites and roaming partners as well.
“Over the years, Warid Telecom has developed a reputation in innovation with a customer-centric approach and the ability to continuously provide state-of-the-art services to its customers,” Warid chief said.
“The company will be stronger and better in terms of customer support and employee engagement.”