Warid ( ) was a

GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a family of standards to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks, as used by mobile devices such as mobile phones and Mobile broadband modem, mobile broadba ...

and

LTE LTE may refer to: Science and technology * LTE (telecommunication) (Long-Term Evolution), a mobile telephony standard ** LTE Advanced, an enhancement ** LTE Advanced Pro, a further enhancement * Compaq LTE, a line of laptop computers * Leukotrie ...

-based

mobile operator A mobile network operator (MNO), also known as a mobile network provider, mobile network carrier, mobile , wireless service provider, wireless carrier, wireless operator, wireless telco, or cellular company, is a telecommunications provider of se ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It commenced commercial operations on 23 May 2005 by the Abu Dhabi Group. Warid Pakistan was Pakistan's fourth largest GSM mobile service provider and fifth largest mobile service in terms of subscriber base of over 12.9 million. It had a market share of 9% among Pakistani cellular operators. On 26 November 2015

VimpelCom VEON Ltd. (formerly VimpelCom Ltd.), also known as VEON Group, is a multinational telecommunication and digital services company. Headquartered in Dubai, the company is publicly traded on the U.S.-based NASDAQ stock exchange. VEON operates in ...

and Dhabi Group agreed to merge Mobilink and Warid Pakistan into a single company. On 6 January 2017 the combined CEO of Mobilink and Warid Pakistan announced the launch of new brand

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. Mobilink ceased to exist on 10 January 2017 whereas Warid Pakistan as a brand continued for a year.

History

The

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) () is the telecommunication regulator of Pakistan, responsible for the establishment, operation and maintenance of telecommunication systems and the provision of telecommunication services in Pakis ...

awarded two mobile telephony licenses to

Telenor Pakistan Telenor Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited is a Pakistani wireless network operator headquartered in Islamabad, Pakistan. Khurrum Ashfaque is the current chief executive officer (CEO). Telenor started its operations in Pakistan in March 2005. Over the y ...

and Space Telecom on 24 April 2004. The license for Space Telecom was cancelled after it missed a dead line to make a 50% down payment of the offered price. Thereafter PTA offered next highest bid winner company, Warid Pakistan. The license was bid and acquired through parent company of Warid Pakistan, Abu Dhabi Group led by the then CEO Bashir Tahir for US$291 million. On 23 May 2005 Warid Pakistan commercially started operating. Mr Hamid Farooq is appointed as the CEO of the company. Initially it covered 28 major cities of the country, which is so far the largest coverage in the first phase of roll-out by the first investment of US$150 million. Within 80 days, Warid Pakistan secured 1 million customers with 7% market share. In second phase of investment of US$1 billion, Warid Pakistan launched operations in other cities of Pakistan. It secured another 3.4 million subscribers with 10% market share. The first anniversary of Warid Pakistan marked 9.7 million subscribers. In 2007,

Singapore Telecommunications Singapore Telecommunications Limited, trading as Singtel, is a Singaporean telecommunications conglomerate, the country's principal fixed-line operator and one of the four major mobile network operators operating in the country. Overview T ...

bought a 30-per cent stake in Warid Pakistan for about $758 million. That stake purchase gave Warid Pakistan an enterprise value of about $2.5 billion. Warid Pakistan's first CEO Hamid Farooq resigned in November 2007. Marwan Zawaydeh joined the company as the second CEO. Warid Pakistan further invested US$1 billion in network expansion by the end of 2009. Warid Pakistan got a new CEO Muneer Farooqi in October 2012. SingTel sold back that stake in January 2013 for $150 million and a right to receive 7.5 per cent of the net proceeds from any future sale, public offering, or merger of Warid Pakistan.

Merger with Mobilink

Warid Pakistan previously announced its merger with Mobilink in November 2015. The case was under review at

. After scrutiny PTA finally approved the merger in July 2016. The companies have become a single brand.

References

External links

* {{Mobile network operators of Pakistan Defunct mobile phone companies of Pakistan 2005 establishments in Pakistan 2015 disestablishments in Pakistan Pakistan–United Arab Emirates relations Warid Telecom Jazz (mobile network operator)

History

Merger with Mobilink

See also

References

External links