ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, 11 August - QUALCOMM and Central Asian CDMA Forum (CACF) conducted a summit on 3G Wireless Devices on August 11th, 2008 at the Serena Hotel, Islamabad. The event was actively supported by Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA), CDMA Development Group (CDG), and telecom equipment manufacturers including Quicktel, Kenya and Axesstel, USA. The event was well attended by the representatives from the industry
The summit was aimed at bridging the gap between the various stakeholders specially the operators and the OEMs in the wake of upcoming 3G licensing in Pakistan. Organizers hailed the summit as ‘one of its kind in Pakistan,’ aimed at highlighting the importance of variety and the availability of devices at affordable price points and provisioning & distribution of these 3G devices. The objective of the event was to underscore the need for cutting-edge technology for the forthcoming wireless revolution in the shape of 3G deployments in the country. The event was arranged to create awareness of the available 3G mobiles, FWTs, data cards, modems and other innovative devices.
Renowned national and international companies supported the event along with representatives from all six key areas of the Pakistan telecom sector including device manufacturers, operators, regulators, distributors, infrastructure vendors and telecom academia. 3G Device Summit aimed to provide the technology road map for coordinating and streamlining existing and future 3G network deployments. The effort of organizing the event by Qualcomm and Central Asian CDMA Forum was appreciated by the participants who used it as an opportunity for networking and meeting other participants.
Mr. Khalid Khan, Chairman, Central Asian CDMA Forum welcomed the participants and gave a brief introduction of Central Asian CDMA Forum and highlighted the objectives of the event. He appreciated the efforts of QUALCOMM, PTA, CDG, the Operators & OEMs for supporting the event.
Mr. Raheel Kamal, Senior Director, Global business Development, QUALCOMM gave a detailed presentation on Enabling Mobile Internet and 3G Devices. Mr. Gajinder Singh, Director Technical Marketing QUALCOMM gave presentation on the 3G Technology Evolution and future Roadmap. Mr. Aslam Shahab, DG Licensing PTA gave an update of the telecom industry in Pakistan, outlined the government commitment for development of telecom infrastructure specially 3G services.
Mr. Shahab re-iterated PTA’s commitment to auction/award of 3G spectrum by the end of the year 2008. Mr. Cheetan Chavda and Mr. Lee Altman from Quicktel, Kenya and Axcesstel, USA respectively gave presentations on Innovative 3G (CDMA & UMTS) products and introduced their respective companies to the audience. Their company products were on display for the audience who showed keen interest in 3G devices. Mr. Douglas Martel, Sr. Director, Program Management, Qualcomm gave a detailed presentation on Qualcomm Chipset Roadmap and elaborated the related issues. Mr. Asim Shah, CEO MRDS presented the challenges and opportunities for distribution in Pakistan. Mr. David Hind from CDMA Development Group (CDG) highlighted efforts of the CDG in Leveraging Volume Aggregation to Achieve Economy of Scale for 3G terminals.
An interactive Q&A session with the audience chaired by Mr. Raheel Kamal addressed various aspects related to CDMA and UMTS Devices and technology requirements.
After the event Khalid Khan said, “The summit was a great success providing an unprecedented opportunity to the attending OEMs, regulators, operators, policy makers, distributors and other stake holders to get the latest knowledge about 3G Devices that will soon hit the Pakistani market.”
