Wateen Telecom ( ur, ) is a converged

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

services provider based in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, and was a sister concern of

Warid Telecom Warid Telecom International ( ar, وارد تليكوم الدولية) was an Emirati telecommunications company which was active in Bangladesh, Georgia, Congo, Pakistan, and Uganda before its divestment. Pakistan In 2004, Warid Telecom Inter ...

. The company was incorporated in 2005 and began its operations in 2007 with the deployment of the largest fibre optic network in the country. It was formerly listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange but was delisted after a share buyback in 2013.

History

Wateen Telecom is formed under the auspices of the Abu Dhabi Group; one of the leading business corporations in the Middle East and one of the biggest foreign investors in Pakistan. Initially, in 2007, the company was set up as a "carrier's carrier" providing a fine fibre optic network to mobile companies and offering long-distance and telephony services. In areas where Wateen did not have a fiber network, it offered carriers connectivity through

VSAT A very-small-aperture terminal (VSAT) is a two-way satellite ground station with a dish antenna that is smaller than 3.8 meters. The majority of VSAT antennas range from 75 cm to 1.2 m. Bit rates, in most cases, range from 4 kbit/s up to 16 ...

. Wateen is the first company in the world to commercially launch WiMAX broadband internet services throughout the country, beginning with 24 major cities in Pakistan in 2007. Due to the global recession and instability in the economic and political scenario in the country, the FDI in Pakistan slowed, adversely affecting the company. In order to raise capital, Wateen Telecom decided to go public with an

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

, which was oversubscribed at PKR 10. Unfortunately, right after the IPO there came a fall in the share prices and the stock index declined. Realizing the situation, Wateen Telecom underwent a major transformation which also included a change in its management. In 2013, Qubee, subsidiary of Augere, was merged with Wateen Telcom.

Operations

Broadband Internet

Wateen has shut down its WiMax network and now only offers Fiber Broadband (HFC/GPON) in areas of Karachi, Lahore and Multan.

References

Pakistani subsidiaries of foreign companies Internet service providers of Pakistan Cable television companies of Pakistan Pakistan–United Arab Emirates relations {{Pakistan television providers