Telenor adds 1M users in the first quarter

Telenor users in Pakistan reached revenues of NOK 1.55 billion in the first quarter of 2020, down from NOK 1.77 billion in the year-earlier period.

Parent company Telenor reports that its operations in Pakistan continued to see declining subscriptions and traffic revenues.

Subscription and traffic revenues fell 11 percent in the quarter, mainly due to the temporary removal of telco taxes in 2019, disallowance of the service fee, and lower APRU, compounded by the impact of COVID-19.

The number of mobile subscriptions increased by 1 million during the quarter, taking the total subscription base to 46.5 million, which represents an increase of 5 percent year-on-year. EBITDA dropped by 9 percent. Capex was mainly used for site rollout, investments in network stability, and battery replacement. The renewal of Telenor Pakistan’s GSM license, which expired, is still not concluded. 

Telenor 4G is a Pakistani mobile data and digital services provider, owned by Norwegian company Telenor Group. Currently, Telenor Pakistan has a total subscriber base of 45 million with 28% cellular market share in Pakistan and more than 1,900 employees.

Telenor Pakistan covers more than 80% of Pakistan’s population in urban and rural areas with a network of over 11,000 cell sites of which 80% are 3G and 70% are 4G enabled.

The company has been awarded a number of projects under Universal Service Fund (USF) of which the one currently in progress in the Broadband for Sustainable Development (BSD) program under which more than 100 new cell sites will be established to bring connectivity to 1.7 million in Dera Ismail Khan and Mohmand Agency.