China Mobile Pakistan to Double Number of Base Station by Year-End

China Mobile's ­Pakistani subsidiary, Zong is planning to spend up to US$500 million by the end of this year on a substantial expansion of its mobile network, reports the local Daily Times newspaper. The network is expected to double the number of base stations it operates from 4,5000 to around 9,000 by the year-end.

Official sources told the newspaper that China Mobile has planned to double Zong's cell sites in various parts of the country in order to facilitate their subscribers with smooth and fast signals traffic.

The Chinese company has invested US$1.66 billion so far in Pakistan, including US$600 million invested in the closing fiscal year 2008-09.

According to figures from the Mobile World, the operator ended Q1 '09 with a shade under 6 million customers, representing a market share of around 6.5%. The country as a whole has a population penetration level of 52%.

On the web: Daily Times - Mobile World

Posted to the site on 26th June 2009