Author: Shahana Naik

wi-tribe launched Wi Net TV in Pakistan

Looking at the demand for streaming media content on the handheld devices after the 3G/4G coming out in Pakistan, wi-tribe aimed to take this sector and recently launched its Wi Net TV in Pakistan, a web and app based streaming service offering more than 150 channels. The company tells its services are the best and offer more number of channels than its competitors. With many built-in options Video on demand is a nice thing for users and the can access these services on their devices.

A music or podcast preferring person gets Online Radio Streaming also and supported on all main platforms including iOS/Android/Web so what you use be it smart phone or  PC, you can access it. It is the claim of company that Wi Net TV giving maximum value for money with its new approach and also with the built-in applications and easy access. TV streaming on various devices is bringing up many options for users in Pakistan.

Wi Net TV Features:

  • Monthly Fee
    • For wi-tribe users: Rs. 100 per month
    • For non wi-tribe users: Rs. 100 per month
  • Channels: 150
  • Video on Demand: Yes
  • Simultaneous viewing: on up to 3 devices
  • Supported platforms: Web, Android and iOS
  • Radio Streaming: Yes
  • Indian Channels: Yes

 

Check out Wi-Net TV.

Pakistani Born Dr. Nergis Mavalvala – Part of LIGO Team Discovering Gravitational Waves!

If you have heard of the monumental discovery of gravitational waves that were made by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational – Wave Observatory (LIGO) which is a significant scientific advance then you would certainly know that a Pakistani born scientist Dr. Nergis Mavalvala is part of the team which made this discovery.

She is a professor of Physics at the Massachusettes Institute of Technology and was born in Karachi and immigrated to the US in her teens. After her B. A. in Physics and Astronomy from Wellesley College in 1990, she received her Ph. d. in Physics from MIT in 1997. She then was a research scientist at Caltech and later joined the Physics faculty at MIT in 2002.

Research on Gravitational waves was part of her research in graduate school at MIT where she is an associate department head of Physics and credits her success to her mentors who helped her reach where she is at present and mentioned specially her chemistry teacher in Pakistan who allowed her to play with reagents in lab after school.

If you’re unaware of the details, here’s the gist. Scientists, Nergis among them, have observed the warping of space-time generated by two black holes merging more than a billion light-years from Earth. It’s a massive confirmation of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and gives us a whole new way of looking at the universe.

Astronomy, before this landmark discovery, relied on light for observations whether it was UV, infrared or any other frequency. With gravitational waves, we now have an entirely different way of observing the universe.

Here’s what a LIGO scientist on Reddit had to say about the importance of these findings, ‘This discovery has ushered in an awesome new era of astronomy. Before we started detecting gravitational waves, looking out at the universe was like watching an orchestra without any sound. As our detectors start making regular observations of this stuff, it will be like turning on our ears to the symphony of the cosmos!’.

Prof Karsten Danzmann, from the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics and Leibniz University in Hannover, Germany, told the BBC:

There is a Nobel Prize in it – there is no doubt.

It is the first ever direct detection of gravitational waves; it’s the first ever direct detection of black holes and it is a confirmation of General Relativity because the property of these black holes agrees exactly with what Einstein predicted almost exactly 100 years ago.

Will a Pakistani be among the team that receives a Nobel prize for the detection of gravitational waves? Only time will tell. Till then, it’s another feather in the cap for Pakistan and Dr. Nergis Mavalvala, to whom we wish our most heartfelt congratulations. Keep making our country proud!

World’s First Islamic Banking Service TVC Unveiled by Ufone and Meezan Bank

Ufone and Meezan Bank together released the commercial for World’s First Islamic Branchless Banking Service, the former being known for its innovative products and advertisements.

The starting of Meezan-Upaisa will allow for the people in Pakistan to be able to do money transactions like sending and receiving money, paying bills, mobile recharging from Meezan-Upaisa agents located in Pakistan.

The spirit of Halal way of doing money transactions and keeping your hard earned money Halal is captured.

Watch below the TVC:

Monet Achieves PCI DSS Version 3.1 Certification

Monet (Private) Limited, Pakistan’s first independent and neutral mobile financial services hub, announced today that it has successfully secured the PCI DSS 3.1 accreditation. Certified by the leading, globally recognized QSA Company, Risk Associates, Monet is now amongst the few, handful of companies worldwide that have achieved this latest security certification.

The PCI DSS certification is a set of comprehensive requirements for enhancing payment account data security developed by the PCI Security Standards Council. The certification focuses on data security measures on payment transaction routing, storing and processing to protect cardholder’s data. Leveraging upon the PCI DSS certification, Monet has the ability to offer its customers – banks and merchants – with the highest level of security available in the market. Monet’s compliance with global certifications provides an opportunity to offer payment services along with value-added features on a global scale and in a secured environment.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Aftab Rizvi, CEO of Risk Associates said:

Compliance with latest security standards and certification demonstrates the commitment of a company to keep the customers information and data secure at the highest level. Achieving PCI DSS v3.1 certification is a major milestone for Monet and is a critical component of its comprehensive and transparent leadership effort to protect the businesses.

Ali Abbas Sikander, CEO of Monet added:

Securing the PCI DSS certification further strengthens Monet’s position as a payment services provider. This certification gives us the opportunity of providing our customers with cost-effective payment solutions, ranging from terminals to managed payment services, addressing PCI DSS standards with the highest level of security requirements.

Monet is one of the fastest growing payment facilitator and mobile financial services provider in Pakistan with solutions ranging from Card / Mobile Wallet Issuance, Mobile Point of Sale Acceptance, Payment Gateway, Utility Bill Payments, Merchant Payments and Mobile Banking. We have a highly capable team of payment technology experts servicing the electronic and mobile commerce ready segments as well as the unbanked and underserved population in Pakistan by introducing new and innovative product offerings in various industry verticals, such as Banking, Telecommunication, Insurance, Cash-on-Delivery (COD), Transport, Courier services, Health Services and Government Payments (P2G & G2P).

About Risk Associates:

Risk Associates (RA) roots are firmly embedded in Australia’s information technology community and widen globally by strategically located offices around the world. Having accumulated a wealth of experience over the years, RA specialize in Risk Management, Information Governance, Compliance Programs, and Information Security. RA clients consist of government, financial, hospitality, education, telecommunication and sporting /online gaming industry around the world.

Risk Associates is considered to be the pioneer in bringing PCI DSS certification concept for the first time in Pakistan and the company stands as a strong knowledge-base for all aspects of information security.

About Monet Private Limited

Monet (Private) Limited is a Cards and Payment services provider in Mobile, Branchless and Alternate Banking domain, working with a vision to digitize payments in the cash based economies.  We operate from Karachi, Pakistan, as a completely hosted payment processor, having our own systems and infrastructure hosted and operated at our Data Centre(s) to serve the banks, FIs and merchants by furnishing their payment automation and transaction processing needs.

For more information, contact

Online Passport Renewal by NADRA

Federal Government of Pakistan is to launch an electronic solution for receiving applications for Online Passport Renewal. the passport holders can easily submit requests for passport extensions and renewals with the new system.

Online Passport Renewal Handle by NADRA Electronic Solution

According to sources within the Interior Ministry, a software is under development. National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has been delegated with the development of the system. The system is in its final stage of development and will be launched very soon.

This online system will be launched in phases. In the initial stages it will be used for only renewal of expired passports and limited to certain cities in the country.

Why the need for such a system

There are only 95 passport offices across the country in Pakistan. This has always been a problem for people have to travel and endure the long queues at these offices. The federal government is also planning to increase the regional offices by 73 in the following months which makes the total number of regional offices to be 168 by end of 2016.

These projects reduce load on passport offices and an online system will be useful to citizens who can apply for passport renewal from their homes easily. The increase of regional passport offices will greatly help people residing in remote areas of the country.

When is the Online Passport Renewal System Expected to Start?

In the early last month home delivery of passports was launched. The new passport renewal system will be launched by March 2016. Though the online issuance and renewal services were expected to be launched this April, it appears as if only the renewal service might be launched by that time. Such delays also occurred with the online CNIC application in its development phase.

 

Source

Seed Investment Fund and loT were announced by OPEN Islamabad at their Annual Forum

Open Islamabad Annual Forum 2015 was closed by 19-Dec-2015. Event hosted people from all over Pakistan, which was held in the serene location of Shankar Pariyaan. CEOs, entrepreneurs, innovators, policy makers, officials from the Government, development and academia were attended in the event.

This OPEN (Organization of Pakistan Enterpreneurs) which is a non-profit organization diligently dedicated to promote entrepreneurship and leadership in Business among the international Pakistan Community. They have a good active history in certain locations like Boston, Silicon Valley, New York, Washington DC, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, London, Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. To the launch time Open Islamabad was their only chapter which is fastest application. Their first Annual Forum held last year was focused on celebrating the entrepreneurs of Islamabad, well this year they escalated to give a platform to graduates at the level of excellence and demonstrable success.

The event was entertained and included with motivational talks, innovation showcases, networking opportunities and announcements too. Successful people from different fields like Medicine, Philosophy, Business & Entrepreneurship, Academia and Media were given their speeches and added more interest as speakers. The best known psychiatrist who owned with an award of Sitara e Imtiaz by the Pakistan Government was first speaker in the event. He shared his journey along with his experiences and key figures who influenced him to adopt the profession of Psychiatry.

 

Accelerator Program Startup was by Telenor

An inspirational talk from Telenor’s Chief Marketing Officer, Irfan Wahab Khan, was delivered about his passionate learning and his eventual rise to the top. He also announced two official announcements:

  • Soon Telenor will be launching a startup accelerator and IoT (Internet of Things) solutions.

 

Mr. Wahab mentioned:

There are numerous startup incubators and accelerators in Pakistan, but all they do is provide you with space and mentorship. We are hoping to change that with Telenor’s Accelerator Program which will be launched some time in the near future. With our program we are aiming to provide our startups with our API’s for payment facilitation, location and distribution. Our enrolled startups will also have access to our customer base for marketing purposes as well. Furthermore, we are also hoping to launch our IoT solutions soon: some of which include a Child Wrist Watch and a Car Monitoring OBD.

Telenor given a chance to the attendees to get a hands-on experience with the devices in the event. One of the interesting among them is Child Wrist Watch which is like other watches but also allowing parents to monitor their child’s movements and give a alarm siren if they moved out of the assigned radius. And a device called OBD which can be installed in cars to keep a track of your car speed, mileage and fuel as well.

OPEN Islamabad Seed Fund & loT Lab:

President of OPEN Islamabad, Mr. Owais Anjum made 3 important announcements in his speech.

  1. OPEN’s very own seed fund to be launched soon.
  2. OPEN’s Super Advisor Group will work in close on the startups,
  3. An loT Lab will be introduced soon.

 

Mr.Owais did not disclose any further news on these ventures and preferred to keep details in veil presently.

Lastly event also enclosed with the talks of Dr.Anwaar-ul-Hassan Gilani of Pakistan Council for Science and Technology, Dr. Farrukh Hassan, Iqbal Khan of Alachsoft, Asad Umar, President of OPEN Global Dilawar Syed, Anchor Shamoon Hashmi, Narjis Ali of Sure Secure Solutions and Khurram Jamali from Google.

Mobilink to Launch At Least Four 3G Phones Under Rs. 8,000

Mobilink is good to go to launch its own particular phones in Pakistan with ultra-low costs and high value range specs, we have gotten notification from individuals who know about the development.

While we don’t have an affirmation, it is normal that phones will be launched with-in next couple of days.

Billed as Jazz X — as indicated by some of the official tweets — these low-end yet well assembled Android phones will be valued under Rs. 8,000.

With this launch of Mobilink Phones, we might likewise see the re-conception of Jazz brand that we told you about couple of days ago.

While we don’t have complete points of interest on the specs for the phones in this way, we can affirm that there is no less than one cell phone with 1GB of RAM and 8GB ROM. It will run on Android 4.4 with 1.2GHz dual core processor. It will have 2,000mAh battery to deal with broad utilization.

There is additionally going to be a 3G empowered featured phone in the package too and we accept that it will be valued around Rs. 3,000.

Mobilink is prone to offer alluring 3G packages— ideally for free — with these phones, and that will be the primary selling pitch for these low-end mobiles. You can expect more details on Mobilink X phones with-in couple of days.

SwiftKey Symbols become a Custom-tailored App for Special Communication Requirements

SwiftKey has declared an extraordinary version of their application called SwiftKey Symbols. The application is adapted towards helping “non-verbal people with unique needs”. The SwiftKey group went to the choice to make this new application after a percentage of the colleagues experienced difficulty managing extreme autism in their families.

A Swiftkey for Autism?

SwiftKey Symbols is by all accounts the ideal thought to help with this issue. People who can’t make out words and letters can’t utilize a keyboard. The application settles this by utilizing a card based framework with each of the cards showing an image.

A comparative technique, image cards, are utilized to offer a mental imbalance some assistance with affecting people correspond with others. At the point when contrasted and a heap of cards, the SwiftKey application has a conspicuous favorable position. SwiftKey can make utilization of their logical language expectation motor to strong sentences from the picked images. Not constrained to language forecast, the application will likewise have the capacity to track a client’s day by day routine and adjust the image card format in like manner, making the most utilized images simpler to get to.

Special Communication Tool for Special People

The application is in reality the conspicuous answer for autism patients yet it can likewise people with other communicative ailments or issues. People like Stephen Hawking frequently utilize SwiftKey technology to speak with others. Images could be the ideal application for more youthful individuals with comparable issues like the Locked In Syndrome, by-birth deafness, voiceless and so forth. The application could be utilized for a totally distinctive range too. Uneducated individuals who can’t compose will likewise have the capacity to impart by utilizing the images cards.

Speech and Language Therapist from the Riverside School for Special Needs Students, Charlotte Parkhouse, helped with the improvement of this application, making it professionally confirmed for use in the aforementioned situations.

Features and Availability of Swifkey Symbols

The application has features like Symbol to sentence developer, next symbol prediction, audio playback, custom photo addition, new classification creation and day and time particular expectations. The application runs just on Android cell phones and tablets for the time being.

The application can be downloaded for nothing from the Play Store here.

In the relatively recent past, Samsung uncovered an application for Alzheimer’s patients. Swiftkey is additionally accomplishing something comparable here.

$2.5 Million Valued Contract Signed between NetSol Technologies and UK Bank to Implement Finance and Leasing Platform

NetSol Technologies, Inc. a worldwide business administrations and enterprise application arrangements supplier, today declared that a set up UK-based bank has chosen NetSol’s LeaseSoftTM as its new stage to support the development of its advantage back and renting business, while uniting IT frameworks. The venture and continuing relationship quality is required to surpass $2.5 million.

The framework is relied upon to upgrade the bank’s IT functionality, giving consistent ability to deal with all back office prerequisites, while enhancing business forms through mix with the bank’s other IT frameworks once the usage is finished.

This is an important new win for NetSol, further building upon our efforts in the UK and throughout Europe.

said Naeem Ghauri, President and Global Head of Sales of NetSol.

Our solutions — whether NFSTM, LeasePakTM, LeaseSoft or NFS AscentTM — help companies transform their finance and leasing operations, providing a fully automated asset-based finance solution covering the full leasing and finance lifecycle.

LeaseSoft is a full lifecycle lease and financial framework, pointed overwhelmingly at the UK funder business sector, including modules to support web entrances and an electronic information exchange services to encourage mix in the middle of funders and introducers.

About NetSol Technologies

NetSol Technologies, Inc. is an overall supplier of IT and enterprise programming arrangements essentially serving the worldwide renting and financing industry. The Company’s suite of uses are upheld by 40 years of domain ability and bolstered by a conferred group of more than 1500 experts set in eight deliberately found backing and delivery centers all through the world.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking explanations identifying with the development and implementation of the Company’s items and administrations and future operation results, including proclamations in regards to the Company that are liable to certain risks and uncertainties that could bring about genuine results to contrast substantially from those anticipated. The words “expects,” “anticipates,” varieties of such words, and comparable expressions, recognize forward-peered proclamations inside of the significance of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, yet their absence does not imply that the announcement is not forward-looking. These announcements are not assurances of future performance and are liable to certain risks, uncertainties, and suppositions that are hard to foresee. Components that could influence the Company’s real results incorporate the advancement and expenses of the development of items and administrations and the timing of the business sector acknowledgment. The subject Companies expressly disavow any commitment or undertaking to redesign or update any forward-looking articulation contained thus to mirror any adjustment in the organization’s desires with respect thereto or any adjustment in occasions, conditions or circumstances whereupon any announcement is based.

PTCL Cleared to Take Part in DTH License Auction through a Front Company

PTCL, through a minor company, has gotten the leeway to take part in the up and coming DTH license auction in Pakistan.

The telecom company’s application was already dismisses by PEMRA on different grounds. In any case, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has acknowledged the request of “Savvy SKY”, a backup of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), to be permitted to partake in the DTH Licenses bidding, as per a senior authority of PTCL.

Already, SMART SKY, in the wake of getting rejected, had submitted under the watchful eye of the high court that PEMRA as of late issued a welcome for organizations enlisted in Pakistan to apply and bid for three non-select DTH Distribution Services Licenses (‘DTH License’) for the region of Pakistan.

SMART SKY Limited is a private limited company that’s a solely retained minor of PTCL

SMART SKY alongside nine different organizations, connected because of the start for DTH Licenses. SMART SKY presented its nitty gritty application to PEMRA on Oct fifth, 2015, alongside all imperative data and documents.

As indicated by the appeal submitted in high court:

On Nov 29th, 2015 — just a week before the auction — we received a letter from PEMRA that SMART SKY had been found ineligible for participating in the bidding process for the grant of DTH License in view of Section 25 of the PEMRA Ordinance. PEMRA in the said letter simply communicated its determination as to the SMART SKY’s ineligibility without providing any hearing opportunity before taking its decision.

The supplication contended that PEMRA wrongly connected Section 25(c) of the PEMRA Ordinance 2002 to SMART SKY.

SMART Sky’s request clarified that segment 25(c) accommodates two prohibitive occurrences, whose lion’s share shares are claimed or controlled by outside nationals or organizations. The SMART SKY’s dominant part shareholder is PTCL, which is a Pakistani organization subsequently SMART SKY does not fall afoul of the first piece of Section 25(c). The second being an organization whose administration or control is vested in remote nationals or (outside) organizations.

The appeal further expressed that the Board of Directors of the SMART SKY, and also the Chief Executive Officer of the SMART SKY, are all Pakistani nationals and not remote nationals. Nor there is any a shareholder or administration understanding in presence that vests administration of SMART SKY in any remote organization.

Therefore, in strict terms the SMART SKY does not fall within the mischief of Section 25(c) of the PEMRA Ordinance 2002 and hence the decision is without any legal basis, said the plea.

The second tier of proprietorship or control of an applicant organization is unimportant to the restrictive provisions of Section 25 of the PEMRA Ordinance 2002. This is vital considering that Etisalat is a minority shareholder in PTCL, a Pakistani organization with the greater part of its shares possessed by the Government of Pakistan.

The request likewise reminded that PEMRA has beforehand conceded PTCL, the shareholder of SMART SKY, an exception from the confinements under Section 25(c) when PTCL straightforwardly connected for a media permit (IPTV License) which was then allowed by PEMRA in 2006. Along these lines, PEMRA cannot presently guarantee confinement under Section 25(c) to apply upon SMART SKY by virtue of PTCL being its shareholder.

After IHC’s acknowledgment, now Smart Sky will be taking an interest in the closeout, which was booked for Today (Dec 7, 2015) yet was postponed by PEMRA Chairman only three days in front of auction.

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