Press Releases
December 16, Islamabad. COMSATS Internet Services (CIS), Pakistan’s pioneer ISP, celebrated its “15 years of Internet Excellence” at a customer seminar at a local hotel in Islamabad. Chief Guest for the occasion was Dr. Muhammad Yasin, Chairman, Pakistan Telecom Authority. Other guests included Dr. Imtinan Elahi Qureshi, Executive Director, COMSATS, Mr. Parvez Ahmed Butt, Founding Executive Director COMSATS, and customers and employees of CIS. The event started with recitation from Holy Quran followed by welcome address from Assistant Manager Marketing. This was followed by a slideshow on the achievements of CIS over the last 15 years.
Chief Executive Officer CIS, Mr. Asim Shahryar Husain, gave a presentation on the present and future plans of CIS. He highlighted the achievements of CIS during 2011 including upgradation of data center and training center, new offices in Karachi, Peshawar, and Lahore, and launching of seven new product brands known as “The Colors of CIS.” These include Freedom™ (Wi-Fi DSL), Tornado™ (Wireless P2P links), Hurricane™ (On-demand broadband), Hawaii™ (Domain & hosting), Comtrain™ (IT training), Prism™ (Web development), and Viacon™ (Video conferencing). He said that CIS is a diversified ISP offering seven different services mainly to government organizations and corporate customers. His presentation was followed by a detailed presentation on the different services offered by CIS by GM Sales & Marketing, Mr. Arshad Quddus Qazi. He mentioned that CIS will be launching some new services in 2012 to meet the hosting needs of its customers. This was followed by comments from different customers of CIS including UNDP, CIIT, and Savior Group who acknowledged the quality of services and support provided by CIS to its customers.
CEO giving Address Chief guest cutting the cake
Chairman PTA, Dr. Muhammad Yasin, congratulated CIS on completing its fifteen years of Internet operations in Pakistan and said that CIS has a rich history and customer portfolio. He said that there were only 25,000 broadband users in Pakistan five years ago. But this number has crossed almost 1.5 million subscribers now with 4.8 million face book users in Pakistan. The broadband forecast for Pakistan is 5 million users by 2015. However, the growth in broadband in Pakistan has not been as fast as the growth in mobile market in Pakistan. It is because computers cost a lot more than mobile phones. Hence, to trigger broadband growth in Pakistan, companies should offer cheaper computers and there should be no taxes on computers either.
He said that whereas ecommerce has become a reality in many countries, online buying is still not enabled on many Pakistani portals because of lack of an online payment gateway and legislation protecting against misusage of credit cards online in Pakistan. He said that instead of focusing on speed and tariffs only, ISPs should market applications and benefits of broadband to increase broadband penetration in Pakistan. He said that broadband can be used for ecommerce, e-education, e-health, and many other uses. He said that telecom market is moving from quality of service to quality of experience. PTA has recently published the criteria for evaluating quality of experience for mobile networks to be followed by similar criteria for data networks. He was glad that CIS is conducting surveys of its customers to get feedback about quality of its services.
His address was followed by a shield distribution ceremony for all of the speakers. The seminar ended with a cake cutting ceremony followed by lunch. The seminar was attended by management, customers, and employees of COMSATS Internet Services.
Islamabad, July 25, 2011.A national training workshop on “Digital Library using Open Source Software” was organized by eHealth Association of Pakistan (eHAP) at the Secretariat of the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS), Islamabad. The workshop was supported by COMSATS Secretariat, COMSATS Internet Services (CIS), DlnetSA, and LISolutions. Librarians and I.T professionals from various government and private organizations, like Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), State Bank of Pakistan and Heartfile Pakistan, as well as academic institutions of Pakistan, like Aga Khan University, International Islamic University, Islamia University, Riphah University, Bahria University and COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) attended the workshop.
The workshop was inaugurated on July 20, 2011 by Dr. Haroon Roedad Khan, President eHAP. The workshop aimed to provide the participants with free and open source software for digital libraries and library management comprised nine technical sessions that were spread over three days. Lead trainers of the workshop were Dr. Mohan Raj Pradhan from DlnetSA, Nepal; and Mr. Shafiq Rana and Mr. Ata ur Rehman from LISolutions who delivered lectures and imparted hands-on training for two important free and open source softwares, ‘GSDL’ and ‘Koha’.
The event was concluded on July 22, 2011 with the distribution of certificates among the organizers and participants. Speaking at the Concluding Ceremony, the Executive Director COMSATS, Dr. Imtinan Elahi Qureshi, felicitated the organizers and participants of the workshop on the successful holding of the event and hoped that it has been a good learning experience for the IT and Library professionals. He also appreciated the role of eHAP in supporting quality e-health services across Pakistan and considered it an important area for collaboration between the COMSATS and eHAP, as the former is one of the pioneers of this field in Pakistan. Both organizations are using the modern telecommunication means to supplement the existing healthcare services in Pakistan.
Also speaking on the occasion, the President eHAP impressed upon the participants the need to practically use at their institutions the knowledge imparted through this workshop. He believed that the libraries in the developing countries like Pakistan need to come at par with the modern technological age to effectively disseminate the most up-to-date knowledge. The three trainers also shared their training experiences in the light of the three-day proceedings and appreciated the support rendered by COMSATS Secretariat and eHAP for the event.
COMSATS Internet Services (CIS) appoints new Chief Executive Officer
Islamabad, January 2011. COMSATS Internet Services (CIS), Pakistan’s pioneer ISP, has appointed Mr. Asim Shahryar Husain as its Chief Executive Officer. He will be taking over the charge from Mr. Pervez Butt, former Director General and founder of CIS. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Butt said “This is really an exciting moment in the history of CIS. We have brought in a young and passionate executive to turn around the ISP. Asim brings with him a wealth of experience in marketing and sales of technical products and services. He has been head of marketing for many technology firms and is capable of leading CIS successfully.”
The new CEO thanked the former DG and stated that “CIS is the pioneer ISP of Pakistan and is known for the quality of its customer support. Keeping our tradition of being the pioneers, I am proud to announce that CIS is the first ISP to offer on-demand broadband in Pakistan. Customers can now use broadband on a per-event basis. I will use my technology marketing experience to breathe new energy and passion into CIS. I will do my best to lead CIS successfully in 2011.” Asim has a BSc in Engineering from Stanford University, California and an MBA in Marketing from Duke University, North Carolina. He has 18 years of professional experience in both technical and marketing management positions with firms such as Siemens, Oracle, IBM, Transworld, and Wi-tribe. He joined CIS as Chief Operating Officer in May 2010 and has launched six new brands and services since then. These include Freedom (Wi-Fi DSL), Tornado (Wireless P2P links), Hurricane (On-demand broadband), Hawaii (Domain and Hosting), Comtrain (Training), and Viacon (Video Conferencing). To learn more about COMSATS Internet Services, email info@comsats.net.pk.
COMSATS Internet Services (CIS) launches new brands at Dawn Lifestyles
Islamabad, November 27, 2010. COMSATS Internet Services (CIS), Pakistan’s pioneer ISP, announced the launch of four new internet services at Dawn Lifestyles at Jinnah Convention Center Islamabad today. The new brands include Tornado (Long Range Wireless Broadband), Hurricane (On-demand broadband), Freedom (Wi-Fi DSL), and Hawaii (Domain and Hosting). Tornado is a wireless broadband service for businesses which provides throughput as high as 100 mbps over 50 kms. Hurricane is another pioneering service from CIS. CIS is the first ISP to launch on-demand broadband in Pakistan. Hurricane is very suitable for short events such as one-day or one-week conferences and seminars. Customers will pay for broadband on an event basis. Freedom is a Wi-Fi DSL service which enables an internet user to create a hotspot at home or workplace. Modem and installation are free for students. Hawaii is a domain and hosting service from CIS. CIS offers both Windows and Linux hosting in .com and .pk domains. CIS is hosting more than 2500 domains and websites at present.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Operating Officer of CIS, Asim Shahryar Husain, said that “COMSATS Internet Services (CIS) is proud to launch four new exciting brands at Dawn Lifestyles this year. CIS is the pioneer ISP of Pakistan and Hurricane is another pioneering service from CIS. CIS is the first ISP to launch on-demand broadband in Pakistan. On-demand broadband will enable our customers to pay for broadband on a per event basis. We are also pleased to announce the launch of our other brands including Tornado, Freedom, and Hawaii. CIS is the first ISP to offer 6-month and 1-year packages through its Freedom service. CIS is known for the quality of its customer support and we are offering new internet services to meet the needs of our customers.”
COMSATS Internet Services will be exhibiting its internet services at Jinnah Convention Center Islamabad from November 27th to 28th. Visitors who place orders for Wi-Fi DSL will get free webcams, USBs, and travel mugs. To learn more about CIS, please email marketing@comsats.net.pk.
COMSATS Internet Services (CIS) launches Freedom Broadband
Islamabad, October 8, 2010. COMSATS Internet Services (CIS) is proud to announce the launch of its Wi-Fi DSL service, Freedom Broadband, at DMEC 2010 at Convention Center, Islamabad today. Freedom is a broadband service which enables an internet user to create his/her own hotspot and use internet anywhere within his/her house or workplace. The user is not restricted to a fixed location like in case of traditional DSL. Hence, Freedom makes internet portable. Freedom offers broadband packages for both students and professionals including 512 kbps, 1 mbps, and 2 mbps.
CIS is the first ISP in Pakistan to offer semi-annual and annual broadband packages. Customers can save up to Rs. 3000 a year when subscribing to the annual package for 2Mbps. There are no modem charges. This service is being offered in Islamabad and Rawalpindi at present and will be offered in more cities by the end of the year.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Operating Officer of CIS, Asim Shahryar Husain, said that “COMSATS Internet Services (CIS) is the pioneer ISP of Pakistan when it launched Internet services for the first time in 1996. CIS is known for the quality of its customer support and we will be offering new internet services to our customers. Freedom Broadband will give our customers the freedom to use internet anywhere within their home or workplace.”
CIS will be exhibiting and demoing Freedom Broadband at DMEC 2010 at Convention Center Islamabad from October 8th to 10th 9-5 PM. Drawing for a free winner of Freedom connection will be conducted every day at 5 PM. To learn more about Freedom, please email freedom@comsats.net.pk.
COMSATS employees donate one-day salary and 2500 kgs of rice to flood victims
August 2010, Islamabad. Employees of COMSATS Internet Services (CIS) demonstrated their compassion for the flood victims of Pakistan by donating one day of their salary. CIS also donated part of its last month’s profits to the flood victims. COMSATS Peshawar office used these donations to make 1000 packs of dry food. These packs were handed over to camps in Charsadda for distribution to flood victims in many villages around Charsadda. In addition, COMSATS Headquarter collected donations from its employees, purchased and delivered 2500 kgs of rice to an NGO in Islamabad. The NGO cooked and distributed the food to different flood victims around Nowshera and Charsadda.