Wednesday, August 3 2005 20:39 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Pakistan has offered to allow cellular roaming facility to Indian firms on reciprocal basis as a step to build confidence among the mobile phone companies operating in both the countries and to explore new business options.

"We have offered Indian companies to get the roaming facility here and we would facilitate them," Pakistan's Minister for IT and Telecom, Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari, said.

But "they (India) should reciprocate in the same way. We can't understand why such a facility could not be allowed. The Indian authorities should consider that," he was quoted as saying by the 'Daily Times'.

"We allow our companies to offer roaming in India. But there is a problem from the Indian side as they neither allow their companies nor offer the facility to Pakistani operators," Leghari said, adding India has banned the roaming facility for Pakistani companies in its territory, nor does it allow operators within its territory to offer the facility in Pakistan.

He said almost all Indian cell phone companies availed of Pakistani facility to offer their subscribers the roaming facility in Pakistan during the tour of Indian cricket team in March 2004 for a limited period of four months, with the exception of Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast.

He said Pakistan experienced a robust growth in the telecom sector attracting appreciation and investment from all over the world. This resulted in building confidence among the local operators and drawing attention of the world's leading telecom players.

Currently, the five GSM service providers -- Mobilink, Ufone, Paktel, Telenor and Al-Warid offered international roaming facility in almost every part of the world except India.

Cellular mobile telecommunication services were introduced in Pakistan in 1990 and the current subscriber base is over 12 million and the mobile sector registered a staggering growth of 120 per cent a year.

Similarly, the fixed-line service subscriber base has just crossed six million in more than five decades.

On the other hand, India has about 105 million phone connections and the mobile subscribers totalled about 58 million.

Local operators believe if the Indian Government allows Pakistani companies to offer roaming service for their customers in India, it can benefit the business.

"With such a facility in place, the two countries will be able to extend roaming facility to their customers travelling in Pakistan and India with immediate effect," an unnamed senior official of a cellular company was quoted as saying.

"We can be able to offer the roaming service to pre-paid as well as post-paid customers. For that we will have to sign an agreement with any of the GSM cellular service provider in India and the same is the case with India," he said, adding that with the roaming facility the GSM subscribers would be able to stay connected using the same mobile number, both in India and Pakistan.