Raid on call centre PSEB at odds with PTA, PTCL
Finally, evidence of intelligent life in Pakistan Govt.
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By Imran Ayub (undated)

KARACHI: Tremors were running across the telecom industry owing to a tug of war among different institutions as Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) has registered a protest with the federal IT ministry on Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) raid against a call centre running job portal on suspicious illegal operations.

Sources in the industry said the PSEB high-ups appeared annoyed after last week’s incident when plain-clothed officials of the FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) and PTA raided a call centre office in Software Technology Park Islamabad and arrested the professional there seizing telecom equipment on doubts that the set-up was being used for illegal voice termination.

“In fact, the company is one of the first companies in the world to launch an integrated voice resume system based on VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) technologies,” said a senior official who asked not to be named. “And their solution is being used by companies like TRG and others to hire quality talent for their call centres in Pakistan.”

He said the joint FIA-PTA team seized the servers, mobiles and other equipments on the pretext that the company was using it for illegal VoIP termination. The authorities also locked up the company’s CEO.

Telecom sources believe the PSEB’s prompt reaction was noticed in quarters concerned.

The emerging call centres consider it a long-term damage as the raided company was serving mainly the foreign clients.

The call centre operators claim that offices of the raided Cogilent Solutions runs a very successful job portal in the country called BrightSpyre. Among their innovations, the call centre is one of the first companies in the world to launch an integrated Voice Resume system based on VoIP technologies. The situation also rings alarm in industry quarters.

“This step has damaged all efforts we as call centre operators have been doing to promote the Pakistan call centre industry, also all our efforts to attract non-resident Pakistanis to come and work for Pakistani call centre industry,” said a letter to the federal minister from Call Centres Operators Association of Pakistan.

The industry, which is set to meet with the minister on the issue, pinpoints recently privatised Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL). “For the FIA or PTA this might be a routine work, as of today PTA and PTCL have not been able to produce a single piece of equipment or data to proof this company guilty, while there are dozens of proof that PTCL is its self doing termination of grey traffic on behest of their Arab owners,” said the ACCO letter.

Pakistan software industry started testing windfall two years ago on phenomenal jump in the call centres’ operations mainly in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. More than 140 centres are currently operational in three major cities of the country offering employment to around 5,000 people.

The country’s software exports crossed $70 million during 2005-06 first time ever registering a 50 per cent growth, as western firms started turning more and more to Pakistan for IT-enabled services to cut costs and raise profits.

The authorities, who have set $108 million software export target for 2006-07, however see activities like the previous damaging for the industry and foreign interest in Pakistani industry. “We have to define the policy line, which saves interests of both local and foreign investment,” said the PSEB official. He suggested the PTA and PTCL to approach the board if they notice illegal activity by any call centre or software house.
- posted @ Wednesday, December 13, 2006