PTCL has doubled its broadband data rate speed and upgraded all its existing 2Mbps customers to 4Mbps data rate on the same tariff and all existing 4Mbps customers have been upgraded to 6Mbps data service at the same tariff. In addition a new 8Mbps package has also been introduced. PTCL will have the following data rates for all its broadband existing and new customers with effect from July 15^th 2010.

1. 1Mbps at Rs 1199
2. 4Mbps at Rs 1999
3. 6Mbps at Rs 4999
4. 8Mbps at Rs 6999

Facebook Boycott on 20th May 2010

Facebook is Going to Get Banned in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has blocked the popular video sharing website YouTube in a bid to contain blasphemous material, officials said on Thursday.

The blockade came hours after the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) directed Internet service providers to stop access to social network Facebook indefinitely on Wednesday because of an online competition to draw the Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him) in gross violation of fundamental human rights pertaining to one’s religion.

Wahaj-us-Siraj, the CEO of Nayatel, an Internet service provider, said PTA issued an order late on Wednesday seeking an “immediate” blockade of YouTube.

“It was a serious instruction as they wanted us to do it quickly and let them know after that,” he said while talking to a UK-based news agency.

YouTube was also blocked in the Muslim country in 2007 for about a year for what it called un-Islamic videos.

A PTA official, who declined to be identified, said the action was taken after the authority determined that some sacrilegious caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad were transferred from Facebook to YouTube.

Representation of any prophet is deemed un-Islamic and blasphemous in Islam, let alone the caricature or cartoon of these divine personages.

Siraj said the blocking of the two websites would cut up to 25 percent of total Internet traffic in Pakistan.

“It’ll have an impact on the overall Internet traffic as they eat up 20 to 25 percent of the country’s total 65 giga-bytes traffic,” he said.

Publications of similar cartoons in Danish newspapers in 2005 sparked deadly protests in Muslim countries. Around 50 people were killed during violent protests in Muslim countries in 2006 over the cartoons, five of them in Pakistan.

Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on Denmark’s embassy in Islamabad in 2008, killing six people, saying it was in revenge for publication of the caricatures.

Original post: http://www.techfilled.com/ptcl-customer-information-system-security-flaw.html

Local Link for Customer Information: http://pakbee.com/ptcl.htm

PTCL has silently made a change in their broadband policy.

According to old policy, customers had to pay rent of PTCL broadband modem every month with DSL charges and when customer wanted to discontinue PTCL DSL service he had to return PTCL modem to PTCL – if he is not 12 months old customer.

Meaning that after 12 installments, modem belonged to customer – and PTCL couldn’t demand for modem if DSL services were discontinued after 12 months.

But now with new PTCL broadband policy, all new and old customers must have to return back DSL modems at the time when they want to discontinue their DSL service, even if they have completed 12 months or more.

So now modem charges are considered as monthly rental for modem and not the monthly installment.

This policy is valid for old customers too – meaning that if a customer has paid modem installments, even then he will have to return the modem in case of disconnection.

On other side, on new connections – you will have to get PTCL’s modem even if you have your own modem/router with you, unlike LinkDotNet, which allows you to use your own modem/router.

For example with Linkdotnet 1MB student package comes at Rs.885, which includes Rs.150 for modem rental. If you have your own ADSL modem, then you can get the same connection at Rs.735.

via=’http://propakistani.pk’

It seems like PTCL is going to double the DSL speeds of broadband customers very soon, most likely with in month or two, at most – same like it did last year. According to news the existing packages will be doubled as

• 1 mbps to 2 mbps
• 2 mbps to 4 mbps
• 4 mbps to 8 mbps

According to PTCL representative and feedback of different users PTCL is testing these double speeds on randomly selected subscribers from different areas of country. These users will be downgraded after the testing period ends to their original speeds and will be upgraded after official announcement, which is most likely to be on 23rd March, but can be delayed as no final date has been announced yet.

The up gradation process may take several months according to the size of network. Though PTCL is using is ADSL2+ which supports up to 24mbps but at same time there are many subscribers on Copper media, which supports up to 4 mbps at most (that too with distortion).

We hope that student package users will also get this upgrade and can enjoy higher speeds at discounted rates as recently PTCL discontinued all student packages above 1mbps.

We will keep you informed on this, you can also share your experience in comments if you got this test up gradation.

No official words on the situation yet.

via ProPakistani