Wahaj Siraj

chief executive of Nayatel

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Wahaj Siraj is the chief executive officer of Nayatel. He was born in Gujranwala, graduated in 1986 and did a master's in renewable energy at Melbourne University. He says his team launched Pakistan's first ever broadband DSL service in 2002.

Early life and background

Siraj was born in Gujranwala. His father and mother were both doctors, and his mother ran a private medical practice. His maternal grandmother was also a teacher, and he says his paternal grandfather held four master's degrees. [1]

From 1971 Siraj was mostly schooled in Islamabad. He and his brothers were educated in Urdu medium. [1]

Education

Siraj went to a college for FSc and was admitted to a mechanical program. He graduated in 1986 and earned a first division degree. He also did a master's in renewable energy at Melbourne University. [1]

Career

Siraj was Principal Staff Officer to Dr. Atta ur Rehman. He says a project, a proposal and a PC-1 were drafted and sent to the government, and no funding was received. He also says he decided to leave his job. [1]

Micronet

Siraj says he started a small PC shop with others. The business operated under the name Micronet. He says a dial-up ISP was started in the Taxila area, and that in 2002 his team launched Pakistan's first ever broadband DSL service, for 20 people. He says there were three partners, each holding one third. [1]

Nayatel

Siraj says his team resolved to lay a fibre network and escape PTCL's grip, and that if all their money were paid for spectrum, little would be left. He states his company was the first to run fibre through ducts. He also states that it imported a machine from America worth two crore rupees. [1]

Siraj states that his company offers enterprise and cloud services and is present in Peshawar, Faisalabad, Multan and Gujranwala. He states it holds 80 to 85 percent market share in Islamabad. He says it put "how am I driving" stickers on the backs of its vehicles, and that 99 to 99.5 percent of hiring is done on merit. [1]

Siraj states there are about four to seven shareholders, from different families. He says his personal shareholding is now a minority stake, and that there was a plan to go public through an IPO. [1]

Views

Siraj states that a business should have a backbone and a structure. He says a company should compete on quality, not on price. He also says complacency is a big challenge. [1]

Siraj says there has been zero facilitation from the government, and that the government should put money into education and health. He says the government's job is not to run businesses or create jobs, and that 80 to 90 percent of people in government do not work. He says he is concerned with results, not activities. [1]

Siraj says 90 percent of the regulations are redundant, and that regulations made around 1820 are still running today. He says deregulation took place in 2001, during President Musharraf's time. He says he argued that PTA should also have KPIs, and that false cases were brought against the former PTA chairman and former members. He says NAB sent him a notice after he shared a news item on social media. [1]

Siraj says broadband distribution came very late, and that roughly 80 to 90 percent of the infrastructure used belonged to PTCL. He says there are immense numbers of young graduates, whom he calls raw material. He expects the Pakistan of the next generation to be better than today's. [1]

Timeline

1971
Began mostly being schooled in Islamabad.[1]
1986
Graduated.[1]
2002
Says his team launched Pakistan's first ever broadband DSL service, for 20 people.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2023-03-08 The engineer who built Pakistan's first fiber network Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Wahaj Siraj?

Wahaj Siraj is the chief executive officer of Nayatel. He was born in Gujranwala and graduated in 1986. He also did a master's in renewable energy at Melbourne University.[1]

What does Wahaj Siraj do?

Wahaj Siraj is the chief executive officer of Nayatel. He states that his company offers enterprise and cloud services and holds 80 to 85 percent market share in Islamabad.[1]

Where is Wahaj Siraj from?

Wahaj Siraj was born in Gujranwala. From 1971 he was mostly schooled in Islamabad.[1]

Where did Wahaj Siraj study?

Wahaj Siraj went to a college for FSc and was admitted to a mechanical program. He graduated in 1986 with a first division degree. He also did a master's in renewable energy at Melbourne University.[1]

What is Wahaj Siraj's family background?

Wahaj Siraj's father and mother were both doctors, and his mother ran a private medical practice. His maternal grandmother was also a teacher. He says his paternal grandfather held four master's degrees.[1]

What does Wahaj Siraj say about government regulation?

Wahaj Siraj says 90 percent of the regulations are redundant, and that regulations made around 1820 are still running today. He also says the government's job is not to run businesses or create jobs.[1]

References

  1. The engineer who built Pakistan's first fiber network . Thought Behind Things , 2023-03-08.
Show the source passages (51 statements)
  1. Wahaj Siraj is the CEO of Nayatel. Wahaj Siraj is the CEO at Nayatel.
  2. He was born in Gujranwala. Gujranwala mein paida hue
  3. His father and mother were both doctors. mere abbu bhi doctor hain aur meri mother bhi doctor thi
  4. His mother ran a private medical practice. Ammi private practice karti thi
  5. His maternal grandmother was also a teacher. meri jo nani thi woh bhi teacher thi
  6. He says his paternal grandfather held four master's degrees. dada jo the woh toh us waqt unhone char masters digriyan ki hui thi
  7. From 1971 he was mostly schooled in Islamabad. Toh 71 se phir Islamabad toh meri mostly schooling Islamabad FG College Number One se hui
  8. He went to a college for FSc. main FSc ke liye Gordon College chala gaya
  9. He and his brothers were educated in Urdu medium. Hum teen bhai Urdu medium mein padhe hain
  10. He was admitted to a mechanical program. Wahan pe mera mechanical mein hua
  11. He graduated in 1986. 86 mein hum pass out hue
  12. He earned a first division degree. Toh degree bhi first division likha aa gaya
  13. He did a master's in renewable energy at Melbourne University. Melbourne University mein chala gaya to did masters in renewable energy
  14. He was Principal Staff Officer to Dr. Atta ur Rehman. Principal Staff Officer tha Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman sahab ke saath
  15. He says a project, a proposal and a PC-1 were drafted and sent to the government, and no funding was received. humne project banaya, proposal banayi, PC1 banaya, sarkar ko bheja. Uski funding hi nahi mili
  16. He says he decided to leave his job. ab chhodni hai naukri chhodni hai
  17. He says he started a small PC shop with others. humne small jo tha woh PC shop actually start ki
  18. The business operated under the name Micronet. Ye Micronet ke naam se
  19. He says a dial-up ISP was started in the Taxila area. Phir humne ek dial-up ISP Taxila area mein start kiya
  20. He states that in 2002 his team launched Pakistan's first ever broadband DSL service, for 20 people. humne 2002 mein 20 bandon ki Pakistan ki pehli first ever broadband jo thi DSL service woh launch ki
  21. He says there were three partners, each holding one third. to usme to hum teenon teen partners the to one third one third
  22. He says that if all their money were paid for spectrum, little would be left. to sare paise spectrum pe de denge to piche kya bachega hamare paas
  23. He says his team resolved to lay a fibre network and escape PTCL's grip. Humne kaha fiber network dalenge aur PTCL ke chungle se niklenge
  24. He states his company was the first to run fibre through ducts. Us duct mein se hum fiber dalte the. We were the first one
  25. He states that his company imported a machine from America worth two crore rupees. Humne us waqt do crore rupay ki ek America se machine import ki
  26. He says his company put "how am I driving" stickers on the backs of its vehicles. humne gadiyon ke piche sticker lagaye ke yaar how am I driving
  27. He states his company offers enterprise and cloud services. Enterprise ki hamari services hain, hamari cloud ki services hain
  28. He states his company is present in Peshawar, Faisalabad, Multan and Gujranwala. Pindi mein, Peshawar mein, Faisalabad mein hain, Multan mein hain, Gujranwala mein hain
  29. He states his company holds 80 to 85 percent market share in Islamabad. Islamabad mein toh abhi bhi 80-85% market share hamare paas hi hai
  30. He says complacency is a big challenge. Baaki complacency is a big challenge
  31. He states that 99 to 99.5 percent of hiring is done on merit. 99%, 99.5% merit pe hire karte hain
  32. He states there are about four to seven shareholders, from different families. chaar, che, saat, saat shareholder hain, different families hain
  33. He says his personal shareholding is now a minority stake. ab hamari jo personal shareholding hai wo to minority ho gayi hui hai
  34. He says there was a plan to go public through an IPO. Ab maybe public jane ka hamara plan tha IPO ka
  35. He states a business should have a backbone and a structure. Business ka bhi ek backbone aur ek structure hona chahiye
  36. He says a company should compete on quality, not on price. price pe kabhi compete nahi karo, quality pe compete karo
  37. He says there has been zero facilitation from the government. honestly government ki taraf se zero facilitation
  38. He says he is concerned with results, not activities. we are not concerned with the activities, we are concerned with the results
  39. He says he argued that PTA should also have KPIs. Humne kaha sir, PTA ke bhi to koi KPIs hone chahiye hain na
  40. He says false cases were brought against the former PTA chairman and former members. PTA ke jo ex-chairman the aur jo ex-members the un par jhoote muqaddame banaye gaye
  41. He says NAB sent him a notice after he shared a news item on social media. maine usko social media pe ek khabar lagayi to NAB ne mujhe notice bhej diya
  42. He says 80 to 90 percent of people in government do not work. sarkar mein waise hi 80-90% log kaam nahi karte
  43. He says the government should put money into education and health. government education ko paisa daale, health mein paisa daale
  44. He says there are immense numbers of young graduates, whom he calls raw material. hamare paas be-tasha young graduates hain, they are raw material
  45. He expects the Pakistan of the next generation to be better than today's. jo hamara next generation ka Pakistan hoga na woh woh bohot Insha'Allah accha hoga aaj ke Pakistan se
  46. He says government's job is not to run businesses or create jobs. government ka kaam business karna nahi hai, government ka kaam job creation nahi hai
  47. He says 90 percent of the regulations are redundant. 90% regulation redundant hain hamari
  48. He says regulations made around 1820 are still running today. jitni 1900 matlab 1820 ki regulationein bani hain aur aaj tak chalti aa rahi hain
  49. He says deregulation took place in 2001, during President Musharraf's time. 2001 mein jab jab yeh President Musharraf ke daur mein jab yeh deregulation hui
  50. He says broadband distribution came very late. Uh hamari even jo broadband ki distribution hai woh bahut late hui hai
  51. He says roughly 80 to 90 percent of the infrastructure used belonged to PTCL. taqreeban aap samajh lein 80-90% infrastructure PTCL ka hi use hota tha