Mobile phone operators' revenue contracts sharply.

User (ARPU), a key tool for gauging the financial health of cellular mobile operators (CMOs), has declined sharply, setting off alarm bells for the telecom companies in Pakistan. The ARPU per month has dropped from $9 in 2003 to around $1 at present. At the same time, the cost of doing business has surged in various cases which include increase in spectrum fee from $291 million to $486 million and rise in taxes over the years to...