Amjad Farooq Alvi

Amjad Farooq Alvi (born 10 August 1962) is a Pakistani businessman, entrepreneur, computer programmer, inventor and IT Industrialist. Amjad Alvi is the founder and chairman of Brain Telecommunications Ltd, the pioneer of Internet in Lahore. He also created the Brain Computer Virus.

Early life

Amjad Farooq Alvi was born in Lahore, Pakistan, to Muhammad Farooq Alvi and Sadiqa Begum. His father is a doctor who belongs to the Alvi people in Punjab. Amjad was educated at Andrews High School Lahore, Islamia College and University of Punjab. He holds a B.Sc in Mathematics and Physics. He resides in Lahore with family, but also has a residence in Singapore.

Entrepreneurial life

After his initial education, Amjad started his own company called Brain Computer Services, located in Allama Iqbal Town, in Lahore, at the age of 18. Despite being a self-taught computer specialist, his business was successful and it thrived as one of Pakistan's first computer firms. At the age of twenty, he with his brother Basit Farooq Alvi made the first computer virus for MS-DOS to protect his software from piracy. Later, he migrated to Singapore and worked for a few telecommunication companies before starting his own enterprise.

Professional life

In the late 1990s, Brain Telecommunication had two branches - one run by his brother in Pakistan and the other being run by himself in Singapore. In 2001, Amjad migrated back to Pakistan to help the Pakistani branch of the company. Brain Telecommunication offers high speed Internet in Lahore, VOIP services, video streaming, and IP phone services. Due to the low costs associated with the services, PTCL and PTA often involve Brain Telecommunication into cases questioning the legality of its services. Despite many cases, Brain Telecommunication has always defended its position - however its services remain suspended due to PTAs demand.^[1]

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