Comments on: Is Pakistan Ready For 3G?

By: Rashad Usama

Rashad Usama — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:17:19 +0000

i don’t think that its the case of incumbents holding out against wimax…wimax is backed by some very huge companies, Motorola and Intel to name a couple..so im sure where 3G/UMTS groups are planning against it,then these companies definitely have a plan n they sure know how to play ball.. besdies that…yes its true wimax has been having alot of teething problems but seriously i think users wld still prefer wimax over 3G/UMTS or the mobile internet technologies..id rather have high speed internet at home n medium speed on my mobile for occassional use purpose..n i think motorola n intel both are developing cards which would enable laptops to avail the wimax.

By: Nash

Nash — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:35:21 +0000

But i’ve heard that wimax has some technical limitations and have practically seen that after, say, 200 meters from the tower it is line-of-site dependant and one experiences poor or no coverage indoors.

By: Saleem

Saleem — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 13:04:05 +0000

Some time new cheap technologies gets failed just because of existing big giants. Same it seems with WiMAX. 3G/4G stake holders don’t want WiMAX in the market and they are trying their level best to make it flop, not because of that its pathetic or slow. just for their own gains. WiMAX allocated spectrum is far cheaper than 3G spectrum. WiMAX technology is able to operate at higher speed than 3G but UMTS group is fully trying to let it down by putting some licensing and some production hurdles. They won’t able to sell their products if WiMAX enabled mobiles and notebooks will be available at cheap rates. We can’t expect cheap 3G because it is expensive by birth. Spectrum allocation expensive, licensing expensive, equipment expensive so how it can be cheaper than WiMAX. but I’m afraid that 3G won’t allow it to grow freely. Their whole GSM and UMTS market will get suck by WiMAX. because who will talk through GSM then, if you can use broadband for talk also.

By: Rashad Usama

Rashad Usama — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:12:55 +0000

Nash You’re absolutely right in pointing out the factors above. without decent ROI’s and regulations the Mobile broadband won’t fly. But even as we speak the PTA is in the process of planning out 3G license scheme(in order to keep abreast with the international community).more with the current situation people in pakistan don’t use the services ofered except forthe voice service.so i guess its going to b a niche market for both 3G/4G as well as Mobile WimaX.

By: Nash

Nash — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 05:21:04 +0000

Well, i’ve heard plenty of blogs saying that WiMAX has not been successful and examples quoted as Buzz from Australia shut down their WiMAX business after investing huge.

However, i think there are two different questions as under:

Q1- What is the future of Mobile broadband?
This question covers all the questions like, are we ready, what would be the use of Mobile Broadband, revenue and ROI etc. And this is the question to be addressed by Marketing & Strategic Planning people.

Q2- Which technology to choose from available options (WiMAX, wiBRO, UMTS, etc) and why?
This question should be addressed by people in the regulatory authority of the country or different consortiums as which is best for the subscribers and future ready.

Also, i would say that there should be good reasons to bring Mobile Broadband or lets put it this way that we should make enough reasons to bring the technology home. For instance private & public sector organizations should take part in introducing Mobile Commerce and M Government sort of stuff.

So much more to say but let me have your thoughts on the above first .

Thanks & regards,

By: Rashad Usama

Rashad Usama — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 05:57:00 +0000

i think the basic question over here should be what end user benefits can 3G provide over wiMAX..technology wise.

By: Omar Ahmed

Omar Ahmed — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:20:19 +0000

Interesting topic. However even the Ceo’s of major mobile companies have realized a few points that are not mentioned above.
1. How many customers are pre-paid vs monthly billing.
2. Cell phone cost is high due to retail markets
3. US based providers i.e; t-mobile, verizion,sprint provide cell phones at reduced costs based on contract terms. Replacement phones are even cheaper.
4. mobile packages provided in pakistan lack the attraction due to higher per min cost of calling and no proper packages are available to suit customer needs.
5. The Mobile industry in minting money, but is not wanting to upgrade services.

Anyways these are my thoughts on the subject.

By: Babar Bhatti

Babar Bhatti — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 03:29:22 +0000

@Adnan - good point. Whats the use of technology if the environment is unsafe.

@Bial - I also thought that pointing to lack of content was lame.

BTW - this presentation was from Mobilink. Ericsson and Huawei gave very optimistic presentations about the future of 3G in Pakistan.

By: liveunplugged@hotmail.com

liveunplugged@hotmail.com — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:08:20 +0000

“No content available in local/regionallanguages”; so my question is to that CEO that who’s gonna make that? You or someone from Sri Lanka is going to show up and make Punjabi and Sindhi content for you? This is a ridiculous pointer to put.

By: Adnan Siddiqi

Adnan Siddiqi — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:24:19 +0000

It’s better to improve law and order situation than introducing new techs liek 3G otherwise we won’t be able to take advantage of this high speed tech for common use applications while roaming around.