Archive for January 11th, 2009

PTCL SmartTV: Free Till June Of 2009

Published by Omar Aijaz on January 11, 2009 under Broadband Internet, Companies, IPTV, PTCL, Triple Play

After the deregulation of Pakistan telecom, PTCL was forced to compete with other companies and not only for voice but also for internet and most recently for TV. PTCL competes for triple play with Wateen and Worldcall. IPTV (previously covered here) by PTCL is branded as Smart TV, is all digital and has some interesting features such as Time Shifted Television (TSTV), Search, Electronic Program Guide and Video on demand but these are not exclusive to IPTV.

With regard to prices the smart TV service by PTCL is free till June of 2009. Note that the Smart TV is part of the PTCL Smart Package which bundles TV and broadband (phone line charges are additional). The one-time cost for the set top box is either Rs. 9995 or Rs. 500 per month for 2 years. The monthly cost is Rs. 1500-5300 depending on the broadband package you select. Get more info directly from PTCL’s Customer services at 0800-80-800.

Providing Free Smart TV Services to PTCL Customer till June, 2009 in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The free Smart TV includes the following;
* Free BTV Channels
* Free VODs
* Free Set Top Box
* Usual Broadband charges will apply

With a single bill for all three services (phone, dsl and tv), it can be a convenient feature for many families. PTCL has announced that soon it will expand the service to other cities as well. With its broad coverage, many households will have no other choice but PTCL and will be more likely to take the triple play package. However, we at TelecomPk.net feel that Ptcl’s marketing is not effective as their competitors. Even the website design for Smart TV is not that easy to use for people on dial up connections.

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