State of Telecom Industry in Pakistan

PTCL is in the news as it reported earnings: a net profit of Rs. 5.354 billion for the half year ended on 31st December, 2009. This is a 13% growth compared to same period last year. At the same time, PTCL has withdrawn its high-speed Internet discount for students. In a recent press release, it announced that “PTCL is offering special 30% discount package for the students on 1 Mbps connection on high speed broadband services.” The previous connections of 2MBps and 4Mbps offered to students will be downgraded. To me, this business strategy seems odd. Why would you downgrade a popular package at a time when earnings are good?

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There is a lot of talk about the news that Punjab Government has unanimously passed a resolution banning late night offers/packages by mobile phone operators. Daily times reports it as follows:

Members of the Punjab Assembly (MPAs) on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution banning late night packages offered by mobile networks at cheap rates in keeping with “moral and social values” and to “maintain the youth’s health and prevent vice”.

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Djuice is known for appealing to youth. In a search for local talent, Djuice has sponsored a freestyle soccer contest in Pakistan. After the first rounds of competition in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore, the finals are on 31st January in Karachi from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. For more detail on “Red Bull Street Style!” see below and go to Djuice site. This will be fun!

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Mobile services are fast becoming popular for a number of consumer-facing product and service companies. I came across a good post / reference for business strategists and marketers who want to justify a budget for mobile applications, services and campaigns. When it comes to Return on Investment, there are a few things which one should remember:

• Reasonable time frame for payback
• Count all major benefits
• Consider both hard costs and resources
• Factor in risks

Excerpt from the blog post follows. Read more »

Growth of Pakistan telecom industry took a hit in recent months because of economy and regulation of SIMs. Even though the number of new subscribers slowed down and the revenues per user remained low, Pakistan telecom industry has shifted to a whole new set of services which provide value and convenience in ways not possible before.  One of the interesting trend of 2009 was the rush to offer financial services via mobile phones aka mobile financial services (MFS). These services include transactions such as remittances (person-to-person payments), payment of bills and others commerce enabled by mobile/cellular technology. This post provides an overview of MFS in Pakistan.

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The Teamtalk offer by Telenor Persona Karobar allows business customers to make free calls to their business circle. Persona Karobar has been one of the prominent business oriented packages and this new feature for an SME to make free calls to their business partners is an industry first in Pakistan. By carefully analyzing the usage and expense mobile phones and comparing that to Teamtalk offer, businesses can save significantly. By using Teamtalk, a small and medium business can:

• Make Free Calls to your Company Employees.
• Make Free Calls to your Business Partners.
• Send SMS / MMS at special rates to Company Employees as well as business partners.

For details visit Telenor web site.

This is a quick recap of the year for Telecom industry in Pakistan. Here are some of the positive developments of 2009.

1. Broadband shows signs of improvement with more subscribers, competition and lower rates.
2. Easypaisa paves the way for mobile financial services.
3. Online SIM checking service 667 and 668 for overseas Pakistanis
4. Better online maps and navigation become available for Pakistan.
5. Social media use among mainstream Pakistanis keeps growing.
6. Telecom companies actively use Facebook & start tweeting.
7. Plenty of ICT events and opportunities for networking.
8. PTA pushes to get SIM issue resolved.
9. Mobi2weet introduced.
10. Zong catches up and launches Blackberry.

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“My message to you all is of hope, courage and confidence. Let us mobilize all our resources in a systematic and organized way and tackle the grave issues that confront us with grim determination and discipline worthy of a great nation.”  This message of our great leader to the nation is as valid today as it was on October 24, 1947.

Thanks to Mobilink for providing this message. To view TVC and download exclusive wall papers, please visit www.mobilinkgsm.com/jinnah.

PTA has recently published a long overdue paper outlining the key performance indicators (KPIs) for fixed broadband services in Pakistan. The objective of defining these indicators, per PTA paper, is to create transparent, quantifiable and measurable standard service parameters for broadband which the service provider is entailed to provide and the user has a right to expect.

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We like to highlight all companies when they engage in corporate social responsibility activities which benefit common people. SOS Village is one of the major initiatives for children in Pakistan and we are glad to report that Samsung helped them out with computers and technology. Here’s the info, adapted from the press statement issued by Samsung.

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Here’s an excerpt from the ISPAK (Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan) statement release to the press on PTCL’s non-cooperation over the last 5 days to activate new DSL connections to customers. PTA is investigating the matter. The history of bitter relations can be traced back to one of our early posts in 2006 – Battle of the Bandwidth.

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Seth Godin has put together a remarkable group of more than 70 people who each contributed a one-page essay with a one-word title to create a free ebook: What Matter Now. I highly recommend reading it. Here’s a simple yet effective quote in the book from Michael Hyatt about leadership which I liked very much. I’m sure you will have you own favorites as you go through this book.

Leadership is more than influence. It is about reminding people of what it is we are trying to build—and why it matters. It is about painting a picture of a better future. It comes down to pointing the way and saying, “C’mon. We can do this!”

Are there leaders and visionaries in the telecom/IT industry that have inspired you?