TalkMail is mobile service currently in beta stage from Mobilus, a mobile marketing company, founded on the premise that mobile phone technology are hear to stay and is an essential communication tool.
This simple and free service lets user send recorded message from mobile to email recipient any where and anytime without using the mobile internet (GPRS/EDGE). It is available for all mobile operators in Pakistan.
Nokia has a loyal following in some of the largest mobile phone populations. With the recent pressure from competitors, Nokia has adopted a strategy of providing phones with improved connectivity and seamless applications for web, email, music, photos and maps which help with the daily lives of their users. Here’s a piece we received from Nokia about how its contributing to the big shift in how people connect with each others via phones.
Interesting presentation which talks about why smart phones are so important for marketers, what are the major areas of growth and how to target this group of early adopters.
After a tumultuous year, the Pakistan telecom industry is back on the road to recovery. Its good to see November 2009 show some healthy growth of about 800K new subscribers. Total cellular subscribers are 96.7 million (with ~285K for SCO and AJK). Here are the month-to-month gains with the most successful operator at the top:
Before I discuss the unexplored potentials in mobile financial services (MFS) as mentioned in my last post on the same topic, let us analyze the services currently offered – mobile bill payments and mobile money transfer (domestic) by easypaisa. In this post we shall take a look at how are they different from similar traditional services, how are they seen in other developing countries and their growth and reach.
Here are the key points, taken from Morgan Stanley Mobile Internet report of Dec 15, 2009.
The mobile Internet is ramping faster than desktop Internet did, and we believe more users may connect to the Internet via mobile devices than desktop PCs within 5 years.
Mobile banking has undoubtedly taken the lead with the collaborative mobile banking model, where collaboration takes place between the carriers and the banks who can distribute the roles of the value chain amongst themselves. An example of this is ‘easypaisa‘ from Telenor Pakistan and Tameer Bank.
While browsing the easypaisa facebook fanpage, I got a chance to see watch a TVC, by far the best one I have seen so far. It is a Telenor commercial about an eassy on “The Future” written a by school going girl in early days of telephone.
Telenor Group’s Indian mobile operation, Uninor, today announced the launch of its mobile services in seven Indian telecom circles, making it the largest single day launch in the telecom history. On the first day of service Uninor will cover a footprint of close to 600 million people. Its interesting to note the organizational mode and the marketing strategy.
Marketing Strategy
Uninor will leverage from Telenor Group’s established marketing and design framework. As in several other markets where the Telenor Group is present, the brand follows Telenor’s brand strategy, combining the global position of the Telenor Group with a distinct local identity. Uninor’s tagline is “Ab mera number hai” or “My time is now”, set to target the young and ambitious individuals.
Organizational Model
Uninor has established an organizational model, utilizing the unique extend of infrastructure sharing and large degree of outsourcing services available in India. With extensive use of outsourcing, Uninor has created a fast, flexible and efficient model for future growth. Jon Fredrik Baksaas said:
The Indian organizational model represents a new and innovative approach to setting up a light and cost-efficient telecom operation. I believe that Uninor’s organizational approach will make them faster and more agile than a traditional mobile operator.
The Uninor launch also represents the largest ever distribution at launch by any operator in India. From the start, Uninor will be retailed at over 210,000 points of sale through close to 1000 exclusive distributors in the seven circles. Uninor services will also be available in 17 exclusive company owned shops and 50 exclusive franchisee shops.
The year 2009 have been very competitive for our cellular operators. New packages/offers, products, ads, counter ads, quizes, social media use etc. have taken competition to a new level. But of all their efforts the most important thing yet to be known is which cellular operator was customer’s favorite – YOUR Favorite?
Take sometime out to vote and leave comments on why you like your operator. The poll will be open till 31 December, 2009.
Vote and make your friends vote and lets find out the Favorite Cellular Operator – 2009.
After all is said and done – Mobile number portability, Zong launch, SIM correction, political upheavals and economic recession – where do we stand in terms of mobile telecom market growth and future? Remember that Pakistan saw a tremendous speed of increase in subscribers, going from ~34 million to ~94 million in 36 months from June 2006 to June 2009. That is no small feat and as we celebrate the Eid holidays, lets keep that accomplishment in mind.
Lesson from emerging telecom market – when revenues per user from voice are going down, find creative ways to encourage users to spend on other (data) services. And that’s what Indian cell phone companies have done by offering radio, sports and other entertainment and religious services over cell phones to rural areas, where such services had never reached before. ARPU comparison below is from a recent WSJ article on the mobile VAS market in India. And this dear readers, is the answer to the “suggest a title” mystery post. The woman in the picture was listening to radio on her cell phone.
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