I leave it up to you to comment on the achievements mentioned above. I think the previous posts and comments on rising price were clear enough that consumers are not satisfied with the recent direction of telecom sector in Pakistan.
Recently a few readers and friends have asked about the google maps feature on mobile phones called find me (aka blue dot). This is a feature from google maps for mobile phones which shows your approximiate location on a web enabled mobile phone. GPS is not required. People love it! See this official google page for details on how it works, including a video.
The question was: how does google know my location in Pakistan? There are 2 pieces of local information needed: the tower location data and other is the map data. There are companies which sell such kind of data so expect this feature to be available at more and more places. Rest of the algorithm uses the signal information and the application is able to locate you within a certain degree of accuracy, therefore the term blue dot.
So go ahead, use your web-enabled phone and download google maps in case you don’t have it. And if you use this feature often please share where and how or better yet, send us pictures.
Good development. PTA has proposed a few actions for dealing with spam. This includes spams SMS, emails and unwanted calls. See the proposal here or get it from PTA website. I doubt that a fine of 300 Rs will discourage professional spammers. Legitimate companies should start working on their opt-in lists.
It is proposed that a do not call register (DNC) may be maintained by telecom operators. The DNC Register will be a database having the list of all telephone numbers of the subscribers who do not want to receive unsolicited calls. After the establishment of DNC register a subscriber who does not wish to receive Unsolicited calls, can register their telephone number with their telecom service provider to be included in the DNC.
Operator shall upload the number to the DNC within 45 days of receipt. The Telemarketer will have to verify their calling mobile numbers list with the DNC register before making a call. An amount of Rs 300/- per call/message should be prescribed to discourage telemarketers who make calls to numbers registered in Do Not Call list. The defaulter telemarketer will face legal action.The impact of imposing a higher charge for calls and messages which have a commercial purpose attached to them will to some extent ensure that only legitimate calls are made i.e calls to recipients who do not have any problem with attending commercial calls.
Awareness is the key to fighting the spam problem. There are a number of channels listed by PTA but surprisingly blogs and other new media is not mentioned.
The Authority puts forward a media campaign check list which shall be followed by the Authority in collaboration with operators to create spam awareness:
a) Public awareness activities to target users first and foremost, but also large corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises, direct marketers and online operators.
b) General awareness activities to be posted on the Web or other media such as television, newspapers and magazines. Brochures may be distributed in schools, made available on all operators’ websites, and also distributed as a leaflet in IT magazines. Educational cartoons about spam, unsolicited and obnoxious calls controlling and reporting and online security broadcast.
Interesting … Zong is betting that a offering simplicity of call features and calling plans will differentiate it by cutting through the clutter of packages. The concept of this ad may not be original but I think this is a good approach.
The telecom honeymoon in Pakistan which lasted about 5 years (2002-2007) allowed Pakistani consumers to leapfrog over older landline based infrastructure and get cheap and quick access to modern telecommunication technology. The investors, telecom businesses and Pakistani treasury - all made good money and it was a win-win situation. It seems that the golden period for Pakistan telecom is over. The spike in teledensity and corresponding load on the new infrastructure is causing a number of service issues. To add fuel to fire the telecom rates for calls to Pakistan and within Pakistan have started rising, causing a lot of concerns. Consider the following points (follow links for details) from the last few months:
Some people hold the view that given the tremendous progress made, complaining about telecom situation in Pakistan is not justified. Yes, there have been great advances made but if we do not fix the structural issues early on, we will lose much of that progress. Left unchecked we may even regress to a point where there’s plenty of competition but consumers end up without the services they deserve at a fair price. Broadband is an appropriate example … Pakistani public has been tormented with poor service and caps on the usage.
I believe that with the right regulatory measures, consumer protection laws and a code of ethics we can keep the telecom sector on the right track.
Pakistan is in second place compared to other South Asian countries in terms of certain economic indicators according to a report from World Bank on global business ranking . The business rankings report highlights the business reforms which have been implemented in Pakistan and provides details of various aspects of starting and running a business. In terms of issues, energy shortage is one of the major problem in Pakistan just like other emerging economies.
Here’s a summary, taken from Dawn Blog.
A recent World Bank report has declared Pakistan as one of the top favourable economies in the world. The “Doing Business 2008″ report states that Pakistan is in second place compared to other South Asian countries in terms of certain economic indicators, such as: ease of doing business, dealing with licenses, and protecting investors.
Pakistan is quickly emerging as a powerhouse in the region, partly due to its fast paced IT industry. The government’s policies towards foreign investors have also contributed in helping the country stand out. These include 100 per cent foreign equity ownership, 100 per cent repatriation of profits for foreign investors and tax exemption for the sector till 2013.
An increasing number of foreign companies also prefer Pakistan for their outsourcing operations. This is due to the large pool of English-proficient professionals, cheap connectivity rates and competitive operational costs.
‘Doing Business 2008? is an annual report that evaluates the regulations that directly impact economic growth and provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement. The report evaluates business
activities based on regulation affecting the “10 stages” of a business’s life: starting a business, dealing with licenses, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business.
Story via Telecom Grid Pakistan.
MobileActive.Org, a grass root organization which focusses on the role of mobile technology for social change and awareness, has released a new report, Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in NGO Mobile Use. A key point which struck me was the importance of affordability. Survey shows that Financial discounts by telecom companies and vendors is the most significant factor … I see this as a great opportunity to make a huge difference to these organizations and to create goodwill!
Here’s a brief intro.
Mobile technology is transforming the way advocacy, development and relief organizations accomplish their institutional missions. The report Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in NGO Mobile Use, released by the United Nations Foundation and The Vodafone Group Foundation, brings this point home.
Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in NGO Mobile Use was written by Sheila Kinkade (ShareIdea.org) and Katrin Verclas, and commissioned by the United NationsFoundation-Vodafone Group Foundation Technology Partnership. The report examines emerging trends in “mobile activism” by looking at 11 case studies of groups active in the areas of public health, humanitarian assistance and environmental conservation.
We (bloggers, consumers, industry experts) are usually quick to criticize organizations such as PTA. Main reason is that these organizations have a lot of authority and their decisions have significant impact on consumer’s pockets and industry’s profit margins. They face a lot of challenges and have to make difficult decisions. Consider the presentation “Telecom Policy Evolution“, by Mudassar Hussain of MOITT, at the TeleCON 2008 event. It acknowledges that convergence (IP, telecom + media) has significantly changed the landscape and policy makers need to address these changes. The time to do that is the upcoming 5 year policy review cycle which starts in July 2008. It is an important time for the policy makers to look back and assess their performance and to define objectives on which to base their new policies. And with a new government in place there will be additional twists. Excerpt:
Synergies between different regulatory areas should be developed:
• Telecom contributing with infrastructure and access issues
• Broadcasting with access and content issues
• IT with privacy and security, access to PCs, etc.
• Policies to supplement each other and work in cohesion even
if not convergedObjectives of Policy:
Policy has to be well thought out keeping in mind local market
objectives to be achieved: Consultation and partnership of all
key industry stakeholders is crucial.Industry concerns of protection of investment have to be duly
addressed with full industry participation by both the policy
makers and the regulators.Strength of the markets has to be ensured by dynamic and
timely actions of the Govt. in direct partnership and consultation
with industry and consumer community stakeholders.Inputs of all stakeholders present in the forum are welcome on
all areas of format, scope and outlook as well as specific issue
related proposals.
For full presentation click below.
Telecom Policy Evolution - Muddasir Husain
I am glad to share the announcement of a new social initiative around Corporate Social Responsibility:
SocialBridges.Org - Seeking corporate social leadership in Pakistan.
This is a sign that citizen journalism and blogging is taking off in Pakistan. The topics and content of the SocialBridges will appeal to the growing consumer and commercial segment which needs a strong voice. There are some great insights there with a high-profile set of authors. I look forward to some thought-provoking stories there. See this announcement from Green & White.
Of course Telecom sector in Pakistan has been a major force behind corporate involvement in society. Consider the recent presentation by Zouhair Khaliq, CEO of Mobilink at TeleCON 2008 event in Karachi. The title of his presentation was Mobilizing Social Change and he talked about the recent launch of Mobilink Foundation. Get the full presentation in pdf: Mobilink presentation: Mobilizing Social Change.
Tee Emm was not impressed by the corporate brochure readout by Zouhair. However Bilal Mughal thought that there were positive aspects in Zouhair’s presentation. He writes this at Telecom Grid Pakistan:
Industry revenues are based on these mainstream factors and eliminating poverty is the heartbeat of all the problem whether it comes to you in the form of purchasing power or uplifitng the life trends from one consumer sect to another (higher). These things grow to be a central part of your company plans especially in our GDP environment and rotating them around different conferences provides with the direction to other participants to target the source issue of the market because at the end of the day if I sell dialup connection I would not want to sell at 2Rs if I’m selling at 5 today and you can only do that by increasing the consumer power at various levels and keeping it stable.
Guest Post From Umar Farooq
Telecom Infrastructure Sharing is an important concept in emerging telecommunication markets. Here’s an extract from a GSM World report
Commercial considerations, rather than regulatory mandates, appear to be driving the increasing trend for Mobile Operators to adopt a variety of infrastructure models. Examples of mobile network sharing can be found in both mature and developing markets, with 3G providing an added impetus to assess the commercial and regulatory viability of network sharing. Network sharing may take many forms, ranging from passive sharing of cell sites and masts to sharing of radio access networks (RANs) and other active elements such as network roaming and the core.
In Pakistan, this concept’s utilization has taken place. However, we still have to see an effective regulation from PTA on this one (Editor’s note: See this link on PTA website for consultation paper on Infrastructure sharing - the pdf is also available here). We have seen different operators having their towers erected on the same roof top and at times within feet from each other on ground. Why couldn’t they use the same tower to place their antennas and share the cost ?
Infrastructure sharing has been taking place where Telenor did strike a lease deal with Wateen Telecom to use their Fibre capacity for their core transmission ring. But here, Wateen established the Fibre to sell its capacity to telecom operators. Infrastructure of RAN or Core Transmission has still some grounds to cover, before telecom operators in Pakistan become mature enough to operate shared structures while reducing operations costs.
The element of operator maturity is key here, because infrastructure sharing, does reduce costs if it is operated efficiently. If not operated efficiently, additional operational costs plus the reduced QOS loss, makes it useless for an operator.
From an end-user’s point of view, you see less number of towers and operators competing on their services rather than coverage.
Here’s a view of how the mobile companies stack up against each other. In terms of the subscriber growth from Jan-Mar of 2008, Telenor is at the top.
In terms of total number of subscribers (see the chart on the right), Telenor (16.7 million) is closing the gap with Ufone (17.2 million). I am interested in hearing views about the drivers of this growth.
By end of Q2 it will be interesting to re-visit this and see whether Zong lived up to the buzz it created!
Recently I stumbled upon Mobile Marketing Association website. I found the information there to be quite useful. One of the report on their site was about consumer guideline and best practices for marketing to consumers. The context is US market but the principles mentioned in the report are applicable anywhere. I hope that the designers and implementers of mobile marketing programs in Pakistan and Asia pay attention to these. Otherwise mobile advertising may be looked upon as another form of annoyance.
The complete report in pdf: Mobile Marketing Consumer Best Practices
Some of the topics covered in the report include:
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