Social media and digital technologies are making way into our living rooms. US telecom company Verizon has introduced a new service on its fiber-based TV service where users can access Twitter and Facebook on their TV. Of course mobile has been a leading channel for social networking and now TV is trying to position itself as another important channel.
One can argue that the demographics which is into social media (youth, professionals and early technology adopters) are not the same who spend much time on TV. On the other hands it could be useful for stay at home women. Only time will tell if this integration is useful and whether it becomes popular or not. Who knows, PTCL may launch this too!
Alcatel-Lucent today announced that Nayatel is preparing to deploy the first gigabit passive optical network (GPON) in Pakistan. This blazing fast network will provide its customers with the most advanced triple-play services – such as high-definition television, innovative telephony services and ultraband Internet access. Nayatel’s Pakistani customers can expect the new network to be up and running by the end of 2009. Wahaj us Siraj, CEO, Nayatel said:
In 2005, Nayatel was the first operator to deploy a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network solution in South Asia, and today we have once again pioneered the Pakistani market by becoming the first adopter of GPON technology in the country.
With Alcatel-Lucent’s industry-leading GPON solution, we will be able to offer our customers a whole new range of next-generation, ultraband applications that leverage our network’s true gigabit speeds. All in all, we will soon be able to offer our customers a service experience which was once only dreamed in this part of the world.
“Nayatel’s GPON deployment in Pakistan, will enable their end-users to truly experience the power of next-generation triple-play services,” said Vincenzo Nesci, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s business in the Middle East and Africa. “This contract highlights Nayatel’s continuous confidence in our solutions and expertise,” he adds.
According to the latest MRG IPTV Market Leaders report , Alcatel-Lucent dominates the global IPTV Access market with a 41% market share (four times the market share of its nearest competitor). In its report, MRG confirms that Alcatel-Lucent is the only vendor focusing on all four (geographic) regions, and is deployed in 10 out of the top 25 IPTV service providers worldwide. From an FTTH perspective, Alcatel-Lucent has more than 90 fiber deployments ongoing worldwide, with a mix of GPON and point-to-point roll-outs.
Nokia and Etisalat have announced a collaboration that will allow Nokia to provide advance Internet services to Nokia users in the region. Etisalat will provide a convenient means of payment to Nokia users willing to subscribe to paid Nokia services. As a first step, Nokia users will be able to purchase games on Nokia’s N-Gage platform and pay for Ovi-Maps services. The purchases will be made over the air and Etisalat will charge the amount to the customer’s bill. This is a very convenient and safe option as opposed to the use of Credit cards and other similar payment options. UAE will be the first country from the region to offer this service in Q2 2009.
This is very interesting to mention here that if you can use this service to pay for mobile applications, games and services, you can use it for other payments as well. For example, you can use the same mechanism for sending gifts to friends, you can use it for buying items at grocery stores or paying other utility bills, and everything is eventually charged to your monthly Etisalat bill.
In Pakistan, Etisalat is holding shares in PTCL and a similar payment model has been in place in the country for payments of PTCLDSL service and IP TV subscription. Those who subscribe to DSL orIP TV, the subscriptions are billed to the customers in their monthly phone bill. I would love to make other payments in the same way if it adds the luxury of convenience to the payment process.
PTCL has played a significant role to increase the broadband penetration in the country. According to the press release, the country’s largest converged services provider shows highest subscriber growth of 48% in the last quarter.
PTCL Broadband, country’s largest and fastest growing Broadband service showed a 48% growth in the last quarter of Oct – Dec 2008, bettering all its previous growth rates. Within one and a half years of its Broadband launch, PTCL has acquired over 100,000 Broadband customers in over 100 cities and towns across Pakistan, leading the proliferation and awareness of Broadband services across Pakistan.
The year 2008 was also very significant for PTCL Broadband in that it achieved two unique distinctions of hitting ‘a hundred’ during the last quarter; In October 2008, PTCL became the first ever company in Pakistan to spread its Broadband coverage to over 100 cities and then two months later it also became the first company ever again in Pakistan to acquire over 100,000 Broadband customers! It is significant to note that before PTCL’s entry into the Broadband market in 2007, Broadband was primarily only available in the 3 major cities of the country. With its entry in this market segment, PTCL opened up a broadband culture in Pakistan,where till a couple of years back there was very little awareness in the Pakistani market about broadband & high speed internet services.
Since its Broadband launch in May 2007, PTCL made the broadband technology affordable by lowering the barriers to entry, by geographically bringing the service within the reach of a common user across Pakistan and by continuous improvement in the customer service provisioning and complain management for the service. In just over 1.5 years this quadrupled the subscriber base that had taken 5 years to collectively accumulate by all the other service providers. PTCL now has its broadband services in over 120 major cities and towns across Pakistan i.e. Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Hala, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Khairpur, Larkana, Multan, Bhaipheru, Okara, Pakpattan, Sahiwal, Faisalabad, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Abbottabad, Attock, GujarKhan, Jehlum, Peshawar, Quetta alongside other small towns and cities. Expansion of PTCL broadband network will continue, providing more of its landline subscribers an opportunity to experience the latest in broadband and related technologies.
Special packages for the student segment along with services such as free dial up service for its Broadband customers and FREE access to movies, music, classical Pakistani dramas and cricket matches, educational and religious content for its Broadband customers are available, branded under ‘PTCL BUZZ’, this complete web infotainment content portal is made exclusive only to PTCL Broadband subscribers. In addition to these value additions, PTCL now also offers a free personalized e-mail account exclusively to its broadband users.
In addition to the above using its Broadband network, PTCL on 14th August 2008, entered the media sector by launching an interactive television service for the first time in Pakistan. Branded under ‘PTCL Smart Line’, the service includes Interactive Television, Broadband and voice Telephony all at the same time on PTCL’s telephone line. The most revolutionary section of this offering is the ability to rewind and pause live TV channels, the ability to block / unblock any TV channel for parental lock and the ability to search through video on demand content. Currently PTCL Smart TV offers its viewers over hundred live channels and a growing over 300 Movie titles ‘on Demand’. Currently the service is available in the three metros Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and will be expanded into all the major cities during the year.
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.
Wateen’s WiMAX has been one of the most active topic of discussion in Pakistan telecom circles. After many months of planning and early marketing campaigns, there is news from Wateen on the official launch of its WiMAX based triple play services. For those who have been waiting for the rates, the tariffs are now available on the Wateen site.
The CPE cost presents a significant one-time investment for home users. Monthly rates are reasonable – as long as you don’t mind the caps. Overall I think the WiMAX broadband will only appeal to certain demographics, which are not price sensitive. I did not see any tariff info for business users.
For home users the following packages have been announced:
Pakistan’s telecommunication industry – mobile communication in particular – has made impressive strides in the last few years after deregulation. However broadband growth in the country has been very disappointing – there are less than 100,000 broadband users in Pakistan. The open competition observed in mobile industry has not been replicated to broadband. Reasons include high prices, control of PTCL over bandwidth resources, policy issues, lack of infrastructure and legal disputes.
Enter WiMAX. Simply stated, it’s a relatively new standards-based wireless technology which is intended for large coverage areas on the order of several kilometers (instead of a few hundred meters, as is the case with Wi-Fi).
With base stations transmitting signals and some equipment at customer location, it promises fast bandwidth for both fixed locations and mobile users. In this backdrop, Pakistan made headlines in 2006 when Wateen announced plans to work with Motorola to rollout Mobile WiMAX, the largest network of its kind in the world.
Is WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) the right technology for developing countries? In other words, will this new technology deliver the promise of broadband at affordable prices?
WiMAX comes with many theoretical advantages but its potential is yet unproven. Without getting too technical, it is purpose-built for Internet (IP) communication and is based on standards (as opposed to other proprietary solutions) endorsed by a respected world standards body, theInstitute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE)*.
In this post we take a look at the role of advertising in building brand equity, using the case of Wateen’s recent product launch. Advertising is paid form of marketing promotion in which the sponsor is advertised and the message is controlled. Brand Equity refers to the value built-up in a brand. It is measured on a scale determining the extent of customer awareness. Besides awareness, brand equity is also directly related to the consumer’s experience with the brand itself. This experience finally decides the fate of product in terms of success and brand loyalty or failure within the potential target audience.
Within Marketing Mix i.e. Target market and 4P’s (Product, Price, Placement, Promotion), Product refers to the promise made to the customer or solution provided to the customer. Value is the perceived difference between the costs spent by the customer against achieved benefits. The lower the cost in relation to the benefits the lower is the value.
Hence, marketing communication or advertising during the product launch is a strategic decision and must be handled with care. Launching the product or service aggressively without practically placing it or making it available might bring critically negative impact on brand reputation. Such campaign destroys instead of building a brand. It is just like a promise made to the customer and then not being fulfilled. Such mistake at launch stage, specifically in case of a product like WiMax which still have to struggle a lot in getting mass awareness and with delivery issues, can severely disrupt the company’s and brand’s image within early adaptors of the product.
Adnan Siddiqui pointed out that Wateen has opened pre-registration for their suite of products including WiMAX. For those who have suffered through all the digging on the streets (as in Lahore DHA), this should be welcome news. The link on Wateen’s site mentions that the new site will be the portal for all their services. The site addresses the 3 major sgements of home, business and operators. Some basic information such as the WiMAX coverage area and technology FAQs are provided there. However as the site stands now, it could use some improvements. Some of the issues I noticed:
The approach they are using is to get the customer info through registration and then getting back to them. It means that they are still not ready yet. Now why would people leave their CNIC number with Wateen – especially over an insecure connection? Oh yes here’s an incentive: Be amongst the first 10,000 customers by registering online to receive a surprise gift from Wateen. This offer is valid until 30 September, 2007.
The product information is not provided on the registration page. For an ordinary person, more information is desirable with the context. You dont want people to wander around the site to figure out what options are availabel for TV – you put that info right there where users need it.
The site does not list information about the WiMAX packages and prices. For example the business WiMAX section greets you with a “coming soon” message.The package rate inforamtoion is likely to be available in 4-6 weeks according to Wateen.
Site navigation is not very user-friendly and easy to bookmark.
Why do companies have a hard time putting together an informative and user-friendly site which will help consumer become their customers? What’s so difficult about it?
FTTH (Fiber To The Home/Premise/Business) is the new emerging technology for voice, data and media to which home users or commercial institutions in Pakistan can now look forward to. The idea is to replace the existing copper media in order to remove maximum dependency from PTCL network in general and to meet the demand for higher bandwidth with minimal disconnections, latency and security issues in specific. A related benefit is providing “one window solution” for data, voice, media & entertainment at affordable prices.
Some players have taken initiatives in this regard. Key players who have started or laid Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) are Multinet, Wateen Telecom, Mobilink, TWA, Nayatel and Brain Tel. TWA is focused on international connectivity through IPLC (International Private Leased Circuit) over SMW-3 & SMW-4, however they have also laid backbone fiber for Mobilink for domestic connectivity. As a result consumers are and will be enjoying advantages of low LDI tariffs. Nayatel is also offering data, voice and media services over FTTH but they are geographically focused in Islamabad market till yet. Multinet is one major infrastructure player laying 4500Kms Optical Fiber Backbone across Pakistan and also enjoys international connectivity with massive 40% share in SMW-4 through its investment arm Telecom Malaysia. Besides this Multinet has also laid fiber optic redundant rings in Karachi and Lahore. These OFC rings are also called Metronet. Multinet is serving corporate segment on Metronet since last two years.
The annual conference of CTIA, the wireless association, was held last week of March 2007 in Florida. The CTIA annual event is said to be ”the world’s largest technology event dedicated exclusively to wireless, broadband convergence and mobile computing technologies”. It is a great place to showcase new technologies, network and socialize with top decision makers and create buzz about upcoming work. For example the much awaited voice search applications from Google and Yahoo were announced here.
The event covers the entire industry from network infrastructure to microprocessors to applications to content to end-user hardware. More info at the CTIA site.
The covered topics for 2007 conference include: - The Quadruple Play
- Mobile Enterprise
- Mobile Payments
- Mobile Entertainment
- Social Networking & Mobile Communities
- Advertising
- Globalization
- WiMAX
This post is first in a series in which IPTV services in Pakistan will be discussed. First an introduction to IPTV: in simple terms IPTV is television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional formats and cabling, is received by the viewer through the technologies (IP) used for computer networks. IPTV provides multimedia services via a broadband connection with the help of a set-top box (STB) which resembles a traditional cable box. A single connection (fiber optic, copper or cable) coming to your premise can serve phone, TV and Internet service – terms such as FTTH or FTTP are used when fiber optic cable is being used for higher bandwidth transmission.
Why IPTV? IPTV is an imporant piece of the Triple Play puzzle. Many telecom companies are using it to create a sticky bundle for customers, the idea is that if a customer gets all services from a provider he or she can be offered a better deal and therefore is less likely to switch providers. I, for one, use bundles at home and find it convenient to have one bill and one phone number for customer service.
Triple play is also great for offering enhanced and converged services (not all are feasible, though) such as :
• TV and video services such as video-on-demand (VoD), subscription, live TV channel lineup packaging and scheduling, and network-based digital video recorder capabilities
• Additional “blended” communications applications such as get an alert of phone call on your TV, text chat, live traffic information (even using your cell phone as a remote – seriously!)
• Personal media applications such as uploading of photographs and video clips and sharing of music and video content across multiple in-home devices
What is the situation of IPTV in Pakistan’s market today? It is all about broadband availability and affordability and till now Pakistan has miserably lagged behind on this. I am hopeful that things will change for better in the next 2-4 years. The policy and regulatory framework is set by PTA. Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) monitors and regulates the electronic media and it issues IPTV licneces as well. I know about the following companies which can/will offer IPTV: PTCL, Wateen and Nayatel. There is little information available about PTCL plans (see some discussion here) but it is likely that they will offer IPTV over DSL using technologies from various foreign vendors (see below); for Wateen I’ve previously written here. Recently Brain has also advertised limited launch of IPTV service.
According to some resources PTCL may launch IPTV service on 23rd March 2007 to pilot users -with a broader launch to 20,000 subscribers in the first half of this year. In terms of its strategy IPTV must be a top priority for PTCL. It all comes to execution and creating a value package. PTCL launch is supported by Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei and Irdeto, the Netherlands-based content security company. Huawei will provide the servers and set-top boxes (see Hua wei’s IPTV architecture below) and Irdeto will provide content security solution.
The Irdeto IPTV security solution integrated into the Huawei IPTV system provides for a full video product and service offering, including broadcast TV, video on demand, PVR and Time Shift TV. Within the Irdeto IPTV security framework, content is securely stored and distributed across any broadband IP network and the corresponding content rights can be managed on an individual subscriber and/or device basis.
With base stations transmitting signals and some equipment at customer location, it promises fast bandwidth for both fixed locations and mobile users. In this backdrop, Pakistan made headlines in 2006 when Wateen announced plans to work with Motorola to rollout Mobile WiMAX, the largest network of its kind in the world.
The product information is not provided on the registration page. For an ordinary person, more information is desirable with the context. You dont want people to wander around the site to figure out what options are availabel for TV – you put that info right there where users need it. 
FTTH (Fiber To The Home/Premise/Business) is the new emerging technology for voice, data and media to which home users or commercial institutions in Pakistan can now look forward to. The idea is to replace the existing copper media in order to remove maximum dependency from PTCL network in general and to meet the demand for higher bandwidth with minimal disconnections, latency and security issues in specific. A related benefit is providing “one window solution” for data, voice, media & entertainment at affordable prices.
What is the situation of IPTV in Pakistan’s market today? It is all about broadband availability and affordability and till now Pakistan has miserably lagged behind on this. I am hopeful that things will change for better in the next 2-4 years. The policy and regulatory framework is set by PTA. Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority 
TelecomPk.Net is a leading source of information and analysis about Pakistan Telecom industry. 
