My God, what this news is saying…around 40,000 call centers were shut down in Pakistan on directions of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. I was able to get couple of evidences of this news on “Daily Post” and “Online News Agency”
I had to double check the number of closed call centers, and also the date; but alas everything seems fine with my eyesight.
According to Online, PTA passed the directions of closing the voice ports of all call national and international centers operating in Pakistan. Agency, citing some resources said that PTA asked CWFAI, a fiber optic communication provider in Pakistan to block the voice ports of all working call centers; consequently thousands of Pakistanis will go jobless who work in these call centers.
Call centre representatives, who were effected by the decision, told that News Agency that their call centers were shut down without any prior notification, while the PTA officials negating the blame, have claimed that they had already informed them about the action through a proper notification.
The PTA officials further said that the call centers owners have not registered themselves and were conducting their business with out license; assuring that all could continue their call centers after obtaining their licenses and registration numbers.
I can recall similar thing happened almost 10 days ago, when PTA had asked TWA to close all voice ports, leaving call centers without any internet means; we know that PTCL had blocked voice ports long ago.
Covered in Daily Times by Romail Kenneth, on June 10th, 2008, claims that PTA had asked ACCO to provide the list of call centers, registered with PSEB. The scenario gets very interesting, see call centers are registered with PSEB, and PTA has been asking ACCO… in another news item published in ‘The News’, (sorry I don’t have its link) claimed that a meeting held at PTA headquarters that involved PSEB, PTA, Call centers, ISPs and PTCL representatives had resolved the issue. Then it was decided that PSEB and PTA will collectively devise a way out to register call centers; hence allowing voice traffic to only legal call centers.
But with-in a week, call centers are again shut down? PTA should have given more time to call centers, the way they are favoring cellular companies in blocking illegal SIMS. I guess there is something seriously wrong with PTA, either its PTA, PTCL, ACCO or PSEB someone is really making troubles for call centers’ industry, hence risking thousands of Jobs, Pakistan’s image and weakening economy
According to an estimate about 40,000 call centers have been shut under the current action of PTA rendering about 1 million peoples jobless through this stance.
Updates Expected in few hours….
NexExpress has just reported that this news was baseless, quoting a press release issued by PTA. According to PR, the news items published regarding the closure of 40,000 call centers do not reflect the actual situation.
According to a press release issued here Wednesday the PTA said in fact, it has never issued any directive to close call centres. The PTA has only asked backbone operators to allow voice to legitimate stakeholders i.e. LDI operators and Call Centres registered with Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), which is in line with government rules & regulations.
“As far as the figure of 40,000 call centres is concerned, it may be clarified that the total number of call centres registered with PSEB is just 516 so blocking of 40,000 call centres is out of question.”
Interesting scenario this is. Now what i drive from these news items and PTA’s press release is, that they directed to block the voice port of all those call centers which are neither registered, nor they were given time to get themselves registered. Another thing, that number of call centers in Pakistan is still not confirmed by any of authority
Khaleej Times has reported that Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has issued six new TV channel licenses to be operated in Pakistan, which includes Geo English as well.
Those new channels includes
- Geo English
- Business Plus,
- Wikkid Plus,
- ARY Shopping Channel,
- Aruj TV
- Asset Plus channels
Paper reports that the decision for issuance of new TV channel licenses was carried out in 49th meeting of PEMRA, where other significant decisions were also made to promote private electronic media in Pakistan.
We have seen a real fight amongst cellular companies in Pakistan, specifically after the emergence of Zong (CMPak), with so many new packages and innovations that are actually benefiting the end users.
Zong, as expected has started doing the wonders, first they introduced unlimited GPRS in only PKR 400 per month, and now this hourly offer is going to redesign the industry the way we use internet on our mobile phones through GPRS.
So, now 15 Rs per MB internet thing is gone, as Zong has come up with another mind blowing offer with what you can use internet for one hour for only Rs. 15 without worrying of the download/upload limit.
And the good thing is that you will be charged on per minute basis, and the rate is Rs. 0.25 per minute (Excluding taxes); that is, if you use internet for 10 minutes, you will be charged Rs. 2.50 (excluding taxes) Incredible.
How to Subscribe
For activating the package, just dial 905 from your ZONG connection and get connected!
Charges
Rs. 15/hour+tax
Charging Unit
Rs. 0.25/min+tax
I am not sure about the quality, but I have heard its good enough. So now start enjoying your wireless internet means and that too at very inexpensive rates.
Challenge for other telcos…let’s see what they have in their minds?
Text Messages (SMS) from cellular number to cellular number is nothing new in Pakistan, however, how if you are able to send SMS from a land line (PTCL) number to any cellular number across Pakistan, and that too a voice SMS? Cool na?
Right! PTCL says it has started this “Kehdo Voice SMS” service that will allow all landline users in Pakistan to send voice SMS messages to cellular numbers and that too in a simple way. Let’s explore what this Kehdo Voice SMS is…
Dial 1246 give yourself a pause, then dial the cell number and hold on until an automated voice will appear and guide you through the process. Wait for the beep, and record your message and press # button. That’s it
You can send your name with the voice message as well, the process is
[1246] pause [0333500XXXX] # (send your message with name)
[1246] pause [0300500XXXX] * (send your message without name)
Message will be sent to the mobile subscriber immediately; however, if the phone in switched off, or the responder does not pick the phone, system is going to try again in 2 hours. Don’t expect any third try, as system is configured for only 2 retries.
Message recipient will get a call from system that will speak out the message to the receiver.
Check points
- All Phones lines are already subscribed, so you don’t need to activate this service
- Kehdo SMS service is for only cellular networks in Pakistan (Does not support landline, WLL or international numbers)
- Maximum duration of Kehdou SMS is 30 second
Charges
Each Kehdou SMS will cost you Rs. 0.99 Per Message
Incoming Kehdou SMS are free
PTCL’s Voice SMS is something different that of this new “Kehdou Voice SMS”. To know more about Voice SMS dial 1236 from your landline.
Zong signals have hit cities of Gilgit, Hunza, Skardu, Besharn and Sust. The network was rolled out by Alcatel-Lucent, one of their infrastructure partner along wirh Ericsson Pakistan.
Zong had been giving preference to Northern Areas of Pakistan to provide them cellular coverage at earliest. They also bear the added experience of network operations in similar high mountain areas in China. Moreover, the company was interested in covering the road that is connecting China with Pakistan. The region now being covered by Zong borders with China, with the Karakoram Highway (old Silk Route) is going to play a vital role in freight transportation.
We may see hundreds of more cities covered by Zong in coming months, as the company is aggressively rolling out its network in less served areas of Pakistan. Zong had invested US 1 billion dollor since they overtook paktel from Millicom, and these new rollouts are consequences of their initial investment they made in Pakistan.
Recently we have heard about US 800 million dollar additional investment in following years to expand its coverage area throughout Pakistan. We have seen previously how rapidly Zong is fetching customers’ share, while with this increased coverage the company is going to get even better position to gain the momentum.
Zong has said in a PR that It has added over 2000 sites since its launch and the network cell sites have grown from about 900 to over 3000. By the end of 2009, just two years from the start, the cell sites are targeted to grow to over 10,000.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has finally issued its quarterly report on Pakistan Telecom Industry for first quarter of year 2008. In coming few days I will focus on the report and will extract the summarized information for ProPakistani Readers. In today’s post I will mainly focus on telecom sector’s economic facts and figures.
Local and Foreign Direct Investments
Following the trends of other industries in Pakistan, Telecom sector showed a significant decline for local and/or foreign direct investments . Only major investment was by Oman Telecom when they reached a deal with World Call to purchase its 65 percent shares that valued US 200 million dollars.
Along with a nominal portion of investment (compared to previous periods) was contributed by cellular companies who are pushing their network further into the country side. Cellular companies spent total of US 433 million dollars in this quarter. However, recent investment announcements made by Warid and Zong is going to reshuffle this graph in coming 1 year.
During the first quarter of 2008, total of US$ 156.6 million were brought into Pakistan under FDI account; which showed a decline rate of 47 percent when compared to previous quarter. This decline was due to geo-political situation and instability in the country, resulting overall decline of FDI by 17 percent. Another reason that may come into consideration for low FDI is due to the fact that local financial market has enabled cellular companies to generate revenues locally.
Other than cellular companies, other telecos including LDIs, LLs, WLLs repeatedly showcased low investments.
GST/CED Revenues
We all know that Telecom sector has been greatly contributing to the national exchequer through GST, CED, SIM Activation Tax, withholding tax, regulatory fee, contribution for USF and other duties.
This share was PKR 8.9 billion in year 2001-02, which gained momentum after the emergence of Ufone, Telenor and Warid Telecom, taking the share to reach PKR 36.3 billion in 2006-07.
Price war amongst the telecom companies has taken down the prices towards the lowest possible limit. Consequently, the CED and GST contribution has poised. Despite the addition of over 25 million customers in cellular base in 2007-08, the net increase in CED/GST was notable at all.
In first quarter of 2008 total of PKR 10.89 billion was given away to government by telecom companies/subscribers under these taxes, which is almost the same as of three previous quarters.
CED, GST, SIM Activation Tax, Revenues for all cellular companies are shown in following graphs
Mobilink Leading here for GST/CED contribution with PKR 3576.6 million, Telenor stands second with PKR 2438.5 million. Notable point about Ufone is that they contribute almost half of Telenor’s share, that is PKR 1275.2 million; Ufone stands at third slightly ahead of Warid Telecom which gave away PKR 1118.2 million. New enterant, Zong is at fifth with PKR 508 million…we may see their share climbing up in coming months.
SIM activation tax is directly dependent on the number of new subscribers aquired by any company. It maybe recalled that Government charges PKR 500 per SIM as Activation Tax. Total Activation tax of PKR 4551.5 million was collected in first quarter 2008, almost PKR 700 million less thna of previous quarter.
PTA has included cellular companes’ revenues stats for the first time in their quarterly report, which clearly suggests the performance of cellular companies in terms of revenues. Mobilink again leading the gang, with Telenor at second slot. Ufone and Warid are lagging far behind.
Telecom Imports
Telecom imports remained at US $ 964 million in first 3 quarters of 2007-08. Imports of Telecom equipment saw a decline of US 42 million dollars when compared to previous quarter. In contrary handset imports rose up from US 80.3 million dollars in previous quarter to US 109.9 million dollars in Q1 2008.
Comprehending the increasing popularity of Dial Tunes and melodies being played instead of those old aged Rings…Zong now offers you to select the dial tunes with a single click. For example, if you are calling you friend, and you hear a song that you like a lot, simply press * button to set this particular tune for your number. Now onwards, when someone will call you, they are going to hear this tune.
Dial Tunes Website
You can also select and manage your dial tunes from Zong’s official website that offers almost 5,000 dial tunes for you to select.
To visit Zong’s Dial Tunes Website click here
You can search the database of Zong Dial Tunes by
- Artist Name
- Tune Name
- Song Genre
- Or simply type the keyword and grab your Dial tune
You can register your number on this website, and log-in to save your proffered Dial Tunes to be used in future.
Record Your Own Dial Tune
Okay if you want to record your own voice, or some other music file to set as your Dial Tune, that’s possible with Zong. Just dial 230 & select the “record your own Dial tune” option & record what ever you want your friends & family to hear.
Dial 230
Press option 3 to select “record your own Dial Tune”
Remember that you must be subscribed to Zong Dial Tunes first. You can subscriber by dialing 230 or Send “REG” to 230
Selecting Dial Tunes from Mobile Phone
An easiest method to select the Dial Tune that you like is by Dialing 230 where the automated voice will help you in selecting the category you are interested in and then the Zong Dial Tunes of your choice.
And in case you know the Dial Tune code, you can select the option from the menu and enter the code. Content code is available on the website and from Zong Dial Tunes flyers. You can browse through the Zong Dial Tunes website and purchase as many Zong Dial Tunes as you want.
Selecting Dial Tune through SMS
If you know the Dial Tune Code, then you can simply buy this dial tune by simply sending the code to 230
Send SMS: <content code> to 230.
Specific Dial Tune for Specific Numbers
Yes, you can assign Dial Tune to specific callers; each of them will hear different Dial Tune. For that visit Zong’s Dial Tune Website and assign different tunes to different callers.
Charges
Subscription to Dial Tune service is free of cost.
Daily fee Rs. 1.21 = Rs. 36.3 per month including Taxes
Download charges (from internet) Rs. 5 + tax
IVR charges (from handset) Rs. 5 + tax
As expected, Warid Telecom has introduced Blackberry services for its users. Their website reads about prices as following
Warid BES Plus
Monthly Fee Rs.1500 + tax
Warid BES
Monthly Fee Rs. 1500 + tax
Warid BIS
Monthly Fee Rs.1000 + tax
Not bad one, but Ufone offers little better than this offer.
To check out more details visit their official webpage here
For Blackberry on Warid Number, check out this demo
For More details call 456 from your Warid Numbers (some users reported busy lines, but hope that they will get rectified soon)
And warid’s existance on blackberry website (to create an acconut) click here
While writing this post, got this email from Mustafa Rana, who states that Warid is offering unlocked blackberry phone, hence they may also accept unlocked blackberry handsets to get Warid Blackberry Services (However, consider this statment as unofficial)
A Press Release posted by APP claims that PTCL has revised it local call timing pulse of 2 minute to 3 minutes. Which means that the local call tariff on PTCL landline phones of PKR 2 for two minutes has been changed to PKR 2 for three minutes.This tariff will be in effect from July 1, 2008.
Press Release says that this improved package comes along with promotion that started on June 01, 2008 through which PTCL subscribers are already enjoying free local calls at night.
This move may relieve PTCL customers a bit, but they are not in good trends after getting tons of benefits from cellular companies.
The main discussion that i wanted to get into was if PTCL is now in a phase where it is worrying to acquire and retain its landline customers? The answer is, most probably yes they are! Well there is no doubt that all landline operators, globally, are facing tough competition from wireless communication providers. The scenario in Pakistan is not different, specially with the emergence of WiMAX broadband service providers coming into play, a landline number is not considered as a must have thing for high speed DSL.
After PTCL was acquired by Etisalat, the company failed to leave a positive impression through repetetive attacks on the consumers (Babar Bhatti has summed up the miseries of PTCL customers here). But we have been witnessing a change in company’s mood for last couple of months, as far as the consumers are concerned. This change reflects a thought that company is now trying to show/pretend a positive aptitude towards the customers.
PTCL management would also be eying their dropping revenues and increasing operating expenses. In such a situation, we may see couple of hefty moves from landline giant of Pakistan. Possible moves can be free landline call on a smooth but increased monthly rental.
In any case, they will have to carry their postitive business plans in future too, to relieve the customer and saving their revenues (without decieving custumers) at the same time as well.
[Graphs are carried from PTA’s Quarterly Report for Jan-Mar 2008]
The far-flung Northern areas have been a major beneficiary of the changing telecommunication landscape in Pakistan. Ignore for a long time, these areas have been getting attention from the mobile phone companies. After Mobilink and Telenor, Zong has also launched its services in the beautiful cities of Gilgit, Hunza, Skardu, Besharn and Sust. I am sure the residents of the region are enjoying this increase in competition and the choices they have now.
According to the press release, Zong has about 3000 cell tower sites today and the plan to have 10,000 sites by the end of 2009. I found it interesting that Zong’s COO referred to their experience of working in mountainous regions. Most of the time we tend to think about Zong’s huge size and deep pockets, but there’s more to it!
“We believe Zong will have a clear edge over the competition in the Northern Areas especially, as China Mobile has huge experience of network operation in similar high mountainous areas in China itself,” stated Zafar Usmani, the COO of CMPak Ltd. The region now being covered by Zong borders with China, with the Karakoram Highway (old Silk Route) playing a vital role in freight transportation. ZONG is also working towards ensuring the Highway’s coverage.