Posted by: Aamir Attaa on November 10, 2008 at 12:11 PM
We are told by very reliable sources that Zong is set ready to launch its EDGE card with-in this week.
ZONG has launched USB based GPRS / EDGE modem that is capable of connecting laptop / Desktop PCs with internet while on the go.
Zong’s plug and play Internet USB Card allows Internet browsing, instant access and the uninterrupted ability both to upload and download data. EDGE Card is compatible with Windows 2000 (SP4 or above), Windows XP (SP2 or above), Windows Vista and Mac, whether run on a PC, laptop or handheld device. SMS software is also installed, allowing texts to be sent directly from the computer
In addition to being connected to the Internet, customers will be able to:
- Check their connection status.
- View statistics of their internet usage. Will have access to their list of phonebook contacts, present on the SIM in the device. They will be able to add/edit/delete entries from the phonebook.
- To send text messages regardless of whether they are connected via GPRS or not.
Charges:
Initial Sale Price of ZONG Internet USB Card: Rs. 9,999
Unlimited GPRS package Rs. 400/month +tax.
SMS Charges:
Domestic SMS: Rs. 0.5/SMS +tax
International SMA: Rs. 5/SMS +tax
Each month the users will have to recharge the SIM account to continue using uninterrupted services @ Rs. 400+tax
(Thanks to Gumby for providing additional info, also Official Press Release helped me for this post)
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Posted by: Aamir Attaa on November 8, 2008 at 7:34 AM
Ufone has recently started a service, which is prompted when a Ufone number is dialed and is found switched off. For example, if you call a Ufone Number, and it is switched off, the automated voice will say
“App kay matlooba number say jawab mousool nahi ho raha – Agar app Ufone kay customer hain aur Awaz SMS Baijhna chahtay hain tu 99 mila kar matlooba number milayain”
You can send Awaz SMS, as the voice said… This is all good – But, Ufone should have added a notification that this Awaz SMS will charge you Rs. 2.50 plus taxes.
This is first of its kind technique adopted by Ufone (in Pakistan) to capitalize every given opportunity and turning it into revenues – Meaning that offering a service preview, when call is not connected.
But what about customers; I suppose they deserve details for service charges as well, especially for offers which are not advertised.
Should we expect Lux or Head & Shoulder ads, in near future, before call connects?
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Posted by: Aamir Attaa on November 4, 2008 at 6:26 AM
Warid had this unlimited GPRS package for Rs. 500, which is still quoted as unlimited on their website has a limit now, which is 2 GB. Anyone exceeding this limit will be charged Rs. 0.20 per MB.
So be aware, and keep an eye on the meter even if you are using Warid’s unlimited GPRS Package.
Warid’s GPRS Packages’ detail are available here
It merits mentioning here that Telenor’s unlimited GPRS Package is also metered with limit of 2 GB
Ufone, Mobilink and Zong are still generous enough to offer genuine unlimited GPRS transfers.
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Posted by: Aamir Attaa on November 3, 2008 at 5:35 AM
“Chinese will manage Pakistan’s market, and they will outplay everyone… They know how to get it”, I was told this by Mr. Frederic Rose, President then, Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Alcatel-Lucent’s flagship company in China. He was here in Islamabad to sign one billion dollars network expansion contract assigned to Alcatel-Lucent by China Mobile, which had recently acquired Paktel.
He replied me up given line when I had asked him that Pakistan’s market is already well saturated, how come a cellular company starting from scratch will be able to compete with Giants like Mobilink, Telenor, Ufone, Warid… given that, all these four companies bear very strong financial background, as well expertise of running GSM networks in multiple regions.
I am wondering now that how true Mr. Rose was. Yes, China Mobile has proven itself as a brand now, and it looks like they are going to give tough time to other cellular companies in coming days.
The hardest part for China Mobile was to rebuild the image that had been lost by Paktel; often we see, it’s easy to make a new building, than of restructuring a damaged one.
Launch
I was discussing this success of Zong with Babar Bhatti, who was kind enough to give me time before leaving for US tomorrow, and he rightly spotted that China Mobile didn’t rush in launching its brand. Zong took its full time in preparation and came up with a very powerful launch campaign, though we found that campaign as copied one, but until then it had left its impact on Pakistanis. Continue Reading This Story
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Posted by: Aamir Attaa on November 1, 2008 at 11:00 AM
1-2-3 Free offer is for all new and existing Postpaid customers – either they are individual customers or the corporate ones.
How to avail this offer?
- Visit your nearest business center
- Fill in the consent form
- Deposit 3 months line rental in advance as per your current or new upgraded package plan
- You are all set to enjoy the benefits offered by this offer
- In case of Corporate customers, contact your Corporate Account Manager to benefit from this offer.
- This offer is available only at Warid Business Centers
Clearly the race for customers’ retention is on. But there is another trick that Warid wants to play with their customers who are with old packages. It may be recalled that Warid had revised their postpaid packages and had increased monthly rental on all packages.
Now this 1-2-3- Free incentive is available for only new tariff plans, meaning that if you have old package, then you will have to upgrade it in order to avail the offer. I doubt if any customer will like to get one month’s free line rent and in return will pay more line rent every month.
On other hands, those customers who are running on upgraded tariff plans, may easily consider this offer.
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Posted by: Reality Bites on November 1, 2008 at 12:28 AM
Telenor, the Norwegian trans-national telecom giant, entered Pakistani market in March 2005. Within just three years, Telenor have acquired 18.4 million subscribers (as of September 2008), becoming the third largest mobile operator in Pakistan, an outstanding feat given the country’ s fierce competitive environment.
Despite this growth, Telenor Pakistan network congestion issues are known to Telenor customers. They include different issues like, voice distortion, anonymous voices with connected call etc.
These issues were because of :
- More than ten traditional HLRs were in the current network, with some having a capacity of as low as 1 million. This arrangement caused a range of problems in network management and maintenance:
- Networking was highly complex due to the large number of low-capacity HLRs. The customer service system needed to connect to, and adapt to, all the HLRs on the network, and the resulting complexity significantly raised maintenance costs. Continue Reading This Story
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Posted by: Reality Bites on November 1, 2008 at 12:14 AM
M-Commerce is exchange of products & services and to make e-transaction with the help of mobile phones. It came in to existence, especially after 2000 and when CMTO’s applied for licenses to give customer handy services at instant.
In Pakistan, mobile phones are mostly used for voice calling and data services like SMS but in recent years the value added services have become integral part of Telco’s revenues like CRBT (color ring back tone) and others. Most of CMTO’s are earning sky-scraping ARPU (Average Revenue per User) because of these value added service. But we cannot deny the fact that ARPU based services are the major challenge for Telco’s to maintain brand equity and ARPU’s on the consistent pace.
Common M-Commerce services are:
Posted by: Bites85 on October 30, 2008 at 5:59 AM
Internet is full of web hosting companies like Media Template, Dream Host, GoDaddy and thousands pf others. Web masters prefer web hosting companies which are reliable and trusted. These big companies have elite administration with a lot of experience. They provide very good back up, if encountered any problem. Even Pakistani web masters and users prefer these foreign companies for multiple reasons. But many people may not know that even Pakistan has good web hosting providers. Today i will tell you about few good web hosting providers:
Creative On:
It is a very reputable company. There basic packages for the beginners are very competitive and can be dubbed as the best. They also have reseller hosting services which are very affordable. They provide Windows and Linux dedicated hosting with very good features. It can be called Pakistan’s best web hosting providers. Professional web masters should consider this. They also have an affiliate program through which you can earn up to Rs.4000.
Continue Reading This Story
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