China mobile stood first in the top 10 mobile cellular brands ranking for 2008 and in Top 100 rankings (all industries) it is on 5th position for the same year.
It is without dubiousness, as we can believe PTA’s report that Zong has shown 289% growth rate for cellular subscribers in year 2008, while the same report said that China Mobile invested US 200 million dollars in year 2007/08; this is not only surprising but unexpectedly amazing.
Mr. Salman Wassay, Head of Marketing, Zong is the master mind behind Zong’s advertisements and media campaigns. It is his vision that Zong made an early impact over the industry and got its attention from mobile phone users of the country.
Mr. Salman Wassay was kind enough to give us the time and the opportunity to know his thoughts about Zong’s ongoing operations and its future face.
Let’s straight away get to the interview.
ProPakistani.com: How do you see Pakistan’s ongoing Telecom Growth and would you please mention upcoming Challenges and their possible remedies for the market?
Salman Wassay: The strong innate human need of live communication amongst each other makes mobile telephony a basic requirement for people across the globe with no real alternative. The telecom growth is natural and unstoppable, you can already see individuals that do not have a TV at home and cannot afford packaged milk but they use mobile phone frequently. Such is the power of telecommunication and that is why this industry is so different and much more dynamic than any other industry.
Pakistan has seen strong growth over the last 14 years. The subscriber number has surpassed 90 million mark and teledensity is over 54%. It was in 2005 that the industry gained real momentum when it crossed 10 million subscriber mark (12.7 million at the end of 2005). The growth has been upward of 80% per annum since then, totaling to over 90 million subscribers to date. In terms of geographical coverage more than 300 out of 376 tehsils of Pakistan have mobile network coverage. I believe that this growth phase will continue until the curve flattens out around 70% teledensity in next 3 years. This does not mean that the race is going to cool down, we have already started to witness the growth in number of minutes people are talking to each other and this is just the beginning.
The challenges for telecom industry are about to change very soon. As we get close to 70% teledensity, the priorities and focus is going to shift on retaining customers. This would mean a sincere effort by all operators to raise the quality of customer services and network. Understanding the customer from mobile usage and psychographic view point is going to be crucial as it will help the managers to offer targeted value added services. Industry will have to look out for alternate revenue streams such as broadband and auxiliary use of mobile handsets using GSM services. Youth is going to fuel the operators’ appetite for more subscribers as about 2 million youngsters are first time mobile users every year and about 55% of Pakistan population is less than 25 years of age. From organizational capability angle, a lot of professionalism and discipline is required to face the challenges of near future. The decisions that did not require much deliberation in the recent past would require in depth analysis and sound strategic thinking in the recent future. Good human resource and forward thinking is going to be pivotal for tomorrow’s success in telecom industry.
ZONG has introducing an advanced service of its kind TakeOne that lets subscribers share videos, pictures etc with just a click to anywhere in the world.
Through this GPRS backed application based service, the subscribers can share their memorable moments with friends and family using multiple channels such as
How to Subscribe
China’s ZTE has announced the signing of a US$100 million contract with China Mobile’s Pakistan subsidiary (CMPak) to help them expand the capacity of their GSM infrastructure as part of its Phase 2 project.
The project covers central Pakistan, where the highest GDP in the country is produced and more than half of the country’s population resides, hence becoming the main source of most operators’ voice data service profits. The central Pakistan territory comprises of eight cities and regions, including Multan, Faisalabad and Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest city.
Under the GSM infrastructure extension project, ZTE will provide CMPak with its latest 8000 series of base stations using a unified total IP hardware platform. The solution allows operators to smoothly evolve their telecom infrastructure into total IP integrated mobile broadband networks helping them reduce network evolution cost, lower their TCO, and continuously enhance their profitability. Continue Reading This Story
In the world of advertising image building is one aspect of any campaign, which shows a shining picture of any product or organization. Creative writers craft all qualities and feature of that product in dynamic and sizzling words to catch attraction; when such advertising campaigns come to the public, they give the same impression and leave a lasting impact on consumers. For example, if you go to a shop and ask for a mobile connection, what name comes in your mind, while options are Telenor, Mobilink, Warid, Ufone, Zong or Insaphone. Furthermore, there is a term used in advertising, “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”. This is a hard-core reality, which enforces companies to run long and continuous schedule of advertising to keep the ball rolling.
In current situation, if we apply same formula, we would know that Instaphone is no more in the market. With only few hundred thousand customers, Instaphone has no demand in the market with zero advertising. Zong, which had created hype before its launch, was able to capture 5 million customers very soon, but gradually its slowing down its media campaigns.
Lately, Zong’s major elements of campaign were lunchtime offer; however, they are these days putting their focus on 12 Anay Package. Zong continuously rotates its focus on different services, but intensity is decreasing with time, and may not leave a lasting impression. Time has come, where Zong should focus on its network and should bring forward some advertisements relating to network coverage as well. Also they should bring forward at least one new package to keep it live on TVCs. Continue Reading This Story
ZONG has expanded its network coverage along Karakoram Highway. This latest expansion includes launching of services in Daggar (Bunair District), Chilas, Dassu, Bunji, Sikandrabad on KKH and Astore on the tertiary route within Northern Areas.
Speaking on the occasion, Zafar Usmani Chief Operating Officer ZONG, stated, “This launch is another promise fulfilled by ZONG for its customers in Pakistan.
ZONG by now has its network in several major cities of the Northern Areas including Gilgit, Hunza, Skardu, Besham and Sust and now it will have more adjacent surrounding areas too!
Financial conditions of cellular companies in Pakistan seems to be unstable as most of cellular companies are operating in loss despite significant increment in their revenues over the time; but these revenues are leveled by increased operating expenses, network expansion and depreciation i local currency.
Operating expanses of cellular companies have increased due to inflation and depreciation of Pakistani currency. This depreciation in currency is effecting cellular companies in two ways, first the cost of machinery and infrastructure gets higher, secondly those companies that depend on foreign loans from sources outside Pakistan bear huge loss due to depreciation of currency. Continue Reading This Story
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:
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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