Information Technology sector fetched US $ 3.3 million FDI in July-September 2016 as compared to 0.2 million in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.

Figures published by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Sunday revealed overall communications sector comprising telecommunication, Information Technology and postal & courier services) registered US $ 24.2 million net FDI with US $ 40.9 million inflow and US $ 16.7 million outflows.

Telecommunication sector registered US $ 37.6 million inflow, US $ 16.6 million outflows and US $ 21 million net FDI during the period under review.

Net FDI in software development remained at the US $ 1.5 million during July-September.

This increase in FDI is a welcome boost to the economy of Pakistan and we hope that things keep progressing in a similar stance as our IT industry is a major backbone of the country’s economy.

Khurram Zahid

The post Telecom Sector in Pakistan gets $21M in FDI appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Lack of Proper Infrastructure:
First of all let’s talk about infrastructure. This is probably the Achilles heel of PTCL. They claim to be offering their services across Pakistan but the fact is that they have obsolete and outdated infrastructure and haven’t tried on improving and refining it with the latest technology advances. Even in major cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, PTCL services have been downright poor which is a surprise given the amount of customers and revenue they can generate if they give consistent services.

Lack of Investment in Future Technologies:
In wired connectivity PTCL is behind its competitors by still giving DSL broadband via copper cable whereas other competitors like StormFiber, Optix Fiber and Satcomm have already begun successful rollout of Fiber Optics based internet. Whereas other Broadband providers are taking the market by storm and getting a huge chunk of getting a rising number of broadband users onboard, the biggest telecom operator is  biting the dust and literally pays no heed to the need of the consumers and time both.

Then there also comes the issue of scalability I.e the telephone exchanges lack the capacity to handle new connections. Not just that, there are not enough feasibility checks before installing a new connection to ensure that the speeds commited will be delivered.

Trying to Do Too Much at One Time:
The situation is similar when it comes to  wireless technologies. PTCL  offers numerous wireless Mobile Broadband devices such as Evo Wingle and Charji Evo that boast of speeds between 9Mbps to 36Mbps however consumers are getting  speeds that are nowhere near even the promised speeds by the telecom operator. The underlying reason for this is inferior technology such as EV-DO which is  based on CDMA networks whereas every other ISP/Telco is offering services using 3G/4G networks which offer much better speeds and coverage. This is false advertising and the claims are too good to be true. PTCL is busy offering humongous packages ranging from 20-100Mbps however they are unable to give satisfactory speeds to even 2,4 or 8Mbps users.

Customer Service Issues:
In the end let’s talk a little about Customer Services. This is the backbone of any telecom operator as they handle queries and complains by new and existing customers. However due to the lacking quality of services, the customer services and support department are always overburdened with calls with the users complaining about lack of speeds. Obviously the customer support representatives are short on time and are thus forced to give unsatisfactory and pre-written replies that only aggravates the consumer further and thus a customer thinks of switching the ISP.

We believe that PTCL can surely make things better if they do a self-assessment and prioritize resolution of issues to retain existing customers instead of generating new business. Based on our limited understanding, we propose possible solutions to these variety of issues
1)  Discontinue or limit higher speed packages to specific areas in major cities only and  start giving consistent services to 2-8Mbps subscribers.

2) Initiate a roll out of Fiber Optics based internet services as soon as possible in major cities of Pakistan and communicate the rollout plans  to your existing customers.
3) Upgrade the infrastructure where the number of active consumers is the highest to the latest technology along with increasing network capability to offer better quality of services and improved coverage.

4) Offer promotions/packages that are backed by consistent and reliable quality of services that are not just for short term financial gains.
5) Coordinate with the CSR department to know of the complains being faced by customers and setting up technical support in such a way that addresses such qualms in real-time or as soon as possible basis.

5) Put such SOPs in place that once a customer lodges a complain against the service, it reaches the desired department and is effectively resolved by the respective technical and support staff.

Final Word:
In lieu of the above mentioned issues PTCL should now seriously consider and improve at the earliest because it’s high time PTCL got its act right and upped its game and really showed its competitors that it’s Pakistan’s largest telecom operator having the most coverage but at the same time offering consistent and satisfactory speeds to its consumers as well. We do hope that the word is spread and someone at PTCL with the right authority and capability takes notice of these shortcomings and strives to improve on the brand name and bring back loyal customers as well as attract new customers towards choosing PTCL as their telecom and internet services provider.

Khurram Zahid

The post It’s High Time PTCL Got Its Act Together! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

All Telcos in Pakistan offer two different pricing plans, Prepaid and Postpaid. Though both Prepaid and Postpaid have their pros and cons but there are certain advantages of postpaid connection which would allow you to enjoy certain benefits. For starters, you get priority customer support services along with the benefit of not having to deal with those extremely annoying promotional calls/SMS. There is also the option of getting your call history for the whole month with your monthly bill and you can also claim your taxes that are paid on top of your monthly line rent whereas Prepaid plans lack such option. Majority of the  subscribers in Pakistan are currently using Prepaid but there is a certain market of young people that are getting into professional lives and need to keep more in contact than ever before but remain within a budget which is why they might consider switching to Postpaid plans.

Below we will list a table of Postpaid packages from all 5 Telcos in Pakistan within the price range of PKR 1000, so that users who wish to stay within a limited budget can make the smart choice of choosing the one that suits them best!

Postpaid packages in Rs. 1000

Disclaimer: All prices mentioned above are exclusive of all applicable taxes.

We have mentioned the best Postpaid packages available in Pakistan within PKR 1000 for all Telcos, however this is only one side of the picture and there are some other factors that need to be considered as well to truly get the most out of your Postpaid plan. Hence we are listing these one by one below.

Rollover Minutes:
Zong is the only carrier to offer Rollover Minutes. What this basically means is that if you have leftover minutes from last month, they will be added to your current month instead of getting wasted. This can be very good for users who are not sure whether they will be able to consume the talktime minutes.

Security Deposit:
First of all let us inform our readers what a security deposit is and what its purpose is. A security deposit is a refundable amount that acts as a credit limit. For e.g if your monthly line rent is PKR 1000 then you can exceed your usage upto PKR 2500 without paying the bill. As about 90% of your credit limit is reached the company disables your outgoing services and then you can pay your bill partly/fully to resume using the services.

Here again Zong is facilitating its customers as its refundable security deposit (Rs. 2500) for both IDD(International Direct Dialing) as well as NWD(Nation Wide Dialing) within Pakistan. Other Telcos are charging a separate amount as security deposit of around PKR 2500 for IDD calls (in addition to Rs. 2500 for NWD calls).

Mobile Money Wallet:
Telenor is offering a free Easy Paisa account with its Postpaid plans. However other carriers like Ufone charge a small fee for this facility. EasyPaisa has proven to be a very useful feature as it has made the hassle of bill payments easier as you don’t have to stand in long queues at the bank. It also helps us send money instantly to our loved ones any time of the day.

Additional Data Bundles:
If you have exhausted your data bundle and want to get an additional one, then Warid offers the cheapest data bundle starting from PKR 100 for 500MB. However keep in mind that Warid offers very little Data limit in its Postpaid plans so getting a bundle might be necessary however it might add to your monthly bill Whereas other carriers offer 1GB data with their Postpaid plans. Zong also offers cheap bundles starting at PKR 50/150MB and PKR 150/500MB.

Video/Voice Calls over IP:
While some carriers in Pakistan are charging VoIP/Video Calls from the provided data bundle, some carriers like Ufone and Telenor charge separately as per normal data rates for Whatsapp, Skype, Hangout and other calling apps which might be a bummer for most users in Pakistan as these services are heavily used to contact loved ones living abroad.

Ufone charges PKR 20/MB for the 1^st MB and then 19MBs are counted free and then 1MB is charged again at PKR20/MB and this cycle continues.
Telenor charges Video Calls at PKR 1/MB whereas charging of video calls is done at a 5 minute pulse and charges are PKR 2/5 minutes.

Our Verdict:
Having given you all the nitty gritty details about all the factors that should be taken into consideration before switching to a Postpaid plan that a potential customer must analyze before making a switch. You can check all of these features offered by various carriers in Pakistan and then choose one that fits their needs best. With that being said we think that overall we’d prefer Telenor for its wide coverage and overall good Postpaid packages, however Telenor is separately charging for various VoIP/Video Call services which should be kept in mind.Also, If 4G LTE is a must for you then we’d say that Zong is a better choice over Warid as it offers 1GB of data volume within its Postpaid package whereas Warid skimps out on offering data within the packages but has attractive data bundles to be bought separately.

Did our article help you reach a decision to switch to Postpay? Don’t forget to voice your opinions in the comments below!

Khurram Zahid

The post Looking for Best Postpaid Package in Rs.1000? Find out your Options! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Rumor remains a rumor

The news of Warid acquisition is not new and other telecom operators have tried to buy the company. The market had been abuzz with the possible Warid deals since 2011 and the trend seems to continue even now. It it not a hidden secret that the gulf based Abu Dhabi group wants to sell the company; so far no buyer has been successful in closing the deal with them.

Warid telecom entered the market along with Telenor back in mid-2000s and made a name for itself with exceptional call quality. During its decade of existence in Pakistan, where other companies gradually shifted to more cost-effective hardware providers such as ZTE, Warid continued to its relation with Nokia Siemens Network whose superior hardware maintained strong performance in most parts of the country where Warid provides coverage.

What changed?

The competition between providers has been so tough that customers, especially prepaid ones, go for the lowest call rates and even switch network as soon as a new (and lower) call/sms package is announced. The low ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) kept getting low over the years and that made business tough for Warid.

At the same time Warid focused heavily on the corporate/business users and currently hold the highest number of corporate clients in Pakistan. The lack of aggression to acquire prepaid users left Warid behind and slowly the total number of users reduced, so much so that Zong overtook Warid a few years ago and left the company at the very bottom of the list.

Eventually Warid’s management realized it can no longer compete based on price wars and talks about mergers/acquisition began.

How true is it?

Until a proper announcement is made, the news of Warid’s acquisition should be treated as a rumor. There have been talks between various telecoms acquiring Warid and some had gone to advanced levels only to break down towards the end. There are obvious benefits for any non-4G license holder to acquire Warid, gaining the LTE network the telecom provider recently established in major urban areas of Pakistan.

Without formal announcement by Warid and/or other companies, the news hold now value and only expectations/anticipation.

Khurram Zahid

The post Has Warid Landed a Deal? appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

GSM Association has proposed FBR to review this tax rate and propose better solutions to the government. This suggestion is based on a detailed report submitted to FBR by Deloitte titled “Digital Inclusion and Mobile Taxation in Pakistan“.

According to this report:

– Granting “Industrial Undertaking” status will allow cheaper equipment import, adding $28 million per annual to mobile operators’ annual revenues by 2020, overall economic benefit of $480 million and about $100 million investment in Pakistan.

– Abolishing SIM Activation tax can add further 500,000 sims by 2020, over a quarter of which would be 3G/4G connections. This could lead to additional $270 million in GDP and 43,000 people out of poverty. Overall increase in government revenues could be $13 million per year.

– Provincial Sales Tax are not harmonized across the country, causing additional compliance costs for telecom sector. Harmonizing them by providing a single point of payment would reduce these costs in a major way.

– Reducing FED and PST rates to standard 17% would save a lot of money for the consumers and can lead to additional 2 million new connections per year by 2020. Increased productivity has potential to increase GDP by $1.1 billion and additional $69 million government taxes by 2020.

It was also highlighted that import of telecom equipment for roll out of 3G/4G services has been subjected to additional custom duties under SRO 575 Finance Act in 2014/15. Expected spending on the telecom equipment over next five years is $1.3 billion and with heavy custom duties, additional $195 million would be charged.

Considering the growth of mobile broadband and better offerings of service and packages by telecom companies, despite heavy taxation, proves their is much potential in the industry to deliver more to the people and generate more revenue in the long run with lower taxation and better tax management.

Khurram Zahid

The post $1.3 Billion Telecom Investment in Next 5 Years appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Top 3 Postpaid Packages

Ufone and Zong also have good packages though their prices are a bit higher.

Coverage Issues

Telecom operators have some challenges as well. Warid, despite cheaper packages, is only available in urban areas with LTE service (which require LTE supportive handset). Outside LTE coverage only 2G internet is available which is a big drawback.

Telenor has the largest network of 3G in the country but it has only 5 MHz of spectrum, restricting available bandwidth to the customers. Mobilink also has large coverage and its 10 MHz spectrum allows better speed to the consumers.

Ufone and Zong have also expanded their networks and Zong provides the highest speed (because of 4G) as well as largest data bundles.

Prepaid Vs Postpaid

Compared with prepaid bundles, the postpaid ones are nothing special and telecom operators seem to have no interest in facilitating contract customers the way they do prepaid ones. Little to no special offer, TVCs rarely targeted at them, no events, no discounts, new phones not available on installments … commitment of business customers had paying fixed amount every month seems to hold no weight.

Nevertheless, postpaid customers do get some preferential treatment when speaking with customer service representative and problems are resolved sooner.

Do you use postpaid 3G internet? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Khurram Zahid

The post Top Three Postpaid 3G Packages appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

The following chart shows rankings based on price, the best data package you can get with the least cost. The package list is updated till 28th April, 2015.

The ranking is based on price subscriber pays for each gigabyte of data. Telenor and Mobilink rule the chart with higher data packages in lower cost. Telenor covers the most cities and towns in Pakistan with 5 MHz spectrum while Mobilink has 10 MHz spectrum and thus greater download speed. Some packages have restrictions as well, for example Mobilink’s Daily Light Internet (1 GB for Rs. 8) is a daily package but can only be used between 12 am to 8 pm.

There are other varieties as well, such as Zong’s Monthly Premium Plus has 30 GB data limit for Rs. 3500. While the largest data package of all the telecom companies, it is expensive than most broadband companies that provide much larger data cap (albeit at slower speed) in much lower cost. The cost per gigabyte was high, therefor it could not be added to the list.

As mobile broadband service gets more popular, prices are expected to come down and larger data bundles will be made available to subscribers. Until then, the above ranking should be good enough for heavy data usage with the least cost.

Do you use any prepaid 3G package? Are you satisfied with the price and download speed? Let us know in the comments below.

Khurram Zahid

The post Top 3 Prepaid 3G Packages appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.