Mobilink has recently launched a new offer through their ad which is exactly on the same pattern which Ufone is carrying for the last three years. This cheating not only shows that Mobilink creative team is simply out of ideas for which they are exactly following the footprints of Ufone, but also unveils the desperation within the ranks of Mobilink and how their brand is failing by having a very shaky stance and no spine to hold the fort in place.

Now Tom cannot do Harry’s bidding and neither Dick can do Tom’s. Earlier, Mobilink also came under fire for using Indian models and making Indian ads which are obviously received with suspicion in Pakistan given the fragile cultural sensitivities of two countries.

Ufone ads are made by Pakistanis with Pakistani actors as the brand is indigenous but since Mobilink is not ‘indigenous’ its ads and themes are also borrowed. What is the point in calling oneself ‘Industry Leader’ when ‘block heads’ simply cannot float a new idea and resort to ‘trespassing’ into indigenous domains little realizing that public in Pakistan doesn’t like ‘intrusion’ in domain of others and proudly associates itself with local brand saying ‘Tum hi to Hu’.

By Rabia Kamaal

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has launched EVO 3G Nitro, the fastest EVDO RevB wireless broadband with speeds up to 9.3mbps. With this launch, Pakistan has become the first country in the world to provide this service commercially.

EVO 3G Nitro has revolutionised the three simple steps to High speed On-the-Go connectivity, Just Plug in—Click—Connect with its unprecedented speed of 9.3mbps on the downlink and up to 5.4mbps on the uplink based on 3G CDMA REV B technology.

EVO 3G Nitro is Pakistan’s fastest and most cutting edge wireless mobile broadband product, first of its kind, which would enable customers to experience fastest web browsing, high quality video streaming, unlimited downloads, faster uploads, backward compatibility and seamless roaming in 99 cities across the country.

SEVP Commercial Naveed Saeed marked this launch as a giant leap ahead for PTCL and said this reinforces PTCL’s superiority and technological command. He said this service has been launched with the aim of giving our customers a far more enhanced user experience of instant connectivity. He further added “Working in a market where technology changes every minute; we at PTCL always strive to introduce products and services that add more value to our customer’s life and PTCL ‘EVO 3G Nitro’ is one such product that will completely revolutionised the way our customers communicate.

Tarrif:

• Nitro USB Device Charges: Rs.3, 999
• Nitro Unlimited: Rs.2, 999/monthly

Billing Options:

• Payment Mode : Nitro Landline Billing, Billed in PTCL landline
• Nitro Advance billing : Advance payment at PTCL OSS or PTCL designated banks

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s statistics made available to Daily Times reported the number of internet subscription on network of different cellular operators have reached 14.4 million by the end of closing financial year 2009-10.

The number of internet subscribers on cellular operators’ network was recorded 4.4 million by the end of 2008-09.

Telenor has grabbed the biggest share in terms of number of mobile internet users, however, penetration-wise Zong is leading the market with its lowest cost package of internet services.  Industry analysts said the internet subscription numbers might be over-stated by the authority because the internet users are not permanent in the cellular sector on specific operator’s network. They were of the view that cellular operators’ revenue has seen a healthy increase from the usage of mobile internet on GSM technology.

The quality of handset also facilitates subscribers to use internet, ant internet services are used mostly on expensive handset of branded companies, they added.  The growth of mobile internet subscribers has outpaced the growth of internet subscribers utilizing broadband and dial-up connections in the outgoing fiscal year.

As per estimated figures, the number of internet users had reached 19.5 million by 2009-10 as compared, with the number of users reported less than 19 million in the country by the end of corresponding previous year.  However, the number of internet connections has reached nearly 10 million in the country including broadband and dial-up.

The broadband growth witnessed 150 percent in just two years, which has never been experienced before.

The number of broadband users has grown from 45,000 in 2007 to 900,000 this year. Due to these results, Pakistan has been placed 6th in terms of quarterly growth and 10th in terms of annual growth in the global broadband market by a leading web source on broadband statistics.

Top three position holders are as follows:

Overall result was satisfactory as talking about the stats, a total of 211661 candidates applied for the examination out of which 208520 appeared. Out of the appeared ones, the candidates who were able to pass the examination are 126753. So the overall passing percentage comes out to be 60.79.

Above stats are the combine of two groups i.e. Science and Humanities. Which are further elaborated as:

Science:

Humanities:

Highest passing percentage in subject-wise result came out to be 99.53% in Chemistry (Practical) where a total of 75483 candidates appeared and 75129 passed.

Whereas in the theory subjects, the highest passing percentage, subject-wise, was 99.31% in Punjabi where 18723 candidates passed from a total of 18854 candidates appeared.

Out of a total number of 211661 candidates, 117171 were Regular and 77584 private.

Grade division, as per board rules was as follows:

So on the whole, a total of 81767 candidates got failed.

Secondary School Certificate Supplementary Examination 2010 will commence on 27th of August. The schedule regarding deposit of fee and admission form is as follows:

• With single fee –> 25-08-2010
• With double fee –> 01-09-2010
• With triple fee –> 08-09-2010

Ufone offers a unique service “Double Number” with which Ufone customers can have two numbers in one SIM. So you do not need to have 2 SIMs for 2 numbers – now one serves the purpose.

In Double Number offer, you will get two numbers one as primary and the other as virtual. The primary number is the one you are already using and another virtual number will be assigned to your SIM.

How To Subscribe?

Dial *66# from your Ufone number and the system will chose a random number for you. Once the number is assigned, you will receive a confirmation message containing your virtual number.

How To Use?

With your virtual number you can make calls and even send SMS. Procedure is simple, all you have to do is to add a prefix of “66″ before the number.

For example, the virtual number assigned to you is 03331234567. With this, you want to call on 03337654321. So you will dial the number as 6603337654321. And the receiver will receive call from your virtual number i.e 03331234567.

Same is the procedure for sending SMS. just add 66 before the receiver’s number.

So, if you have primary number as 03330005150 and secondary number as 03331234567. If you will make call or send sms just typing the number 03337654321, the receiver’s CLI will shwo the number 03330005150 and if you dial the number 6603337654321, the receiver’s CLI will show the number as 03331234567

Additional features of the service are as follows which can be accessed through IVR 660:

• Users can switch off/on their Double Number any time or for specific time period.
• Bar a Caller – You will not receive calls from selected number on your Double Number.
• Bar All Callers – All incoming calls on Double Number will be blocked
• Unblock All Callers – All incoming calls on Double Number will be allowed
• Unblock a Caller – You will start receiving calls from number that you blocked.

Charges:

• Service charges are Rs. 30 per month (exclusive of Tax)
• Call Charges on On-Net/Off-Net Rs. 1.30 + Tax per minute
• SMS Charges are Rs. 0.50 + Tax per SMS
• 660 IVR charges are Rs. 1 +Tax per min

Terms and Conditions:

• Service will be available for both pre-paid and post-pay users.
• Users can get a Double number through an SMS/IVR & USSD.
• Only one Double number can be mapped against one primary number.
• Double Number will be provided to Ufone customers from an inventory, which is specifically reserved for this service.
• Billing will be done on Primary number only. Service is not designed for Incoming/Outgoing international roamers.
• International calls & SMS from double number will not be allowed.
• Double Number will be assigned against the primary number. Assigned MSISDNs will not be available for anyone else.
• Since Double number will be attached with active primary number hence customer’s record will also be available in Cares. Customer’s NIC or Passport Number is not required for the activation. Customer does not need to visit any Ufone service centre or franchise to obtain the DN.
• Balance transfer is not possible through Double number, as it will only be used for CLI purpose.
• Users can’t avail SMS and voice buckets on Double Number.
• Users having SMS buckets will be charged Rs.0.50/SMS for each sms they will send to Double Number.
• Users cannot port-out their Double number.
• Double number will automatically become idle after 6 months once the primary number port-out.
• If user has voice & SMS bucket & makes call or send SMS from DN then will be charged as per DN charges.
• Other VAS services cannot be used through DN.

Moreover, wireless-based telecommunication and Internet network infrastructure such as cellular, wireless loops services and Wimax broadband services might also face slight damages but their services witnessed interruptions in many areas owing to frequent rains and shortage of electricity supply in Base Transceiver Towers (BST) or signal transmission sites. Telecom analyst Saeed Azfar said the stranded floodwater destroyed the under-surface infrastructure in cities and caused financial losses to landline telephone operators in order to carry out massive repair work afterwards.

He said communication through landline operator might cease in many parts of Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa and Punjab because the maintenance work will take a little longer.

Azfar said wireless-based telecommunication and Internet infrastructure might face minor dents in case BTS towers are hit by heavy rains particularly old-installed cellular sites in few areas.

Besides, interruption of electricity supply to BTS through power firms and generators may restrict signals transmission, resulting communication lost as the cellular phone users are unavailable to talk in these areas.

Heavy rains caused fading of signals in the areas and paralyzed the communication during downpours in the boundaries of particularly cellular sites, he added.

As per DailyTimes, Wahaj-us-Siraj, Convener Internet Service Providers of Pakistan (ISPAK) said the wire-based DSL and Dial-up Internet services have been destroyed by flood in cities where it is available.

From 31st July upsize package of wi-tribe ends and no more volume bundles can be bought.But all the users who had previously bought extra bandwidth can use it in the period of one month, i.e. the volume bundle bought till 31st of July can be used till one month from the date of purchase. For example the package bought on 30th of July will be valid till 30th of august.

But to use the extra bandwidth, you must first consume your monthly bandwidth, allocated with your plan, otherwise it will be wasted after one month.

Though the promotion advertisement is still available at wi-tribe’s official website, it is confirmed from wi-tribe’s officials that offer ends on 31st July. Plus there are no upcoming promotions regarding bandwidth on the list, official said.

QMobile one of the emerging companies in the mobile phone industry is making progress in a real good manner. Earlier the site had some issues regarding design and server side management as we reported earlier. This time QMobile comes up again with exciting and eye-catching design.

QMobile website showed up Account Suspended and went offline for days. Despite good marketing and products the QMobile guys seemed to be reluctant to pay attention to their official website.

But this time it seems like the real action has been taken. Fully flash design with alot of new features like Product List with complete features, User Manuals, Phone Suite and others.

Well done with their site design, but still there some issues as their blog url and server records still tell the same story. As reported earlier, the site is seemed to be hosted on a shared hosting account. Whois records of QMobile.com.pk still shows following stats:

Till now, the official words from QMobile are:

Thank you Ahsan for updates and the script.. We will defiantly take action for it.
Zeeshan Yousuf

“Thank you so much for getting our website off to the most wonderful start! I have thought about this for a very long time, and now finally Q Mobile new website is ready!”

Manager Sales

Q Mobile

Zong has already fixed their bug as PkReaders notified them regarding the fake search box on their website. This time, QMobile too takes action regarding their one, but still it seems like QMobile needs to be more concerned about site issues, because in growing IT culture, having your solid official website is as important as your products.

The WCG finals will be held from September 30 to October 3, 2010 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in California. Samsung will support the world’s largest gathering of more than 500 competitive gamers, by providing SyncMaster 2233RZ monitors. Highly skilled gamers will participate from countries all over the globe. This grand event reflects the continuation of a decade-long partnership between WCG and Samsung SyncMaster.

The General Manager, Samsung Electronics Pakistan, Mr. Steve Han Said, “The innovative Samsung technology on display at the WCG highlights our commitment to designing products that both consumers and gamers will love. We focus on the consumer feedback and closely observe how gamers interact with the SyncMaster line. This methodology led us to the development of unmatched features like 3-D, which will bring a new level of realism to gaming.”

The Samsung SyncMaster 2233RZ supports true 120hz with both 2D and 3D, pulling gamers into the virtual environment with exceptionally realistic detail and offers true 120hz support. SyncMaster monitors eliminate image trailing to deliver the split second response crucial for the fastest gamers in the world. Combined with a pair of 3D glasses and supporting graphics card, the displays can transform computer-games into a full 60 frame stereoscopic 3D experience. All matches at the event will be displayed on 22-inch wide SyncMaster 2233RZ monitors, delivering an HD resolution of 1680 x 1050. The SyncMaster MD230X6 consists of six 23-inch monitors, specifically designed to create an all-encompassing experience for gamers.

As the world’s best gamers will compete in this exciting contest for a chance to claim a $100,000 cash prize and the title for the “Best Gamers in the World”, the SyncMaster monitors will add to the intense excitement, energy and concentration in this hi-tech environment by providing the ultimate visual displays and gaming pleasure for the participants and spectators alike. From ultra-portable pico projectors to LED-backlit commercial display screens which save energy and protect the environment, Samsung continues to lead the technology arena.

The moves follow Pakistan’s temporary ban imposed on Facebook in May that drew both praise and condemnation in a country that has long struggled to figure out how strict a version of Islam it should follow.

Both the Facebook ban and the move announced Friday were in response to court orders. The sites to be monitored include Yahoo, Google, MSN, Hotmail, YouTube, Amazon and Bing, said Pakistan Telecommunication Authority spokesman Khurram Mehran.

“If any particular link with offensive content appears on these websites, the (link) shall be blocked immediately without disturbing the main website,” Mehran said.

An example of one of the 17 sites being blocked include islamexposed.blogspot.com, Mehran said. That site features postings with headlines such as “Islam: The Ultimate Hypocrisy” and links to anti-Islam online petitions.

Mehran said that, under instructions from the Ministry of Information Technology, the authority had begun the process of barring and monitoring the various sites.

(Source: MSNBC)

This is the first time that any court of Pakistan has ordered such a large number of search engines to be banned.

An officer of Federal Ministry of Information Technology told BBC that that they have received the judicial orders to implement ban on search engines and web sites. He also said that a special committee has been called on Friday in which the several aspects and monitoring of websites will be discussed to reach the final decision.

Lahore High Court on Thursday ordered Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) to ban more than half a dozen search engines across the Pakistan.

It merits mentioning here that  the Lahore High Court, ruling Pakistan government, had previously ordered to ban FaceBook – a  social interaction website.

Lahore High Court order was made at the request of a company which said that Facebook was making sketches of the Prophet Muhammad being competitive, so this website should be banned.

Whatsoever was the scenario after the ban on FaceBook but this time the ban on 9 big websites will result in big push back for the internet community as well as e-economy of Pakistan.

Ban list includes:

• Google
• Yahoo
• Bing
• YouTube
• Hotmail
• MSN
• Amazon
• IslamExposed
• InTheNameofAllah

Muhammad Siddiq, a citizen of Bahwalpur, submitted petetion under the number 3246/2010. Court has ordered chairman PTA to report till 28th of june with relevant record.

Deputy Atorny Genral also second the petetion regarding the publishing of modified contents in Quran. Furtehrmore he himself stressed on banning these sites as contents like this will not be tolerated anymore.

Special commision has also been called for the issue and further to come till PTA reports.

Ufone is celebrating Football World Cup 2010 with gusto and gaiety as the company kick started Uth FUTSAL (A shorter or “T20 version” of Football) in its traditionally vigorous way in the country. Uth FUTSAL has been launched with exciting promotions in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. The idea is unique since it caters well for time constraints and paucity of play grounds.

FUTSAL is a variant of football that is played on a smaller playing surface. This name is derived from Portuguese and Spanish words which can be translated as “hall football.” FUTSAL is played on a surface delimited by lines and between two teams of five players, one of whom is the goalkeeper and is played with a smaller ball with less bounce than a regulation football.

Organized according to international standards of this game, Ufone will host a back-to-back chain of matches in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi in the first half of July this year. Out of the two day activity at each of the three stations, day one will conclude with underground bands performing live.

On day two, the final of that city will be played followed by a concert of the very renowned ‘Call the Band’ for which the passes are available in all three cities with the Uth squad, comprising of the very talented Uth brand ambassadors. The Uth ambassadors shall inform the youth about the recently launched ‘Uth Package’ which is professionally crafted to cater for the needs of the youth of Pakistan.

The first match of this series will be held in Lahore on July 5th followed by final on 6th. On the same pattern, a two day activity will be hosted in Islamabad on the 6th & 7th similarly in Karachi on the 10th & 11th.

Mr. Akbar Khan Chief Marketing Officer Ufone said, “The youth is the future of the country and Ufone’s Uth package has been designed to ensure we cater to each of the youths likes. Being a part of the Uth family is sure to bring many surprises for the youth of Pakistan”. “FUTSAL is only the beginning of many of the surprises planned for our valued customers. As always Ufone is striving to bring a smile to all segments of the society”, he added.

Dell recently sponsored Pakistan’s first ever blog awards ceremony held at a local hotel in Karachi. It was a pioneering event in which Pakistani blogs were awarded for their brilliant content and quality. Altogether 207 blogs participated in the competition in the 41 defined categories.

The participating blogs were scrutinized and judged by 14 experts from different fields. The main categories were technology, politics, education, humor, business, science, health care, Urdu blogs, celebrities, automobiles, literature, sports, photo blogs, music blogs, video blogs, food blogs and many others.

The competition was hard-hitting among blogs of different categories; one blog in each field was chosen among them and awarded as the best blog. More than 300 people, including bloggers, technology experts and industry specialists participated in the awards distribution ceremony and enlightened the evening.

Head of Marketing for CSMB at Dell Pakistan, Nubla Iftikhar stated, “Dell is happy to have pioneered the concept of recognizing talent in Pakistani blogs; there’s a lot of enthusiasm, skill and the urge to create interesting content.”
Nubla Iftikhar was also one of the judges from the panel of the blog awards.

The moot was organized by PTA in collaboration with Qualcomm and Central Asian Cellular Forum (CASF). Secretary IT, Naguibullah Malik was guest of honour and Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Dr Mohammed Yaseen moderated the panel discussions among the participants of the event.

Minister In-charge for Information Technology Sardar Mohammad Latif Khan Khosa expressed these views while addressing a seminar on 3G mobile broadband technologies. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), in collaboration with Qualcomm and Central Asian Cellular Forum (CASF), organized the seminar.

The minister said that new technologies would bring prosperity to the country through increase in government revenue, creation of employment opportunities and growth in GDP of the country. However, before announcing any policy about 3G technologies, the minister said all stakeholders would be consulted and taken into confidence.

“We are committed to taking all possible measures for the growth of telecom sector of the country. After an extensive analysis and discussion, the new technology will be launched in the country,” he added.

Telecom sector of the country has seen unprecedented growth since the deregulation of the industry. He said that, currently, country’s teledensity stands at 63.5 percent and the government was on way to cross the 100 million mobile subscribers mark in the near future. The past two years have also seen broadband growth of 150 percent, which has never happened before, he added.

He said that the recent results of the auction of 3G spectrum in India, ending at $15 billion, was a sign of bullish mood of investors in introducing latest telecom facilities in this region.

He appreciated the PTA’s initiative of inviting all stakeholders of the sector at one platform to have a healthy discussion on challenges being faced by the Pakistan’s telecom market for the launch of 3G technologies. He said the PTA should arrange such forums in other provincial capitals of the country to enlarge the scope of input being received from the all concerned stakeholders.

Secretary IT, Naguibullah Malik, was the guest of honour while Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Dr. Mohammed Yaseen, moderated the panel discussions among the participants of the event. Representatives from the IT and telecom industry and academia also participated in the seminar, which was titled: “Connecting Pakistan through 3G Mobile Broadband”.

While chairing the panel discussions Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammad Yaseen said that 3G could act as catalyst in the proliferation of broadband and it can bring positive growth in all segments of the national economy. He asked mobile operators to give serious consideration to the early launch of 3G technologies in Pakistan so that the consumers could avail latest telecom and data services.

The objective of this seminar was to deliberate upon the regulatory, policy and technical challenges in connecting Pakistan through 3G Mobile Broadband. During the seminar participants gave their recommendations for the introduction of 3G services in Pakistan.

(Source: DailyTimes & APP)