Possible Action against Celcos For Suspending SMS Packages During Eid

The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) is considering action against Telenor and Mobilink over a reported withdrawal of SMS bundle offers during Eidul Fitr days without prior notice to customers, reported Dawn Newspaper."We have taken note of the withdrawal of the SMS bundle," said paper, while quoting PTA chairman Dr Muhammad Yasin.
"We are probing the matter before we take a decision to initiate a legal action. The authority will protect consumers' rights." He said the investigation would soon be finalised.
The two operators reportedly suspended their package for three Eid days and charged their subscribers between 20-paisa and Re1 per SMS.
About a possible refund of the amount paid by the customers on Eid days, Dr Yasin said the matter would be decided after investigation.
By the middle of this year, according to the PTA, the number of mobile phone users in Pakistan had reached over 95 million. Mobilink was leading with 29.5 million customers, Telenor 21.2 million, Ufone 20.5 million, Warid 18.1 million and Zong (CM Pak) 6.4 million.
Via ProPakistani.PK

668 SIM Information System Launched at PTA Consumer Forum

On the occasion of Telecom Consumer Forum, organized by PTA, Chairman PTA Dr. Muhammad Yaseen is addressing the participants. Secretary Information Technology & Telecom Naguib Ullah Malik and Member Technical PTA, Dr. Khawar Siddique Khokhar are also seen

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) organized telecom consumer forum with a theme "Together for Consumer Rights". Secretary IT & Telecom, Mr. Naguib Ullah Malik was the chief guest while Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammed Yaseen presided over the Forum. Member (Technical) PTA, Dr. Khawar Siddique Khokhar, renowned poet Mr. Amjad Islam Amjad, representatives of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Cellular Mobile and Fixed Line sectors, telecom consumer groups, academia and the media community also participated in the event. President Pakistan Consumers Association, Kokab Iqbal and representatives of Cellular, Fixed Line and Broadband Services gave presentations during the Forum.
In this event, the Secretary IT formally inaugurated a new service named "SIM Information System – 668" introduced by PTA to enable the mobile subscribers to know the total number of SIMs issued against their respective CNIC number with each mobile operator.
Mr. Naghuib Ullah Malik said that Government is facilitating telecom industry so that it continues to grow. He said that the Government wanted development in the telecom sector which was growing at fast pace during last few years. While talking about "SIM Information System – 668" he appreciated this initiative taken by PTA and said that it is crucial to safeguard our communication systems so that they don't fall into the wrong hands and for that purpose this new system introduced by PTA will play an effective role.
While addressing the consumer forum Chairman PTA said that the Authority is cognizant of telecom consumer's needs and taking number of steps to facilitate them in resolving their issues. In this regard PTA has revamped complaint handling mechanism of mobile companies, PTCL and other telecom operators. Launch of this new service is yet another evidence of PTA's sincerity towards its vision of protection of telecom consumers and their rights. He said that every mobile user can know number of SIMs issued against his CNIC with the mobile company name by sending his CNIC number without dashes and spaces to 668 through SMS. Rs.2/- will be charged on each SMS which is inclusive of all taxes. In case of unauthorized numbers against his CNIC number, a consumer can get the data corrected from the concerned mobile operator's Customer Services Center. The unauthorized SIM owners will be advised to register the SIM in their names within seven days of notification from concerned Customer Services Center otherwise their calling facility will be stopped after thirteen days and the SIM will be completely blocked after seventeen days of that notice. This service will help in further streamlining the data of mobile phone users.
Chairman PTA said that in order to address the issue of unauthorized SIMs PTA first revamped the system of sale and registration of SIMs and now it has introduced this service which would allow mobile subscribers to get those SIMs blocked which presently are not under their usage. This system provides an Internet and SMS based interface to end-users in order to retrieve the registered mobile SIMs information. He said that it is a robust, secure and efficient sysytem to store a record size of approx 100 Million subscribers' data. The system ensures proper data integrity mechanism while answering back to multiple queries at a specific time.
The Chairman said that PTA has always been engaged in facilitating telecom consumers with best telecom services along with the due protection of their rights. The efforts of PTA, in this regard, have been translated in its consumer-oriented initiatives like Mobile Number Portability (MNP), system to block stolen mobiles through IMEI number, establishment of Consumer Protection Department for the redressal of consumer grievances, 7 to 8 digit Numbering Plan for fixed line, new consumer friendly SIM Activation System, lowest telecom tariffs amidst competitive environment etc.
Dr. Mohammed Yaseen said that the statistics of telecom growth in Pakistan are evident of the satisfaction level of telecom consumers with the quality of telecom services provided to them. He said that the overall teledensity in the country has reached 61.80%. There are currently 95.54 million mobile subscribers and the cellular segment leads the share in total teledensity followed by Fixed Land Line (FLL) with 3.5 million subscribers and Wireless Local Loop (WLL) with 2.6 million total subscribers.
Via ProPakistani.PK

Easy Paisa, What is Missing?

Easy Paisa by Telenor has been launched. If we see the scope of Easy Paisa right now, it is little disappointing, due the amount of time and money Telenor invested into the project. However, one can get excited because of the potential Telenor has got due to its stakes in Tameer Bank. As Telenor already claims, they can/will offer financial transactions related to sending/receiving money within Pakistan and from abroad through mobile phones.Telenor can enjoy the benefits of no e-commerce infrastructure in Pakistan, by offering payments through Easyload and then redemption through their outlets. Consider following case study, for instance…
There is this website, that wants to sell laptop skins – but as we know, no bank in Pakistan can get this online (website) seller the solution for getting payments through credit card. Here Telenor can play a role, prototype of which is defined as following

1. Website visitor or let's call him/her buyer sends Rs. 400 easy load to website owner (on his Telenor Number)
2. Website owner or the seller receives and confirms the payment
3. Website owner/seller ships the laptop skin to the buyer
4. Website owner redeems that easy load through Tameer bank or Easy Paisa Outlet.

Let's discuss this another scenario,
If Party A wants to send Party B Rs. 100,000, then consider following flow chart

1. Party A goes to Easy Paisa Outlet
2. Party A pays Rs. 100,000 in cash at outlet,
3. Easy Paisa Outlet sends Rs. 100,000 to Party B on his/her Telenor Number
4. Party B goes to Easy Paisa Outlet,
5. Party B receives money from Easy Paisa outlet, by showing providing the transaction message along with authentication

Note: Maybe Party A and Party B, both should be the account holders, or registered members of Easy Paisa
Of course, this prototype didn't include security and privacy concerns, but the end product with increased security and logging can really change the way masses do their banking.
We are aware that there needs a legislation in the process, but after the study of branchless banking regulation, it is evident that such a mechanism is possible.
However, it is a good start – but true return on Telenor's investment is highly based on upcoming products from Easy Paisa.
Via ProPakistani.PK

So Telenor EP is Easy Paisa

Followed by a teaser campaign, Telenor Easy Paisa is going witness a launch today.

As per initial information provided to bloggers, primarily, in a start with Easy Paisa not only Telenor customers but everyone in Pakistan can pay their bills through nearest easy paisa outlet, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Telenor says that, currently there are 2500 retail outlets across Pakistan which will be increased in few months to 8000 retail outlets including Telenor Sales and Service Center and Telenor Franchise.

Official Website: EasyPaisa.com.pk

Find Easy Paisa Agents: http://www.easypaisa.com.pk/agent.php

Features:

• You can pay your utility bill at nearest retail outlet, no need to go to bank
• After office/late hours
• On weekends/holidays
• Confirmation SMS received after bill pay transaction
• 24/7 help line (345) availability (trained call center agents)

Service Charges

Utility Companies On Board

1. PTCL (Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited)
2. SSGC (Sui Southern Gas Company)
3. SNGPL (Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd)
4. KESC (Karachi Electric Supply Company)
5. IESCO (Islamabad Electric Supply Company)
6. GEPCO (Gujranwala Electric Power Company)
7. LESCO (Lahore Electric Supply Company)
8. HESCO (Hyderabad Electric Supply Company)

Telenor says that All other companies will be on-board very soon and then customers will be able to pay all kinds of Utility Bills

Following are the details of launch event and the Press Release

Telenor Pakistan and Tameer Microfinance Bank together have announced the launch of easypaisa, a uniquely convenient and safe way for everyone to carry out financial transactions. easypaisa users will have the freedom to make bill payments and send and receive money at thousands of outlets and in addition manage their bank accounts over their mobile phones. easypaisa combines the best from the financial and mobile sectors, offering the first branchless banking solution of its kind in Pakistan and neighboring countries.

Presiding over the easypaisa launch event, Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Syed Salim Raza in his address emphasized government's focus on promoting financial access in the country. He said, "Helping people to get access to financial services is central to improving their livelihood. Branchless banking has been used internationally as a successful tool to reach customers who cannot be served by conventional branch-based financial services. That is why State Bank has been very supportive of innovative synergies in this field, a prime example of which is easypaisa by Tameer Bank and Telenor Pakistan."
Director Telecom, Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunications, Mudassar Hussain highlighted the critical role mobile industry has to play in providing financial access to the un-banked. He said, "The total life of mobile industry in Pakistan is less than 20 years while formal banking channels have been around for some 60 years. However, interestingly, in comparison to more than 90 million mobile subscriptions, the number of bank accounts is less than 30 million. The Ministry is of the view that this presents an immense opportunity for the mobile industry to add value to the financial sector and serve the un-banked. We have been actively supporting the consultation process and hope that easypaisa becomes a resounding success story for the industry and country."
Chief Executive Officer, Telenor Pakistan, Jon Eddy Abdullah called easypaisa a revolutionary solution. He said, "easypaisa will allow users across the board to access convenient and secure financial services. In an environment where only 12% of adult population is formally served with financial services, easypaisa will promise tremendous financial empowerment. It will provide opportunity for everyone to utilize well-priced, secure, and efficient financial services at the corner store without opening a bank account, or through ones own handset with a Tameer Bank account depending on the transaction type. The inclusion into the general economy will create opportunities to save, pay for services more efficiently without the loss of productivity, and to utilize more advanced financial instruments in the future.

Via ProPakistani.PK

Now You can Pay Utility Bills at Zong CS Centers

Zong has now introduced new standards of Customer Facilitation by providing them Utility Bill Payment facility at all Zong Customer Service Centers (CSC). Picture shows Zong's first customer is paying his bill

ZONG – the first international brand of China Mobile – keeping up with the trend has now introduced new standards of customer facilitation by providing them Utility Bill payment facility at all ZONG Customer Service Centers (CSC).
With the launch of this service, customers are no longer required to make special visits to banks for bill payment, stand in long queues and wait for their turn to pay the bills. They can conveniently visit any ZONG CSC and have their bill paid with ease. This service is available for all the Walk-In customers besides anyone who needs to get the bill paid whether or not he / she is a ZONG customer. Through this new free-of-cost service, all the ZONG CSCs can now accept Electricity, Gas and Landline bills for KESC, LESCO, GEPCO, IESCO, SSGC, SNGPL and PTCL.
Expressing his views at the launch of this new service, Awais Malik, Director Product, Segment & IB, ZONG said that the industry has been moving onto new and fresh ideas throughout the year and since launch ZONG has been the forerunner in bringing fresh concepts to the market. "With this service, we have stepped into the era of mobile commerce. The extent of customer reach through the mobile commerce platform is enormous and is directly linked to the number of customers that start using mobile phones and get a connection. The convenience offered through mobile commerce is an even bigger driver for the use of this service," he further said.
This service by ZONG is powered by Inov8 which is one of the leading technology companies and is the only State Bank of Pakistan authorized mobile commerce service provider in Pakistan.
On the occasion Mr. Bashir Sheikh, President of Inov8 said, "It's been over a period of time that we have been working on the project. I am very delighted that we are finally launching this service today. It's a great opportunity for us to introduce this world class technology in Pakistan powered by Inov8, Pakistan's leading mobile commerce company".
ZONG is committed to developing cellular products that benefit society in terms of improving efficiencies, promoting positive values and making life more easy and enjoyable. Since its launch in April 2008, the Company has grown dramatically to become unmistakably the fastest growing service provider in the market as more and more customers are subscribing to it every month.
Via ProPakistani.PK

2 plus 1 Offer: Mobilink Infinity

Mobilink Infinity has captured a sizable chunk of the Internet Solutions market in Karachi. Despite the fact that Mobilink Infinity has hesitated to extend its arms to rest of Pakistan, operator has offered valued service while remaining in Karachi.With competition arising all the way with new WiMAX entrants, Infinity has offered new packages and promotions while keeping the market dynamics in the view. Mobilink is encouraging its employees to refer their friends and family, who are seeking internet connection. Referrals will be awarded with special offerings.
2 plus 1 Offer:
2 plus 1 is the latest exciting offer on Infinity WiMAX services for all broadband users. By utilizing this offer, customers will be able to enjoy absolutely free extra online time added to their paid service package. The unbeatable combination of uninterrupted Data and Voice services will be for the customers to enjoy when they pay for two months in advance, and then they will be able to enjoy a whole quarter of the year without having to worry about payments.
Tariff Plan:

Offer Features:

• Service will be absolutely free in the third month for customers upon payment of two months in advance.
• Customers will be able to enjoy an approximately 33% discount on the service.
• No hassle of monthly bill payments for a whole quarter because of bulk advance payment.

For more details call: 111-300-369 or website: http://www.mobilinkinfinity.com/
By the way, 2 plus 1 Offer is not mentioned on Infinity's Website
Via ProPakistani.PK

Uloan Extra Charges – If it is Interest or Service Charges

Ufone has a service for its prepay customers named ULoan. Under this service, Ufone started giving Rs. 15 advance balance so its customers can enjoy uninterrupted communication, in case they run out of balance. Customers can later on pay-back this loan on card recharge.Since last couple of weeks, Ufone's customers started complaining about the additional transaction charges which were being applied on the ULoan service. Customers have started sending messages saying that the extra charges which Ufone is taking is actually Interest (Suud), which is Prohibited (Haram) in Islam, alarming people to stop using Uloan as it is propagating Haram thing among the public.
If you check out ULoan's details, it is clearly mentioned that transaction charges of Rs. 0.50 will be applied. It's a general notion that we don't give much emphasis to the terms and conditions of any service. So, we can't say how many people read the details before using this service.
To clear this confusion we contacted Ufone and asked for their viewpoint, which is given below:

It is absolutely clear that any charges deducted on Uloan cannot be classified as interest. Interest in any circumstances means that it has a compound effect and it multiples with time. Also those who fail to pay are penalized with extra charges in all the interest based products.
In the case of ULoan the customer has to pay onetime fixed charges. These charges remain the same whether the customer reloads the account after a month or after four months. There are also no penalty charges for not reloading in a fixed time period. These charges on ULoan are simply a transaction fee. All other cellular operators also charge for different services where amounts are transferred either from the company or even between the customers themselves.
It is unfortunate that a product that has utility for millions of customers and is an industry trend setter has been targeted with baseless propaganda.

On the other hand, an Aalim of Jamia Aloom-e-Islamia, Banori Town, Karachi said that the extra charges which Ufone is taking is clearly Interest (Sood) which is Prohibited (Haram) in our religion. Check out the below screenshot (Taken from official website of Jamia Aloom e Islamia):

It merits mentioning here that Mobilink also has a similar service named Jazz Advance under which Rs. 5 advance balance is given to the customers. But Jazz only charges back Rs. 5, no transaction charges are applied to utilize this service.You can check out Jazz Advance details at here.
I won't conclude anything here. It's upto you guys to decide what's the reality behind all this. Is Ufone actually taking Interest or it's just an attempt to damage Ufone's Brand image.
Share your opinion in the comments.
Via ProPakistani.PK

New Packages, Decreased Tariff and Device Prices: PTCL EVO

After 3 months of official launch of PTCL EVO, company has revised USB's price, and has introduced new prepaid and postpaid packages.It merits mentioning here that PTCL was offering ZTE's USB devices earlier for Rs. 6,000 (which are out of stock at present), however now Huawei's USB devices are being sold at Rs. 3,999.
Now with Huawei USB Devices, there comes a soft phone dialer, that you can use to re-charge your account or manage other account related settings. This wasn't possible with earlier devices.
PTCL EVO Features

• Broadband Internet while on the go
• Unlimited downloads
• EV-DO Roaming in Karachi, Lahore & Islamabad/Rawalpindi – Nationwide Roaming through automatic switch over to 1 X in non EVDO Coverage areas.
• Average download speeds from 300 kbps to 500 kbps – That's what PTCL claims, however in actual this Speed remains between 35 kbps to 140 kbps depending on signal strength in your area
• Access rich media applications like live video streaming, web casts, online games and a host of other applications.
• USB Interface – Compatible with Desktops & Laptops.
• Plug & Play – Instant Connectivity

PrePaid Packages

PrePaid FAQs

• You can recharge your account by using PTCL Vfone scratch card.
• To recharge your account simply open the "soft phone" from your Evo Software and dial 1015. Press 1 after language selection to recharge your account. Enter your 13 digit Vfone recharge voucher number. Repeat the process to recharge more balance.
• To check your account balance, simply open the "soft phone" from your Evo Software and dial 1015. Press 2 after language selection to check the remaining balance in your account.
• Evo Lite package is valid for 30 days. You must use your 50 free hours in 30 days as they will not be rolled over to the next month.
• Evo DayPass package is valid for 24 hours. The validity starts from the first time you connect to the internet. There is no data volume download limit within these 24 hours. You will be charged Rs.100/day only for the days you use your Evo connection.
• In case you are not satisfied with the performance you can claim a refund within 7 days of your purchase. Please note in case of Evo Prepay only device charges are refunded. No refund can be claimed for any amount of balance that you might have loaded.

PostPaid Packages

Note: Monthly service charges will be payable at start of each month at PTCL One Stop Shops or Customer Service Centers
Drivers Download
Download EVDO PCMCIA CARD Drivers (FOR WINDOWS) (FOR MAC)
Download EVDO USB CARD Drivers (FOR WINDOWS) (FOR MAC)

• PTCL EVO Sales Location
• PTCL EVO FAQs
• PTCL EVO Installation Guide
• How to Increase PTCL EVO Signals

To place your order call 0800-8-0800, visit Sales Locations
Via ProPakistani.PK

Warid Goes Down At Large

We are getting news that Warid is down nationwide. We got this confirmation from multiple ProPakistani readers as well.
Reportedly, People are not able to make any calls from their Warid numbers, also are not able to send any messages. With this they are also not able to receive any messages or calls on their numbers from other networks. This issue seems to be occurring nationwide. People are getting errors such as 'Network Busy', 'Can't access network' and 'Result Unknown'.
Seems like the network of Warid is greatly effected because of which communication on its network is completely down. The breakdown occurred around at 11:15 pm.
We could not arrange official version from Warid on this.
Update: 12: 09 AM :Partial recovery has been reported in Lahore and South Region
We request our readers (with Warid Connections) to update us with your network status
Update: 02:30 AM: Warid Network is back, and fully live, country wide.
Via ProPakistani.PK

Mobilink Mobile Money Order [Pic]

A female confirms a withdrawal with her PIN Code at General Post Office, Narowal to securely receive money via SMS using Mobilink and Pakistan Post's instantaneous, Mobile Money Order (MMO) Service. The m-commerce solution was launched earlier this year to provide the fastest way to remit money domestically.
Via ProPakistani.PK

660 Million Text Messages Were Exchanged During Eid in Pakistan: Acision

Acision has announced that over 660 million text messages were delivered across its messaging systems during a 48 hour period in Pakistan, over the 2009 Eid festive season. With 95 million mobile subscribers representing 58% of the mobile penetration rate, Pakistan is one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world.
"It is becoming very normal for SMS volumes to peak during festive seasons, mainly due to consumers opting to send SMS greetings because it is inexpensive, easy to use and supported by 100% of all mobile handsets in the market. One of the key drivers for SMS traffic growth in this market is the introduction of SMS bundles this year for the prepaid segment. With mobile users taking advantage of such bundles, SMS volumes are rising to new record levels to over half a billion being processed in just two days. These figures demonstrate that SMS is still the preferred choice for communicating and is set to remain the most dominant data revenue driver for Pakistan mobile operators." Sherif Hamoudah, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Acision in Middle East, Africa and Pakistan said.
With SMS volumes continuing to increase year on year, Acision sees ample opportunities for operators to double SMS service revenues through innovations in messaging, and differentiation in the messaging experience through value added enhancements that provide convenience and productivity.
"Operators too, are realising that SMS must be managed in parallel to its overall business.  By growing a messaging business on an open architecture mobile operators can rapidly roll out new services. The scalable nature of the Acision SMSC means that operators messaging systems can effortlessly handle substantial increases in volumes of messages within seconds. As the world's leading messaging company, Acision has extensive global market reach which means we have a better insight into the present and future requirements of mobile operators and mobile subscribers." Hamoudah added.
Via ProPakistani.PK

Banking for the Unbanked – Mobile Banking Steps up!

I have been talking about mobile commerce and mobile banking for quite some time now. My recent article on the topic had been on the possibility of the telecom companies posing a challenge to the traditional banking industry in the mobile domain.And now, this week, we will be witnessing mobile banking taking a new turn. As, we will see heads joined together to figure out innovative ways to cater to the mobile banking needs of today's tech-savvy customer and easy to use services for the unbanked populace of Pakistan.
I spoke of stats earlier: Pakistan has 20 million bank accounts as opposed to over 90 million mobile subscribers. All of whom are potential mobile banking customers. There seems to be a race to tap in to this market.
If it happened as per schedule, this week, we will witness the launch of "EP" by Telenor Pakistan. EP will be a unique experience altogether. We might also be seeing something coming in from one of the leading banks in Pakistan in collaboration with one of the most famous telecom brand-names in Pakistan.
With that said, October 14th and October 15th will be very important days for the years to come as I believe our banks and telecom operators might be setting benchmarks for the way things will work in the future.
There seems to be, I admit, a sense of secrecy around this particular post. It is to preserve the right of the marketing teams of the banks and telecom operators to keep the launch 'special' for everyone.
We cannot, however, rule out the element of confusion that exists over the many ways mobile-banking can be implemented. Everyone has different ideas and more importantly, differing interests associated with this business. The PTA and the State Bank of Pakistan could ease this problem by stepping in with a standardized model to be followed at all costs for basic banking while allowing banks and telecom operators to experiment with value-added services.
It is indeed delightful for me to see, like I had spoken about it earlier, a unique collaboration between banks and telecom operators to tap in to a market which has remained more-or-less unexplored throughout the world and especially in Pakistan.
What is to be seen, however, like Telenor has decided to cater to the unbanked and rural areas of Pakistan (just as they focused their core telecom operations on rural areas) – how other banks and operators develop business models to allow those who don't have bank accounts to use their handsets for basic financial services.
For now, mobile-banking is hot. We can assume sustainable growth in this domain with concerted efforts to increase awareness and educate the masses on the use of these services. How the banks and operators make it a 'need' for their customers is just about to be unveiled.
Via ProPakistani.PK

PTCL’s Privatization is a Large Scale Scandal: Chief Justice

Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Chaudary, while hearing a petition regarding privatization of PTCL, has termed PTCL's privatization as a large scale scandal, reported 'Daily Jang' today.While noting its observations, honorable court said that buyer was given concessions while it breached the agreement.
CJ is going to chair a bench of three Judges to hear the case from October 19th, 2009.
On petition filed by Malik Maqbool, General Secretary PTCL Line's staff, CJ summoned all applications regarding the privatization of PTCL, and said they will be settled collectively during proceedings.
Court has asked PTCL for response over the petition, while Secretary Privatization has also been summoned in next hearing.
General Secretary PTCL Line's staff informed that 26 percent shares of PTCL were sold in year 2005 for a value of 2.599 billion dollars, with administrative control, to Etisalat. Petitioner noted that PTCL earned net profit of Rs. 29.4 billion in year 2004, while company incorporated 75,000 employees then. After privatization, the profit has squeezed down to 9 Rs. Billion only, further said the petitioner.
It was noted that Etisalat had to pay USD 2.599 billion in 30 days – but in April 2006, agreement was re-settled and payment was scheduled in installments, which Etisalat is still paying.
Justice Jawad S Khawaja mentioned that Agreement was not entertained at all, instead of taking action against the buyer, it was offered with incentives and concessions.
PTCL employees' petitions will be coupled with the privatization application, in principal.
Via ProPakistani.PK

Warid Awareness on National Polio Immunization Drive

Warid Telecom, in its efforts to make Pakistan "Polio Free" has joined the awareness campaign to fight aggressively against Polio. With an ambition to eradicate polio from Pakistan the Rotary Club members in Pakistan have started with National Polio Immunization Drive all over the country from 12th to 14th October, 2009. President of Pakistan has inaugurated the Polio NID at President House and the volunteers would go to every home to give the children Polio drops. Nearly 35 million children under 5 years of age are expected to be immunized in the 3 days campaign.Warid has broadcasted an awareness SMS notifying its subscribers on the national immunization effort. It also includes the Rotary Team helpline number i.e. 0800-76546 incase if Rotary team has not reached their place. Rotary is actively involved in eradicating Polio from the world. The entire world is free from polio except four countries which also includes Pakistan. Warid is doing its part with an earnest desire that soon our country will become Polio free.
Via ProPakistani.PK

Weekly Telco Gossips

Yet another episode of Bits & Bytes is around. We try our level best to bring everything related to Pakistan Telecom and IT to our valuable readers but its so hard to find the news these days. We can't put the fly on every wall unless we own those walls

• Telenor senior personnel are insisting that they are not going out for any merger soon. According to them they are one profitable entity right now. The gap of subscribers between Mobilink and Telenor is decreasing – they can go ahead with acquisitions but they won't go for sell out right now, that's what Telenor people say.
• NSN (Nokia Siemens Networks) has lost the contract of UFone whereas Ericsson got it somehow. The project is of 1000 sites (BTS)
• NSN also lost control of PTCL project which went to Huawei now. This project is of 300 exchanges – now Huawei equipment will be installed there.
• Seeing the NSN project loosing frequency, employees are worried about the future.
• SIEMENS is out of communication business in terms of BTS installation. Only thing that is left is 'IN' and this is popular belief that no one can beat SIEMENS in that one
• Warid & Wateen Merging Soon (Speculative as of now) as we reported last week that Wateen is open for buying 
• Ufone says that its revenues grew by 29 percent previous year, in an Email, CEO congratulated all employees and confirmed that their bonus salary has been transacted to their accounts.
• Another black Friday hit Mobilinkers; Senior Chaps remained the focus, for instance Col. Jawad from Government Relations Department, Mr. Adnan & Brig. Nayyar Afzal from Technical Department and Mr. Furqan Bucha of Administration Department.
• Yes, Telenor Mobile Banking is on the edge at last, most probably with brand name of Easy Paisa. By the way, EasyPaisa.PK and EasyPaisa.com.pk are registered to Telenor Pakistan, already!

More to follow… Soon!!!
Via ProPakistani.PK

Do you know What is Telenor EP?

Today on my FaceBook feed, I noticed this Telenor EP World's link. Website says that there is going to be some initiative/service/product by Telenor Pakistan, but customers are asked to guess what it is going to be?
So guess what Telenor EP World is and get a chance to Win iPods,
Here is Telenor EP Link
Also discuss in comments about what you guessed : – )
P.S. Before giving out your personal information, please note that Privacy Policy is not defined for this website yet.
Via ProPakistani.PK

Daily Bundle Minutes: Telenor

Telenor Offers Daily voice bundles against a fixed daily rental, for on-net numbers. You subscribe to a bundle (out of three available) and you get minutes to consume on same day. These minutes can be used for only on-net (Telenor to Telenor) numbers.Tariff: Customers can subscribe to any of the 3 voice bundles and avail Onnet Free Minutes as follows:

Subscription Mechanics: Customers need to call 555 IVR in order to purchase the bundle Minutes

Validity: Validity of the Minutes will be 1 calendar day (up till 12 mid night). After that any remaining Free Minutes will be confiscated

• Multiple subscriptions to the bundles are possible
• Subscribers on TalkShawk 30 Sec, Har Min and A1 will be able to avail this service

For Further Details Click This Link
Via ProPakistani.PK

Is Telenor Scamming? Or Just Another System Bug in WebLounge?

Web Lounge website says that service gives its customers a detailed insight into their Telenor connection and helps them manage their account effectively. Telenor Subscribers can View call details, payment history, order duplicate bills, make a payment, and enhance deposit etc.

Weblounge's this link is to buy new Telenor connections or to port into Telenor, while, Weblounge also offers current Telenor customers to sign-up their accounts for managing their connections through another url.

Here is the sign-up link

Now here is an issue that we just came across, that Telenor is letting everyone registering an account on its portal. With everyone I mean, Ufone, Zong, Mobilink customers can apply for the registration.

Web Lounge will send you a PIN as SMS on your non-telenor number to register – looks like system doesn't check at all if the user is a Telenor subscriber or not and sends PIN.

Apparently, this is a system bug – but not really, as after sending your System gonna ask you about your network, and there are options for other networks too that you can select from. Which means Telenor has planned this thing, may be to collect valid information of mobile subscribers belonging to other networks – or there might be some other reason.

So portal will take all information, and will act normally, (even it says that you are almost done – just provide following information) until you login with your user name and password – where it will prompt you that you are not a Telenor subscriber and you can safely log off. (By the way, i had mentioned that i am a Ufone subscriber while filling the registration form).

Our point is, if this portal is not intended to entertain other networks' subscribers, then why does it collect the information? like email address, phone number, name and others? Instead it should straight away communicate that this service is only for Telenor Customers.

We also contacted Telenor to get their verdict about this issue of information theft - however we are waiting for any viewpoint from their side.

Earlier it looked like a system bug, but now its evident that Telenor is deliberately collecting information of other mobile operators.

Only you can help us determine what should we call it? A planned information theft or just a system bug?

Via ProPakistani.PK

UrSpace – Online Store for Ufone Subscribers

Ufone has given its customers yet another facility and that is to have their own store. Upload and Share your personalized content on Ufone UrSpace.

Ufone Ur Space is an online marketplace that will allow anyone to upload their own personalized content. Ufone subscribers can then download the content of their choice from Wallpapers, Video, Full Tracks or True Tones and much more. Supported content type is

Charges on downloading are :

• Wallpapers @ Rs.2+tax
• True Tones @ Rs.3 +tax
• Full Track Songs @ Rs.5 +tax
• Videos @ Rs.10 +tax
• Standard GPRS charges apply on browsing the WAP portal

For more on this visit UrSpace

Via [ProPakistani.PK]

Mobilink Awards Inter-Departmental Teams for IDP Volunteers [Pic]

Mr. Bilal Munir Sheikh, Vice President Marketing, Mobilink along with Mobilink employees at the award distribution ceremony to commemorate the efforts of the inter-departmental teams for seamlessly setting up and running the Mobilink Camp for IDPs, the largest private sector initiative of its kind in Pakistan.
Via [ProPakistani.PK]