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ISLAMABAD: The final document on first-ever-five-year Information Technology (IT) policy document is submitted to the Planning Commission of the government of Pakistan, said Salim Ghauri, Chairman of the Task Force on Information Technology and Communication Technologies (ICT).

In a statement he said that the Planning Commission will examine the document and finalize it by February 2010 before tabling it to the Parliament.

The Government of Pakistan had formed the Task Force on ICT to place Pakistan as a major player in software exports.

Other objectives included the development of domestic software/ computer hardware and telecom equipment industry, development of citizen centric applications/services especially in local language, raising quality and enrolment of I.T. education, creating large employment opportunities in IT/Telecom, making Pakistan a major I.T. manpower exporter, making recommendations for the promotion of IT/Telecom sectors, suggest incentives and estimate the investment requirements for the GOP and private sector.

The recommendations of ICT task force will go not only into the next five year plan (i.e. 2010-2015) but also to make contingency planning for reducing the impact of global economic crises on Pakistan.

Ghauri said the IT policy document has strongly recommended the government to incorporate the IT policy in the national trade policy.

He said the IT industry was all set to lead Pakistan’s exports in near future provided the government is serious in recognizing its potential like the neighbouring country.

He said the IT policy document has also urged the government to facilitate the software houses in registration with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to make them visible in country’s exports.

“Earnings of the companies doing I.T. exports are much higher than the figures reported by the State Bank of Pakistan,” he said, adding: “The IT industry exports have touched to the magical figure of $1 billion and ways and means are needed to be explored to encourage the IT companies for reporting their exports earnings to the SBP.”

He said the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) data suggests that only 17 I.T. companies were registered with SBP, a few years back, which has now increased to about 179 companies against a total of around 1200 IT companies registered with the PSEB.

He said the Task Force has also assigned the task of survey of the IT industry to the PSEB to ascertain the actual size of the industry, which later on would be published by the federal statistical division.

The meeting was attended by Dr Samar Mubarikman, DG Planning Commission and representatives from PSEB, Ministry of Information Technology and other departments

ISLAMABAD: Internet service providers (ISPs) in Islamabad have registered complaints with the ministry of information technology against what they called ‘unfair’ market practices and ‘unreasonable’ policies.

‘Blocking voice packages on internet indiscriminately’ topped their list of worries.

‘The authority has been blocking internet IP addresses indiscriminately without issuing notices,’ said an ISP, adding ‘We don’t object that PTA blocks illegal traffic but most genuine customers like call centres, corporate and home customers have been facing problems every time they want to use this facility – cut off and significant decrease in flow of traffic.’

The ISPs approached the ministry regarding complaints in the recently signed DSL interconnect agreement between Pakistan Telecommunication Company and the internet service providers. ‘We categorically made a point that all the ISPs were signing it under protest because there was already a lot of pressure on us,’ said another ISP.

Even though the ISPs claimed that they had no objection to renegotiating the agreements, ‘Amendments were made by reducing the duration of the agreement to two years that was initially agreed to last more the ten years coinciding with the licences of the ISPs,’ said an internet service provider.

In their complaints, ISPs urged the government to look into the issue to remove the Rs150 PTCL line rent for providing DSL. ‘Our stance is that fixed line customers pay nearly Rs200 line rent separately. Another Rs150 line rent did not make sense,’ he said.

Even though secretary IT assured of immediate action but five months on the ministry of information technology has been silent. ‘The IT ministry is aware of our grievances. And we turn to them for solution,’ he added. PTA conceded blocking IP addresses but only those operating illegally.

‘Our system monitors heavy traffic over the internet and most importantly traces illegally operating ISPs. We involve the FIA to apprehend culprits and have had 100 per cent success. Issuing notices or early warnings would alert offenders before we move in on them,’ said an official with the PTA.

When contacted, an official in the ministry of IT also conceded that ISPs were facing problems regarding operations and the ministry was looking into it to provide them relief. —Staff Reporter

Nokia is on the roll ,launching one new device after the next  last week it was the N97 Mini they introduced in Pakistan market and a couple of days ago coinciding with the global retail launch the much awaited business centric flagship the E72 was available for sale in Pakistan .

At current the prevailing prices for E72 in Pakistan range from Rs. 44,000 to Rs. 49,000  however the official Nokia price is between 32,000 to 35,000 so almost a 50 % premium is being charged from early adopters.

I’m one of the lucky ones who can get to play with the phone on or before the launch courtesy Nokia Pakistan and this time too I was obliged and here is the unboxing post of Nokia E72 QWERTY Pakistan Edition

The Nokia E72 ‘s box is the same run of the mill design Nokia had been using since E71 , there is nothing innovative about the it , I’d said it before that  although Nokia talks about recycling they waste a lot of paper with un necessary flaps and boxes. If you want to keep it simple , use the recycled molded case and put the phone in it instead of numerous boxes. If you want to make it premium /  innovative checkout the Motorola KRZR case or DU SIM case in Dubai.

On a quick run around of the box  the top has the usual snap of the phone , although the E72 I’ve got is Topaz Brown ( Golden ) in color , the box has the sleek Black E72 pictured on it .  On the right side of the box Nokia E Series is written in black on a Red background .  Why Red , could it be because the phone is manufactured in China , red is considered lucky there or Red is an eye catching color ( in terms of marketing sciences ) or simply being carried over from E71 days

while the left side has the usual Nokia E72 written in large letters .

On the front wall the phone details such as Region it’s meant to be used , Pakistan QWERTY , Phone Color – Topaz Brown and Country of manufacture ( China in my case )  along with IMEI  , WLAN MAC address are mentioned

The back is where Nokia talks about the details of the phone from their USP ( Unique Selling Point -  I’m a marketing guy by profession )  -

The USP -  Designed For the Way We Work -  written in Bold Black letters and  selected E72 features mentioned in English , Arabic , Urdu , Farsi /  Persian ,  French and Spanish are mentioned.  The Back panel also mentions the technical capabilities of the phone such as 3G , WLAN , HSDPA and HSUPA , VoIP , email , web , Camera , A-GPS , security , speaker phone , two modes beside Bluetooth , Real Player , S60 ( the OS )  and Java powered as phone’s software strengths are mentioned

I’ve made a small video showing the box in it’s glory check it out below .

On opening the box the first thing you see is the E72 lying in all it’s glory .  The feeling I cannot define it , but the phone definitely has the pick me up pull to it .

However with Nokia’s love of making Russian Matryoshka Doll type boxes  , there are two more cases in the main box , one right under the phone, which is more like a flap with the phone charger and Bl-4 1500 MAH battery , same as of Nokia E71 and N97  and one under the case containing E72 carrying all the accessories .

The accessories are a nice surprise from Nokia , with Nokia E72 , the older norm of an excellent phone with below par accessories is gone , now the accessories match the quality , functionality and performance of the phone .

The wired headset is the Nokia WH-601 same as provided with Nokia N97 Mini ( told ya E72 is a N Series in E Series skin )

The headset is not your usual run of the mill headset , with large Ear Plugins , a better sound quality and the upgraded remote , Nokia has learnt that Headset plays an important part as an accessory and still people use it to listen to music and radio ( where it’s required to act as antenna )

Other accessories include

A leather pouch with inside Felt lining -  I always have my problems with E71 pouch , had to change it 3 times in the year I had it , the rubber lining joining the cloth and leather used to break apart causing the Felt lining to peel away giving the pouch a dirtier look .

Also the Felt lining was prone to get dirty , the red color turning black with the dust and humidity of  Karachi Pakistan , However Nokia is learning from it too , the Felt lining this time is darker in color which may not catch the dust easily .

The improvement on the pouch this time is that unlike Nokia E71 , which had a top and half side opening making the top to turn dog eared /  bend with months of use , the Nokia E72’s pouch opens from the side ( The picture will explain ) so there is less chances to touch the Felt covering inside .

Carried forward from Nokia E71 , a  leather wrist strap is provided with the Nokia E72 , I never understood the utility of it , imagine someone in an Armani suit carrying a NokiaE72 with it’s wrist  strap on the hand .  Nokia ,  my suggestion,  wrist straps are good for a Nintendo Wii Nan chuck but not for a business phone , in my whole year of use , I never once used the strap as it looks oddin carrying and while talking on the phone

My box didn’t contain the MicroUSB Sync /  Charging cable ( it’s provided ,  mine was left out at  Nokia Pakistan Office ) but the specs posted online shows it’s the regular CA-101-D so no biggie about it .

The Mini Pin charger AC-8E is also supplied although Nokia E72 supports Micro USB charging that means you can charge it with your laptop while on sync.

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Another surprise addition is the included cleaning cloth .  THANKYOU  Nokia , the E71 was a fingerprint magnet so is E72 and the provided cloth will help me in keeping it maintain it’s shine and looks .  Again with my careless nature I’ll loose it in a month and will resort to numerous my spectacles cleaning cloth I have in my house , car and Office nonetheless I loved it .

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In Paperwork , the usual addins , a Warranty Card , a User Manual in English and  a how to make the most of your phone guide along with a OVI Maps pamphelt announcing that Navigation License for drive and walk are included with the phone  , Thank God this time no Pc Suite CD is provided , already have  enough in collection  but Nokia has the foresight to provide it in the 4GB microSD provided with the phone for those who don’t have it

Nokia started a good trend with bundling the softcopy of User Manual and PC Suite in the memory card of S40 phones , the same could be done with other phones , not many people read the manual it will not only save Nokia on cost but will also reduce the clutter provided with the phone and will be beneficial for the environment . With N97 Mini Nokia also started a new trend of carrying a MMS message with the OVI services pamphlet in it now that’s innovative and the user is bound to read it .

So folks the Nokia E72 is unboxed ,  the next step I’m inserting my SIM card into it and will take it out for a spin , let’s see how it survives the day with me , tonight will try to post my initial thoughts with a full blown overview later in afew days .

Mobile Banking (or let’s call semi Mobile Banking) is on the rise these days. Ufone is now offering its customers, what Ufone calls it,  premium mobile banking services.

Ufone says that UPayment is the first step in the direction of Mobile Banking, enabling customers to do financial transactions through their handsets.

Access Channels & Partners: Following Mobile Banking access channel(s) are offered to Ufone Subscribers

WAP (Partner Bank: Habib Bank Limited, Backend Solution Providers: TPS & Fundamo)

UPayments Salient Features:

UPayments WAP Portal offers the following services to its valuable subscribers having bank account(s) with partner bank(s):-

• All banked Customers can easily access UPayments WAP Portal anywhere any time (even on International Roaming worldwide) through their GPRS enabled handsets by visiting http://upayments.net
• UPayments is a secured WAP portal backed by industry’s most reliable 128 bits SSL certificate issued by Verisign, Inc in name of UPayments.net and ownership to PTML. (The SSL certificate details can be viewed from any handset by checking Page Options/Info or Security Info).
• UPayments provide additional security to the subscribers by offering 2 different PINs. First the WAP login PIN (or Ufone PIN) that is used to login to the WAP Portal whereas the second PIN is Bank’s T-PIN (Telephonic PIN) required for every Financial or Non-Financial Transaction ensuring maximum security yet with convenience.
• For every successful login and transactions done on UPayments WAP Portal, the subscriber will immediately be notified via SMS to his registered Ufone number.

After the secured Login subscribers can perform the following:-

Financial Transactions:-

• Ufone Prepaid ULoad (available denominations Rs. 250/-, Rs. 500/-, Rs. 1,000/- and Rs. 1,500/-)
• Ufone Postpaid Bill Inquiry (Total Payable Bill)
• Ufone Postpaid Bill Payment (Supporting partial or full payment minimum Rs. 500/- and Max. 5,000/- in multiples of Rs. 50/-)
• Utility Bill Inquiry (Supporting KESC, LESCO, SSGC & SNGPL)
• Utility Bill Status (Paid, Unpaid, Blocked)
• Utility Payment (Direct payment from respective bank account in real time)

Non-Financial Transactions:-

• Bank Account Balance Inquiry
• Bank Account Mini Statement
• Ufone PIN Change (Online WAP Login PIN Change facility. In case if the subscriber forget his Ufone PIN and/or T-PIN than he will have to call Bank’s Call Center at 021-111-111-425)

UPayments Subscription:

Prior to enjoying the facilities provided by UPayments, Ufone subscribers having bank account with partner banks will have to go through the registration process as per the designated UPayments Access Channels. The registration process also requires subscribers to go through KYC (Know Your Customer) verification process at their respective bank as per SBP Bank-led Mobile Banking Model; this ensures that only valid and authenticated subscribers can get registration and perform the financial transactions. For details please call 333 from your Ufone Mobile.

Terms and Conditions:

• UPayments is offered to all Ufone subscribers (both prepaid and postpaid) having bank accounts with partner banks.
• Ufone subscribers must have GPRS activated on their handsets to access to UPayments.
• Upon browsing through the UPayments WAP portal, standard GPRS charges (or UrEDGE Data Packages) will be applicable.
• Every SMS request to short code 808 will be charged for Rs. 0.25/-+Tax.
• For every utility bill payment, the subscriber will be charged Rs. 5/-+Tax from his Ufone Prepaid Airtime.
• In case of PIN(s) forget, both Ufone PIN and T-PIN can be regenerated by calling HBL Helpline at 021-111-111-425.
• Similarly if the subscriber wishes to change his current used Ufone number to a new Ufone number he will have to visit his HBL branch and fill the requisite form of change contacts and will have to call HBL helpline to get the new number registered for UPayments.
• Ufone is not liable for any wrong, delayed or non-payment of Utility Bills. For all issues and concerns regarding Utility Bill Payments subscriber is advised to contact respective bank/utility company for settlement.

Zumbeel played a wonderful part to get top notch telecom industry professionals to speak on trending technology topics at their event ‘Are You Online’.

One of them was Mr.Ahmer Arsalan, Customer Solution Manager from NSN (Pakistan and Middle East). He has worked as a subject matter expert for network planning and also on various projects mainly Greenfield networks and 3G/HSPA in Europe, UK, Middle East and Africa. He delivered a presentation on the most heated topic in our telecom industry, ‘3G and Pakistan’, calling it Pakis3Gstan.

The presentation focused on realization of the 3G potential for emerging countries like Pakistan. It discussed the market readiness factors, services 3G can be offer with 3G/HSDPA, strategies to implement and much more all supported by statistics.

“3G drives data use, not the other way around”
– Ovum, 2008

I have always advocated 3G/HSDPA for Pakistan and in my last post about this I also questioned on when will it happen? At out neighbors India, the 3G is already playing its services with government run BSNL and MTNL, which were allotted 3G spectrum ahead of the auction expected to take place in January 2010. And here is Pakistan we have been delaying it. The authority must realize on this and act promptly for license auctions in the coming year.

Coming back to the presentation, it also mentions that the operator’s ARPU is likely to increase with 3G services. Also the first operator to launch it is likely to create stickiness and have a bright chance to raise the brand image.

You many download the complete presentation slides from here and below is a short clipping of the session.

PTCL and DSL Operators have signed a DSL agreement for provision of broadband services under the auspices of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). The signing ceremony was held at PTA HQs, Islamabad where Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammed Yaseen, Member (Finance) Syed Nasrul Karim Ghaznavi, Member (Technical) Dr. Khawar Siddique Khokhar, Senior representatives of PTCL and DSL operators were present. Under this agreement, DSL operators will now have a choice to acquire IP bandwidth from any other operator in addition to PTCL which will enable DSL operators to offer broadband services at competitive tariffs.

Wired.com has a great article on how products which are good enough are winning consumers. In “The Good Enough Revolution: When Cheap and Simple Is Just Fine”, Robert Capps provides examples of flip video camera, mp3 and Skype. Entire markets have been transformed by products that trade power or fidelity for low price, flexibility, and convenience, says Erin Biba, a wired correspondent. For developing countries, it makes all the more sense as the buying power of consumers is low and they will gladly make that trade-off.

I am a big fan of the 80/20 rule. One of the big value which you get this way is the speed. In a way this less is more thinking is also a part of the ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’.

I leave you with a few extracts from the article.

Net-based calls can be laggy, and they sometimes drop out in mid conversation. But they can also be free—even international calls—and it’s easy to turn conversations into shareable MP3s. Skype now accounts for 8 percent of international calling minutes, and the service added nearly 38 million users in the second quarter of 2009, a 42 percent increase over the same period last year.

On paper, netbooks might seem like crappy toys. They have almost no storage, processing power, or graphics capability. What they do have, though, is accessibility: Cheap, small, and light, they let you connect to the Internet from almost anywhere. Netbook shipments were up sevenfold in the first quarter of 2009.

The famous Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, happens to be a recurring theme in Good Enough products. You can think of it this way: 20 percent of the effort, features, or investment often delivers 80 percent of the value to consumers. That means you can drastically simplify a product or service in order to make it more accessible and still keep 80 percent of what users want.

The storm is officially available from Mobilink. For fans of BlackBerry phones who want something edgy, this could be a good alternative to iPhone.

BlackBerry Storm 9500 is available from Indigo, Mobilink’s post-paid brand. For more about BlackBery Storm, check our previous post.

The first-of-its-kind BlackBerry, the smartphone comes with a touch-screen that responds to your every touch whether you are typing, playing games, or simply browsing the internet. With cutting-edge multimedia capabilities, the Blackberry Storm smartphone features also include high-end email and web capabilities, a 3.2 MegaPixel camera, crisp and brilliant display (480×360 resolution) and an internal memory expandable up to 16 GB.

PAKSAT International (Pvt), announced at 9th ITCN ASIA event, held in Karachi between August 11 to 13, 2009, that Pakistan’s new and powerful communication satellite PAKSAT-1R is scheduled to be launched in 2011.

PAKSAT-1R will replace the existing satellite PAKSAT-1 at 38 degree East, which will remain operational till the end of 2011 ensuring service continuity to current PAKSAT customers till PAKSAT-1R becomes operational. The new high power PAKSAT-1R satellite is specially designed for Pakistan and the region with strong C and Ku band footprint and coverage over South Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe. This satellite will be ideally suited for broadcast, direct to home (DTH), telecom, data and internet services in the region.

This satellite will be ideally suited for broadcast, direct to home (DTH), data and internet services in the region.

It is not clear if the SLV will originate from Pakistan.