Score another one for warid (dont know about other operators cept Mobilink)! There are times when this message coming up on your mobile phone is actually a good thing!
When you try sending an sms to an invalid number, warid actually stops you from sending it!!! Unlike mobilink on which if you enter an invalid number, they still send it and charge you!!
Yup! im such a warid fan :D
Showing posts with label mobilink. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mobilink. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Reduced international call rates
When the telecom industry was being deregulated, i kept hearing stories of how it benefited other countries which had deregulated their telecom sectors. One such story which clung to my mind was that of Germany where international call rates became cheaper than local call rates. Ofcourse, that was for landline based operators and does not really tie in here.
VOIP has been slowly making its way into the cellular sector, marking a drastic reduction of call costs for the consumer. The first to enter this market was, ofcourse, Paktel (now that i write these things here, Paktel does seem to be the first mover in a lot of things). International dialing rates were slashed down dramatically w.r.t other providers who were still using the traditional systems.
Recently, Mobilink launched lower-rate internatioanl dialling for its postpaid (Indigo) customers and later, rolled out the same service for Prepaid (Jazz) customers. Dividing the world into five zones, they've structured the call rates from Rs. 2.35 to Rs. 20. I've yet to see what connectivity they're offering but it promises to be good.
Warid telecom (ofcourse, i just HAD to put something about them here too) also offered up a similar service by the name of Warid 111, though as yet, its only offered on Prepaid packages. International dialing on postpaid still goes through the old system. Warid's 111 rates are even lower than Jazz still starting from Rs. 0.99 (for Zem 60) for zone 1 countries to Rs. 15.99 for zone 4.
VOIP has been slowly making its way into the cellular sector, marking a drastic reduction of call costs for the consumer. The first to enter this market was, ofcourse, Paktel (now that i write these things here, Paktel does seem to be the first mover in a lot of things). International dialing rates were slashed down dramatically w.r.t other providers who were still using the traditional systems.
Recently, Mobilink launched lower-rate internatioanl dialling for its postpaid (Indigo) customers and later, rolled out the same service for Prepaid (Jazz) customers. Dividing the world into five zones, they've structured the call rates from Rs. 2.35 to Rs. 20. I've yet to see what connectivity they're offering but it promises to be good.
Warid telecom (ofcourse, i just HAD to put something about them here too) also offered up a similar service by the name of Warid 111, though as yet, its only offered on Prepaid packages. International dialing on postpaid still goes through the old system. Warid's 111 rates are even lower than Jazz still starting from Rs. 0.99 (for Zem 60) for zone 1 countries to Rs. 15.99 for zone 4.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Indigo -> Now more purple
Is it any wonder why mobilink continues to remain the market leader? With poor quality service, continuous problems, compromisations in the billing system, and what not, they still manage to pull the biggest weight around.
The answer to this mystery is surprisingly simple. Its their marketing machine which is responsible. They always have something new to offer, something to pull people in, some new to entice. Be it Octane, Ladies First, or the Jazz Icon search, there's something which keeps people going back to mobilink.
The latest in their strategy is pulling in (and keeping) postpaid customers. This i suspect came from the recent announcement of Warid's new postpaid packages. Their new offering is no where near warid's offer, but a lot better than its previous ones.
Here's the lowdown. They now charge a flat airtime rate for all calls everywhere. Then, they add Rs. 1.25 to all calls made to other mobile networks, and Rs. 0.52 to fixed line networks.What they've introduced now is weekend rates, which means that on Sunday's, call cost less.
Free minutes have increased (they claim that) but free minutes are valid only on airtime charges. So if you call other networks, you still get charged the interconnect rates (mentioned above). SMS is also more expensive than other operators at Rs. 1.
Now, remember i said Mobilink's the market leader because of their marketing? Now let me elaborate on that. They're the leader because they're marketing strategy involves hoodwinking the poor customer as much as they can!! They do offer calling rate as low as Rs. 0.40, but what they don't mention is that its only on sundays, only valid for other mobilink numbers and on their highest package. For other operators, add on the interconnect! SMS rates are more expensive than the rest, and even general airtime is more expensive that what any other operators give.
I've done a small comparison between the different packages offered here. Check out the complete worksheet here.
The answer to this mystery is surprisingly simple. Its their marketing machine which is responsible. They always have something new to offer, something to pull people in, some new to entice. Be it Octane, Ladies First, or the Jazz Icon search, there's something which keeps people going back to mobilink.
The latest in their strategy is pulling in (and keeping) postpaid customers. This i suspect came from the recent announcement of Warid's new postpaid packages. Their new offering is no where near warid's offer, but a lot better than its previous ones.
Here's the lowdown. They now charge a flat airtime rate for all calls everywhere. Then, they add Rs. 1.25 to all calls made to other mobile networks, and Rs. 0.52 to fixed line networks.What they've introduced now is weekend rates, which means that on Sunday's, call cost less.
Free minutes have increased (they claim that) but free minutes are valid only on airtime charges. So if you call other networks, you still get charged the interconnect rates (mentioned above). SMS is also more expensive than other operators at Rs. 1.
Now, remember i said Mobilink's the market leader because of their marketing? Now let me elaborate on that. They're the leader because they're marketing strategy involves hoodwinking the poor customer as much as they can!! They do offer calling rate as low as Rs. 0.40, but what they don't mention is that its only on sundays, only valid for other mobilink numbers and on their highest package. For other operators, add on the interconnect! SMS rates are more expensive than the rest, and even general airtime is more expensive that what any other operators give.
I've done a small comparison between the different packages offered here. Check out the complete worksheet here.
Friday, August 18, 2006
How low will they go?
Lowering SMS rates has been the latest (and greatest?) move by service providers in the bid to get more customers on their service. Originally started by Telenor, with their Djuice offering, which took SMS rate down to 20 paisa's (to any network) from the prevailing rate of Rs. 1 (for local) and 1.5 (for other networks) in the market.
SMS (or Short Message Service) has taken the world by storm in recent years, after it was 'accidently' left in the network design by the original engineers of GSM network, because they had some bandwidth leftover. The original use of SMS was to transmit and recieve troubleshooting messages over the network, so as to provide better service to its users. However, as soon as it came into the hand of consumers, they exploited it as best as they could.
Following the move by Telenor, Paktel offered up its 10 paisa per SMS package to the public. The last to cash in(?) on this wave was Ufone, which has come up with a slightly different offering. Instead of introducing a new package, they now offer people to buy SMS bundles of Rs. 25 to 125 which allows them to send from a 100 to 1250 msgs in a month. The bundle expire in a month and any sms's sent in that duration, will be subtracted from the total bought, and not charged seperately.
So who's next now? Mobilink and Warid, both show no signs of offering up new SMS rates, as they're concentrating on voice calls and value added services to profit. They surely can, since these are the top two providers (# of consumer-wise) in the country.
SMS (or Short Message Service) has taken the world by storm in recent years, after it was 'accidently' left in the network design by the original engineers of GSM network, because they had some bandwidth leftover. The original use of SMS was to transmit and recieve troubleshooting messages over the network, so as to provide better service to its users. However, as soon as it came into the hand of consumers, they exploited it as best as they could.
Following the move by Telenor, Paktel offered up its 10 paisa per SMS package to the public. The last to cash in(?) on this wave was Ufone, which has come up with a slightly different offering. Instead of introducing a new package, they now offer people to buy SMS bundles of Rs. 25 to 125 which allows them to send from a 100 to 1250 msgs in a month. The bundle expire in a month and any sms's sent in that duration, will be subtracted from the total bought, and not charged seperately.
So who's next now? Mobilink and Warid, both show no signs of offering up new SMS rates, as they're concentrating on voice calls and value added services to profit. They surely can, since these are the top two providers (# of consumer-wise) in the country.
Ladies First
Much more than a polite way of letting girls pass you by... its the new targetted tariff package by Mobilink for ladies. It brings with it, two features. One is Value added services specially for women, such as recipies, beauty tips and what not... everything girls cant live without... as well as... reduced call charges at the time when they're most bored! 3 PM to 6 PM (after lunch till the hubby comes home?). The down side is, its only for other mobilink numbers, and calls charges to other networks (and PTCL) have gone up... way up! SMS to other networks have gone up too...
Not a half bad job Mobilink! Now, i just hope you guys start putting more effort into your urban area network (read:karachi) and you just might be what you claim.. Pakistans Favourite Cellular Service.
Tariff Details for Ladies First
Not a half bad job Mobilink! Now, i just hope you guys start putting more effort into your urban area network (read:karachi) and you just might be what you claim.. Pakistans Favourite Cellular Service.
Tariff Details for Ladies First
Tariff Details | |
| Details | Rates |
| Outgoing calls - Any Mobilink number(1st Minute) | Rs. 3.00 / min |
| Outgoing calls - Any Mobilink number(2nd minute onwards) | Rs. 1.50 / min |
| Outgoing calls - Any Mobilink number ( 3pm-6pm ) | Rs. 1.50 / min |
| Outgoing calls - To Landline numbers(inclusive of interconnect charges) | Rs. 3.35 / min |
| Outgoing calls - Other mobile networks(inclusive of interconnect charges) | Rs. 4.35 / min |
| SMS based Value Added Services Subscription | Rs. 30 / month |
| SMS (Push based Value Addes Services) | Rs. 2.00 / SMS |
| SMS - Any mobilink number | Rs. 1.00 / SMS |
| SMS - Any other network | Rs. 1.50 / SMS |
| ISD Calls (Zone 1 / Zone 2) | 3 + Zone Rates |
Monday, August 14, 2006
The Friend and Family Culture
The friend and family numbers (FnF), a feature much sought after about two years ago, now almost everywhere, are a set of numbers which you dial frequently and which have a lower calling rate than your other calls. With the exception of Ufone (since its a subsidiary of PTCL?), which allows one PTCL number to be added as friend and family, all network operators allow you to set other subscribers on the same network as FnF and make more calls to them.
This service initially started on Mobilink, where usually a call would cost around Rs. 7 to 8 a minute on normal numbers, and about Rs. 2.33 a minute on FnF numbers. They would allow you to have only three FnF numbers though, and charge a subscription fee of Rs. 30 for each change. An amount which was well recovered in your first call. This service was also only available on numbers started with "9", which meant the very early ones, and was not even advertised. Slowly though, the news leaked out, and people started looking for "9" sims just to enjoy a lower call rate. The demand/supply was such at the time that one number could be sold for as much as Rs. 15,000/- (an actual number offered to me for my sim.. sadly though, i wanted to keep my number :@) where they normally cost 1/10th that amount. Later, mobilink started offering this service to other subscribers as well, and the demand/supply equalized. With the inception of the Octane package, the FnF on previous sims was quickly forgotten.
So why did FnF gain so much fame? Simple.. It allowed lovers as such to talk thoughout the day at almost 1/3 the normal cost of out going calls. I had friends who would use up a 625 card in one call.. and that too on a FnF number, and be extremely satisfied. Now, one thing to note here is, that at that time, having an affair was still pretty much taboo, and a mobile offered convenience and above all, security from the prying eyes of family.
Moving on to my 'favourite mobile company' (take THAT mobilink!!!), Warid offered, and still does offer, pretty good deals on FnF numbers. They were the ones that revived the culture, and 'enabled' (im being very polite here) mobilink to provide FnF to all subscribers, by bringing in their own FnF package. This one cost about Rs.1.5 in the day and about Rs.0.75 at nite, and above all, connected the call on the first go, and allowed you to talk without hassle as well (as opposed to Paktel, which i'll be covering later). Oh how have we used (and misused) this FnF service! The same friend, who used up the 625 card on Mobilink, got himself a seperate mobile with a warid sim and now spends the Rs. 250 card in one go. He's almost upped his talk time 3 times and cut down expenses by half. Ever wonder why warid reached 4 million users in such a short while? Wonder no more!!
That was the battle of the titans! So what have others been upto? Playing catch-up mostly. Somehow, their packages dont seem interesting enough to be taken seriously at all. Except, i guess, Paktel AMS service. They had a Gold package with Late Night Option. The beauty of it was, they charged you Rs. 10 a day, and offered FREE paktel to paktel calls (no, with no 15 minute restriction either) throughout the night (after 11 pm till 7 am). That has been used/misused quite well too. Now, paktel has this good thing of not discontinuing a package plan, or automatically changing it, when they lauch a new one. So the old one, though discontinued years ago, is still active on sets who havent changed it. The only problem is... it takes a HELLISHLY long time to connect, disconnects after every other half-hour, and gives horrible voice quality. But hey... its free isnt it. The latest to enter this market of FnF numbers is Telenor, with its Djuice Nights connection, where they've introduced 5 FnF numbers with a lower calling rate.
Now im wondering where i'll put the reason of why i started this post in the first place...?! Oh well.. this seems a good a place as any. In the previous Warid post-paid connections, you were allowed to have upto 20 FnF numbers, now, with the new packages, they've lowered that to 5. Not bad, since the increase in free minutes and lower dialing rates more than compensates for it. And plus, i didnt even put 3 numbers in my FnF list last time, so it doesnt bother me either.
This service initially started on Mobilink, where usually a call would cost around Rs. 7 to 8 a minute on normal numbers, and about Rs. 2.33 a minute on FnF numbers. They would allow you to have only three FnF numbers though, and charge a subscription fee of Rs. 30 for each change. An amount which was well recovered in your first call. This service was also only available on numbers started with "9", which meant the very early ones, and was not even advertised. Slowly though, the news leaked out, and people started looking for "9" sims just to enjoy a lower call rate. The demand/supply was such at the time that one number could be sold for as much as Rs. 15,000/- (an actual number offered to me for my sim.. sadly though, i wanted to keep my number :@) where they normally cost 1/10th that amount. Later, mobilink started offering this service to other subscribers as well, and the demand/supply equalized. With the inception of the Octane package, the FnF on previous sims was quickly forgotten.
So why did FnF gain so much fame? Simple.. It allowed lovers as such to talk thoughout the day at almost 1/3 the normal cost of out going calls. I had friends who would use up a 625 card in one call.. and that too on a FnF number, and be extremely satisfied. Now, one thing to note here is, that at that time, having an affair was still pretty much taboo, and a mobile offered convenience and above all, security from the prying eyes of family.
Moving on to my 'favourite mobile company' (take THAT mobilink!!!), Warid offered, and still does offer, pretty good deals on FnF numbers. They were the ones that revived the culture, and 'enabled' (im being very polite here) mobilink to provide FnF to all subscribers, by bringing in their own FnF package. This one cost about Rs.1.5 in the day and about Rs.0.75 at nite, and above all, connected the call on the first go, and allowed you to talk without hassle as well (as opposed to Paktel, which i'll be covering later). Oh how have we used (and misused) this FnF service! The same friend, who used up the 625 card on Mobilink, got himself a seperate mobile with a warid sim and now spends the Rs. 250 card in one go. He's almost upped his talk time 3 times and cut down expenses by half. Ever wonder why warid reached 4 million users in such a short while? Wonder no more!!
That was the battle of the titans! So what have others been upto? Playing catch-up mostly. Somehow, their packages dont seem interesting enough to be taken seriously at all. Except, i guess, Paktel AMS service. They had a Gold package with Late Night Option. The beauty of it was, they charged you Rs. 10 a day, and offered FREE paktel to paktel calls (no, with no 15 minute restriction either) throughout the night (after 11 pm till 7 am). That has been used/misused quite well too. Now, paktel has this good thing of not discontinuing a package plan, or automatically changing it, when they lauch a new one. So the old one, though discontinued years ago, is still active on sets who havent changed it. The only problem is... it takes a HELLISHLY long time to connect, disconnects after every other half-hour, and gives horrible voice quality. But hey... its free isnt it. The latest to enter this market of FnF numbers is Telenor, with its Djuice Nights connection, where they've introduced 5 FnF numbers with a lower calling rate.
Now im wondering where i'll put the reason of why i started this post in the first place...?! Oh well.. this seems a good a place as any. In the previous Warid post-paid connections, you were allowed to have upto 20 FnF numbers, now, with the new packages, they've lowered that to 5. Not bad, since the increase in free minutes and lower dialing rates more than compensates for it. And plus, i didnt even put 3 numbers in my FnF list last time, so it doesnt bother me either.
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