#10. No cell phones made in Pakistan.
#09. Not much of Urdu services or local content.
#08. Driving + talking on mobile = Accidents …. And no one is doing anything about it.
#07. People using their phone as a status symbol.
#06. No unlimited calling plans.
#05. Silly advertising which is completely out of touch with ground realities.
#04. PTA: Sleepy customer service + a lousy web site where finding information is a pain.
#03. Too many fancy schmancy services (e.g. mobile TV) but 3G and data services are still a rip off.
#02. Prime Minister firing off a statement every few days about rising mobile subscriber numbers, alluding that all problems of Pakistanis are now solved and demanding that Pakistan is where all the foreign. investment should flow to.
#01. Mobile phone snatching.
Babar Bhatti is a Telecom professional based in Dallas, Texas. See more at Babar’s blog: State of Telecom Industry in Pakistan.
I agree with #2, #4 and #8, rest is just whining. For example, how can carrying a cell phone be status symbol now that everybody is carrying one.
“one of shaukat aziz’s main responsibility is to attract fdi in pakistan.”
His responsibility is not to attract FDI for the sake of FDI, but to increase investment, especially the kind that creates more jobs and expands the economy in important sectors. FDI is only one way of generating investment. In some sectors it can bring substantial benifits and is worth pursuing. In other cases it may not necessarily be a positive thing. I am not against FDI, but the government should have a more comprehensive policy for increasing investment rather than focussing on FDI alone.
As finance minister, Shaukat Aziz should also be aware of the link between savings and investments and how excessive consumption can be detrimental to the cause of increasing domestic investment. Unfortunately, the government’s policies do not seem to be reflecting such an understanding. So we have a government that touts increasing consumption as a sign of progress without paying any attention to the need for generating adequate domestic savings.
“since government’s telecom policy has been a resounding success especially in terms of the returns it has offered to investors, it is only natural for shaukat aziz to keep highlighting the astronomical and entirely unexpected growth seen in this sector.”
Unexpected???
Not really. Communication technology was developing rapidly in the 1990s and the growth in this sector is due to the fact that the technology eventually became cheep enough for mobile phones and connections to become affordable in Pakistan. If there is anything extraordinary in all this, it is the progress in the field of electronics, not the role of our government. Pakistan is not the only country with a rapidly growing mobile industry, it is a worldwide phenominon driven by technology.
Pros and cons of the cell phone usage aside , my point is that we have become so dependent on this little piece of technology.
THere was a time we could tell all the family and friends telephone numbers by heart … now we go to contacts and press that green button and pronto we are dialling the number.
Just the other day my cell phone was snatched along with my purse … i was in an agonising state of trauma for a week , not to mention out of touch with the whole world !!
I realised i didint even know my own childrens numbers by heart …
Pakistan is consumer society. The policy of India is much better. It tends to reduce the imports and encourage local manufacturing. Thats why Nokia operates a plant there.Pakistan also have the great potential to turn consumer base for transfer of technology and training of local engineers. But government is too busy in touting increase in mobile phone users.
this list reminds me of comments by javed burki in a late night ptv tubsira show on the day of the sharjah cricket match – the one with the last ball 6. in that program, much to everyone’s amazement and consternation, burki had the gall to criticise miandad’s innings for being too slow. justifiably, for the next few weeks, burki was absolutely panned in press and was not seen on ptv for a long while due to the hue and cry in media against his moronic comments.
one of shaukat aziz’s main responsibility is to attract fdi in pakistan. and since government’s telecom policy has been a resounding success especially in terms of the returns it has offered to investors, it is only natural for shaukat aziz to keep highlighting the astronomical and entirely unexpected growth seen in this sector. investors look at track record of past investments and telecom sector growth is the best example of potential returns to be had from investment in pak. in addition, exponential telecom growth and absolute subscriber lvls point to the potential of the untapped mass pakistani consumer market and rapid growth that can be achieved in a short span by investors who target this sector. interestingly law and order situation in karachi in the mid to late 90’s got so bad that government had to close down the mobile networks to prevent abuse by terrorists.
from the level of fdi flowing into pak, it can be argued that foreign investors are buying the pakistan story. fdi this fiscal year has already totalled $5 bn dollars and is expected to reach $6 bn by the end of the year in june. the current level of fdi is a record for pak and represents a huge turn around in the fortunes of pakistani economy for which the government can justifiably claim credit. in addition to telecom, banking sector in pakistan is attracting unprecedented foreign interest and is a strong sign of confidence in the pakistani economy because banks are a proxy for the overall health of the economy.