India Gives Up on RIM, Asks Celcos to Stop Services if Not Monitored: ProPakistani

India Gives Up on RIM, Asks Celcos to Stop Services if Not Monitored
wi-tribe Reaches Faisalabad
Do you Know a Thing Called i-Paid? Someone is Looking for it!
USF Becomes Operational After Eleven-Month Gap
9 Ps for a Successful Organization / Startup
Pakistani Firm Awarded IPRS Project of Kenya

India Gives Up on RIM, Asks Celcos to Stop Services if Not Monitored

Posted: 14 Feb 2011 07:22 AM PST

India Gives Up on RIM, Asks Celcos to Stop Services if Not Monitored is a post from: ProPakistani

blacberry RIM India India Gives Up on RIM, Asks Celcos to Stop Services if Not Monitored Indian Government has decided to bypass Research in Motion (RIM) to directly bug the cellular companies to make sure the monitoring the data transferred through Blackberry services, reported Indian media today.

Government, in its new directive instructed telecom operators to stop any such services (especially the blackberry) that can not be monitored as per the satisfaction of law enforcement agencies.

"It is between the licensee [cellular operators] to tell RIM that, look if you can’t do this, you can’t use my network.

I have only to deal with the licensee and not deal with RIM. I do not have any agreement with Blackberry," said Home Secretary GK Pillai in a statement.

RIM gave Indian government limited access to Blackberry messaging, however, it has been saying that it cannot provide access to the BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) as it does not possess any key and the security architecture is the same around the world.

RIM has failed to provide complete access to Indian Government, as its last deadline expired January 31st, 2011.

RIM vice-president (Industry, Government and University Relations) Robert E Crow , who was in India recently, had said,

"There is no possibility of us providing any kind of a solution. There is no solution, there are no keys to be handed… It’s not possible to do so because the keys of the service are in possession of the corporate enterprises."

There are over one million BlackBerry subscribers in India and the number is growing fast.

wi-tribe Reaches Faisalabad

Posted: 14 Feb 2011 04:54 AM PST

wi-tribe Reaches Faisalabad is a post from: ProPakistani

wi-tribe has launched its WiMAX broadband services in Faisalabad, its 5^th city of operations.

After launching services in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad & Rawalpindi, now the residents of Faisalabad can too enjoy broadband services from wi-tribe.

With an aim to enhance online access for both personal and business use, wi-tribe is focused towards expanding its quality-driven network, in line with a strategic plan to provide an affordable range of broadband services to more customers in all their cities of operation.

While talking about wi-tribe's expansion in Pakistan, VP Sales & Marketing; Wahib Aslam said,

"We are really excited about introducing our services to Faisalabad and take this opportunity to invite the local community to join the tribe. We look forward to our customers benefiting from wi-tribe's diverse package and promotion offerings, along with a superior broadband experience.

It is evident that any country's literacy and GDP are significantly tied to online access, which will only improve the opportunities for wi-tribe's community."

wi-tribe's planned expansion in Pakistan is proof of their commitment to contribute towards sustained growth in the country, with the belief that consumers are ready to embrace access to high-speed connectivity.

Do you Know a Thing Called i-Paid? Someone is Looking for it!

Posted: 14 Feb 2011 12:53 AM PST

Do you Know a Thing Called i-Paid? Someone is Looking for it! is a post from: ProPakistani

A Sindh Government advertisement, published in today's Daily Express, requires few devices including some computers, UPS and I-PAIDs.

We are yet to ascertain what this iPaid is supposed to be.

However, the terms such as 64 GB, WiFi + 3g along with i-Paid, gives me a clue that probably the Sindh Government is looking for iPad, but we are not sure.

Can u please advise what i-Paid really is?

And by the way, if its really iPad, that’s what we are assuming for now, the question arises, what Sindh Government employees gonna do with iPads? I can bet on it that they don’t need it at all.

Check below advertisement: (published here)

Sindh Do you Know a Thing Called i Paid? Someone is Looking for it!

USF Becomes Operational After Eleven-Month Gap

Posted: 13 Feb 2011 08:30 PM PST

USF Becomes Operational After Eleven-Month Gap is a post from: ProPakistani

USF USF Becomes Operational After Eleven Month Gap The development works on various telephony and broadband projects have been resumed once again after being halted for past eleven months on the dysfunctional of Universal Service Funds (USF), official sources told ProPakistani.

The funds of Rs. 3 billion have been transferred to the accounts of the operators, who had completely stopped their operations on various telephony and broadband development projects owing to unavailability of funds.

The step was taken in the meeting of USF' s board of directors meeting held recently, first time after March 2010, under the chairmanship of Sardar Aseff Ahemd.

CEO USF Pervaiz Iftikhar, then Secretary IT Abdul Rauf and other members attended the meeting.

The board has taken decision to complete independent audit of USF at the earliest, which could not be conducted since no board meeting was held meanwhile in the presence of then minister In-charge Sardar Latif Khan Khosa. The USF's audit was further delayed due to the absence of minister and secretary.

Currently, as high as Rs 15. billion development projects and schemes had been allocated to different telecom operators by USF. Out of which, Rs. 7 billion have been transferred to them for the continuation of development projects.

The telecom operators contribute 1.5 percent of their annual gross revenue to USF as per rule of their licenses in accordance with Telecom Policy. These operators have submitted nearly Rs. 34 billion as their share so far on the same account.

USF staff members heaved a sigh of relief after the board approved budget for USF and its employees are assured for their salaries and other long pending dues sources added.

USF and its employees were become victims of tug of war between political leadership and bureaucracy as they were not paid salaries since July 2010 because Sardar Latif Khosa, then Minister In-charge, held the in abeyance the company and its functions, and did not approve the budget of the company for next fiscal year 2010-11.

The board of directors also gave green signal to increase the annual budget of USF from Rs. 140 million in order to meet the expense required to run its expanding projects in different parts of the country.

USF is an exceptionally successful organization not in the country but in the world with its tremendous planning and development projects to promote telephony and internet services in far-flung and rural areas.

Since its inception in 2007, it has aggressively pursued different projects in under-served and un-served areas of the country.

Through USF, telecom services were made available to approximately 4.3 million people in 3,400 previously-un-served villages and work is in progress for another 2,700 villages where 2.5 million people live.

In last three years, USF made broadband services available to 15.5 Million People in urban/semi-urban areas in over 200 cities.

Nearly 150,000 customers attained broadband services in more than 200 cities. Note that in these 200+ cities there was no broadband in the beginning of 2009.

Under the head of special projects, USF made various services available to 200,000 people through pilot telecenters + many more benefitting through ICT facilities for disabled persons at Shifa Eye International Hospital and Foundation for Fighting Blindness.

Telecom companies, with help of USF installed total around 500 cell sites, out of which more than half have been installed and technical audit of 235 has been done.

The USF focuses on four kinds of telecom and IT services – Rural Telecom Programme, Broadband Programmes, Optic Fibre Cable Projects, and Special Projects.

So far, there are 10 contracts costing Rs 4.5 billion signed for 6,118 un-served Mauzas (places) in 39 Districts to be provided with Basic Telecom Services.

12 contracts worth Rs 6.2 billion were signed for 434,750 Broadband connections to be provided in 44 un-served districts.

Besides, Rs 4.5 billion worth 5 projects were allocated for different operators for 5,324 kms of Optic Fiber Cable to be laid covering 80 un-served Tehsil Headquarters and Towns.

USF had also launched conversion of 11 existing Rural Computer Centers into Telecenters as Pilot Project.

9 Ps for a Successful Organization / Startup

Posted: 13 Feb 2011 08:25 PM PST

9 Ps for a Successful Organization / Startup is a post from: ProPakistani

Most of the organizations/startups are finding it hard to be successful. The reasons are minor but most organizations ignore the minor issues and hence they cannot reach to the top level.

There are 9 simple P's to follow if an organization wants to be the best in terms of product and human capital.

Planning & Research

Before starting an organization or launching a new product proper planning and market research is important for its success.

Organization should always focus on introducing new product or service which can add value to the life of people and in this way the chances of its failure can be minimized.

Product

For any organization product is the most important thing. If product isn't impressive or catchy for the people then people won't be interested in buying the product. So every organization should first concentrate on its product.

If it's a new product in the market then they should introduce it with proper research and customer feedback and if already same kind of product is available then they should check the existing products and should introduce the product which should be better than existing one.

Price

The second important factor after the development of the product is the price as it plays an important role in making a product successful.

The price of the product should be such that target market can easily afford it and moreover it should be at par with competitors.

Placement

The third important factor for the success of a product or service is the placement. If people don't have easy access to the product or service then they will not buy it regardless of the fact how cheaper or excellent the product/service is. For this, organizations should make sure that product is available at all closest and important locations.

Promotion

The fourth important factor is promoting the product or service. For this purpose all kind of Medias should be used i.e. print, electronic.

Promotion should be done by keeping in mind the target audience. If product is more suitable for young people then promoting in TV or Radio can be a good idea and if it belongs to business sector then news paper should be used for promotion.

Polish your People

Most of the Organizations take care of above mentioned but what they don't bother much is the human capital. To get to the top human capital is the most important element as they are the ones behind all the processes and ideas.

It should be made sure that they should be capable and sound in performing their work and they should have complete know how of what to do and when to do. For enhancing their skills trainings should be conducted continuously and timely.

Performance & Reward

To keep employees motivated and loyal to the company performance of the employees should be properly monitored and those who are performing best should be rewarded as soon as possible.

Rewards need not to be tangible and they can be intangible like giving best performer card to someone who has performed well. Organization should also take care of the fact that rewards should be such that have some value for employees. E.g. if an employee hasn't taken an off since long then rewarding him with off day will make him more happy than some kind of bonus.

And those who are not performing at optimum level should be given proper coaching and guidance to improve the performance.

Promotion & Retention

Employees who have worked excellently throughout the year should be moved to next level based on their performance and as per promotion criteria as it will boost their morale up and they will work with more loyalty as they will feel that organization do care about them. Retaining the best work force is important for organization's success.

Pension

Most of the private organizations do have a proper career path and compensation plan but what they lack is a pension plan. A pension plan can give employees a better sense of security for their life after retirement. So organizations should develop some pension plans so that employees feel more comfortable to work and can give their maximum energy and commitment to work. As the much organization will invest in an employee they will surely get in return more than that.

Note: The 4P's (Product, Price, Placement, Promotion) have been taken from marketing mix or 4P's of marketing.

Pakistani Firm Awarded IPRS Project of Kenya

Posted: 13 Feb 2011 08:20 PM PST

Pakistani Firm Awarded IPRS Project of Kenya is a post from: ProPakistani

A Pakistani firm, Secure Tech Consultancy (Pvt.) Ltd., has been awarded the project for the Management and Project execution consultancy for the Integrated Population Registration System (IPRS) through the Ministry of State for Immigration & Registration of Persons (MIRP) for the Government of Kenya.

The project, soon to be kicked off, involves the review of the IPRS Logical Data Model, Process Flows, Administration and Procedures as well as HR capacity/Skill sets and Training needs to capture essential parameters in the re-designing of underlying software elements, so that IPRS can give Kenyan government the desired benefits.

Secure Tech Consultancy will look at the IPRS Model in terms of its capacity and readiness to generate and bill revenue-centric services, and to recommend system re-modeling steps to achieve the same.

Brig (R) Saleem Ahmed Moeen, former Chairman NADRA and currently CEO Secure Tech Consultancy, said,

"we won this project through an international competitive bidding and this is another big achievement for Secure Tech in the global arena, after winning and completing successfully the Consultancy Services to review ICT Systems for the Kenya Power & Lighting Company (KPLC) last year" he said.

In June 2010 ID World magazine placed Secure Tech Consultancy amongst the Top 50 Suppliers of e-Passport and Auto ID Technology. Secure Tech was rated as one of the best companies for delivering e-Passport/ID Card solutions, Software Applications, and all affiliated ICT services as System Integrators.