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CCP Imposes Rs. 15 Million Penalties on DHA, Wateen: ProPakistani |  |
- CCP Imposes Rs. 15 Million Penalties on DHA, Wateen
- Nokia Commemorates Pakistan Day
- Pakistan to Celebrate Earth Hour on March 26th
- Telco’s Business Strategy Being Followed by Other Sectors
- Is Social Media Revolution Possible in Pakistan?
- Checked-In War Goes On With Facebook Places Now Open For Pakistan
- Nokia Announces More Cricket Apps for Ovi Store
- Pakistan Sees 1st Live Streaming of Surgery Over the Internet
| CCP Imposes Rs. 15 Million Penalties on DHA, Wateen Posted: 22 Mar 2011 10:57 AM PDT
CCP Imposes Rs. 15 Million Penalties on DHA, Wateen is a post from: ProPakistani Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has slapped penalties of Rs. 15 million on Defence Housing Authority and Wateen for entering into an agreement, which is considered as illegal and anti-competitive practice. As per CCP investigation provided by DHA and Wateen operator there was an exclusive arrangement between the parties whereby broadband operator was the only service provider entitled to provide telecommunication and media services in certain phases of the property under the control of DHA. Therefore, show-cause notices were issued to DHA and Wateen for prima facie contravention of Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2010, which prohibits undertakings from entering into agreements in respect of provision of services. This agreement will affect preventing, restricting or reducing competition within the relevant market unless exemption has been granted by the CCP. CCP Action The parties have been reprimanded that continuing the breach would entail serious consequences and the parties shall be liable to pay maximum penalty of Rs. 1 million for every day of the continuing violation. Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) bench comprising of Chairperson, Rahat Kaunain Hassan and Member (M&A) Vadiyya Khalil, passed an Order on Tuesday and imposed Rs. 10 million penalty on Defence Housing Authority and Rs. 5 million on Wateen for entering into a prohibited agreement by granting exclusivity. CCP initiated proceedings on receipt of several complaints from the residents of DHA, Lahore, in respect of the lack of choice of service providers, other than operator, for provision of telecommunication and media services and the unsatisfactory quality of such services. The parties have also been directed to submit any revised agreement that the parties may sign with the CCP within a period of 30 days from the date of entering into such agreement. DHA Briefing DHA in the hearings and through written submission admitted that the agreement between DHA and Wateen violated Section 4 of the Competition Act and showed its willingness to modify the agreement in accordance with law. Wateen Argument Wateen argued that the arrangement between telecom operator and DHA did not have the effect of restricting other service providers to provide services within the DHA region. The residents of DHA could avail services from any other service provider using wireless technology and the exclusivity granted to mobile operator only pertained to right of way. The operator also submitted that the exclusive arrangement for 30 years would qualify for an exemption under Section 5 and 9 of the Act, as it has made huge investments, offers competitive rates, deploys a superior quality network, life of the cable used is thirty years and significant environmental hazards would occur if other parties laid their own cable. CCP concluded that wireless internet services could be provided by different operators as far as technology is concerned but fixed line services such as telecommunication and media is based on wired and fixed line and have been granted exclusivity in DHA region. CCP spokesperson confirmed ProPakistani the penalties on DHA and Wateen Telecom. Related posts:
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| Nokia Commemorates Pakistan Day Posted: 22 Mar 2011 07:57 AM PDT
Nokia Commemorates Pakistan Day is a post from: ProPakistani On the occasion of 23rd March, the Pakistan Day, Nokia has introduced two exclusive themes on Ovi Store which would allow every patriotic Pakistani to pay tribute to the historic Pakistan Day on 23rd of this month in a novel way. This is the first time Nokia has introduced content on Ovi Store especially to celebrate a momentous day for Pakistanis. Developed by Pakistani developers representing TenPearls LLC and Lakson Business Solutions respectively, Pakistan Day themes are sure reawaken our love of our country in our hearts. Themes offer wallpapers, screen savers and ring tones representing the different colors of Pakistan. The basic colors used in these themes are the shades and tints of green, Wallpapers include the pictures and watermarks of our historic places (Minar-e-Pakistan Badshahi Mosque, Tomb of Quaid_e-Azam) and founder of our country Quaid-e Azam. The most special part of the themes is the ringtone, which is actually our National Anthem's tune. The themes can be downloaded from
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| Pakistan to Celebrate Earth Hour on March 26th Posted: 22 Mar 2011 06:14 AM PDT
Pakistan to Celebrate Earth Hour on March 26th is a post from: ProPakistani
Earth Hour is the world’s largest global climate change initiative. It's a global commitment led by the (WWF) World Wide Fund for Nature for energy conservation, climate change and global warming. When? You can show your support for Earth Hour 2011 by switching off/dimming your Home/Office lights at 8:30 – 9:30pm (Pakistan Standard Time) on 26th March 2011. (Given you are not already hit by power outage) When you turn off your lights please take your time out to think as how you can contribute to keep this planet green. How to Support Earth Hour?
For details visit: www.earthhour.org www.wwfpak.org www.waridtel.com www.earthhour.org Related posts:
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| Telco’s Business Strategy Being Followed by Other Sectors Posted: 21 Mar 2011 09:33 PM PDT
Telco’s Business Strategy Being Followed by Other Sectors is a post from: ProPakistani The cellular phone operators have been successful to set up captivating ideas in the field of sales, marketing and advertisements in Pakistan where they have also introduced persuasive trends in their business strategy in a way that companies of different sectors are also following their footsteps to make difference in their respective competitive markets.
The Karachi Unlimited Package introduced by Zong didn't not only hit in its market and was followed by its competitors afterwards but the idea of business is being copied in other sectors as well. Omore, the Ice cream brand of Engro Foods Limited, has launched its sales campaign with the theme "Karachi Ka Dil Kushyiun Se Fill" (The heart of Karachi is full of happiness). Similarly, Levis, the international and well-renowned clothing brand, kicked off its sales campaign with theme "Karachi! Are you ready to fit out". Levis followed the same pursuit and is offering 50 percent special discount to its customers in Karachi as exclusive and aggressive sales campaign. Remember, Zong came up with the idea of location specific offers in October 2010. The idea influenced its competitors who also launched city-based packages with similar themes. Ufone Karachi Offer appeared with slogan "Shaher ho tu Karachi Jeysa. Signal ho tu Ufone Jeysa (The city is alike as Karachi and Network is alike as Ufone.) Mobilink also joined the race with its package "Karachi Bachat Offer" and its theme is Baday Shaher Ki Badi Batain. (Capital City's Capital Talk). Logos signifying Karachi The Omore adverts have been embellished with famous buildings of Karachi such as Mausoleum of Qauid-e-Azam, Habib Bank Plaza, Merewether Tower.
Likewise, Mobilink advert has portrayed the picture of Quaide-e-Azam Mausoleum with Shahid Afridi pose. These adverts were seen in print media and on the roadside billboards of the city. Why Karachi? Karachi is the commercial capital of the country with dense population of approximately 17.5 million. Karachi is the hub of business activities and millions of people move to Karachi from their adjacent cities such as Hyderabad, Thatta, Sukkur and etc. Keeping in mind few of the fact and success of mobile phone operators, companies of other sectors are capitalizing the same technique to capture the largest market of the city. Image Credit: TheIdeaArtist Related posts:
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| Is Social Media Revolution Possible in Pakistan? Posted: 21 Mar 2011 09:32 PM PDT
Is Social Media Revolution Possible in Pakistan? is a post from: ProPakistani
People in support of such revolution argue that Pakistan too has enough population using social media (internet and mobile phones), that they certainly can trigger a change in the ruling elite class replacing it with a government truly democratic in its policies. Yes, indeed Pakistan has a good chunk of its population using social media but what are their activities on internet should also need to be examined. It will not be wrong to say that most of our internet traffic is non-serious i.e. they only use net as means of chat, watching videos, music etc., and seldom or never participate in any positive activity. So is the case of Mobile phone users. A vast majority of them is interested in only funny SMS and games. There may be various reasons of this non-serious attitude. Primarily it is lack of education and lack of self understanding as a nation i.e. where we stand today and where we should be. Unless we don't have well educated people in our lower middle class there is hardly any possibility of change for the better, at any platform. This is just one side of the story. Those who believe that such social media revolution can't be brought in Pakistan stress that Pakistan already has a democratic elected government and people are enjoying free media and every one can express his/her view point openly. So why would people go for such revolution when their needs are met and there is no oppression on them. Both sides arguments are valid as either side have solid arguments of proof but middle grounds remain and the debate of any such social media led political revolution are not gone forever in Pakistan. In fact they are becoming even stronger every day as our youth is reaching the point of maturity and self understanding. Pakistan may have a democratic government but massive corruption and lawlessness make situation ripe for a revolt against the prevailing system of blessing some at the cost of many. Regarding the wider debate of chances of any social media led political revolution in Pakistan, it will be unfair to expect it any time sooner. Though we have seen online activism (during Chief Justice campaign) in the past, however, organizing the human power still remains a dilemma for online community of the country. Unless and until people of Pakistan don't unite on some basic principles and common grounds shedding their minor differences there is little chance of any such revolution in the country. Related posts:
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| Checked-In War Goes On With Facebook Places Now Open For Pakistan Posted: 21 Mar 2011 09:31 PM PDT
Checked-In War Goes On With Facebook Places Now Open For Pakistan is a post from: ProPakistani February is kind of a lucky month, not only because I was allocated on planet earth in this month but also because it was the real kick off for revolutionary location based services in real world. Location based services are dependent services or solutions which are brought to a requester by either automatically detecting their current real-time location or by manually setting it up on user's device. February, 2009 was the time when location based services took all the social experience to another level. Surprisingly, everyone might think of "Google Latitude" as first time idea generator but in fact "Google Latitude" was a replacement to "DodgeBall" which was developed by Dennis Crowley, founder of "Foursquare". This software was built as part of his graduate thesis project and then purchased by Google in 2005 replaced by "Latitude" in February 2009 as a commercial product. "Google Latitude" was basically a map based platform where user could either locate themselves manually or by using the functionality of GPS or nearest cellular tower information through their mobile phone. The located people are pinned on digital map and then this information can be shared with friends and associates in contact. Just in one month, "Google Latitude" faced the very first competitor. None other but Denis Crowley along with Naveen Selvadurai completely revolutionized the idea of self-locating on a digital map with their product known as "Foursquare". The idea was basically similar but with an extra of Check-In service which could let user locate them at some local point of interest. Despite all privacy concerns, these both products went through huge number of user interests both on internet & mobile market. This idea went in further adaptation by other big social media based websites such as Twitter and Facebook by end the year 2009. "Google Latitude" then became the last one to introduce the Check-In feature in early 2011. Facebook Places
The very first thing which makes it a huge success is the estimated number of over 500 million Facebook users even though the service is not available for every one of them yet. Facebook which took enough time to introduce the service and then rolling it out based on various factors from location to location, is already facing serious privacy allegations and concerns. For last two days, I had been watching friends checking in to various locations in Pakistan and thus they confirmed that it is now available for use. However, some local users are still facing the same message of "service not available in your area". So there might be a glitch in service or it may be in testing phase. Facebook Places are available for smarts phones like iPhone, Android phones, Blackberry v1.9+ and any other phone with HTML5 enabled. This pushes the Windows phone out of the list as of current since they are still in process of rolling out the support for HTML5. Places for Pakistan One of the main reasons that may have delayed the location 'based services' roll out was the unavailability of business listing data for Pakistan like other awaiting countries. The data of local business listings for Facebook Places comes from various partners where Facebook's largest partner is "Factual". Facebook uses Microsoft Bing maps as their base layer for digital maps and as one of the business listing data partner. Somehow, this partnership for Pakistani users is a bit of worthless with no updated maps and very limited business listings at Bing platform.
Tell us more… Would you? However, Facebook still did not want to stay behind in race of crowd sourcing the information for free of charge from its users despite in such mattes, first question to ask that if Facebook is responsible enough? The answer is mostly not satisfactory.
"Tell us more.." is the option, given to the users provided with ability to add listings or edit the existing ones and seems to be taking advantage of enriching their own database and their data partners as well who are also getting data for location based business listings from users without paying a single penny (The Google Way). Benefits for businesses Well, nevertheless a major benefit for local businesses is that they can use the Facebook Places to advertise their products in a better way and attract more customers. Facebook already offers a Deals feature where businesses can offer deals to the customers when some of the user is nearby that business location or checked-in at particular location. Individual privacy, Yes still at stake! 3 things you need to watch out from the privacy settings before you use Facebook Places. At an individual level, privacy remains a concern since you may not want to check-in yourself but you may get annoyed when one of the friends can check you in as easy as to tag you in status message. Therefore, don't forget to set the appropriate option for "who can check you in to Places" from Facebook privacy settings.
You may not want to get coincidences or unscheduled meetings with any friend by letting them know that you are nearby at the moment. This will need you to set the appropriate options for "People here now" and "Places I check in to" from Facebook privacy settings.
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| Nokia Announces More Cricket Apps for Ovi Store Posted: 21 Mar 2011 09:30 PM PDT
Nokia Announces More Cricket Apps for Ovi Store is a post from: ProPakistani
A statement issued by the company said that Cricket Companion, which was made by a Pakistani developer – currently the most downloaded app on Ovi Store, has been revamped. Nokia said that Cricket Companion offers live match stats and summary. Cricket Companion has been downloaded around 60,000 times with downloads made from several other countries outside of Pakistan. Talking about the new apps, Haseeb Ihtisham, Head of Marketing, Nokia Near East said, "We decided to offer the best cricket app on Ovi Store this season so that everyone could enjoy this cricket world cup in its true spirit." He further added, "We have received some very good download numbers on Ovi Store in Pakistan. It's great to see that Ovi Store is fast becoming popular in Pakistan especially among the youth" Quickly gaining momentum in Pakistan, Ovi Store is poised to bring more locally relevant applications for Pakistani consumers so that they can enjoy a truly personalized mobility experience. Related posts:
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| Pakistan Sees 1st Live Streaming of Surgery Over the Internet Posted: 21 Mar 2011 09:29 PM PDT
Pakistan Sees 1st Live Streaming of Surgery Over the Internet is a post from: ProPakistani Distant learning in Pakistan went to next level when for the first time in Pakistan, a surgery was broadcasted over the internet to help educate surgeons and surgical students from various medical colleges and hospitals across the country. The workshop on "Advanced Upper GI Laparoscopic Surgery" was broadcast live from Holy Family Hospital through videoconferencing facilities provided by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Doctors, consultants, trainee students from various medical colleges and hospitals attended the workshop. This is the first time in the history of the country an interactive surgery has been relayed over a high speed network across the country. Surgery procedures were demonstrated live from Holy Family Hospital Telemedicine Centre's operating theatres in Rawalpindi. HEC Chairperson Dr Javaid Laghari informed the audience that 75 universities across the country are connected through videoconferencing facilities, which can be used for guest lectures, national and international seminars and conferences. Universities may even offer joint courses through this facility, he said. The webcast was made possible through the Pakistan Education and Research Network (PERN) 2, which connects different universities across the country. The network has its own nationwide PTCL powered gigabit network that is suitable for relaying interactive surgeries and telemedicine workshops. PERN is a specialized internet service provider primarily dedicated to supporting the needs of the research and education communities. It is a high-speed backbone network, often offering dedicated channels for individual research projects. Via Express Tribune Related posts:
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After the successful social media led political revolution in Tunisia called "Jasmine Revolution" and 
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