Monday, March 28, 2011

India Vs Pakistan: The Day Subcontinent Will Stop: ProPakistani

India Vs Pakistan: The Day Subcontinent Will Stop: ProPakistani

Link to Pro Pakistani

India Vs Pakistan: The Day Subcontinent Will Stop

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 09:40 PM PDT


India Vs Pakistan: The Day Subcontinent Will Stop is a post from: ProPakistani

As the excitement of the quarter finals was driving the nation into frenzy, the possibility of a thriller Pakistan – India match watered the mouths of everyone who has ever braved the summer heat to play cricket.

When Pakistan obliterated the West Indies batting line up and cruised into the semi finals, everyone I talked to wanted India to win against Australia. It must have been a moment when wishes were coming true because Yuvraj Singhs' cover drive for a four against Australia knocked the reigning champions out and setup one of the most anticipated matches of all time.

The Big Day: India Vs Pakistan Semis

The clash of the Titans: Pakistan vs. India – with the winner moving on to the finals. The excitement right now is at a fever pitch and is eclipsing anything generated even by the likes of the Ashes.

Pakistan – India encounters have always been an adrenaline rush for people on both sides of the border. But this time the stakes are higher than ever before because.

Knowing that emotions run deep, the Indian authorities have setup extremely strict measures for security. The measures are deemed necessary since a lot of high profile people will also be attending the match. Among them, our Prime minister who was invited by his Indian counterpart to watch the match in a rare act of diplomacy. The Indian government has issued over 5000 visas to Pakistanis. All tickets are already sold out, all hotels are already booked, but such is the appeal of this match that some tickets are being sold on the black market for a hundred times their original price.

Live Screening on Big Screens:

Here in Pakistan, all theaters airing the match (though we are not sure of their re-broadcast rights) have been sold out. A few public places with big screens are also planning to show the match for example, Liberty and Gulberg in Lahore and the big screen on ISE tower and F9 Park in Islamabad.

Arrangements have also been made in individual neighborhoods to rent projectors so that the whole neighborhood can watch the match as one and share their excitement. Others have setup their relatives to come over and watch the match together.

Nothing But Just Cricket:

Facebook, Twitter, Internet, SMS, Newspapers, TV shows, Schools, Colleges, Markets, drawing rooms are all abuzz with the talk leading up to the cricket match.

Newspaper front-pages set the tone for clash. “Bring on Pakistan!” was the headline in the Mail Today in Delhi, and the Hindustan Times sported “Pakistan: Next test of nerves for India”. All TV shows are green themed. Experts are offering their opinion 24/7.

Chain messages are spreading like wildfire adding to the hype. Everybody these days from shopkeepers to milkmen to students are exchanging stats and opinions all the time. One doctor even went as far as to recommend that his patients suffering from blood pressure and heart problems skip the match since it would be such a roller coaster ride.

Call for Holiday:

When Pakistan will be literally jammed, the nation is calling for a public holiday, though we haven't heard anything official on this for now. Reports are that government may announce a holiday or at least a half day on Wednesday.

Who Gonna Win?

As for the match, I personally think that India will succumb to the pressure of playing in front of the home crowd. IPL is right next to the World Cup and I don't think the Indian fans will go pay money to watch their players who lost to Pakistan, of all teams in the semi-final. But then there's the fact that some of our playing in India for the first time. So expect players crumbling under the pressure. It's going to be a battle of nerves more than anything.

Here are a few status updates regarding the match from the Pakistani social network sphere:

"Will SL and NZ play tomorrow? Or will their players be too busy discussing the India-Pakistan match?" – rameshsrivats on Twitter

"All roads, topics, discussions, schedules, mindshare leading to the India-Pakistan match at the moment. The hype truly is something else." – Vaneet on Twitter

"India tumhari Shelia jawan hai, munni badnam hai but dont forget pakistan ka captain PATHAN hai." – Kupi on Twitter

"Semi final pakistan vs india … Pakistan 311/7 and in reply india 236/all out in 47.3 overs …. Mubarak ho peshwar may match nazar aa giya hay :)." – Rabia Ramzan on Facebook

It's also worth mentioning that, while most of my countrymen want our team to win more than anything tomorrow, they are also praying that the match goes without a glitch and without any untoward incident. However they're not taking too kindly to the rumors of match-fixing circling around.

Keeping in mind the potential disaster news like this could be and the backlash it would create, Rehman Malik has urged the team to stay away from match fixing. “I gave a warning that there should be no match-fixing. I am keeping a close watch. If any such thing happens, we are going to take action,” Malik said.

Heaven for Advertisers / Webmasters:

Just imagine the crowd of over 1500 million people roaring for the day! If you are an advertiser or a webmaster, You won't be getting a better day than this Wednesday in years.

According to Comscore, the Cricket Semi Finals have caused a notable surge in visitation. Google also reported that use of its search engine have surged multifold.

Webmasters are going to make thousands of dollars from live streams and cricket specific keywords. ProPakistani is already ranking well for couple of keywords on Google, and we too are expecting a sharp spike on Wednesday.

Most Visited Sports Sites by Unique Visitors (in India)

January 2010 vs. January 2009

Total Unique Visitors (000)
Jan-09 Jan-10 % Change
Total Internet : Total Audience 32,523 37,269 15
Sports 5,244 10,322 97
Yahoo! Cricket 972 3,940 305
ESPN** 1,669 3,491 109
Sify Sports 216 1,036 379
FANIQ.COM 637 771 21
CRICBUZZ.COM 651 640 -2
CRICKETNIRVANA.COM 173 523 202
ESPNSTAR.ASIA N/A 315 N/A
KRISHCRICKET.COM 92 306 232
Cricketnext N/A 278 N/A
MSN Sports International 153 271 76

Aftermath:

With all this hype surrounding the match, one thing is clear. Come match-day, the whole nation will be at a standstill and all eyes will be on Mohali. But as Javed Miandad rightly urged, “It is a good sign we are playing in India but whatever the result the reaction should not be extreme."

Few Wallpapers:

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Before India Vs Pakistan Semi Final enjoy following magical moments of India Vs Pakistan cricket:

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Copyright © 2010 ProPakistani.PK

Pak-Indian Top-notch IT Firms See Bilateral Trade of $ 5 billion

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 09:38 PM PDT


Pak-Indian Top-notch IT Firms See Bilateral Trade of $ 5 billion is a post from: ProPakistani

stock india pakistan Pak Indian Top notch IT Firms See Bilateral Trade of $ 5 billionPakistan and India can boost their mutual trade in Information and Technology (IT) sector up to colossal US$ 5 billion through joint-ventures, investment and exchange of expertise.

This was stated by Jehan Ara President Pakistan Software Houses Association in the exclusive interview to ProPakistani on her return to Pakistan after leading a delegation of country's top-notch figures of IT industry.

Briefing about her business trip, she said Pakistanis and Indian IT titans have decided to carry on their efforts for developing an "India-Pakistan e-land" at the border where people can meet, interact, teach, learn and jointly develop intellectual property.

They will work to convince their respect governments to allow telecommunications access to work across borders. They will continue to investment in young people, facilitate exchanges, and provide education and skilling to enable them to achieve their potential, Jehan Ara said.

Pakistani and Indian IT committee of Aman Ki Asha has successfully held the bilateral talks separately on both sides of borders in December and March aimed at enhancing trade ties in the field of IT, which is one of six sectors with great trade attraction between two countries.

"Indian IT market is huge with volumetric exports but it is lacking of high quality of services, in contrast, Pakistani market is small comparatively but has gained tremendous reputation with its products and services," she said and added "these two countries will aid each other to enhance their quantum and quality of IT services and products."

Pakistani IT firms are experts of gaming and animation whereas Indians are master service providers of IT-enable services, she said. How will it conducive the India set up their BPO's in Pakistan and exchange expertise of gaming and animation from Pakistan, she further explained.

There are lots of hurdles to set up software houses in each other countries by the two states but it is an easy solution to make a joint platform in third country such as UAE, Singapore or Malaysia, she said.

Visa policy by both states to IT entrepreneurs is very strict with tough conditions. Besides, there is no bank of Pakistan in India and Indian in Pakistan to ensure letter of credits (LCs) facility and exchange of money by the two sides. Therefore, these measures must be resolved by the both government to facilitate entrepreneurs of their countries, she said.

The third venue is the most viable option for IT entrepreneurs of India and Pakistan as a matter of fact that they could start work on mutual project at the earliest, which will pave the way towards real business and trade opportunities at cities of each other countries, President Pasha said.

She added the real growth in trade between the two countries particularly in the field of IT could multiply significantly when India and Pakistan establish and operate their offshore offices at each other lands.

She said the two countries have large young populations whose energies can, with proper education and skills training, be utilized productively in order to reap the 'demographic dividend' and build collaborative projects between the youth of both countries.

These countries have much to offer each other, with Pakistan providing a host of IT graduates that India could utilize by building collaborative development centers and India providing skills development to the significant IT product companies in Pakistan. The companies could also jointly tap the huge domestic market in both countries and global opportunities for IT solutions especially in emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa and South America, Jehan Ara said.

Aman ki Asha IT Committees

India: Dr Ganesh Natarajan (Mission Leader), Chairman CII National Committee on IT & ITES, Vice Chairman and CEO, Zensar Technologies; Mr Harsh Manglik, Chairman, NASSCOM & Co-Chairman-India & Geography Managing Director Accenture; Ms Nandita Mohan Gurjar, Senior Vice President & Group Head – Human Resources Infosys Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Mr Pradeep Udhas, Executive Director, KPMG Advisory Services Pvt Ltd.; Dr Uma Ganesh CEO Global Talent Track Ltd Ms Prameela Kalive, Vice President & Business Head, Zensar Technologies; Mr Rahul Mohod, Chief Executive Officer iResolvIT Pty Limited, Sydney; Mr Govind Das Sharma (Mission Manager), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Rasika Waikalkar, Coordinator, Young Indians

Pakistan: Jehan Ara, President, Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES (P@SHA); Humayun Bashir, Country Head, Pakistan IBM; Yusuf Jan, Co-Founder, Mixit Technologies; Ashraf Kapadia, Managing Director Systems Ltd; Ali Jameel, Executive Director, TRG; Naseer Akhtar, President & CEO, Infotech Pvt Ltd; Salman Akhtar, CEO, Techlogix; Ziad Bashir, Chairman, Arwen Technologies, Nadeem Elahi, Country Manager TRG; Salim Ghauri, President, NetSol Technologies, Sultan Hamdani, COO, Maison Consulting Pvt Ltd

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Never Ever Give Away Your Pictures / Videos [Especially if You are a Girl]

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 06:32 AM PDT


Never Ever Give Away Your Pictures / Videos [Especially if You are a Girl] is a post from: ProPakistani

0 Never Ever Give Away Your Pictures / Videos [Especially if You are a Girl]Most of us already know the seriousness of a situation when our private pictures or videos land in fraudulent hands. Still, we make mistakes – and are often embarked with this condition when suicide becomes the last option to save ourselves.

Night packages (the root cause of above mentioned problem) have bought our nation on the verge of social destruction. Every other mobile phone subscriber has a list of friends (of opposite gender) with whom they spend nights, every night in fact. Soon it becomes a habit and then a mental dis-order, depression, irritation, increases annoyance and what not.

Let's forget the mental and physical health for time being and talk about even greater problem.

Lately, thanks to significant increase of Camera Phones, and almost zero MMS charges (with SMS/MMS Packages), the number of such incidents have increased where pictures and videos (at times with objectionable orientation) are shared with partners over internet and MMS.

Based on few incidents I recently came across, here are few recommendations:

Now Remember Following (as an advice / request from elder brother):

  • Never send your pictures to ANYONE, WHO EVER he/she is – no matter what relation he/she has got with you, or whatever level of trust you guys have between each other. (This doesn't apply to your family members).
  • Never keep your private pictures in your phone – save them in your PC/laptop and delete from mobile phones. Your phone can easily get stolen/lost.
  • Make sure that privacy settings of your Facebook aren't revealing the information you would not like to reveal otherwise. (Go to Facebook –> My account –> Privacy Settings –> customize setting)
  • Make sure you don't have casual acquaintances mixed up with your family members or close friends on Facebook. Make proper lists with different level of privacy settings for each list.
  • NEVER EVER shot objectionable pictures/videos – because they will remain in your phone even after deleting them.

Never Trust Phone Friends: This is for those who make friends over phone and talk to them indefinitely. Never trust them. There are organized groups targeting both girls and boys to attain intimate information/pictures/videos to later blackmail them.

Deleted Pictures/Videos are Recoverable: If you think you have deleted a photo/video and you safe, then unfortunately its not the case. A deleted video/photo or any data is recoverable. So never shot videos / pictures at first place which you may not want to keep without self for ever. Read this unfortunate example for more details on this.

Fear Voice Recorders too: So if you are good with not giving photos, videos, you are still prone to voice recorders. Please make sure that you are using your mobile phone without any risk and with utmost care.

What to Do if pictures/videos are exposed? God forbid, if your pictures/videos are somehow in someone's hands who is blackmailing you (for money or at times with some other demands) then do following:

  • Tell everything to your parents, they are going to be your best buddies in this bad time.
  • Lodge FIR at your nearest police station
  • Though Police station, lodge a complaint with FIA

Disclaimer: I highly recommend you to talk to your parents, however, approaching Police and FIA should be considered based on your circumstances. (Considering our police's performance) I fear,that approaching police (if you don't have high-level contacts) may ruin your life.

We need to be extra careful, especially, when there is no cyber law in our country.

At the end, I would say: Bad deeds meet bad consequences, so be sincere to your self, your parents and to your life.

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Copyright © 2010 ProPakistani.PK

IE 9 Encompasses Top Pakistani Websites

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 06:30 AM PDT


IE 9 Encompasses Top Pakistani Websites is a post from: ProPakistani

imgad IE 9 Encompasses Top Pakistani WebsitesMicrosoft Corp. has announced the launch of the latest version of the world's most-used browser with the release of Windows Internet Explorer 9 in 40 languages.

Internet Explorer 9 is Microsoft's most-downloaded browser beta of all time, with more than 40 million downloads, and it has already gained more than 2 percent usage on Windows 7.

You can download IE 9 from here: http://www.BeautyoftheWeb.pk.

Already more than 250 top sites including www.rozee.pk, www.wi-tribe.pk, Jang Group websites (GEO, Jang, The News ) and ProPakistani.pk from around the globe are taking advantage of the capabilities in Internet Explorer 9 to deliver differentiated experiences to their customers, with many featured on http://www.BeautyoftheWeb.pk.

Together, these partners reach more than 1 billion active Internet users on the Web.

"The true potential of the web can now be explored through Internet Explorer 9" said Kamal Ahmed, Country General Manager, Microsoft Pakistan. "The internet browser is critical for giving users the right online experience – one which is fast, secure, user-friendly and quite intuitive. IE9 has all these qualities and provides the optimal use of hardware. It is also most suitable for countries with low bandwidth like Pakistan. IE9 is not only a product of technological advancement but also based on customer feedback obtained by releasing the beta version."

Internet Explorer 9 is designed to bring sites to the front and center through Windows 7, enabling a more immersive, more beautiful Web experience. Features such as Pinned Sites and JumpListfeaturesenable people to put their websites directly on the Windows 7 Taskbar, as though they were native applications, and then to quickly and easily perform tasks related to those websites,such as check their inbox, change the music station, accept a friend invitation or see breaking news. These sites include some of the largest sites on the Web such as Facebook, Amazon, eBay and Twitter.

VP Sales & Marketing at wi-tribe Pakistan, Wahib Aslam, says, "Wi-tribe is very excited about partnering with Microsoft for the global launch of Internet Explorer 9, a cutting-edge browser promising a captivating and superior web browsing experience for customers and developers alike. We are confident that this alliance will bring a host of value additions to our own community of users, ultimately elevating their online experience to an entirely new and refreshing level."

News website partners in the U.S. includethe Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the Huffington Post,as well as dozens of leading news sites globally across all major geographies.

"As a blogger who remains online 16 hours a day, I see IE9 changing the web surfing experience all together. With lot better speed, enhanced graphical processing and the clearer feel, IE9 is surely going to make the web a beautiful place to stay," said Aamir Attaa, Editor, ProPakistani.PK, a top technology blog from Pakistan.

The new version of Internet Explorer takes advantage of the power of modern Windows PC hardware to improve allaround Web browsing performance.Internet Explorer9 is also designed to be the most trusted browser because it contains a robust set of built-in security, privacy and reliability technologies that keep customerssafer online.

"IE9 brings out the best of the web by giving users seamless access to their favorite websites through its unique pinning options, better tab management, performance improvements and powerful HTML5 support for rich in-browser applications" said Monis Rahman, CEO, Naseeb Networks.

Recent statistics show that more than 39 million people have already downloaded the beta version of IE9.This has no doubt given the product a significant share of the global web browser market even before it was officially launched. Microsoft confirmed that this is the highest and fastest adoption rate of any beta product ever launched.

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Copyright © 2010 ProPakistani.PK

PTCL Revises Vfone Internet and SMS Tariff

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 03:45 AM PDT


PTCL Revises Vfone Internet and SMS Tariff is a post from: ProPakistani

Pakistan Telecommunication Company LTD (PTCL) has come up with a new internet and SMS tariff for its Vfone customers.

According to a statement issued by the company, PTCL is offering an internet tariff of Rs. 2.00 per 15 minutes and an SMS tariff of Rs. 0.30 per SMS for all networks.

Earlier, internet tariff was Rs. 2.00 per 20 minutes SMS rate was 0.25 per SMS for all networks.

Naveed Saeed SEVP Commercial on this occasion has said that PTCL has always strived to provide best packages and offers to its customers and these new internet and SMS rates will have an added effect on facilitating our customers. He further added that PTCL has always and will always strive to provide its customers with the best and most affordable services.

Syed Asim Ali EVP Wireless Business said, these new rates are to facilitate our customers while elevating PTCL's image as consumer oriented organization. Adding to this he said that PTCL have plans to introduce more customer friendly offers in near future also.

Further information can be obtained from PTCL helpline: 1236 or by visiting nearest PTCL franchise or One Stop Shop.

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Shared Value: Integrating Social Responsibility into Business

Posted: 27 Mar 2011 09:35 PM PDT


Shared Value: Integrating Social Responsibility into Business is a post from: ProPakistani

This Guest Post is written by Affan Haider, who works in the Corporate Communications department at Telenor Pakistan.

By Affan Haider

Recently, I was having an interesting discussion with Aamir Attaa on Khamoshi Ka Boycott; the topic veered off towards the international phenomenon of redefining social responsibility as part of longer term business strategy. Due to our mutual interest in the topic, Aamir invited me to do a post on the phenomenon, as below.

CSR and Business thumb Shared Value: Integrating Social Responsibility into BusinessTraditionally, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility has been, to use a light term, counter-productive. For some reason, it has pitted society against business, social development against profits and portrayed organizations as evil.

Social responsibility within organizations need to be seen less as a stand-alone function, cost constraint or charitable deed, and need to be seen more as a strategic direction.

For this to happen, it is very important to not only look at the overall business strategy, but also points of intersection between society and all functions within the business. But before we go into the discussion of these mutually beneficial intersects, we need to understand why this integration is the need of the hour, and trend of the future.

An organization is also known as a corporate entity, corporate, just like individuals have certain rights, obligations and implied ethics, based on the law of the land and norms of the society. Around the world organizations are realizing that good of the society ultimately is good of the business as well. Improved socio-economic conditions within a set of people lead to increased purchasing power, which can lead to increased spending on products / services of various organizations and improved infrastructure availability in the country.

On the other hand, increased consumer awareness is slowly but surely influencing purchasing decisions on the basis of ethical conduct and social responsibility of the organization that the product / service originate from. We do hear the common argument of 'That's not the case in Pakistan', but that is about to change.

For an organization to integrate social responsibility into business practices, the overall philosophy, vision and values of the organization need to be aligned with the concept of social responsibility. Values like being respectful, being inspiring, keeping promises and making it easy help lead the corporate thought-process in the right direction. Integration of social responsibility concept in vision and values will also ensure long term strategic focus on the responsibility elements.

Don't get me wrong. The prime purpose of an organization remains to earn profit and increase value for its stakeholders, especially shareholders. An analogy could be that of an individual: Of course the person needs to earn to feed himself and his family, but he still should earn without doing any wrong and continue to fulfill his social, cultural, ethical and legal responsibilities.

Same is the case with organizations. However, organizations generally tend to go beyond the minimum legal obligations to ensure incorporation of social responsibility in their strategy.

To elaborate the concept of social responsibility into various business functional areas, here are some examples:

Social responsibility in HR practices: Around the world, a number of surveys have conclusively proved that good HR practices is one of the premier parameters used by the general public to consider an organization socially responsible. From equal opportunity employment, to diversity at workplace, to adhering to labor laws and health / safety related practices, all combine together to make an organization socially responsible.

Social responsibility in Supply Chain: A socially responsible organization would look both inwards and outwards. Incorporating fair procurement decisions, emphasizing safe work conditions, helping partners adhere to all national and international treaties on labor, health, safety and environment related practices, etc., are all part of a socially responsible organization's day to day routine.

Social responsibility and Corporate Governance: A socially responsible organization will be fair in financial reporting, governance practices, transparency and any use of lobbying.

And last, but not the least, social responsibility in brands: A product or service is the final representation of the organization to the society. All social responsibility elements mentioned before are extremely important, without which an organization will not be able to call itself socially responsible; however, this social responsibility must translate / reflect into an organization's message to society.

This is exactly where brand communications such as Karo Mumkin and Khamoshi Ka Boycott come in.

It is that final stage in the evolution of integration of business and corporate responsibility which is still elusive in Pakistani advertising scene. Yet, it is the future. With growing consumer awareness and emphasis upon socially responsible businesses, I am sure you will see a lot more of it from various organizations, sooner than later.

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How Location Based Charging (LBC) Can Be Effective?

Posted: 27 Mar 2011 09:32 PM PDT


How Location Based Charging (LBC) Can Be Effective? is a post from: ProPakistani

clip image0025 How Location Based Charging (LBC) Can Be Effective?

Our Telecom industry has gone through different stages over the course of time. A decade ago, telecom industry was nurturing towards consolidation and today it has achieved something that might've not been aspired at the start of GSM operations in our country.

Reaching subscriber count of 100 million is a milestone in itself and regulatory authority in close collaboration with Telecom service providers has always been striving to offer valued services to mobile phone users of the country.

Today, telecom service providers are braced with different challenges than what they were facing at the launch of operations. The prime focus of every telecom service provider is to capture new subscribers and retain their existing customers by providing them attractive offers every now and then.

To accomplish their aim, telecom operators have been providing their customers diverse set of options and services. Whether it's MNP, call & SMS packages, data packages, happy hours, late night offers, re-activation of old un-used SIMs or any other offer, telecom operators have exploited every single opportunity they can to outperform in their regime.

While in current scenario, there might not be much room available for operators to offer something more appealing like afore-mentioned services, unless and until 3G services are launched, yet they're ready to take the lead in presenting every possible service they find compatible with the market conditions.

In pursuit of their aim, some of our telecom operators have now shifted their focus towards Location Based Charging (LBC) services while others are likely to follow suit sooner or later.

What's Location Based Charging (LBC):

So, what's Location Based Charging or LBC after all?

By definition; Location Based Charging (LBC) is a service in which a special charge (tariff value) is applied to the subscriber whenever he utilizes network services (calls, SMS, data usage) from a specific cluster of GSM cells.

On the contrary, there's also the concept of Home Zone Billing (HZB) in which subscribers have the provision of selecting specific cell clusters as home zone and all the network activities from that zone will be charged at different rates than other locations.

In LBC, subscribers don't have the provision of selecting the area as it's already defined by the operator and ideally it's a non-subscription based service. Since we don't have the concept of HZB in our GSM networks yet so focus will be on different scenarios where LBC can be useful.

LBC at Under-Utilized Network Areas:

LBC service can be offered by network operators to the subscribers of their under-utilized network area. Daily traffic trend can be analyzed by network operators to identify under-utilized areas of their networks and LBC services can then be launched in those areas.

It'll encourage subscribers to perform network activities more often and will also be helpful for the operators to maintain healthy traffic thus making it possible to effectively utilize their network resources.

Likewise, LBC service can be offered at under-developed or developing areas of country in order to provide affordable telecom services to the residents, and hence the higher ARPUs.

LBC at Educational Institutions:

For students; who're very cost-conscious and limited by budget, LBC service can offer great value for their money. Campuses of colleges/universities can have discounted rates offered by operators which will encourage students to make calls on regular basis. Affordable SMS packages combined with LBC can serve as useful combination for students.

LBC at Business Centers:

Established business markets can be a source of revenue generation for operators provided that they offer LBC service in those areas. Business areas such as stock exchange markets, electronics & computer markets and similar sort of business centers can attract customers for both the markets as well as telecom operators.

Similarly, LBC can also be useful for developing markets and new business areas since discounted call rates during business hours will not only ensure healthy traffic trends for operators but also can be the important factor for business operations. Shopping malls can also be the place to offer discounted call rates to consumers as it's potentially a revenue generating area.

LBC at Special Events:

Sports events, concerts and festivals etc. are prone to attract more customers than normal days thus LBC service can be deployed in those occasions. Additionally, network capacity can also be enhanced temporarily to provide better services to subscribers at discounted rates.

LBC for Business Customers:

Mostly, LBC would be used for discounted tariff values but it's not the only case with LBC. If required, operators can set up premium rates at places like five-star hotels and airports where business customers can avail network services but with higher rates than normal and importantly with improved network quality.

This can be particularly useful for business customers if they are offered higher quality EGDE/Internet at premium rates.

Current Scenario & Conclusion:

Ideally, LBC is a non-subscription based service compared to HZB (which is a subscription based service) but current solution offered by our network operators requires subscription for the purpose.

It would've been more attractive offer if subscribers would be charged at discounted rates in those areas where LBC is launched and whenever they're out of that area, normal call charges would be applied based on their package (without any subscriptions).

Moreover, current solution offers subscription only for voice calls while it can be diversified if data and messaging facilities are also offered additionally for the same price. This might seem exciting in theory but we can't rule out the possible impact it can have on service.

For example, if subscribers of large cities are offered LBC service without any subscription then chances are there'll be huge amount of traffic resulting in network over-load and deteriorated network quality.

So, a better approach would be to offer subscription based LBC service in densely populated areas while also exploiting above mentioned scenarios wherever feasibility is present.

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