Facebook, Twitter Banned for Pakistani Cricketers: ProPakistani

Facebook, Twitter Banned for Pakistani Cricketers
PTA Exposes its Inability to Count Actual Number of Cellular Subscribers in Pakistan
Linkedin – Social Networking for Professionals
PTA to Set Standards for Cellular QoS

Facebook, Twitter Banned for Pakistani Cricketers

Posted: 15 Dec 2010 09:59 AM PST

Facebook, Twitter Banned for Pakistani Cricketers is a post from: ProPakistani

Pakistan Cricket Board has strictly asked all its members of the national cricket team to not to use any social networking website, especially Facebook and Twitter.

The crackdown comes in the wake of Zulqarnain Haider’s recent Facebook updates when he went missing in Dubai during one-day series against South Africa.

He had updated his status on Facebook mentioning that he was facing some kind of pressure.

The board has added a clause in the contract for players, saying that no one can use Facebook or Twitter during the contracted period.

Pakistan manager Intikhab Alam confirmed the directive, but maintained the ban was part of a clause in the players’ contract with the board.

“There is a clause in their contracts which states clearly they can’t use these social network sites or discuss cricket issues while under contract,” Alam said.

“It is for their own good so that they don’t get entangled into controversies.”

He subsequently announced his retirement from international cricket which followed his central contract being suspended by the board.

For further reading: AFP

PTA Exposes its Inability to Count Actual Number of Cellular Subscribers in Pakistan

Posted: 14 Dec 2010 11:43 PM PST

PTA Exposes its Inability to Count Actual Number of Cellular Subscribers in Pakistan is a post from: ProPakistani

Man Sleeping at Computer 300x225 PTA Exposes its Inability to Count Actual Number of Cellular Subscribers in Pakistan PTA doesn't know a bit about the exact count of cellular subscribers in the country, claims a story produced in Dawn today.

Paper explains that declared figure of 100.1 million subscribers in the country is not correct as PTA doesn't maintain a count of in-active subscribers while millions of other subscribers carry multiple sims with them.

Let's have a look at selected excepts from Dawn's story

"Since a large number of subscribers have more than one SIM, their actual number in Pakistan is not more than 60 to 65 million," an official of a telecom operator said.

This is not a hidden fact now that actual subscribers are far lesser than the numbers quoted by PTA, by 40 percent as per estimates. This was first revealed by a report published by Daily Jang in 2008.

In a report produced by ProPakistani (in February 2010), it was further revealed that actual subscribers in Pakistan were 64 million as compared to 97.3 million declared subscribers by PTA.

Moreover, as a matter of fact, it is technically impossible to have 100 million subscribers in Pakistan with 79 million CNIC holders.

Dawn further writes:

According to a PTA spokesman, there are no international norms to record multiple SIMs being used by the users therefore the PTA records no such data. With regard to "inactive subscriber data", he says it does not record any such data.

He says 100.1 million subscribers (Sept 2010) are based on the actual data received from the cellular operators.

He further says since the implementation of active subscriber definition, the PTA believes all figures reported by the operators are based strictly on that.

Our commentary on such a response from PTA is as following:

PTA is either miscommunicating or they are ignorant of the fact that they can have an exact figure of actual subscribers. This is possible by running a simple DB (database) query on 668 records. It gonna tell them total number of CNICs (or the subscribers) registered with all the operators. (ask me in comments if anyone needs further explanation of this point)
If PTA isn't monitoring the "in-active subscribers" and is totally relying on cellular companies, one may wonder how good are the reports produced by operators. One may question the PTA's sluggishness and inability to counter-check the head count sent by operators.
If PTA isn't monitoring the cellular companies, public has a right to question the audit of license fee (millions of dollars) they are collecting.

Linkedin – Social Networking for Professionals

Posted: 14 Dec 2010 08:46 PM PST

Linkedin – Social Networking for Professionals is a post from: ProPakistani

Nowadays, it seems like everybody is talking about Social Networking and how such websites have changed our way of lives.

There are so many different websites and it seems like it has become mandatory to have a profile in everyone of them to stay current.

Even a person who does not use a computer knows what you are talking about when you say Facebook (FB if you are really 'In') or how Tweeting (Twitter, in case you still don't get it) is a must do.

Well it seems like I have also jumped on to the social networking bandwagon to introduce to you, something which does not have the glitz or glamour of FB, but it is definitely more focused and oriented towards professionals as well as students. I am talking about Linkedin (www.linkedin.com).

Linkedin is a website geared towards Professionals with the tagline 'Relationships matter', which provides a forum to share information, exchange ideas as well as opportunities.

It allows you to stay connected with other professionals in the industry, whether you know them or not. It tells you about people from your industry who you may know or from an industry you might like to get into. It provides a forum to find jobs and a community where prospective employers and candidates can get together.

It fosters building contacts and professional relationships and you are encouraged to update your profile with your resume'. You get to know about jobs in the industry and it also provides you the information about jobs based on your experience and well as your location.

It gives you information about your contacts and network, such as top locations, top industries and if you have a paid account, you can view complete profiles of different professionals and get better information about prospective jobs you might be interested in.

Another nice feature is how your peers as well as colleagues can write recommendations which will be available for viewing to prospective employers. You can join groups related to just about anything, whether you want to know more about new technology, whether you are looking for jobs in a specific industry, in a specific company or in general. You can also update your profile by adding your current work position, as well as certifications, patents publications and more. You can also directly join groups related to various companies as almost all multinationals have their groups on it (provided the moderator allows you permission to join).

If you are looking to move ahead in you careers, are looking for a job or if you are a student looking for a way to gain foothold or get to know about what is happening in the industry, this is a really good community to join. It might not be as interesting or as fun as FB, but it just might provide with that extra edge you need in your professional life.

PTA to Set Standards for Cellular QoS

Posted: 14 Dec 2010 08:15 PM PST

PTA to Set Standards for Cellular QoS is a post from: ProPakistani

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has compiled a draft to seek industry's input to standardize quality of service for cellular voice and data services.

PTA is aiming to regulate these standards with the name of "Cellular Mobile Network Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations, 2010", to ultimately introduce a mechanism for identifying the minimum quality of service standards and associated measurement, reporting and record keeping tasks for mobile companies.

According to the initial draft, it would be mandatory for all cellular companies to submit QoS compliance report to authority.

It would be necessary for all cellular companies to meet minimum Quality of Service KPIs and benchmarks.

Key Indicators for QoS Standards:

Network down-time for cellular companies should not exceed 1 percent mark, which is relatively high as compared to global standards.
Grade of service or (the probability that the end customer can access the mobile services
when requested while it is offered by display of the network indicator on the mobile Equipment), in any case should be 98 percent or higher.
Call Connection Time: Should be less than or equal to 5 seconds
Call Completion Ratio: Should be higher than 98 percent
Voice Quality: Under PESQ Algorithm (ITU-T P .862) mean opinion score should be greater than 3.
Accessibility of SMS Service: Greater than 99 percent
SMS Delivery Time: Less than 8 seconds