Yeah, Aktel is now offering 7.5% bonus for BDT 51,101 and 201. You may ask why 51 or 101 instead of 50 or 100? The answer is very simple, the bonus is for electronic recharge only. If you recharge from scratch card, you will not be able to enjoy it. Its an indication that Aktel wants its subs to move from scratch card recharge to electronic recharge. Quite naturally, question arises- WHY?
Well, the answer is very straight forward. Electronic recharge is much cheaper for the company. It ensures more margin for the company and more control over the distribution channel. That’s why Aktel is trying to move towards this new direction.
But Aktel may face challenge in the Chittagong and Noakhali region where it has the strongest presence because scratch card (especially BDT 20) is quite popular there. Scratch card allows a lot of flexibility (like can be stored for later use, can be taken anywhere etc.) for which it surely has a loyal customer base.
What is encouraging for Aktel is that Grameenphone and Banglalink has already done it, their maximum subs do their recharge by electronic means. So let’s hope Aktel will be able to achieve the same in short times.
Karsten Nohl, a research scientist at a Californian security research firm H4RDW4RE, and a member of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) in Germany, is behind the effort to crack the A5/1 encryption technology used by GSM, and he plans to release the keys publically on the Internet by the end of the year.
Every phone using GSM has its own secret key, which is recognized by the network. When a call is made the secret key is used to create a session key that is then used to encrypt the phone call. It is the session key that Nohl plans to crack.
Nohl has created an open-source program that will enable a peer-to-peer network of up to 80 computers to share the computing required to break the code. Since the files are distributed across the network, it will be virtually impossible to remove the code-breaking tool from the Internet. When the encryption code is cracked it will be compiled into a code book that could be used to decode any data sent to or from a GSM phone.
Computing time for the project is being speeded up by the use of components not usually found in a standard computer, such as the expensive Xilinx Virtex field-programmable gate arrays and Nvidia’s compute unified device architecture (CUDA) graphics cards. According to Nohl, graphics cards are faster than CPUs for certain applications, such as computing the A5/1 code.
The goal of the exercise, according to Nohl, is to highlight the vulnerability inherent in GSM technology and to encourage mobile phone operators still using the system to upgrade their digital phone system to 3G, which has better encryption, or to use the more advanced A5/3 encryption technology instead of A5/1.
GSM phone networks in the U.S. include AT&T and T-Mobile. Commercial tools that decrypt GSM communications have been available for some time, but they cost from $100,000 to $250,000. When Nohl’s project cracks the key and publishes the code book on the Internet, it will be possible for almost anyone to get the encryption key for any GSM call and eavesdrop on the call or read SMS messages.
Source: Click this Link
How Islamic Banking System missed the opportunity created by the Global financial crisis
Posted on: December 9, 2009
“When Western banking collapsed, one sector should have escaped unscathed: Islamic banking,” says Mohammad Saeed Rahman, chairman of a US-based think tank, the Institute for Halal Investing.
But from Mecca to Malaysia, the world’s Islamic bankers were paralysed and failed to take advantage of the opportunity.
And now Dubai’s debt problems have soured the sector’s image, with property developer Nakheel asking for the trading of some of its Islamic bonds to be suspended.
So what happened?
At that time, the world needed another hero. A way of doing business that was free from rampant speculation, free from excessive risk and was banking back-to-basics – taking deposits from savers and lending to borrowers for a profit.
Arising from the glittering new cities of the East, primarily Dubai and Singapore, was the champion of Islamic banking.
Faith in finance
“Technically, Islamic banks should have sidestepped the falling grand piano,” says the Institute for Halal Investing’s Mr Rahman.
“The industry was not allowed exposure to CDOs, derivative products and the kind of intra-financial counterparty risk that crippled the conventional banks.
“It couldn’t play the sub-prime mortgage game, was backed by real money in the form of petro-dollars and manufacturing export receipts. It was simple, straightforward banking.”
The two main principles of Islamic banking are an avoidance of interest and an avoidance of uncertainty.
Islamic economics is a well-documented system, practiced by the Prophet Mohammed, a merchant, and his companions. The core of the Islamic economic system is an avoidance of usury.
Islam is not anti-moneymaking. In fact, the Thatcherite dogma of self-reliance and entrepreneurship is championed in the Islamic sacred book, the Koran.
What is discouraged is making money from money.
Risk-sharing and trading is the central tenet of Islamic economics.
The financial institution goes into partnership with the borrower and both share from the profits of the venture. It is very similar in approach to private equity.
Principle and practice
The other prohibition is an avoidance of uncertainty or gambling. If Islamic economics had been at the centre of the global financial system, the type of speculation that has led to the emergence of bubbles and then runs on stock would not have occurred.
Finally, the need to have all lending fully covered by cash deposits, and the risk management that this would entail, would have never seen the emergence of sub-prime lending.
Conceivably, such a system, based on ethics and principles of fairness, could have created a “third way” between control-style and free-market economics.
However, principle is a long way from practice, and Islamic bankers are no more and no less greedy than conventional bankers.
The modern Islamic banking industry is very much in its infancy, with a history of less than 40 years.
But in an attempt to compete with the conventional finance industry – its fees, its bonuses – much of the modern Islamic finance industry has aped the practice of the conventional.
Sharia opportunities
Arguably, the modern Islamic finance industry and its cohorts of scholars, who give the official religious seal of appeal to the products of finance firms, have been set up to circumvent the principles of Sharia law.
Scholars and bankers have become more and more sophisticated in finding ways to get around the prohibition of interest and of uncertainty – and create a shadow of the conventional finance system.
“Both share the same material goals and adopt the same institutional structures, with the result that the products promoted by the Islamic finance industry are often indistinguishable from those of interest-based institutions,” says Tarek El Diwany, an analyst for London-based Sharia finance consultancy, Zest Advisory.
He explains that a serious and nimble response to these concerns is often hindered by a lack of intellectual honesty within the Islamic finance industry itself.
Platforms are rarely provided to scholars who wish to take one step back and question some of the fundamental concepts that are being applied.
Few questions are raised regarding the validity of Islamic debt financing, limited liability structures, speculative methods of market trading or the nature of the monetary system.
Such matters are given little attention in the headlong rush to copy interest-based methodologies.
Money trap
This has resulted in a number of embarrassing paradoxes.
For example, while some Islamic investment managers attempt to develop Sharia-compliant short-selling techniques, several Western authorities are banning the practice, on account of the instability that it causes.
The missed opportunity for Islamic finance is that in the “sunshine years” when all assets seemed to be heading northwards, the industry morphed into a soft version of the conventional industry and became vulnerable to the same systemic failures.
The Islamic banks and the Islamic bonds they issue will default, and are doing so as we speak.
The banks, and the governments that finance them, have fallen into the trap of creating money and then making money from it and will suffer from boom and bust.
For Islamic finance to step into the mainstream and offer a third way, there will have to be a reconsideration of the objectives, institutional frameworks and contractual methodologies of the modern Islamic banking and finance industry.
This effort must encompass the full range of technical and scholarly opinion, and it must have sincere political support.
Soberingly, “Christian” banking started off prohibiting usury and evolved into the Wall Street and City we know today. Islamic finance must try to avoid doing the same before the process becomes irreversible.
Flat tariff is gaining popularity among Bangladeshi Mobile Phone Operators
Posted on: November 6, 2009
First, it was Warid who introduced 89 paisa/minute call rate to any operator. Then in September 2008, Aktel introduced 68 paisa/minute call rate to any operator. Teletalk followed their footsteps by introducing 66 paisa/minute call rate in 2009. Now it is Banglalink’s turn to follow the other three operators who already have offered flat tariff to their subscribers. Today (6th November, 2009) Bannglalink just launched their 87 paisa/minute flat tariff plan.
Looks like its becoming a trend in the Bangladeshi market, to introduce flat call rate and allow the subscribers to call any operator’s number without worrying much about the differential charges. As more and more operators are adopting it we can safely assume that the financial impact of this tariff is quite positive. In fact, if we analyze the financials of the two operators- Banglalink & Aktel, we can easily see that AMPU of Aktel is lower than Banglalink but their ARPU is much higher. Yes, there might be some other factors but flat tariff is got to be a major factor behind Aktel’s higher ARPU.
As Banglalink has finally introduced flat tariff, it seems they have got the message and has acted accordingly. Question is when Grameenphone is gonna realize it?
- In: Bangladesh
- 1 Comment
Aktel is leading the way for Bangladeshi mobile operators to increase tariff. They were the first to raise the FnF tariff from 25 paisa per minute to 40 paisa per minute in 2008. Following their footsteps, Banglalink and Grameenphone increased their FnF tariff to 45 paisa and 49 paisa respectively. Now Aktel is active in another front, they have increased tariff of their NORMAL tariff plan.
Aktel has 3 different tariff plans for the subscribers which is flexible and can be changed twice within 15 days by sending SMS (charge applicable). Among the three, NORMAL tariff plan is the oldest one (the other 2 was introduced within the last 1 year). Most of the old Aktel subscribers (who bought their SIM before 2008) are subscribed to NORMAL plan. This is also true for the subscribers of Chittagong-Noakhali region where Aktel is holding a dominant position. Now subscribers of this tariff plan have to bear almost double call rate during the time slot of 4 PM to 12 AM.
For more, visit http://aktel.com/?module=176
Its KPI that matters……….(choice between Subscribers Market Share and Revenue Market Share
Posted on: October 30, 2009
There is Tk. 800 tax on every newly sold SIM in Bangladesh. By adding the production cost, import tax and distribution cost with it total cost becomes something around Tk. 1200 for every SIM. But still time and again Bangladeshi Mobile Operators are introducing new campaigns to sell their connection as low as Tk. 150. Which means a subsidy of more than Tk. 1000 for each SIM sold. Grameenphone did it, Banglalink is doing it and Aktel, Warid, Teletalk are doing it all the time- selling new connection way lower than their cost. But question arises, why they are doing it?
I am sure that there is no real business case behind it. There is only one thing that can explain it is the ‘KPI factor’. All the big bosses of Bangladeshi mobile companies surely have some KPI. And a major part of that KPI is related to achieving or maintaining certain market share. So when they see their market share dropping, they launch one or two new sales campaign and try to gain some ‘EASY’ subscribers. Of course, most of the customers acquired through this process are multiple SIM users. They buy new SIM at a lower rate just for the fun of it. After using the initial bonus (freebies) they keep their newly purchased SIM in the pocket (or drawyer) and wait for a CRM campaign.
Though the company suffers a huge financial loss, the bosses achieve the desired market share, after all its KPI that matters. I think it is the fault of the ‘KPI setters’ who don’t recognize that subscriber market share is no longer relevant in a market like Bangladesh. They should set their KPI based on REVENUE MARKET SHARE instead.
China Mobile is reportedly in talks with Norway’s Telenor concerning an acquisition of their Pakistani mobile network. Both companies are denying such development, yet sources told the local Dawn newspaper that negotiations were being held secretly at the group level.
According to some statistics, the combined customer base of China Mobile (NYSE: CHL)’s and Telenor’s Pakistani operations is around 26 million, representing a 28% of the market.
For the record, China Mobile entered the Pakistani market in 2007, when it paid $460 million to buy Paktel from Millicom International. Previously, they had tried to acquire Warid Telecom, another smaller operator in the country, but failed to reach an agreement on the price.
China Mobile’s Pakistan subsidiary is called Zong and with just under 6 million customers, it is the smallest of the 5 main operators in the country.
Source: Into Mobile
Huawei has announced that it recently has signed a Global Master Agreement with Telenor Group to supply Mobile Broadband Modems.
Under the agreement, Huawei will involve to deliver 1.2 million Mobile Broadband Modems in the coming 12 months for Telenor’s 13 operating companies in Europe, CIS and Asia, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia.
According to the report from consulting firm ABI Research, Huawei secured a substantial 55% of the global mobile broadband terminal market. By the end of February 2009, Huawei had shipped over 30 million mobile broadband units, serving 235 operators in 115 countries and providing them with customization solutions that match subscriber requirements.
Source: Huawei website
- In: Internet | Research
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I don’t often write about tech issues, but so much is being written about the Google Chrome OS announcement I thought I’d weigh in.
On the surface, the announcement of a Google operating system seems to many like a shot at rival Microsoft, an attack at MS’s core business. But those who have been following Google’s moves know that it’s more than that — it’s an (expected) evolution in Google’s long-term strategy.
Google is moving everything online, and I really believe this is the future of computing. The desktop model of computing — the Microsoft era — is coming to an end. It’ll take a few years, but it will happen.
The Old Model
For years, the OS has used the desktop analogy, with folders and files, all stored in a big file cabinet (your hard drive). And applications such as Word have run from the hard drive.
What this has meant is that, in order to insure against computer crashes (which are eventually inevitable), you’ve had to back up your files to a remote disk (another drive, a CD-ROM, etc.). It also has meant a headache when it comes to accessing your files and programs from multiple computers — you have to save and sync files all the time, and buy and install multiple copies of applications.
It’s also meant a lot of headaches when it comes to filing and finding your files, and sharing them with other people (this had to be done using floppy disks/CDs, or more recently, email attachments).
Finally, operating systems, trying to do everything, have become bloated and slow, taking up a lot of your computer’s processing power, memory and storage.
The New Model
Google’s model is based on connectivity to the Internet, a model that was unthinkable a decade ago and has only been really viable in the last few years as almost everyone has high-speed connections and wi-fi or mobile access.
Google has moved applications, and increasingly, our files, to the web (or cloud). It started with Gmail’s success — a fast, powerful online email app that beats desktop email apps hands down. It expanded with a suite of simple web apps: Google Calendar, Docs & Spreadsheets, Google Reader, Picasa for photos, eventually YouTube for video, Blogger for writing for the web, and more.
These apps are lightweight but powerful. They aren’t as feature rich as desktop apps, but here’s what many critics don’t understand: in today’s (and tomorrow’s) computing world, they don’t have to be.
While the business world has long used Microsoft Word to create rich documents full of formatting and charts, the increasingly mobile world doesn’t care about any of that. We send emails and text messages and tweets and messages on Facebook and forums and other social media — with no formatting at all. We do blog posts that have bold and italics and links and photos and videos and not much more in terms of formatting text.
We don’t need feature-bloated Microsoft Word anymore. Nor Excel, with its 2 million features, nor PowerPoint (who likes to watch slides?). Sure, there are still some great desktop apps that people use, for photo and video editing and much more … but the majority of us don’t need those. We need to communicate simply and quickly, without hassle.
Web apps don’t match up with desktop apps … but that’s a good thing for most of us who use the new computing model.
Web apps are lightweight and fast. They store all your files online, so you don’t need to worry about syncing them or carrying around CDs or flash drives, or backing up. You can share with anyone you like, or everyone, with a click.
This is what the computing world is becoming, and will be for many years. Google has driven these changes, and when it announced the Chrome browser last year, that was an obvious move to make the browser handle web apps better.
The Chrome OS is an obvious move to make computers bypass the old model of desktop apps and files and folders, and go straight to the web, web apps, and online files. Chrome OS will be lightweight and fast (like the Chrome browser), it will feature web apps and not much else, and it will be perfectly aligned with how more and more of us are using the web — with mobility, speed, sharing, and connecting in mind.
Why Google Music is the Next Logical Step
If you read the Google Chrome OS announcement carefully, you’ll see an interesting item:
“[People] want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files.”
This obviously means Google OS will store all its files online — then people don’t need to worry about backing up the files, and if they lose their computer, nothing will really be lost.
And that makes sense, considering that Google has moved almost all your files online if you use its web apps: emails, photos (in Picasa), videos (in YouTube), documents (Google Docs & Spreadsheets), even pdfs now.
Almost all of your files.
The average user has one other type of file, though: mp3s. Sure, I know there are many other types of files, but I’m only concerned with what most people use computers for these days — email, online reading and social stuff, video, photos, music. And Google has not moved music online yet.
There are already sites that do this, but they’re not Google. So either Google will buy one of the online sites (like it did with YouTube and Blogger and Writely, which became Google Docs), or it will create its own.
Your mp3s will be stored online, and you’ll be able to play them from anywhere. This will complete Google’s goal of keeping all your files online.
Concerns: Connectivity and Privacy
There are two main concerns that people have when cloud computing or web apps are brought up, so we should talk about them briefly:
1. What if you’re not connected to the cloud? You might lose your Internet connection and lose access to your files. This is not a concern for most of us, as we’re almost always connected, more and more each year, especially with data plans on mobile devices (ala the iPhone). However, Google is already addressing this issue with Google Gears and HTML5 — you’ll be able to access your files and use web apps even when offline.
2. Do I really want Google to have all my files and info? This is a valid privacy concern, and I don’t have an answer. My personal feeling is that I don’t have any data that I’m incredibly worried about losing or that might become public. I highly doubt Google would be interested in browsing through my files, as they’re not very interesting. And if Google uses my data to serve up better ads … what do I care? I don’t look at their ads anyway.
However, I understand the privacy concern. It may turn out to be an important issue, or it might just be something we learn to live with, as we have with many other privacy issues (government having access to our financial data, Microsoft getting info from our computers, etc.).
Update: More info on Chrome.
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Source: zenhabits
The implementation of a direct operator top-up strategy can bring double digit revenue gains and reduced costs, claims a study commissioned by electronic payments vendor, Vesta Corp. Given the size of the prepaid market in Western Europe, this can equate to hundreds of millions of Euros annually, adds the report. Direct operator top-up channels include all operator-managed top-up channels that rely on electronic transactions outside a retail environment, such as the operator’s website, IVR and handset applications.
The research indicates the significant advantages that direct operator prepaid top-up has over other existing top-up methods, including improved performance metrics, lower costs and improved CRM capabilities. In addition, direct handset top-up has the ability to remove the fragmentation and complexity impacting the take up of m-payment services and drive new revenue streams for operators.
The research has been conducted by independent telecom consultancy Northstream and is based on the feedback of wireless operators across Western Europe.
Chris Parsons, CMO of Vesta commented, “When prepaid direct top-up is executed properly it not only offers an opportunity to increase the ARPU of prepaid but also provides the foundation for operators to seamlessly offer a wide range of profitable mobile payment services from the same platform. Aside from prepaid debit reload, other services such as peer-to-peer transfer, international remittance and mobile commerce become far more readily accessible.”
According to the whitepaper, with overall growth in the prepaid market slowing, operators are looking at ways to reduce costs while increasing prepaid customer loyalty and revenues. Non-cash (credit/ debit card/ bank) payment penetration has grown significantly in Europe, and a staggering 91% of operators interviewed intend to drive top-up transactions from costly commission-based retail infrastructures to “virtual” non-cash top-up (NCTU) channels.
Aligned with this view, not only are operators exploring alternatives to retail top-up but 100% of those interviewed want to shift their non-cash payment mechanisms from a bank centric model to a direct operator model. Given this finding, it is somewhat surprising that less than 20% of the NCTU offerings analyzed in the research included handset-based top-up applications, even though top-up frequency using handset applications can be up to 80% higher than other channels. This increased frequency also results in an ARPU increase of 23%.
The main imperatives stated for adopting a direct top-up approach were avoiding zero credit service interruptions, increasing top-up frequency and improving customer experience with anytime, anywhere top-up availability via handsets, the web and IVR. However, the research also indicated the ability of direct top-up to enhance CRM capabilities, enabling operators to identify high value customers and cross-sell while customizing and optimizing user experience. Indeed, over 90% of operators interviewed highlighted the need to strengthen the way that top-up integrates with their online services and other operator-controlled channels.
Chris Parsons continued, “By adopting a direct top-up approach, operators will improve their prepaid performance indicators by reducing costs, improving prepaid customer loyalty and increasing revenues. Operators are struggling to build-out direct top-up channels given the reduction in their IT budgets but those that address these challenges early will reap significant benefits in the prepaid market and create a strong platform from which to launch further mobile financial services.”
Source: cellular news
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