PSW Proposes Cap on Daily SMS Limit in Pakistan: ProPakistani

PSW Proposes Cap on Daily SMS Limit in Pakistan
Nokia Readying Linux Based OS For Low End Phones
ECP, PTA Working on Vote Verification Through SMS
Qubee Offers Rs. 500 Discount on New Activations

PSW Proposes Cap on Daily SMS Limit in Pakistan

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 06:06 AM PDT

The Pakistan Society Watch (PSW), in a statement, has demanded limits on sending text messages so that millions of subscribers receiving unwanted messages can get some relief.

"Millions of SPAM text messages are sent and received daily, however, authorities and companies seems little concerned about the its impact on society and trouble it causes to subscribers", said Syed Makhdoom Abbas, President of the PSW.

Cell phone owners receive dozens of unsolicited commercial messages, poetry, jokes, rumors, appeals etc. on daily basis due to the facility of sending thousands of text messages against a small payment.

Frequent campaigns by operators inviting consumers to spend more in the name of lucky draws and quizzes to win gold, cars and costly gifts etc. has added to the problem, said the statement.

Bulk SMS packages have helped many to start m-commerce business without realizing that people respond negatively to unwanted text messages; he said adding that ethics should not be compromised for profits.

Syed Makhdoom Abbas said that unlimited SMS packages should be discontinued and a limit of 50 messages per day should be imposed on every mobile phone subscriber.

This will not end spamming but it will reduce the number of fraudulent messages and inconvenience to 108,894,518 subscribers, majority of whom are victims of privacy violations, he observed.

He said that a large number of youth have addicted to SMS which is compromising their abilities; this should be a matter of concern for the authorities.

Nokia Readying Linux Based OS For Low End Phones

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 04:44 AM PDT

Reports have emerged that Nokia is developing a Linux based OS for feature phones called "Meltemi".

It seems to be aimed for the company’s lower end range of phones which would not be able to run even on the stripped down Tango version of the Windows Mobile platform. The OS is meant for emerging markets, which Nokia refers to as the "next billion", where smartphones still haven't gotten a solid foothold.

Low end phones currently account for more than 47 of the company’s sales, according to second quarter results and the OS update would seem to be a bid to maintain the company’s strong position in the emerging and lower end phone market.

Nokia famously abandoned support for its Symbian and MeeGo (which was being developed in collaboration with Intel) platforms and this project indicates that the company wants to develop their own OS instead of using a platform from another company.

There were already confirmed reports that Nokia was trying to bring a touch interface to its Series 40 phones and the Meltemi project seems to be a step in that direction. Symbian 40 is currently the OS Nokia uses on low end phones and Meltemi is going to aim to replace it completely and "do more" on similar cheap hardware.

Meltemi is not expected to compete with the like of Android, iOS and Windows Phone though.

Nokia has already chosen the Windows Mobile platform over Android for its higher end phones and they have stresses that it is the company’s main focus. But the lower end smartphone market is set to become the largest smartphone market segment and sales reports indicate that cheaper smartphones are selling much more than their higher costing counterparts.

The Meltemi project is being led by Mary McDowell, the handset maker’s executive vice president in charge of mobile phones claims the Wall Street Journal.

However a spokesman for Nokia declined to give a concrete comment on the company’s future products or technologies saying "our Mobile Phones team has a number of exciting projects in the works that will help connect the next billion consumers to the Internet."

ECP, PTA Working on Vote Verification Through SMS

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 02:57 AM PDT

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in collaboration with Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is working to streamline a mechanism for voters to make them able to verify their enrollment in voters' list through SMS.

An official of the ECP has confirmed that Election Commission is working on the idea, however main concern was to ensure security and privacy of all citizen.

For the purpose, PTA has been consulted to discuss pros and cons of the proposed service and after clearance from the PTA the system of vote confirmation through SMS would be implemented.

Once implemented, anyone will be able to confirm about their vote by just sending a message to a designated number through short messaging services (SMS).

The service would be initiated after the completion of ongoing door to door verification campaign.

Earlier, NADRA CNIC verification through SMS was made possible by PTA and NADRA.

Meanwhile according to unconfirmed reports, the ECP has signed an agreement with National database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to enable the citizens to register or confirm the existence of their name in a voters list by just sending a message.

Qubee Offers Rs. 500 Discount on New Activations

Posted: 02 Oct 2011 09:15 PM PDT

Read this post in Urdu

Qubee is offering a discount of Rs. 500 for all the connections that will be activated in October 2011, i.e. till October 31st, 2011.

This discount is on activation charges only – while the security deposit charges will remain the same (check below table for details).

This discount is applicable on all packages of Qubee but on standard indoor devices only. You will have to pay regular charges if you are going to go for Qubee Shuttle (USB Dongle).

Here are the detail of upfront charges for new Qubee connection in October:

Note:

Fair usage policy applies for unlimited packages
Refundable ‘Security Deposit’ payable at the time of sign up only
WiFi Routers are available at a one time (non-refundable) cost of Rs. 1000 only

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Monday, October 3, 2011