By Yasir Ameen
PAKISTAN HAS topped among the regional countries with the highest number of cellular phone subscribers having more than one connection of different operators.
According to a think tank report, the subscribers possessing multiple SIMs are estimated to mark 23 percent share in the overall stated base of the country.
The multiple SIM (Subscribers Identity Module) cards ownership has been witnessed a significant trend among Pakistani customers categorised under low income group or Bottom of Pyramid (BOP) as far as utilisation of telephony services is concerned, Lirneasia, a research centre of IT and Telecom, in its latest report 2009-10 was quoted.
Pakistan is followed by Philippine and Sir Lanka with 19 and 16 percent of the cellular phone users having more than one SIM, Lirneasia report said. Thailand, Bangladesh and India have stood at 13 percent, 10 percent and 9 percent respectively in the trend at BOP level. Pakistan has the highest mobile penetration in region with 64.2 percent following India and Sir Lanka with 59.6 percent and 35 percent by October 2010.
The finding reflected the number of mobile phone users carrying multiple SIMs cards have been estimated to increase more than 22.8 million in the overall base of 99.18 million by June 2010.
As per latest statistics available, the number of subscribers carrying multiple SIMs in their use has increased to 23 million in the base of 100.7 million by October 2010. Hence, the actual number of subscribers is not more than 77 million according to the results of think tank survey report.
Telecom analysts said the numbers of subscribers with dual or multiple SIMs could be exceeded from the estimated figures if users with middle income group are included in the survey. Therefore, the number of overall individuals with SIM cards is much lower with number of total connections reported by operators in Pakistan—Mobilink, Telenor, Ufone, Warid, Zong and SCO.
Multiple SIMs Factors
Subscribers’ use multiple SIMs to avail the best offers of the cellular operators in terms of services tariff, network quality and free hours on-net call packages, which is specified for limited numbers normally called as Friend and Family numbers or in other words Value Added Services.
Majority of the customers utilize one operator’s services as their prime network whereas they own SIMs of other networks to enjoy tariff of different operators.
For instance, Rehan Ahmed a youngster owns three SIMs of Mobilink, Zong and Telenor and he uses these SIMS while talking with friends having same operators’ network to enjoy long hours call packages. Secondly, Ahmed Sayyed a sales executive of a local company who communicates frequently with its colleagues possess two SIMs of Warid and Ufone because he needs to keep it for avoiding signal interruption snags in different areas of his city, think tank report reveals.
Customers also welcome operators frequent free-minute offers to activate their SIMs before 90 days. They get prize or bonus airtime and SMS to get their SIMs active several times on the announcement of respective operators. The cellular operators are reluctant to lose their inactive subscribers’ base in addition to disclose their actual base to the Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA).
Thanks to regulators’ policy of keeping 10 SIMs of each five operators and thanks to operators for low rates of SIM cards. Besides Chinese made handsets, branded companies also offer dual-SIM connections technology in single handset to facilitate customers’ need in the prevailing trend.
Tele-density Issue
Cellular phone density is the indicator of the mobile phone services penetration in any country, however, number of connections or SIMs are taken into consideration rather than subscribers or individual having cell phone service.
Therefore it is useless to question the cellular tele-density of the country, standing at 60 percent plus in Pakistan. There are many countries with more than 100 percent mobile phone penetration means the number of SIMs or connection have been exceeded with number of people in the country. In countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Germany have more than 200%, 150% and 140 % tele-density respectively. The question is not fit that the number of mobile phone connections are more than the number of CNIC in Pakistan, which is currently reported at 82.2 million and mandatory to activate SIMs, there are millions of subscribers under eighteen years bracket, who got their connections on their relatives name.
Despite all these, the issue of unregistered and unused SIMs are at large in the country and reported in overall base as a matter of fact operators are reluctant to update their database of active users, which will reveal definitely the real picture of the cellular phone subscribers’ base of Pakistan.
http://www.technologytimes.pk/mag/2011/jan11/issue01/pakistan_tops_with_highest.php
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