Data Services on wireless (GSM) devices have started getting response from Pakistani consumers. Text Messages (SMSes) in particular have experienced tremendous growth in the recent months; when we look at number of text messages exchanged by Pakistani cellular users, it is clearly indicating the growth rate hitting as high as 30 percent mark.
Considering the only place where SMS messaging really works in the United States is on Fox’s American Idol, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) stated in their Quarterly report that Pakistanis exchanged 68.51 Million text messages per day during January-March 2008. A mind-blowing figure when you consider that there are an estimated 85 million cell phone users in the country. While there are many elements that may have caused the sudden growth spurt, the political situation of the country may have triggered the idea of SMS-based political campaigns during and after elections. Couple that with the exchanging news via SMS during the Emergency situation declared in Pakistan by the Musharraf government, and you’ll get a lot of Short Message traffic being generated.
The GSM mobile phone service providers space is becoming more competitive everyday. With China Mobile’s Zong launched into the market, the existing players in the market are forced to up their game. With the challenge still being how to increase the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), the Pakistani mobile user still struggles in the lower percentiles. Missed calls and Short Messaging still account for popular behavior on the prepaid networks. However companies are finally starting to roll out packages and deals that will enable better management of their network. With prepay accounts having GPRS and international roaming as a default add-on, the number of users that have the incentive to access the internet or upgrade their handsets to incorporate the solutions, is also an interesting correlation.
The Pakistani consumer is extremely price sensitive. Increasing ARPU will be more successful if phone companies continue to increase their range of services vertically as well as horizontally (read “give consumers more variety!).
