SMS Rates Play Decisive Role in Operator Selection for Customers: Polls Concluded

We asked our website visitors about the different services offered by mobile operators in Pakistan. During last two weeks we asked about the following preferences from our valuable visitors.

During first week Survey Question was:

What matters the most for you, regarding cellular tariff?

Options were:

  • SMS Bundles
  • On Net Rates
  • Other Network Rates
  • Night Packages
  • Hourly Day Packages
  • Unlimited GPRS

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Survey Analysis:

39% people opted for SMS bundles and give maximum weight to SMS bundle rates in order to select their cellular company.

This is exactly the proof of rise in SMS packages, which are existing in the market to cater different customer needs by offering different packages for different segment of the customers. Maximum participants have shown their concerns in tariff regarding SMS packages, though SMS is maximum revenue generating segment (in VAS) after CRBT facility for any mobile operator.

25% participants have shown concerns for other network calling rates, this is indeed still opportunity in the market for other mobile network segment of the market and unforuntnately, this segment has not got that much attention except couple of 30 second tweaking offers by mobile operators.

Well, this is common image available in the market that trend of getting mobile is becoming an important stuff for professionals. 18% participants showed concerns for unlimited GPRS / EDGE packages tariff, which is quite obvious that DSL broadband and Evdo has become bit opportunistic than these GPRS / EDGE packages especially when speed matters. But again, in this segment of the mobile market, there is less investment observed in last couple of years , I think because of expect 3G roll out in the market.

While for other options 7% showed concern for night packages, this percentage gives the proof that Pakistani subscriber is satisfied with night packages they do have with them, especially when it comes to 5+tax / Per hour packages. Which is benchmark offer for lot of other operators in the world, this is also considered some times that night packages also provide strong base to company revenues.

Hourly day packages and On net packages tariff were opted with 5% and 6% respectively. As far as ON net packages are well equipped with FNF rates and gives you maximum opportunity to spend AIR time on the same network and beneficiary for mobile operators as well. While Hourly day packages are also quite well offered by mobile operators in the Pakistani mobile market and these trends prove the statement that only minor amount of customers is concern about tariffs of these packages.

When we saw that SMS packages are so much of people’s concern, we though of evaluating how much SMS service a common person use in Pakistan.

Thus we asked following question in second week of July on our website from visitors.

How Many SMS do you Send Daily?

And response options were

  • Less than 10
  • Less than 30
  • Less than 100
  • Less than 500
  • More than 500

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Survey Analysis

Quite interesting that Less than 100 and Less than 500 got equal percentage i.e. 22% participants in this survey send less than 100 or greater than 100 but less than 500 SMS daily. I know my most of the friends who always try to subscribe 100 or 500 SMS packages offered by any mobile operator in the Pakistan. When I ask question to them for this reason, they have simple answer, we can live with 100 SMS only for forwarding as writing an SMS is weird thing while we have such low calls offers from every mobile operator.

We also cannot ignore the facts that when most of the time people like to SMS, this could be as following:

  1. To forward a SMS—Forward Chain SMS messages
  2. To SMS on other mobile operator – to avoid calling on other mobile network
  3. To pass any other expression while avoiding any direct voice talk :P

Usually , you will only see some teens playing with text messages while people greater than 25 years age prefer to call instead of generating an SMS and putting their effort in writing that SMS by using weird keypads. What about those people, who even don’t know how to write an SMS? Even they don’t bother about generating an SMS to recipients. So major contributor this segment of market are teenagers and in some exceptions gals and guyz other than teenagers as well.

The most feasible offers for Teenagers are 100 SMS for Rs. 7+tax or 500 SMS for Rs.25+tax, as they recharge their balances most of the time with Loads available at retailer stores, so the most convenient way to get an SMS facility all the time even not having balance is this load of Rs. 10 and get 100 SMS for 1 week or 2 weeks to utilize your important expressions via this medium.

24% participants send only 10 SMS daily. Which may only include forward messages or some important replies like ok, I will do it, yes, no etc…not more than that. Don’t get surprised with this percentage, as Pakistan is most benchmarking country for any telecom market all over the world in voice and text rates offers and especially in voice rates offers. Because, Pakistani mobile operators customized the market in a way customers want and lot more to come in future regarding market customized offers.

Conclusion:

We may conclude that, SMS bundles offering 100 SMS and 500 SMS for week or month so are the best offers that we have in Pakistan and no doubt we could also figure out that customers are always so conscious about the rates of these SMS bundle tariffs.

This is the reason that recently, most of mobile operators started offering daily based SMS packages, packages which have only one day expiry and offering 100 SMS a day to any user. There could be possibility that unlimited GPRS / EDGE segment of the market will remain the static or somehow little bit changes will be observed like offering in bundle packages. But regarding GPRS / EDGE usage the core focus is towards investment in 3G and providing the best 3.5 Mbps connections on the mobile device while on the go.

Special Thanks to all those who participated in ProPakistani polls, without you such researches are impossible.

Tech and telecom reporter for over 15 years


  • I think Telenor should reduce their internet rates and introduce unlimited internet package for internet. but this should be affordable, (not like the 20 paisa call offer)

    03459711997

  • I lv telenor because it provide the most best and cheap rates talkshawk 63paisa per 30 sec and they they have edge on 2.7G technology al other r 2.5G so thire gprs is also the best

  • All rates are almost good and affordable but EGDE / GPRS should reduce more as they are still very coastly also not offered by all operators. Pakistani operator should pay attention to quality as the lower rates will not have any attraction untill the services sucks.

  • Excellent survey Amir bhai,
    Keep up the good work
    hope it would be CTRL+C & CTRL+V into some newspaper etc:p, and it’s really good if it’s published:)

  • Do this survey represents general subscriber’s preferences and just a small segment of internet savy users?

  • well telenor sucks no doubt but djuice is great , coz its sms packages are better than ufone , i mean the unlimited one :)

  • One of the resons for sending less than 10 SMS per day (people like me) would be more affordable GPRS/EDGE and DSL etc.

    When I can tweet and post a message on Facebook or even email, why would I text someone instead?

    Anyways a really good post. Something I love seeing on ProPakistani.


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