Zong Evaluating FTTH Network

[fpga123]

So a reliable source has quoted that Zong is currently officially evaluating and preparing for a FTTH deployment in all the major cities. They will deploy in all high ROI areas first and will directly compete with any and all the service providers.

Finally more competition is on the horizon. Perhaps a giant like CMPak can risk direct competition with Nayatel or StormFiber. When a giant like TES has proven to be a scared cat...

Source: Flatmate in Planning and Alternate Sales Channels Development

 

[shaheerk]

So a reliable source has quoted that Zong is currently officially evaluating and preparing for a FTTH deployment in all the major cities. They will deploy in all high ROI areas first and will directly compete with any and all the service providers.

Finally more competition is on the horizon. Perhaps a giant like CMPak can risk direct competition with Nayatel or StormFiber. When a giant like TES has proven to be a scared cat...

Source: Flatmate in Planning and Alternate Sales Channels Development

Imagine. If they do, then they'd probably be the only other alternative to PTCL (assuming they offer TV services too) in terms of being triple play:

Telephony, internet and television.

There's been some rumor for quite a long while that Mobilink is eyeing Nayatel, and that due diligence has been ongoing (and judging Mobilink's bureaucracy, the DD process will probably finish by the year 3000).

More competition. That's good.

But high ROI? I wonder if Bahria Town comes in that, since all the deep pocketed guys tend to live there. Or in Islamabad. Or Westridge. Or Chaklala.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[murtaza12]

Imagine. If they do, then they'd probably be the only other alternative to PTCL (assuming they offer TV services too) in terms of being triple play:

Telephony, internet and television.

There's been some rumor for quite a long while that Mobilink is eyeing Nayatel, and that due diligence has been ongoing (and judging Mobilink's bureaucracy, the DD process will probably finish by the year 3000).

More competition. That's good.

But high ROI? I wonder if Bahria Town comes in that, since all the deep pocketed guys tend to live there. Or in Islamabad. Or Westridge. Or Chaklala.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Would Zong FTTH be as reliable as their 4G? HAHA sorry

Too early to say where they'll start deploying, but it depends on their packages.

 

[imadsani]

I'm good if it's more like their data network instead of the voice. Voice on Zong is horrible though Warid/Jazz has gone down the shitter as well these days.

 

[frac]

Are they gonna pull a Nayatel and offer capped packages?

 

[shaheerk]

I'm good if it's more like their data network instead of the voice. Voice on Zong is horrible though Warid/Jazz has gone down the shitter as well these days.

Voice on Zong never was an issue with me (in Lahore and in Islamabad).

Voice on Telenor, at least in Islamabad, is another sad story. So is their data.

Zong 4G isn't as consistent as Mobilink's... So... I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing. Lol

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[imadsani]

Voice on Zong never was an issue with me (in Lahore and in Islamabad).

Voice has been horrible for me on ZONG, people can never get through to me on the first try. It's been like this across 3 phones so it's not the phone at fault.

 

[shaheerk]

Voice has been horrible for me on ZONG, people can never get through to me on the first try. It's been like this across 3 phones so it's not the phone at fault.

Which city?

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[imadsani]

Lahore: Model Town + DHA

 

[golabucha]

In my experience 4g is shit as compared to broadband .even burma has better 4g spectrum then what Pakistan has

 

[devnull]

FTTH would be a waste of time and money for Zong. Wireless internet has won out in Pakistan. Our cellcos have millions of internet users each. All the wired ISPs put together barely register on the map. The only people who care about FTTH are the tiny tiny percentage of users who are heavy downloaders. For the vast majority the volume limited packages offered by the cellcos are more than enough.

 

[frac]

FTTH would be a waste of time and money for Zong. Wireless internet has won out in Pakistan. Our cellcos have millions of internet users each. All the wired ISPs put together barely register on the map. The only people who care about FTTH are the tiny tiny percentage of users who are heavy downloaders. For the vast majority the volume limited packages offered by the cellcos are more than enough.

You're correct. Doesn't make sense from a business standpoint.
Or perhaps maybe good wired internet can finally make a difference?

 

[devnull]

On second thought there are two reasons I can think of for zong to do this:

• They want to hedge their bets. Right now PTA charges a lot for wireless spectrum. If Zong had a wired network that could reach its most lucrative clients then that opens up additional options for it when its time to renew it's licenses. Maybe it can negotiate the price down a little?
• They see that streaming video will require more bandwidth than wireless can provide so they want to build out an FTTH network for that. So it's for future growth.

The problem is getting right of way is quite hard in Pakistan. You have to pay hefty bribes and deal with all sorts of bureaucratic bullshit. That's actually another reason PTA can charge so much for wireless spectrum. No need to get right of way with wireless.

 

[fpga123]

Well all of you are wrong on the why part. It is much larger than what us consumers can think of. What they want is an integrated experience for their consumers. Bluntly they want to make a walled garden of their own, or in better words, an ecosystem, comprising of Mobile, TV and Internet. Also they will be in a better position to cooperate with other Chinese companies coming to Pakistan.

A giant like that does not participate in a scheme this big, just for kicks ya know. The benefits are not always apparent and they have done extensive market studies already. Bribes and lobbying is nothing new for Chinese companies, also when with all the CPEC hoopla going on.

 

[devnull]

5G may make FTTH obsolete:

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/11/20/5g_can_kill_off_cable_and_dsl/

 

[frac]

Well all of you are wrong on the why part. It is much larger than what us consumers can think of. What they want is an integrated experience for their consumers. Bluntly they want to make a walled garden of their own, or in better words, an ecosystem, comprising of Mobile, TV and Internet. Also they will be in a better position to cooperate with other Chinese companies coming to Pakistan.

A giant like that does not participate in a scheme this big, just for kicks ya know. The benefits are not always apparent and they have done extensive market studies already. Bribes and lobbying is nothing new for Chinese companies, also when with all the CPEC hoopla going on.

Wouldn't be surprised if this is China's way to keep tabs on the Pakistani internet. Don't mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but our Chinese overlords aren't exactly working in our best interest.

 

[iMirXa]

In my experience 4g is shit as compared to broadband .even burma has better 4g spectrum then what Pakistan has

Well said couldn't have said it better.

- - - Updated - - -

In my experience 4g is shit as compared to broadband .even burma has better 4g spectrum then what Pakistan has

Well said couldn't have said it better.

 

[mianabid]

5G may make FTTH obsolete:

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/11/20/5g_can_kill_off_cable_and_dsl/

wireless internet is just peanut and requires another 50 years to compete with wired internet

if wireless would have been capable of carry burden companies might have offered unlimited internet

 

[shaheerk]

wireless internet is just peanut and requires another 50 years to compete with wired internet

if wireless would have been capable of carry burden companies might have offered unlimited internet

Besides, there are advocacy groups that are against wireless antennas.

Both wired and wireless have prod and cons. But keep in mind wired will always dominate (we have undersea cables for a reason, not undersea wifi access points).

5G will be beneficial to those spots where FTTH hasn't permeated. But where it has, it may not help.

And wireless infrastructure isn't exactly cheap (why are wireless plans more expensive than wired plans?)

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[devnull]

@mianabid
@shaheerk

Wireless internet users in Pakistan number in the tens of millions while wired internet users are less than 2 million total across all wired ISPs. So wireless has won hands down for last mile connectivity because the most efficient sector in Pakistan is the cellco one and once roadblocks were removed (spectrum was auctioned) they quickly onboarded a lot of users. Here are the stats from PTA's site: https://www.pta.gov.pk/en/telecom-indicators . So basically the broadband story in Pakistan is one of the dark ages pre spectrum auction i.e. 2013 and earlier when total broadband subscribers in the entire country were less than 2 million and then the enlightenment age after when tens of millions of users get access. It is also the story of the benefit of free market competition in the form of the hyper competitive cellco sector and of the ills of government mandated monopolies which is what PTCL enjoys in the fixed line sector. Basically that one company held the country back for decades.