Being the largest telecommunication company, PTCL has always been determined to stay on top of emerging telecom trends and technologies. A trendsetter for other companies in Pakistan, PTCL is once again in the news with its new product ¬– Pakistan’s First Wi-Fi enabled USB Dongle – EVO Wingle, that connects five Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously at a speed of up to 9.3 Mbps.

Unlike PTCL’s Tenda Routers and Nitro Wi-Fi Cloud, EVO Wingle is a USB Wi-Fi device, which can get connected through any power source to create a Wi-Fi hotspot for internet sharing on all Wi-Fi enabled devices in the area.

But after introducing devices that do not require USB connection, why has PTCL introduced a USB enabled device? It doesn’t seem to offer anything different from Nitro Wi-fi Cloud other than going backward on technology where a user must have a USB power source like a Laptop or any external USB power source in order to use their EVO Wingle device. There is no improvement on speed as well because when multiple devices are connected to any dongle, the promised speed is never actually met.

The only difference PTCL states is that EVO Wingle is designed in a way that it is capable of detecting both EVO and Nitro networks of PTCL. It means that if you are in an area where Nitro 9.3 Mbps speed network is not available, the device will connect to EVO 3.1 Mbps speed network and allow you to surf the internet smoothly.

According to Executive Vice President (EVP) Wireless, Omer Khalid, “PTCL has specially taken this initiative so that our valued customers can work play and surf on the go”.

But EVO Wingle is not a novelty if Nitro Wi-fi can also provide the same benefits. In fact, Nitro may be a better option as it doesn’t need a USB power source. What if you’re in a public space and need to use the internet? Would you have to carry your laptop all around or look for an external USB power source? You’d rather carry your EVO or Nitro Wifi Cloud device and use your Internet a lot more conveniently on the go.

Whether you use it at home or outside, this device may have made a difference had it been introduced before Nitro – but definitely not after.

Unlike the Servis jingle where rhyming was at least catchy, the jingle for EVO Wingle is completely uninspiring. Specially the part ‘Jo Wingle karta hai, woh mingle karta hai, Aur jo mingle karta hai woh Wingle Wingle Wingle...’ makes Wingle sound like a space filler word that was used because they ran out of words to rhyme.

I use EVO Wi-fi Cloud device myself which claims to offer speed of up to 3.1 Mbps. Obviously, that never happens but it still works at a decent speed most of the time, except when I’m downloading or streaming from two or more devices simultaneously. At that point I’m sure even a dial-up network would work better.

The average internet connection speed in Pakistan in the fourth quarter of 2011 (Sept-Dec) stood at 741kbps, slightly lower than 763kbps recorded in the third quarter, according to Akamai’s quarterly report State of the Internet. Which is a shame as compared to the Global Internet Speed in the first quarter of 2012.

PTCL has been doing great for itself and doesn’t need such filler campaigns to keep it going. In fact if the company wants to remain on top of the telecom industry, it should look into improving internet connection speed in Pakistan when multiple devices are connected to a particular device. They seem to be aiming towards that goal but going back on improving speed on USB devices may not be the smartest way because Cloud devices are now not only becoming very common but are also more convenient to use outdoor.

Maybe the next step is a Cloud device with a steady 12.3 Mbps speed (at least), which you can charge in the car as well or maybe it comes with a portable charger (like the iPhone portable charger), so you don’t easily run out of battery on your device and can recharge when required, without having to worry about looking for a socket.

Sounds like a step forward?

Follow the Advertising Analysis series here.

 


The writer is a New Media Design Manager at Dawn.com

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