KARACHI, July 20: The benefits of market economy through healthy competition have started trickling down to the common man in several sectors, and the telecommunication sector is one where the cost of various services is constantly declining and, as a result, users are getting services on cheaper rates. An official of a major company in the telecommunication sector, while talking to the APP, said though there was no even playing field for various players within the telecommunication sector, there was still a tough competition going on.

It would become tougher, he said, as more players enter the market forcing basic changes to be brought about and make money through economy of scale instead of skimming the market.

He said the calling card business was loosing fascination and charm with which these had been launched in the beginning since most of the telecom service providers were offering long distance and international calling services at competitive rates as package and value added deals on their own networks.

Responding to a query, he said, the first wireless phone working on the WLL was offering 99 paisas per minute as charges on nationwide and Rs4.99 per minute for international calls.

Call charges within the country on the same net was already lowest at 40 paisas per minute, he said, adding that it would force others to bring down their rates to the same level.

When asked if the said company had any hidden costs, he said the long distance and international (LDI) and wireless local loop (WLL) licenses had made it possible to offer such rates and make money from a broader clientele.

Substantiating his statement, he said various players in the telecom sector were now focusing on widening their network so they could catch the leftover or the dry market.

One such company, he said had planned to have 200,000 public call offices (PCO) by the end of the year at competitive rates, adding it would be a final nail in the coffin for calling card companies. Eventually, the PTCL would also have to reduce its calling rates, he observed.

He said there was tremendous demand for new business and residential telephone services in many developing countries.

More operators were looking to wireless technologies to rapidly provide thousands of new subscribers with high-quality telephone service at a reasonable price.

Furthermore, new service providers could quickly deploy non-traditional WLL solutions to rapidly meet the community’s telephone needs.

He said advanced technology had seriously challenged the monopoly of the state-owned entity, which was now entering the private sector and would be made to work according to market forces and competition.

The arrival of the WLL in the country was playing an important role in the country’s social and economic development.

The WLL-based phones, he explained, eliminated the need to put in place expensive copper wires and, therefore, could be installed in any locality.

In fact, some analysts were of the view that the WLL was the ideal alternate to fixed line telephones.—APP