Day by day new companies are entering the market with wireless internet technology. This area has potential for growth and has even affected the DSL business as the cost of DSL is high and profit margins are very low. On the other hand, the operational cost of wireless technology is less. The DSL sales of companies like Micronet Broadband inIslamabadandRawalpindi, who have been successful in capturing the internet market of twin cities, are declining due to the wireless technology of their competitors. The price of each DSL internet connection for a single consumer is around Rs. 800 to Rs.1500 per month. The company also has to bear around Rs. 700 to Rs. 800 fixed operational cost per customer. The profit margins therefore are very less as compared to wireless technology.
Initially, there were Dial Up companies after which DSL entered the market but now wireless technology is dominating the market share. Will there be any new upcoming technology that is more reliable and durable? The answer is yes. Fiber Optic is a technology which is long lasting, durable and provides more speed than any other technology to date. There is very less or no fixed operational cost involved in day to day operations except for the initial investment.
Fiber Optic is better than wireless as it is reliable and there is no down time (the instance when the internet connection slows down). Furthermore, the service cannot be affected by rain or storm unlike wireless technology. It is difficult to build a physical line infrastructure of fiber optic as compared to wireless infrastructure but Nayatel has been successfully doing it without having any major affiliation with any other company. This was a capital intensive business in which the project was based on the same model which is being used in the western countries.
Physical wire line infrastructure is an important factor in a country’s economy as compared to wireless infrastructure. It can uplift the country’s economy and also help in transferring of data, high bandwidth, video conferencing, good quality TV and a large number of TV channels etc.
Wireless is only feasible to home customers who require download speed of only 1 or 2 MB. Wireless companies provide speed based on shared media. If there are 20 users in a certain locality then all these users are connected to 1 base unit and the 2 MB will be shared among all the users, in which contention ratios come in (a technique used to distribute the band width).
In fiber optics however, Committed Information Ratio (CIR) is provided to customers which is only used by a single user. It is a reliable service in which high definition television service can be provided, streaming has already been introduced and crystal clear voice quality solutions are also offered to the consumers.
Spreading the fiber optic is a huge task but after the completion of this task the company can easily grow in that particular region. People will ultimately shift to this technology because with the passage of time they will become more quality conscious. Once the consumer has experienced the fiber optic service, he or she would not want to use any other technology. This is why Nayatal subscribers are constantly increasing.
The only advantage wireless has over fiber optic is that wireless connections are instantly given to the customer. Fiber optic takes approximately 7 days but once the connection is given, the services are unmatchable. The consumer can take advantage of high definition streaming which is not possible in wireless technology as it requires a bandwidth intensive connection.
There are many companies which are providing fiber optic services to the corporate sector but Nayatel is the only service which is also available in the residential areas. Even inSouth East Asia, Nayatel is the only company providing ‘fiber to the home’ technology by covering all streets of residential areas. It is the same kind of service which people are getting in America.
The discounted packages of Nayatel have been helpful in shifting the DSL customers to fiber optic technology. Nayatel has more than 6000 subscribers inIslamabadandRawalpindi. Worldcall is also offering fiber optic service in Karachi but the model they are following is that the last mile is covered through coaxial cables but it affects the quality as compared to Nayatel which is offering fiber optic at the door step of every house.
More than 85% ofIslamabadhas been covered by Nayatel. It is expanding at a slower pace but is growing gradually. They have introduced cheap packages for customers but they are still higher than wireless internet because fiber optic is a state of the art technology. There are no limits of band width and a customer can even get 100 MB download speed. The after sale service of Nayatel is also unmatchable.
DSL technology will remain in the market for another few years but in the long run, only wireless and fiber optic technology will have the market share and after some time, fiber optic will be only alternative remaining in the market.
The Giant
PTCL is giving a tough time to all the players including various wireless competitors in the internet market as it has a network which is of high quality. DSL companies will ultimately vanish from the market after a few years because PTCL always has an edge of its wired network country wide. The huge workforce, coverage area, workforce and investment of PTCL are factors which are threatening to every single company in the market.
