china, mobile, privacy, phone, cellphone

I've recently blogged about Singapore, Vietnam and China and their attempts to limit the usage of the internet in young people, and this week China has stepped its efforts up a notch by introducing regulations which require the submission of ID in order to purchase an internet account or mobile phone SIM.

From the Wall Street Journal:

The measure went into effect Wednesday, with customer-service representatives at mobile operators China Mobile Ltd., China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. and China Telecom Corp. telling customers that new users would need to provide proof of their identity when signing up for new phone numbers. State media said all existing users will eventually need to register as well.

Being China, the move throws up considerable personal freedom and privacy issues as the article discusses:

The government says that anonymity enables rampant spam and telecom fraud, which are indeed pervasive problems in China. But the anonymity has also enabled people to share politically sensitive information—from text-message jokes poking fun at top leaders to photographs of public demonstrations—freedoms not available Chinese enjoyed before cellphones the advent of cellphones' arrival.

China now has more than 814 million mobile subscriber accounts—far more than any other country—and adds an average of more than five million a month. For many Chinese users, cellphones are a key means of expression, communication and getting news.

Given China's record of hacking into the emails accounts of anti-government movements the cause for concern is a very valid one. With Twitter and Facebook amongst the many sites banned in the country, mobile users (12 percent of whom are reported to access the web via their handset) face the potential of further clamp downs and a significant loss in privacy.

Only time will tell how the move affects the country beyond the initial promise of reduced fraud.

			change

Posting on this blog has been light of late for a fairly significant reason.

I've taken a new job as a Bangkok-based in-house social media consultant with travel technology firm Amadeus.

Although I am no longer writing for a living, it remains business as usual for this blog with no change in focus while posting frequency will return to its usual levels over the next week or so.

			smartphone, Asia, mobile phone, features

Strategy Analytics has published details of its data on low cost phones in emerging markets with a report on the market in the Philippines.

Below is an interesting excerpt from the press release issued yesterday:

With household incomes of $200 a month or less, these consumers fall well below the median for metropolitan Manila. “They obviously do not have a lot of money to spare,” notes Tom Elliott, Director of EMCS and author of the study. “But if they want an international brand or a phone with a camera to take pictures of their children, they will find a way to get one.” Buying second-hand phones or using informal installment payment plans are two reported ways to bring phone costs down to an acceptable level.

“Low income consumers in developing countries may not be good candidates for smartphones, but it would be a mistake to think that they are not prospects for ‘affordable luxury’ features like MP3 players and megapixel cameras,” according to Kevin Nolan, Vice President of the Strategy Analytics User Experience Practice, who advised on this research.

These reasons are just some of the factors behind the prediction that smartphones will account for more than half of new devices sold by 2015.

While it is true to say these statistics are distorted by the different types of markets in APAC - ranging from advanced (eg Australia, Japan) to advancing (eg China, Indonesia) and less advanced (e.g. Thailand) - the increase in popularity of smartphones has seen 'luxury features' become almost standard on all phones in Asia.

So while a BlackBerry or iPhone may be out of a price-range, there are cheaper devices offering camera or mobile internet usage, for example.

Android, as a customisable mobile operating system, is also tipped to revolutionise the market and enable genuinely budget smartphones. Take for example rumours of the MediaTek $100 Android-based smartphone in China, which is heralded as a sign of things to come in the country and across the Asian region as a whole.

And that isn't even taking into account flexible payment plans designed to allow consumers seeking a 'feature rich' device on a more modest budget.

Asia's mobile phone landscape is set to become more sophisticated, both in ordinary devices and smartphone.

Via eathtimes.org

		1	social media thailand, digital media, job, social media manager

Social media openings for non-Thais don't arise every day so this Social Media Manager vacancy at Syndacast, a APAC-based search and social media company, is worth consideration for anyone looking for an opportunity in digital in Bangkok.

Information about the position and candidate requirements is below, full details of how to apply can be found over at jobsdb.com.

Social Media Manager

The ideal person must be energetic, creative, an excellent writer and internet-savvy; immersed in what it means to “live life online”. Those with daily use of twitter, blogs, message boards and social networks are preferred. We would also prefer those who are active within the Social Media community, readers of Mashable and ReadWriteWeb etc.

This person is a strong collaborator and team player that can function in a high pressure environment and is also able to take full responsibility for executing and managing the full array of Social media channels.

Responsibilities:

• Plan and excute Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare campaigns and channels for client marketing campaigns, including page concept and function and content

• Maintain up to date knowledge resources on all new and developing Social media channels and trends

• Lead the team to spark excitement and conversation with consumers surrounding our client’s objectives

• Lead the team to pitch bloggers and other key thought-leaders

• Build Strategies and proposals for implementing effective Social media campaigns across a wide array of top tier clients

• Deliver on time on budget social campaigns which surpass expected performance

• Be a team player

Requirements:

• 3-4 years online marketing experience with a strong focus on Web 2.0 technologies

• Expert in Social Media channels with experience setting up and managing Hi5, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter accounts as well as other channels

• Must be and enthusiastic and avid social media junky

• Ability to generate ideas and work within minimal guidance

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills

• Solid project management skills preferred

• Effective people management skills

• Fluency in English

• Excellent Writer

• Any nationality will be considered

Disclosure: I'm not affiliated to Syndacast in any way, although I did formerly work with the company on a freelance basis.

			AIS, DTAC, True, 3G in Thailand

The confirmation of telcos bidding for 3G licenses in Thailand threw up no surprises with the 'big three' AIS, DTAC and True - all of which are 2G license holders - submitting paperwork in advance of the September 20 planned auction.

Despite much talk of international interest, the auctions will not be contested by any new entrants which is likely to keep bids low, so says the Bangkok Post:

The absence of an international bidder is likely to ensure the bidding will be conservative and winning bids lower than expected.

According to Reuters another, as yet unnamed, applicant lodged a bid which was subsequently rejected by the National Telecommunications Committee (NTC):

Thailand's telecoms regulator said on Monday it had rejected an application from one bidder to join an auction for third-generation mobile licences, leaving only the top three telecoms operators in the running.

"There are four companies submitting applications today. After preliminary examination, three bidders have complete documents to join the auction," Natee Sukonrat, a member of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), told reporters.

While a further news article reveals another Thai teclco, Samart, changed its mind over bidding and will instead plan a MVNO offering:

"We chose the full MVNO plan over the 3G auction by considering the value of investment, risk and future opportunity," Chief Executive Watchai Vilailuck said in a statement.

The line-up is of little surprise, but it will be interesting to see the identity of the fourth applicant whose bid was rejected at the preliminary stage.

The real market competition is expected to come in the form of MVNOs, as Samart is planning, who will rent 'spare' 3G spectrum (space) from the telecoms companies that are awarded it, negating the hefty financial outlay and risk whilst allowing them to be competitive and flexible with their offerings.

Markets like the UK - despite being less prepay-centric - are a barometer for Thailand, with the introduction of MVNOs triggering additional market competition in terms of service and value for money too. With number portability likely to be in place too, the average Thai mobile consumer will enjoy considerably more choice and freedom than is currently in the market today.

			number portability, mobile, thailand

The introduction of number portability (mobile number portability - MNP) for mobile phones in Thailand has been delayed and "will take three to four months before MNP will be officially available" according to Wireless Federation (WF).

The National Telecom Committee (NTC) had set September 1 as the timeline for introducing the feature to the Thai marketplace, which would provide greater consumer choice and competition between operators (as blogged here), however it has been missed as none of the Thai operators have begun testing the feature.

From the WF post:

The [Thai] operators have been warned by NTC that they will be fined per day for failing to meet the official deadline to begin offering MNP services to customers.

The NTC has been informed that the mobile phone operators will conduct a test for the MNP system in September. Many scenarios will be used to test the system, and it will take three to four months before MNP will be officially available

Let's hope this feature is not as delayed and stalled as the 3G process - albeit for very different reasons.

While operators may fear find their churn (rate of customers lost) increasing, on the positive side there is great potential to steal subscribers from rivals by introducing competitive tariffs, services and rates.

With 3G auctions (hopefully) on the horizon and number portability not far away, the landscape of Thailand's mobile market could well change and become more attractive to consumers - the only question is when.