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Paging Service : Business Speeding up

-By : Ishwar D. Khanal

Trying to lure in customers to their respective fold, Paging companies are offering exciting value added services

Sharma: "Ours is best among the rest"

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With the speed of business expansion gathering momentum, companies, which have already started their services within the Kathmandu valley are targeting to expand themselves to other major cities as well. Nepal Radio Paging (P) Ltd., the first company to enter this field has decided to operate its services in Birendranagar, Nepalgunj, Pokhara, Butwal, Birgunj, Dhankuta and Biratnagar from the last week of January. But, despite being the first to introduce paging system, the company is facing an eminent stiff competition from other four companies - City Paging (P) Ltd., K.A.T. Easy Paging (P) Ltd., Agni Paging (P) Ltd, and Digital Telecom International (P) Ltd. While the others are still preparing themselves, City Paging has already started its services.

Bracing up for the stiff competition, each company is emphasizing on its value added services, promising for a long-term quality service. Voice mail, internet paging, horoscope, flight information caller-group and secretarial services, wake-up call facility, news, weather forecast, traffic update are the services which Agni Paging (P) Ltd. promises to offer. And City Paging too stresses on its value added services like e-mail access.

Assuring to prove his company the best in the long run by offering forex update, important events and traffic update also, Arjun Sharma, Managing Director of Agni Paging states that his company will sustain its clients through long-term satisfactory service and Motorola pagers. He also plans to introduce Devanagari script services in the near future. "Potential pager using population in Kathmandu Valley is immensely large and diversified", Sharma views. Though his company lagged behind in starting its services, Sharma quips, "You have seen the rest, now go for the best."

PAGING COMPANIES, TARIFF AND FACILITIES

Company	Services	Subscription Rate	Dialing No	Selling Points
Agni paging	2 Line English (Alphanumeric) 2 Line Eng/Nep 4 Line English (Alphanumeric) Numeric / Alpha	Rs 4,500 Rs 4,500 Rs 6,000 Rs 3,500	9601/9602	Voice mail, Internet, Horoscope, Flight Information, Weather forecast, Traffic update, events etc
City Paging	2 Line English 2 Line Nepali/English 1 Line English 4 Line English	Rs 3,500 Rs 4,800 Rs 3,500 Rs 4,500	9691/9692	E-mail, Horoscope, Wakeup call, Weather Forecast, News etc
K. A. T Easy Paging	2 Line English 2 Line Nepali 4 Line English (Alpha/Numeric) 2 Line Nepali/English	Rs 4,000 Rs 4,500 Rs 6,000 Rs 4,500	9671/9672	Film info, Sale info, News, Foreign exchange etc
Nepal Radio Paging	Numeric	Rs 3,100	9611/9612	Voice mail

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Gurung: "Not Machine, but healthy
competition is the key."

While Sharma does not give the market size in numbers, Tej Hari Ghimire, Managing Director of Nepal Radio Paging estimates it at about 15,000 customers. Whereas Ram Krishna Manandhar of K.A.T. Easy Paging puts the market size at around 10,000 users. But in the estimation of Palden Gurung, MD of City Page, the market size is about 30,000 customers. The differences in market size estimation probably lie in the differences of target markets that each company is focussing. For example, while other companies target businessmen and marketing officials as their clients, City Paging has also targeted the youngesters. "If they (youngesters) can go to discotheques, clubs and expensive academies, why can’t they afford a pager ?" asks Gurung.

However, Gurung accuses the government of providing license to too many paging companies without a thorough market study. According to him, this will make it difficult for a healthy competition, and Sharma also shares Gurung’s views.

As the distinguishing advantage of their services, most of the companies say that as they are using best known hardware and software brands their services are the best. For example, Nepal Radio Paging, and K.A.T. Easy Paging say their services are the best as they have Motorola brand of pagers. However Gurung of City Page points out the importance of healthy competition in providing quality services. "There’ll be no effect of whatever brand of machine are used. If there is cut-throat competition, the quality will suffer the most", he says.

What is Pager?

It is an electronic, pocket-size device that serves as a message receiver anytime, anywhere within the covered range.

Paging is an English word. Earlier, there used to be page-boys who would run alongside chariots of Dukes and Duchess. These boys, who used to relay message, did not bring back the message.
The same is with pager. It’s the cheapest way of sending one-way message.

Paging service is a one way communication facility by which messages can be sent to a paging subscriber from any location using the telephone network.

A person requiring to contact a paging subscriber dials a pre-defined number to (Paging Access Code) followed by pager number. Once call gets connected, message can be directly entered using the DTMF phone or can be entered with the help of an operator, who enters the message for onward transmission to the paging subscribers. Paging system then automatically transfers the message to the paging subscriber using wireless media.

Paging system comprises of a paging station. The main equipment is installed in the heart of the system. One side of the paging station is the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and on the other side, it is connected to a number of radio transmitters, which will cover the area where paging subscribers are to be serviced.

Paging Service has three choices: Alphabetical pagers

Alphanumeric Pagers

Numeric Pagers

Alphanumeric pagers are categorized in single-line display, 2 line display and 4 line display.

With the introduction of radio paging system in 1930 in America, the trend later expanded to Europe in the early 80’s with Numerical paging system which further developed to Alpha-numerical paging in the late 80’s. In both Numeric or Alphanumeric pager, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is accessible on which the message is displayed. In a numeric paging service, the calling party can leave numeric message to the paging subscriber (normally the telephone number of the calling party which the pager subscriber has to contact). Similarly, in Alphanumeric paging the caller can leave alphanumeric message to the subscriber. The paging subscriber can see the message within seconds of leaving it with the operator.

Any type of paging subscriber can opt for voice mail box facility in which the caller will be prompted to leave a voice message to the subscriber, who will later dial up his mail box and enter an access code to receive the voice message.