the Masalai blog
news, ideas, general banter and your comments...(acting locally looking globally)
The marketing war between Digicel PNG and Telikom has begun and Masalai is not too far from this action. Digicel PNG has engaged Masalai’s services starting with their pre-launch website.
A post-launch website will also follow later this year.
See the screenshot below or visit the site at http://www.digicelpng.com
Update: 31/07/07
Should have posted this earlier but the post launch Digicel website has been up now since last week after the launch. See it at http://www.digicelpng.com
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43 comments
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June 23, 2007 at 3:37 am
Badira
Mate! congratulation, very proud of your achievements. This is a++ for homegrown products. As I said, it’s a pleasure browsing through the websites Masalai produces..
3cheers!!
June 23, 2007 at 3:46 am
Emmanuel
Thank you so much Badira, I’m just ecstatic that a foreign company who is new here has given a PNG company an opportunity to show what we can do.
If only more foreign companies based in PNG could trust us like this instead of sending work overseas.
One thing to point out to website owners out there is that a website always looks good when a client goes to the trouble of providing us web contractors with quality images.
June 23, 2007 at 6:09 am
Badira
Manu, that is absolutely true, website is only as good as the pictures and another thing is “innovation”. I was suprised that R&D word is no longer talk of business in Japan but the word innovation. Something for us young pngeans to think about.
Wanbel! top stuff with BSP aswell.
June 23, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Solo
I am really proud of you Manu. Congratulations Masalai. I am really impressed by the quality of work Masalai is doing. Keep it up bro so that we can keep abreast with the IT world in business.
I would recommend educational institutions such as UPNG to contract you to improve their website.
2 Thumbs Up!
Solo
June 24, 2007 at 12:38 am
Emmanuel
Thanks again guys!
June 24, 2007 at 1:22 am
Rex
Manu, I am so proud and congratulations on your work. Its great that Digicel is seek local companies to do it’s work and you have proven to them that you are able to repriciate the confidence.
Rumour has it that Digicel is opening more offices in 17 pacific countries. PNG will be the base and they will spread their branches across the Pacific. That’ll mean more work for you!!!
Yipppeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations once again.
June 24, 2007 at 9:05 am
Spowf
great work Manu! Was that Beats signature?
June 24, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Emmanuel
Yeah it is Betty’s Signature (olsem sapot nambaut nambaut!)
June 24, 2007 at 11:44 pm
Rex
I guess the war has finally been settled.
Telikom has agreed to settle it out of court and they request Digicel to pay all the legal fees for them and they’ll drop the matter. Guess Digicel will do that as it has millions coming to them.
Go Digicel…..!!
June 27, 2007 at 2:44 am
rodney itaki
manu, congrats. job well done. keep going.
way blo em!
June 27, 2007 at 7:04 am
Emmanuel
Thanks Rodney!
July 17, 2007 at 12:17 am
tipster
Hi, anyone know when Digicel are launching in POM?
July 17, 2007 at 1:02 am
Emmanuel
Hi Tipster, possibly this month, no confirmed dates yet.
July 30, 2007 at 12:06 am
Kukky Koala
Wow, this is a great wedsite. Great job done Emmanuel!
I’ll tell my friends about it. A big tumbs up.
Kukky.
July 30, 2007 at 6:49 am
Emmanuel
Thanks for the support Kukky!
July 31, 2007 at 9:50 am
Jakes Oa
Digicel, Keep on developing our Country (PNG) We really appreciate your hospitality That’s true we can now get in touch with our relatives back home……Batman6964
July 31, 2007 at 11:12 pm
mastaliu
cool, bara set ya
mi save watchim planti kainkain samting long ol keta kainkain forms of medium na mi sore olsem yumi mas quicktaim nau, nogut yumi olgeta lus nating. Primitivity rules mahn……
August 1, 2007 at 5:11 am
Emmanuel
Em nau, mastaliu!! Olsem redi na stap nogut ol lain overseas laik wokim moa bisnis wantaim ol PNG kampani!!!
August 2, 2007 at 2:31 am
alois francis
Digicel em rait, tasol inap ol Digicel wokman na meri go long protest march na askim Arthur Somare long kisim dispela stone age idea blong Net-co na Serv-Co idea blong Telikom? Em i laik mekim inefficiency running industry.
Olsem 1000 pela man wok ya sapos ol i lus taim Digicel sapos gavman i rausim bai Somare givim ol wok?
Nogat ya. Mi harim ol i laik setting wanpela mobile company tu ya.
August 2, 2007 at 3:08 am
Emmanuel
Tru yah..Alois yu tok olsait laik settim wanpela mobile kampani??
August 2, 2007 at 4:37 am
tipster
The latest is that Sir Michael says Digicel are operating illegally. Now that is really inconsistent with what he supposedly informed Digicel ealier this year.
From Digicel’s perspective they’re saying what is the breach, let us know and we’ll comply with it because our bottom line is to provide a competitive quality service and be profitable.
The fact that the new policy came into effect after the licence had been issued really does create concern because of the ad hoc manner in which the government is approaching this issue is ridiculous.
The PM and his son are saying Telikom is a PNG company and all that…well that’s true but the people don’t really care whether it’s a PNG company or a foreign company – people just want better service at an affordable price.
Most of the govt bodies from the PM, Minister, Dept of Info & Tech, PAngtel and ICCC are all contradictory given the press releases they have made to date. Why don;t they all sit down and make sure that their policies are all consistent. The law is already there, it is just a matter of making sure that each sectors policy is consistent with the law.
If Digicel has breached some law or yet to comply with a legal requirement then spell that out clearly to them and I’m sure they will do whatever they can to meet that requirement. After all, they want to get over all necessary hurdles the legal way and simply do business.
On the marketing front, Telikom needs to do better. They are hanging onto this interconnection issue as a competitive advantage without doubt simply because they haven;t got the brains to come up with something new and exciting! Reducing their set-up cost from K125 to K25 is laughable – this is because people will perceive this negatively in the sense that they have been ripped off at K125 for too long when Telikom should have still been making a profit at charging K25.
To my mind, Digicel’s statement that they’re “here to stay” means a lot. I could be wrong but Digicel might be saying if we can get a greater slice of the market share within a reasonable time and make a signficant profit then the interconnectivity although still an issue won’t be an impediment in us making money because in the long run if B Mobile continues to operate the way they are they’re bound to have a drop in their profit…eventually Telikom will be put in a position where they either continue to operate B Mobile at that lower profit level without the interconnectivity or allow interconnectivity to make up for the drop in revenue in B Mobile. The money from interconnectivity will obviously come from Digicel.
I’ve never seen any logical explanation from Somare about why the hold-up with Digicel other than it’s against the policy. But whatever the case, any business that is politicesed will go down with the politicians. I think the Telikom board and snr management need to come up a bit more smarter and provide quality service rather then hiding behind politicians.
Digicel is here to stay…it’s just a matter of time when Telikom will be faced with the question: do we continue to operate B Mobile at a lower profit then before without the interconnection, or do we allow Digicel interconnection to make up for the reduction in profits in B Mobile…
Digicel is not new to these kind of things so while its frustrating for them, more of the pannick is coming from Somare for reasons only he would know…
cheers!
August 2, 2007 at 4:50 am
Ms Dee
Maybe Emmanuel, you can clarify something for me… I was just wondering about whether there are any security measures that Digicel has taken in setting up its operations in PNG… I am all for Digicel operations (and Green Com) and I am subscribed to Digicel but does it have in place the recording and transcription of calls that Telikom has, that monitors all the calls made and transcribes them automatically? Just curious cos this raises some internal security matters for the country if Digicel doesn’t have this in place, not that we are a hotbed for terriorism and all that but for safetys sake and as a consumer who likes to be kept informed…Please advise.
Aside from that congratulations to you for the work done with Digicel and this great informal forum.
August 2, 2007 at 6:41 am
Rex
You may need alot of storage space for this kind of activity. But with the increase in technology, I am sure Digicel will have something on it.
August 2, 2007 at 10:30 pm
kk
Miss Dee
I wasn’t aware that Telikom recorded and transcribed EVERY SINGLE tele-communication.
And do you know what – that OUTRAGES me! How dare they!! In any democratic country on the planet this should not happen with some kind of serious backlash from the people – whatever happened to OUR RIGHT TO BE PRIVATE INDIVIUDALS.
There is not one way in the world I would EVER agree as a citizen of a democratic country to have every single tele-communication of mine recorded and transcribed (if indeed Telikom does this – which I doubt because the technology required and the manpower etc required would be more than they can handle considering how poorly run everything seems to be.)
But for me the more frightening question is HOW CAN YOU WISH THAT DIGICELL should also be monitoring all our calls ini this way. Now I won’t rant and rave forever but I do give you this to think about:
1. PNG has signed various international charters guaranteeing its citizens basic Human Rights etc As PNG citizens we have a right NOT to be investigated by the State without (a) our being aware of it) and (b) without good cause. The effect of this is that YOU CAN’T JUST RECORD EVERBODY’S TELECOMMUNICATIONS because you want to.
2. Telecom as a government owned entity may have some skewed reasons for wanting to record everybody – even if, in my book, those reaosns breach every PNG citizen’s right to privacy – BUT Digicell is a PRIVATE company – do you really think that if Digicell were to transcribe and record all of what was said, that they’d be doing it in the national interest or just hand over that info to the government. Get real. These people are in PNG to make a profit. And MOST importantly, the private information and correspondences of private citizens in PNG should NEVER come within the ownership of private companies – that is moronic.
Finally, I sincerely doubt that ALL PNG telecommunications are being recorded but even if they are, whoever is doing it isn’t only breaching our private citizen rights but is also doing it WITHOUT CONSENT.
Please please listen very carefully to what I saying – do NOT be so free to throw away those rights as a human citizen and a national citizen just because of some very very vague extreeeeeemly unlikely, completely unbased “terrorism threats”.
The fact is, at the end of the day, even if terorism were a reality in PNG, that would still NEVER convince me that the government has the right to tape my phone conversations – unless I have given them specific reason to. You need to understand – that’s exactly the same as saying it’s oke for the government to come into your home and film you, to open and read your post and your emails. Wars have been FOUGHT for the rights of people to be FREE from tyranny – lets NOT forget Kokoda so quickly – and now you’re saying you WANT this assault on those very freedoms??
I don’t mean to be harsh but you should be VERY VERY careful if you say things like this because other poeple might hear you or read this and think that’s right and it is NOT. It just CANNOT be right.
August 2, 2007 at 11:03 pm
kk
PS
i would also add – if Telikom is rcording and transcribing every single telecommunication – the damage that can be done to us by the people who have access to this information is MUCH more damaging that anything any terrorist could ever do.
This opens the floodgates to a MUCH worse kind of terrorism – the Sanctioned Terrorist (ie the govenrment).
The US FBI defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”
Dont make the mistake of thinking governments cant terrorise their citizens. Look at the African Eastern Seaboard, look at China, look at Ventral flipping America – there are more nation states involved with the act of diminishing their citizens rights than preserving them.
So whatever you do – please please please do NOT be so quick to just GIVE YOURS AWAY.
The government (of ANY nation) does NOT have the RIGHT to listen in and then record your every communication. The power they gain from doing this is EXTREMELY unbalanced by any real or imagined likelihood of a ‘terrorist attack’ from outside.
I’d much rather walk around as a citizen enjoying my freedom and my right to be who i am (without breaking any laws) with the posibility that I might be the victim of a terorist attack, than to sanction the government to basically SPY on my life without (or even with) the threat of real and imminent danger.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve “got nothing to hide” – thats NOT the point. Having PRIVACY as a private citizen isn’t about being able to senak around and do illicit or immoral things without anyone knowning. Its about the right to be YOUR OWN PERSON and SAY THINGS FREELY AND PRIVATELY without having anyone that you don’t authorise to be recipient of that information.
Imagine living in a world where you have to be SO careful about what you say and who ytou say it to – because saying the ‘wrong’ thing could get you killed or put iin prison for 30 years or someone in your family.
I’m not being dramatic. I have travelled A LOT. What I am talking about exists all over the world. Technology makes it easier for governments and large companies to MONITOR regular everyday people. I can promise you that anyone currently living under a SUPRESSED REGIME would NEVER want to hear you say you think its ok for your private conversations to be recorded and taped and transcribed.
It doesn’t matter that we dont live in a violent dictatorship (like Noriega – although we do live in some kind of dictatorship) – do we ned things to get that bad before we understand what we allowed to happen??
DONT let it happen in the first place.
Stand up for your HUMAN RIGHT to be a private individual AS MUCH AS YOU CAN in this world where every day we lose a little from the flight due to creeping technology.
August 2, 2007 at 11:32 pm
tipster
might as well put our real names down on these posts
August 3, 2007 at 12:34 am
Emmanuel
KK ans Ms. Dee I know technicians and higher management in Telikom and I can confirm for you both and everyone that it is untrue that Telikom records and transcribes each and every phone call that is made.
Quite simply it is not a cost effective exercise for them to engage in. The support and maintenance of such a system would be very expensive.
August 3, 2007 at 12:44 am
kk
yeah – thats what i thought – it just worried me that people might think it’s ok for that to happen if it was ever the case.
the only real power we have is to use our heads and then our hands.
peace out.
August 3, 2007 at 12:55 am
Emmanuel
Thanks KK and Thanks Ms. Dee
August 6, 2007 at 12:05 am
Ms Dee
Thanks for the clarification Emmanuel. I am so relieved. Its such a small world these days and with all the crap thats happening everywhere especially with Australia on one-side with its undecided stand on terrorism and Indonesia on the other with its substantial number of Muslims, internal security is a real worry.
F.Y.I, the recording and transcribing thing was told to me by a PANGTEL engineer so I took it to be true cos I’m a just paper pusher who knows nothing about the intricate working of telecommunications so again thanks for clearing that up.
By the way, how many subscribers does Digicel have now???
August 6, 2007 at 12:15 am
Emmanuel
No worries Ms. Dee, last figure they gave me 2 weeks ago was 20,000. It may be more now but they are unable to tell me at this stage.
August 6, 2007 at 1:34 am
Rex
Manu…..
I’ve decided to add a little something on Digicel and Telikom. Check the blog for it. http://yutok.wordpress.com/2007/08/06/ict-policy-and-mobile-competition/
August 6, 2007 at 5:25 am
Emmanuel
Cool will check it out
August 14, 2007 at 2:08 am
.BONES
Good stuff Manu on the Digicel Pre-launch thingy. These images looks familiar, are they taken @ Bava? I heard the Digicel’s also behind PNG Pukpuks team to the SP Games which, is also cool. Any latest on whether they are here to stay? People of PNG need services provided at reasonable rates, not ripping rates.
August 14, 2007 at 3:02 am
Emmanuel
.BONES, got a number of postings on Digicel staying and rugby so have a browse through the blog or do a search below using the search function.
But thanks for the kind words…
September 3, 2007 at 12:51 am
Jakeman
manu…..I’m really impressed at your work…..I accidently stumbled across the web site while searching for some latest developments with Digicel in the country and have bookmarked it down.
I have a question though…..What would happen if somebody came up with a code to unlock the KONKA Digicel phones so that b-mobile sim cards can be used on them?
What would be the advantages and disadvantages?
September 3, 2007 at 1:18 am
Emmanuel
Thanks Jakeman,
Unlocking any of the Digicel phones could possibly result in B-mobile customers buying Digicel phones because they’re cheaper and for them to use their B-Mobile sim cards in there. However in the end I think anyone who tries to do that will have already decided on who they want to be with.
You can already use Digicel sim cards in any phone that was on B-mobile, so I don’t think that someone being able to unlock a digicel phone has much bearing on both the companies fight to increase their individual customer base.
Advantages to customers would be the freedom to choose without the extra spend on a new phone, disadvantages would only be to the mobile phone company that’s losing out. But again, I don’t think it is that important in winning customers. I think a better quality service will win out in the end.
Digicel has an advantage in this situation though because they sell their own phones, whereas B-Mobile doesn’t sell phones so they have no control over what sims can go in what phones that a bought in PNG.
September 3, 2007 at 4:04 am
zionx
And as tipster pointed out, the interconnectivity issue will either come to pass earlier depending on Digicel’s sales on Konka mobile phones since they are already locked onto the Digicel network or prolonged if that code is obtained.
I already know of someone unlocking the Motorola C139.
quoted from tipster:
“……Digicel is here to stay…it’s just a matter of time when Telikom will be faced with the question: do we continue to operate B Mobile at a lower profit then before without the interconnection, or do we allow Digicel interconnection to make up for the reduction in profits in B Mobile…”
January 3, 2009 at 6:01 am
Karax
Constant Improvement and affordable Mobile phone Services reaching out boudaries and meeting the customers needs is what must be maintained here in PNG. I see Digicel is currently full filling that just in a short time, noticing its expansion of customer base to bring that service.
In regards to BMobile….No comments
Thanks Masalai for the web opportunity to air my view
January 4, 2009 at 3:10 am
Emmanuel
No worries Karax and thanks for stopping by
March 26, 2009 at 4:31 am
Nathan
I LOVE MY DIGICEL
April 29, 2009 at 10:05 am
fred
Nates,
Its great that you love ur Digicel!
May 12, 2009 at 1:21 am
Elvis
At last you’ve answered my question digicel! Nomoa unnecessary charge on voice mail. You are doing a fantastic job in terms of service. I am digicelled and will always!