bhutan telecom news - Bhutan Telecom Ltd…Always There for You

BHUTAN TELECOM NEWS
༈ འབྲུག་བརྒྱུད་འཕྲིན་གནས་ཚུལ། - Your Quarterly Telecommunications Guide
Volume 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011
BTL Staff working on the Rural GSM Project in the extreme North
Rural GSM Project – Connecting the Unconnected
E
By Tshering Cigay Dorji
In this issue
Rural GSM Project...………….P.1
In the Spotlight: the First MD of
BTL………..………………...…..P.2
Editorial...…………...………....P.2
asy access to Information and Communications Technologies is an important pre-requisite for empowering our people economically and improving their living conditions today. Therefore, our Government has always accorded high priority to the development of state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure in the country.
My Love Affair with Bhutan.....P.3
Tariff Revisions in 2010……....P.3
The mobile GSM services launched by the B-Mobile Division of Bhutan Telecom Limited in 2003 brought about a kind of telecommunications revolution in the country
with initial subscriber growths exceeding all expectations. Although the full mobile
coverage in all the 20 Dzongkhag headquarters was achieved way back in February
2007 and B-Mobile today enjoys a subscriber base of around 300,000, some rural
areas are still deprived of this important communications facility.
Crossword Puzzle………...…...P.6
Product/Service Guide: CharoCharo & CUG......................…P.5
SMS Jokes…………….....……..P.5
Promotional Offers in 2010….P.9
Telecom News………………...P.12
Telecommunication Facts…...P.12
CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 & 8>>
© 2010 Bhutan Telecom Ltd.
Registered Office: 2/28 Drophen Lam, Thimphu Bhutan, Toll Free : 1600
Telephone (PABX) +975 2 322678, 322850 /Fax +975 2 324312/ Website: www.bt.bt
Page 1
Bhutan Telecom News
Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011
The First MD of BTL
Mr. Sangey Tenzing, the present Director General of Department of Roads, served
as the first MD of BTL since corporatization in July 2000 till the end of 2004. He
shared his insights and experiences with the BTL Newsletter Team.
Q. 1. What was the state of
telecommunications in Bhutan
during your tenure as the head
of Bhutan Telecom Limited?
The telecommunications services were almost non-existent
in most part of rural Bhutan and
low to medium penetration of
services even in the urban areas.
Q. 2. What challenges did you
face as the first MD? How did you tackle those challenges?
Converting a Government Department into a public Corporation whose focus was on quality of service and maximizing profit for the corporation, was
the biggest challenge I faced as the first MD. In particular:



Changing of employees attitude and mind set towards
“customer first” and quality
of service first etc.
Balancing of profit from the
urban services versus provision of services in the vast
rural areas where profitability
was low.
“One of the challenges to BTL is
improving customer services and
care to attract and retain customer base enjoyed by the BTL in
the near future when the competitor‟s services reach all over the
country.”
Introduction of new services
like mobile services with no
investment resources and
convincing reluctant Government Authorities to give us the permission.
With the support from the Board of Directors and management team, we
were able to overcome all the challenges that come on the way.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6>>
Dear Readers,
The cold weather is finally showing signs of
bidding us its much-awaited goodbye.
Spring, the season of fertility, is finally going to be here soon with all its beauty and
glory. And on such an auspicious occasion,
we are happy to bring you the second issue
of our newsletter “Bhutan Telecom News”.
We hope that you enjoyed the first issue.
Since we at the newsletter team are all
bogged down with our regular office work,
it is difficult to devote much time to bringing improvements to the newsletter. Still,
we do try our best. In this issue, we have
increased the font size and the number of
pages from 6 to 12, and tried to bring you
more diverse opinions and perspectives.
We bring you an article on the Rural GSM
Project – the project currently underway in
BTL that aims to take mobile services to
the Gewog and village level, in addition to
the views from the first Managing Director
of BTL, Mr. Sangey Tenzing, and an opinion piece by Mr. Siva Sankar Kalisetti, a
software engineer from Hyderabad, India,
working on contract in BTL. On top of that,
we bring you our regular columns like the
Telecommunications facts, Telecom news,
Crossword Puzzle, Products and Services
guide etc.
And just in case you are not aware of our
reduced tariffs, we also bring you a list of
major tariff revisions offered by BTL to its
customers in 2010.
Lastly, we would like to thank you for your
readership, and urge you to contribute your
ideas and opinions for publication in the
coming issues of this newsletter. We would
also like to remind you that soft copies of
this newsletter and the past issues are
available on our website at www.bt.bt
Sincerely,
Editorial Team.
Bill Gates is a very rich man today... and do you want to know why? The answer is one word: versions. - Dave Barry
Page 2
Bhutan Telecom News
Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011
Tariff
Mr. Siva Sankar Kalisetti, a software engineer from Hyderabad, India,
working in BTL, reflects on the six years he has been in Bhutan as the
end of his contract draws near.
I
t was more by chance rather than by choice that I found myself boarding the
Bhutan national airline, “DrukAir” to Paro at Kolkata airport. The IT Company that I
worked for required someone to work for six months with a leading telecom company in Bhutan. Bhutan Telecom Limited was using the newly developed TIIMS,
Telecom Integrated Information Management System and they wanted a software
engineer to assist them in maintenance and enhancement of the module. The Project Manager had shortlisted four of us, however when no agreement could be
reached, the luck of the draw saw me preparing for travel.
I had never been away from my family for
“From simple call & SMS
long; in fact I had never travelled outside Infeature, people now condia, let alone to a mystic country filled with
verse on 3G, well at least in
legends. The little information that I got from
Thimphu.”
Google was not very comforting nor was the
fact that Paro airstrip ranks amongst the
smallest and dangerous airports in the world. This was least of my worries, I was
apprehensive of food, weather, people, lodge…. What? Where? When? It goes
without saying that I would really miss the world famous Hyderabadi Biryani dish
on my menu. It was my first flight into the unknown and there were already more
questions than I could answer. A little more than half hours into the flight, the
plane landed at Paro airport. The scenic beauty that greeted me outside overwhelmed me. There was peaceful silence, something that I missed amongst the
madding rush and crowd at Hyderabad. I smiled… well I could adjust.
That was in October, 2004, when with just
30,000 customers the fixed line telephone
ruled the roost. B-Mobile was in its infancy
with around 20,000 users and people were
very satisfied with the dial-up internet service. Around that time I had to shell out Nu
600 for a SIM card. People say telecommunications is one of the fastest growing sectors
in the world and I could not agree more. In
the last half a dozen years the changes and
growth in telecommunication sector in general and Bhutan Telecom in particular has
been very impressive both in terms of technology or otherwise.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 & 8>>
Revisions in 2010
Druknet Services
March, 2010
Tariff and packages of Leased
line,
Enterprise
Network
(IPVPN), Web Hosting, IP address allocation were revised.
Fixed Line Services
a. The monthly access charge
was reduced to Nu. 25.00 from
Nu 100.00 per month. Free talk
time of Nu. 100 per month had
been removed.
b. November, 2010
The Fixed Line STD tariff was
reduced to Nu 1.5/minute from
Nu.3.5/minute.
B-Mobile Services
April, 2010
a. Tariff timing changes
Call category
Previous
Revised
Off Peak
Hours
7am-3pm
9am-4pm
Peak Hours
3pm-11pm
4pm-10pm
Economy
Hours
11pm-7am
10pm-9am
b. Charo-Charo (Friends &
Family)
The number of mobile numbers
in the friends and family list is
increased to 8 from the earlier 3
mobile numbers.
c. Subscriber to Subscriber (S
to S) balance transfer
The service charge for Subscriber to Subscriber (S-S) balance
transfer has been reduced to
Nu. 5 per transfer from Nu.10
per transfer.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4>>
Basically, our goal is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful . -Larry Page, Google
Page 3
Bhutan Telecom News
Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011
Tariff Revisions in 2010
Love Affair with Bhutan
>> CONTD.FROM PAGE 3
From simple call & SMS feature, people now converse on 3G, well at least in
Thimphu. The so familiar monotonous ringtone is replaced by popular Bhutanese songs and numbers from Bollywood. Some know it as CRBT (Color Ring
Back Tone) and others call it B-tunes; whatever maybe the case it has given
mobile users something to cheer about.
I remember the days when my colleagues would ask me to bring phones
which has radio feature or a torch or a simple low pixel camera; I still get request to bring phones but only that now they want phones which have inbuilt
applications for internet and
2GB data storage minimum.
“I am sure that they will be preparing
From 20,000 thousands the B
the best of Hyderabadi Biryani espe-Mobile customer base have
cially for me but I guess it is their turn
now scaled 260,000 thouto taste the „emadatse‟ that I would
sands and counting. Today, I
prepare for them.”
can get a SIM card for Nu 50
with same free talk-time too.
600 to 50 in few years…now that is impressive.
The internet services have its success story to tell. Well it may be too early to
write an obituary to dial-up internet
service but high speed broadband
internet is something that Bhutan
Telecom is proud of and users are
glad that it happened. The jump
from 64kbps to 256 kbps speed
cannot be ignored. Optic fiber, digital microwave, high speed internet …
these were some of the terms unheard
of then or hardly used but now it is synonym for daily internet usage. From dial –up to
broadband, from copper to fiber, from IPv4 to IPv6, from hotmail to twitters; the
future looks certainly bright for internet users, me included.
I still remember the first snowfall that I experienced that winter. I was so excited and shared my wonderful experience with my family back at home. It is
another story that I had to pay in excess of Nu 20 per minute; today I can
make the same calls at Nu 5 per minute. Over the years Bhutan Telecom
made numerous tariff changes that have made communications services
readily available and affordable to general public.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8>>
>> CONTD.FROM PAGE 3
d. Validity Voucher
The cost of validity voucher has been
reduced to Nu. 5 from Nu.15.
e. Credit Clearance period
The credit clearance period increased
to 5 days from 3 days.
August, 2010
a. Paper Voucher and eLOAD validity
extended by additional 7 days.
September, 2010
a. Reduction in Mobile Internet over
Limit Usage charge from Nu.0.0015/
KB to Nu.0.0003/KB.
b. Pay per use for Prepaid and Postpaid charge was revised from
Nu.0.005/Kb to Nu.0.003/KB
c. Special Call and SMS rates for 1 am
– 3 am were introduced as follows:
Category
Previous
Revised
Call
Nu.0.3/Unit
Nu.0.1/Unit
SMS
Nu.1/SMS
Nu.0.1/SMS
October, 2010
a. Introduction of special tariff voucher called the Power Voucher on trial.
November, 2010
a. Choose-Ur-Group (CUG) and Charo
-Charo (Friends & Family) packages
and rates were revised.
December, 2010
a. Push SMS (Smaller New Packages) were introduced.
b. B-Tunes Tariff
Charge
Previous
Revised
IVR call to
5050
Nu.3/min
Nu.1/min
SMS to 5050
Nu.3/SMS
Nu.1/SMS
I want people to understand the amazing, positive way our software can make leisure time more enjoyable, and work and
businesses more successful. - Steve Ballmer, Microsoft
Page 4
Bhutan Telecom News
Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011
CHARO-CHARO

Groups
“Charo-Charo” the new service will enable you to
call your near and dear ones at cheaper discounted rates.

Any prepaid B-Mobile user can apply for the service.

You can add maximum of 8 prepaid/postpaid BMobile user/fixed line user in Charo-Charo list.
Corporate
Offer
General
Offer
Rates (Nu)
0.30/unit
Benefits

This service lets you keep in close contact with
your near and dear ones at a discounted rate
compared to the normal call rates.

The call rates are charged at flat rates at 0.30/
unit for the entire Charo-Charo call category.

The registration charge is free and there is no
monthly rental charge.

Any addition/deletion can be made without any
charges.
9 to 20
Rate/
Unit
Nu.
0.20
Nu.
0.30
Registration Fee
Nu.150/
Sub
Nu. 20/
Sub
Free
MMS
MMS
CUG Rates (1 unit = 15 seconds)
Benefits
 Enjoy low rate calls between and amongst frequently
called numbers by registering those numbers in the CUG
packages.
 Only one time registration fee and no monthly charges.
 The service is applicable only for B-Mobile numbers.
The call rates are charged at flat rates for the entire
CUG call category. It is cheaper than the rates at peak
and off peak hours.
How to avail CUG Service
If you are already registered subscriber of CUG, you need to
re-register to avail the reduced tariff.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The following conditions apply for CUG:
 A customer cannot be part of more than one group.
 Calls made outside the CUG will be charged as per normal tariff plans attached to them.
CHARO-CHARO RATES (1unit=15 sec)
Charo-Charo
Flat Rate throughout the day
Subscriber Limit
21 to 300

We need a group administrator for initiating the CUG.
Only the group administrator will be allowed to make
changes to the list in writing.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
SMS Jokes
The following conditions apply for Charo-Charo:
1. Only applicable to B-Mobile prepaid numbers.
2. Calls made outside Charo-Charo group will be
charged as per the normal call rates attached to
them.

Well, Miss, I dreamed that I was playing football & the game

3. Only the applicant will be allowed to make changes to the list in writing.
4. The Charo-Charo tariff rates would be applicable
only to the applicant.
CHOOSE-UR-GROUP (CUG)

You can create your own CUG community with BMobile (both postpaid & Prepaid) numbers.

This service allows customers to make calls at a
discounted rate within the group.
Teacher: Peter, why r u late for school again? Peter:
went into extra time.
History Teacher: Where was the Battle of Changlingmithang
fought?
Student: Sir, I am not sure but I think from page 15 to 26.

A pregnant lady went to an astrologer. Astrologer: When u deliver a baby, baby’s father will die. Lady: Thank god! My husband is
safe!

A boy goes to a strip club. His mom gets angry & asks him: Did u
see anything there that u were not supposed to see? Boy: Yes, I
saw dad!

i want u 2 know dat our friendship means alot 2 me.U cry i cry.U lauf i
lauf.U jump out of da window... I look down & den... i lauf again
The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don't really even notice it, so it's part of everyday life. -Bill Gates
Page 5
Bhutan Telecom News
Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011
In the Spotlight– The First MD of BTL
>> CONTD. FROM PAGE 2
Q. 3. What challenges do you visualize in BTL now?

Retaining & attracting the best professionals in Telecommunication Sector can be a challenge in Government owned
Public sector Service provider like BTL.

Maintaining customer confidence and trust in the BTL Services in the competitive environment.

Maintaining investment in new state of the art technology to stay competitive in the market place.

Improving customer services and care to attract and retain customer base enjoyed by the BTL in the near future when
the competitor’s services reach all over the country.
Q. 4. What do you say about competition in the mobile and IT services vis-à-vis BTL?
Competition is good to keep check and balance in place for a service provider like BTL. Competition will keep away complacency and keep BTL focused on improving its services and providing excellent customer care to all its customers. And for
the public, competition gives choice and the best pricing mechanism.
Q. 5. What can be some of the major strengths and weaknesses for BTL, as compared to competition?
Some of the strengths of BTL are:
In-house experience, and in technology intensive sector like BTL, Reach of services throughout the country before competition, and Pool of professionals built up before competition.
Some of the weaknesses of BTL are:
Brain drain, having to maintain investment in HR Development to remain competitive, Complacency, taking customer care
for granted being the incumbent service provider, and High Cost of service provision
for a public sector undertaking as against private sector service provider.
Q. 6. What is your word of wisdom for BTL?
Keep up the team work and co-operation spirit in the BTL Management style “Together you succeed and divided you fall”.
Complete the Crossword Puzzle. Directly email answers to [email protected] or cut
it and post it to Marketing Division, Bhutan Telecom, 2/28, Drophen Lam,
Thimphu latest by 17th April, 2011 with your present address and contact number. Four correct entries drawn by lucky draw will get a gift of a KUENPHEN
VOUCHER each.
Crossword
10
1
2
11
9
3
4
5
6
7
Across:
1: General Packet Radio Services
3: Subscriber Identity module
5: Voice over Internet Protocol
6: Connected group of pages on the World Wide Web regarded as a single entity
7: Group of two or more computer systems linked together
Down:
2: Short Message Service
4: Global system of interconnected computer networks that use TCP/IP
9: Telecommunication in which electromagnetic waves (rather than some form of
wire) carry the signal
10: Modulator-demodulator
11: Information for computer processing
Answer To Issue 1:
Across
1: BMOBILE 2: MMS 3: DRUKNET 4: IMUP
Down
1: BROADBAND 5: VOUCHER 6: FIXEDLINE 7: SMS
Nowadays, anyone who cannot speak English and is incapable of using the Internet is regarded as backward..
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, Saudi Arabia
Page 6
Bhutan Telecom News
Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011
Rural GSM Project
Therefore, BTL embarked on a more challenging endeavour in 2010 to connect all the 205 Gewogs in the country
under the Rural GSM Project.
Before the Project began, only around 174 Gewog Centres had access to the mobile GSM network. But by the
end of 2010, 200 of the 205 Gewog Centres had been
connected under the first phase of the project. BTL contributed 50% of the total cost of Nu. 282.50 million for
this phase of the Project, and the remaining 50% was
contributed by the Office of Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority (BICMA) through its Universal Service Fund
(USF), established under the provision of the Bhutan Information, Communications and Media Act 2006.
The second phase of the project started in 2011. In this
phase, the remaining five Gewogs will be connected to
the mobile GSM network along with 109 rural villages in
the eight Dzongkhags of Tsirang, Zhemgang, Mongar,
Trashi Yangtse, Lhuentse, Samdrup Jongkhar, Pema
Gatshel and Trashigang. Of the five remaining Gewogs to
be covered, the connections for Martshala in
Samdrupjongkhar and Metsho in Lhuentse were recently
completed. As of 20 March 2011, only three Gewogs Chokorling in Pemagatsel, Bjoka in lower Kheng and Lunana in Gasa, were left to be connected.
Out of the total estimated
cost of Nu. 143.67 million
to be forever differfor the second phase, the
ent.” -Kuensel
Government has provided
70% subsidy amounting to
Nu. 100.57 million through BICMA as USF Grant. BTL contributed the balance amount of Nu. 43.1 million.
“Life here is going
“The Government’s contribution for the second phase
was increased because the financial returns from this
phase would be even lower than that of the first phase,”
says Mr. Tenzin Dorji, the Project Manager, adding that
the project is now in full swing with base-trans-receiver
stations (BTS) sites identified and the procurement process of equipments in full progress.
>> CONTD. FROM PAGE 1
Among the most notable achievements of the first phase
of the project, BTL deployed more than 35 BTS and took B
-Mobile services to some of the remotest Gewogs in the
country. These Gewogs include Barshong, Soe, Naro and
Lingshi under Thimphu, Merak and Sakteng under Trashigang, Jomotsangkha, Lauri and Serthi under Samdrup
Jongkhar, and Laya under Gasa.
The B-Mobile services brought a lot of excitement and
smiles to the people of these rural communities. Kuensel
quoted a Shingkhar Lauri resident as saying, “Life here is
going to be forever different.” In Laya, a former Chimi
who represented his people at the Smithsonian festival in
Washington DC in 2006 told Kuensel over his new mobile
phone, “Many people thought the government would
never provide the service to such a remote place. Suddenly, the world has become a few numbers away”.
However, taking these services to these far-flung Gewogs
hadn’t been easy. First of all, the absence of commercial
power supply in most of these remote places is a challenge both in terms of the cost of providing solar power
systems for the BTS equipments, and the inability to use
electric-powered equipments during construction works.
It is also a challenge for subscribers to recharge their
handsets as they have to depend on often-unreliable
weather-dependent solar power.
Next, the difficult terrain
“Many people thought
and the scattered nature
the government would
of Bhutanese villages
never provide the serpose a challenge to the
vice to such a remote
network
installation
place. Suddenly, the
team. Firstly, finding appropriate location for
world has become a few
setting up network townumbers away”.
ers is a problem. Secondly, the absence of road connectivity makes transportation
of equipment and tower parts to an identified location
extremely difficult.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8>>
The new information technology, Internet and e-mail, have practically eliminated the physical costs of communications. Peter Drucker
Page 7
Bhutan Telecom News
Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011
Love Affair with Bhutan>> CONTD.FROM PAGE 4
Rural GSM Project
>> CONTD. FROM PAGE 7
This is further aggravat“With the budget of over
ed when constructions
have to be done in altiNu 20 million, Bhutan
tudes as high as 4500
Telecom will connect the
m. Work can be done
five scattered villages of
for only about four
months in a year at
Lunana Gewog with Bsuch altitudes due to
Mobile network before
the cold and snow. In
the end of 2011.”
addition, the shortage
of manpower in these
remote areas often delays transportation and civil works,
not to mention that even ordinary civil works at high altitudes generally take more time to complete.
It is for these reasons that connecting Laya to the GSM
network in 2010 posed a special challenge to the project
team. When Laya was finally connected to the cellular network on Friday, August 27, 2010, it had cost the Project
Nu. 15 million.
But the most difficult challenge yet to come is to connect
the northernmost community of Lunana which is a threeday walk from Laya. According to B-Mobile’s General
Manager, Mr. Pushpa Mani Pradhan, “With the budget of
over Nu 20 million, Bhutan Telecom will connect the five
scattered villages of Lunana Gewog with B-Mobile network before the end of 2011.”
Yet, setting up the network is only one part of the challenge. Operation and maintenance for reliable service provision pose another challenge both technically and financially. But BTL and its staff are committed to meeting these challenges as part of its corporate social responsibility
although it is not feasible commercially.
Likewise, I too have made numerous trips to immigration
office to extend my stay in Bhutan; so much so that the
pretty girl behind the counter know me by first name.
Back home my relatives were obviously worried that I am
not coming back to them. They were of the view that the
mountain spirits had mesmerized my soul and was holding me back. It was therefore of no surprise to me when
they conducted a purification ceremony when I last visited them. I invited some of them to visit Bhutan and they
were enchanted by the beauty of the country. Now, they
know why I prefer to work in Bhutan.
What make my stay in Bhutan special are the people that
I work with. Bhutanese people are in general very generous and polite but bosses and colleagues of Bhutan Telecom are special. I would remember the friend who is fascinated with food and still feel hungry after a hearty meal;
I would remember the friend who is in late thirties yet
enjoying the freedom that comes with bachelorship; I
would remember my cricket captain who also introduced
me to bowling; I would remember the friend who taught
me the very first local dialect that I learnt, I thank my
stars that I did not use those word on anyone. I would
remember my first date.
Six years in Bhutan and working for Bhutan Telecom have
been a very special experience for me, the memories I
shall cherish for long time to come. I was born an Indian
but I lived as Bhutanese. I am also starting to believe that
I must have done some remarkable good deeds in my
past life that god has gifted me these wonderful years in
Bhutan. Sooner or later I have to wake up from this wonderful dream and face the reality, because at the other
end of the rainbow my families are eagerly waiting for my
return. I came here as an uncertain boy and when the
time comes I shall return as a matured man. I am sure
that they will be preparing the best of Hyderabadi Biryani
especially for me but I guess it is their turn to taste the
“emadatse” that I would prepare for them.
Your Page
The BTL Newsletter Team would like to request you to provide your valuable feedbacks so that we can improve our future
issues. We request all the writers to send your write-ups related to telecommunications, philosophical ideas, GNH, interesting anecdotes to [email protected]
From our next issue, we will be having a separate page for the interested writers titled “Your Page” to include your entries.
Therefore, we encourage all the interested people to make their presence in our Newsletter. It will make a difference!
Technology can provide a link that further unites our state, a link that bridges our vast prairies and sandhills.—
Dave Heineman
Page 8
Bhutan Telecom News
1. Caring much about his privacy though Facebook is very "open-minded"
Zuckerberg always says that he wants to make Facebook a place where people can be
open-minded and honest and everyone is willing to share their personal information with
others. However, It is ironical that Zuckerberg never public some information in his Facebook page.
2. Having strange interests
His personal interests, such as the famous Latin singer "Shakira" and "abstinence", which
listed in his Facebook page, give us a strange feeling.The personal interests he listed include: making things, minimalism, breaking things, revolution and openness. His favorite
musicians include the Linkin Park and the United States electronic music queen, Lady
Gaga.
3. Fascinating with classical literature, owning imperial ambitions
Zuckerberg grew up in Dobbs Ferry, New York. He attended the best high school in the
United States - Phillips Exeter Academy. He learned Latin, there and became a lover of
classical literature. Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard after studying for two years so as
to pursue the career of Facebook. The Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Vascellaro
wrote, "He was well-known by memorizing Iliad and other epic poems" He also developed some games, which themed by classical literature. "
4. Having a lot of nicknames
His friends and colleagues like to call him "Zach." If you do not believe, you can check out
with the article entitled "to work with Zach" on Facebook. In addition, he has some other
nicknames. According to the Wall Street Journal reporter, Jessica Vascellaro, his mother
called him "prince" when he was young. And His schoolmate, Rebecca Davis O'Brien, told
us in his book that Zuckerberg's friendship gave him a nickname of "killer" when he
attended a party, Alpha Epsilon Pi.
5. Being indifferent to money
He does not seem to care about the money. It is said that someone had offered to pay 10
billion U.S. dollars to acquire his Facebook site, but he rejected. That person is the former
Yahoo CEO Terry Semel. He told the New Yorker that he never meet such a person who is
indifferent to money before. Article Source : http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lily Wan
Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011
Loyalty and promotional offers provided are as follows:
August, November and December
For prepaid customers (Loyalty
bonus based on age-on-network
on 19th August and 17th December,
and refill based bonus on 1st & 11th
November).
August, November and December
For
postpaid
customers
(Percentage discount ranging from
5% to 8% based on age on network and their usage was provided on 19th August, 2010, Free talk
time from 9 am to 4 pm was given
on 1st Nov,2010, a nominal rate of
Nu.0.15/unit for the whole day
was charged on 11th Nov,2010 and
free Onnet calls for whole day except peak hours was given on 17th
Dec,2010).
December, 2010
Go green with BTL campaign provided one Power Voucher free for
every 100 used B-Mobile vouchers
of any denominations.
The MD and some senior BTL staff at the Annual General and
Budget Meeting, Phuentsholing, in Nov. 2010.
In this new wave of technology, you can't do it all yourself, you have to form alliances . -Carlos Slim Helu
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Bhutan Telecom News
Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011
FOR DETAILS VISIT: www.bt.bt
TOLL FREE NO: 1600
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Bhutan Telecom News
Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011
The Kuenphen Voucher was launched on 12th March 2011 for just Nu 25.
It is the cheapest Voucher that we have today. Kuenphen Voucher is
like any other Vouchers!!!
While Vouchers are easily available in town, it
is not in everyone’s capacity to purchase.
What if you have to make call and you don’t have enough money to recharge? What if you earn less and can’t spend more on
Vouchers? Or what if your relatives in the village ask you to recharge time and again and you don’t have enough money for
yourself?
To solve all your problems and to answer to the above questions, Bhutan Telecom Limited has launched a new recharge Voucher called the Kuenphen Voucher, where all our subscribers can recharge their pre-paid connections for amount as low as Nu 25
and enjoy 15 days validity.
“The main idea is to make it affordable and reasonable for all our users”, said Bhutan Telecom’s Manager, Marketing Communication, Sangay Wangdi. “Considering the low income of our people in the rural areas and the need to spent more on other necessary things, we have come up with this new Voucher”, he said.
Kuenphen Voucher can now be purchased from Bhutan Telecom counters or any dealers in the town at just Nu 25.
Announcement
Bhutan Telecom Limited would like to inform our valued customers that the Telephone Directory for the year 2011
is not published, instead it is being uploaded on our website www.bt.bt for your reference.
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Bhutan Telecom News
Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011
Telecom News
Revised SMS tariff & Prepaid SIM Registration Cost
The SMS tariff and prepaid registration cost is revised from 1st Feb 2011. The revised
tariff is as follows:
SMS Tariff Revision
Off-net: Nu. 0.70 per SMS
On-net :Nu. 0.45 per SMS
Reduction of Prepaid registration cost
Registration (SIM) cost will be Nu.50 with a free talk time of Nu. 50.
DrukNet Wi-Fi
Bhutan Telecom Limited provided the test launch of Wi-Fi Internet access to its
broadband customers at the end of December 2010. It is an optional/alternative access provided as a value-added service to Druknet’s broadband users. For now,
DrukNet Wi-Fi 1 is a trial run. If successful, the coverage will be expanded to other
selected locations and regions.
Next Generation Network
Bhutan Telecom Limited did the network migration from the old to the new Next
Generation Network (NGN) on 10th January 2011. The general idea behind the NGN
is that one network transports all information and services (voice, data, and all sorts
of media such as video) by encapsulating these into packets, like it is done on
the Internet.
Bhutan Telecom Limited has been awarded ‘Growth Engine for Internet Service’
& ‘Growth Engine for Mobile Service’ in Bhutan in 2010 by Voice & Data.
BTL Newsletter Team
Chief Coordinator: Deo Kumar Biswa, GM, Marketing Division
Chief Editor: Tshering Cigay Dorji, Ph.D, Manager, BIA
Editor: Tshering Pem, Marketing Manager. Sonam Yangzom, Acting Manager, Sales
Layout & Design: Yam Raj, Marketing Officer
 1985 - Cellular car phones introduced & 1988 - Auto-Dialing
phone cards introduced.
 Alexander Graham Bell originally wanted the greeting for the
telephone to be "Ahoy" but
Thomas Edison voted for
"Hello," a word he coined in
1877.
 The original name of the telephone was the harmonic telegraph.
 Globally, about $1 trillion is
spent annually on telecommunications products and services.
 The busiest organization in the
world is the Pentagon, which
has 34,500 lines and gets 1 million calls a day.
 Sweden is the country with the
greatest penetration of telephones. It has 229 phones for
every 1,000 people.
 The longest phone cable is a
submarine cable called FLAG
(Fiber-Optic Link Around the
Globe). It spans 16,800 miles
from Japan to the United Kingdom and can carry 600,000 calls
at a time.
 The first computer mouse was
introduced in 1968 by Douglas
Engelbart at the Fall Joint Computer Expo in San Francisco.
 In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee
coined the term 'World Wide
Web'.
 The very first hard drive was
capable of storing only 5 MB of
data.
 On an average, a person spends
about 51 minutes per session
surfing the net. This works out
to about 25 hours a month surfing the Internet.
 The Internet achieved 50 million users in 5 years. It took the
radio 38 years, and it took the
TV 13 years to reach the same
figure. Despite the high number
of users, 80% of the world's
population does not use the
Internet.
© 2010 Bhutan Telecom Ltd.
Registered Office: 2/28 Drophen Lam, Thimphu Bhutan, Toll Free : 1600
Telephone (PABX) +975 2 322678, 322850 /Fax +975 2 324312/ Website: www.bt.bt
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