Monthly Archives: May 2012

Weak infrastructure hampers growth in online advertising

Weak telecommunication infrastructure remains the main obstacle for the growth of online advertising in Indonesia, despite the huge potential to sell products through the Internet, a media executive says.

Agung Adiprasetyo, CEO of Kompas Gramedia, said in Bali on Thursday that unlike in the US and Europe, in Indonesia, online advertising had not affected traditional media, such as newspapers and magazines.

“Even though online advertising spending has doubled or even tripled in the last few years, it is still small as it started from a very low figure, he said. “Future growth will be flat if there no significant improvement in telecommunication infrastructure,” Agung said in his opening remark at the Asia-Pacific Media Forum on Thursday.

At the end of 2000, there were roughly 260 million Internet users in the world. Last year, the number jumped to 2.3 billion users, with Asia home to the largest number of users, and this number still growing.

In developed countries, the traditional media industry is struggling, marked by declining revenues from advertising, which has been the main source of income for the past four decades.

In developing countries such as Indonesia, the growth in online advertising is still relatively low.

Agung said that building a brand through the new media would not be easy due to the lack of credibility of some websites, which were often associated with hoaxes and misleading information.

People in the advertising industry should therefore think about a concept that combines the use of both traditional and new media in promoting a product or a brand.

“The final goal is how to optimize the use of all forms of media to build our brands by using the right
method,” he said.

According to data from AC Nielsen, Indonesia has 200 million cell phone users, 78 percent of which own an Internet-capable cell phone.

There are 55 million people accessing the Internet through a laptop or desktop computer, about 20 percent of the population, with Internet access through cell phones higher. There has been phenomenal growth in the last five years because of the price of cell phones and the declining cost of connectivity. Indonesians are also known as savvy social media users, ranked third in the number of Twitter users after Japan and India and fourth in Facebook after the US, Brazil and India.

The Internet’s contribution to the economy, which has doubled since 2008, is projected to grow three times faster than the overall economy over the next five years, according to a Google report. The report forecasts that the annual contribution of the Internet to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Indonesia will jump from the current 1.6 percent, or around US$13.3 billion, to at least 2.5 percent by 2016.

Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Marie Elka Pangestu said that businesses had to change to use new media to be more creative.

“The advertising business is changing. TV and printed media are still important sources for news, but online media is becoming increasingly important as well; although, we have to be careful about the quality of the information. The use of Internet TV is also expected to explode in the next 12 months.”

She said that the number of people accessing advertisements and commercial messages through social media was around 20 percent with 11 percent looking for items to buy and 8 percent advertising items to sell. The growth of advertisement spending in television, newspapers and magazines was about 20 percent last year, with a value of around Rp 72 trillion or $7.7 billion.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/25/weak-infrastructure-hampers-growth-online-advertising.html

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China to start issuing e-passports

China’s e-passports will better protect citizens’ personal data and national security, said customs officials on Tuesday, as authorities nationwide geared up for the introduction of the new high-tech system.

The 48-page travel document, which will be issued starting May 15, is fitted with a chip on the last page. Each page has an anti-forgery label.

Only police and customs authorities will be able to access the information on the chip, which includes the holder’s name, photograph and fingerprints.

“In this way, no one can copy or use an e-passport that is lost or stolen,” said Tang Lei, head of e-passport management for Beijing Public Security Bureau’s exit-entry administration.

“The e-passport will be effective in protecting national security and convenient for residents when passing through customs checkpoints.”

So far, more than 100 fingerprint recorders have been installed at the exit-entry administrations that process applications across the capital. Authorities say that staff members responsible for coping with the application work have received extensive training.

Although the e-passport will increase the workload for staff, it will take just one or two more minutes to finish an application.

Starting May 15, new applicants will get e-passports after storing thumb fingerprints and signatures, while old passports can still be used, if valid, said Lin Song, an officer in the administration.

The cost for the passport application will remain 200 yuan ($30).

The application process in Beijing will be suspended on Monday to transfer the system.

In Shanghai, the acceptance of passport applications will be suspended for the three work days prior to May 15 to prepare devices and make system upgrades, said Li Feng, a publicity official for the Shanghai Public Security Bureau’s exit-entry administration.

More than 90 countries in the world, including the United States and Japan, already use e-passports, according to the administration.

“It’s inevitable for such advanced technology to step into residents’ lives,” said Tang, who hailed the arrival of e-passports as an important step for China to take toward automatic processing at customs points.

“If the e-passport is developed well in China, the automatic pass, or pass without labor management, in customs will be implemented as soon as possible,” Tang said, adding that it would be like the self-service ticketing on buses in the capital.

However, exactly when that could be realized is uncertain, he said.

The e-passport service has received plaudits from applicants.

“A passport can sometimes work as a substitute ID card when checking in at hotels or boarding a flight. It would be horrifying if my passport was fraudulently used by others,” said Zhou Shuwen, 25, who works in a public relations agency in Shanghai.

However, others fear the need for fingerprints will be inconvenient, especially when it comes to visas.

“I have to personally go to the site to give my fingerprint with this new passport,” said Tang Wenzhe, a Shanghai native and a travel enthusiast.

“Then what is the need to pay for travel agencies? I want them to help me with the string of application procedures,” she added.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, China issues more than 10 million regular passports every year, and that number is increasing by 20 percent annually.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/09/china-start-issuing-e-passports.html

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StanChart expands e-banking for SMEs

Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart) Indonesia has expanded its e-banking facilities, which will allow its small- and medium- enterprise (SME) clients to manage cash transactions and tax payments through the Internet, which will be particularly helpful for those in the export business.

Both the Business Plus and Business Essentials programs, launched on Thursday, use a dedicated online banking platform run by the bank’s SME unit. They target customers with turnovers of between Rp 2.4 billion (US$260,000) and Rp 375 billion per year.

“The leverage we offer customers is our vast network in 70 countries,” SME Banking General Manager Micha Tampubolon said at the launch.

“Many clients are exporters who need a bank with a broad network,” Micha said, adding that they were in the chemical, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, information technology, packaging and printing industries.

Standard Chartered, one of 10 fully foreign-owned banks operating in Indonesia, established its SME units in 2004 to tap the lucrative potential of the sector, which consists of some 60 percent of the Indonesian economy.

The SME units accounted for less than 10 percent of the bank’s total revenues and disbursed Rp 2 trillion in loans in 2011, but Micha predicted that the unit’s contribution would grow to 15 percent in the next two years through an expected 70-percent growth in revenue.

The launching of the two e-banking programs is in keeping with Standard Chartered’s global operation, which considered SME banking as one of its core businesses, particularly in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The new e-banking programs would simplify transactions for clients, Micha said. If a customer had to pay to ten vendors, the program could just make one transaction and the bank would distribute the payment to the ten vendors, he said citing an example.

Through a virtual account system, a customer only need to open one account and the bank will open additional accounts in each city where the customer does its businesses, he added

Standard Chartered’s operation in Indonesia dates back as far as 1863, when the archipelago was still a Dutch colony. Its Rp 47.6 trillion assets at the end of 2011 make it the fourth-largest foreign bank in Indonesia, after Citibank, HSBC Bank and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. It is also a part-owner of PT Bank Permata, Indonesia’s eighth-largest lender by assets.

Standard Chartered currently operates 26 branches in eight cities across Indonesia, including seven SME service centers. (han)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/11/stanchart-expands-e-banking-smes.html

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Telkom’s new CEO set to expand data services

Like many other entry-level employees, Arief Yahya might have joined the nation’s top telephone company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (TLKM) in 1986 with hopes of making it to the top.

Twenty six years on, the little steps made — from a staff worker, regional head in East Java and Kalimantan, to director of enterprises and wholesale — turned fruitful as Telkom’s shareholders on Friday agreed to replace Rinaldi Firmansyah, who held the president director position at the company since 2005, with Arief.

The 51-year-old new chief, who studied telecommunications engineering at England’s University of Surrey, promised to accelerate the path created by his predecessor – to grow Telkom’s revenue by 8 percent by focusing on information, media and education (IME) services that require broadband technology.

“We will accelerate telecommunication and IME business lines and expand broadband and Speedy [Internet service] throughout Indonesia,” said Arief, who is also a graduate of the electrical engineering department at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

Indonesia’s telecommunication companies have shifted focus to broadband and data services as the cellular business has reached a saturation point, with revenue from cellular businesses coming under pressure from tight competition.

Telkom booked a 17.5 percent year-on-year increase in net income in the first quarter of this year to Rp 3.3 trillion amid profit slumps suffered by rivals PT Indosat (ISAT) and PT XL Axiata (EXCL) — supported by demand for Internet and data services from its cellular subsidiary PT Telekomunikasi Seluler (Telkomsel).

“The conservative overall revenue target [of 8 percent] reflects the rationale that it is not an easy job to achieve above 10 percent growth,” MNC head of research Edwin Sebayang said.

“About the new president director, I think it’s a good move, considering that Arief is an internal executive and he has worked there for a long time.”

Arief, born in the so-called Banyuwangi “sunrise of Java”, also lauded the new management team of Telkom, which he called the “bright and young generation” who would grow Telkom further.

Telkom has set sights to acquire Asia’s leading undersea cable operator, Pacnet, and float shares of subsidiary PT Dayamitra Telekomunikasi (Mitratel) to grow its business.

“I might be the only one in my 50’s while the other directors are now in their 40s,” he said, citing new 43-year-old network and solution director Rizkan Chandra as the youngest.

Telkom’s other new directors include Honesti Basyir (finance), Sukardi Silalahi (consumer), Priyantono Rudito (human capital and general affair), Muhammad Awaludin (enterprise and wholesale) and Ririek Adriansyah (compliance and risk management).

Indra Utoyo retained his position as solutions and strategic portfolio director.

Telkom’s directors received almost Rp 6.5 billion (US$708,500) compensation each in 2009, of which Rp 1.6 billion are annual salaries, according to Forbes business magazine.

There are also three new commissioners, namely Parikesit Suprapto and Hadiyanto, who are Echelon I officials at the state-owned enterprise and finance ministries, as well as Virano Nasution.

Former transportation minister Jusman Syafii Djamal maintained his post as president commissioner. (yps)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/12/telkom-s-new-ceo-set-expand-data-services.html

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Telco industry call for a change in technology policy

A lobby group for communication and information technology industries recently called for a change in the government’s spectrum policy to ensure that mobile phone operators will have more flexibility in using technology to improve their services.

Setyanto P. Sentosa, chairman of the Indonesian Telecommunication Society (Mastel), said there should be a breakthrough to halt the fall in the average revenue per user (ARPU) of the operators, which was now at a record low of between Rp 30,000 (US$3.27) and Rp 40,000 per month.

A study by IE Market Research estimates that by 2013, the ARPU could slide to Rp 31,200 per month.

Setyanto said that this low ARPU could rise by 15 percent if the government applied a “technology neutral spectrum policy” in which regulators left the industry to decide the technologies applicable to a given spectrum.

The government currently regulates the technology that can access a certain spectrum. The 1900 megahertz and 900 megahertz spectrum, for example, are respectively dedicated to CDMA and GSM-standard technologies. Both standards are among the main network technologies.

According to Setyanto, operators must freely decide upon the technology to be used to meet the surge in data consumption.

Data consumption, especially through the Internet, is best supported by third generation (3G) technologies, which enable easy access to multimedia applications and broadband services.

“Technological advances cannot be locked on to one type of technology, given the rapid development in [technology use],” Setyanto said.

However, operators are facing trouble in providing sufficient 3G services to their customers given that the current channels are already full of traffic. The condition has prompted operators, including PT Telkomsel and PT XL Axiata, to request the government to put the 2.1 megahertz spectrum up for bids.

Muhammad Budi Setiawan, the director general for post and telecommunications at the Communication and Information Ministry, said that the 2.3 megahertz spectrum currently was the only technologically neutral spectrum.

“The regulators have made a small step. Hopefully, we can apply this to all spectrums, but of course, we will act prudently in applying whichever technology,” he said.

He added that the regulators were deliberating on applying technological neutrality to the 900 megahertz spectrum, which is currently used for GSM.

“We aim to realize this by this year or early next year, by the latest,” he said, adding that regulators had to consider the interests of various stakeholders before coming to a decision.

According to Setiawan, operators had to ensure that if the 900 megahertz spectrum was available for technological neutrality, operators using the spectrum had to guarantee keeping up the 2G GSM on this spectrum.

“If they suddenly switched to 3G, users of low-end, feature phones would loose connection to their services and would be forced to move to another operator,” he said.

Feature phone users outnumber smartphone users. Only 17 percent of the mobile phone market was in smartphones as of last year, the International Data Corporation (IDC) estimated.

“If these users lose service, they have to switch to handsets that support 3G and these handsets are still expensive because they are priced above Rp 1 million,” Budi said.

However, World Bank consultant Jan Van Rees said that 3G-enabled mobile phones are now more affordable.

“Technological developments have made them cheaper,” he said. “So people in rural areas can afford them.”

He added that implementing technological neutrality would facilitate broadband penetration in rural areas since operators were no longer required to build towers for mobile broadband. Operators only need to upgrade their equipment at existing towers to enable mobile broadband.

The government has targeted 30 percent broadband penetration by 2014, as part of the Mid-Term
National Development Plan.

“This is 50 percent to 70 percent cheaper,” he said, adding that the availability of broadband in rural areas would benefit the education and health care sectors by opening access to information.

Hans C. Moritz, director and chief technology officer of PT Indosat, said however that operators aimed to efficiently use the spectrum licensed to them.

“Rather than the technology itself, we are more concerned with deploying the technology that costs the cheapest for us and our customers,” he said, during a discussion on the subject held by Mastel.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/14/telco-industry-call-a-change-technology-policy.html

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Mobile industry in the dark on plans for new import rules

The government is unilaterally working on a new regulation that would affect business deals between mobile phone principals and their importers, as shown by the unawareness of most industry players.

The new regulation, which will supplement a trade regulation on imported goods, is expected to broadly affect the robust growth of mobile phone sales in the biggest economy in Southeast Asia.

With the intention of guaranteeing the originality of gadgets in the market and curbing illegal imports, the government would require mobile phone importers to obtain import permits from the brands’ principals, in addition to sourcing imports solely from the brand holders.

In an already saturated market where SIM card penetration is at 120 percent of the total population, mobile phone imports only grew by 2 percent to 44.8 million units last year, according to research by PT Sucofindo and PT surveyor Indonesia, with a total value of US$1.92 billion.

Budi Darmadi, the Industry Ministry’s director general for high-technology priority industries, said the regulation would enable the government to monitor mobile phone imports more effectively.

“The concept behind this regulation is also to encourage the manufacturing of medium-to-low-end mobile phone models in Indonesia,” he added.

The regulation is slated for completion this month or June, by the latest. Yet, players in the mobile phone industry say that they were not fully aware of this regulation.

PT Samsung Indonesia spokesman Willy Bayu Sentosa said that he has not received information on the matter.

Indonesia Cellular Phone Provider Association (ATSI) secretary-general Ann Gusnayanti said there were no meetings yet with the ministry to discuss the issue.

Similarly, Ardo Fadhola, the country product manager for PT Research in Motion Indonesia, said that he had not received exact information on the regulation either.

“What I can say is that we have appointed three official distributors for Indonesia,” he said, adding that the company and the distributors have already complied with existing regulations.

“We have also guaranteed that whomever buys our products from these three distributors would be entitled to our after-sales service,” he said.

Djatmiko Wardoyo, the spokesman for PT Erajaya Swasembada, also said that he had yet to fully understand what the new regulation would entail.

However, he added that the regulation would most probably compel the company, whose three subsidiaries hold licenses over 11 global mobile phone brands, to reorganize the way they conduct business.

According to Djatmiko, if the regulation would order one company to hold one brand only, the company must then create additional subsidiaries, given that a subsidiary could hold up to five different mobile phone brands.

Their subsidiary, PT Teletama Artha Mandiri (TAM), for example, holds licenses for Samsung and Research in Motion, among others.

Erajaya went public last year. Their revenues went up to 221 percent to Rp 317 trillion (US$34.24 billion) in the first quarter of 2012 from Rp 989.2 billion in the same period last year following the acquisition of TAM.

Djatmiko pointed out that the cost of setting up these new units would be “insignificant” when compared to the effort they would have to put into renegotiating licenses between these new units and the principals.

“There should have been a three-party discussion between the government, distributors such as Erajaya, and the principals of the brands,” he said.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/15/mobile-industry-dark-plans-new-import-rules.html

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‘Time to harness the Internet for social change’

A prominent human rights campaigner said that the time is right for social and political activists to tap the potential of the Internet to create an online network to wage campaigns on numerous agendas.

Usman Hamid, former chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said that social networking sites such as Facebook and the popular micro-blogging site Twitter could be very effective in promoting change in the community.

“Take the example of popular movements in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia,” he said on Monday, referring to the three countries which were freed from their oppressive regimes during what is now known as the Arab Spring movement.

Usman said that the use of social media during the Arab Spring significantly contributed to change in the region.

He also said that the Internet could be a “cost-effective” agent of change.

“Now we can voice our opinions digitally and gather wider support. We don’t necessarily have to take to the streets anymore,” Usman said.

He said that the Internet was a more open space for political education compared to traditional media because the interference from the government is rather deficient in what he called “a virtual public sphere”.

Usman cited a number of examples of how the Internet had been successfully used to build a movement, including the online petition to free whistle blower Prita Mulyasari and a massive online campaign to challenge the prosecution of former Corruption Eradication Commission members Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra Hamzah, who were accused of accepting bribes.

Usman also said that activists could start the online movement today rather than waiting for the election season to arrive in 2014 or 2019.

A study by Frost and Sullivan predicts that the number of Internet users in Indonesia will rocket from 40 million in 2011 to 175 million by 2016.

As of November last year, Indonesia had 40.8 million Facebook accounts, second only to the United States with 155.98 million users.

After Indonesia, most Facebook users are in India (38 million), the United Kingdom (30.48), Turkey (30.47 million), Brazil (30.4 million), Mexico (30.1 million) the Philippines (26.7 million) France (23.2 million) and Germany (21.6 million).

Additionally, Indonesia has 6.2 million Twitter accounts, or 2.6 percent of the total population, third only after Japan with 16.1 million users and India with 6.4 million.

Social activist Salamuddin Daeng of the Institute for Global Justice (IGJ) contradicted Usman’s statement, saying that social media was only suited for trivial purposes.

Salamuddin said that social networks were suitable to discuss “light topics”, and that there was barely a connection between political movements and advances in technology.

“I think social media is only effective to disseminate simple information, but you cannot really use it to educate people about politics and social issues. How can you give an in-depth explanation about poverty that plagues hundreds of millions of Indonesians via Twitter? You have to do this in person,” he said.

Salamuddin said that it was actual movement in the real world that brought about change and the online movement could only be effective if a real network had been set up.

University of Indonesia media analyst Roby Muhamad said that there is no ready-made formula to determine the success of the news media in generating change.

“What’s more important is the people. Do they really understand the technology? The main purpose of social networking is to spread information,” he said.

He added that social media today is simply made of tools that are very similar to other means that activists had been using for decades. (tas)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/22/time-harness-internet-social-change.html

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PADI reports sharp rise in net profits

Brokerage and underwriting company PT Minna Padi Investama (PADI) saw very strong growth in its net profits this quarter, soaring to Rp 31.7 billion (US$3.4 million) from a mere Rp 375 million over the same period last year thanks to a sharp increase in its investment returns.

PADI president director Djoko Joelijanto said in Jakarta on Monday that the company’s profits from its stock market investments reached Rp 25.2 billion during the first three months of this year.

With the sharp increase in profits in the first quarter of this year, the company has already met this year’s profit target of Rp 25.5 billion, Djoko said. But, he said the company did not have any plans to raise the target because there were concerns that the worsening eurozone debt crisis could affect the Indonesian stock market.

The company’s total revenues also surged year-on-year to Rp 34 billion in the first quarter, up 11-fold from Rp 3 billion, said PADI director Triny Talesu.

PADI raised about Rp 118.5 billion from the company’s initial public offering (IPO) in January this year. The company plans to use Rp 97.4 billion from the IPO to boost its working capital. Up to March, the company had spent Rp 75 billion on working capital.

The company has also repaid loans of Rp 1.3 billion to PT Bank Arta Graha Internasional. Another Rp 14.4 billion will be used to open new branches in Indonesia.

In March, PADI opened a new branch in Intercon, Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, adding to their current four branches in Surabaya, Semarang and Solo.

Djoko said that the company might look to Medan and Bali in opening its next branches.

“But we are leaning slightly toward Bali, because the market in Medan is getting crowded with competitors,” he said.

A further Rp 2.8 billion from the IPO will be used for developing information technology systems and online trading services to cater to PADI’s newer, more tech-savvy, clients.

“On the other hand, our long-time clients are more likely to call us rather than use the online systems, as they don’t want any hassle,” Triny said. (han)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/22/padi-reports-sharp-rise-net-profits.html

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Sweet tweeting: Mixing food and social networking

Social networking and food — now Twitter, don’t sound so bad.

Enter Aur’s Cakery, a Jakarta-based bakery venture owned by aspiring baker Aurora Kalista. Despite the bakery lacking a storefront and any signage normally associated with a traditional bakery, Aur’s Cakery obtains its customer base mainly through its active presence across various social networking platforms, including Twitter and Facebook.

Through the two platforms, the bakery’s customers and potential customers can browse through numerous photos of cakes, receive updates on new products and even communicate with Kalista about their orders.

Eighteen-year-old Kalista first registered Aur’s Cakery’s Twitter account in October 2011 after consulting fellow baker friends. Seven months later, her bakery’s Twitter account has more than 4,200 followers. “The bakery’s presence on the social network has helped me reach out to a much wider audience that would otherwise be unattainable. Before Twitter, [my customers] were limited to friends of friends in Jakarta. Now, I have customers from around Jabotabek. Most of them found my bakery through Twitter or Facebook,” said Kalista.

Customers do not stay put once they find Aur’s Cakery Twitter or Facebook page. They utilize the social networks to facilitate their communication with Kalista herself. Kalista said she typically interacts with her customers at least four to five times a day. “My customers do not only ask questions about my products or ordering but also post photos of their received orders and provide feedback on my products.”

Kalista added, “I have now allotted a separate BlackBerry device for Aur’s Cakery to enhance my customer outreach through social networks.”

It is no secret that Indonesians make up a large proportion of Twitter’s total users. Since the social network’s inception in March 2006, Twitter’s Indonesian users have steadily increased over the years. Thanks to the substantial BlackBerry, iPhone, Android and other smartphone usage in the nation, Twitter’s Indonesian users can easily send and receive information for both business and leisure purposes.

Aur’s Cakery is not the only Jakarta-based small food business that has expanded into social network platforms. Nuria’s Deli, a recently established Japanese and dessert eatery in Tebet owned by University of Indonesia graduate Nuria Said, humbly began as Nuria’s Kitchen, an online-based small bakery.

Said’s initial intention was to develop a small online-based bakery catering to French patisserie connoisseurs. However, over time Said’s customer base grew and so did her market response, and so the 25-year-old decided to open up her own restaurant. She now has four employees to help her with her bakery and restaurant — opting to do most of the baking and cooking herself.

“I started out as a one person company and through hard work and extensive marketing via social media, [my customer base] grew from only close relatives and friends to nationwide.”

Said added, “[Now] customers of Nuria’s Kitchen spread from Surabaya to Jakarta, Kalimantan to Sulawesi. Marketing is mostly done through Twitter and web-blogging.”

Like Kalista, Said considers social network platforms an effective way to efficiently respond to customers’ orders. She believes that social networks enable her to continuously improve her products as the platforms help her to get speedy feedback from customers.

“Although every coin has two sides, negative comments [on the platforms] may generate negative responses from new customers, but I think if it’s constructive criticism. What doesn’t kill us will only make us a stronger brand,” Said said.

The intermingling of the food business and social networking benefits not only customers but also businesses.

Actress Olla Ramlan for example, frequently employs social networking sites to order and provide feedback to local food businesses.

Olla said, “Technology allows food businesses to be much more efficient than they were in the past … The quality of ordered food itself is more superior than ready-made food because it is fresh.”

Observing the ever-increasing usage of technology for various purposes, Ramlan also recommends that more local businesses enter the Web to market and promote their products.

In today’s rapidly changing media landscape, social networks are relatively inexpensive and are a very accessible platform that any business can use to combine marketing with communicating to their target market.

With more than 200 million accounts on Twitter and over 500 million on Facebook, social networking platforms have all the possibilities to enhance a business’ online exposure with building social channels that maximize a business’ presence, generate patronage and increase profits.

Have an idea to begin your own business? Start now. Start expanding into social networking. Reach your customer base. Establish a more personal relationship with your customers. With technology, all of this is possible.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/28/sweet-tweeting-mixing-food-and-social-networking.html

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Saturation point for mobiles?

What’s next after China hit a new milestone of having more than 1 billion mobile phone accounts? The gradually saturated market has ended the easy growth period for Chinese telecom operators. However, there is still enough room for future growth so long as companies adopt new business models and adapt to the fast-changing industry, analysts said.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in March that the total number of mobile subscriptions increased by 20.67 million during the first two months this year to hit a record high of 1.01 billion.

China is the world’s first country to reach the billion landmark. The country took less than five years to double its mobile phone accounts to 1 billion, adding subscribers at a steady pace between 8 million to 12 million a month in recent years.

India in the meantime exceeded the 900 million subscription mark in February.

“The 1 billion mark does mean some saturation in China. It’s a big challenge for telecom carriers,” said David C. Michael, a senior partner at Boston Consulting Group.

At the end of 2011, China had a population of about 1.35 billion. At the end of February, the official count of mobile phone subscribers was 1 billion, which means almost 75 percent of Chinese people have a cell phone.

Executives from Chinese telecom operators, however, expect the figure to continue growing, as they think that it is very possible that every Chinese person will own more than one handset.

Wang Jianzhou, former chairman of China Mobile Communications Corp, who retired in March, said the mobile phone subscription number in China is on its way to 1.3 billion, the same size as the Chinese population. “Even if it reaches 1.3 billion, it will still grow,” Wang said.

In the United States, the number of mobile phone accounts has already surpassed the population. While in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, the number of mobile subscriptions is more than 1.5 times larger than its population.

“In many developing countries people may not have a computer but they own a mobile phone,” said Chen Jinqiao, deputy chief engineer of the China Academy of Telecommunication Research.

In addition, as companies and individuals may have two or more subscriptions each, the 1 billion figure does not indicate how many mobile phone users there are in China.

“The actual number of mobile phone users in China is far less than 1 billion. If it is true that we have 1 billion users, we’ve still got 300 million people that don’t own mobile phones,” said Chang Xiaobing, chairman of China United Network Communications Group, in an interview in March.

However, Chinese telecom operators admitted that they should change the way of doing business in the future.

“Basically, the period of easy growth for Chinese operators is over. They have to face the new environment,” Michael from

BCG said. In the past, the business model could be simple – just selling the SIM cards. Now the business model has started to become more complicated, he said.

The country is moving from a 2G society to a 3G society and is likely to start commercial use of 4G telecom networks in less than two years.

The fast-changing telecom environment means a potential explosion in data service businesses, as more people will be connected to the Internet via their smartphones and people use handsets not only for entertainment but also for study and work.

“If the 3G service penetration rate in China reaches 30 or 40 percent, there will be a huge opportunity for telecom companies so long as they prepare for the change in advance,” said Chang from China Unicom.

China Mobile employees promoting sales of mobile phones at a university campus in Nanjing, capital city of Jiangsu province. As the number of cell phone subscriptions exceeds 1 billion in China, some industry experts say it will be a challenge for telecom carriers to further increase their sales in what may be a saturated market. (Courtesy of China Daily)

The number of 3G service subscribers in China rose by 15.5 million in the first two months to reach 143.92 million. The figure is expected to exceed 300 million by 2012, which means China’s 3G penetration rate is about a quarter of the population, according to a report from Beijing-based research firm Analysys International.

China Mobile Ltd, the world’s biggest telecom carrier by user numbers, has already tasted initial success from data businesses.

In 2011, China Mobile saw its fastest rate of revenue increase in wireless data traffic. The unit’s revenue increased by 45 percent year-on-year and contributed 8.4 percent to the company’s operating revenue.

“Most Chinese people still rely on mobile phones as a tool for calls and text messages. However, mobile carriers have started to offer different data services and different types of pricing to explore new revenue sources. It’s just a start and we will see more coming,” said Xiang Ligang, a telecom industry expert.

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