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Mobile telecoms in Pakistan 巴基斯坦的移動通信業(yè)
At last, 3G
終于等到你，3G
The government raises a bit of money and gets a long-awaited industry started
政府籌集到了一定資金，啟動了長期停滯的產(chǎn)業(yè)
Now we can really start shopping
現(xiàn)在我們可以真正意義上開始購物
IN PAKISTAN, as in other poor parts of the world, mobile telecoms are vital to the country's development, bypassing obstructive bureaucrats and bringing services directly to the masses—from banking to voter registration. Yet it is the only country in South Asia that does not have high-speed mobile internet, because only this week, after eight years of delays and regulatory snarl-ups, did it at last hold an auction of the spectrum required to roll out 3G and 4G services.
移動通信的發(fā)展對于巴基斯坦以及世界上其他的貧困地區(qū)的發(fā)展至關(guān)重要，避開官僚作風(fēng)的阻礙，將直接服務(wù)于大眾—從銀行業(yè)到選民登記。同時，他也是南亞沒有高速移動網(wǎng)絡(luò)的國家。因為在持續(xù)8年的推延以及官僚阻滯的影響下，直到這個星期，巴基斯坦才舉行開展3G和4G業(yè)務(wù)所需頻譜的招標(biāo)。
Demand for the licences fell short of the government's hopes. The finance minister, Ishaq Dar, had talked of the auction raising $2 billion; in the end it produced just under $1.2 billion. Successful bids were made by two local operators, Mobilink and Ufone, and two foreign ones, China Mobile and Telenor of Norway. Two other big foreign firms that had been expected to take part, Saudi Telecom and Turkcell of Turkey, got cold feet after, it is said, having their request for exclusive one-year licences rejected.
運營權(quán)的需求度低于政府的預(yù)期。金融部長Ishaq Dar曾經(jīng)提及招標(biāo)計劃是20億美金，但是最后只產(chǎn)生了12億不到。成功中標(biāo)的包括Mobilink 以及Ufone 這兩家本土公司以及China Mobile 和 Telenor of Norway這兩家國外公司。其他兩個國外大集團(tuán)Saudi Telecom 和 Turkcell of Turkey曾有望參與其中，但是卻臨陣退縮了。據(jù)說是因為拒絕了他們一年經(jīng)營權(quán)的要求。
The year Pakistan's government first talked about auctioning 3G spectrum, 2006, was the year Sri Lanka actually started its services. India held its auction in 2010. Even now, in both these countries only a modest proportion of the population enjoys access to high-speed mobile broadband—but they are far ahead of Pakistan and Bangladesh (see chart).
在斯里蘭卡實際開啟其3G業(yè)務(wù)的2006年，巴基斯坦政府第一次提及3G頻譜的拍賣。印度在2010年招標(biāo)。即使是現(xiàn)在，這兩個國家只有一部分人喜歡連接高速移動寬帶——但是這比例也遠(yuǎn)比巴基斯坦和孟加拉要高。
In 2003 Pakistan's then military dictator, Pervez Musharraf, deregulated mobile telecoms to attract foreign investment. But the civilian administration that succeeded him in 2008 spent years lurching from one crisis to another, and failed to promote the industry. A new government, in power since last June, has faced down protests from opposition politicians and, at last, held the auction.
2003年，巴基斯坦當(dāng)時的軍事*者Pervez Musharraf解除對于移動通信業(yè)的管制來吸引外商投資。但是2008年接任的平民政府在不斷發(fā)生的危機(jī)中步履蹣跚，發(fā)展該產(chǎn)業(yè)也失敗了。去年六月上臺的新政府面對反對派的*，最終舉行了招標(biāo)。
It could have copied war-torn Afghanistan, which has done without an auction, and simply sold licences at low prices, starting in 2012. It did so on the grounds that the economic boost from introducing 3G should be bigger than the one-off windfall from an auction that might have got mired in corruption allegations.
它本可以模仿飽受戰(zhàn)亂的阿富汗，自2012年開始，不進(jìn)行招標(biāo)，單純地以低價出售經(jīng)營權(quán)。阿富汗這樣做，因為引入3G帶來的經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展的利益比一次性拍賣來得高，后者還可能會陷入腐敗的指控中去。
Pakistan's new government, however, needed cash to replenish its foreign reserves. It has not got as much as it wanted, but a less competitive auction may give the successful operators more of a chance to build a profitable business. They have long been plagued by fickle government policies and tight margins in a market that has some of the lowest average revenues per user in the world, at around $2 a month.
但是巴基斯坦的新政府需要現(xiàn)金來重新擴(kuò)大它的外匯儲備。它沒有獲得其預(yù)期的那么多，但是競爭不太激烈的招標(biāo)或許能給中標(biāo)方更多的機(jī)會來建立一個盈利的項目。他們長期困擾于多變的政策以及市場利潤空間不足的情況，因為一些用戶處于世界上最低收入水平，每月收入在2美元左右。
With a crippling energy crisis that leaves its cities powerless for up to 12 hours a day and the villages for longer, and an Islamist insurgency that has paralysed businesses and deterred all but the bravest foreign investors, the country of nearly 200m people sorely needs the boost that high-speed mobile-internet access should bring. A recent study by a British consulting firm, commissioned by the Pakistani government, predicted that by increasing economic activity it could help create up to 900,000 jobs over the next four years, and bring in hundreds of millions of dollars a year of new tax revenues.
伴隨著嚴(yán)重的能源危機(jī)，巴基斯坦的城市一天有12個小時斷電，鄉(xiāng)村更久。并且伊斯蘭叛亂活動使得商業(yè)癱瘓，除了那些最勇敢的外國投資者，沒有其他人敢來。有將近2億人的國家十分需要高速移動網(wǎng)絡(luò)連接帶來的發(fā)展。最近一項受巴基斯坦政府委任由英國顧問集團(tuán)進(jìn)行的研究，其預(yù)計通過增加經(jīng)濟(jì)活動，發(fā)展高速網(wǎng)絡(luò)能在接下來的思念時間幫助創(chuàng)造90萬的崗位，并帶來每年億萬美元的稅收收入。
Nevertheless, as elsewhere in South Asia, the spread of the mobile internet is likely to be slow, since it depends on people replacing their basic handsets with smartphones, which remain unaffordable for most Pakistanis. So far less than 10% of the country's 132m mobile subscribers have smartphones, according to industry figures. However, Pakistan's mobile operators are playing a long game. Even the local ones have deep-pocketed foreign backers that are prepared to wait for growth to pick up and dividends to flow.
然而，就像南亞其他地方一樣，手機(jī)網(wǎng)絡(luò)的推廣過程是緩慢的，因為它需要人們將他們的功能機(jī)置換成智能機(jī)，這對于大多數(shù)巴基斯坦人來說是難以負(fù)擔(dān)的。產(chǎn)業(yè)數(shù)據(jù)顯示，目前，該國1.32億手機(jī)用戶中不到10%擁有智能機(jī)。但是，巴基斯坦的移動運營商著眼于未來。即使本地運營商也有著有錢的國外贊助人，他們準(zhǔn)備等待著發(fā)展騰飛、利益的擴(kuò)張。
Mobile telecoms in Pakistan 巴基斯坦的移動通信業(yè)
At last, 3G
終于等到你，3G
The government raises a bit of money and gets a long-awaited industry started
政府籌集到了一定資金，啟動了長期停滯的產(chǎn)業(yè)
Now we can really start shopping
現(xiàn)在我們可以真正意義上開始購物
IN PAKISTAN, as in other poor parts of the world, mobile telecoms are vital to the country's development, bypassing obstructive bureaucrats and bringing services directly to the masses—from banking to voter registration. Yet it is the only country in South Asia that does not have high-speed mobile internet, because only this week, after eight years of delays and regulatory snarl-ups, did it at last hold an auction of the spectrum required to roll out 3G and 4G services.
移動通信的發(fā)展對于巴基斯坦以及世界上其他的貧困地區(qū)的發(fā)展至關(guān)重要，避開官僚作風(fēng)的阻礙，將直接服務(wù)于大眾—從銀行業(yè)到選民登記。同時，他也是南亞沒有高速移動網(wǎng)絡(luò)的國家。因為在持續(xù)8年的推延以及官僚阻滯的影響下，直到這個星期，巴基斯坦才舉行開展3G和4G業(yè)務(wù)所需頻譜的招標(biāo)。
Demand for the licences fell short of the government's hopes. The finance minister, Ishaq Dar, had talked of the auction raising $2 billion; in the end it produced just under $1.2 billion. Successful bids were made by two local operators, Mobilink and Ufone, and two foreign ones, China Mobile and Telenor of Norway. Two other big foreign firms that had been expected to take part, Saudi Telecom and Turkcell of Turkey, got cold feet after, it is said, having their request for exclusive one-year licences rejected.
運營權(quán)的需求度低于政府的預(yù)期。金融部長Ishaq Dar曾經(jīng)提及招標(biāo)計劃是20億美金，但是最后只產(chǎn)生了12億不到。成功中標(biāo)的包括Mobilink 以及Ufone 這兩家本土公司以及China Mobile 和 Telenor of Norway這兩家國外公司。其他兩個國外大集團(tuán)Saudi Telecom 和 Turkcell of Turkey曾有望參與其中，但是卻臨陣退縮了。據(jù)說是因為拒絕了他們一年經(jīng)營權(quán)的要求。
The year Pakistan's government first talked about auctioning 3G spectrum, 2006, was the year Sri Lanka actually started its services. India held its auction in 2010. Even now, in both these countries only a modest proportion of the population enjoys access to high-speed mobile broadband—but they are far ahead of Pakistan and Bangladesh (see chart).
在斯里蘭卡實際開啟其3G業(yè)務(wù)的2006年，巴基斯坦政府第一次提及3G頻譜的拍賣。印度在2010年招標(biāo)。即使是現(xiàn)在，這兩個國家只有一部分人喜歡連接高速移動寬帶——但是這比例也遠(yuǎn)比巴基斯坦和孟加拉要高。
In 2003 Pakistan's then military dictator, Pervez Musharraf, deregulated mobile telecoms to attract foreign investment. But the civilian administration that succeeded him in 2008 spent years lurching from one crisis to another, and failed to promote the industry. A new government, in power since last June, has faced down protests from opposition politicians and, at last, held the auction.
2003年，巴基斯坦當(dāng)時的軍事*者Pervez Musharraf解除對于移動通信業(yè)的管制來吸引外商投資。但是2008年接任的平民政府在不斷發(fā)生的危機(jī)中步履蹣跚，發(fā)展該產(chǎn)業(yè)也失敗了。去年六月上臺的新政府面對反對派的*，最終舉行了招標(biāo)。
It could have copied war-torn Afghanistan, which has done without an auction, and simply sold licences at low prices, starting in 2012. It did so on the grounds that the economic boost from introducing 3G should be bigger than the one-off windfall from an auction that might have got mired in corruption allegations.
它本可以模仿飽受戰(zhàn)亂的阿富汗，自2012年開始，不進(jìn)行招標(biāo)，單純地以低價出售經(jīng)營權(quán)。阿富汗這樣做，因為引入3G帶來的經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展的利益比一次性拍賣來得高，后者還可能會陷入腐敗的指控中去。
Pakistan's new government, however, needed cash to replenish its foreign reserves. It has not got as much as it wanted, but a less competitive auction may give the successful operators more of a chance to build a profitable business. They have long been plagued by fickle government policies and tight margins in a market that has some of the lowest average revenues per user in the world, at around $2 a month.
但是巴基斯坦的新政府需要現(xiàn)金來重新擴(kuò)大它的外匯儲備。它沒有獲得其預(yù)期的那么多，但是競爭不太激烈的招標(biāo)或許能給中標(biāo)方更多的機(jī)會來建立一個盈利的項目。他們長期困擾于多變的政策以及市場利潤空間不足的情況，因為一些用戶處于世界上最低收入水平，每月收入在2美元左右。
With a crippling energy crisis that leaves its cities powerless for up to 12 hours a day and the villages for longer, and an Islamist insurgency that has paralysed businesses and deterred all but the bravest foreign investors, the country of nearly 200m people sorely needs the boost that high-speed mobile-internet access should bring. A recent study by a British consulting firm, commissioned by the Pakistani government, predicted that by increasing economic activity it could help create up to 900,000 jobs over the next four years, and bring in hundreds of millions of dollars a year of new tax revenues.
伴隨著嚴(yán)重的能源危機(jī)，巴基斯坦的城市一天有12個小時斷電，鄉(xiāng)村更久。并且伊斯蘭叛亂活動使得商業(yè)癱瘓，除了那些最勇敢的外國投資者，沒有其他人敢來。有將近2億人的國家十分需要高速移動網(wǎng)絡(luò)連接帶來的發(fā)展。最近一項受巴基斯坦政府委任由英國顧問集團(tuán)進(jìn)行的研究，其預(yù)計通過增加經(jīng)濟(jì)活動，發(fā)展高速網(wǎng)絡(luò)能在接下來的思念時間幫助創(chuàng)造90萬的崗位，并帶來每年億萬美元的稅收收入。
Nevertheless, as elsewhere in South Asia, the spread of the mobile internet is likely to be slow, since it depends on people replacing their basic handsets with smartphones, which remain unaffordable for most Pakistanis. So far less than 10% of the country's 132m mobile subscribers have smartphones, according to industry figures. However, Pakistan's mobile operators are playing a long game. Even the local ones have deep-pocketed foreign backers that are prepared to wait for growth to pick up and dividends to flow.
然而，就像南亞其他地方一樣，手機(jī)網(wǎng)絡(luò)的推廣過程是緩慢的，因為它需要人們將他們的功能機(jī)置換成智能機(jī)，這對于大多數(shù)巴基斯坦人來說是難以負(fù)擔(dān)的。產(chǎn)業(yè)數(shù)據(jù)顯示，目前，該國1.32億手機(jī)用戶中不到10%擁有智能機(jī)。但是，巴基斯坦的移動運營商著眼于未來。即使本地運營商也有著有錢的國外贊助人，他們準(zhǔn)備等待著發(fā)展騰飛、利益的擴(kuò)張。