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

In this issue
Rural GSM Project – Connecting the Unconnected Rural GSM Project...………….P.1
By Tshering Cigay Dorji In the Spotlight: the First MD of

E
BTL………..………………...…..P.2
Editorial...…………...………....P.2
asy access to Information and Communications Technologies is an im- My Love Affair with Bhutan.....P.3
portant pre-requisite for empowering our people economically and im- Tariff Revisions in 2010……....P.3
proving their living conditions today. Therefore, our Government has always accord-
Product/Service Guide: Charo-
ed high priority to the development of state-of-the-art telecommunications infra- Charo & CUG......................…P.5
structure in the country.
SMS Jokes…………….....……..P.5
The mobile GSM services launched by the B-Mobile Division of Bhutan Telecom Lim- Crossword Puzzle………...…...P.6
ited in 2003 brought about a kind of telecommunications revolution in the country Promotional Offers in 2010….P.9
with initial subscriber growths exceeding all expectations. Although the full mobile
Telecom News………………...P.12
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 Telecommunication Facts…...P.12
areas are still deprived of this important communications facility.

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 Dear Readers,
shared his insights and experiences with the BTL Newsletter Team. The cold weather is finally showing signs of
bidding us its much-awaited goodbye.
Spring, the season of fertility, is finally go-
Q. 1. What was the state of ing to be here soon with all its beauty and
telecommunications in Bhutan glory. And on such an auspicious occasion,
during your tenure as the head we are happy to bring you the second issue
of Bhutan Telecom Limited? of our newsletter “Bhutan Telecom News”.

The telecommunications ser- We hope that you enjoyed the first issue.
vices were almost non-existent Since we at the newsletter team are all
bogged down with our regular office work,
in most part of rural Bhutan and
it is difficult to devote much time to bring-
low to medium penetration of
ing improvements to the newsletter. Still,
services even in the urban are-
we do try our best. In this issue, we have
as. increased the font size and the number of
pages from 6 to 12, and tried to bring you
more diverse opinions and perspectives.
Q. 2. What challenges did you
We bring you an article on the Rural GSM
face as the first MD? How did you tackle those challenges?
Project – the project currently underway in
Converting a Government Department into a public Corporation whose fo- BTL that aims to take mobile services to
cus was on quality of service and maximizing profit for the corporation, was the Gewog and village level, in addition to
the biggest challenge I faced as the first MD. In particular: the views from the first Managing Director
of BTL, Mr. Sangey Tenzing, and an opin-
 Changing of employees atti-
tude and mind set towards “One of the challenges to BTL is ion piece by Mr. Siva Sankar Kalisetti, a
software engineer from Hyderabad, India,
“customer first” and quality working on contract in BTL. On top of that,
of service first etc. improving customer services and we bring you our regular columns like the

 Balancing of profit from the
urban services versus provi-
sion of services in the vast
rural areas where profitability
care to attract and retain custom-
er base enjoyed by the BTL in
the near future when the compet-
Telecommunications facts, Telecom news,
Crossword Puzzle, Products and Services
guide etc.
And just in case you are not aware of our

was low. itor‟s services reach all over the reduced tariffs, we also bring you a list of
major tariff revisions offered by BTL to its
 Introduction of new services country.” customers in 2010.
like mobile services with no Lastly, we would like to thank you for your
investment resources and readership, and urge you to contribute your
convincing reluctant Government Authorities to give us the permission. ideas and opinions for publication in the
coming issues of this newsletter. We would
With the support from the Board of Directors and management team, we also like to remind you that soft copies of
were able to overcome all the challenges that come on the way. this newsletter and the past issues are
available on our website at www.bt.bt
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6>>
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,
Revisions in 2010
working in BTL, reflects on the six years he has been in Bhutan as the
end of his contract draws near. Druknet Services
March, 2010

I
Tariff and packages of Leased
line, Enterprise Network
t was more by chance rather than by choice that I found myself boarding the
(IPVPN), Web Hosting, IP ad-
Bhutan national airline, “DrukAir” to Paro at Kolkata airport. The IT Company that I
dress allocation were revised.
worked for required someone to work for six months with a leading telecom com-
Fixed Line Services
pany in Bhutan. Bhutan Telecom Limited was using the newly developed TIIMS,
a. The monthly access charge
Telecom Integrated Information Management System and they wanted a software
was reduced to Nu. 25.00 from
engineer to assist them in maintenance and enhancement of the module. The Pro-
Nu 100.00 per month. Free talk
ject Manager had shortlisted four of us, however when no agreement could be
time of Nu. 100 per month had
reached, the luck of the draw saw me preparing for travel.
been removed.
I had never been away from my family for b. November, 2010
long; in fact I had never travelled outside In- “From simple call & SMS The Fixed Line STD tariff was
dia, let alone to a mystic country filled with feature, people now con- reduced to Nu 1.5/minute from
legends. The little information that I got from verse on 3G, well at least in Nu.3.5/minute.
Google was not very comforting nor was the Thimphu.” B-Mobile Services
fact that Paro airstrip ranks amongst the April, 2010
smallest and dangerous airports in the world. This was least of my worries, I was a. Tariff timing changes
apprehensive of food, weather, people, lodge…. What? Where? When? It goes
Call category Previous Revised
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
Off Peak 7am-3pm 9am-4pm
questions than I could answer. A little more than half hours into the flight, the
Hours
plane landed at Paro airport. The scenic beauty that greeted me outside over-
Peak Hours 3pm-11pm 4pm-10pm
whelmed me. There was peaceful silence, something that I missed amongst the
madding rush and crowd at Hyderabad. I smiled… well I could adjust. Economy 11pm-7am 10pm-9am
Hours
That was in October, 2004, when with just
30,000 customers the fixed line telephone
b. Charo-Charo (Friends &
ruled the roost. B-Mobile was in its infancy
Family)
with around 20,000 users and people were
The number of mobile numbers
very satisfied with the dial-up internet ser-
in the friends and family list is
vice. Around that time I had to shell out Nu
increased to 8 from the earlier 3
600 for a SIM card. People say telecommuni-
mobile numbers.
cations is one of the fastest growing sectors
c. Subscriber to Subscriber (S
in the world and I could not agree more. In
to S) balance transfer
the last half a dozen years the changes and
The service charge for Subscrib-
growth in telecommunication sector in gen-
er to Subscriber (S-S) balance
eral and Bhutan Telecom in particular has transfer has been reduced to
been very impressive both in terms of technology or otherwise.
Nu. 5 per transfer from Nu.10
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 & 8>> 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 >> CONTD.FROM PAGE 3

d. Validity Voucher
From simple call & SMS feature, people now converse on 3G, well at least in The cost of validity voucher has been
Thimphu. The so familiar monotonous ringtone is replaced by popular Bhu- reduced to Nu. 5 from Nu.15.
tanese songs and numbers from Bollywood. Some know it as CRBT (Color Ring e. Credit Clearance period
Back Tone) and others call it B-tunes; whatever maybe the case it has given The credit clearance period increased
mobile users something to cheer about. to 5 days from 3 days.
August, 2010
I remember the days when my colleagues would ask me to bring phones a. Paper Voucher and eLOAD validity
which has radio feature or a torch or a simple low pixel camera; I still get re- extended by additional 7 days.
quest to bring phones but only that now they want phones which have inbuilt September, 2010
applications for internet and a. Reduction in Mobile Internet over
2GB data storage minimum. “I am sure that they will be preparing Limit Usage charge from Nu.0.0015/
From 20,000 thousands the B the best of Hyderabadi Biryani espe- KB to Nu.0.0003/KB.
-Mobile customer base have b. Pay per use for Prepaid and Post-
cially for me but I guess it is their turn
now scaled 260,000 thou- paid charge was revised from
to taste the „emadatse‟ that I would Nu.0.005/Kb to Nu.0.003/KB
sands and counting. Today, I
prepare for them.” c. Special Call and SMS rates for 1 am
can get a SIM card for Nu 50
– 3 am were introduced as follows:
with same free talk-time too.
Category Previous Revised
600 to 50 in few years…now that is impressive.
The internet services have its success sto- Call Nu.0.3/Unit Nu.0.1/Unit
ry to tell. Well it may be too early to
write an obituary to dial-up internet SMS Nu.1/SMS Nu.0.1/SMS

service but high speed broadband

internet is something that Bhutan
October, 2010
Telecom is proud of and users are a. Introduction of special tariff vouch-
glad that it happened. The jump er called the Power Voucher on trial.
from 64kbps to 256 kbps speed
cannot be ignored. Optic fiber, digi- November, 2010
tal microwave, high speed internet … a. Choose-Ur-Group (CUG) and Charo
these were some of the terms unheard -Charo (Friends & Family) packages
of then or hardly used but now it is syno- and rates were revised.
nym for daily internet usage. From dial –up to broad-
band, from copper to fiber, from IPv4 to IPv6, from hotmail to twitters; the December, 2010
a. Push SMS (Smaller New Packag-
future looks certainly bright for internet users, me included.
es) were introduced.
I still remember the first snowfall that I experienced that winter. I was so ex-
cited and shared my wonderful experience with my family back at home. It is b. B-Tunes Tariff
another story that I had to pay in excess of Nu 20 per minute; today I can Charge Previous Revised
make the same calls at Nu 5 per minute. Over the years Bhutan Telecom
made numerous tariff changes that have made communications services
IVR call to Nu.3/min Nu.1/min
readily available and affordable to general public. 5050
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8>> 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 Subscrib- Rate/ Registra- Free

er Limit Unit tion Fee
 “Charo-Charo” the new service will enable you to
Corporate 21 to 300 Nu. Nu.150/ MMS
call your near and dear ones at cheaper discount- Offer 0.20 Sub
ed rates. General 9 to 20 Nu. Nu. 20/ MMS
Offer 0.30 Sub
 Any prepaid B-Mobile user can apply for the ser-
vice. CUG Rates (1 unit = 15 seconds)
 You can add maximum of 8 prepaid/postpaid B- Benefits
Mobile user/fixed line user in Charo-Charo list.  Enjoy low rate calls between and amongst frequently
called numbers by registering those numbers in the CUG
CHARO-CHARO RATES (1unit=15 sec) packages.
 Only one time registration fee and no monthly charges.
Charo-Charo Rates (Nu)  The service is applicable only for B-Mobile numbers.
Flat Rate throughout the day 0.30/unit 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.
Benefits How to avail CUG Service
If you are already registered subscriber of CUG, you need to
 This service lets you keep in close contact with re-register to avail the reduced tariff.
your near and dear ones at a discounted rate
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
compared to the normal call rates.
The following conditions apply for CUG:
 The call rates are charged at flat rates at 0.30/
 A customer cannot be part of more than one group.
unit for the entire Charo-Charo call category.
 Calls made outside the CUG will be charged as per nor-
 The registration charge is free and there is no mal tariff plans attached to them.
monthly rental charge.  We need a group administrator for initiating the CUG.
 Any addition/deletion can be made without any Only the group administrator will be allowed to make
charges. changes to the list in writing.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The following conditions apply for Charo-Charo: SMS Jokes
1. Only applicable to B-Mobile prepaid numbers.  Teacher: Peter, why r u late for school again? Peter:
2. Calls made outside Charo-Charo group will be Well, Miss, I dreamed that I was playing football & the game
charged as per the normal call rates attached to went into extra time.
them.  History Teacher: Where was the Battle of Changlingmithang
fought?
3. Only the applicant will be allowed to make chang-
es to the list in writing. Student: Sir, I am not sure but I think from page 15 to 26.
 A pregnant lady went to an astrologer. Astrologer: When u deliv-
4. The Charo-Charo tariff rates would be applicable
er a baby, baby’s father will die. Lady: Thank god! My husband is
only to the applicant. safe!
CHOOSE-UR-GROUP (CUG)  A boy goes to a strip club. His mom gets angry & asks him: Did u
 You can create your own CUG community with B- see anything there that u were not supposed to see? Boy: Yes, I
saw dad!
Mobile (both postpaid & Prepaid) numbers.
 i want u 2 know dat our friendship means alot 2 me.U cry i cry.U lauf i
 This service allows customers to make calls at a lauf.U jump out of da window... I look down & den... i lauf again
discounted rate within the group.

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 compla-
cency 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 compe-
tition, 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 BTLNews@bt.bt or cut

it and post it to Marketing Division, Bhutan Telecom, 2/28, Drophen Lam,
Crossword Thimphu latest by 17th April, 2011 with your present address and contact num-
ber. Four correct entries drawn by lucky draw will get a gift of a KUENPHEN
VOUCHER each.

Across:
1: General Packet Radio Services
10
3: Subscriber Identity module
5: Voice over Internet Protocol
1 2 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
11
Down:
9 3 4
2: Short Message Service
5
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
6 10: Modulator-demodulator
11: Information for computer processing
7 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..
Page 6
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, Saudi Arabia
 Bhutan Telecom News
Rural GSM Project
Therefore, BTL embarked on a more challenging endeav-
our in 2010 to connect all the 205 Gewogs in the country
under the Rural GSM Project.
Before the Project began, only around 174 Gewog Cen-
tres 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 con-
tributed 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 Me-
dia Authority (BICMA) through its Universal Service Fund
(USF), established under the provision of the Bhutan In-
formation, 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 Lu-
nana in Gasa, were left to be connected.
“Life here is going Out of the total estimated
cost of Nu. 143.67 million
to be forever differ- for the second phase, the
ent.” -Kuensel Government has provided
70% subsidy amounting to
Nu. 100.57 million through BICMA as USF Grant. BTL con-
tributed the balance amount of Nu. 43.1 million.
“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 pro-
cess of equipments in full progress.
The new information technology, Internet and e-mail, have practically eliminated the physical costs of communications. -
Peter Drucker
Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011
>> 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 Trashi-
gang, 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. Sudden-
ly, 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 chal-
lenge 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
and the scattered nature “Many people thought
of Bhutanese villages the government would
pose a challenge to the never provide the ser-
network installation vice to such a remote
team. Firstly, finding ap- place. Suddenly, the
propriate location for world has become a few
setting up network tow- numbers away”.
ers is a problem. Second-
ly, the absence of road connectivity makes transportation
of equipment and tower parts to an identified location
extremely difficult.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8>>
Page 7
 Bhutan Telecom News Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011

Rural GSM Project Love Affair with Bhutan>> CONTD.FROM PAGE 4

>> CONTD. FROM PAGE 7 Likewise, I too have made numerous trips to immigration
office to extend my stay in Bhutan; so much so that the
This is further aggravat- pretty girl behind the counter know me by first name.
ed when constructions “With the budget of over Back home my relatives were obviously worried that I am
have to be done in alti- Nu 20 million, Bhutan not coming back to them. They were of the view that the
tudes as high as 4500 mountain spirits had mesmerized my soul and was hold-
Telecom will connect the
m. Work can be done ing me back. It was therefore of no surprise to me when
for only about four five scattered villages of they conducted a purification ceremony when I last visit-
ed them. I invited some of them to visit Bhutan and they
months in a year at Lunana Gewog with B-
such altitudes due to were enchanted by the beauty of the country. Now, they
Mobile network before know why I prefer to work in Bhutan.
the cold and snow. In
addition, the shortage the end of 2011.” What make my stay in Bhutan special are the people that
of manpower in these I work with. Bhutanese people are in general very gener-
remote areas often delays transportation and civil works, ous and polite but bosses and colleagues of Bhutan Tele-
not to mention that even ordinary civil works at high alti- com are special. I would remember the friend who is fas-
tudes generally take more time to complete. cinated with food and still feel hungry after a hearty meal;
I would remember the friend who is in late thirties yet
It is for these reasons that connecting Laya to the GSM
enjoying the freedom that comes with bachelorship; I
network in 2010 posed a special challenge to the project
would remember my cricket captain who also introduced
team. When Laya was finally connected to the cellular net- me to bowling; I would remember the friend who taught
work on Friday, August 27, 2010, it had cost the Project me the very first local dialect that I learnt, I thank my
Nu. 15 million. stars that I did not use those word on anyone. I would
But the most difficult challenge yet to come is to connect remember my first date.
the northernmost community of Lunana which is a three- Six years in Bhutan and working for Bhutan Telecom have
day walk from Laya. According to B-Mobile’s General been a very special experience for me, the memories I
Manager, Mr. Pushpa Mani Pradhan, “With the budget of shall cherish for long time to come. I was born an Indian
over Nu 20 million, Bhutan Telecom will connect the five but I lived as Bhutanese. I am also starting to believe that
scattered villages of Lunana Gewog with B-Mobile net- I must have done some remarkable good deeds in my
work before the end of 2011.” past life that god has gifted me these wonderful years in
Bhutan. Sooner or later I have to wake up from this won-
Yet, setting up the network is only one part of the chal-
derful dream and face the reality, because at the other
lenge. Operation and maintenance for reliable service pro-
end of the rainbow my families are eagerly waiting for my
vision pose another challenge both technically and finan- return. I came here as an uncertain boy and when the
cially. But BTL and its staff are committed to meeting the- time comes I shall return as a matured man. I am sure
se challenges as part of its corporate social responsibility that they will be preparing the best of Hyderabadi Biryani
although it is not feasible commercially. 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, interest-
ing anecdotes to BTLNews@bt.bt
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.—
Page 8
Dave Heineman
 Bhutan Telecom News Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011

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
Loyalty and promotional offers pro-
open-minded and honest and everyone is willing to share their personal information with vided are as follows:
others. However, It is ironical that Zuckerberg never public some information in his Face- August, November and Decem-
book page. ber
2. Having strange interests For prepaid customers (Loyalty
His personal interests, such as the famous Latin singer "Shakira" and "abstinence", which bonus based on age-on-network
listed in his Facebook page, give us a strange feeling.The personal interests he listed in-
on 19th August and 17th December,
clude: making things, minimalism, breaking things, revolution and openness. His favorite
and refill based bonus on 1st & 11th
musicians include the Linkin Park and the United States electronic music queen, Lady
November).
Gaga.
August, November and Decem-
3. Fascinating with classical literature, owning imperial ambitions
Zuckerberg grew up in Dobbs Ferry, New York. He attended the best high school in the
ber
United States - Phillips Exeter Academy. He learned Latin, there and became a lover of For postpaid customers
classical literature. Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard after studying for two years so as (Percentage discount ranging from
to pursue the career of Facebook. The Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Vascellaro 5% to 8% based on age on net-
wrote, "He was well-known by memorizing Iliad and other epic poems" He also devel- work and their usage was provid-
oped some games, which themed by classical literature. " ed on 19th August, 2010, Free talk
4. Having a lot of nicknames time from 9 am to 4 pm was given
His friends and colleagues like to call him "Zach." If you do not believe, you can check out on 1st Nov,2010, a nominal rate of
with the article entitled "to work with Zach" on Facebook. In addition, he has some other Nu.0.15/unit for the whole day
nicknames. According to the Wall Street Journal reporter, Jessica Vascellaro, his mother was charged on 11th Nov,2010 and
called him "prince" when he was young. And His schoolmate, Rebecca Davis O'Brien, told free Onnet calls for whole day ex-
us in his book that Zuckerberg's friendship gave him a nickname of "killer" when he cept peak hours was given on 17th
attended a party, Alpha Epsilon Pi. Dec,2010).
5. Being indifferent to money December, 2010
He does not seem to care about the money. It is said that someone had offered to pay 10
Go green with BTL campaign pro-
billion U.S. dollars to acquire his Facebook site, but he rejected. That person is the former
vided one Power Voucher free for
Yahoo CEO Terry Semel. He told the New Yorker that he never meet such a person who is
every 100 used B-Mobile vouchers
indifferent to money before. Article Source : http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lily Wan
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 Page 9
Bhutan Telecom News Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011

FOR DETAILS VISIT: www.bt.bt

TOLL FREE NO: 1600

Page 10
 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 Vouch-
er 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 Communi-
cation, Sangay Wangdi. “Considering the low income of our people in the rural areas and the need to spent more on other nec-
essary 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.

Page 11
 Bhutan Telecom News Vol. 01 Issue 02, January-March 2011

 1985 - Cellular car phones in-

troduced & 1988 - Auto-Dialing
phone cards introduced.
 Alexander Graham Bell original-
ly wanted the greeting for the
telephone to be "Ahoy" but
Telecom News Thomas Edison voted for
"Hello," a word he coined in
1877.
Revised SMS tariff & Prepaid SIM Registration Cost
 The original name of the tele-
The SMS tariff and prepaid registration cost is revised from 1st Feb 2011. The revised phone was the harmonic tele-
tariff is as follows: graph.
SMS Tariff Revision  Globally, about $1 trillion is
Off-net: Nu. 0.70 per SMS spent annually on telecommuni-
On-net :Nu. 0.45 per SMS cations products and services.
Reduction of Prepaid registration cost  The busiest organization in the
world is the Pentagon, which
Registration (SIM) cost will be Nu.50 with a free talk time of Nu. 50.
has 34,500 lines and gets 1 mil-
DrukNet Wi-Fi lion calls a day.
Bhutan Telecom Limited provided the test launch of Wi-Fi Internet access to its  Sweden is the country with the
broadband customers at the end of December 2010. It is an optional/alternative ac- greatest penetration of tele-
cess provided as a value-added service to Druknet’s broadband users. For now, phones. It has 229 phones for
DrukNet Wi-Fi 1 is a trial run. If successful, the coverage will be expanded to other every 1,000 people.
selected locations and regions.  The longest phone cable is a
Next Generation Network submarine cable called FLAG
(Fiber-Optic Link Around the
Bhutan Telecom Limited did the network migration from the old to the new Next
Globe). It spans 16,800 miles
Generation Network (NGN) on 10th January 2011. The general idea behind the NGN from Japan to the United King-
is that one network transports all information and services (voice, data, and all sorts dom and can carry 600,000 calls
at a time.
of media such as video) by encapsulating these into packets, like it is done on
 The first computer mouse was
the Internet. introduced in 1968 by Douglas
Engelbart at the Fall Joint Com-
puter Expo in San Francisco.
Bhutan Telecom Limited has been awarded ‘Growth Engine for Internet Service’  In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee
& ‘Growth Engine for Mobile Service’ in Bhutan in 2010 by Voice & Data. 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 surf-
ing the Internet.
 The Internet achieved 50 mil-
lion users in 5 years. It took the
radio 38 years, and it took the
TV 13 years to reach the same
BTL Newsletter Team figure. Despite the high number
Chief Coordinator: Deo Kumar Biswa, GM, Marketing Division of users, 80% of the world's
Chief Editor: Tshering Cigay Dorji, Ph.D, Manager, BIA population does not use the
Editor: Tshering Pem, Marketing Manager. Sonam Yangzom, Acting Manager, Sales
Internet.
Layout & Design: Yam Raj, Marketing Officer

© 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 12