Here, there and everywhere (K2 #81)

Question of the Week
I bought the Galaxy Grand Duos smartphone but found out that it does not work in Bhutan. What can I do? Will it help if I “root” the device?
— Samten Dhendup, Sr. Survey Engineer, NLC

Answer
The Galaxy Grand Duos model that is sold in India supports the 3G bands of 900, 1900, and 2100. The bands used for 3G by Bhutan’s operators are 850 and 2100. Thus, wherever 850 is used (Thimphu, Paro and a few other locations), your phone will not be able to use 3G. This is a limitation of the phone’s hardware, and “rooting” the phone – which means gaining complete control of the smartphone’s software – will not help. In fact, it often means voiding the manufacturer's warranty as well as running others risks, including making the phone totally unusable. Due to BICMA’s user-unfriendly decision to use the North American band of 850 instead of the standard Asian 900 band, quite a few other Bhutanese customers are in your situation and will need to buy new, expensive phones; if it’s any consolation, they say shared sorrow is half a sorrow.

Question of the Week
Is the Sherig Collection available online? How can I download it?
— Yeshi Choden

Answer
The Sherig Collection is a set of educational resources for teachers and students in Bhutan. It includes offline Wikipedia, thousands of educational videos, Dzongkha dictionaries, e-books, audio books, exam banks and more. It can be installed on any Windows computer - no Internet required. The size of the collection is pretty big - it’s about 25 GB, and it is not available online. Why? Given the speed and stability of broadband Internet in Bhutan, it would take days to download the Collection (assuming that the connection or the power did not drop half way, in which case you’d have to start all over again…). The only practical way to get the software is by copying it using an external hard drive or a 32 GB pen drive. You can get the software in many schools in Bhutan. For more information, register at sherig.rigsum-it.com.

With the new school year starting soon, let me take the opportunity and wish all teachers, students and parents a happy year of learning!

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Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com

Bhutan's 3G band: the saga continues

I have written before on the questionable selection of the 850 MHz for use with 3G in Bhutan, instead of the more consumer-friendly 900 MHz which is used in India and other SE Asian countries. Recently, Kuensel reporter Gyaltshen K. Dorji ran a comprehensive story on this topic, An iffy 3G-frequency choice?, in which I was quoted.

Phone buyer, beware!

Planning to buy a phone soon? Watch out. Many of the 3G phones sold today in Bhutan can only be used as 2G phones. Why? Most phones sold in Bhutan are imported from India, where the 3G frequencies are 900/2100. However, the frequencies used in Bhutan are 850/2100. This is unfortunate. Many of the smartphones imported from India only support 3G at 900/2100. These phones will not be able to use 3G in locations where 850 is used, such as Thimphu, Bajo, and more. In addition, TashiCell's 3G network is also using 850, and so these phones will not be able to take advantage of this upcoming alternative to B-Mobile's 3G network.

Here is a photo I took today of a typical display window in a mobile shop in Thimphu.

Do (NOT) buy me!

Here are the 3G specifications of these phones.

• Samsung Galaxy Music Duos: 3G at 900/2100
• Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos: 3G at 900/2100
• Samsung Galaxy S Duos: 3G at 900/2100
• Samsung Galaxy Grand: 3G 900/1900/2100

(The Samsung REX 60, 80 and 90 do not support 3G at all)

All the 3G smartphones in the above photo do not support 850. If you plan to use them to connect to the Internet, you are wasting your money. A similar situation exists in other shops in Thimphu. Shops are packed with 3G phones that will not work in Thimphu. You will need to search carefully and make sure that the phone you buy supports 3G at 850. They are not easy to find: the selection is relatively poor, and their prices are high.

Roaming in Bhutan (K2 #57)

Question of the Week
I will be volunteering in Bhutan in the spring. Will I be able to use my Samsung Galaxy S II phone there? Do I need to get a local SIM or can I use my Vodafone SIM?
— Emma, New Zealand

Answer
Before travelling to Bhutan, make sure that your phone’s hardware is compatible: In your case, Samsung Galaxy S II supports all four major GSM frequencies (850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz), and these cover the GSM frequencies used in Bhutan (900 and 1800 MHz). Cheers!

To keep using your New Zealand number, check if your mobile operator has a roaming agreement with a Bhutanese mobile operator. Roaming will enable you to keep making and receiving calls using your local NZ number. Information about roaming is available on your operator’s website. I checked the Vodafone website, and they have a roaming agreement with TashiCell, one of Bhutan’s two operators. This means that whenever you are in a TashiCell-covered area, you will be able to make and accept calls using your NZ number.

Mobile counters at Paro airport?

I recently visited Sri Lanka. Getting a local SIM was a snap: all the major mobile operators have shrewdly set up friendly counters in the Colombo airport arrival hall, staffed with efficient representatives who quickly arrange everything, including taking your passport photo. Within 10 minutes and a wallet lighter by the equivalent of Nu. 150, I was all set with a prepaid SIM, which included 100 mobile minutes, 200 SMSs, and 1GB of 3G data. Unfortunately, a similar service is not (yet?) available at Paro airport.

The downside of roaming is that the rates of making and receiving calls - even local calls in Bhutan - as well as SMSing and using data, are absurdly expensive. Vodafone, for example, charges up to NZ$6 per minute. Upon returning home, roaming users often experience an unpleasant shock when receiving their mobile bill.

The alternative to roaming is buying a local SIM with a Bhutanese number. Just make sure that your phone is unlocked, which means it can work with any SIM, not only your Vodafone SIM. With an unlocked phone, simply remove your Vodafone SIM and insert the local SIM. Your sponsor in Bhutan can help you get a local SIM, or you can visit a B-Mobile or TashiCell office. Both operators have coverage in all of Bhutan’s 20 districts. SIMs are dirt-cheap and calling rates are low. A local minute to anywhere in Bhutan will cost you less than NZ$0.10, while calls back home to the land of kiwis will set you back around NZ$0.40 per minute.

Enjoy your visit to the Kingdom!

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Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com

It's Time for Prepaid 3G Plans

Mobile prepaid subscribers who use their phones to access the internet have to pay exuberant fees when using their phone to surf the web, send email, or stream videos. B-Mobile, for example, charges Nu 3000 per GB for their "pay as you go" plan - the only one available to prepaid phone subscribers.

With the improvement in Bhutan Telecom's 3G services, it is now time to move on to the next logical step: offering affordable prepaid 3G plans to mobile users. Currently, 3G plans are available for postpaid data-cards only, costing between Nu 200 to Nu 300 per GB, depending on the plan. These rates should also be available to smartphone users. For many users, these 3G prepaid plans will be their gateway to the Internet, thereby helping to narrow the growing broadband gap.

P.S.: With 3G prepaid plans, many subscribers will also find that carrying a data-card becomes unnecessary, as many smartphones can be tethered to a laptop, acting as de-facto data-card. This will reduce the number of mobile devices, which can help reduce the load on the mobile networks.

iPhone 5 nano-SIM update

The Instructions

In "Will the new iPhone 5 work in Bhutan?", we suggested waiting until more information becomes available about cutting down a full-sized SIM (or a micro-SIM) into a nano-SIM.

Well, here's some good news for iPhone addicts. Reports are now surfacing that such a conversion is possible by carefully cutting down the bigger SIMs. And although nano-SIMs are thinner than the larger SIMs, the iPhone 5 socket can also accommodate a cut-down SIM, which means thinning down the card is not necessary.

To cut your SIM, either use a special nano-SIM cutter or follow the instructions in this post.

My recommendation for B-Mobile and TashiCell: Until (and if) nano-SIMs are procured directly, equip the sales offices with nano-SIM cutters.

Mobile data plans (K2 #17)

Question of the Week
I want to connect to the Internet using the mobile network. Which package should I choose?
-- Dorji, Haa

Answer
More and more people in Bhutan use their phones to connect to the Internet. Both mobile operators (Bhutan Telecom and TashiCell) offer a few data schemes, and selecting the appropriate one can be confusing. I summarized the best options in the following table, and I'll also share a few tips on selecting the one that's right for you.

Option	Cost (Nu.)	Notes
Pay-per-use	3 per MB (B-Mobile)1 10 per MB (TashiCell)1	Postpaid and Prepaid
"Lite" Package (B-Mobile only)	149 / Month for first 300 MB 0.3 per extra MB	Postpaid only
Unlimited Package	777 / Month (TashiCell) 999 / Month (B-Mobile)	Postpaid only

(1) Rates are rounded to the nearest Nu

If your usage is occasional - a few emails or Facebook chats here and there - go for pay-per-use. There are no recurring fees and you'll never be charged if you don't use data. With prepaid, you can easily control your expenses. If you are a postpaid customer, however, you might sometimes be shocked by the monthly bill, so use your phone's data counter to avoid surprises. The rates are Nu. 3 per MB for B-Mobile and Nu. 10 per MB for TashiCell. This is the option that will fit most customers.

At the other extreme are the unlimited packages, available only for postpaid customers and usually appropriate for "heavy users". TashiCell charges a lucky Nu. 777 per month for unlimited usage. If you use more than 75MB/month, it makes sense to opt for this package, as that's the break-even point compared to their pay-per-use rates.

For B-Mobile's unlimited package you'll have to shell out Nu. 999 per month. However, most B-Mobile postpaid data customers will want to opt for the "Lite" package. For a very reasonable Nu. 149 per month you get 300 MB, and then only Nu. 0.3 for each additional MB. The only reason to prefer the unlimited package over the "Lite" is if you use more than 3 GB monthly. If that's the case, consider checking into the nearest Internet rehab centre...

Note that B-Mobile also offers two other packages - "Easy" and "Supreme" - but according to my calculations, not only do they offer no benefit over the "Lite" package, but you might actually find yourself worse off if you select them. If you are currently subscribed to one of these two packages, save yourself some money by rushing into the nearest B-Mobile office and downgrading your package to "Lite".

Two more factors to consider when choosing a provider are speed and coverage. While both networks offer either "2G" or the faster "2.5G" in their area of operation, Bhutan Telecom also offers "3G", the fastest technology, but only in Thimphu. Also, make sure that the provider's coverage includes your anticipated location.

Finally, check the online data calculator at www.att.com/standalone/data-calculator where you can estimate your monthly data usage.

Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com

Phone directory moves online

"Sonam, sonam, sonam, sonam,..."

For 2011, Bhutan Telecom will not print a phone directory. Instead, a PDF version of the book will be available for download on the BT website (www.bt.bt). Less paper is good. Also, finding the one and only Sonam in Thimphu will become a snap: searching a PDF is quicker than leafing through the white pages. (Quick hint: After opening the file with Adobe Reader, type Ctrl-F). But all this doesn't really help the majority of Bhutanese, who do not have access to a computer. They will need to either get hold of a hardcopy of the PDF file for offline use, call the directory service (140), or refer to an old copy of the phone book.

Now here's an idea for 2012: Directory of mobile phone numbers...

Will we change our SMS habits?

The average teenager in the United States sends more than 100 (!) text messages a day. Voice calls in the U.S. are on the decline. Apparently, many Americans prefer texting to talking. Some sociologists assume different types of people prefer different types of communication, so the trend might reflect changes in the U.S. culture. Anyway, In Bhutan SMSing never really took off. In an effort to make text messages more attractive, Bhutan Telecom is reducing the price of a single SMS from Nu 1 to Nu 0.45 (B-Mobile to B-Mobile) and Nu 0.70 (B-Mobile to TashiCell). TashiCell is offering 50 free SMSs for Losar.

Will these promotions jump-start SMS in Bhutan (one of the more profitable streams of revenue for all telecom operators), or will Bhutanese keep refraining from SMS in favor of voice? Time will tell.

New poll regarding Facebook habits

Our "Which mobile provider do you use?" poll is over. The results: 52% of respondents have B-Mobile. 33% use TashiCell. The rest (15%) use both providers, so they either carry two phones, or a dual-SIM one.

A new poll is up, regarding our Facebook habits (see the right sidebar). By the way, there are currently about 31,000 Facebook users in Bhutan - about 5% of the whole population, and roughly 60% of all online users in Bhutan.

The new poll will close at the end of October. So go ahead and vote - it's 100% free!

iPhone 4 update

I have previously blogged about using the iPhone 4 in Bhutan. To repeat the bad news, in a nutshell: Both TashiCell and B-Mobile do not offer the new micro-SIM cards required by this new phone.

But now there are also good news: If you're in Thimphu, it is now easy to convert ordinary mini-SIMs to micro-SIMs. How? I happen to have a micro-SIM puncher that will easily do the work. So if you put your hands on an iPhone 4 (or an iPad 3G, for that matter) and need to plug in a local SIM card, just let me know (boaz@thimphutech.com).

Will the new iPhone 4 work in Bhutan?

(9/9/2010: See also the follow-up post)

If you're thinking of asking your friend in Bangkok to get you the latest iPhone, think again. In addition to the nuisance of unlocking the beast (so that it will be able to work with any mobile network), Apple have added an additional issue: While previous  iPhone generations use the standard mini-SIM card, the latest model uses a tiny SIM card version known as a micro-SIM. The common SIM cards sold by B-Mobile and TashiCell will not fit the new iPhone.

If you are really pressed on using the iPhone 4 in Bhutan, the web is packed with information on how to chop down a standard SIM and turn it into a micro-SIM (here's one such tutorial, which uses a chef's knife). Otherwise, sit on your hands and wait until the mobile companies starts offering SIM cards in the new format.

P.S.: The same hurdle also exists with the over-hyped iPad 3G. It also uses a micro-SIM to connect to a mobile data network. If you are thinking of getting one, I suggest you take this issue into account.

Canceling TashiCell's CRBT Service

I recently purchased a new TashiCell prepaid SIM and noticed that the Caller Ring Back Tone (CRBT) feature was automatically turned on, and so callers were hearing a tune until the call was answered. I didn't really ask for this service, so I inquired at TashiCell's Customer Service about it.

Apparently the company is offering a free month or so of CRBT for new subscribers, but - and here is the catch - they start charging Nu. 1/day after the trial period ends, unless you ask to disable the service. Well, I don't really like this business practice. While it makes perfect sense to offer a free trial period for the CRBT service, it is not OK to start charging for something that a customer did not specifically ask for. I also wouldn't be surprised if many folks out there are not aware of the daily CRBT fee.

Anyway, if you want to cancel CRBT, you can use SMS. Send the message dreg to 9797, and you're done.

Chatting on Your Mobile? Beware of the Risks

A stroll in Thimphu shows the heavy and widespread usage of mobile phones by almost everyone. Although mobile phones have only been around for a relatively short time, recent studies have indicated serious health hazards of using mobile phones. In particular, there has been growing evidence that the electromagnetic radiation causes cancer. The director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute in the USA has issued a warning, suggesting to limit mobile use. More information can be found on ABC News.

The most important points to keep in mind are:

1. Don't allow children to use mobile phones except for emergencies. Their brains (which are still developing) are very vulnerable to the radiation.
2. Use a headset or at least a speakerphone, and keep the mobile phone away from your head.

A final note: There have been multiple studies thus far, some indicating health risks and others indicating none. Remember, though, that many years ago the tobacco companies claimed that there are no health risks from smoking...