Press Clippings: October 2006
Major Industry items you might have missed
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
CDMA launch date fixed.
Source: TeleGeography.com
Vietnam’s newest wireless network will be launched in the middle of November 2006, Hanoi Telecom (HT) has announced. The network, the result of a joint venture between HT and Hong Kong’s Hutchison Telecom, has been built by Canadian vendor Nortel with a total investment of US$656mn.
Posted by Judith — 5:25 AM
Nokia secures US$43mn in new contracts.
Source: Telecom Asia.
Finnish mobile network supplier Nokia has signed a GSM expansion contract valued at US$43mn with China Mobile Group ZheJiang.
According to the company, the contract will improve ZheJiang’s operational efficiency and increase GSM coverage in both urban and rural areas of the Zhejiang province.
Posted by Judith — 5:06 AM
Uganda: Country opens up telecoms infrastructure market.
Source: Technorati.
Uganda has opened up the telecommunications infrastructure market of the country to full competition, thus ending the exclusivity period that has been enjoyed by MTN Uganda, Uganda telecom and Celtel Uganda over the past six years. The end of the monopoly opens up the telecommunications infrastructure market to full competition, ending the exclusivity period that has been enjoyed by MTN Uganda, uganda telecom and Celtel Uganda for the last six years.
Posted by Judith — 5:01 AM
Advanced voice services now available for WiMAX.
Source: TechWeb.
WiMAX equipment provider Alvarion Ltd. said Monday that primary voice services are available for its BreezeMAX system. The solution merges broadband and voice services and is expected to be useful in regions with little or no existing telecom infrastructure.
Alvarion said the primary voice services have been tested and approved with carriers in Africa and South America.
Posted by Judith — 4:47 AM
Profit at Verizon bolstered by wireless unit.
Source: NYT.
Verizon Communications said yesterday that its earnings grew 2.8 percent in the third quarter, driven largely by its mobile phone company, Verizon Wireless, which overtook Cingular Wireless as the nation’s largest mobile phone carrier ranked by revenue.
Posted by Judith — 4:35 AM
DoCoMo phone uses facial recognition.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Leading Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo will this week introduce the first in a portfolio of devices that are serious about security.
The P903i 3G FOMA phone, which is manufactured by Panasonic and becomes available on Wednesday, is accompanied by a small, flat black card, which acts as a proximity security token.
If the handset moves too far away from the token, the handset will lock up, making it inaccessible to potential thieves.
But that is not the most interesting feature of the device. The P903i also claims to have a facial recognition feature, which, when combined with a pin code, can make the device unusable by all except the real owner.
Posted by Judith — 4:24 AM
Verizon to offer automatic phone contact updates.
Source: Reuters.
Customers of Verizon Wireless, can now have the contacts in their phones automatically updated without manually entering the data, according to Plaxo Inc, which created the service.
The service takes computer-based contact lists from commonly used e-mail systems, such as those of Microsoft Corp or Yahoo Inc, and sends the contact details wirelessly to the customer’s cellphone.
Posted by Judith — 3:26 AM
Is Orange’s ‘Unique’ compelling?
Source: Telecoms.com.
Orange is set to become the first UK mobile operator to launch an FMC service when it introduces its so-called Unique product on November 1. There are doubts, however, about whether the initial offering will be compelling enough to generate significant take-up.
Unique phone will enable Orange’s customers, for a monthly fee, to make unlimited calls to landlines and other Orange mobiles at any time while at home.
The service works over Wi-Fi via the operator’s Livebox modem. Outside the home, the phone operates over Orange’s mobile network.
It seems unlikely, however, that the pricing scheme will be striking enough to attract large numbers of customers. For a start, a charge of at least £50 a month is getting close to the upper end of the consumer-tariff scale.
Posted by Judith — 3:10 AM
Monday, October 30, 2006
Softbank Mobile stops taking MNP applications after surge swamps system.
Source: TeleGeography.
Japanese mobile operator Softbank Mobile, formerly Vodafone KK, has been forced to suspend all requests for users wishing to switch their service provider, after a surge in applications swamped its system. Softbank initially halted taking applications under the country’s new mobile number portability rules (MNP) on Saturday and resumed the service on Sunday morning before being forced to stop again in the afternoon. The cellco slashed its prices last week in the run-up to the new regime, but had to stop taking new applications because it was flooded by new customers wanting to switch to its service.
Posted by Judith — 6:07 AM
China STiMi’s mobile TV with own technology.
Source: Telecoms.com.
China is reported to launched its own technology standard for mobile TV broadcasting this week.
The country’s State Administration of Radio, Film and TV has introduced the Satellite Terrestrial Interactive Multi-service Infrastructure (STiMi), developed by the SARFT-affiliated Academy of Broadcast Science.
There is a possibility that all service providers will be required to use the standard when it is commercially introduced next month.
Posted by Judith — 4:34 AM
World discusses internet future.
Source: BBC.
The future of the net is the ambitious topic under discussion at the first global Internet Governance Forum, being held in Athens over the next five days.
It has been set up by the UN to give governments, companies, organisations and individuals space for debate.
Posted by Judith — 4:32 AM
Mobile devices are ready to take their place beside PCs in businesses.
Source: InformationWeek.
Eighty-five percent of businesses anticipate that the number of their employees accessing enterprise apps via mobile devices will increase next year, according to an InformationWeek Research survey this month of 527 business technology professionals. The number giving employees access to supply chain, human resources, and financial apps from mobile devices will more than double in two years.
Three out of four businesses will increase spending next year on mobile devices such as smartphones, rugged handhelds, and Pocket PCs.
Posted by Judith — 4:12 AM
HomePhone service aims for million mark.
Source: TimesOnline.
The UK Post Office is preparing to relaunch its assault on the home phone market. The group, which runs its service over the network of Cable & Wireless, is understood to be preparing to unveil a range of new tariffs and packages as it seeks to contend with the growing competition in the fixed-line market.
It has also been weighing up a move into internet broadband.
Posted by Judith — 4:03 AM
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Qualcomm reaches 200m. milestone for GPS.
Source: Converge.
More than 200 million mobile handsets worldwide have shipped featuring Qualcomm’s gpsOne Assisted-GPS technology. The gpsOne solution provides the position-location technology behind the vast majority of the location services at more than 50 major network operators worldwide.
Posted by Judith — 4:50 AM
BT promises to improve local loop services for rivals.
Source: The Register.
BT has been given permission by Ofcom to draft in extra engineers to help improve service levels at Openreach - the division charged with helping rival telcos get equipment into local exchanges.
The telco is bringing in 150 engineers from another division - BT is restricted by regulators to stop it unfairly favouring its own retail division. Local loop unbundling has been hit, BT says, by high levels of demand.
Posted by Judith — 4:34 AM
Friday, October 27, 2006
Authorities clear neuf purchase of AOL France.
Source: TeleGeography.
The French competition authorities have given the green light to neuf Cegetel’s proposed purchase of AOL France from Time Warner. The EUR288m. (US$365m.) acquisition will increase neuf Cegetel’s broadband internet subscriber base by 500,000 users to over two million.
Posted by Judith — 5:54 AM
Flextronics spin-off goes private as Aricent.
Source: RCR Wireless.
In a deal announced earlier this year Flextronics International Ltd. spun off its pure-play, wireless software solutions and service business to private equity firms Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts & Co. and Sequoia Capital.
The new entity has re-emerged to establish its own identity, announced today as Aricent.
Aricent appears well-positioned as most of the wireless industry’s leading vendors are in its stable of clients.
Posted by Judith — 4:38 AM
BT Fusion breaks 100k subs barrier.
Source: Telecoms.com.
UK telco BT has shocked the sceptics with the confirmation that it has passed the 100,000 subscriber milestone for its Fusion service.
BT’s current Fusion offering only enables connectivity via Bluetooth or cellular. The launch of the wifi-enabled version is expected imminently.
Posted by Judith — 4:24 AM
Urban WiFi Systems growing quicker than expected
Source: BWCS.
City-wide WiFi networks are expanding across urban America at a much faster rate than previously expected argues a new report. With city councils grabbing the opportunity to boost civic pride, gain brownie points with the business community and help the public gain wireless access to the Internet, spending is soaring on City WiFi hotspots.
Posted by Judith — 4:16 AM
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Cisco buys Mobile Software firm.
Source: BWCS.
Cisco confirmed today that it will purchase mobile phone software outfit Orative Corp for US$31m. Cisco is determined to acquire Orative’s mobile phone to office network communications technology.
Analysts believe that the take-over is symptomatic of Cisco’s push to move away from the simple sale of switches and routers and into the business of providing complex services to the enterprises that it supplies with hardware.
Posted by Judith — 5:16 AM
BT cracks security code with US$40m. web firm deal.
Source: TimesOnline.
The acquisition of Internet Security Company Counterpane for about US$40m. (GBP21m.) is the latest move by BT to increase its global services division, through which it provides telecoms and IT services to large and small businesses and the public sector.
Posted by Judith — 4:28 AM
Telecom Italia confirms convergence strategy.
Source: Digital Media Europe.
Telecom Italia has confirmed that it is working towards convergence of its fixed telephony, mobile telephony, broadband internet and media content operations.
This announcement reflects a change in the telco’s strategy.
As part of its convergence strategy, the company intends to transform its access network into a Next Generation Network, which will enable the transmission of high-definition television programmes, movies, music and video, as well as business and public services.
Posted by Judith — 4:24 AM
Ericsson cleans up call quality.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Swedish vendor Ericsson has announced that it has made the first steps in improving the quality of mobile voice calls to a level above that currently achieved in fixed networks.
During a field trial in partnership with T-Mobile, Ericsson tested its AMR (Adaptive Multi-Rate) Wideband standardised voice codec. The codec is ultimately intended to allow hifi quality mobile voice calls.
T-Mobile and Ericsson said they intend to coordinate with other mobile providers and suppliers in order to bring AMR Wideband technology to market in 2008.
Posted by Judith — 4:18 AM
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
NTT, TransTeleCom to link data networks.
Source: Digital Media Europe.
Japanese telco NTT Communications and Russian telco TransTeleCom are teaming up to connect the companies’ networks in Japan and Russia, resulting in increased coverage spanning most of the Asia-Pacific region and Russia.
Under the agreement, NTT will gain coverage of 900 Russian cities, while TransTeleCom will gain coverage in the Asia-Pacific region.
Posted by Judith — 4:53 AM
Vivendi hits T-Mobile with racketeering suit.
Source: Telecoms.com.
French conglomerate Vivendi said Tuesday that it has filed a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act complaint in federal court in the State of Washington, alleging that T-Mobile has illegally appropriated Vivendi’s holding in a Polish operator.
The move highlights how ugly the situation in Poland is becoming as both Vivendi and T-Mobile parent, Deutsche Telekom, fight to protect their respective interests in Polish mobileco Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa.
Posted by Judith — 4:28 AM
Thus puts UK ISP up for sale.
Source: TeleGeography.
UK-based alternative operator Thus Group has put the consumer unit of its ISP Demon UK up for sale, according to the Daily Telegraph. Analysts estimate the business, which has around 50,000 broadband customers, is worth between GBP15m. and GBP20m. (US$28m.-US$37m.).
Posted by Judith — 4:19 AM
Hutchison fast tracks HSDPA following Telstra and Vodafone launches.
Source: TeleGeography.
Hutchison Telecommunications Australia has rushed forward its rollout of 3.5G technology and now intends to launch commercial HSDPA services in Sydney and Brisbane by Christmas. ‘At this stage the intent is that we’ll probably launch in Brisbane and possibly Sydney,’ stated HTA’s director of technology. ‘We want to make sure that Sydney is completely covered before we roll out into the market place. We’re not going to rush the launch and accept any holes or pockets.’
Posted by Judith — 4:12 AM
Mobile phone group 3 creates 200 new jobs with stores Link.
Source: Scotsman.
Mobile phone group 3 is to take on nearly 100 Link and O2 stores in a move which quadruples its number of high street shops and creates 200 new jobs.
Posted by Judith — 4:10 AM
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Oracle agrees to acquire MetaSolv
Source: Telephony Online
Software giant Oracle announced at its Oracle Openworld conference in San Francisco today that it has agreed to acquire MetaSolv Software, a provider of service provisioning, fulfillment and other OSS functions, for $219.2 million in cash. The deal brings Oracle further into the back office realm.
Posted by Penny — 4:54 PM
Softbank starts price war in Japan.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Japan’s smallest cellular operator, Softbank Mobile, struck the first blow on Tuesday, in what is expected to turn into a full scale price war with the introduction of Mobile Number Portability.
Softbank became Japan’s third placed mobile operator through the acquisition of Vodafone Japan in April.
Posted by Judith — 12:00 PM
T-Mobile tests Dual Wi-Fi and Cell Service.
Source: NYT.
Yesterday T-Mobile became the first major mobile phone carrier in the United States to begin selling service that allows a single handset to communicate over both cellular networks and Wi-Fi hot spots.
The first phones, which are available to consumers in Seattle on a trial basis, link to T-Mobile’s cellular network outdoors and to Wi-Fi routers at homes, in offices and in other locations like airports and hotels.
Posted by Judith — 4:46 AM
Verizon: make way for ViOS.
Source: Light Reading.
Verizon Business’s VP of Advanced Data and IP Services, Tom Roche, has said that his company is working on a new brand of fiber-based services for business called ViOS — Verizon Integrated Optical Services.
”What ViOS will provide is a single infrastructure that allows connectivity to our converged packet access switch,” Roche says. That access will allow Verizon to provide a number of business services over a managed fiber connection. And, for Verizon, it will build on the success and experience the company has gained since launching its residential fiber access service, FiOS, more than two years ago.
Posted by Judith — 4:39 AM
IBM sues Amazon over Web patents.
Source: Reuters.
IBM stated on Monday that it had filed two lawsuits accusing Amazon.com Inc. of violating patents on features used in its online shopping network.
The suits say Amazon violates IBM patents covering such features as allowing users to order items from an electronic catalogue, displaying advertising in an interactive service and storing data in an interactive network.
Posted by Judith — 4:35 AM
UK Train firm to issue phone tickets.
Source: BBC.
Train passengers will soon be able to buy tickets on their mobile phone.
Chiltern Railways, which operates from London through Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire to the West Midlands, plans to deliver tickets to mobile phones.
The new technology sends a barcode to a mobile phone via a text message, which passengers can then scan at the station ticket barrier.
Posted by Judith — 4:32 AM
Competition in store as NTL reveals retail plans.
Source: Scotsman.com.
NTL Telewest is to launch a chain of stores to rival existing phone and broadband retail firms such as Carphone Warehouse.
The company has revealed plans to shift its focus towards retail stores when it relaunches under the Virgin brand next year.
It is also thought that the retail focus will help differentiate the brand from its rivals such as BT and British Sky Broadcasting, neither of which have a retail wing.
Posted by Judith — 4:20 AM
NEC and Panasonic give birth to Esteemo.
Source: BWCS.
Several weeks after it was first announced, the much-heralded joint venture between Japanese handset giants NEC and Panasonic was confirmed yesterday. Esteemo will be based in Yokohama City and will officially start trading on the 6th November with a capital of Yen 100m.(US$837k) and around 130 employees.
Posted by Judith — 4:13 AM
Monday, October 23, 2006
Nokia boosts professional service muscle in China
Source: BWCS.
Nokia has formed a new joint venture in China aimed at exploiting the country’s expanding market for professional services in the telecoms field. The new company, which the Finns are forming with domestic Chinese telecoms service provider ChinaComm International, will provide professional services such as network design, planning and optimization as well as software development and the provision of managed services on some Chinese networks.
Posted by Judith — 6:06 AM
Irish government asked to stump up EUR200m. for broadband rollout.
Source: TeleGeography.
According to reports former fixed line monopoly eircom is considering a plan to ask the government to provide it with EUR200m. (US$252m.) in funding to help it redress deficiencies in its network which it says are hampering its rural broadband rollout programme. Although the state has committed to help fund the upgrade of local exchanges where broadband is deemed economically unviable, the incumbent is asking it to go further and help fix the problem of shared lines in some Irish homes which, it says, dates back to a government directive in the 1980s.
Posted by Judith — 5:15 AM
AOL to focus on Ad revenue in Europe.
Source: NYT.
AOL attracted 31 million unique visitors to its European Web sites last month while Google sites drew more than 160 million.
After AOL’s recent move to make its service available free of charge in the United States, the company this month accelerated that transition by agreeing to sell the last of its three European Internet access businesses to Carphone Warehouse of Britain.
In selling the access businesses in Britain, France and Germany, AOL is pocketing nearly US$2bn. but losing control over its primary source of international revenue.
Posted by Judith — 4:45 AM
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Ericsson to upgrade Telstra network.
Source: TeleGeography.
Australian incumbent Telstra has signed a three-year agreement with Ericsson, valued at more than US$230m. under which the vendor will help upgrade the operator’s inter-capital, regional and rural transport networks. Ericsson will supply its next generation transport solution including software, hardware and support services, including capacity expansions of up to 10Gbps using optical and radio technology.
Posted by Judith — 4:51 AM
Friday, October 20, 2006
AT&T gets in on city WiFi act.
Source: BWCS.
AT&T has been given the go ahead to roll out its first city-wide WiFi network. The company has reached an agreement with the local council in the Californian city of Riverside, which will see the company cover the urban area with a high-speed W-Lan network.
The Riverside City Council said it has agreed to allow the telecoms giant to install more than 1,000 access devices on rooftops throughout the city, at a cost of around US$9m. The giant hotspot will cover some 80 square miles.
Posted by Judith — 4:42 AM
Phone sales to pass one billion this year.
Source: BWCS.
Mobile phone shipments remain on track to surpass one billion this year, according to the latest figures from US research group IDC. However, the increasing sales are not translating into growing profits for all of the handset suppliers.
Between them, the big five phone makers: Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG sold 254.9 million handsets in the three months to the end of September 2006
Posted by Judith — 4:34 AM
Overseas Operations cast adrift at BenQ.
Source: BWCS.
It’s every man for himself at BenQ’s overseas mobile phone operations. The major Taiwanese mobile maker said today that it has stopped financing foreign operations and that they should ”decide their own fate.”
The company made the extraordinary statement after it was questioned over its ongoing plans,now that it has withdrawn funding from its Siemens mobile division. It appears that BenQ’s operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay will be left to go it alone.
Posted by Judith — 3:22 AM
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Telefonica pledges EUR10bn for Latin American expansion.
Source: TeleGeography.
Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica has reiterated its desire to remain at the forefront of the communications markets in Latin America by pledging EUR10bn. (US$12.6bn.) worth of investment in the region between now and 2009. Telefonica says it has spent around EUR45 billion on its Latin American operations over the past 15 years and around 56% of the group’s customers are based in the region.
Posted by Judith — 5:41 AM
Verizon’s Board approves spinoff of Directories.
Source: NYT.
Verizon Communications said yesterday that its board had approved the spinoff of its print and online directories business to stockholders as a new public company named Idearc Inc.
Though the directories business is very profitable, Verizon has decided to focus on its fast-growing cellular operation and on rewiring its traditional phone network with fiber optic lines.
Posted by Judith — 4:35 AM
Microsoft takes step to carry out EU bargain.
Source: Reuters.
Microsoft will brief security software companies on-line on Thursday, after firms McAfee and Symantec complained it was delaying promised cooperation about their security concerns.
California-based McAfee and Symantec said the meeting is a first step, but they need detailed technical information to protect customers from malicious software.
Posted by Judith — 4:32 AM
Regulator accuses BT of failures in opening its network.
Source: TimesOnline.
BT has a ”significant” job to do if it is to prove that measures designed to open up its network to rivals are working, the telecoms regulator said.
Ofcom highlighted a series of failings in BT’s efforts to ensure fair access to its network in a report released yesterday, a year after the former telecoms monopoly agreed to legally binding measures to open its exchanges.
Posted by Judith — 4:27 AM
O2’s end to ‘roaming’ may spark price war.
Source: TimesOnline.
Yesterday O2 paved the way for a new price war by abandoning charges for receiving calls while abroad.
In a surprise move. which pre-empted the introduction of tough new European Commission rules, the Spanish-owned group said its 16.8m. UK customers would no longer be charged for receiving calls while abroad.
Posted by Judith — 4:21 AM
O2 to launch Irish mobile TV trials.
Source: TeleGeography.
O2 Ireland has teamed up with communications technology company Arqiva to launch consumer trials of broadcast mobile television. The trial will begin in the Republic in December 2006 and aims to include the live broadcast of all main Irish TV channels as well as Sky and other stations.
Posted by Judith — 4:19 AM
Microsoft, Orange announce plans to link PC and mobile messaging
Source: TeleGeography.
Software giant Microsoft and France Telecom’s mobile arm Orange France have launched a new messaging service that incorporates Windows Live Messenger and combines the functionality of both PC-based and mobile messaging services. The new service, Orange Messenger by Windows Live, will allow users to collaborate between Orange and Microsoft Windows Live Messenger applications and stay connected to contacts on the PC and on their mobile handset.
Posted by Judith — 4:15 AM
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Time Warner Cable files for $100 million IPO
Source: ZD Net
Time Warner Cable, a subsidiary of Time Warner, on Wednesday filed with regulators for an initial public offering of $100 million in Class A common stock, all of which is being sold by bankrupt cable operator Adelphia Communications.
Posted by Penny — 9:36 AM
DoCoMo and HP team up to develop bridging platform between cellular and sensor networks.
Source: TeleGeography.
Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo is teaming up with HP to develop a new application platform that will interconnect cellular systems and sensor networks. The two companies are reported to be looking to develop a prototype of a new middleware platform, designed to work with sensor networks in homes and businesses. The so-called ‘Sensor Network Middleware Platform’ will allow interactive communication between the two systems using middleware equipped with an interface that works with various transmission methods and enables data exchange between mobile phones and sensor networks.
Posted by Judith — 5:07 AM
Starmap mobile alliance fades as O2 leaves galaxy.
Source: Independent.
The European mobile phone alliance Starmap is on the verge of collapse after O2, the largest operator involved in the initiative, moved to pull out of the partnership.
It will maintain bilateral roaming agreements with the remaining members of the alliance, including Italy’s Wind and Norway’s Telenor.
Starmap was set up in response to a rival alliance called Freemove that comprised the large European operators Orange, Telecom Italia Mobile, Telefonica Moviles and T-Mobile.
Posted by Judith — 4:27 AM
Microsoft in digital book deal.
Source: FT.com.
Microsoft has taken another step into Google’s terrain by announcing a deal with a digital scanning company to produce digital books.
Kirtas Technologies, which makes high-speed scanners and the software to edit and organise books, will scan works for Microsoft’s Live Book Search Web-based application.
The Windows Live book project is part of a broader push by Microsoft to make up ground lost to Google and other search groups.
Posted by Judith — 4:23 AM
Broadband UK needs ‘more speed’.
Source: BBC.
Three-quarters of UK online households will connect to the web via broadband by December 2006, analysts predict.
But while uptake has helped the UK to the broadband fast track, lack of speed compared to other countries could still see it derailed.
Experts warn the UK is falling behind its European counterparts when it comes to speed.
Posted by Judith — 4:11 AM
Level 3 Elopes with Broadwing.
Source: BusinessWeekOnline.
On Oct. 17, Level 3 announced plans to buy telecom provider Broadwing for US$1.4bn. The deal gives Level 3 local telecom operations and technology for efficiently transporting data traffic around the Internet.
Posted by Judith — 4:03 AM
Viacom to send video to China’s Internet.
Source: NYT.
Viacom said on Tuesday that it had struck a deal to provide television and music video content to Baidu, one of China’s biggest and fastest-growing Internet companies.
The alliance between Viacom’s MTV Networks and Baidu.com, one of the world’s most heavily trafficked Web sites, is the biggest effort so far to introduce American television and entertainment content and programming into China.
Posted by Judith — 4:02 AM
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Sprint reveals CDMA push-to-talk plans
Source: Telephony Online
Sprint yesterday laid its plans for its next-generation push-to-talk to service, which will bring fully functioning “walkie-talkie” service to its CDMA network as well as link up with Nextel’s successful PTT service.
Posted by Penny — 12:09 PM
3 plans new retail chain in Ireland.
Source: TeleGeography.
Hutchison 3G Ireland plans to spend up to EUR15m. (US$18.8m.) to open 28 new retail stores in Ireland’s principal high streets and shopping malls. The company says that the new shops, dubbed ”mobile media” stores, will offer an interactive experience for customers.
Posted by Judith — 7:07 AM
Barablu throws down gauntlet to Skype.
Source: Telecoms.com.
VoIP player Barablu has thrown down the gauntlet to rival Skype by demonstrating free VoIP calling between several Symbian Series 60 based devices and Microsoft Windows Mobile handsets.
Posted by Judith — 7:03 AM
Orange broadband hit by outages.
Source: BBC.
The broadband service run by mobile firm Orange is experiencing a ”major” national outage.
Several users have complained that they have been unable to use their connection since Monday afternoon.
A spokesperson for the company said the fault on the service was caused by a ”network equipment failure”.
Posted by Judith — 5:12 AM
NTT West plans Wireless Mesh across 100 Japanese cities.
Source: Converge.
NTT West announced a multi-service wireless mesh network service for over 100 of Japan’s cities to cover the population of over 50 million using Strix Access/One Network Outdoor Wireless System and Indoor Wireless System.
The networks will be used for broadband wireless voice, video, and data services primarily to corporate enterprise and municipalities in Japan.
Posted by Judith — 4:27 AM
GSMA launches low cost 3G challenge.
Source: Telecoms.com.
The GSMA is inviting handset manufacturers to ”submit proposals” to develop a low-cost 3G handset.
The handset should, says the Association, be capable of sophisticated applications ”that can support advanced services, such as high-speed Internet browsing, mobile TV and instant messaging, while costing significantly less than a low-end 3G handset today”.
The 3G for All phone is designed to drive down the cost of WCDMA handsets with the aim of stimulating adoption in both developed and undeveloped markets.
Posted by Judith — 4:12 AM
Monday, October 16, 2006
Brussels and Microsoft step back from brink.
Source: FT.com.
Microsoft and the European Commission appeared to be stepping back from months of conflict over the Vista operating system, after the US software group revealed on Friday that it had made significant changes to its new flagship product ahead of Vista’s launch next month.
Microsoft’s competitors said they needed more time to assess the changes to Vista. But most of them welcomed the US software giant’s announcement that it would amend the operating system in order to ensure that computer users had a choice between using rival software or Microsoft’s own products.
Posted by Judith — 5:16 AM
Motorola Investment targets China.
Source: BWCS.
US vendor Motorola said it is looking for new investment opportunities in China after declaring that the country is to be the home of its global production and research operations. In three years its venture capital wing, Motorola Ventures
has taken over, or taken stakes in, no fewer than six high-tech companies in China.
Posted by Judith — 5:05 AM
Google launches mobile news portal for Japanese surfers.
Source: TeleGeography.
Google has launched a Japanese-language news service for mobile phone users in a bid to increase its market share in a country where people tend to access the internet via a mobile platform. The new service is currently offering news feeds from up to 30 media sources. Using the portal, customers can browse a list of news headlines with links to services optimised for use on a mobile handset.
Posted by Judith — 5:03 AM
FT announces sale of 54% stake in PagesJaunes to KKR.
Source: TeleGeography.
France Télécom has signed the final agreement confirming the sale of its 54% stake in directories business PagesJaunes Groupe to Médiannuaire, an affiliate of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Posted by Judith — 4:58 AM
Capgemini to unspool Movie Download Service.
Source: TechWeb.
In a move intended to enable retailers to participate in the movie download business, Capgemini this week will launch the Digital Media Delivery Service (DMDS), a platform which will give companies a way to sell and distribute digital content directly to consumers.
The software for DMDS digests content from TV networks or studios, for example, then stores it in a repository, distributes it in digital and physical form, and provides a consumer portal for customers to download content.
Posted by Judith — 4:45 AM
BT Implements “Spam buster” system.
Source: Converge.
BT has deployed an automated “spam buster” system to track down and tackle professional spammers and botnet-infected customers on the BT broadband network.
The “Content Forensics” system supplied by StreamShield Networks scans millions of e-mails a day, providing detailed reports on the location and size of spam-related problems originating from the BT network. This enables the operator to take action, such as terminating rogue accounts and adding offending IP addresses to industry-wide blacklists.
Posted by Judith — 4:33 AM
Saturday, October 14, 2006
KDDI to buy TEPCO’s fibre-optic network for US$965mn.
Source: TeleGeography.
Japan’s second largest wireless telecoms operator KDDI Corp is to acquire Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO’s) fibre-optic network for JPY115bn (US$965mn), in an effort to compete more effectively with former monopoly Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT’s) internet business.
Posted by Judith — 5:21 AM
Confusion after new Vodafone departure.
Source: TinesOnline.
Vodaphone’s new strategy was thrown into confusion last night when the second of two key executives who had been given the task of implementing it quit the mobile operator.
Thomas Geitner, head of “new businesses and innovation” is to follow Bill Morrow, the group’s respected European head, and leave Vodafone in December.
The exit of Herr Geitner came as Vodafone unveiled a U-turn, closing its “new businesses” unit only six months after it was launched. Analysts said that the changes suggested confusion in the group about its efforts to tackle slowing growth and cut costs by expanding into broadband and other services and restructuring management.
Posted by Judith — 2:18 AM
FCC delays AT&T-BellSouth vote until November, AT&T proposes conditions.
Source: RCR Wireless.
The Federal Communications Commission’s scheduled vote on the US$69 billion merger of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp. imploded today, with Chairman Kevin Martin delaying action on the deal until at least next month. The news follows revelations that AT&T has offered to accept merger conditions in order to win unanimous agency approval of the deal.
Posted by Judith — 1:13 AM
Friday, October 13, 2006
IBM Division Moves to China.
Source: NYT.
I.B.M. has moved its global procurement headquarters to southern China from the suburbs of New York City to ”capitalize on emerging market opportunities.”
I.B.M. spends 30 percent of its US$40bn. annual procurement in Asia however, this is the first time that I.B.M. has moved the headquarters of one of its largest divisions to China.
Posted by Judith — 3:14 AM
Vodaphone drops Carphone as retailer.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Shares in UK mobile retailer Carphone Warehouse fell on Thursday after Vodafone announced it would be dropping the company as a retailer for contract subscriptions.
Instead Vodafone has signed up Phones 4U as an exclusive third party retailer for Vodafone contract customers on the UK high street.
Posted by Judith — 3:08 AM
SMS hubs ease international texting.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Text messaging across the world’s 700 GSM networks could finally become a reality with the implementation of a hub-based interoperability structure developed by the GSMA.
The hub structure means operators will only have to connect once to a hub to reach all other networks connected to that hub and through interconnect arrangements between hubs, they will be able to reach operators elsewhere in the world.
Posted by Judith — 3:01 AM
Fox uses mobile phone to break N.Y. plane crash news.
Source: Reuters.
When a single-engine plane crashed into an Upper East Side apartment building on Wednesday, Fox News Channel delivered early live video to its viewers from the crash site using a hand-held mobile phone souped up with streaming video.
The cameraman’s work represents one of the first instances of a network using video captured via mobile phone camera live on the air.
Posted by Judith — 2:59 AM
FreeBe Mobile TV launches in US.
Source: Converge.
ROK Entertainment Group has launched a free mobile TV service offering 13 channels of content, including live news, music and sports.
The company said its FreeBe TV is carrier agnostic and can be accessed from 21 mobile phones with WAP-enabled capabilities. The service was developed to deliver high quality video content over 2.5G GPRS.
Posted by Judith — 2:44 AM
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Google eyes business market.
Source: Globe and Mail.
Google Inc. is stepping up its efforts to be the access point of all information inside major businesses and organizations.
The company is pouring money into a product called Google Search Appliance, adding sales staff and forming partnerships with information technology consulting firms for the first time.
Google is trying to boost sales of a new version of a search engine it introduced several months ago that scours all kinds of information within an organization and presents it in a simple-to-understand manner.
Posted by Judith — 5:06 AM
DT and Motorola Buy into WiFi Start-Up.
Source: BWCS.
US mobile phone maker Motorola Inc and mighty German operator Deutsche Telekom have instructed their venture capital wings to buy into WiFi start-up Ruckus Wireless Inc. The two giants will invest a total of US$16m. into the WiFi router manufacturer.
Posted by Judith — 4:54 AM
DoCoMo introduces new phones to counter rivals.
Source: BWCS.
Giant Japanese mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo has launched 14 new handsets in an attempt to counter last month’s new terminal offerings by arch rivals KDDI Corp and newcomers Softbank Corp.
The company, which dominates the Japanese mobile market with a 56% share, is concerned that it will lose out when number portability for mobile phones is introduced on the 24th of this month.
Posted by Judith — 4:52 AM
Justice Dept. approves AT&T-BellSouth deal.
Source: NYT.
The Department of Justice approved AT&T’s purchase of BellSouth yesterday without imposing any concessions on the companies, angering consumer groups and leading the Federal Communications Commission to delay voting on the deal.
Posted by Judith — 4:49 AM
T-Mobile rolls out picocells.
Source: Telecoms.com.
T-Mobile International said Wednesday it has begun deploying picocells through a partnership with equipment vendor ip.access.
The move explains T-Mobile UK’s recent interest in the 414-420MHz spectrum band.
Picocells and femtocells are used to supplement cellular networks by providing dedicated in building coverage and extended capacity. The platform uses existing IP connections to provide cost-effective backhaul to the core network or can be used to create private GSM/3G networks
Posted by Judith — 4:40 AM
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Lucent Launches IPTV Platform
Source: Multichannel News
Lucent Technologies Tuesday launched MiViewTV, a multimedia platform for delivering Internet-protocol-TV services and other interactive applications.
MiViewTV is “tightly coupled” with Lucent’s IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) product to provide broadcast TV, video-on-demand, Web content, video games and telecommunications services tailored to individual subscribers.
Posted by Penny — 10:11 AM
Broadcom fails to block Qualcomm chip imports.
Source: FT.com.
Broadcom has failed in its efforts to block US imports of millions of mobile phones containing chips made by its rival Qualcomm.
Judge Charles Bullock said Qualcomm’s chips and the phones that contain them did infringe a Broadcom patent. But he said he did not recommend that an order banning Qualcomm chips in the US should also cover mobile phones made by other companies.
Posted by Judith — 5:33 AM
Sprint Nextel trials Qualcomm’s MediaFLO as ‘Vue’.
Source: RCR Wireless.
Qualcomm Inc.’s highly anticipated MediaFLO mobile TV service is gaining momentum as Sprint Nextel Corp. confirmed it is conducting trials using the network technology and could soon join initial launch carrier Verizon Wireless in offering the service to consumers. The additional support could be crucial as competing mobile TV services come online.
Posted by Judith — 5:30 AM
More Mobile TV Trials in the UK.
Source: BWCS.
The big four UK mobile companies are to work together on another mobile TV project this time using 3G frequencies. The Telefonica-owned mmO2, the German-backed T-Mobile, the French owned Orange and the UK-based global operator, Vodafone, will offer several hundred selected users the chance to receive TV programmes on their 3G handsets. The range of up to 50 channels will be compiled by MobiTV.
The TDtv technology, has the advantage of using spectrum that the operators already control. It will use radio spectrum that was auctioned off to operators as an overflow space for their 3G mobile Internet services.
Posted by Judith — 5:28 AM
AOL UK finds a home in Carphone Warehouse.
Source: The Register.
Carphone Warehouse has bought up AOL UK for GBP370m.cash, instantly increasing its broadband customer base by 1.5m.
Carphone has acquired over 2m. new subscribers, although .6m. of them are still using dial-up connections.
Posted by Judith — 5:24 AM
BT given three months to get its act together on local loop.
Source: TimesOnline.
BT has been given three months to improve its efforts to open its network to competitors after the telecoms watchdog expressed severe concerns about progress.
Peter Black, the adjudicator appointed by Ofcom to oversee local loop unbundling, said that BT had repeatedly failed to deliver on promised improvements.
Posted by Judith — 5:12 AM
Boosting Internet speeds without fibre-optics.
Source: CNN.com.
A group of technology and telecoms companies, including Spanish giant Telefonica, joined forces on Tuesday to boost the Internet speeds of copper telephone wires to almost equal that of fiber-optic cable.
The new technology, dubbed Dynamic Spectrum Management (DSM), promises speeds to rival those of fibre-optic networks, much faster than currently available on broadband.
Posted by Judith — 5:08 AM
Sprint Nextel’s Chairman to step down early.
Source: NYT.
Timothy M. Donahue, executive chairman of the Sprint Nextel Corporation, the third-largest US wireless carrier, said yesterday that he would retire at the end of the year, in the latest shake-up at a company that has lost ground to its larger rivals Cingular and Verizon Wireless.
Posted by Judith — 4:57 AM
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Tekelec helps Nevada Telephone roll out VoIP
Source: CED Magazine
Nevada Telephone has deployed Tekelec’s entire switching portfolio, including the Tekelec 9000 Distributed Switching Solution, Tekelec 7000 Voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) Class 5 Packet Switch and Tekelec 6000 VoIP Application Server.
Posted by Penny — 4:53 PM
Oracle Buys Sunopsis For Integration Software
Source: CRN
Oracle said Monday it has acquired data integration software maker Sunopsis for an undisclosed sum.
Plans call for Sunopsis’ ETL (extract, transform, load) and integration platform products to become part of Oracle’s Fusion Middleware line.
Posted by Penny — 2:00 PM
Google buys YouTube for US$1.65bn.
Source: BBC.
Google is buying video-sharing website YouTube for $1.65bn (£883m) in shares.
The two companies will continue to operate independently, Google said as it announced the news on Monday.
YouTube, launched in February 2005, has grown quickly into one of the most popular websites on the internet.
It has 100m. videos viewed every day and an estimated 72m. individual visitors each month.
Posted by Judith — 3:45 AM
AT&T becomes first foreign-owned long-distance licensee.
Source: TeleGeography.
AT&T of the US says its majority owned joint venture AT&T Global Network Services India Private (AT&T India) has become the first foreign telecom operator in India to secure domestic and international long-distance licences. AT&T owns 74% of AT&T India, with the remaining 26% held by Mahindra Telecommunications Investment Private. The Indian government’s new policy on foreign direct investment allows up to 74% overseas ownership for companies doing business in the country.
Posted by Judith — 3:45 AM
Arqiva wins UK wireless license.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Ofcom stated on Monday that it has awarded a swathe of radio spectrum to broadcast infrastructure firm Arqiva.
Arqiva beat rival bids from AirRadio, Motorola, T-Mobile and the Joint Radio Company with a final offer of £1.5m for 4MHz of spectrum in the 412-414MHz band paired with 422-424 MHz frequencies.
The licence for the spectrum is technology and service neutral allowing Arqiva to use the frequencies how it wishes, within the technical limits of the spectrum.
Posted by Judith — 3:38 AM
Vodafone NZ gets ihug.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Australian internet service provider iiNet said on Monday that it has sold its New Zealand business, ihug, to Vodafone New Zealand for NZ$41m (£14m).
iiNet, which acquired the Australian and New Zealand operations of ihug in 2003, said that following a strategic review of the group it has decided to focus on the core Australian business.
The move is further evidence of Vodafone’s creep into the fixed line space in order to benefit from converged technology offerings.
Posted by Judith — 3:35 AM
Monday, October 9, 2006
Another Distributor Launches Managed Services Offering
Source: CRN
Bell Microproducts has launched a managed service provider program that allows solution providers to monitor any networked device 24x7 through a partnership with SilverBack Technologies.
Posted by Penny — 2:10 PM
Comcast put up more than half of SpectrumCo bid.
Source: TeleGeography.
US cable operator Comcast has revealed that it contributed US$1.29bn. towards the US$2.37bn. spent by its SpectrumCo consortium on high speed wireless frequencies in the recent FCC spectrum auction.
Posted by Judith — 5:09 AM
BSNL ‘mega tender’ decision expected soon.
Source: TeleGeography.
The world’s largest ever GSM network tender, worth about USD4bn. from BSNL, is underway. The three remaining vendors are Alcatel, Ericsson and Nokia, with the Swedish firm believed to have submitted the lowest bid of the three. The lowest bidder will get 60% of the contract while second lowest will get the remaining 40%.
BSNL had originally planned to issue the contract in two parts, one for 40m. lines initially, and another for a further 20m. in 2007, but has since decided to combine the two. Between 25% and 30% of the lines will be set aside for 3G.
Posted by Judith — 5:05 AM
Prospectus released for Telstra share sale.
Source: TeleGeography.
The Australian government has released the prospectus for the sale of one-third of its 51.8% controlling stake in Telstra. The sale is worth an estimated AU$8bn. (US$6bn.) and is the largest offering in a telco since a France Telecom share offer in 2004. The shares - to be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange on 20 November - will be sold in two stages, the first being at AU$2 a share, and the second in May 2008 at a price that will be determined in an institutional offer to close on 17 November.
Posted by Judith — 4:54 AM
Tellme and Cingular plan broader Directory Service.
Source: NYT.
Tellme Networks and Cingular Wireless are planning an enhanced 411 information service that will use Tellme’s voice recognition technology to begin offering some Internet-style searches in addition to telephone directory information.
Tellme, a major provider of automated directory service to cellphone carriers, finds itself in an increasingly crucial position as both cell carriers and Web portals like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo start to explore the lucrative market for mobile search.
Posted by Judith — 4:04 AM
Murtagh to take control of Smart Telecom.
Source: The Register.
Millionaire entrepreneur Brendan Murtagh has offered to buy Smart Telecom for the grand sum of EUR1, as well as a 10 per cent stake in BidCo, the company formed to make the offer.
The disposal recommended by Smart’s directors means BidCo will assume Smart’s estimated liabilities of EUR40m.
The proposed deal as it currently stands is structured so that Smart will be de-listed from the London AIM market and the firm’s shareholders will be offered a 10 per cent stake in Murtagh’s private company BidCo, which will become the new owner of Smart.
Posted by Judith — 3:59 AM
Saturday, October 7, 2006
Google in talks to buy Web video site YouTube.
Source: Reuters.
Web search leader Google Inc. is in talks to buy YouTube Inc., the world’s leading Web site for video entertainment, for close to US$6bn., the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
For Google, the acquisition of YouTube would thrust the Web search leader quickly into the emerging market for video advertising, where it has only a tiny foothold compared with Yahoo Inc. and various Web start-ups.
Posted by Judith — 4:45 AM
Cloudy forecasts spoil Telstra 3G launch.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Australian carrier Telstra activated its A$1bn (£400m) 3G network on Friday, delivering voice and wireless broadband services to 98 per cent of the population.
Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo switched on the NEXT GTM network, which runs HSDPA in the 850MHz band, introducing video calling to locations across regional Australia.
Posted by Judith — 4:42 AM
Carphone faces mounting broadband losses.
Source: FT.com.
Carphone Warehouse looks set to become the victim of its own success by racking up a bigger-than-expected loss in its broadband business.
Analysts estimated the operating loss in Carphone’s broadband business would be £70m in 2007, against the £50m forecast by the group last April.
Carphone’s ”free” broadband deal has proved extremely popular and analysts said their projected £70m loss was partly the result of the higher-than-anticipated demand.
Posted by Judith — 4:22 AM
Sprint-Cable Group weighs options.
Source: SpectrumCo LLC — the Sprint/MSO joint venture that takes in Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications Inc., and Advance/Newhouse Communications — has confirmed that it won advanced wireless spectrum licenses in 137 metro markets throughout the U.S. However, they…
SpectrumCo LLC — the Sprint/MSO joint venture that takes in Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications Inc., and Advance/Newhouse Communications — has confirmed that it won advanced wireless spectrum licenses in 137 metro markets throughout the U.S. However, they declined to spell out which options they might pursue.
Posted by Judith — 4:15 AM
US plays ball with Mobiqa.
Source: Scotsman.com
Mobiqa, which supplies barcodes to mobile phones as virtual tickets or coupons for major events, has signed a deal which will see its technology used by millions of baseball fans in the US.
The Edinburgh firm, which issues a barcode to a mobiles using WAP and short-messaging at gigs, concerts and cinemas, has struck a deal with Major League Baseball and Tickets.com, its ticketing subsidy.
Posted by Judith — 4:11 AM
Friday, October 6, 2006
T-Mobile USA to set up nationwide 3G network.
Source: FT.com.
T-Mobile USA, the fourth largest US mobile carrier, is expected to announce plans to deploy a nationwide 3G wireless network.
The mobile carrier, which is owned by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, was the top bidder in the recent Federal Communications Commission spectrum auction paying $4.2bn for new licences.
The new spectrum will enable T-Mobile, which has lagged behind its US rivals in launching 3G services because of spectrum constraints, to play catch-up and roll out new 3G services built on top of its underlying GSM network.
Posted by Judith — 4:23 AM
Vodafone leans on EDS, IBM for application development, maintenance.
Source: RCR Wireless.
Wireless giant Vodafone Group plc selected two U.S. companies to manage its application development and maintenance services around the world.
Vodafone chose to outsource the operations to EDS and IBM Corp. after an eight-month process and 11 competitive bidders. The companies will write code and maintain Vodafone systems such as billing and customer service. However, Vodafone stressed it will ”retain full strategic control” of the initiative.
Posted by Judith — 4:18 AM
BT launches Web Communications Hub.
Source: Light Reading.
BT Group plc is preparing to take on Google and Yahoo Inc. with a Web-based, integrated multimedia communications service called BT Contact that can be accessed on multiple devices via multiple platforms.
BT Contact, still in beta testing, is a free Web-based service that enables users to aggregate contact information from existing sources, and then use that contact directory to launch a VOIP call, IM session, SMS text message, or email. The carrier says it will work on PCs and, eventually, mobile devices, and across any network connection, fixed or mobile.
Posted by Judith — 4:10 AM
Pirelli takes 80% of Telecom Italia.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli paid out Eur1.17bn (£788m) on Wednesday for two 4.77 per cent stakes in Italian holding firm Olimpia, which controls Telecom Italia.
Pirelli acquired the holdings under previous option agreements made with Banca Intesa and Unicredito Italiano. Pirelli’s stake in Olimpia now rises to 80%, with the remaining 20% held by Benetton.
Posted by Judith — 4:06 AM
UK Mobile phone operators plan common platform for TV.
Source: Independent.
Mobile operators in the UK are in discussions over building a common platform for broadcasting television on to mobile phones. The talks could result in a broadcaster building one network that all participating mobile operators could use.
Mobile operators are keen to free up spectrum currently used for analogue television that would be ideal for broadcasting television on to mobile phones using the technology platform DVB-H.
Posted by Judith — 3:47 AM
Cingular completes National GSM Network Integration.
Source: Converge.
Cingular has completed its GSM network integration project, which began shortly after the merger of Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless in October 2004. The network integration was one of several initiatives the company funded as part of its US$13bn. capital investment to enhance network quality and coverage.
The result of the integration currently gives customers access to nearly 47,000 cell sites throughout the country.
Posted by Judith — 3:32 AM
Thursday, October 5, 2006
FT abandons US mobile plan.
Source: TeleGeography.
France Telecom (FT) has reportedly abandoned plans to crack the American wireless market through a tie-up with Cingular Wireless. FT was said to be considering an MVNO deal with the country’s largest mobile player, akin to the one established by Virgin Mobile, in a bid to launch the Orange brand in North America. However, the French telco has mothballed the idea amid concerns about the cost involved in breaking into such a large market.
Posted by Judith — 5:07 AM
Yahoo chases Google with sponsored searching for wireless.
Source: RCR Wireless.
Following Google’s lead, Yahoo Inc. said it expanded its sponsored-search offering to wireless phones in the United States and United Kingdom.
The Internet giant announced the beta launch of a service that returns sponsored, clickable links with search results. Advertisers can develop their own text ad listings and choose keywords that will trigger the ad placement; Yahoo generates revenue every time a user clicks on a marketing message.
Posted by Judith — 5:03 AM
Globalcomm & TelecomNext rejoin forces.
Source: Light Reading.
What once was known as Supercomm, and then later as two separate shows — Globalcomm and TelecomNext — is being reincarnated in 2007 as something called “NXTcomm,” debuting June 18 to 21 at McCormick Place in Chicago — the time and place that had been reserved for Globalcomm 2007.
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and United States Telecom Association (USTelecom) announced the decision in a joint Web conference today. NXTcomm will be an independent company equally owned by the two trade associations, overseen by a board of directors with equal representation from each.
Posted by Judith — 4:56 AM
Telecom New Zealand prepared for market share slide.
Source: TeleGeography.
Telecom New Zealand says it is being realistic about potential losses of market share in the wake of regulatory changes which force it to offer its local loop networks to competitors. Vodafone, Telecom’s sole rival in the country’s cellular market, has recently announced plans to enter the fixed line sector with its introduction of converged fixed-mobile options and it is also offering cellular data packages which are aimed at winning over Telecom’s wireline internet users.
Posted by Judith — 4:55 AM
Deutsche Telekom to pay EUR600m. for Elektrim’s PTC stake.
Source: TeleGeography.
DT yesterday confirmed that it will pay in the region of EUR600m. (US$762.5m.) to Elektrim to buy out the firm’s stake in Polish wireless operator Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC), raising its stake in the operator to 97%. The move comes just a week after Elektrim filed for bankruptcy and a day after it obtained a ruling from the Vienna Arbitration Court determining that DT should pay no less than the current book value of PTC shares, estimated by the court to be EUR600m.
Posted by Judith — 4:37 AM
BT signs multi-year managed services agreement with PepsiCo.
Source: BT plc news.
BT today announced that BT Americas Inc. has signed a seven year managed services agreement with PepsiCo Inc. With this agreement, BT will provide and manage an integrated portfolio of data, LAN, security, conferencing, remote access, and Internet services to support the IT requirements for the PepsiCo International division of PepsiCo.
Under the terms of the contract, BT will manage PepsiCo International’s local and wide area network infrastructure across more than 900 locations in more than 60 countries. In addition, BT will migrate these services to a state-of-the-art, high-speed, IP-based global MPLS infrastructure.
Posted by Judith — 4:02 AM
Reprieve for Ireland’s Smart Telecom customers.
Source: The Register.
The 45,000 disconnected Smart Telecom customers should have some phone services returned within three days following ‘intensive discussions’ between Eircom and telecoms regulator ComReg.
Smart Telecom subscribers should soon be able to make local, national and emergency calls after infrastructure owner Eircom, who denied Smart Telecom access to its network on Monday night over unpaid debts, reached an interim agreement with ComReg.
Posted by Judith — 3:55 AM
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
BellSouth to Resell Avaya IP Telephony Solutions
Source: Converge Digest
BellSouth agreed to resell Avaya IP telephony solutions to its business customers. Under the deal, BellSouth will market and sell Avaya IP telephony including the following product suites and services:
Posted by Penny — 12:27 PM
Cisco, SAP Invest In RFID Startup
Source: CRN
Chelmsford, Mass.-based Reva Systems, which develops radio-frequency identification technology, said this week it raised a $13.5 million round of venture capital funding that includes money from technology giants Cisco Systems Inc. and SAP Ventures, venture capital arm of German software maker SAP AG
Posted by Penny — 12:03 PM
eircom cuts off Smart customers after billing dispute.
Source: TeleGeography.
Approximately 40-45,000 Smart Telecom customers were left without basic services last night after eircom cut off the troubled operator from its network over a billing dispute. Reportedly, Smart Telecom failed to warn its customers of the impending termination of services before eircom cut off their outgoing calls service from 5pm yesterday, due to an unpaid bill of around EUR4m. (US$5.08m.).
Shares in Smart Telecom have been suspended from trading in the wake of eircom’s decision to pull the plug on customers.
Posted by Judith — 4:54 AM
DoCoMo to add Yahoo search on mobile phones.
Source: Reuters.
NTT DoCoMo Inc. will add three new search services for its mobile phone users, including Yahoo Japan Corp., a unit of its rival Softbank Corp., a company source said on Wednesday.
DoCoMo, Japan’s biggest wireless carrier, will on Thursday offer new online search engines for its wireless Internet browsing service, which will expand its lineup to 13 search engines.
Yahoo Japan is the country’s biggest portal and is 41 percent-owned by Softbank, which earlier this year bought a mobile phone operator from Vodafone Group Plc.
Posted by Judith — 4:45 AM
France Telecom Espana turns Orange.
Source: TeleGeography.
France Telecom will today bring its Spanish fixed, mobile and broadband units under the Orange banner it employs across its international operations, the company said in a statement. The Orange name will replace mobile operator Retevision Movil’s current brand name Amena, as well as the Wanadoo brand employed to offer internet access services. Fixed line units Equant and Uni2 will be rebranded as Orange Business Services, representing a single brand for business communications services for large and multinational businesses.
Posted by Judith — 4:24 AM
Mobile phone sales start to slow.
Source: BBC.
Worldwide sales of mobile phones will hit a billion next year but the days of massive growth could be over, says an industry report.
According to research firm Informa Telecoms and Media, the battle now will be persuading users to upgrade their phones regularly.
New services such as mobile TV will compete with improved cameras, more memory and cutting-edge design.
The report predicts that only a quarter of all mobile phones sold by 2008 will be 3G - which might not be quite the news operators, desperate to recoup the money they spent on third-generation networks, wanted to hear.
Posted by Judith — 4:20 AM
Tele2 sells French fixed ops.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Swedish alternative telecoms operator Tele2 has sold off its fixed and broadband businesses in France to local operator SFR for SEK3.3bn (£239m).
Tele2 said on Tuesday that the sale of the French fixed line and broadband business will result in a capital loss of SEK1bn. The Swedish operator will however retain its French MVNO business.
Posted by Judith — 4:19 AM
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
BT’s musical Vision.
Source: The Register.
BT has signed up Sony BMG to provide exclusive music video content for its forthcoming BT Vision IPTV service.
BT sees exclusive deals as key to its success and credibility as a television operator when it goes head-to-head with Sky and NTL later in autumn. BT has been shipping its Home Hub converged phone/broadband/IPTV box into homes for some months in preparation for the launch of Vision.
Posted by Judith — 4:27 AM
Nokia unveils new short-range wireless technology.
Source: Reuters.
Mobile phone market leader Nokia unveiled a new short-range wireless connection on Tuesday that is smaller and more energy-efficient than current Bluetooth technology and can be used in devices such as watches.
The new radio technology, dubbed “Wibree”, can work alongside Bluetooth short-range wireless connections but use just a fraction of the power.
Posted by Judith — 3:00 AM
T-Mobile USA launches unlimited calling option.
Source: RCR Wireless.
T-Mobile USA Inc. jumped on the bandwagon driven by SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. and Alltel Corp. by offering customers the chance to make unlimited calls to a handful of wireless or wireline numbers.
T-Mobile USA’s new MyFaves plan allows customers to choose up to five numbers to make unlimited calls to and receive unlimited calls from.
Posted by Judith — 2:23 AM
Monday, October 2, 2006
KDDI offers US$847mn for Tepco’s fibre-optic network.
Source: TeleGeography.
KDDI Corp of Japan has agreed terms with Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) to acquire the latter’s fibre-optic communications business in January 2007, reports The Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Under the deal, KDDI will issue new shares to Tepco valued at more than JPY100bn (US$847mn) to pay for the deal.
Posted by Judith — 9:45 AM
India prepares for 3G rollout.
Source: Light Reading.
India’s telecom industry is gearing up for the rollout of 3G networks, with the government aiming to have operators launch services by the second half of 2007.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued recommendations to the Department of Telecom for the allocation and pricing of spectrum, suggesting it should be issued in three bands: 450 MHz, 800 MHz, and 2.1 Ghz, with the first blocks of spectrum becoming available for auction in six to nine months.
Posted by Judith — 9:36 AM
O2 to link to Bebo.
Source: The Inquirer.
Given the total over-hype surrounding social networking sites, it’s no surprise to find that in the UK, mobile phone operator, O2, is seeking to link to trendy youth site, Bebo.
According to The Business , O2 is already in serious talks with Bebo, whose users are in a slightly younger age group compared to your typical MySpace user.
Aside from being a typical social networking site, Bebo does serve as a useful source of free music from unsigned bands. Getting those tracks on a mobile phone would be a very attractive proposition.
Posted by Judith — 8:50 AM
Screaming cell phones plan to cut down theft.
Source: Reuters.
A UK firm is hoping a cell phones security system it has developed which sets off a high pitch scream, permanently locks the handset and wipes all data if stolen, will halt the spiraling rise in phone theft.
The Remote XT technology, designed to make phones unusable, and therefore worthless if they are stolen, works by installing software onto the operating system of the phone which is then activated via a call to a call center once users realize their phone has been snatched or lost.
The phone is then remotely disabled, all the data held on the device is wiped and a high pitched screech is triggered.
Posted by Judith — 7:55 AM
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