Press Clippings: January 2007
Major Industry items you might have missed
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Verizon adds cell use to voice-Net-TV bundles.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16875463/
Verizon Communications Inc. is adding wireless to the menu of telephone, DSL Internet and DirecTV satellite services that customers can bundle for a discount, taking aim at cable TV rivals now selling phone service as part of their packages.
Posted by Judith — 4:41 AM
Sony Ericsson goes native in India.
Source: The Inquirer.
In yet another acknowledgement of India’s growing importance in the cellular world, Sony Ericsson has announced it’s going local and plans to start making mobile phones in Chennai.
Significantly these plans will be realised through agreements with its existing outsourced manufacturing partners - Flextronics and Foxconn.
Manufacturing in India is part of Sony Ericsson plans to bolster its position globally.
Posted by Judith — 4:36 AM
Canadian cable firms seen pushing deeper into phone market.
Source: Globe and Mail.
Canadian cable operators are expected to make further inroads in the telephone market in 2007, expanding their customer base by 52% to 2.2m. phone subscribers.
The cable giants, including Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. will roll out phone services across their entire territory during the year.
Posted by Judith — 4:31 AM
Comcast appeals CableCARD ruling.
Source: Light Reading.
With a stinging appeal, Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) has made good on its threat to challenge the upcoming Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ban on integrated digital cable set-top boxes.
The unusual move paves the way for Comcast to take the FCC to court if it rejects the waiver request. Although Comcast officials insist that they haven’t decided to do that, they say they want to keep the option open.
Posted by Judith — 4:21 AM
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Google to patent mobile ad technology.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Google has filed for a patent for delivering adverts to mobile phones and other handheld devices.
In accordance with patent office rules, the application provides images of how the adverts could look. Details are also provided on how the user might interact with them.
Last year Google’s CEO announced that he believes mobile phone calls could be paid for through advertising.
Posted by Judith — 5:57 AM
Iraqtel and Huawei sign CDMA deal.
Source: TeleGeography.
Huawei Technologies has inked a deal with Iraqtel to build a 3G CDMA2000 network.
Iraqtel, one of the recipients of the national wireless in the local loop (WiLL) licences awarded in September 2006, has already employed Canadian vendor Redline to build a WiMAX network in the southern city of Basrah.
Posted by Judith — 5:42 AM
Optus to boost 3G coverage to match 2G.
Source: TeleGeography.
In a move that will put it on a level playing field with rival Telstra and its NextG network, Optus Mobile has announced it will expand its 3G network beyond the present coverage of Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth to match that of its 2G network, which reaches 96% of the population.
Posted by Judith — 5:24 AM
Vodafone (Italy) plans MVNO deal.
Source: TeleGeography.
Vodafone Italy says it expects to open its national cellular network to an MVNO before the end of this year. The UK-owned firm has submitted a proposal to Ital’s telecoms regulator Agcom requesting permission to allow a reseller to offer services using its network. Vodafone Italy recently agreed a deal with local broadband operator FastWeb under which the latter’s fixed internet services are marketed to Vodafone customers.
Posted by Judith — 5:23 AM
EU court rules France Telecom broke antitrust rules.
Source: Reuters.
France Telecom kept competitors out of the high-speed Internet market illegally by charging artificially low prices, Europe’s second highest court ruled, upholding a 2003 European Commission decision.
The Court of First Instance upheld a EUR10.35m. (US$13.37m.) fine on the partially state-owned incumbent telecoms operator.
Posted by Judith — 4:28 AM
Monday, January 29, 2007
T-Mobile USA hits 25 million.
Source: TeleGeography.
T-Mobile USA has passed the 25m. subscriber milestone, adding 901,000 net new customers in the fourth quarter of last year, including 783,000 net new post-paid users. Contract customers account for almost 85% of all T-Mobile subscribers.
Posted by Judith — 5:50 AM
AAPT in merger talks with PowerTel.
Source: TeleGeography.
New Zealand Telecom’s Australian subsidiary, AAPT, is reportedly in merger talks with Sydney-based broadband network operator PowerTel. The telco was negotiating to buy a stake in PowerTel in order to deflect a possible takeover bid from SingTel Optus. PowerTel has the second largest fixed line broadband network in Australia, after Telstra, and provides wholesale data, fixed line voice and internet services.
Posted by Judith — 5:22 AM
Virgin prepared for US stock debut.
Source: BWCS.
Virgin Mobile USA is reportedly gathering advisors ahead of a planned flotation set to take place later this year. It is widely expected that such a sale would net Virgin Mobile US$2bn. and help fund its war-chest as the company prepares to up the ante in the battle for mobile customers stateside.
Reports in the UK press at the weekend named Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Bank of America and Citigroup as those in the frame for the lucrative contract to advise Virgin.
Posted by Judith — 4:52 AM
Rivals take protest over BT to Brussels.
Source: TimesOnline.
BT’s frustrated rivals have gone over the head of Ofcom and complained to Brussels about the British regulator’s failure to open up fully the local network to competition.
Companies including Cable & Wireless and Carphone Warehouse have told the European Commission that Ofcom is too weak to ensure that BT’s dominance in the industry is challenged properly.
Posted by Judith — 4:34 AM
MySpace clicks to Canada and Mexico.
Source: FT.com.
MySpace is close to launching local versions of its site in Canada and Mexico as part of an aggressive international expansion, with South Korea and China believed to be next on its list.
Posted by Judith — 4:20 AM
Gamma Telecom outsources international voice business to ICSS.
Source: Digital Media Europe.
Gamma Telecom, a UK-based provider of voice services and applications, and International Carrier Sales & Solutions (ICSS), the international wholesale unit of Deutsche Telekom, have signed an international voice outsourcing deal, which sees Gamma Telecom outsource its international voice traffic to ICSS.
Posted by Judith — 4:14 AM
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Linux proponents rev up LiMo Foundation.
Source: Telecoms.com.
A handful of telecom powerhouses banded together on Friday for the official launch of mobile Linux collective, the LiMo Foundation.
Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile, Samsung and Vodafone intend to collaborate on a Linux-based software platform for mobile devices.
A not for profit organisation, the foundation is aimed at blending the community-based development benefits of Linux with development practices from the mobile community in a bid to minimise fragmentation.
Posted by Judith — 5:48 AM
Rivals press EU to corral Microsoft on eve of Vista launch.
Source: Globe and Mail.
Microsoft Corp.’s rivals (including IBM, Nokia and Sun) have renewed their call on EU regulators to act against what they say are ”illegal practices”, alleging that the new Vista operating system is the company’s attempt to extend its monopoly to the Internet.
They pressed the European Commission to take a decision on a complaint they filed last February. It had accused Microsoft of working to keep its existing monopolies and trying to extend its market dominance into other areas, including Web-based computing.
Posted by Judith — 5:31 AM
Versatel buys Tele2’s Dutch and Belgian operations for EUR200m.
Source: TeleGeography.
Versatel Telecom International has agreed a EUR200m. (US$259.4m.) deal to purchase Tele2’s businesses in the Netherlands and Belgium, on a cash and debt free basis, and subject to certain adjustments, it said in a statement. To help fund the deal Versatel plans to raise EUR255m. through a rights offering.
Posted by Judith — 5:21 AM
Friday, January 26, 2007
News Corp set to launch MySpace.com China venture.
Source: Reuters.
News Corp. is finalizing a deal with partners, including private equity heavyweight IDG, to launch a networking Web site venture in China within a few months.
News Corp. plans to take less than 50 percent of the venture, which will establish a localised Chinese version of the popular MySpace.com site, said sources familiar with the deal.
The deal, if successful, will be a landmark step for News Corp., which has made several attempts to tap China’s rapidly growing media market.
Posted by Judith — 5:06 AM
Qualcomm and Huawei partner on mobile TV.
Source: Converge.
Huawei Technologies and Qualcomm completed the industry’s first commercial MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service) mobile TV interoperability testing.
MBMS supports both multimedia broadcast and multicast services, which allows operators to either directly broadcast multimedia content to all subscribers or only to a specific group of subscribers respectively.
To provide MBMS mobile TV services, network operators would need only a software upgrade to their existing UMTS/HSPA networks.
Posted by Judith — 4:43 AM
Boeing rules out wireless network.
Source: BWCS.
Boeing has announced that it has decided against installing wireless networks to deliver in-flight entertainment in its new range of 787 “Dreamliner” planes. The Seattle-based company blamed problems with the technology and “weight” issues.
According to reports, the fact that the wireless network would add nearly 200lbs to the planes, as opposed to an estimated 50lbs for a wired network, swung the decision against the technology. In addition the company was said to be having problems getting permission to use certain frequencies in some countries.
Posted by Judith — 4:16 AM
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Germany proposes to cap EU roaming rates.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Germany is using its six month presidency of the European Union as leverage to push through proposals to regulate retail roaming rates in the region.
The proposals are facing stiff opposition from the operator community as well as the UK and French governments, which have asked that the regulatory proposals only apply to wholesale rates.
Posted by Judith — 5:05 AM
Qualcomm warns of escalating costs.
Source: FT.com.
Qualcomm, the second-largest cell phone chipmaker, warned on Wednesday it faced escalating legal costs and reduced profits after failing to make any progress in its royalty dispute with Nokia.
A cross-licensing agreement that allows the number-one handset maker to use Qualcomm’s technology expires on April 9 and negotiations between the two sides on an extension have not even come close to a resolution.
Posted by Judith — 4:43 AM
C&W plans US$74m. Jamaican upgrade.
Source: TeleGeography.
Cable and Wireless International yesterday announced that it will pump US$74m. into its Jamaican operations during 2007 to boost its mobile, VoIP and broadband services.
Posted by Judith — 4:35 AM
Vodafone faces more rivals as Indian sale looms.
Source: Independent.
Vodafone’s battle to take control of India’s fourth-largest mobile operator has taken another twist after Russian operator Altimo and Egypt’s Orascom expressed interest in investing in Hutchison Essar.
Vodafone already faces stiff competition from Essar Group, which already owns a 33 per cent stake in the company, the local operator Reliance Communications and the billionaire Hinduja brothers.
Posted by Judith — 3:41 AM
Global cellphone sales race past 1bn. mark.
Source: Reuters.
Global sales of mobile phones totalled a record 1.02bn. units in 2006, an increase of 25% over 2005.
Nokia improved its position as the No. 1 handset vendor in the fourth quarter with a 35.2% market share.
Motorola improved its market share to 21.9% Samsung Electronics, as the No. 3, lost ground.
Posted by Judith — 3:37 AM
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Sony and BMG team up on mobile music in China.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Two of the world’s leading music companies have partnered on a joint venture in China that will research and develop technology for distributing media to mobile phones.
The revelation sees Sony BMG Music Entertainment and the Warner Music Group join forces to invest in Access China Media Solutions.
Access, a joint venture between Japanese company, Access and US firm, Melodeo, creates software that makes the user’s experience of downloading music, video and ringtones, simpler.
Posted by Judith — 4:06 AM
FT breaks one million VoIP users barrier.
Source: TeleGeography.
France Telecom (FT) has passed the one million residential VoIP users barrier just 18 months after launching the service. FT’s IP telephony product, which is now available in France, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain, is reportedly enjoying subscriber uptake in the region of 150,000 new users every month.
Posted by Judith — 3:56 AM
SingTel announces plan to sell submarine link to Bharti.
Source: TeleGeography.
Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) today announced it has agreed to sell off its 49.99% stake in Network i2i, a submarine cable system linking Singapore and India, to Bharti Airtel for US$55m. Demand for telecoms bandwidth is soaring in India, where sectors such as banking and export-oriented software services are growing at a rapid pace.
Posted by Judith — 3:39 AM
Telstra to tackle ACCC in court over broadband tariffs.
Source: TeleGeography.
Telstra Corp has filed a High Court challenge to a ruling by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), claiming that its constitutional right to fair compensation has been violated in the ‘arbitrary’ setting of broadband rates. The legal action comes a month after the ACCC reduced wholesale broadband prices to a level that the company claims is far beneath its actual cost.
Posted by Judith — 3:18 AM
AT&T to subsidise 3G handsets.
Source: TeleGeography.
AT&T says it hopes to kick-start demand for 3G services by offering substantial subsidies on handsets. The operator, which until recently was known as Cingular Wireless, says it will offer up to US$200 in mail-in rebates on certain models, as long as customers sign up for a two-year 3G wireless plan and also agree to take one of its fixed broadband products.
Posted by Judith — 3:10 AM
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
China’s Baidu receives license to provide news.
Source: Reuters.
Chinese Internet search leader Baidu has won approval to become an online news portal, heating up a rivalry in the world’s second-largest Web market.
China’s State Council Information Office granted Baidu an Internet news content service license last week, allowing Baidu.com Inc. to do its own reporting rather than simply show news search results at present.
This will give Baidu a clear edge in terms of content over competitors who lack the permit.
Posted by Judith — 4:22 AM
Sun, Intel drop differences in landmark deal.
Source: The Globe and Mail.
Sun Microsystems Inc., the underdog computer and services company, has announced that it will buy from Intel Corp., the world’s No. 1 maker of computer chips. In return, Intel has agreed to promote Sun’s operating system.
Posted by Judith — 4:04 AM
Vodafone secures Egyptian 3G deal.
Source: BWCS.
Vodafone Egypt has agreed to pay US$586m. to the Egyptian government for a 15-year, third-generation, mobile phone licence.
The UK-based global operator said it would also pay the government an annual fee which will be made up of 2.4% of all 3G revenues. The agreement follows lengthy negotiations with Egypt’s National Telecom Regulatory Authority.
Posted by Judith — 3:45 AM
Monday, January 22, 2007
China Mobile takes first steps into International Markets.
Source: BWCS.
The world’s largest mobile operator China Mobile is to take its first steps outside its home market by agreeing to buy Pakistani mobile company Paktel Ltd. The company, which boasts 301m. subscribers in its home territory, will pay US$284m. for an 89% stake in Pakistan’s longest established mobile-phone company.
The deal will mark China Mobile’s first foray into the overseas market and gives it control of an established operator in a country which saw 34 million users sign up for mobile services in the past 18 months.
Posted by Judith — 4:36 AM
MSOs launch Mobile Service.
Source: Light Reading.
Several months later than originally planned, at least three of the nation’s top MSOs have begun rolling out mobile phone and video service to cable subscribers in select markets.
Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc. , and Cox Communications Inc. have all launched wireless service from Sprint Nextel Corp. in two markets apiece under their year-old joint venture with Sprint. Comcast has started promoting its wireless packages in Boston and Portland, Ore., while Time Warner is marketing mobile in Austin, Texas, and Raleigh, N.C., and Cox is pitching service in San Diego and Phoenix.
Posted by Judith — 4:19 AM
FT unveils Orange Labs network.
Source: TeleGeography.
France Telecom has announced the launch of its new Orange Labs network, which groups together all its research and development units across the world in a bid to deliver innovative products and services in more than 220 countries and territories in which it is active. The Orange Labs network includes 15 R&D laboratories in seven countries (France, China, Japan, South Korea, the US, the UK and Poland), and also integrates the Technocentre based in Chatillon and the Explocentre in Paris.
Posted by Judith — 4:15 AM
China Mobile adds 4.8m. users in December.
Source: TeleGeography.
China Mobile, China’s largest wireless carrier, added 4.83m. customers in December up from 4.67m. new subscribers the previous month. The carrier said 4.5m. of the total were pre-paid subscribers and 322,000 were contract customers. The December additions raised China Mobile’s total number of subscribers to 301.23m.
Posted by Judith — 4:06 AM
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Google and Microsoft plan data centres.
Source: FT.com.
The internet arms race between Google and Microsoft took a new twist on Friday as the companies announced plans to spend more than US$1bn. between them on new data centres to handle future rapid growth in online traffic.
Posted by Judith — 4:57 AM
Telefonica to spend US$7bn. over 4 years on Brazilian ops.
Source: TeleGeography.
Spanish telecoms company Telefonica is investing BRL15bn. (US$7bn.) in its Brazilian operations over the next four years, the company said in a statement. Telefonica will plough the money into its fixed line, mobile, internet and call centre operations in the country, including an investment in a customer services centre via its Atento unit, which will create upwards of 5,000 new jobs.
Posted by Judith — 4:37 AM
Friday, January 19, 2007
AT&T plans ‘Unity’ strategy for free calls.
Source: NYT.
Only weeks after closing its deal for BellSouth, AT&T is embarking on an ambitious strategy to show customers the benefit of its owning 100m. phone lines.
AT&T is expected to introduce AT&T Unity, a pricing package that allows its cellular customers to call any AT&T landline customer without incurring additional usage fees or using their wireless minutes. While AT&T wireless customers can already call each other free, the new plan will extend the program on a large scale to landline customers.
Posted by Judith — 4:43 AM
GoIP inks reseller agreement with France Telecom.
Source: Digital Media Europe.
GoIP Global, a mobile media company, has signed a reseller agreement with France Telecom to be a service provider on the Inmarsat Satellite System. GoIP will launch Roambuddy, claimed to be the first mobile satellite service to deliver broadband data and voice simultaneously through one device, from almost anywhere in the world.
Posted by Judith — 4:34 AM
SFR to appeal EUR220m. ‘collusion’ charge.
Source: TeleGeography.
French mobile operator SFR, backed by Vivendi and Vodafone, says it plans to appeal a EUR220m. (US$260.5m.) fine for alleged market collusion in the French Supreme Court. In December 2005 SFR, along with Orange France and Bouygues, were handed hefty fines totalling EUR534m. from the competition watchdog Conseil de la Concurrence following allegations of market collusion.The fines, which included EUR256m. for Orange and EUR58m. for Bouygues, were upheld last month by an appeals court.
Posted by Judith — 4:26 AM
Wifi meshing catches on.
Source: Telecoms.com
Wifi meshing is becoming increasingly common in several markets and shipments of wifi mesh access points (AP) are expected to double over the next four years.
Wifi meshing allows wireless access nodes to achieve a longer range by using each node as a repeater.
Incompatibility among systems, however, is a potential hurdle for the growth of the technology.
Tropos is estimated to have the largest mindshare in municipal mesh networking but Nortel, Strix, BelAir and SkyPilot made aggressive pushes into the market in 2006.
Posted by Judith — 3:38 AM
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Microsoft, Nortel offer new products, services.
Source: Reuters.
Nortel Networks Corp. and Microsoft Corp. together rolled out a raft of products and services on Wednesday aimed at delivering business communications over software and Internet networks.
Nortel, the biggest maker of telephone equipment in North America, and software company Microsoft aim to capitalize on a shift by companies to cheaper Internet-based communications..
Posted by Judith — 4:46 AM
Problems for Virgin mobile TV in UK.
Source: Telecoms.com.
The UK’s first broadcast mobile-television service has attracted less than 7,000 subscribers since its launch last October.
Virgin Mobile TV, a branded version of a service from wholesaler BT Movio, launched off the back of a multimillion-pound advertising campaign.
Despite this and a leap of about 2,000 subscribers over the Christmas period takeup for the innovative service remains slow.
Posted by Judith — 4:34 AM
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Telstra requests A$600m. for ADSL rollout.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Australian incumbent Telstra has requested A$600m. (US$471m.) from the government to help fund what it says will be the largest ADSL broadband rollout the country has ever seen.
With a significant number of Australians living in extremely remote parts of the country, the state has established the Broadband Connect Infrastructure programme, the fund from which Telstra has requested the A$600m - the entirety of the fund being made available by the government.
Posted by Judith — 4:44 AM
Verizon to spin off rural lines in New England .
Source: Converge.
Verizon Communications announced a deal to spin-off approximately 1.5m. access lines, approximately 180,000 DSL customers and approximately 600,000 long-distance customers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Under the arrangement, Verizon will form a separate entity for these local exchange and related business assets. It will then spin off that new entity to Verizon’s stockholders, and merge it with and into FairPoint, a telecommunications provider based in North Carolina with 31 local exchange companies in 18 states.
Posted by Judith — 4:30 AM
Bermuda plans sweeping telecoms reforms.
Source: TeleGeography.
The government of Bermuda has announced plans to implement a sweeping reform of the country’s telecoms industry in a bid to foster competition and reduce prices for end users. Among a series of proposals on the table, the authorities have mooted the idea of removing the current restrictions on foreign direct ownership in telecoms firms - the so-called 60-40 rule. In addition, plans are under way to replace the existing system of licensing with a single unified licence that would allow operators to provide an unlimited range of telecoms services and products.
Posted by Judith — 4:18 AM
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Nortel, Siemens win PBT deals at BT.
Source: Light Reading.
BT Group plc has firmly committed to the controversial new Ethernet technology PBT (Provider Backbone Transport) by announcing multi-year supply deals with Nortel Networks Ltd. and Siemens Communications Group .
It is believed that BT plans to invest several tens of millions of dollars in the Ethernet technology.
The news is significant in that it confirms PBT as a carrier of Ethernet technology to be taken seriously.
Posted by Judith — 4:01 AM
DoCoMo under domestic pressure.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Leading Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo is feeling the heat from mobile number portability and increased competition after signing up the smallest number of subscribers over the month of December.
In terms of net additions, DoCoMo was beaten by second placed KDDI, which signed up 297,500 customers in December. Even the country’s smallest operator, Softbank Mobile, signed up 97,000 new users, compared to DoCoMo’s net additions of 87,600.
Posted by Judith — 3:54 AM
AOL agrees to buy Online Ad Broker for US$900m.
Source: NYT.
AOL has announced that it had agreed to buy TradeDoubler, a Swedish company that matches Internet advertisers with online media owners and e-commerce sites, as AOL tries to acquire a bigger share of the booming global market in Internet advertising.
The deal, at SKr6.3bn., or US$900m., would be AOL’s first major acquisition since the company’s shift to a free, advertiser-supported portal from a subscriber-based service.
Posted by Judith — 3:46 AM
3 bites bullet and scraps roaming charges.
Source: BWCS.
While the EU mulls measures to force mobile companies to reduce roaming fees, Hutchison-backed mobile operator 3 has shocked many with a new plan to scrap roaming charges for its UK customers in seven countries. The favoured destinations are Italy, Australia, Hong Kong, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and the Republic of Ireland - all markets where Hutchison has operations.
Posted by Judith — 3:44 AM
Skype founders move into net TV.
Source: BBC.
The founders of the Skype internet telephony service are launching what they describe as the world’s first broadcast quality internet TV service.
Following speculation about the service, the online television software is being unveiled under the name Joost.
It is designed to enable broadcasters to get their programmes in front of a global internet audience.
Posted by Judith — 3:40 AM
At some airports, cellphones can check in passengers.
Source: NYT.
Cellphone users anticipating the arrival of in-flight chatting and text messaging can also use their phones to expedite check-in at some airports in Japan and Europe.
A few airlines are experimenting with systems that let passengers check in at the departure gate by identifying themselves with a cellphone. Two Japanese carriers - Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways - are using the method for skipping the traditional check-in, as is DBA, a unit of Germany’s Air Berlin.
Posted by Judith — 3:33 AM
Monday, January 15, 2007
India next for Virgin Mobile?
Source: TeleGeography.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is reportedly in talks with Indian wireless operator Tata Teleservices with a view to introducing the Virgin Mobile brand to India. Because MVNOs are not yet permitted on the sub-continent Virgin is planning to become an exclusive franchisee of Tata Teleservices. For this, a new company, likely majority owned by Tata Teleservices will be formed.
Posted by Judith — 8:16 AM
OFT finding could force Sky to sell off blocking stake in ITV.
Source: Independent.
BSkyB’s controversial purchase of an 18 per cent blocking stake in ITV may have given it a material influence over its rival broadcaster, resulting in a de facto merger of the two companies, the Office of Fair Trading said in a statement with potentially far-reaching implications.
Posted by Judith — 8:09 AM
HT Mobile (Vietnam) launches nationwide mobile service.
Source: TeleGeography.
Vietnam’s seventh cellular network, HT Mobile, has been launched. Vendor Nortel has built the CDMA2000 network, which will be operated under a 15-year business cooperation contract between Hutchison Telecom and The Hanoi Telecom Joint Stock Company.
Posted by Judith — 7:53 AM
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Ad funded trial goes live in France.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Ad-funding company Amobee, has this week launched a commercial advertising trial with Orange in France.
Orange customers interested in playing games will be offered them for free, or at a reduced rate, if they first agree to watch an advert.
Ad-funded incentives are gathering momentum as interest in the technique has lured major brands including Yahoo, Google and Vodafone. Coca-Cola, Saab and Sociee Generale have signed up for the trial
Posted by Judith — 7:09 AM
AOL sells its paid music service.
Source: NYT.
After six years of trying to build an online music service, AOL agreed yesterday to sell its AOL Music Now to Napster. Napster will pay US$15m. to add AOL’s 350,000 subscribers to its own 566,000.
The price amounts to about $43 a subscriber, which appears low considering that Napster, which only sells a music service, is valued at US$186m. or US$328 a subscriber. One reason may be that AOL’s music business has been shrinking quickly.
Posted by Judith — 6:17 AM
Wolfson set to ring up profits from iPhone sales.
Source: Scotsman.
Wolfson Microelectronics, the Edinburgh-based microchip maker, is expected to be a key beneficiary from the anticipated success of Apple’s new iPhone.
Wolfson has long been known to be the supplier for Apple’s iPod, with its chips converting digital music files into audio sound. Similar technology is expected to be inside the iPhone, with Wolfson expected to retain its position as a key chip supplier to Apple.
Posted by Judith — 6:03 AM
Friday, January 12, 2007
Strom telecom signs contract with Vodafone Czech Republic.
Source: Digital Media Europe.
Strom telecom, a developer and producer of high-end telecommunications equipment and systems, has signed a three-year contract with Vodafone Czech Republic for the delivery of an information system for support of business and operational processes and for outsourced services.
Posted by Judith — 4:55 AM
iPhone talks failed over ‘open’ stance.
Source: FT.com.
Cisco Systems’ efforts to negotiate an agreement with Apple over the use of the iPhone name fell apart because the networking group insisted that Apple’s new mobile handset be made to interoperate with its own networking devices, according to a statement by Cisco’s top lawyer.
Posted by Judith — 4:49 AM
AT&T prepares to ‘de-brand’ the Cingular wireless name.
Source: NYT.
One of the biggest ‘de-brandings’ in advertising history is to begin Monday when AT&T, now the sole owner of Cingular Wireless, starts changing all Cingular marketing to adopt the AT&T name.
AT&T will not disclose the budget for the campaign, which will continue for five or six months - leading to the partnership with Apple on the new iPhone, scheduled for midyear.
Posted by Judith — 3:56 AM
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Cisco to sue Apple on iPhone name.
Source: BBC.
Cisco Systems is suing Apple for trademark infringement in a US federal court, for using the iPhone name.
Cisco, which has owned the trademark since 2000, said it thought Apple would agree to a final document and public statement regarding the trademark.
Posted by Judith — 7:29 AM
Nokia and Visa launch mobile payment platform.
Source: BWCS.
Global credit card giant Visa and mobile handset maker Nokia have announced a global platform aimed at turning phones into mobile wallets. The move follows extensive trials of a variety of payment systems and is aimed at allowing users to pay for a wide number of goods and services without the inconvenience of having to reach into their wallets.
Posted by Judith — 7:22 AM
Scramble by main mobile operators for exclusive UK iPhone deal.
Source: TimesOnline.
The big mobile phone operators, including O2, are battling for the exclusive rights to Apple’s new iPhone in the UK.
Apple, which launched the iPhone on Tuesday, is expected to offer the revolutionary touchscreen mobile phone exclusively to one network operator when it launches in the UK at the end of the year.
O2, Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile are all contenders for the contract.
The iPhone is not 3G- compatible, which rules out 3, the next-generation mobile operator owned by Hutchison Whampoa.
Posted by Judith — 7:15 AM
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Apple Unveils iPhone, Partners with Cingular, Google, Yahoo!
Source: Converge.
Apple has unveiled the long awaited iPhone — combining a GSM phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, digital camera, WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities and Internet communications, including email, web browsing, searching and maps. Apple also announced a multi-year partnership with Cingular which will offer the iPhone starting in June.
Posted by Judith — 4:32 AM
BT claims a million VoIP customers.
Source: TeleGeography.
BT has announced it has more than a million registered consumer customers for its VoIP services, BT Broadband Talk and BT Softphone. The British telco has reached this key milestone more than six months ahead of target, having set out in July 2006 with the goal of achieving a million VoIP customers within twelve months.
Posted by Judith — 4:11 AM
Vonage to resell wifi access.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Internet telephony player Vonage has announced that it has signed a three year contract with US internet service provider EarthLink to offer wifi internet access in select cities throughout the US.
Under terms of the agreement, Vonage will buy internet access on a wholesale basis from EarthLink in all cities where the company will build, own and operate municipal wireless networks. Vonage will then sell its own wifi internet service to consumers under the Vonage brand.
Posted by Judith — 4:06 AM
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Motorola announces partnership with Warner.
Source: BWCS.
Motorola has announced a global strategic partnership with the giant music content owner Warner Music Group. Together, the pair say they will create a set of new “music-based products and experiences” for mobile customers.
The US-based mobile phone maker was keen to stress that the agreement marks the first between a music company and a handset manufacturer as the pair work towards a global agreement to develop digital products, and marketing campaigns.
Posted by Judith — 5:56 AM
Yahoo introduces mobile service software.
Source: NYT.
After falling behind Google in Internet search and advertising, Yahoo is trying to remain No. 1 in the battle to deliver information and online services to mobile phones.
Yahoo’s latest weapon is software that will let users find information like weather, news, stock quotes and sports scores more quickly on their cellphones. The software, called Go for Mobile 2.0, was unveiled in Las Vegas, just as Google announced a partnership to put its own mobile software on Samsung cellphones.
Posted by Judith — 5:07 AM
Vodafone launches broadband deal.
Source: BBC.
Vodafone has become the latest phone group to enter the UK broadband market.
A number of other mobile firms like Orange now offer bundled packages of broadband services to their customers.
Carphone Warehouse and BSkyB also recently entered the UK broadband market, which now accounts for more than 69% of all internet connections.
Posted by Judith — 4:58 AM
FT facing EUR500m. lawsuit from Iliad.
Source: TeleGeography.
France Telecom (FT) is being sued for EUR500m. (US$650.3m.) by ISP Free, a unit of the Iliad group, which claims the incumbent is not doing enough to open its fibre-optic networks to rivals. It is not understood whether the case is about allowing local loop access, or rather access to fibre for backhaul from the exchanges to the competitor’s existing network.
Posted by Judith — 4:49 AM
Monday, January 8, 2007
FCC to take E911 action.
Source: TeleGeography.
The FCC is to begin enforcement action against cellular operators that have failed to provide adequate emergency service coverage. Cellular operators were required to be providing wireless enhanced 911services to at least 95% of their customers by 31 December 2005. Dow Jones reports that eight cellcos requested extensions of the deadline but these were not granted and the FCC is taking action against the four firms which have the poorest E911 coverage - Sprint Nextel, ALLTEL, US Cellular and Nextel Partners (which is now part of Sprint Nextel).
Posted by Judith — 5:49 AM
BT launches mobile WiFi service.
Source: BWCS.
UK fixed line operator BT has announced plans for a voice over WiFi service aimed at consumer customers. The new service will be an extension of the company’s existing hybrid fixed/mobile Fusion service. BT will now enable customers to make calls via WiFi from public access W-Lan hotspots.
Posted by Judith — 4:59 AM
Verizon Wireless plans cell phone TV this quarter.
Source: Reuters.
Verizon Wirelesshas announced that it would bring live television to its handsets this quarter using a network run by Qualcomm Inc. as it seeks new revenue beyond phone calls.
Posted by Judith — 4:48 AM
Sprint Nextel and Nokia in WiMAX Pact .
Source: Converge.
Sprint Nextel named Nokia as a key infrastructure and consumer electronic device provider for its 4G WiMAX network. Nokia joins Intel, Samsung and Motorola on the Sprint Nextel project, which is currently expected to enter service in late 2007.
Posted by Judith — 4:46 AM
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Google makes another investment in the Internet in China.
Source: NYT.
Google is beginning to invest heavily in research and development in China. In its latest move Google struck a deal to invest about US$5m. in one of the country’s fastest-growing Internet start-ups, Xunlei.com.
That follows another hook-up this week, when Google said it would team with China Mobile, the country’s dominant, government-owned mobile telephone carrier, to offer mobile search services using the Internet.
Posted by Judith — 5:13 AM
MediaFLO mobile TV to go live in US.
Source: Telecoms.com.
MediaFLO, the mobile TV technology developed by Qualcomm, is expected to get its first commercial outing this weekend, when Verizon Wireless becomes the first operator to launch a service based on the system.
Posted by Judith — 5:06 AM
Friday, January 5, 2007
Cisco buys IronPort.
Source: Light Reading.
Cisco Systems Inc. has turned its security strategy in a new, application-oriented direction, acquiring messaging security vendor IronPort Systems for US$830m. in cash and stock.
IronPort, a five-year-old, privately held company, makes appliances for Web security and management, but it is best known for its email security appliances, which help filter spam and detect malware in large and small enterprises as well as Internet service providers. Eight of the top 10 ISPs, as well as large enterprises such as JetBlue Airways, are IronPort users.
Posted by Judith — 5:09 AM
MetroPCS files US$1.125bn. IPO.
Source: TeleGeography.
The US wireless operator MetroPCS has filed for a US$1.125bn. IPO. The Dallas-based firm plans to use the proceeds of the sale to roll out high speed mobile networks; it recently paid US$1.4bn. for advanced wireless services (AWS) spectrum covering 117 million people.
Posted by Judith — 5:00 AM
Cingular wins US$2bn. contract renewal.
Source: TeleGeography.
AT&T Inc’s cellular subsidiary Cingular Wireless has signed a four-year contract with the Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA) to provide wireless services to local and state governments nationwide. The deal is estimated to be worth US$2bn.
Posted by Judith — 4:55 AM
Virgin (US) reaches 4.6m. subs.
Source: TeleGeography.
The US cellular reseller Virgin Mobile USA has announced that its customer base now stands at 4.6m., up by 600,000 in just over a year. The MVNO is a joint venture between Sprint Nextel and the UK-based Virgin group.
Virgin is one of the largest US mobile resellers along with the likes of Tracfone, Amp’d Mobile and Helio.
Posted by Judith — 4:52 AM
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Amdocs continues spending spree.
Source: Light Reading.
Amdocs Ltd. has further strengthened its billing and service delivery capabilities by acquiring the 86% of SigValue Technologies it didn’t already own, for $54m. in cash.
The move continues the consolidation trend set in 2006 that helped create a core group of telecom software player giants that look set to dominate the OSS and service delivery sector in the coming years: Amdocs, IBM Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Oracle Corp. and Telcordia Technologies Inc.
Posted by Judith — 5:16 AM
Google, China Mobile cooperate on search services.
Source: Reuters.
Google has announced that it is cooperating with China’s top mobile carrier to provide mobile and Internet search services in the world’s second-largest online market.
Google will provide online search technology to China Mobile, the service being launched broadly in early 2007.
Posted by Judith — 5:10 AM
80% of US population covered by Phase II E911.
Source: TeleGeography.
80% of the US population can now benefit from Phase II wireless enhanced 911 (E911) services, up 11% over the past twelve months. Phase II E911 capability enables emergency services to pinpoint the exact location of 911 emergency calls from mobile phones, an improvement on Phase I services which could narrow down the caller’s location only as far as the cellsite used.
Posted by Judith — 4:54 AM
DoCoMo buys 3% of Nippon Television Network.
Source: TeleGeography.
NTT DoCoMo has bought a 3% stake (760,500 shares) in Nippon Television Network (NTV) for an undisclosed sum.
The Japanese cellco is already working with NTV to develop a range of mobile communications and broadcasting services following an agreement signed by the pair in February last year.
Posted by Judith — 4:46 AM
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
U.S. group sues Nokia, Samsung over Bluetooth.
Source: Reuters.
The Washington Research Foundation has sued mobile phone makers Nokia, Samsung Electronics and Matsushita-owned Panasonic for infringing on a patent for wireless Bluetooth technology.
Posted by Judith — 4:18 AM
Alcatel-Lucent completes Nortel UMTS buy.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Alcatel-Lucent has announced that its acquisition of Nortel Networks Corp.’s UMTS radio access business, is now complete, after it won regulatory approval over the holiday period.
Nortel received a cash payment of approximately GBP163m. ($320m.)
The Nortel purchase is the largest the newly formed Alcatel-Lucent has made since Alcatel bought its American rival Lucent in a deal worth $11.6bn. last year.
Posted by Judith — 4:15 AM
AT&T hails wireless era.
Source: Telecoms.com.
The assimilation of BellSouth into AT&T heralds a new wireless era that will see the latter attempt to capitalise on its newly acquired wireless heritage and make advertising a key revenue stream.
In a report for the Wall Street Journal, AT&T said its control of Cingular - part of the $86bn BellSouth acquisition - was key to creating a company “with wireless at its heart”.
Now that BellSouth deal is complete, AT&T intends to market mobile service under its own brand name.
Posted by Judith — 4:11 AM
Carphone Warehouse completes GBP£370m. AOL UK takeover.
Source: Scotsman.com.
Mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse yesterday completed the acquisition of the UK’s third-largest internet service provider, AOL UK, after getting the green light from EU competition officials.
The GBP370m. takeover gives Carphone just under a fifth of the UK broadband market, with an estimated customer base of at least two million.
Posted by Judith — 4:01 AM
Vodafone UK rolls out nationwide broadband service.
Source: TeleGeography.
Vodafone UK will become the latest mobile operator to enter the crowded British broadband sector when it launches a commercial nationwide service on 7 January. The cellco sees broadband internet access as a means of both attracting new users and maintaining its mobile subscriber base in a saturated wireless market. it has teamed up with BT, which will provide infrastructure access to support the launch, to roll out its Vodafone At Home nationwide service.
Posted by Judith — 3:58 AM
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