Press Clippings: July 2007
Major Industry items you might have missed
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Verizon Wireless to buy Rural Cellular.
Source: NYT.
Verizon Wirelesshas announced that it will buy Rural Cellular Corp for US$757m. in cash to save on roaming costs and expand its customer base.
The deal is worth US$2.67bn. including the assumption of net debt, according to Verizon Wireless. It said it expects more than US$1bn. in savings from reduced roaming fees and operating expenses as a result of the deal.
Posted by Judith — 4:38 AM
Music from independent labels to be sold via cellphones.
Source: NYT.
EMusic, the nation’s second-largest online music seller after Apple’s iTunes, plans to announce a deal with AT&T that will allow people to buy songs from independent labels through their cellphones, without the need to go through a personal computer.
Several services, including those run by Sprint and Verizon, let people buy songs directly over the air. But they focus on songs by mainstream performers. EMusic sells music only from independent labels and the arrangement with AT&T Mobile Music will make those songs available just as easily as the more conventional ones.
Posted by Judith — 4:01 AM
Monday, July 30, 2007
KPN to bid EUR766m. for IP specialist Getronics
Source: TeleGeography.
Dutch former monopoly KPN Telecom has revealed it intends to launch a management-backed EUR766m. (US$1.05bn.) buyout offer for IT services firm Getronics NV. In a move that is seen as something of a surprise by local industry watchers, Getronics recently terminated merger discussions with a potential US suitor and opted to explore a partnership with KPN.
Posted by Judith — 6:28 AM
Tiscali agrees MVNO deal.
Source: TeleGeography.
Italian ISP Tiscali has signed a wholesale mobile agreement with Telecom Italia which will allow Tiscali to launch as a MVNO. The ISP plans to market Tiscali-branded packages which combine mobile and high speed internet services.
Posted by Judith — 5:31 AM
Aruba and Alcatel-Lucent to form JV for enterprise solutions.
Source: Converge.
Aruba Networks and Alcatel-Lucent will establish a joint venture focused on developing next-generation wired and wireless solutions for the enterprise. Specifically, the joint venture will focus on the design and delivery of hardware and software modules that add secure wireless LAN switching to Alcatel-Lucent’s next generation products.
Posted by Judith — 4:49 AM
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Covad, AT&T extend line sharing deal until May 2009.
Source: TeleGeography.
US integrated voice and data communications provider Covad Communications Group has signed an extension of the term of the commercial line sharing contract it holds with AT&T’s local telephone businesses. Under the revised deal, Covad has guaranteed access to AT&T’s copper and remote-terminal facilities for new Covad line share customers until May 2009. The agreement also provides for commercial access to AT&T copper facilities in the former BellSouth territory, also through May 2009.
Posted by Judith — 4:14 AM
Virgin mobile TV to end Jan 2008.
Source: TeleGeography.
Virgin Mobile is pulling the plug on its Virgin Mobile TV service from early next year. Although an exact date is still to be decided, Virgin Mobile said the mobile TV service would run at least until the end of January. The operator’s announcement comes after BT Movio - which supplies the mobile TV service wholesale to Virgin Mobile - cancelled its broadcast TV contract with GCap Media.
Posted by Judith — 4:10 AM
Local telephony deregulation kicks off.
Source: TeleGeography.
Canada’s telecoms regulator the CRTC has granted telcos Telus and Bell Aliant the freedom to set their own rates for local telephony in four areas, as the first stage in a process of national deregulation of basic fixed line telephone services. The watchdog gave the nod to Bell Canada unit Aliant in three markets in parts of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, covering cities including Halifax, Fredericton and Charlottetown, whilst Telus secured deregulation in Fort McMurray.
Posted by Judith — 3:56 AM
Friday, July 27, 2007
Sprint to develop mobile internet portal with Google.
Source: NYT.
Google Inc. has made its biggest move yet on the U.S. mobile Web market by signing a deal with Sprint Nextel Corp. that positions the Internet company to build services to run on Sprint’s planned WiMAX high-speed wireless network.
The companies announced that Google will provide its Internet search service for a Web portal that Sprint is developing for the new WiMAX network.
The deal is Google’s closest alliance with a major U.S. mobile service provider.
Posted by Judith — 4:04 AM
Regulators in Europe accuse Intel of violating antitrust laws.
Source: NYT.
European regulators are bringing antitrust charges against Intel, the world’s biggest chip maker, accusing the company of using illegal rebates in its fight against Advanced Micro Devices.
The decision to bring a formal case follows a six-year investigation into allegations of illegal discounts to personal computer makers.
Posted by Judith — 3:58 AM
BT insists it will not be part of a ‘war of the laptop’ in broadband.
Source: Scotsman.com
It has become one of the most fiercely -contested battles of the new dot-com era.
BT promised it would stand back from a broadband price war that has led some providers to give away “free” laptops in a bid to gain custom and would continue to focus its broadband strategy on quality.
The former telecoms monopoly faces cut-price deals from TalkTalk-owner Carphone Warehouse, as well as new offers from BSkyB and the creation of Virgin Media following the mergers of NTL, Telewest and Virgin Mobile.
Posted by Judith — 3:27 AM
Thursday, July 26, 2007
EC moves to remove spectrum restrictions.
Source: Telecoms.com.
The EC proposed to open up the potential for spectrum this week, increasing the number and choice of wireless services available and expanding their geographic coverage to the benefit of all European citizens.
In essence, the Commission is proposing to repeal the GSM Directive of 1987, which helped make GSM a success in Europe by allocating certain radio frequencies (900MHz and 1800MHz) to GSM services.
But many believe the directive is now out of date as it prevents more advanced, next generation wireless technologies from using the reserved spectrum.
Posted by Judith — 6:28 AM
US mobile TV platform gets dumped.
Source: Telecoms.com.
US-based network infrastructure firm Crown Castle has offloaded Modeo, its DVB-H mobile TV venture in New York City.
The firm, which owns and operates radio towers in the US and Australia, said that it has entered into a lease of its US nationwide 1670 - 1675MHz spectrum. The Spectrum will be leased to a venture formed by Telcom Ventures, LLC and Columbia Capital for US$13m. per year until October, 2013.
When the lease expires, the venture will have the right to acquire the spectrum for US$130m.
Posted by Judith — 4:49 AM
TIM to set aside US$1.02bn. for 3G, WiMAX licences.
Source: TeleGeography.
Brazilian mobile phone company TIM Brasil has allocated more than BRL2bn. (US$1.02bn.) in 2007 to acquire 3G mobile and WiMAX broadband licences. The company has set aside the monies as part of a wider BRL5.7bn. investment by the Telecom Italia-backed operator covering the period 2007/09.
Posted by Judith — 4:41 AM
O2 Germany cuts jobs in bid to stay competitive.
Source: TeleGeography.
O2 Germany has announced plans to cut its total workforce to 4,000 by mid-2008. The move will see 700 jobs cut in the cellco’s administrative and central departments. In addition, the Telefonica-owned operator will change its management structure by splitting technology management in two segments, network and service technology, as well as creating one new segment for product development and brand management.
Posted by Judith — 4:32 AM
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Nokia socialises with Twango.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Finnish vendor Nokia has upped its game in the social networking space with the acquisition of US-based media sharing service Twango.
Twango is a platform for organising and sharing photos, videos and other personal media and gives Nokia a tool to allow users to share multimedia content through their desktop and mobile devices. Twango is a privately owned company founded by former Microsoft veterans.
Posted by Judith — 4:26 AM
M2 looks to offer MVNO service in NZ.
Source: TeleGeography.
Australia-based telecoms service provider M2 Telecommunications is close to signing an MVNO agreement with Vodafone, which would allow it to enter the New Zealand mobile market. M2 Telecommunications has experience as a mobile wholesaler in the Australian market where it uses Optus’ 3G network to offer wireless services to its Australian subscribers.
Posted by Judith — 4:17 AM
AOL buys an online ad company.
Source: NYT.
The AOL unit of Time Warner said yesterday it had agreed to buy Tacoda, an online advertising company that uses behavioral targeting techniques to track Web user habits.
The deal is the latest acquisition by AOL to bolster its online advertising tools after its decision to move away from its Internet access business and instead offer consumers free services supported by ads.
Posted by Judith — 4:06 AM
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Virgin USA in US$506m. IPO.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Virgin Mobile USA, Richard Branson’s US MVNO, is gearing up for a US$506m. IPO.
The IPO is being led by Lehman Brothers, with Merrill Lynch & Co. and Bank of America Securities acting as joint book running managers.
The MVNO leases its network capacity off local carrier Sprint Nextel and said the proceeds from the offer will be used to pay off existing debt as well as an undisclosed amount to Sprint.
Posted by Judith — 3:42 AM
T-Mobile taps BT for backhaul.
Source: Telecoms.com.
T-Mobile UK made a landmark agreement this week when it tapped BT wholesale to be its backhaul provider, initially using leased lines but later with Ethernet.
Financial details of the contract were not released but analysts say that with mobile call prices falling, wireless operators need to ensure their networks are the lowest cost possible and in some cases it makes economic sense to move off their own fixed infrastructure and onto a more cost efficient wholesale one.
Posted by Judith — 3:07 AM
AT&T’s IMS-based “video share” application now available.
Source: Converge.
AT&T has announced the nationwide launch of AT&T Video Share in nearly 160 markets. The IMS-based Video Share application runs over the 3G network and enables one-way live streaming-video feeds that can be seen by both parties while they are participating in a two-way voice conversation. Once the parties have initiated a Video Share call, either one can be the one generating the video stream for the other to see.
Posted by Judith — 2:57 AM
Monday, July 23, 2007
Amp’d mobile suspends operations.
Source: Converge.
Amp’d Mobile, an MVNO that uses that Verizon Wireless network, is suspending U.S. operations as of 23-July-2007. Amp’d, which targets the youth market, said it is currently in discussions with other carriers, but that customers should port their numbers to other service providers.
Posted by Judith — 3:30 AM
Bharti buys back 4.99% Airtel stake.
Source: TeleGeography.
The Bharti Group has bought back a 4.99% stake in Bharti Airtel from UK-based Vodafone for US$1.43bn. The purchase takes Bharti’s voting interest in the cellco to just over 50%. However, the Bharti Group’s economic interest in Airtel will shortly fall to a little over 45%, as it has given Singapore’s Temasek the option of picking up a 4.99% indirect stake in the cellco.
Posted by Judith — 3:06 AM
SingTel seals Pakistani buy.
Source: TeleGeography.
Abu Dhabi-based Warid Telecom Group International has confirmed the sale of a 30% stake in its Pakistani operations to SingTel, in a deal worth US$758m. Warid Telecom reported over ten million wireless subscribers at the end of June.
Posted by Judith — 2:49 AM
debitel’s EUR560m. purchase of Talkline approved by EU
Source: TeleGeography.
The EC has cleared German MVNO debitel’s EUR560m. (US$774.6m.) purchase of fellow German MVNO Talkline from Danish incumbent TDC. The deal will make debitel, already the country’s largest MVNO with an estimated nine million subscribers at the end of March 2007, the fourth-largest wireless operator in Germany, putting it ahead of Spanish firm Telefonica’s O2 unit.
Posted by Judith — 2:30 AM
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Google mulls spectrum auction bid.
Source: BBC.
Web search giant Google will take part in a US wireless spectrum auction if the FCC adds a key condition.
Google will meet a bid level of US$4.6bn. (GBP2.24bn) - as long as auction winners also have to offer services on a wholesale basis to third parties.
The move comes after the FCC floated a plan for the spectrum sale that did not include the wholesale conditions.
Posted by Judith — 4:42 AM
Qualcomm suffers setback in patent duel.
Source: FT.com.
Qualcomm suffered a further legal setback on Friday when a US court rejected its appeal against a ruling by the International Trade Commission that would ban the import of advanced new 3G mobile phones containing technology the body says infringes on six patents held by rival Broadcom.
Posted by Judith — 4:26 AM
BT considers a fibre diet.
Source: Telecoms.com.
BT may be considering a U turn on its decision not to roll out fibre, or at least taking it to the kerb.
The chairman Christopher Bland has revealed that the carrier is considering installing fibre to the cabinets (FTTx), typically found on street kerbs.
Such a move could help BT push its consumer broadband speeds past the 24Mbps limit currently set by its 21CN deployment up towards a more attractive 50Mbps.
Posted by Judith — 4:17 AM
Friday, July 20, 2007
Sprint, Clearwire in WiMax network pact.
Source: Reuters.
Sprint Nextel Corp and Clearwire Corp plan to connect their WiMax high-speed wireless services to allow customers to move between their networks thereby boosting demand for the technology and cutting costs.
Posted by Judith — 6:28 AM
Verizon Wireless and Broadcom in Deal.
Source: NYT.
Verizon Wireless will pay the Broadcom Corporation as much as US$200m. to bypass a possible ban on some handsets that use Qualcomm chips.
The agreement will give Verizon Wireless the right to use a patent found to have been infringed by Qualcomm.
Posted by Judith — 6:08 AM
Verizon Wireless reports 1.6m. net adds.
Source: TeleGeography.
The second largest US cellular operator, Verizon Wireless, added 1.6m. net new customers in the three months to the end of June, taking its total subscriber base to 62.1m. including wholesale accounts. The cellco reported 60.1m. retail customers. Rival operator and market leader AT&T can claim more customers in total, but it has a larger number of wholesale users on its networks who are served via various resellers.
Posted by Judith — 5:54 AM
Thursday, July 19, 2007
BT and T-Mobile sign major network agreement.
Source: TeleGeography.
T-Mobile and BT Wholesale have announced a new agreement that will see BT link thousands of T-Mobile’s base station sites around the UK to the T-Mobile network. The contract, potentially worth several hundred million pounds over the next five years, will deliver T-Mobile a cost-efficient and flexible next generation service to support its growth plans and help avoid any investment risk in building out its own capability.
Posted by Judith — 5:12 AM
Ericsson scores US$2bn. at Bharti.
Source: Light Reading.
Ericsson has won a two-year, US$2bn. network expansion contract with Bharti Airtel Ltd.
The contract is Ericsson’s largest ever network expansion deal and comes as Indian mobile carriers rush to add additional capacity to handle subscriber growth and make a push into rural areas, where more than two thirds of the country’s 1.1 billion people live.
Posted by Judith — 4:56 AM
Price cap gets UK, German cellcos off the hook.
Source: TeleGeography.
The European Commission has dropped lawsuits alleging excessive wholesale international roaming fees against cellcos Telefonica O2 UK, Vodafone UK, Vodafone Germany and T-Mobile Germany, which it first threatened the firms with in 2004. Since passing a price ceiling on wholesale and retail EU roaming fees into law in June, the commission has dropped legal proceedings, saying that the new price cap ‘addresses the same issues as those addressed in these antitrust cases, and clearly resolves them for the future.’
Posted by Judith — 4:16 AM
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Next generation technology forum in IPR breakthrough.
Source: Telecoms.com.
The Next Generation Mobile Network (NGMN) Forum, an eclectic mix of telecoms seeking a common vision for networks and technologies beyond 3G, have reached a breakthrough agreement on intellectual property licensing practices.
The alliance announced a new IPR agreement that aims to “deliver more transparency and predictability towards IPR costs associated with next generation mobile technologies”.
Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Intel, Motorola, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments have joined the global alliance.
They join founding members Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange, KPN, NTT DoCoMo, China Mobile and Sprint Nextel.
Posted by Judith — 4:30 AM
Two hours to transfer UK mobile numbers.
Source: Independent.
Mobile phone customers wanting to change networks and keep their number should be able to do so within two hours, industry regulator Ofcom has ruled.
The change should come in within just over two years. Meantime the present five days taken to transfer numbers is to be cut to two by next April. The move was welcomed by smaller mobile operators who believe it will encourage competition.
Posted by Judith — 4:17 AM
EU backs standard for mobile TV.
Source: BBC.
European officials have backed a single standard for the rollout of mobile TV services across Europe.
Telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding has called on member states to roll out services using the DVB-H standard as quickly as possible.
Posted by Judith — 4:15 AM
TeliaSonera closes MCT acquisition for SEK2bn.
Source: Digital Media Europe.
Nordic telco TeliaSonera has finalized its acquisition of MCT for SEK2bn. (US$300m.)
MCT is a US-based company with majority controlling shareholdings in three Eurasian GSM operators in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and a small minority interest in the leading GSM operator in Afghanistan.
Posted by Judith — 4:03 AM
Ericsson wins IMS deal with Vodafone.
Source: TeleGeography.
Ericsson has won a contract from Vodafone Portugal for the provision of a core IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). The companies say the contract is a key stepping stone to allow Vodafone to introduce a new generation of fixed and mobile convergent services.
The company has also signed a contract with Vodafone Germany to be the sole supplier of IMS.
Posted by Judith — 4:00 AM
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Qwest announces plan to quadruple fibre capacity.
Source: TeleGeography.
Qwest has announced it is quadrupling the capacity of its nationwide fibre-optic network to enable it to handle increased network traffic and go after contracts with internet-intensive firms and government agencies.
Posted by Judith — 5:20 AM
Samsung jumps into No. 2 spot.
Source: Telecoms.com.
A strong performance during the second quarter has catapulted Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung into second place in the world handset market, leapfrogging ailing US rival, Motorola.
Posted by Judith — 4:01 AM
T-Mobile must open Truphone lines.
Source: BBC.
A court has stepped into a row between mobile phone network operator T-Mobile and wi-fi phone firm Truphone.
Truphone had accused T-Mobile of hindering its service, by blocking calls made to numbers owned by the fledgling mobile operator.
In the High Court Truphone was granted an injunction to force T-Mobile to put the calls through.
Posted by Judith — 3:50 AM
Huawei on the march.
Source: BWCS.
Chinese telecoms vendor Huawei Technologies has reportedly signed a major network supply agreement with Polish mobile network PTK Centertel, owned by Telekomunikacja Polska.
In addition the Chinese giant appears to be close to signing network outsourcing contracts worth between US$400 and 600m. with Indian operators.
According to reports, Huawei is talking to stated-owned telecom companies BSNL and MTNL besides Vodafone-Essar. The company is also in talks with Bharti Airtel for a similar contract.
Posted by Judith — 3:46 AM
Internet phone company halts operations.
Source: NYT.
SunRocket, one of the largest US start-up companies offering Internet phone service, has ceased operation and is moving its customers to one or more other companies.
The development underlined the struggles of start-ups trying to make a business out of providing Internet-based phone service.
Posted by Judith — 3:06 AM
Monday, July 16, 2007
Videotron halfway to a million phone users.
Source: TeleGeography.
Videotron, the largest cable operator in Quebec, has announced that it has reached the benchmark of 500,000 residential and business customers for its cable telephony service. Most of its phone users have been poached from Quebec’s main wireline incumbent Bell Canada, which is losing an estimated 20,000 subscribers to Videotron every month.
Posted by Judith — 4:17 AM
Cellco unhappy with open access plans.
Source: TeleGeography.
Verizon Wireless has spoken out against moves by the FCC, to promote open access in the 700MHz band. FCC chairman Kevin Martin has said that he was in favour of giving consumers control over what device and application they used to access services in that band, with firms such as Google lobbying hard for such an open access approach. The cellco wants current restrictions on spectrum use to be maintained.
Posted by Judith — 4:14 AM
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Providence and KKR ready to join fray for Virgin Media.
Source: TimesOnline.
The battle for Virgin Media intensified last night as Providence, the American buyout firm, instructed advisers to prepare an offer for the US$22bn. (GBP11bn.) television and broadband group.
Providence is understood to have joined with KKR, the new Boots owner; Blackstone and Cinven to enter the auction for the cable operator.
Posted by Judith — 4:38 AM
‘Bolt from the blue’ for Google.
Source: FT.com.
The Australian competition regulator’s decision to take Google to court over alleged misleading and deceptive conduct in relation to sponsored links on the search engine group’s website could have wide industry implications.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which has a history of taking on large companies and winning most of its legal cases, this week filed what is thought to be the first trading standards lawsuit against Google.
Posted by Judith — 4:03 AM
Friday, July 13, 2007
T-Mobile extends Nortel deal.
Source: TeleGeography.
T-Mobile USA has signed a US$150m. extension of its GSM equipment supply contract with Nortel Networks. Nortel will be upgrading T-Mobile’s existing networks to improve efficiency and boost capacity. The multi-year deal continues a long-standing relationship which has seen the pair working together since 1995, when T-Mobile USA was still known as Voicestream Wireless.
Posted by Judith — 5:25 AM
Public sector given chance to sell GBP20bn. of radio spectrum.
Source: Independent.
Ofcom has established a new set of guidelines that will allow British government agencies to cash in on valuable spectrum worth up to GBP20bn by selling it on to telecoms companies looking to beef up mobile coverage.
Ofcom is working to sell off large chunks of spectrum over the coming year. The newly released spectrum will allow telecoms companies to launch a wide array of new services including mobile television and wireless broadband services, as well as boosting the quality of mobile coverage.
Posted by Judith — 4:52 AM
Italy to launch WiMAX tender by September.
Source: TeleGeography.
Italy’s communication minister Paolo Gentiloni intends to launch a tender to sell frequencies for WiMAX wireless broadband services by the end of September 2007.
In a recent consultation organised by the regulator Agcom eleven companies expressed interest in frequencies for national WiMAX coverage. Agcom said a maximum of three licences should be offered in each region to guarantee sufficient investment and ensure quality of service, while at the same avoiding the risk of a monopoly provider of WiMAX services emerging. It also said that one of the licences should be reserved for a new entrant, and that winning operators will have to reach certain coverage requirements within 30 months of receiving their 15-year licences, or risk losing them.
Posted by Judith — 4:29 AM
Tiscali set to acquire Pipex assets.
Source: TeleGeography.
Tiscali, the Italian ISP, is reported to be poised to acquire the broadband and voice assets of Pipex Communications, the UK telecoms group, for about GBP210m. (US$420m.). The sale is part of a strategic review Pipex began in March.
Pipex has more than a million customers in its broadband and voice division, of which about 570,000 are high speed internet customers. The sale of the broadband and phone assets will leave it holding a smattering of telecoms assets including data hosting, domain name registration and a WiMAX licence.
Posted by Judith — 4:27 AM
NextWave to acquire stake in Japanese start-up IPMobile.
Source: TeleGeography.
US-based wireless technology and equipment provider NextWave Wireless is looking to acquire a 69.23% equity stake in the struggling Japanese mobile start-up IPMobile, in a bid to become the first foreign mobile carrier in Japan after Britain’s Vodafone Group pulled out of Vodafone KK last year. The US group is looking to buy the stake that Mori Trust Co. bought in April. The telecoms regulator MIC is expected to rubber stamp the acquisition.
Posted by Judith — 4:02 AM
Thursday, July 12, 2007
DoCoMo offers US$24m. to aid AT&T’s Hawaii 3G rollout.
Source: TeleGeography.
NTT DoCoMo has revealed it will provide financial support of up to US$24m. to help AT&T Inc set up a 3G mobile phone network in Hawaii. The Japanese carrier will also provide technical support to the US firm’;s subsidiary AT&T Mobility, which will operate the W-CDMA network.
Posted by Judith — 4:00 AM
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Nortel Leap.
Source: TeleGeography.
US cellular operator Leap Wireless has hired Nortel Networks to expand its Cricket CDMA network. Nortel will supply CDMA2000 1x equipment, with part of the US$135m. three-year deal calling for the deployment of advanced EV-DO Revision A technology. The network expansion comes after Leap Wireless won new licences in last year’s AWS spectrum auction.
Posted by Judith — 6:00 AM
OSS firm raises US$14m.
Source: Light Reading.
OSS firm Celona Technologies Ltd. has announced a GBP7m. (US$14m.) round of funding that will help the British software startup capitalize on the back office upgrade strategies of major carriers.
The cash injection is notable for two reasons.
First, new funding rounds are rare these days in the OSS sector. Instead, acquisitions have dominated the telecom software sector for the past few years.
Second, it highlights the importance of Celona’s niche market — helping carriers to migrate their customer, network, service, and business data from multiple old operations and business systems to new, unified, harmonized back office systems.
Posted by Judith — 3:16 AM
FCC chief backs some open access in airwave auction.
Source: Reuters.
The head of the FCC is reported to want the winning bidder in an upcoming auction of valuable wireless airwaves to make them accessible to consumers using any device or software application.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin will propose that the open-platform requirement be part of the rules for a portion of the airwaves to be sold in the agency’s auction of the 700 megahertz band.
Posted by Judith — 3:06 AM
Blyk stalls.
Source: Telecoms.com.
The launch of Europe’s first ad-funded mobile service provider Blyk has been postponed. The MVNO was due to launch early this summer in the UK, however, according to reports, consumers will have to wait until October at the earliest before they can sign up.
Posted by Judith — 3:01 AM
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
New MVNO petitions MIC for access to DoCoMo’s networks.
Source: TeleGeography.
Japan’s first MVNO, Japan Communications, has submitted an official request to the regulator, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), asking it to order market leader NTT DoCoMo to lease its mobile networks under the remit of the Telecommunications Business Law.
If the MIC approves the request, it could lead to a reduction in mobile phone charges, which are currently higher than those in many other developed countries.
Posted by Judith — 5:06 AM
Google to acquire Postini for corporate e-mail security services.
Source: Converge.
Google has agreed to acquire Postini, a provider of corporate email security and spam filtering services, for US$625m. Postini’s services — which include message security, archiving, encryption, and policy enforcement — can be used to protect a company’s email, instant messaging, and other web-based communications. The company’s customer base includes 35,000 businesses and 10m. users worldwide.
Posted by Judith — 3:39 AM
Verizon completes Cybertrust acquisition.
Source: TechWeb.
Verizon has completed their acquisition of global information security specialist Cybertrust. The acquisition of a managed security service is a natural evolution of Verizon Business’ managed services that already spans application hosting, VoIP, call centers, and conferencing.
Posted by Judith — 2:24 AM
Telefonica linked with EUR3bn. bid for Vivo.
Source: TeleGeography.
Telefonica of Spain is reported to have offered Portugal Telecom (PT) more than EUR3bn. (US$4.08bn.) to buy out its partner’s stake in their Brazilian mobile joint venture, Vivo. The firm’s chairman Cesar Alierta has reportedly said that if any deal goes ahead, Telefonica is likely to sell the 10% stake it has in PT.
Posted by Judith — 2:10 AM
Monday, July 9, 2007
AT&T sets up ‘Muni’ WiFi in California.
Source: FT.com.
AT&T, is launching its first WiFi wireless broadband internet service in Riverside, California.
The deployment highlights AT&T’s decision to embrace public WiFi technology as a complementary broadband delivery system alongside DSL and other options.
In contrast some US telecoms groups - including Verizon, AT&T’s main rival - continue to oppose municipal WiFi projects
Posted by Judith — 3:55 AM
Teliasonera in deal with MCT.
Source: BWCS.
Swedish/Finnish company TeliaSonera, has reported that it has agreed a deal to purchase the American-based mobile holding company MCT Corp, which has shareholdings in operators in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The transaction is expected to be done by the end of the third quarter of this year.
Posted by Judith — 3:52 AM
Rivals call for Italian network separation.
Source: TeleGeography.
Competitors to Telecom Italia in Italy have joined forces to call for the separation of the incumbent’s networks and retail businesses. It is reported that Vodafone Italia, FastWeb, Wind, Tiscali, BT, Tele2, Welcome Italia and Eutelia have sent a joint document to the Communications Authority Agcom in which they underline the need for network separation to correct market asymmetries and increase competition.
Posted by Judith — 3:46 AM
SingTel to lead bid for Australian network.
Source: BusinessWeek Online.
SingTel will lead a group of companies in a bid to build a high-speed broadband network in Australia.
The group, to be called G9, would included SingTel’s Australian unit Optus, PowerTel, Macquarie Telecom Group, Soul, iiNet and New Zealand Telecom’s AAPT unit.
Posted by Judith — 3:24 AM
Samsung, Ericsson sign telecom cross license deal.
Source: Reuters.
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Sweden’s Ericsson have signed a mobile telecommunication cross license deal and agreed to drop ongoing patent suits between the two companies.
Posted by Judith — 2:47 AM
Saturday, July 7, 2007
LBS finds Indian taker.
Source: Telecoms.com.
India’s state-owned telecom giant, BSNL, has a launched location-based service (LBS).
The national carrier has soft-launched four separate services based on A-GPS technology supplied by Telenity. The services include the usual LBS suspects; fleet management, friend finder, advertising and chat services.
Posted by Judith — 3:54 AM
Friday, July 6, 2007
Microsoft plans Canada software center.
Source: NYT.
Microsoft Corp. plans to open a software development center in Canada this fall to attract talent and avoid U.S. immigration issues.
The Vancouver, British Columbia location will be one of only a handful development centers outside the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash. It previously announced plans to build sites in Boston and Bellevue, Wash.
Posted by Judith — 4:09 AM
Vodafone and the Nokias team up on banking.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Policy makers are being called upon by leading international mobile network operator Vodafone and the world’s number one handset manufacturer Nokia, in combination with its networks sibling Nokia Siemens Network, to change regulations in order to encourage financial transactions via mobile phones.
Posted by Judith — 3:57 AM
BT agrees to acquire Brightview group Limited.
Source: BTplc.
BT announced today that it has agreed to acquire ‘Brightview’ the ISP owned by Brightview plc for approximately GBP15.8m. in cash, subject to approval from Brightview’s shareholders.
Established in April 2001, Brightview is a small consumer ISP with a strong reputation for high-quality customer and technical support. Brightview operates the ISP brands Madasafish and Global Internet, as well as the Waitrose ISP.
Posted by Judith — 3:47 AM
Ireland’s Perlico secures mobile reseller deal with 3.
Source: TeleGeography.
Irish alternative telecoms and broadband provider Perlico Communications has signed a reseller agreement with 3G mobile operator 3 Ireland, allowing it to enter the domestic wireless market for the first time. Under the deal, Perlico will offer its customers a range of mobile packages via a leasing agreement with the country’s sole 3G-only operator, 3.
Posted by Judith — 3:05 AM
Spirent loses on wireless unit sale.
Source: Light Reading.
Spirent Communications plc. has sold wireless video test business SwissQual Holding AG for a fraction of the price it paid for the business just 18 months ago, the company announced today.
In January 2006 Spirent bought SwissQual for CHF62.5m. (US$51.3m.), with additional payments of up to CHF28m. (US$23m.) to be made if certain financial and technical milestones were achieved. Now, though, Spirent has sold the business to unidentified “private investors” for just US$3m. in cash.
Posted by Judith — 2:50 AM
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Telefonica fined EUR151m. for abuse of market position.
Source: TimesOnline
Telefonica, the Spanish telecoms operator, was fined EUR151m. (US$200m.) by the European Commission yesterday for implementing anti-competitive practices against its domestic rivals between September 2001 and December 2006.
The fine is the highest — after a EUR497 million penalty given to Microsoft — to be imposed on a company for abusing its dominant position.
Posted by Judith — 3:50 AM
O2 ‘to get iPhone contract in UK’.
Source: BBC.
Mobile phone operator O2 is reported to have won the sought-after deal to sell Apple’s iPhone in the UK.
Press reports said that O2 is set to sign an exclusive contract shortly and should have the new phones on sale in time for Christmas.
Posted by Judith — 2:27 AM
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
RIM cracks China market for BlackBerry.
Source: The Globe and Mail.
It took eight years of effort, but Research In Motion Ltd. has finally cracked the world’s biggest cellphone market, winning permission to sell its BlackBerry devices in China for the first time.
After many delays, RIM has managed to get a long-awaited approval for its BlackBerry handsets from the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry.
Posted by Judith — 4:24 AM
Casio and DoCoMo Form E-Pay Venture.
Source: NYT.
Casio Computer Co. and NTT DoCoMo Inc. have announced that they will form a joint venture to link cash registers with wireless electronic payment systems.
The firms aim to provide services and equipment for businesses hoping to attract shoppers using their mobile phones to pay for snacks and concert tickets.
Posted by Judith — 4:19 AM
Nokia Siemens lands US$900. India deal.
Source: Light Reading.
Nokia Siemens Networks has landed a major fixed and mobile expansion deal with Indian carrier Bharti Airtel Ltd. worth around US$900m., with analysts labeling the engagement as a “breakthrough” for the newly created giant vendor.
Posted by Judith — 3:10 AM
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
NTT plans move into non-telecoms related ventures.
Source: TeleGeography.
Japanese telecoms company NTT says it plans to increase its focus on non-core businesses such as real estate and intellectual property to staunch the flow of declining profits from telecoms-related activities.
Posted by Judith — 5:27 AM
eircom: bid for backdated USO funding rejected by regulator.
Source: TeleGeography.
The Irish telecoms regulator, ComReg, has rejected a request by eircom to have funding for the provision of its universal service obligations (USO) backdated to 1999. According to a report, the watchdog will only sanction the assessment of a request for USO funding dating from 1 April 2006. eircom was established as the Republic’s universal service provider for a four-year period in July 2006, and under EU regulations is allowed to request funding from the state for providing a service where its obligations result in costs that could be construed as an ‘unfair burden’.
Posted by Judith — 5:21 AM
LG signs up with YouTube.
Source: BWCS.
Korean mobile manufacturer LG Electronics, has reportedly signed an agreement with YouTube, to develop a mobile phone specifically aimed at those wishing to operate the video-sharing service on their mobile phones. The company said the new handsets will allow users to upload, view, and share video clips, or user-created content, online without having to first download them to their pcs.
Posted by Judith — 5:07 AM
First competing Mobile Licence in Qatar attracts big guns.
Source: BWCS.
A total of twelve western and Arab telcos are reported to be in the running for the mobile phone licence currently up for grabs in Qatar. The tiny Gulf Arab state, home to 840,000 people, is one of the few remaining telecoms monopolies in the area and already has a mobile penetration of over 100%. Despite this, competition for the franchise is said to be fierce.
Among the dozen companies and consortia lining up to bid for the right to compete with incumbent operator Qatar Telecommunications are: Vodafone, AT&T, the Kuwaiti-based Mobile Telecommunications Co. and Etisalat.
Posted by Judith — 5:03 AM
Google purchases web phone service.
Source: NYT.
Google has announced that it has bought GrandCentral Communications, acquiring a service that lets people use a single number for all their phones.
GrandCentral, based in Fremont, Calif., was founded in 2005 by Craig Walker and Vincent Paquet, two executives who worked for Dialpad Communications, a Web phone company that was acquired by Yahoo in 2005.
Posted by Judith — 3:36 AM
Monday, July 2, 2007
Supreme Court upholds fines on leading French mobile operators.
Source: TeleGeography.
France’s supreme court has upheld a previous ruling that the country’s three mobile network operators Orange France, SFR and Bouygues Telecom were guilty of rigging the market, and maintained a fine of EUR442m. (US$598.3m.).
Posted by Judith — 4:15 AM
City confirms US$8bn. Carlyle Virgin Media bid.
Source: Independent.
City sources confirmed yesterday that the private equity house The Carlyle Group is mulling making a formal, nil-premium US$8bn (GBP4bn.) bid for Virgin Media Group, the cable television and communications group formed by the merger of NTL and Telewest.
Posted by Judith — 4:08 AM
Bar to be raised by US$51bn. Canadian deal.
Source: Times Online.
Private equity is set to create a new record for the world’;s biggest buyout with the US$51bn. (GBP25.4bn.) proposed acquisition of BCE Inc, Canada’s largest phone company.
A group including the private equity unit of The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and two American buyout firms ‘Providence Equity Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners ’ has agreed to pay C$42.75 a share in cash for BCE, valuing the group at US$32.6bn. Including its debt of US$15.9 bn., the deal values the Montreal-based BCE at US$51 bn.
Posted by Judith — 3:13 AM
CommScope to Acquire Andrew for US$2.6bn.
Source: Converge.
CommScope, which is the global leader in structured cabling systems for business enterprise applications has agreed to acquire Andrew Corp. in a deal valued at US$2.6bn.
Andrew provides broad-based wireless solutions for antennas, cable products, base station subsystems, in-building and distributed coverage, geolocation systems and satellite communications.
The merger will create a global leader in infrastructure solutions for communications networks.
Posted by Judith — 3:03 AM
Regulator lowers DT carrier charges.
Source: TeleGeography.
German telecoms regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) has lowered the charges which DT can levy on competitors using its networks. The new fees are valid until June 2008. DT’s claims for higher fees were rejected. A spokesman for the VATM (German Competitive Carriers Association), which represents much of DT’s competition, said that the reductions were a step in the right direction, but that the BNetzA has acted too cautiously, pointing out that several of the new fees still exceed the European average by up to 50%.
Posted by Judith — 2:50 AM
UTL gets green light to launch VoIP in Nepal.
Source: TeleGeography.
Indian joint venture operation United Telecom Limited (UTL), the first privately-owned operator licensed to offer services in the Nepalese telecoms market, has been given the go-ahead by the Nepal Telecom Authority to launch a VoIP service in the country. UTL - a joint venture between India’s MTNL, VSNL and Telecommunications Consultants India - and Nepali partner Nepal Venture Ltd, has now implemented a feasibility study to target partners and phone routes for the service.
Posted by Judith — 2:46 AM
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