Leap and MetroPCS forge closer ties.

Source: TeleGeography.

US cellular operators Leap Wireless International and MetroPCS have signed a roaming agreement while at the same time settling litigation between them. The companies have announced a cross-licensing agreement for intellectual property, under which they will dismiss all pending litigation. The ten-year nationwide network roaming deal will enable subscribers of each firm use the other’s networks when out of their own coverage area.

Posted by Judith — 7:22 AM

Groups spend US$1bn. on Mobile Broadband ads.

Source: FT.com.

A group of 17 of the world’s largest IT and telecommunications companies have thrown their weight behind a US$1bn. marketing campaign to promote Mobile Broadband as a “ready to run” system, making it easier to connect to the internet right after purchasing a laptop.
The move is aimed at countering the launch of the rival wireless broadband network WiMax, which is being rolled out in cities across the US this week.
Mobile Broadband is supported by industry groups such as computer manufacturers Dell, Lonovo and Toshiba, software giant Microsoft, telecoms providers Vodafone, Telefónica, Orange and T-Mobile, and equipment and chipset providers Ericsson and Qualcomm, and will be launched in 91 countries.

Posted by Judith — 5:24 AM

BT shutters Web21C dev platform in favor of Ribbit.

Source: Telephony.

BT has quietly decided to shut down its high-profile Web21C development platform in favor of new technology it acquired in its recent US$100m. acquisition of Ribbit.
BT said it plans to completely shut down support for the current Web21C SDK on October 10, resulting in strong complaints from existing Web21C developers, who say they feel abandoned by the BT move.

Posted by Judith — 5:01 AM

Apple looks to branch out.

Source: BWCS.

Apple has broken with its usual modus operandi and announced that it is to sell unlocked versions of its iPhone in Hong Kong. The move will enable customers to choose their own carrier, until now the company has granted one operator in each market exclusive rights to sell its new phones.

Posted by Judith — 4:20 AM

USDA announces US$342m. in rural broadband, telecommunications loans.

Source: Converge.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that broadband and telecommunications loans totaling more than US$342m. are being awarded to 18 communications firms serving 22 states. The funds will help bring new and improved telecommunications services to rural residents and businesses.

Posted by Judith — 6:23 AM

Nokia, NSN and Huawei strike wireless patent deal.

Source: Telecoms.com.

Nokia Siemens Networks and its Finnish parent Nokia have struck a patent licensing agreement with Chinese manufacturer Huawei.
The firms have announced that the deal covers all standards essential patents relating to GSM, WCDMA, CDMA2000, optical networking, datacom and WiMAX in mobile devices, infrastructure and services.

Posted by Judith — 6:20 AM

BT to kick off fresh Phorm trial.

Source: BBC.

BT is about to start further trials of a controversial internet advertising technology.
Developed by Phorm, the Webwise system watches what people do online and shows adverts tuned to their interests.
From 30 September, a sample of BT’s customers will be invited to “opt in” to a trial of the technology.

Posted by Judith — 5:15 AM

FCC wants to wrap up its Sprint-Clearwire review.

Source: FierceBroadbandWireless.

The FCC Chairman has said the agency’s review of the Sprint Nextel and Clearwire joint venture is one of the top-priority items it has to deal with during the remaining months of the Bush administration.
For Sprint and Clearwire the FCC’s assertion that it is determined to complete this review during the quarter will be considered positive news and an additional indication the companies should be able to meet their deadline.

Posted by Judith — 4:48 AM

Grid of 100,000 computers heralds new internet dawn.

Source: TimesOnline.

A network of supercomputers, known as the Grid, is to revolutionise the speed at which information is downloaded to personal computers.
The power of the Grid is such that downloading films should take only seconds, not hours, and processing music albums just a single second.
The Grid, a network of 100,000 computers, is to be connected to the world’s largest machine, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It is designed for projects, such as large research and engineering jobs, which need to crunch huge quantities of data, but scientists believe it will eventually be used on home computers.

Posted by Judith — 3:37 AM

Iridium to get US$500m. cash infusion.

Source: WashingtonPost.

When Motorola’s US$6bn. global satellite phone system, Iridium, failed eight years ago, few saw it as anything more than a waste of good technology on the wrong application.
A small group of investors eventually rescued Iridium by offering US$25m. for it. They changed its business plan and shifted its focus to selling communications services to research, defense, shipping and aviation entities.
The turnaround apparently sparked interest in the company.
Last week, Iridium announced an agreement to merge with a so-called blank check company, a transaction that will give the sat-phone firm a US$500m. cash infusion and allow it to wipe nearly US$150m. in debt from its books.

Posted by Judith — 3:01 AM

EC call for ‘universal’ broadband.

Source: BBC.

Brussels is considering making broadband access available for all. The fast growth of broadband has led the European Commission to bring forward a review of the basic telecoms services Europeans can expect.
Current statistics suggest about 36% of households in EU member nations have high-speed net access.
When a majority of EU citizens are using a telecoms service, EC rules dictate that it becomes one every European should be able to enjoy.

Posted by Judith — 3:05 AM

AT& T, Verizon to refrain from tracking users online.

Source: WashingtonPost.

AT&T and Verizon have pledged to refrain from tracking customer Web behavior unless they receive explicit permission to do so.
The announcement, made at a Senate committee hearing, represents a challenge to the rest of the Web world, where advertising is commonly delivered by companies that record a consumer’s visits across multiple Web sites. The practice, known as “behavioral targeting,” is largely invisible to customers and generally done without their consent.

Posted by Judith — 2:36 AM

FCC proposes new D-block auction format.

Source: Telephony.

The FCC has voted to move forward with a plan to re-auction the 700 MHz public safety block, this time with many of its more stringent requirements eased. The commission, however, only put out a proposal that would allow for the nationwide D block to be split into 58 regional licenses and eased build-out requirements. It did not set a new date for the re-auction, calling instead for a lengthy period of public comment.

Posted by Judith — 2:31 AM

TeliaSonera to spend US$488m. on Spice Nepal, Applifone stakes.

Source: TeleGeography.

TeliaSonera is investing SEK3.2bn. (US$488m.) to acquire controlling interests in two Asian mobile operators, Spice Nepal Private Limited in Nepal and Applifone Co in Cambodia.
Spice Nepal is the second largest mobile operator in Nepal with around 1.6m. subscribers and an estimated market share of 41%.
Meanwhile, Applifone is the fourth largest mobile operator in Cambodia, with 97,500 subscribers and a market share of around 3%.

Posted by Judith — 2:04 AM

Sprint adds another to the mix.

Source: TeleGeography.

Sprint Nextel has signed a deal with Ciena Corp to use the company’s carrier Ethernet platform as one of the backhaul solutions for its Xohm 4G WiMAX collaboration project. Sprint has already entered an agreement with DragonWave for its Horizon Compact and Horizon Duo backhaul products. DragonWave joined FiberTower which was also contracted by Sprint to deploy commercial Ethernet services for Xohm’s backhaul.

Posted by Judith — 2:01 AM

Sprint Nextel sells towers for US$670m.

Source: TeleGeography.

Sprint Nextel has completed the sale of 3,080 towers to TowerCo, for an estimated US$670m. in cash. The number of towers and their sale price are still subject to post-close adjustment.

Posted by Judith — 5:04 AM

U.S. appeals court favors Broadcom vs Qualcomm.

Source: Reuters.

Wireless chipmaker Broadcom has won a patent battle, as a U.S. appeals court affirmed that Qualcomm infringed two patents used to make some of the world’s most sophisticated cell phones and upheld an injunction.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in Qualcomm’s favor in one of the three patents at issue, technology used in video compression in cell phones. It ruled that the patent was invalid and, thus, not infringed.
But the appeals court affirmed the judgment of infringement on two other patents “and the injunction as it pertains to those patents,” according to the court ruling.

Posted by Judith — 3:30 AM

Illinois Supreme Court refuses Sprint divestiture appeal.

Source: TelecomWeb.

The Supreme Court of Illinois has handed down a ruling refusing to even hear Sprint’s arguments to appeal a lower court’s order that it divest or shut down a chunk of the Nextel network in portions of rural Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Nebraska.
This ruling also jeopardizes Sprint’s planned WiMAX deal with Clearwire.

Posted by Judith — 3:23 AM

Police close file on BT’s trials.

Source: BBC.

The City of London Police have said there will be no formal investigation of BT over its secret trials of an ad monitoring system.
BT trialled the Phorm system - which monitors web browsing habits in order to better target ads - without the consent of users last summer.
Angry users handed over a dossier of evidence to the police following the telco’s July annual general meeting. The police said no criminal offence has been committed.

Posted by Judith — 3:23 AM

Verizon to offer Cisco collaboration services.

Source: Converge.

Verizon will expand its overall suite of unified communications and collaboration tools based on the new Cisco collaboration portfolio. These services are aimed at enhancing communications and collaboration between and among employees, partners, customers and vendors, while enabling companies to achieve eco-friendly benefits through reduced travel and lower carbon emissions.

Posted by Judith — 3:06 AM

FT, SFR ink new fibre agreement.

Source: TeleGeography.

France Telecom and alternative operator SFR (including neuf Cegetel) have signed a new cooperation agreement designed to speed up the deployment of fibre-optic services across the country. The latest agreement reportedly covers 15 cities in France and will see the two operators agreeing to site their respective network connection points as close to homes as possible so that more people can be served by a single network provider.

Posted by Judith — 3:01 AM

Cisco’s Broadband Study

Source: ISP-Planet

Cisco says that the world’s networks aren’t ready for the demands of the future, and its director of government affairs has some ideas on how to remedy the problem.

Posted by Penny — 11:21 AM

Top Seven ISPs in Canada by Subscriber: Q2 2008

Source: ISP Planet

Broadband continues to grow in Canada, and digital phone and VoIP are becoming popular too.

Posted by Penny — 11:20 AM

Fibre connections up 76%.

Source: TeleGeography.

A report published by the Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) Council in the US shows that the country now has 3.76m. FTTH connections, up 76% year-on-year. Fibre networks have now been deployed past 13.8m. homes in North America, up from 9.55m. a year ago.

Posted by Judith — 4:45 AM

Ofcom publishes superfast broadband proposals.

Source: TeleGeography.

UK regulator Ofcom has published its proposals for the introduction of super-fast broadband to UK homes and businesses, claiming that its plans would remove barriers to investment and ensure competition and consumer choice in the market. One of the main elements of Ofcom’s proposals is to create a clearly defined regulatory environment for next generation services, including developing standards for wholesale products, allowing pricing freedom and enabling transition from copper networks to new fibre networks.

Posted by Judith — 4:41 AM

Martin hopeful on white spaces use.

Source: TeleGeography.

The head of the FCC has stated that he is in favour of using vacant spectrum for commercial services. Kevin Martin was speaking ahead of a meeting which brings together representatives from firms including Google, Microsoft and Dell, all of which are keen to see the so-called white spaces utilised to provide applications such as wireless internet access.

Posted by Judith — 3:57 AM

China Unicom to launch W-CDMA tender.

Source: TeleGeography.

China Unicom is expected to open its first round of a tender for W-CDMA equipment on 26 September, industry resources report. Ericsson, Nokia Siemens, Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei and ZTE are said to be bidding.
Earlier, China Unicom announced it would spend RMB100bn. (US$14.71bn.) to upgrade its GSM network over the next three years. Unicom shareholders have approved the merger with China Netcom and the sale of its CDMA operations to China Telecom for RMB43.8bn.

Posted by Judith — 3:40 AM

AT&T extends DISH deal.

Source: TeleGeography.

The US satellite TV operator DISH Network has extended its joint marketing partnership with AT&T. The existing five-year deal between the two firms ends on 31 December this year but has now been extended to end-January 2009. AT&T is also ending a similar partnership with DISH Network’s rival DirecTV, and it is now thought likely that the telco will opt to work with a single satellite TV partner from February next year.

Posted by Judith — 3:36 AM

China Telecom completes CDMA tender.

Source: TeleGeography.

China Telecom has completed a tender for a CDMA equipment worth RMB27.9bn. The tender is for wireless CDMA equipment which will cover around 81 cities; Huawei Technologies won about 30% of the total deal to supply equiment for 20 cities; Alcatel-Lucent, Motorola and Nortel secured about 20%, 18% and 17% of the deal, covering 13, 15 and 13 cities, respectively. In addition ZTE Corp won 14% of the tender, to cover 21 cities, while Samsung won the contract for Shijiazhuang city, capital of Hebei province.

Posted by Judith — 3:33 AM

Oracle and Intel join hands for cloud computing.

Source: eWeek.

Oracle and Intel have announced that they will partner to speed enterprise adoption of cloud computing by focusing on standards, security and efficiency. Talk of the collaboration comes on the heels of Oracle’s decision to license several of its products for use on Amazon Web Services’ Elastic Compute Cloud.

Posted by Judith — 2:55 AM

Alltel joins rivals under cloud of ETF class actions.

Source: RCR.

Alltel has been served with a class-action lawsuit over levying early termination fees on consumers that left the wireless carrier before the end of their service contracts.
Alltel joins rivals AT&T Mobility, Sprint Nextel, Verizon and T-Mobile under a cloud of ETF class actions.

Posted by Judith — 2:41 AM

Microsoft unveils US$40bn. buy-back.

Source: BBC.

Microsoft has unveiled plans to spend US$40bn. (GBP22bn.) buying back its shares from investors, the biggest single buy-back plan in history.
Analysts say the move is an attempt by the software giant to use its spare cash to prop up its share price which has fallen by almost 30% this year.
Hewlett-Packard and Nike have also announced major buy-back programmes.

Posted by Judith — 3:30 AM

EU to slash more mobile charges.

Source: BBC.

Proposals to slash the cost of using mobile phones abroad, for text, data and voice calls, could become law next July following a vote in Brussels.
The European Parliament is to vote on whether roaming costs for text messages should be capped.
The cost of sending a message is expected to eventually fall by 60% from an average of 23p. to 9p.
Voice calls would fall from 36 to 27p. a minute and customers would be able to set limits on data downloads.

Posted by Judith — 3:09 AM

Android G1 lands today.

Source: Telecoms.com.

The first Google phone, based on the hotly anticipated Android platform, will be unveiled at an event in New York City later today.
Deutsche Telekom’s US mobile unit, T-Mobile USA, will be the first carrier of the device, which is expected to be made available to the public in early November.

Posted by Judith — 3:09 AM

Double blow for Telstra following ACCC and Federal Court rulings.

Source: TeleGeography.

It is reported that that the Australian Competition Consumer Commission (ACCC) has rejected a move by Telstra aimed at denying fixed line rival Optus the ability to offer telephony services on Telstra’s network in areas where Optus has its own fibre infrastructure.
The ACCC ruling stated that singling out any competitor would represent a discriminatory access policy that could discourage investment.

Posted by Judith — 3:05 AM

Zain raises US$4.49bn. for mobile network in Middle East.

Source: Converge.

The Zain Group, which was originally established in 1983 in Kuwait as the region’s first mobile operator, has raised an unprecedented US$4.49bn. in capital to support its expansion across the Middle East and Africa.

Posted by Judith — 3:03 AM

Arcep announces plan for fourth 3G licence tender.

Source: TeleGeography.

The French telecoms regulator Arcep has announced that it plans to re-launch its campaign to issue a fourth and final 3G mobile licence via a new competitive tender process. Last year the watchdog tried and failed to auction off the concession when domestic broadband operator Iliad’s sole bid, though its mobile unit Free Mobile, was rejected for failing to meet the financial conditions of the award.
The new tender, which is backed by the French government, is designed to increase competition in the mobile market by introducing a fourth player to compete with Orange France, SFR and Bouygues Telecom.

Posted by Judith — 3:03 AM

Cisco gains presence with Jabber purchase.

Source: Light Reading.

Cisco has upped the pressure on unified communications rivals such as Microsoft and Nortel Networks Ltd. with a deal to acquire presence and messaging applications specialist Jabber Inc. for an undisclosed sum.
Jabber has already proved itself popular with carriers such as BT, the former BellSouth part of AT&T and France Telecom, which are using the specialist’s Extensible Communications Platform to support software-based presence-enabled services, such as real-time multimedia messaging.

Posted by Judith — 3:49 AM

Nokia ups its game in service management space.

Source: Telecoms.com.

Nokia Siemens Networks has announced that it plans to expand its customer base in the service management space through a range of new channel partners.
The initiative will see NSN target the service management software business by collaborating with KlugCom, P3 Solutions, Subex and Theta Networks. NSN said these channel partners would give the vendor access to new markets and technology, helping to expand its customer base in OSS and service management software.

Posted by Judith — 3:39 AM

Sprint commits to Nextel.

Source: TeleGeography.

Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse says the firm is intent on turning around the Nextel side of the business and is not looking for a buyer for the unit. Sprint acquired Nextel in 2005 in a US$38bn. deal, with Nextel’s iDEN wireless network and its corporate customer base the main attraction. But the iDEN network is now losing users in the face of intense competition for mobile data customers from the likes of AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Posted by Judith — 3:27 AM

Telecom Italia reaches redundancy agreement.

Source: TeleGeography.

Telecom Italia has reached an agreement with unions regarding plans to make 5,000 workers redundant by 2010.
The lay-offs come as the telco seeks to cut costs as it works to reduce its EUR37bn. (US$53.5bn.) debt.

Posted by Judith — 3:07 AM

Carphone Warehouse bids low for Tiscali’s British operations.

Source: TeleGeography.

Carphone Warehouse is reported to have tabled a new bid for the British arm of broadband provider Tiscali of less than GBP450m. (US$824m.); the offer is significantly less than the GBP600m. that was originally expected. A second bid is thought to be under consideration, although no details have been revealed regarding the second bidder’s identity. Tiscali offered itself for sale in May 2008, but missed a self-imposed deadline to finalise a deal by the end of June as potential suitors including BT, Vodafone and BSkyB walked away from negotiations; all three are understood to have left open the option to return with new bids.

Posted by Judith — 3:04 AM

Orange brand launches in Austria.

Source: Telecoms.com.

Austrian mobile operator One, which is jointly owned by France Telecom and a private equity firm, has changed its brand name to Orange.
The Austrian operator has become the second company in as many weeks to join the Orange brand, following the recent launch of operations in Kenya.

Posted by Judith — 2:35 AM

Japan’s SoftBank first to launch 3G femtocells.

Source: Telecoms.com.

Japanese operator SoftBank is to score a world first in January, when it becomes the first service provider to launch 3G femtocells in a commercial capacity.
SoftBank said it will offer 3G femtos from January 2009 using kit from UK-based Ubiquisys and NEC.
Femtocells are low power wireless access points used to connect standard mobile devices to a mobile operator’s network using residential DSL or cable broadband connections.

Posted by Judith — 2:17 AM

Meraki expands free public wi-fi in San Francisco.

Source: Converge.

Meraki has announced a company milestone — its free Wi-Fi network is present in 80% of San Francisco’s major neighborhoods and that it is on track to complete its mission to “unwire” San Francisco by the end of the year.

Posted by Judith — 2:16 AM

Telecoms told to end broadband monopoly.

Source: FT.com.

The European Commission has stated that leading European telecoms companies should give rivals access to their superfast broadband networks.
In a draft recommendation for national telecoms regulators, the Commission also highlighted the importance of ensuring that Europe’s former fixed-line phone monopolies are able to secure appropriate returns on their high-speed broadband investments.

Posted by Judith — 4:52 AM

Verizon Business activates services on new Trans-Pacific Express cable.

Source: Converge.

Verizon Business has begun activating services over the new Trans-Pacific Express submarine cable network, which connects the United States with mainland China, South Korea and Taiwan. Multinational customers can now start migrating IP, data and voice communications traffic moving onto this cable system.
Verizon Business teamed up with founding TPE Consortium members - China Telecom, China Netcom, China Unicom, Korea Telecom and Chunghwa Telecom (Taiwan) — to build the TPE cable.

Posted by Judith — 3:17 AM

T-Mobile USA details 3G rollout plans.

Source: TelecomWeb.

T-Mobile USA, trailing other U.S. carriers in its deployment of 3G wireless broadband, has set a schedule to expand availability of its HSDPA to 27 markets by the end of the year.
It also disclosed a series of deals to buy new backhaul capacity to support parts of that expansion.

Posted by Judith — 3:01 AM

Vodafone muscles further in on Qtel’s turf.

Source: Telecoms.com.

Qatar’s incumbent operator, Qatar Telecom, is under threat from Vodafone, after the UK-based operator won its second licence in the country this week.
In addition to the mobile licence Vodafone acquired in Qatar earlier this year, the company has also snapped up the right to offer fixed line services and plans to offer both from early 2009.

Posted by Judith — 2:58 AM

A green energy push for mobile networks .

Source: Converge.

A new Green Power for Mobile Programme has been launched with the goal of helping the mobile industry use renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, or sustainable biofuels, to power 118,000 new and existing off-grid base stations in developing countries by 2012. The initiative is backed by The GSM Association along with 25 mobile operators, including Telecom Holding, Roshan, Safaricom, Smart, Telefonica, Telenor Pakistan, Vimpelcom, Vodacom Tanzania, Vodafone Egypt, Zain Group, and Zantel.

Posted by Judith — 2:19 AM

Nortel to sell carrier Ethernet, optical business.

Source: Light Reading.

Nortel has announced that it is to quit the optical and carrier Ethernet markets.
The company says that it is to undergo a significant revamp in the coming months, part of which will be an attempt to sell its Metro Ethernet Networks division, which supplies optical and Ethernet equipment to carriers and cable operators.

Posted by Judith — 4:24 AM

Verizon, Nokia 100Gbps trial.

Source: TeleGeography.

Verizon Communications and Nokia Siemens Networks have revealed they have successfully concluded a trial demonstration of 100Gbps transmission. The test showed that 100Gbps traffic can be simultaneously transmitted with any mix of 10Gbps and 40Gbps on a normal 80-channel system. It will enable operators to extend the lifetime of existing fibre cable networks while still achieving the capacities required for expanding bandwidth requirements.

Posted by Judith — 3:41 AM

China Netcom shareholders approve merger with Unicom.

Source: TeleGeography.

China Netcom Group has confirmed that its shareholders have given the go-ahead to its merger with China Unicom. The merger will be effective from 15 October, provided a Hong Kong court hearing scheduled for the day before clears the deal. China Netcom will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Unicom after the merger and the enlarged company will be renamed China Unicom (Hong Kong) Co Ltd.

Posted by Judith — 2:38 AM

UK government responds on Phorm.

Source: BBC.

The UK government has outlined how a controversial online ad system can be rolled out in the UK.
The controversy over the Phorm ad-serving system blew up following revelations that the system had been trialled by telecoms firm BT without the consent of users.
Clarifying how the system will be used in response to the EU request, the UK government said future trials must be done with consent from those being targeted.

Posted by Judith — 4:45 AM

U.S. sees China progress on telecoms.

Source: InfomationWeek.

China is taking steps to open its huge telecommunications market to more foreign investment.
The move reduces the capital requirement for foreign companies to get into China’s telecoms market to US$146m., from well over US$220m. currently

Posted by Judith — 3:49 AM

Japan tops broadband quality ranking.

Source: Light Reading.

Researchers at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School and Oviedo’s Department of Applied Economics have checked out a number of different factors — download and upload speeds, latency, packet loss, jitter, service continuity — to determine the Broadband Quality Score (BQS) of 42 countries around the world.
They found that Japan, which registered a BQS score of 98/100, is the only country that is ready to meet future demands.

Posted by Judith — 2:52 AM

TerreStar sells remaining interest in SkyTerra for US$123m.

Source: Converge.

TerreStar Corporation has sold its remaining 29,926,074 shares of non-voting common stock of SkyTerra Communications for a total of approximately US$123m. in a series of transactions.
The company stated that the additional cash infusion will help them deliver their vision of the nation’s first IP-enabled integrated satellite-terrestrial mobile broadband network.

Posted by Judith — 2:30 AM

AT&T expands free Wi-Fi offer.

Source: TeleGeography.

AT&T has extended its offer of free Wi-Fi wireless internet access to include all AT&T DSL customers. The company says all ADSL subscribers will be able to gain free wireless internet access at AT&T’s 17,000 hotspots across the US.

Posted by Judith — 2:27 AM

Fon tops 1m. subscriber mark.

Source: Telecoms.com

Do-it-yourself global wifi network Fon has recently passed the 1m. member milestone.
The open wifi champion, which was established in Spain, said it now has more than 400,000 registered Fon hotspots in over 150 countries.
Several high profile companies, such as BT in the UK, Neuf Cegetel in France, Comstar in Russia, and ZON in Portugal have also partnered with the grassroots movement, embedding Fon sharing functionality in their own wifi routers.

Posted by Judith — 2:24 AM

HP set to cut workforce by 24,600.

Source: BBC.

Hewlett-Packard has announced that it plans to cut 24,600 jobs, almost 8% of its workforce, to streamline its business.
The cuts will take place over the next three years as it combines operations with Electronic Data Systems, the technology company it recently bought.
EDS employees are expected to bear the brunt of the cuts.

Posted by Judith — 4:30 AM

EU competition officials probing Google-Yahoo deal.

Source: Reuters.

European Union antitrust watchdogs are looking into a planned deal between Internet giants Google and Yahoo to share some advertising revenue.
Under terms of the deal, first announced in June, Google will supply Yahoo with advertising services to run alongside Yahoo’s own Web search system.
Google and Yahoo said the deal would only be in effect in the United States and Canada, but the World Association of Newspapers said it would hurt Yahoo’s ability to compete against Google in the future and called on EU antitrust authorities to scrutinize it.

Posted by Judith — 3:54 AM

Virgin eyes WiMAX.

Source: TeleGeography.

Cellular reseller Virgin Mobile USA has said it is interested in offering WiMAX wireless broadband devices to its customers as soon as they are launched by its network partner, Sprint Nextel. Virgin says it will have access to the Sprint WiMAX network under their existing wholesale agreement.

Posted by Judith — 3:25 AM

Nokia Siemens takes over Embarq network management.

Source: TelecomWeb.

Nokia Siemens Networks has announced that it has completed its previously announced takeover of Embarq’s network operations, disclosing plans to use the facilities for an even broader thrust into U.S. managed services.

Posted by Judith — 2:50 AM

Report claims UK broadband upgrade should be funded by operators.

Source: TeleGeography.

A review into the roll out of high speed broadband in the UK has suggested that service providers, rather than the government, should be responsible for funding the infrastructure improvements. The report by Francesco Caio, the former boss of C&W who was appointed earlier this year by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Treasury to look at the UK broadband market, recommends that the government can assist instead by ensuring regulatory hurdles are lessened for operators which are upgrading their networks.

Posted by Judith — 6:16 AM

Cable & Wireless taps Indian partner in BSNL.

Source: Telecoms.com.

UK-based carrier Cable & Wireless has announced that its Indian operation has signed an asset sharing agreement with Indian operator BSNL.
Under the memorandum of understanding, both companies will share their networks and other telecom infrastructure, allowing BSNL to expand its global network and giving C&W a better foothold in India.

Posted by Judith — 5:32 AM

DoCoMo to move into India?

Source: BWCS.

The largest mobile operator in Japan, NTT DoCoMo, is continuing its search for new foreign markets and seems set to land in India. According to press reports, the giant telecom company is close to securing a 25% stake in Tata Teleservices. The deal could cost DoCoMo up to USD$1.5bn.

Posted by Judith — 4:49 AM

Ruling requires search warrant for cell users’ location.

Source: RCR Wireless.

Privacy advocates triumphed over the Bush administration in a legal battle in which a federal court affirmed that wireless location information stored by a mobile-phone carrier is constitutionally protected and that law enforcement officials have to secure a search warrant based on probable cause before accessing such data.
“Cellphone providers store an increasing amount of sensitive data about where you are and when, based on which cell towers your phone uses when making a call. Until now, the government has routinely seized these records without search warrants,” said Kevin Bankston, senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Posted by Judith — 7:22 AM

Sky packs up its Picnic.

Source: The Inquirer.

Murdoch media firm, SKY has shelved plans for its Picnic pay-TV Freeview channel blaming delays in the Ofcom review process.
Picnic was due to bring three of Sky’s most popular channels, namely Sky Sports 1, Sky Movies and Sky One to terrestrial television viewers on a subscription basis early next year. But the outfit says the UK broadcast watchdog Ofcom has been dragging its heels on the approval of the move.
The government body doesn’t seem to have anything against Sky in particular, but rather the delays are because it is currently investigating the whole pay-TV market and will only be reaching a decision next year some time.

Posted by Judith — 7:20 AM

Japan, Sweden, Netherlands lead in broadband.

Source: Reuters.

Sweden and The Netherlands have the best performing broadband Internet connections in Europe, helped by investments in high-speed fiber-optic links and upgrades to cable TV networks, a study found.
Japan was the global leader by a large margin in the study, released on Friday, carried out by the Universities of Oxford and Oviedo and sponsored by network gear maker Cisco Systems Inc.
The study is based on measurements from Speedtest.net which helps consumers test their broadband connections.

Posted by Judith — 6:49 AM

AT&T Mobility upgrades to A-GPS for location services.

Source: RCR Wireless.

The nation’s largest wireless provider announced a sweeping upgrade to its location-services play, adding assisted-GPS (A-GPS) technology to its network and unveiling plans for a range of new, location-assisted services.
AT&T Mobility said it would deploy A-GPS within its network to enhance existing and planned services working on A-GPS-capable devices. The carrier previously used cell-site triangulation for its location services.

Posted by Judith — 11:03 AM

Freshtel launches cellphone VoIP service in Australia

Source: TeleGeography.

Following a successful trial and launch with supermarket giant Tesco in the UK, start-up Freshtel has launched commercial voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) services for mobile phone users commercially in Australia, ITWire is reporting. Under the brand ‘Freshtel Mobilelink’ the service will be offered for sale directly over the company’s website, with Freshtel currently working to complete partnership agreements in both Australia and other markets; initial indications were that Freshtel would launch in Australia as a white-label offering with a retail partner, as with the Tesco service in the UK.

Posted by Judith — 11:02 AM

Ericsson bags Cable & Wireless GSM contract.

Source: TeleGeography.

Swedish network hardware provider Ericsson has announced that it has been awarded the contract to provide and operate a GSM network for Cable & Wireless, as the operator looks to launch new fixed mobile convergence (FMC) services in the UK. Under the agreement, Ericsson will supply a complete core and radio-access network, based on small and low-power GSM base stations. The solution is designed to provide indoor fixed and mobile coverage for enterprise users, and allows for seamless roaming between the Cable & Wireless GSM solution and national roaming partners when moving outdoors.

Posted by Judith — 11:01 AM

Cable Worried About ‘White Space’ Tech.

Source: Light Reading.

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) has fired off a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) declaring that proposals to use licensed and unlicensed broadcast “white spaces” to deliver broadband services could cause “harmful interference” and impair cable services.
Several big dogs, including Google, Dell Inc, Microsoft Corp, and Intel Corp, are salivating over the possibility of putting broadband services in white spaces, the unused broadcast spectrum expected to emerge after broadcasters relinquish their analog spectrum in the February 2009 digital TV transition.

Posted by Judith — 10:58 AM

BT Preps FTTC Trial.

Source: Light Reading.

BT Group plc is planning to deploy fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) and VDSL technology platforms in a pilot program involving about 15,000 customers to see if there’s any interest in the types of services that technology combination can offer.
That’s according to Steve Robertson, the CEO of Openreach , BT’s access network business.
And if the trial is a flop, then the carrier’s plans to invest in what it calls “next generation access” (NGA) technologies could be revised or even scrapped, notes Robertson, who is in charge of building and managing a network that sells wholesale services to about 200 ISPs, including sister business unit BT Retail.

Posted by Judith — 10:55 AM

BT’s Mayfair exchange downed by burglary.

Source: The Register.

BT’s Mayfair exchange was burgled last night, leaving thousands of homes and businesses in central London without internet access this morning.
The raid cleaned out routers, networking cards and fibre at about 9pm on Wednesday, Reg sources said. According to data at Samknows, the exchange serves about 3,000 residential premises and 4,200 non-residential premises.

Posted by Judith — 10:05 AM

Glasgow tube gets phone coverage.

Source: The Register.

Glasgow’s underground railway isn’t as well connected as London’s, but the Scottish city’s network will soon boast something that the UK capital’s tube network doesn’t: subterranean mobile phone coverage.
Carrier O2 has hatched a deal to bring mobile phone coverage to the city’s subway, allowing the network operator’s customers to make and receive calls, send text messages and access 3G services, including web access, while travelling beneath the surface.

Posted by Judith — 11:41 AM

Fiserv Rolls Out All-in-One Mobile Banking and Payments Solution.

Source: TechWeb

Fiserv, Inc. (Brookfield, Wis.) launched Mobile Money, a mobile banking and payments solution that supports consumers on all three mobile access modes ” short messaging service, wireless application protocol and mobile application. Mobile Money also offers online and offline enrollment capabilities and integrates with core banking, online banking and electronic payments systems.
The new Fiserv solution builds upon the company’s existing mobile banking solutions. According to Fiserv, Mobile Money allows financial institutions and billing organizations to drive enrollment of offline customers to a more profitable mobile banking relationship. Customer can enroll via mobile device, branch, ATM, contact center or online channel. Fiserv will provide marketing campaigns and research aimed at driving a high level of adoption and usage within this channel.

Posted by Judith — 5:31 AM

Air Canada to offer WiFi on some U.S. flights.

Source: Globe and Mail.

Canadians flying to the U.S. will soon be able to check their e-mail from 40,000 feet, but only after they’ve crossed into the United States.
Today Air Canada said it will become the first Canadian airline to offer in-flight wireless access on trans-border flights beginning next year.
The Montreal-based national airliner plans to roll out Aircell LLC’s “GoGo” mobile broadband service on select flights to the U.S. on Airbus A319 aircraft beginning in the spring.

Posted by Judith — 5:30 AM

Digital TV test offers some real-world lessons.

Source: cnet news.

The first major test of the switch to digital TV left many viewers in Wilmington, N.C., looking at blank screens and calling local TV stations, according to several news reports.
At noon EDT Monday, broadcasters flipped the switch to all digital transmission. And almost immediately, TV broadcasters and the FCC hotline were inundated with phone calls from local residents in the area who weren’t prepared for the transition or couldn’t figure out how to use the converter boxes that should have allowed their older TVs to get the digital signal, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The test in Wilmington is key to minimizing mass chaos when the entire country makes the transition to all digital broadcasts on Feb. 17, 2009, a move mandated by Congress so that wireless spectrum could be used more efficiently. The agency has already auctioned off large chunks of the spectrum to be used for wireless broadband services.

Posted by Judith — 5:28 AM

Verizon Wireless and AT&T get social.

Source: TelephonyOnline.

Verizon Wireless and AT&T have both jumped on the same social networking bandwagon, each announcing today at CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment a new mobile portal that integrates multiple social networking communities into a single interface — both based on the same vendor’s platform.
Called SocialLife on the VZW deck and My Communities on AT&T’s, the applications are powered by Intercasting’s Anthem platform, a social network aggregator that taps into the application interfaces of numerous social engines throughout the Web, displaying updates, comments, messages, friend requests and other information from multiple sites on a single screen.
Notably absent from the both operators’ lists is Facebook, the fastest-growing social network community on the Web.

Posted by Judith — 5:24 AM

Vodafone obtains order to block sales of BPL Mobile shares.

Source: TeleGeography.

The Financial Times is reporting that the dispute between Vodafone and its Indian partner Essar is intensifying after the UK-based company won an order blocking the sale of shares in Essar unit BPL Mobile. An arbitration panel has ordered the Essar group to freeze the sale of any shares of BPL, including those of one of its most important subsidiaries, Loop Telecom. The move comes as a result of the dispute inherited by Vodafone when it bought a 67% stake in Hutchison Essar in May 2007. Hutchison had agreed to buy BPL from Essar in July 2005 for USD1 billion, but the deal ran into trouble when Essar claimed a deadline for regulatory approval for the sale had been missed; when the operators could not agree a solution, the dispute moved into arbitration.

Posted by Judith — 5:23 AM

Ericsson Takes On IPTV Giants.

Source: Light Reading

Ericsson AB has upped its IPTV game with the launch of a new, developed-from-scratch IPTV middleware solution to rival the likes of Alcatel-Lucent, Microsoft Corp, Nokia Siemens Networks , Thomson, and UTStarcom Inc.
The news is just one of many telco TV announcements expected this week as the market gears up for the annual IBC show in Amsterdam, where Ericsson is planning to show off a lot of gear.
Having effectively bought its way into the telco TV market with the acquisition of Tandberg Television in the Spring of 2007, the company has been working on a middleware system that will help piece together its IPTV offering, says Alan Delaney, Tandberg TV’s IPTV Business Development Director.

Posted by Judith — 5:19 AM

AT&T upgrades U-verse DVR, steps up fight vs cable.

Source: Reuters.

Top U.S. phone company AT&T Inc upgraded the video recording function of its Internet-based television service called U-verse, stepping up its competition against cable service providers.
Bundling high-speed Internet and video with phone services is a key part of AT&T’s strategy as it struggles to retain customers who are increasingly canceling landlines in favor of mobile phones and alternative services from cable companies.

Posted by Judith — 11:22 AM

BigBand Plays It Personal.

Source: Light Reading.

BigBand Networks Inc. has developed a new network-based media processing platform that aims to help both cable operators and telcos alike migrate from broadcast video to a personal model that can target programs and advertisements to individual customers.
The company views the new system, dubbed the Media Services Platform (MSP) 2000, as a complement to its Broadband Multimedia-Service Router (BMR), but claims the new product can also work with video “groomers” and multiplexers from other suppliers.

Posted by Judith — 11:14 AM

North Carolina City Switches to Digital TV

Source: Washington Post

Residents in Wilmington N.C. became the first in the nation to experience the transition to digital television Monday as the largest TV stations in town shut off their analog signals.
Wilmington broadcasters volunteered to make the switch to digital-only programming nearly five months ahead of the February 17th 2009 deadline Congress set for the rest of the nation. The test is intended to give the FCC, as well as broadcasters and consumers in other markets, a better idea of how to ensure the official switch goes smoothly.

Posted by Judith — 10:39 AM

TapRoot aims at 3G for hotspot technology.

Source: Telephony Online

TapRoot Systems today commercially launched its WalkingHotSpot client, a potentially disruptive application that can turn a WiFi-enabled smartphone into a miniature WLAN router that uses an operator’s 3G network as backhaul.
Launched as a beta application at CTIA Wireless last spring, WalkingHotSpot uses the WiFi radio in Windows Mobile and Symbian OS smartphones to establish direct data connections to other WiFi devices such as laptops, digital music players or PDAs. It then connects those devices to the Internet through the phone’s 3G chip, essentially using the smartphone as a WiFi hub and the 3G network as a broadband connection. The result is consumers with an unlimited smartphone data plan—which often run as little as $20 a month in the US—can create a personalized hotspot on the fly from almost any location.

Posted by Judith — 5:19 AM

Orange UK wins Eastern Europe MVNO deal.

Source: Telecoms.com

UK mobile operator Orange announce a new MVNO deal on Monday, which follows the tried and tested route of targeting a niche market segment overlooked by the mass market focus of the major players.
The forthcoming Mobile Virtual Network Operator, Globalcell, will offer a service for Eastern Europeans living in the UK.
Globalcell will offer SIM-only prepaid service bundles with all customer interaction conducted in the customers’ native language, including Polish, Russian, Lithuanian, Slovak and English.

Posted by Judith — 5:13 AM

Turkcell to acquire 80% stake in BeST.

Source: DM Europe

Turkcell, provider of mobile communications in Turkey, has signed a sale and purchase agreement to acquire an 80 per cent stake in Belarusian Telecommunications Network (BeST). The completion of the transaction will be subject to the fulfillment of the conditions set forth in the agreement. The stake will be acquired from the State Committee on Property of the Republic of Belarus for a consideration of USD500m.

Posted by Judith — 5:12 AM

HP, Mozilla Create Virtual Browser to Secure Corporate Desktops.

Source: eWeek.com

Hewlett-Packard, Mozilla and Symantec present a virtual browser called the HP Firefox Virtual Browser, which will be first featured on a new HP desktop called the HP Compaq dc7900. The HP Firefox Virtual Browser creates a secure virtualization layer that captures malware and viruses and lets the user purge the malware from the desktop. HP will offer the HP Firefox Virtual Browser in all its business desktops by year’s end.

Posted by Judith — 5:10 AM

Google backs $750m African internet project.

Source: Times Online

Google has teamed up with John Malone, the media billionaire, and HSBC on a venture that will offer internet access to three billion people in Africa and other emerging markets as the US search engine continues to expand its presence across the Web.
The project, named O3b Networks, is targeting those people for whom broadband Internet access is not commercially viable. The consortium will today announce a deal to buy 16 low-earth orbit satellites from France’s Thales Alenia Space as it kicks off the $750 million project to link mobile phone masts to broadband networks in a series of countries close to the equator, the Financial Times reported.

Posted by Judith — 5:10 AM

Old newspapers get online launch.

Source: BBC News

A new initiative to bring old newspapers that pre-date the digital age to the web has been launched by the search giant Google.
The company has partnered with around 100 newspapers to digitize them and make scanned copies available online.
This means users will see entire pages of the original paper as they were printed at the time.

Posted by Judith — 5:09 AM

‘Tough choices’ for UK broadband.

Source: BBC News.

The cost of taking fibre-based broadband to every UK home could top GBP28.8bn (USD53 bn), says a report.
Compiled by the government’s broadband advisory group, the report details the cost of the different ways to wire the UK for next generation broadband. Another option, to take the fibres to street-level boxes, would only cost GBP5.1bn (USD9bn), it said.

Posted by Judith — 12:11 PM

Tata Enters Global CDN Market.

Source: Light Reading.

Using content delivery network (CDN) technology from its strategic partnership with startup BitGravity Inc. , India’s Tata Communications Ltd. is ready to sell its content delivery services worldwide.
Following up on a partnership announced in March, Tata says it is ready to go to market after fully deploying BitGravity’s technology throughout its global network. With the launch of its CDN services in Europe, Asia, North America, and India, the company is ramping up sales to existing customers and hoping to attract new ones.

Posted by Judith — 12:09 PM

Cablevision announces Wi-Fi switch-on.

Source: TeleGeography

The US cable operator Cablevision has launched the first phase of its free Wi-Fi network in parts of New Jersey. The firm says the new network, which offers free wireless internet access to Cablevision cable customers via public WLAN hotspots, is already the largest and most advanced consumer Wi-Fi network in the country, based on geographic coverage.

Posted by Judith — 12:08 PM

More competition for Kiwi mobile.

Source: TeleGeography

Two new mobile resellers are expected to join the cellular market in New Zealand in the coming weeks. Australian-listed telco M2 and locally owned start-up Black and White are set to join Telecom New Zealand, Vodafone and TelstraClear in the NZD2.2 billion (USD1.5 billion) market.

Posted by Judith — 12:05 PM

3G Auction in India Rumbles Forward.

Source: BWCS.

India is poised to launch a huge new tender for 3G mobile licences in the subcontinent. The lengthy process of auctioning the radio frequencies is due to start today with a government briefing to would-be consultants hoping to run the electronic bidding war on behalf of the Department of Transport. Sources say the auction could raise as much as USD10 bn for state coffers.

Posted by Judith — 11:21 AM

Google’s Search Goes Out to Sea.

Source: New York Times.

The search and advertising company has filed for a patent that describes a “water-based data center.” The idea is that Google would create mobile data center platforms out at sea by stacking containers filled with servers, storage systems and networking gear on barges or other platforms.
This would let Google push computing centers closer to people in some regions where it’s not feasible, cost-effective or as efficient to build a data center on land. In short, Google brings the data closer to you, and then the data arrives at a quicker clip.

Posted by Judith — 8:44 AM

Comcast appeals FCC sanction.

Source: NYT.

Comcast has filed a suit in the United States Court of Appeals in Washington mainly to challenge the authority of the commission to rule on such matters. The regulatory body had ordered the Philadelphia company to make changes in how it would handle periods when its Internet network was nearing full capacity — changes Comcast had already agreed to make.
The central issue is whether the sanction was appropriate, given that the commission had not previously published a rule about the issue in question: Whether Internet providers can choose to block one Web site or program while allowing traffic to others.

Posted by Judith — 3:56 AM

Vodafone acquires BroadNet.

Source: Digita lMedia Europe.

Vodafone has completed the acquisition of BroadNet Czech, a fixed telecommunication provider in the Czech market.
BroadNet provides voice, data and internet services to business clients and operates its own FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) broadband network in the nationwide licensed bandwidths of 26 and 28 GHz. BroadNet was a part of pan-European BroadNet Holdings, fully owned by the US cable and broadband services corporation Comcast.

Posted by Judith — 3:09 AM

Globalive to enter mobile market in 2009.

Source: TeleGeography.

Toronto-based Globalive Communications has revealed plans to launch commercial mobile phone services over its own newly built network in the second half of 2009. Globalive, parent of Canadian long-distance service reseller Yak, won 30 wireless spectrum licences worth CA$442m. (US$416m.) in a national auction in July, giving it good coverage of every province except Quebec.

Posted by Judith — 2:58 AM

Irish telco Interconnect House buys NY cousin.

Source: TelecomWeb.

Dublin-based telecoms carrier software and services vendor Prime Carrier Ltd. has bought New York-based F-Line Technologies, in a deal that gives Prime a far firmer footing in the U.S. to serve its North American customers - a group that includes Verizon, the former Bellsouth, Alltel and Nortel.

Posted by Judith — 2:14 AM

Telefonica going ahead with fibre-optic plan.

Source: TeleGeography.

Spanish incumbent telco Telefonica has announced that it will launch a commercial fibre-optic broadband internet access network on 31 October, regardless of opposition from alternative operators that are lobbying for the right to use the infrastructure on an equal basis.

Posted by Judith — 2:01 AM

Telefonica ups stake in Netcom pre- and post-merger.

Source: TeleGeography.

Telefonica has confirmed that it will pay as much as EUR1.1bn. (US$1.6bn.) to boost its stake in China Netcom. The company will buy an additional 2.7% stake in Netcom for EUR368m.n before Netcom merges with China Unicom. The Spanish firm will then buy an additional 3.03% stake of the unified company for between EUR392m. and EUR434m. Once the stake purchases have been made, Telefonica will own more than 5.5% of the combined China Unicom-China Netcom, and will be the company’s single largest private investor.

Posted by Judith — 4:34 AM

Vodafone buys Australian retailer.

Source: TeleGeography.

Vodafone Australia is reported to have acquired the Australian phone retailer Crazy John’s in a deal valued at between AU$150m. and AU$200m. (US$124.8m. to US$166.4m.). The retail chain has around 105 outlets across the country.

Posted by Judith — 3:37 AM

MetroPCS signs Best Buy deal.

Source: TeleGeography.

The low-cost flat-rate wireless provider MetroPCS has signed a distribution deal with the largest US electrical retail chain, Best Buy. The new service, which will be branded Best Buy Mobile, will be available at more than 200 of the retailer’s outlets. The company claimed just under 4.6m. customers at the end of June

Posted by Judith — 5:59 AM

Verizon goes underground.

Source: TelecomWeb.

Commuters on their way to work via Chicago’s underground trains are now able to stay connected via data and voice - if they are Verizon Wireless subscribers.

Chicago has actually had subway cellular service for more than a year, but the only carrier to use the system had been regional cellular operator U.S. Cellular, which paid US$2.9m. for a 10-year license. Verizon is paying US$3.35m. for a similar 10-year term.

Posted by Judith — 4:36 AM

More WiMax networks open for business.

Source: BWCS.

New WiMax operations have been launched in Saudi Arabia and Russia. The new WiMax network in St Petersburg and Moscow has been launched by Russian telco Scartel using Samsung equipment. The Saudi operation is controlled by national mobile operator Mobily which recently purchased data services provider Bayanat - owner of a WiMax licence.

Posted by Judith — 3:50 AM

Freshtel plans mobile VoIP service.

Source: TeleGeography.

Australian start-up Freshtel has annouinced that it expects to launch a VoIP service for mobile phone users within weeks after a successful trial of its dual-mode technology with UK supermarket giant Tesco.

Posted by Judith — 3:03 AM

IEEE approves key enterprise Wi-Fi VoIP standard.

Source: TelecomWeb.

The IEEE, with surprisingly little public note, has approved an addition to its standards for Wi-Fi that should have a significant impact on the enterprise wireless VoIP market, potentially leading to increased hand-off compatibility between brands of access points.
The new standard, 802.11r, creates the first standardized way for fast hand-off as a user moves between Wi-Fi access points.

Posted by Judith — 3:01 AM

Nokia to start music service with UK launch.

Source: Reuters.

Mobile phone maker Nokia has announced that it will launch its “Comes with Music” package with an offering in Britain, signing a deal with Carphone Warehouse to sell the first model. The phone is expected to go on sale next month.
The free music package is a cornerstone of the cellphone maker’s push into the services business, but also sets a trend for other gadget makers, like Apple, to follow.

Posted by Judith — 4:54 AM

Google takes on Microsoft with browser.

Source: TimesOnline.

Google will today launch its own web browser called Google Chrome in another expansion by the search giant into the building blocks of the internet.
Google Chrome will take on the might of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, which dominates the browser market with a 74 % share.

Posted by Judith — 4:45 AM

Japanese push mobile payment system onto the world.

Source: BWCS.

In an unusual step the Japanese government has said it plans to work with the nation’s phone operators to help promote the use of mobile wallet services across the world. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said it will back the technology, based on Sony’s FeliCa chips installed in handsets, with mobile handset makers at home and abroad.

Posted by Judith — 4:41 AM

Alcatel-Lucent appoints 2 top executives.

Source: NYT.

The company has announced that Philippe Camus, a former co-chief executive of European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, would take over as nonexecutive chairman, while Ben Verwaayen, a former chief executive of BT and a former vice chairman of the management board of Lucent Technologies in the United States, was appointed chief executive.

Posted by Judith — 4:27 AM

Thus recommends shareholders take current C&W offer.

Source: TeleGeography.

Despite an initial unenthusiastic reception, Scottish telco Thus is reported tot have recommended its shareholders accept a GBP1.80 per share offer from Cable & Wireless. C&W originally offered GBP1.65 a share for the company, upping the offer to GBP1.80 in June 2008 after rejection of its first proposal. Since then C&W has revealed that it already owns, or has an agreement to buy, 78.5% of Thus, prompting reconsideration by the board.

Posted by Judith — 3:38 AM

TelstraClear goes mobile - again.

Source: TeleGeography.

TelstraClear has re-entered New Zealand’s consumer mobile market as a reseller after exiting the sector last year.
TelstraClear ended its previous resale agreement with GSM operator Vodafone in June 2007 in favour of a new deal with CDMA-based provider Telecom New Zealand. The Australian firm also cancelled plans to deploy its own 3G network infrastructure. Vodafone and Telecom currently share around 4.6m. subscribers between them

Posted by Judith — 6:00 AM

FCC to test AWS interference.

Source: TeleGeography.

The FCC is to carry out tests to determine whether spectrum it plans to auction next year will cause interference to existing wireless internet services. FCC engineers will conduct tests at T-Mobile’s lab in Seattle. T-Mobile has expressed concerns that spectrum being offered in the 2155MHz-2180MHz Advanced Wireless Service (AWS) band will affect its own AWS offering which operates in an adjacent band. The FCC wants 25% of the new AWS spectrum to be used to create a national network which will provide free wireless internet access.

Posted by Judith — 5:57 AM

China Mobile reaches 415m. mobile users .

Source: Converge.

China Mobile is now serving over 415m. subscribers, up by nearly 25% or 45 million users, over the past 12 months.

Posted by Judith — 5:33 AM

Dasan Networks buys out NSN share, companies sign OEM deal.

Source: Converge.

Dasan Networks, a leading network equipment supplier in Korea, will acquire all of Nokia Siemens Networks’ shares in Dasan Networks which represent 56.13% of all the shares of the company. With the acquisition completed these Korean investors will hold 60.83% of the shares of the company.
The companies plan to continue close cooperation through an Original Equipment Manufacturer- and Original Design Manufacturer agreement.

Posted by Judith — 4:56 AM