Press Clippings: June 2009
Major Industry items you might have missed
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Carphone/Tiscali deal receives green light.
Source: TeleGeography.
Carphone Warehouse has secured approval from EU antitrust authorities for its GBP236m. (US$388m.) acquisition of ISP Tiscali UK. Following successful completion of the transaction, Carphone Warehouse will leapfrog Virgin Media as the UK’s second largest broadband operator with approximately 4.3m. customers.
Posted by Judith — 4:09 AM
Comcast rolls out wireless Web.
Source: Reuters.
Comcast, the largest U.S. cable operator, has announced that it is introducing a wireless service for subscribers to access the Web beyond their homes anywhere within the United States.
The so-called fourth-generation wireless service, is the first execution of a partnership between Comcast, Clearwire Corp and other companies that use the emerging WiMax high-speed mobile technology.
Posted by Judith — 4:01 AM
Universal phone charger deal done.
Source: BBC.
A deal has been done between industry bosses and the European Commission in Brussels to work towards a ‘one size fits all’ charger. The deal isn’t legally binding though and, at this stage, is only voluntary.
Under the accord, the companies, including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Apple, Motorola, Research in Motion and Samsung, are committed to developing the charger.
Posted by Judith — 3:07 AM
RCN sparks bidding war for Fibernet Telecom.
Source: WashingtonPost.
RCN, the Herndon cable network operator that has been searching for ways to expand, has offered to purchase New York-based network services firm FiberNet Telecom for US$96m. — setting off a bidding war in the process.
The offer, made earlier this month, came after FiberNet’s announcement that it would be bought by Zayo, a network operator based in Louisville, for about US$88m.
RCN operates cable television and Internet services in Boston, Chicago, the D.C. area, Philadelphia and New York.
Posted by Judith — 2:56 AM
Monday, June 29, 2009
Green carbon trade market could mean billions for telecom, IT
Source: Telecom and IT companies are well-positioned to tap the potentially $700-billion market for lowering carbon dioxide emissions, according to Bill St. Arnaud, chief research officer at CANARIE, the Canadian research house….
Telecom and IT companies are well-positioned to tap the potentially $700-billion market for lowering carbon dioxide emissions, according to Bill St. Arnaud, chief research officer at CANARIE, the Canadian research house.
Posted by Penny — 3:30 PM
NTIA drops ‘buy American’ requirements for broadband stimulus funds.
Source: FierceWireless.
The federal government won’t require the “buy American” stipulations it had originally planned to require of companies obtaining stimulus money to build broadband networks.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is distributing US$5bn. of the US$7.2bn. earmarked for broadband deployments in unserved and underserved areas, said the Secretary of Commerce granted a limited waiver of the ‘buy American’ stipulation in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to broadband equipment used in broadband networks deployed using stimulus money.
Posted by Judith — 6:57 AM
France Telecom, Divona win Tunisian licence.
Source: Telecompaper.
France Telecom and Tunisian partner Divona were awarded a 15-year fixed and mobile phone licence in Tunisia after submitting a EUR137.65m. (US$193m.) winning bid.
France Telecom-Orange will own 49%t of the joint venture, the remainder to be held by Divona.
Posted by Judith — 3:53 AM
Vodafone mulls offer for T-Mobile UK - report.
Source: Telecompaper.
Vodafone is reportedly considering an offer for T-Mobile UK, a deal that would catapult it to the top spot in the UK with a 40% percent market share. O2 is currently the UK’s largest operator with a market share of about 27%, followed by Vodafone with 25%. Orange has 22% and T-Mobile%. The UK is the only major European market with five mobile operators and consolidation could ease pricing pressures and help margins.
Posted by Judith — 2:08 AM
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Nortel creditors file objections to unit’s sale.
Source: Reuters.
Creditors and suppliers of Nortel Networks have filed a series of objections to the proposed sale of a unit of the bankrupt telecom equipment maker to Nokia Siemens Networks.
MatlinPatterson, a major bondholder and Nortel creditor, said restrictive conditions imposed by the current bidding process may prevent, rather than promote, a valid competing bid to emerge for the unit, which makes advanced wireless technology.
Posted by Judith — 2:44 AM
Friday, June 26, 2009
FCC approves EMBARQ/CenturyTel deal.
Source: TeleGeography.
The FCC has approved the merger of rural wireline and broadband providers CenturyTel and EMBARQ. The two companies will combine their operations to form a new entity called CenturyLink, which will be one of the largest rural wireline providers in the country, serving around 7.7m. fixed line customers and 2m. broadband subscribers.
Posted by Judith — 4:13 AM
Obama rounds out FCC with Baker nomination.
Source: Internetnews.
President Obama has nominated Republican Meredith Attwell Baker to serve on the FCC, a widely expected move that fills the last spot on the five-person panel.
The Senate voted to confirm Julius Genachowski as the agency’s chair, also approving Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell to serve a second term.
The Senate also confirmed Larry Strickling to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
Posted by Judith — 3:20 AM
Lycamobile signs MNO deal with 21st Century Telecom.
Source: TeleGeography.
International pre-paid MVNO Lycamobile has announced the signing of its inaugural full mobile network operator deal in the Caribbean. Under the terms of the deal Lycamobile will partner with 21st Century Telecom Networks to launch the Lycamobile brand across the Caribbean, starting in St Kitts and Nevis and following on across six other islands, positioning the Lycamobile brand to grow from an MVNO to a full MNO.
Posted by Judith — 3:08 AM
Clearwire acquires licenses from Oneida.
Source: Converge.
Clearwire has acquired certain wireless licenses previously held by Oneida Communications Group and its financial backer, the private equity firm of Catalyst Investors. Catalyst began acquiring wireless licenses through its ownership of Oneida in 2006 and sold the majority of Oneida’s spectrum holdings to Sprint Nextel in 2008.
Posted by Judith — 2:54 AM
Thursday, June 25, 2009
BT and Tata Communications sign global strategic voice services agreement.
Source: BTplc.
BT Group and Tata Communications have signed a major voice services agreement that will allow two of the world’s largest providers of voice and IP services to mutually benefit from shared resources as part of a global supply arrangement.
Posted by Judith — 4:40 AM
AT&T signs up second smart-grid utility partner.
Source: Telephony.online.
AT&T has announced that it is partnering with utility company Cooper Power Systems to jointly market and sell smart-grid services over AT&T’s wireless data network. AT&T was one of the first carriers to get behind the smart-grid movement through a smart metering partnership with SmartSynch, and the announcement will take it from the meter up to the where the power originates.
Posted by Judith — 3:40 AM
Tata Docomo introduces GSM service in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Source: Telecompaper.
Tata Teleservices’ GSM brand Tata Docomo has started operations in India, beginning with Chennai and Tamil Nadu. The company has earmarked an investment of US$2bn. to roll out its GSM network across the country by year-end.
Posted by Judith — 3:28 AM
Lycamobile launches MVNO in Italy.
Source: TeleGeography.
International mobile operator Lycamobile has launched as a MVNO in Italy, offering services across 3 Italia’s network infrastructure. Italy is the eighth country in which Lycamobile has launched its pre-paid SIM business, following similar launches in the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and the UK.
Posted by Judith — 3:04 AM
Telefonica to buy remaining 1.8% of Argentine unit.
Source: TeleGeography.
Spanish telecoms company Telefonica has said it will buy the remaining 1.8% of shares in Argentine telco Telefonica de Argentina that it does not already own for EUR24m. (US$33.7m.).
Posted by Judith — 2:56 AM
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Vodafone reveals consumer femtocell device.
Source: TeleGeography.
British mobile operator Vodafone UK has unveiled plans to launch a consumer femtocell device and service on 1 July which it claims is the first of its kind in Europe. The device will plug directly into any home broadband line in an attempt to improve indoor 3G coverage, and will be made by French-US vendor Alcatel-Lucent.
Posted by Judith — 6:06 AM
Wireless market growth.
Source: TeleGeography.
At the end of March 2009 global wireless subscribers reached 4.16bn, an impressive 19% increase from a year earlier and not that far off the pace from what has been experienced over the last five years.
Posted by Judith — 5:23 AM
AT&T in deals with Motorola and Alcatel-Lucent.
Source: Reuters.
AT&T has announced that it has extended a network equipment supply agreement with Alcatel-Lucent and would soon start selling a cellphone from Motorola. The device, which has a miniature computer keyboard, is aimed at consumers looking to use their phones to send text messages or access social networks like Facebook.
AT&T also said it extended an agreement for Alcatel-Lucent to supply equipment used for AT&T’s U-verse television and high-speed Internet service, which is being expanded around the country.
Posted by Judith — 3:55 AM
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Softbank concedes defeat to NTT: will sell rival’s FLETs service nationally.
Source: TeleGeography.
Softbank Corp has revealed it will ‘go national’ with sales of NTT’s FLETs Hikari-branded fibre-optic service, effectively throwing in the towel in the fight for fibre space in the country.
Posted by Judith — 4:36 AM
First UK shared site live for Vodafone and O2.
Source: TeleGeography.
British mobile operators Vodafone UK and O2 UK have announced that, following an agreement to share infrastructure signed in March this year, the first shared site has gone live. According to Vodafone, its equipment was added to an existing O2 base station. The operators claimed that benefits from the tie-up are being seen, noting that ‘the whole process from planning to implementation (was) completed in eleven weeks, compared to nine months for a typical standalone site.’
Posted by Judith — 3:38 AM
Nokia Siemens to keep 830 Canadian Nortel employees.
Source: The Globe and Mail.
Nokia Siemens Networks says it will hang onto about 830 Canadian employees of Nortel Networks Corp. as part of the plan to buy a major portion of the former technology giant’s wireless business.
The decision comes as Nortel Networks had its shares suspended by the Toronto Stock Exchange in the morning.
The TSX says it took the move as a result of Nortel’s plan to sell its CDMA wireless network business to Nokia Siemens for US$650m.
Posted by Judith — 3:12 AM
Monday, June 22, 2009
KCOM Group plc announces strategic agreement with BT Group.
Source: BTplc.
KCOM Grouphas announced that it has signed a strategic agreement with BT Group, which will see KCOM extend its network reach through access to BT’s national network, and outsource the management of its network assets to BT’s wholesale division.
Posted by Judith — 3:18 AM
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Nortel selling wireless unit to Nokia Siemens.
Source: Reuters.
Telecom equipment maker Nortel Networks has announced that it will sell its advanced wireless technology business to Nokia Siemens Networks for US$650m. and that it was making progress in talks to sell its other businesses.
Posted by Judith — 5:42 AM
MTS cleared for Comstar UTS acquisition.
Source: TeleGeography.
Russia’s leading mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) has received clearance from Russia’s antimonopoly authority to buy out Moscow-based fixed line operator Comstar United TeleSystems. The deal will merge the telecoms operations of AFK Sistema and allow MTS to capitalise on demand for broadband in regional cities.
Posted by Judith — 4:17 AM
Friday, June 19, 2009
HP, Alcatel-Lucent to form global alliance.
Source: Telecompaper.
HP and Alcatel-Lucent have signed a contract to help customers use the convergence of telecommunication and IT. Following the execution of the ten-year contract, the companies will jointly market services and capabilities enabling systems transformation for service providers and enterprises. The companies plan to launch a global go-to-market programme to transform communication networks into converged infrastructures.
Posted by Judith — 3:15 AM
FCC to scrutinize exclusive wireless contracts.
Source: Washington Post.
The FCC will launch a review of exclusive partnerships between cellphone makers and wireless service carriers, such as the one between Apple and AT&T for the iPhone, to see if the deals harm consumers and hamper competition.
Posted by Judith — 2:49 AM
Greece to sell further 5% of OTE to DT.
Source: Telecompaper.
The Greek government is set to sell a further 5% stake in OTE to Deutsche Telekom by exercising a put option from the previous deal with DT. The move is intended to to help reduce the country’s debt, authorities said. The additional 5% stake will be sold for EUR674m.
Posted by Judith — 2:00 AM
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Survival of the fittest: a mixed performance by the world’s largest telcos.
Source: TeleGeography.
Some of the world’s largest service providers have beaten the recession blues and out-performed overall market growth, either by being focused on high growth markets or by merger and acquisition activities. China Mobile, Vodafone and America Movil fit into the first camp while China Unicom, Vivendi, China Telecom and Verizon are in the latter. All of these companies reported Q1 2009 revenues that were at least 10% higher than their respective Q1 2008 turnover.
Posted by Judith — 4:16 AM
IBM banks on mobile with US$100m.
Source: BBC.
Mobile communications are being eyed as the next prize for IBM which announced it is investing US$100m. in research over the next five years.
The company plans to target its investment at people who use their mobile phone to go online rather than their PC.
Posted by Judith — 3:46 AM
China clarifies web filter plans.
Source: BBC.
Protests have forced China to clarify whether net-filtering software has to be used on every new PC.
From July, every PC sold in China was supposed to be supplied with the Green Dam Youth Escort software.
But widespread disapproval inside China, legal challenges and overseas criticism have forced the Chinese government to clarify its policy.
In its ruling this week, China said anyone removing or refusing to use it would not face official sanction.
Posted by Judith — 3:02 AM
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Atlanta gets WiMax.
Source: BWCS.
US broadband operator Clearwire Communications says it has launched its third city-wide roll-out of its mobile WiMax network in Atlanta. The new system, which will cover approximately 1,200 square miles, is seen by many as a sign that Clearwire is speeding up its deployment of high-speed wireless technology.
Posted by Judith — 5:01 AM
Obama backs repeal of tax on personal cellphones.
Source: Reuters.
The Obama administration has announced that it will back repealing a hard-to-enforce tax on personal use of work cellphones, appeasing the business community, phone makers and users.
Posted by Judith — 3:20 AM
UK govt unveils plans for universal service broadband.
Source: Telecompaper.
The UK government has released the final Digital Britain report on the country’s strategy for developing the communications and media sector. The final report lays out a variety of policies on increasing public use of the internet, expanding access to existing and next-generation fixed and mobile broadband, further developing digital radio broadcasting, expanding use of the licence fee beyond the BBC and protecting copyright on digital media.
Posted by Judith — 3:14 AM
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
WiFi mesh to envelope Indian cities.
Source: BWCS.
Zylog Systems India, part of the US company Zylog, has announced plans to cover several major Indian cities with WiFi mesh networks by next summer. The new service, to be known as Wi5, will debut in Chennai, before being rolled out to Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Zylog can offer such wide coverage as it possesses an ISP licence to operate in all of India’s DoT telecom circles.
Posted by Judith — 4:26 AM
Icon to invest US$200m.n in Russian WiMAX.
Source: TeleGeography.
Russian investment firm Icon Private Equity has announced plans to invest US$200m. into the establishment of a new national WiMAX operator. The new company will target rural regions of the country where broadband access is currently limited.
Posted by Judith — 3:34 AM
Germany opens digital dividend for mobile broadband.
Source: Telecompaper.
The German Federal Council has approved the proposal to use the digital dividend for mobile broadband services. The decision to devote the spectrum to mobile broadband is expected to support the German federal government’s target for nationwide availability of at least 1 Mbps broadband services by 2010 and 75% coverage of 50 Mbps by 2014.
Posted by Judith — 3:08 AM
Monday, June 15, 2009
Microsoft to give away anti-virus.
Source: BBC.
Microsoft is poised to start giving away security software.
Called Morro, the software will tackle viruses but lack the broader range of utilities, such as parental locks, found in paid-for security suites.
Posted by Judith — 3:44 AM
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Sprint puts parts of Nextel network up for sale.
Source: Telephonyonline.
Sprint revealed today that it is selling parts of its Nextel iDEN network in parts of Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Nebraska to comply with a court order ruling it cannot offer cellular service in the same markets as its affiliate iPCS.
Posted by Judith — 5:30 AM
Friday, June 12, 2009
No IE onboard Windows 7 in Europe.
Source: BBC.
European buyers of Windows 7 will have to download and install a web browser for themselves.
Bowing to European competition rules, Microsoft Windows 7 will ship without Internet Explorer.
Posted by Judith — 3:56 AM
Telus to invest over CA$250m. in Quebec this year.
Source: TeleGeography.
Telus, Canada’s second largest full-service telecoms operator behind Bell, yesterday announced an investment budget for the province of Quebec of at least CA$250m.
The company said the investment is focused primarily on advanced wireless and wireline broadband infrastructure and also includes healthcare related technology and applications.
Posted by Judith — 3:26 AM
AOL goes local with Patch, Going acquisitions.
Source: Contentinople.
AOL is stepping up its focus on local content with the acquisitions of Patch Media Corp. and Going Inc., looking to provide more local news content and information on local parties and events to Web surfers.
Posted by Judith — 3:01 AM
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Virgin Mobile USA to roll out pay-as-you-go mobile broadband.
Source: FierceWireless.
Virgin Mobile USA launched a pay-as-you-go mobile broadband service called Broadband2Go that uses Sprint Nextel’s EVDO Rev. A network.
Posted by Judith — 4:36 AM
Tata to brand GSM services as Tata Docomo.
Source: Telecompaper.
Indian mobile operator Tata Teleservices has confirmed its launch of GSM services, which will be branded under the name Tata Docomo, to reflect its shareholder and partner, Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo. Tata Docomo will launch shortly commercial GSM operations beginning with telecom circles in South India; the company has already been granted GSM spectrum throughout the country.
Posted by Judith — 3:40 AM
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
ATN to pay US$200m. for Verizon assets.
Source: TeleGeography.
Atlantic Tele-Network (ATN) has reached an agreement with Verizon Wireless to acquire assets serving over 800,000 customers. Verizon is required to divest these assets as part of the regulatory approvals granted for its purchase of Alltel earlier this year. ATN will pay US$200m. for wireless spectrum licences and network infrastructure in primarily rural areas of Idaho, Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
Posted by Judith — 6:05 AM
Manitoban telco joins the Sprint team.
Source: TeleGeography.
Canadian provincial telco Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) has signed a deal with Sprint Nextel giving it access to Sprint’s wireless handset range and vendor relationships. MTS (which offers nationwide fixed network services as MTS-Allstream) said that the agreement under Sprint’s ‘global alliance’ programme will also give it access to information about the US cellco’s technology, product development and planning.
Posted by Judith — 5:29 AM
Vodafone and Hutchison (Australia) complete merger.
Source: TeleGeography.
Tthe merger of mobile operators Hutchison 3G Australia (H3G) and Vodafone Australia has been completed, with the two companies taking equal holdings in new joint venture Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA).
Posted by Judith — 4:43 AM
ACE submarine cable extended to South Africa.
Source: Telecompaper.
The Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable system, which was initially planned to stretch from France to Gabon, will now be extended to South Africa connecting all countries along the West coast of Africa, from Morocco to South Africa. A statement from France Telecom said this new cable will provide broadband interconnection to the global telecommunications network to more than 25 countries in Africa and Western Europe.
Posted by Judith — 3:40 AM
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
EU roaming regulations to come into effect 1 July.
Source: Telecompaper.
Ministers of the European Union’s 27 member states have formally adopted the new EU roaming rules proposed by the European Commission in September and approved by the European Parliament in April. The new regulations will come into force on 1 July, and will lead to further reductions of up to 60% on bills for consumers roaming in the EU.
Posted by Judith — 4:01 AM
India’s operators set for spectrum windfall.
Source: Light Reading.
India’s mobile industry is to receive much needed spectrum for 2G and 3G services, following the release of 45 MHz of spectrum by the country’s Defense Ministry.
The decision comes after a protracted battle between the Defense Ministry and the Department of Telecommunications and will see 15 MHz of the spectrum released immediately, with the rest to be allocated over the next three years.
Posted by Judith — 3:51 AM
Monday, June 8, 2009
UQ Communications gets US$43m. in funding from Intel.
Source: TeleGeography.
Japanese Wimax provider UQ Communications has secured US$43m. of investment from Intel Capital, the global investment arm of Intel, for the continued expansion of UQ Wimax services in Japan. UQ Communications aims to provide Wimax coverage to 90 percent of the country by 2012.
Posted by Judith — 4:50 AM
DAVE to roam USA.
Source: TeleGeography.
Canadian start-up cellco Data & Audio Visual Enterprises (DAVE Wireless) has signed a bilateral roaming agreement with T-Mobile USA. DAVE spent US$220m. buying wireless frequencies in Canada’s ‘advanced wireless services’ spectrum auction last year.
Posted by Judith — 3:17 AM
Fixed line regulations retained for five more years by the ACCC.
Source: TeleGeography.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced that it will extend regulations on a range of fixed line services for a period of five years, the maximum allowed. The ACCC claims that its decision was, in part, tempered by the impending creation of the National Broadband Network (NBN), which it contends will have a significant effect on the regulatory environment.
Posted by Judith — 3:07 AM
Juniper, Nokia Siemens plan carrier Ethernet JV.
Source: Telecompaper.
Juniper Networks and Nokia Siemens Networks have agreed to form a joint venture to address the carrier Ethernet transport market. The joint venture, headquartered in the Netherlands, will be dedicated to managing and executing the carrier Ethernet portfolio roadmap.
Posted by Judith — 2:24 AM
Hype over Skype.
Source: Forbes.com.
eBay is reported to be on the verge of selling Skype back to the people it bought it from. Scandinavian entrepreneurs Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, who sold Skype to eBay for US$2.6bn., are preparing to buy back the business, backed by some US$1.0lbn. in funding from private equity companies.
Posted by Judith — 1:51 AM
Friday, June 5, 2009
Intel to acquire Wind River for US$884m.
Source: Telecompaper.
Intel has agreed to acquire US-based Wind River Systems, for approximately US$884m. in total. Wind River is a device software optimisation specialist. The acquisition is part of Intel’s strategy to grow its processor and software presence outside the traditional PC and server market segments into embedded systems and mobile handheld devices.
Posted by Judith — 1:43 AM
China Telecom, Chunghwa Telecom team for undersea cable.
Source: FierceTelecom.
There have been signs recently that business relations between China and Taiwan are thawing a bit, and the latest evidence of that could be an undersea cable project pairing China Telecom and Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom. The two national telcos in their respective countries are set to spend about US$14.6m. on a cable extending from Xiamen, China, to Taiwan’s Kinmen Island.
Posted by Judith — 1:03 AM
Qwest’s long-distance arm draws bids below targets.
Source: WSJ.
Preliminary bids for Qwest Communications International Inc.’s long-distance business are coming in well below the $2 to $3bn. it sought, leaving the telecommunications company with the choice of calling off the auction or accepting a significant discount.
Posted by Judith — 1:00 AM
Thursday, June 4, 2009
BT ups broadband speeds to 20Mbps.
Source: TeleGeography.
BT has announced that it will more than double the highest level of speed available to both its residential and business customers. The operator revealed that, having enabled 549 exchanges for ADSL2+ services, the speed increase will initially be made available to businesses on an immediate basis; residential subscribers will be upgraded in the summer.
Posted by Judith — 4:12 AM
Verizon debuts cloud computing service.
Source: Telephonyonline.
Verizon Business has unveiled its much-anticipated cloud computing service, which the company calls Computing as a Service, a deliberate departure from the approach taken by cloud innovators such as Amazon — one that is tailored more for large and mid-sized enterprise customers.
Posted by Judith — 3:10 AM
TBC shareholders look to sell up.
Source: TeleGeography.
It is reported that a 49% stake in Taiwan Broadband Communications (TBC), one of Taiwan’s leading cable operators, has been put up for sale by the company’s shareholders, Australian investment and banking group Macquarie which owns 80% of TBC.
Posted by Judith — 3:07 AM
Moscow court rejects Telenor appeal.
Source: TeleGeography.
A Moscow court has rejected a stay motion by Telenor to prevent the sale of its stake in Vimpelcom which was seized by bailiffs to repay a US$1.7bn. damages claim by Vimpelcom shareholder Farimex.
Posted by Judith — 2:49 AM
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Wimax Forum announces commercial Wimax roaming trials.
Source: Telecompaper.
The Wimax Forum has announced that fourteen companies are participating in its commercial Wimax interoperability and roaming trials. These operators, device manufacturers, equipment vendors and clearinghouses include Aicent, Alvarion, Bridgewater Systems, Cisco, Clearwire, Comfone, DigitalBridge Communications, Intel, iPass, Juniper Networks, Mach, Motorola, Syniverse and Transaction Network Services.
Posted by Judith — 4:17 AM
Britons say broadband ‘essential’.
Source: BBC.
UK consumers now believe broadband is becoming as essential a utility as electricity or water, according to a panel of government advisers.
Some 73% of those questioned described a high-speed connection as important.
Posted by Judith — 3:01 AM
CenturyTel and EMBARQ to combine as CenturyLink.
Source: TeleGeography.
US wireline and broadband providers CenturyTel and EMBARQ have revealed that they plan to operate as ‘CenturyLink’ once the ongoing merger of the two companies has been completed. The telcos operate in 33 states nationwide and have received approval for the proposed deal from all corresponding state regulators.
Posted by Judith — 2:43 AM
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
FCC releases report on broadband strategy for rural America .
Source: Converge.
The FCC has released a report entitled “Bringing Broadband to Rural America” that identifies common problems affecting rural broadband, including technological challenges, lack of data, and high network costs.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) established several broadband initiatives with US$7.2bn. in funding.
Posted by Judith — 4:08 AM
M2 acquires Commander assets.
Source: Telecompaper.
Australian telecommunications services provider M2 Telecommunications will acquire all of the small and medium business assets of troubled telecommunications company Commander Communications for a total consideration of AU$19m.
Posted by Judith — 3:10 AM
Starent seals Cox contract.
Source: TeleGeography.
US-based equipment vendor Starent Networks has announced that it has been contracted by triple-play cable operator Cox Communications to supply the multimedia core of its upcoming 3G network.
Posted by Judith — 3:05 AM
Columbus launches international MPLS network in Caribbean.
Source: Telecompaper.
Columbus Networks has introduced MPLS technology over its undersea fibre-optic network, to enable corporate customers in the Caribbean to improve the use and efficiency of their private wide area networks. Columbus Networks will offer the premium service to its affiliate companies Flow and Cable Bahamas, subsidiaries of Columbus Communications.
Posted by Judith — 2:49 AM
China censors cut off Twitter, Hotmail and Flickr.
Source: TeleGeography.
Two days before the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, China’s censors moved today to limit the access of the country’s increasingly tech-savvy population to vast swathes of the internet.
Posted by Judith — 2:28 AM
Monday, June 1, 2009
Telecom NZ and Vodafone roll out 3.5G.
Source: TeleGeography.
Telecom New Zealand has launched its new W-CDMA-based ‘XT’ network to over 97% of households nationwide. The network provides 3.5G mobile broadband services over HSDPA, HSUPA and HSPA+ technology supplied and deployed by Alcatel-Lucent.
Posted by Judith — 4:19 AM
AT&T unlikely to sell rural lines.
Source: FierceTelecom.
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said at an investor conference this week that the company is not planning to sell any of its rural lines like Verizon Communications is doing through its recent deal with Frontier Communications.
Posted by Judith — 3:44 AM
Essar buys Uganda mobile licence.
Source: Telecompaper.
A unit of Essar Group has won a licence in Uganda to build a US$200m. GSM phone network. Unlisted Essar Teleholdings, which obtained a similar licence in Kenya last year, will own 90% of the venture. The company said it has paid US$3m. for frequency charges to the Uganda Communication Commission and will launch the service in August in a joint venture with Kenyan Telecom Uganda.
Posted by Judith — 3:08 AM
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