Telstra overhauls product units, focuses on customer service.

Source: Telecompaper.

Telstra has announced organisational changes that aim to help the company grow in key markets, invest in innovation, and provide better customer service. Among the changes are the formation of new product units, the consolidation of ICT functions, and a new unit which will focus on improving customer service.

Posted by Judith — 3:05 AM

Lenovo buys back mobile handset operations.

Source: Telecompaper.

Lenovo Group is acquiring the entire interest of Lenovo Mobile Communication Technology from a group of investors led by Hony Capital, the private equity arm of Legend Holdings. The company will pay US$200m. in cash and Lenovo shares. This announcement signals that Lenovo is gearing up its efforts in the burgeoning mobile internet market in China.

Posted by Judith — 5:41 AM

Rostechnologii, Alcatel-Lucent to form JV in Russia.

Source: Telecompaper.

Russian state corporation Rostechnologii and Alcatel-Lucent have agreed to form a joint venture called Alcatel-Lucent RT. As of Q1 2010, the JV will design, produce and promote IP-based high-tech telecommunications equipment in Russia and in the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Posted by Judith — 5:30 AM

MIC completes sale of Mobitel to Royal Group.

Source: TeleGeography.

Luxembourg-based telecoms company Millicom International Cellular (MIC) has announced it has completed the sale of its 58.4% stake in Cambodian mobile operator CamGSM (Mobitel) to the Royal Group of Cambodia. The Royal Group already held the remaining 41.6% in Mobitel.

Posted by Judith — 4:58 AM

Clearwire secures additional US$920m. for network rollout.

Source: TeleGeography.

Clearwire has revealed in a statement that it has secured a further US$920m. in debt financing, bringing the total raised in recent weeks to US$2.8bn. in debt and equity, and above the original fundraising goal of the US$2-3bn. needed to deploy its WiMAX network. The company wants to cover approximately 120 million people with mobile WiMAX by the end of next year.

Posted by Judith — 4:14 AM

Rogers buys ‘investment only’ stake in Cogeco.

Source: TeleGeography.

Canadian quad-play operator Rogers Communications is buying CA$163m. (US$155m.) worth of shares in rival cableco Cogeco. Rogers said it planned to buy 3.2m. subordinate voting shares of Cogeco Cable at CA$36.43 a share and 1.6m. shares of parent company Cogeco Inc at CA$28.61 a share.

Posted by Judith — 3:57 AM

Telstra split legislation on hold until February 2010.

Source: Telecompaper.

The legislation that will see Telstra separated into a wholesale and retail arm has been put on hold until next year, as the senate ran out of time to debate the proposed regulations. The debate will now have to wait until February 2010 when parliament resumes.

Posted by Judith — 2:28 AM

Rogers new free on-demand TV service available on mobiles in 2Q 2010.

Source: TeleGeography.

Canadian quad-play operator Rogers Communications will launch an online TV service, ‘Rogers On Demand’, free of charge to all its CATV, mobile, fixed telephony and broadband customers on 30 November. The 19-channel service, funded by online advertising, will also be made available on mobile devices in the second quarter of 2010.

Posted by Judith — 3:44 AM

Telefonica acquires 21% stake in Digital+ for EUR470m.

Source: Telecompaper.

Telefonica has signed an agreement with Spanish media group Prisa and its pay-TV division Sogecable for the acquisition of a 21% stake in Digital+. Telefonica will acquire the stake in Prisa’s pay-TV platform Digital+ for EUR 470m. Additionally, Telefonica and Prisa have signed a framework agreement for collaboration on the audiovisual services market in Spain.

Posted by Judith — 2:48 AM

Tesco signs O2 deal to sell iPhone.

Source: New Media Age.

The UK’s largest supermarket chain Tesco has signed a deal with mobile network O2 to sell Apple’s iPhone.
Tesco is the fourth outlet to offer the increasingly popular iPhone. The handset is also available through O2 and Orange - which sold 30,000 iPhones in its first day of sales - and will be available on Vodafone early next year.

Posted by Judith — 2:09 AM

Ericsson and Kapsch buy Nortel’s GSM Units.

Source: BWCS.

Nortel Networks has sold its GSM and GSM-R business to Ericsson and Kapsch CarrierCom. Between them, the pair will pay a total of US$103m. for the once dominant equipment maker’s assets. The deal means that Ericsson will get Nortel’s US GSM business, for US$70m. in cash and no debt, while Kapsch will capture most of the remaining GSM assets outside the US, including the GSM-R portfolio, for US$33m.

Posted by Judith — 4:28 AM

Windstream to acquire Iowa Telecom for US$1.1bn.

Source: Telecompaper.

US fixed-line operator Windstream has agreed to acquire regional operator Iowa Telecom for US$1.1bn. Iowa Telecom shareholders will receive 0.804 shares of Windstream stock and US$7.90 in cash per each Iowa Telecom share under the terms of the agreement approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

Posted by Judith — 4:05 AM

France Telecom, TDC to merge Swiss operations.

Source: Telecompaper.

France Telecom and TDC have reached an agreement to combine their respective Swiss subsidiaries, Orange Switzerland and Sunrise. France Telecom will pay a net EUR1.5bn. to TDC as part of the deal, which will see the French operator become a 75% shareholder in the combined entity and TDC holding the remaining 25%.

Posted by Judith — 3:28 AM

Tata Communications plans Gulf cable system.

Source: Telecompaper.

Tata Communications has signed a pact with five Middle East telecommunications companies to build a new cable system that will connect the region to the rest of the world. The five companies are Bahrain Internet Exchange, Oman’s Nawras, Qatar Telecom, Saudi Arabia’s Mobily and UAE-based Etisalat.

Posted by Judith — 2:05 AM

Google buying display advertising startup.

Source: Reuters.

Google has announced that it is buying Silicon Valley display advertising technology startup Teracent, which expands its competition with display leader Yahoo.
Teracent’s technology customizes graphic advertisements based on who is watching them, so that a retailer’s closest store could become part of an ad, for example, or new products could be swapped into a company’s standard ad with minimal effort. Ads can also be changed based on the time of day and a person’s language.

Posted by Judith — 4:40 AM

Eircom teams up with Hibernia Atlantic to provide Ireland/North America cable link.

Source: TeleGeography.

Ireland’s former monopoly operator Eircom has signed a partnership agreement with transatlantic submarine cable provider Hibernia Atlantic to provide direct fibre-optic connectivity from the former’s data centre in Clonshaugh, to the US and Canada. The link will provide North American companies operating in the Republic with greater cost control for connectivity by eradicating expensive connections via the UK or Europe to Ireland.

Posted by Judith — 3:49 AM

iBasis to accept KPN’s raised bid.

Source: Telecompaper.

US operator KPN and carrier services provider iBasis have entered into a settlement agreement under which KPN will make an increased offer for the remaining shares in iBasis, of US$3.00 per share in cash on 8 December. The upped offer values the 44% stake not owned by KPN at around US$93.3m.

Posted by Judith — 2:56 AM

Svyazinvest, Sistema, Comstar sign asset swap proposal.

Source: Telecompaper.

Russian telecommunications companies Svyazinvest, Sistema and Comstar have signed a memorandum of understanding on a proposed asset swap. The deal would see Comstar dispose of its stake of 25% plus 1 share in Svyazinvest in exchange from Snyazinvest’s 23.3% in Moscow regional operator MGTS, adding to its existing holding of 55.7% in MGTS. Sistema would transfer to Svyazinvest also its 50% stake in mobile operator Sky Link. A restructuring of associated debt would also be part of the transaction.

Posted by Judith — 2:03 AM

Finland sells off spectrum for LTE.

Source: BWCS.

Finland has awarded licences for LTE mobile. The spectrum, in the 2.6GHz band, was sold off yesterday by the Finnish telecoms regulator Ficora.
Sonera was one of the successful bidders for a 20 year licence. The former Finish monopoly operator now merged with Swedish telco Telia, paid EUR819k. for five chunks of 2 x 5 MHZ in the 2.6GHz band. Fellow Finnish mobile operator Elisa won a 50MHz block in the auction for a fee of EUR834.7k. The Finnish Association of local operators paid EUR1.5m. for its 50MHz of TDD spectrum.

Posted by Judith — 1:53 AM

Ciena buys Nortel ops for US$769 m.

Source: Reuters.

Ciena is reported to be buying the optical networking and carrier ethernet business of bankrupt Nortel for US$769m. after it trumped NSN in a three-day auction.
The deal will more than double Ciena’s turnover, prompting the market to focus on how the U.S. network equipment maker will integrate the new operations and cope with an increased debt load.

Posted by Judith — 4:03 AM

O2 to end roaming deal with DT.

Source: TeleGeography.

German mobile operator Telefonica O2 Germany plans to end its roaming agreement with T-Mobile Deutschland, the domestic wireless unit of incumbent telco DT, at the end of 2009. Analysts have estimated that the move will save O2 around EUR150-170m. (US$223-253m.).

Posted by Judith — 3:21 AM

DoT reveals 3G spectrum only available for use after June 2010.

Source: TeleGeography.

Bidders successful in the upcoming, and long-delayed, Indian 3G auctions, face a further hold-up following revelations that spectrum acquired will only be available to use from June 2010. The additional delay in allowing operators access to the frequencies is understood to come as a result of the regulator deciding that it would allow the time for the defence forces to migrate the use of their existing equipment to alternative uses.

Posted by Judith — 2:58 AM

Zain abandons merger with Paltel.

Source: Telecompaper.

Middle East and African mobile company Zain Group has confirmed that the merger agreement between Zain and Palestinian Telecommunications announced earlier in 2009 will not proceed. Zain said that they had not received the required government approvals that were conditions to completing the deal.

Posted by Judith — 6:42 AM

Nortel Delays Auction Of GSM/GSM-R Business

Source: Wall Street Journal

Nortel Networks Corp. (NRTLQ) has delayed the auction of its GSM/GSM-R business, which was due to take place Friday.

The networking-equipment company, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January and has been selling assets through the year, said it delayed this auction because the auction of its Metro Ethernet division had already been delayed to Friday from Nov. 13.

Posted by Penny — 1:18 PM

France Telecom CEO plans new direction for group

Source: France Telecom’s chief executive, Didier Lombard, will unveil a plan to reshape the group next month following a national controversy over a series of worker suicides at the company that has shaken Europe’s third-biggest telecom operator….

France Telecom’s chief executive, Didier Lombard, will unveil a plan to reshape the group next month following a national controversy over a series of worker suicides at the company that has shaken Europe’s third-biggest telecom operator.

Posted by Penny — 1:14 PM

EBay completes Skype sale, keeps 30%.

Source: Telecompaper.

Ebay has completed the previously announced sale of its Skype communications unit in a deal valuing the business at USD2.75bn. The buyer, who will control an approximately 70% stake, is an investor group led by Silver Lake and includes Joltid Ltd. and certain affiliated parties, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Andreessen Horowitz.

Posted by Judith — 4:12 AM

Tesco links with C&W in broadband and home phones push.

Source: TimesOnline.

Tesco’s telecoms arm threatened a price war with the likes of BT, Virgin Media and Carphone Warehouse as it unveiled plans to offer bundled broadband and home phone packages for the first time.
Britain’s biggest retailer announced that it had signed a five-year deal with Cable & Wireless to help it to provide broadband and home phone services.

Posted by Judith — 3:43 AM

DT shareholders approve fixed/mobile merger in Germany.

Source: Telecompaper.

The shareholders of Deutsche Telekom have approved the proposed merger between the fixed network and mobile network operations of the company in Germany. The merger will put DT in a better position to offer integrated solutions and services for fixed network and mobile communications from a single source.

Posted by Judith — 3:10 AM

AT&T loses bid to stop Verizon ads.

Source: InformationWeek.

A federal judge has declined to grant AT&T a temporary restraining order on a series of Verizon Wireless advertisements that compare the carriers’ 3G networks.
AT&T is not disputing the claim, but it said that not including AT&T’s 2G and 2.5G coverage in the comparison can lead viewers to believe that AT&T’s wireless data network is far smaller than it really is. The wireless carrier filed a lawsuit to stop these ads, and it had hoped to get the ads pulled while the courts settled the matter

Posted by Judith — 3:10 AM

ComReg awards 39 FWA licences for broadband.

Source: TeleGeography.

Ireland’s telecoms regulator ComReg has announced the conclusion of its recent Fixed Wireless Access competition for 118MHz of spectrum in the 3.6MHz band. As a result it has awarded 39 Fixed Wireless Access Local Area licences to seven different operators - Airspeed Communications, Digiweb, Fastcom, Imagine Group, Last Mile Wireless, PermaNet and Regional Broadband.

Posted by Judith — 2:47 AM

O2 UK aims to add 1,500 cell sites by end-2010.

Source: TeleGeography.

O2, the UK’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, has reportedly unveiled plans to build up to 1,500 new mobile base stations by the end of 2010. The nationwide plans, which also include an upgrade to the cellco’s network, will see at least 200 of the proposed new installations in London alone, with 40 of those expected to be up and running by end-2009.

Posted by Judith — 4:30 AM

SingTel to launch LTE trials with Optus, Globe Telecom, Telkomsel.

Source: Converge.

SingTel will conduct regional LTE trials in Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore in collaboration with Optus, Globe Telecom and Telkomsel. The trials, which are scheduled to commence in the first half of 2010, will take place over a period of six to nine months. The trials will lay the groundwork to establish a regionally compatible LTE network to facilitate growth in the mobile broadband business for the SingTel Group, which now serves a mobile-user base of more than 273 million across its various markets.

Posted by Judith — 3:08 AM

Deutsche Telekom to acquire hosting provider Strato.

Source: Telecompaper.

DT will sign a contract to acquire German webhosting provider Strato from German telecom services provider Freenet. The contract includes the acquisition of 100% of its shares in Strato AG and Strato Rechenzentrum. The transaction will make DT number two for webhosting products in Germany.

Posted by Judith — 2:45 AM

Sony Ericsson to shutter North American HQ amid cost cutting,

Source: FierceTelecom.

Sony Ericsson will close its current North American headquarters as part of a broader effort to eliminate 2,000 jobs and cut costs.
The company’s headquarters in Research Triangle Park will be shuttered and the company will be closing facilities in Miami, and sites in Kista, Sweden and Chennai, India. The handset maker will combine its Latin America and North America regions into a single Americas region, which will be headquartered in Atlanta.

Posted by Judith — 2:25 AM

American Tower to buy 196 towers from Cincinnati Bell.

Source: cellular-news.

US tower owner, American Tower has entered into an agreement to acquire 196 of Cincinnati Bell’s wireless communications towers for US$100m. The towers are located primarily in Ohio and Kentucky and currently average 2.1 tenants per tower. Cincinnati Bell will remain a tenant on all 196 towers pursuant to a long-term Master Lease Agreement.

Posted by Judith — 2:17 AM

NSN emerges as bidder for Nortel optical operations.

Source: Telecompaper.

Nokia Siemens Networks and private equity firm One Equity Partnersare reported to have jointly bid for Nortel Networks’s Optical Networking and Carrier Ethernet businesses. This bid challenges an earlier bid made by US-based network equipment manufacturer Ciena of US$526m. for the assets.

Posted by Judith — 1:32 AM

BT, Polycom go deep on video integration.

Source: Light Reading.

The unified conferencing partnership announced by BT and Polycom represents a major step forward for their relationship, surpassing even the videoconferencing work BT has done to date with Cisco Systems.
BT will continue to work with Cisco and Tandberg and sell services around those video products, but the Polycom relationship exceeds those in terms of collaborative effort.

Posted by Judith — 1:14 AM

EU okays Avaya’s takeover of Nortel unit.

Source: Reuters.

U.S. telecom equipment maker Avaya has received European Union regulatory clearance for its planned buy of assets owned by bankrupt Canadian peer Nortel Networks.
Avaya is buying Nortel’s enterprise business which builds networks and voicemail systems for companies and government agencies, for about US$900m.

Posted by Judith — 1:06 AM

Orange UK, Twitter team for SMS, MMS updates.

Source: Telecompaper.

Orange UK has joined forces with Twitter to enable customers to send and receive Twitter updates directly from their mobile phones using text messaging. The agreement will also see Orange become the first mobile phone operator to enable customers to upload and share photos on Twitter via MMS.

Posted by Judith — 4:55 AM

Coupons generate surprise return.

Source: BWCS.

More than three million mobile users in the UK have redeemed coupons sent to them via their mobile handset. The Mobile Coupons Consumer Survey casts light on the use of this increasingly popular marketing tool and puts the numbers accepting and using the virtual coupons much higher than had been previously thought. The survey is designed to gauge the future prospects for new interactive mobile marketing techniques such as coupon services and smart posters.

Posted by Judith — 3:37 AM

DoCoMo brings forward 2G shutdown; confirms end-2010 LTE date.

Source: TeleGeography.

Japan’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, NTT DoCoMo, is bringing forward the date for its 2G network shutdown from December 2012 to March 201. The overwhelming majority of its subscribers have already migrated to the FOMA 3G platform, although the move would enable the company to prepare the next phase of upgrade - i.e. the migration of customers to an LTE next generation wireless broadband platform.

Posted by Judith — 3:01 AM

Telefonica to expand Movistar branding to Spanish, LatAm fixed line units.

Source: TeleGeography.

Telefonica is preparing to rebrand all of its fixed line and internet subsidiaries in Spain and Latin America with the Movistar branding it presently uses for its wireless units. The only units through which Telefonica will continue to offer services under different branding will be Vivo in Brazil, and O2 in Europe.

Posted by Judith — 2:35 AM

T-Mobile staff sold personal data.

Source: BBC.

Staff at mobile phone company T-Mobile passed on millions of records from thousands of customers to third party brokers, the firm has confirmed.
Brokers had sold the data to other phone firms, who then cold-called the customers as their contracts were due to expire.

Posted by Judith — 1:55 AM

AT&T offers cloud-based computing capacity.

Source: NetworkWorld.

AT&T has upped its cloud portfolio when announced it was working with VMware and Sun to develop its own cloud computing service.
The service’s key features include a Web portal for ordering and managing service capacity; disk capacity for every virtual server’s operating system; and 24-hour network monitoring and management by AT&T’s support staff.

Posted by Judith — 5:59 AM

TTSL GSM continues apace as its adds coverage to UP East and UP West.

Source: TeleGeography.

Tata TeleServices has announced that it has once again expanded its GSM network, bringing to fourteen the number of circles where it has launched commercial GSM services under the Tata DoCoMo banner. The latest two regions to join the company’s burgeoning coverage area are Uttar Pradesh West (UP West) and Uttar Pradesh East (UP East).

Posted by Judith — 5:48 AM

Visa, O2 and G&D unveil payment portability via SIM card.

Source: Telecompaper.

Visa Europe, Telefonica O2 and smart card manufacturer Giesecke & Devrient are set to unveil a SIM card at Cartes 2009 which will allow for the transfer of a payment application from one mobile handset to another. The service uses Smart Card Web Server SIM cards provided by G&D, Telefonica O2 data communications and Visa Europe’s payment application.

Posted by Judith — 5:25 AM

SES invests US$75m. in O3b Networks.

Source: Telecompaper.

SES has made a minority investment in satellite operator O3b Networks to support the development of O3b’s satellite-based, global internet backbone. SES joins Google, Liberty Global, HSBC and North Bridge Venture Partners to become a large investor in O3b. SES will invest a total of US$75m. in the company, and will provide engineering and commercial support to O3b in order to assist the company’s development.

Posted by Judith — 3:37 AM

VeriSign sells M-Qube for fraction of the price it paid.

Source: cellular-news.

VeriSign has sold its mobile messaging aggregator business, m-Qube to Mobile Messenger for just under US$20m. Under the terms of the agreement, Mobile Messenger obtains m-Qube’s direct connections to carriers in the US and Canada, and its entire business delivering standard commercial messaging and premium mobile content to customers throughout North America.
Verisign originally brought m-Qube back in March 2006 for US$250m. dollars net of cash.

Posted by Judith — 3:23 AM

Cable & Wireless unveils demerger timetable.

Source: TimesOnline.

Cable & Wireless, the telecoms group, has finally given a firm timetable for its long-awaited demerger into UK and international businesses which the company said will be completed by the end of March.
The company’s investors will be given an equal number of shares in both businesses, if investors approve, and its UK arm will be headed by John Pluthero while its CWI international business will be chaired by Richard Lapthorne.

Posted by Judith — 2:53 AM

Motorola to acquire IPTV equipment manufacturer BitBand.

Source: Telecompaper.

Motorola has signed a contract to acquire video content delivery network products developer BitBand. BitBand will be integrated into Motorola’s Home & Networks Mobility business.

Posted by Judith — 2:25 AM

Time Warner set to spin off AOL.

Source: The Independent.

Time Warner has announced that it will spin off its internet business, AOL, as a separate company on 9 December.
On that date, Time Warner shareholders of record as of 27 November will receive one share of AOL common stock for every 11 shares of Time Warner common stock they hold.

Posted by Judith — 2:15 AM

KPN, OnePhone launch business femtocell service in Germany.

Source: Telecompaper.

KPN and Swedish OnePhone have launched a business telephony service in Germany under the OnePhone brand.

Posted by Judith — 7:35 AM

Cisco ups Tandberg bid.

Source: Reuters.

Cisco has raised its bid for Norwegian video conferencing equipment maker Tandberg, backed by holders of more than 40% of its shares, few of whom had warmed to its previous bid.
Cisco’s new offer of 170 crowns per Tandberg share, up from the 153.50 crown bid that more than 90% of shareholders had dismissed, values Tandberg at nearly NOK19bn. (US$3.41bn.).

Posted by Judith — 4:44 AM

Ingram signs global contract with Cisco.

Source: Telecompaper.

Wholesale technology distributor Ingram Micro has signed a global contract with Cisco Systems that standardises terms and conditions across all regions. As Cisco’s global distributor, Ingram Micro will now be able to offer its resellers international access to Cisco products and related services with consistent terms, processes and support.

Posted by Judith — 3:16 AM

Ericsson completes Nortel acquisition.

Source: InformationWeek.

Ericsson has announced that it has completed its acquisition of Nortel Networks’ CDMA business and LTE assets and that the deal makes the Swedish firm’s North American business the largest sales region in its global reach.

Posted by Judith — 4:48 AM

Airvana to get US$39.6m. Nortel-related payment.

Source: cellular-news.

Airvana, which supplies products used by wireless operators, has announce that it will get a US$39.6m. payment for outstanding invoices related to products and services it sold to Nortel Networks before Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection.

Posted by Judith — 4:29 AM

Dell unveils smartphones, deals with China Mobile, Claro.

Source: Telecompaper.

Dell has confirmed plans to enter the smart phone business and unveiled partnerships with China Mobile and Claro Brazil. Dell plans to distribute its new Mini 3 smart phones to more than 500m. China Mobile customers and more than 42m. Claro Brazil customers. Entry into the smart phone category reflects Dell’s continued expansion into mobile internet products and services through value-added relationships with leading operators.

Posted by Judith — 4:16 AM

Google buys Gizmo5 for Google Voice.

Source: cnet.

Google has confirmed its intention to acquire Gizmo5, an Internet telephony company, with plans to merge the group into the Google Voice team.
Gizmo5 is a Web-based VoIP client that lets you make phone calls over the Internet, similar to programs like Skype. It’s based, however, on an open standard called SIP that fits a little better into Google’s worldview, rather than Skype’s internally-developed system.

Posted by Judith — 4:45 AM

Ericsson to cut employees from U.K. division.

Source: FierceTelecom.

Ericsson has announced that it will lay off 700 employees, or about 17% of its U.K. employee base, as it plans to shut down its Coventry R&D headquarters. Ericsson’s plan is to reduce its staff as part of a US$1.45bn. cost cutting program after Q3 revenues slid.

Posted by Judith — 4:37 AM

UPC parent to acquire Unitymedia for EUR3.5bn.

Source: Telecompaper.

UPC owner Liberty Global has signed a share purchase agreement with Unity Media to acquire all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Germany’s second largest cable network operator Unitymedia. Liberty Global will acquire 100% of the shares of Unitymedia for an equity purchase price of EUR2bn. from its parent, which is owned by a group of shareholders led by BC Partners and Apollo.

Posted by Judith — 3:47 AM

Intel and AMD settle legal rows.

Source: BBC.

US chip maker Intel has agreed to pay rival AMD US$1.25bn. as part of a deal to settle all outstanding legal disputes between the two companies.
The two firms said the settlement covered all antitrust litigation and patent disputes.Under the terms of the deal, the two firms have agreed a five-year cross licensing agreement with each agreeing to give up claims of breaching previous agreements.
Competition regulators in Asia, Europe and the US have all taken action against Intel because of complaints by AMD.

Posted by Judith — 7:18 AM

Vodafone signs partner agreement with Chunghwa Telecom.

Source: Telecompaper.

Vodafone and Taiwanese telecommunications operator Chunghwa Telecom have signed a non-equity Partner Market agreement to provide customers with high quality communications services and enhanced roaming arrangements. Under the terms of this partner market agreement, Chunghwa has exclusive access to a range of products, services and devices from Vodafone in Taiwan.

Posted by Judith — 4:51 AM

Bing teams up with Wolfram Alpha.

Source: BBC.

Microsoft has teamed up with a web tool once hailed as a rival to Google to provide results for its search engine Bing.
Wolfram Alpha aims to answer questions directly, rather than display a list of links like a search engine.

Posted by Judith — 3:46 AM

SP Telemedia to acquire Pipe Networks for AU$373m.

Source: TeleGeography.

Australia’s SP Telemedia, which owns ISPs TPG and Soul, has announced it will purchase Pipe Networks for AU$373m. Following the acquisition, SP Telemedia will gain control of Pipe Networks’ dark fibre network spanning the country’s major business centres, while it will also acquire the company’s recently inaugurated Sydney to Guam international cable, known as PPC-1.

Posted by Judith — 2:32 AM

Logitech buys LifeSize in US$405m. deal.

Source: Internetnews.

In a surprising development in the videoconferencing market, consumer PC peripherals maker Logitech has announced its intent to buy LifeSize for US$405m. The all-cash deal gives LifeSize a much bigger war chest in its battle against Cisco and others in the videoconferencing market.

Posted by Judith — 2:07 AM

More jobs under threat as Vodafone seeks further GBP1bn. savings.

Source: Scotsman.

Vodafone has raised the prospect of further job losses, as it doubled the size of its cost- cutting programme.
The chief executive has brought forward a deadline for the group to save GBP1bn. by the end of 2009, achieving its original savings target a year earlier than expected.
He also announced that the group was seeking a further £1bn in savings by 2012.

Posted by Judith — 1:41 AM

Google snaps up mobile ad company.

Source: BBC.

Google, the world’s most popular search engine, has agreed a deal to buy the mobile advertising firm AdMob.
It is paying US$750m. (GBP449m.) in stock for the firm in a bid to take advantage of opportunities in the booming market for mobile devices.
AdMob specialises in selling adverts displayed on small screens.

Posted by Judith — 4:52 AM

AT&T completes Centennial acquisition.

Source: InformationWeek.

After nearly a full year of review, AT&T has announced that it has completed its acquisition of Centennial Communications.
Along with the US$945m. purchase price, AT&T will be taking on Centennial’s debt, which pushes the total value of the transaction to about $2.7bn.
The acquisition expands AT&T’s wireless footprint, particularly in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States, as well as in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Posted by Judith — 3:55 AM

Sprint Nextel to scrap up to 2,500 jobs.

Source: Telecompaper.

Sprint Nextel wants to reduce labour costs in the fourth quarter by at least US$350m. on an annualised basis. To achieve its goal, the provider will eliminate 2,000 to 2,500 positions within the entire company, with the bulk scrapped by end-December.The labor cost reductions are the latest action in the company’s efforts to make its cost structure more competitive in the industry and to remain financially secure in a challenging economic environment.

Posted by Judith — 3:42 AM

Six shortlisted for Telefonica LTE project.

Source: TeleGeography.

Half a dozen equipment vendors - Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks, NEC and ZTE have been shortlisted by Telefonica to participate in its LTE trial which will run in half a dozen countries in Europe and Latin America. The six-month trials will take place in Spain, the UK, Germany, the Czech Republic, Brazil and Argentina and marks the start of Telefonica’s LTE vendor selection process.

Posted by Judith — 3:17 AM

Lycamobile wins court ruling for bailiffs to seize EUR15m. worth of T-Mobile assets.

Source: TeleGeography.

International MVNO Lycamobile has announced that the court of The Hague has given its Dutch venture Lycamobile Netherlands permission to ‘levy prejudgement seizure’ for the amount of EUR15m. against mobile network operator T-Mobile Netherlands. The decision has apparently been given in relation to the damages Lycamobile Netherlands has suffered resulting from T-Mobile’s refusal to port numbers of Lycamobile Netherlands’ customers.

Posted by Judith — 2:59 AM

Sprint to inject US$1bn. into Clearwire.

Source: TeleGeography.

US cellco Sprint Nextel is reported to be preparing to invest at least US$1bn. in Clearwire as the WiMAX specialist prepares to take its network nationwide. The report added that fellow Clearwire investors, including Comcast, Intel, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks, are preparing to pump a further US$500m. into the operator. Google, which has been a key joint venture partner, is not involved in the latest financing round..

Posted by Judith — 4:26 AM

Founders win a piece of Skype from eBay.

Source: NYT.

EBay has formally settled the litigation around its sale of the Skype online calling service.
As part of the legal settlement, Skype’s founders will transfer disputed intellectual property owned by their company Joltid, which was at the heart of the legal battle, to Skype.
The founders of Skype, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, will drop their lawsuits against the company and a consortium of buyers whose bid to purchase 65% of Skype was announced last month.
As part of the complex agreement, the founders will own a 14% stake in the new Skype and receive two seats on the board.

Posted by Judith — 4:19 AM

Google releases Dashboard privacy tool.

Source: CNN.

Google has released a feature that lets users see and control data that the Web giant has collected about them. Called Google Dashboard, the service provides an online summary of a user’s Google files — Gmail, Google Docs, Picasa photos and so on — by collecting pre-existing privacy controls in one place.

Posted by Judith — 2:00 PM

Google Voice challenger Ribbit Mobile launches.

Source: InformationWeek.

Ribbit Mobile has launched a cloud-based service that enables users to combine multiple phone numbers, make calls from the Internet, and receive transcribed voicemails.
Like Google Voice, Ribbit lets calls ring multiple phone numbers and can transcribe voicemails as searchable text files. Upon receiving a call, Ribbit Mobile can ring various landline, mobile, and soft phones services such as Skype and Google Talk, and users can answer and initiate calls from a PC. Unlike Google’s offerings, Ribbit Mobile users don’t have to adopt a new number, as it works with existing mobile phone numbers.

Posted by Judith — 9:28 AM

EU reaches compromise on telecoms reform package.

Source: Telecompaper.

The EU Council of Ministers and the European Parliament have reached a compromise over measures to stop illegal online file-sharing, allowing the larger telecoms regulatory reform package to go ahead. The parliament has agreed to soften an amendment to the legislation over the right of European governments to disconnect internet users for suspected illegal activity online, such as file-sharing in violation of copyrights. The amendment had been a key source of disagreement between the EU Council, which wants a tougher stance against illegal downloading, and the European Parliament, which has been a keen defender of internet user rights. The final agreement will allow merely an administrative procedure to disconnect suspected copyright violators, with the actions only subject to judicial review afterwards.

Posted by Judith — 4:26 AM

Mobile industry agrees IMS standard for LTE intro.

Source: Telecompaper.

A number of leading mobile operators and network equipment manufacturers have partnered to develop a technical profile for the introduction of voice and SMS services on LTE networks. The One Voice Initiative was developed by AT&T, Orange, Telefonica, TeliaSonera, Verizon, Vodafone, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia, Samsung Electronics and Sony Ericsson.

Posted by Judith — 3:49 AM

Intel hit by NY antitrust suit.

Source: Reuters.

Intel has been sued by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who accused the world’s largest chipmaker of threatening computer makers and paying billions of dollars in kickbacks to maintain its market dominance.
The lawsuit accuses Intel of violating state and federal antitrust law through a “systematic worldwide campaign” of bullying and coercion to monopolize the market for personal computer chips, at the expense of rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

Posted by Judith — 2:43 AM

Microsoft cuts 800 jobs, completes layoff plan.

Source: Reuters.

Microsoft has announced that it is cutting a further 800 jobs across its operations, on top of 5,000 jobs already eliminated under a plan to reduce costs that was announced in January.
A spokesman for the world’s largest software firm said the latest job cuts are spread across the company’s global operations, but about 200 are in and around its headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

Posted by Judith — 2:15 AM

ComCom fines Swisscom for overcharging.

Source: TeleGeography.

Switzerland’s competition watchdog ComCom has fined Swisscom CHF220m. (US$215m.) for abusing its dominant market position when setting wholesale ADSL prices.

Posted by Judith — 1:50 AM

Windstream to purchase NuVox.

Source: TeleGeography.

Windstream has announced that it has agreed to acquire NuVox in a US$463m. deal, another illustration of rural telcos scooping up smaller players to stay competitive with their cable-based rivals. Since May, Windstream has agreed to buy three smaller rural telcos in deals with a combined value of more than US$760m., or more than US$1bn. when factoring the debt.

Posted by Judith — 4:45 AM

Microsoft to set up cloud research centre in Taiwan.

Source: Reuters.

Microsoft and Taiwan’s economics ministry said they plan to set up a research centre on the island by next year, in the software company’s first Asian foray into the budding cloud computing industry.

Posted by Judith — 3:42 AM

Cisco and EMC form venture to serve data centers.

Source: NYT.

Cisco Systems has taken another step to expand its computer hardware businesses by forming a broad partnership with EMC, a maker of storage equipment and software.
The two companies have announced that they have created a joint venture called Acadia that would work to sell their data center equipment to businesses.

Posted by Judith — 3:14 AM

AT&T sues Verizon over ‘map for that’ ads.

Source: cellular-news.

AT&T is suing Verizon Wireless over its competitor’s “There’s a Map for That” commercials, saying in a lawsuit that the ads are misleading and amount to deceptive trade practices.
Verizon’s ads show maps of the United States with areas highlighted to depict where third generation — or “3G” — network coverage — which allows users to access data faster — is available. The maps use red for Verizon and blue for AT&T to show where each company offers 3G coverage. Areas where 3G is not available are left blank.

Posted by Judith — 3:05 AM

Serious Fraud Office looking at Vodafone Ghana deal.

Source: BWCS.

The Serious Fraud Office in the UK isreported to be looking into Vodafone’s recent capture of a controlling stake in Ghana Telecom. A full investigation is not yet under way, but the SFO is said to be monitoring the situation and looking into accusations of irregularities in the deal.
Last year, the UK-based global mobile giant bought two thirds of Ghana Telecom in a deal that was criticized by the country’s opposition party - now the party in power in Ghana. In May of this year, the new government set up a ministerial committee to review the sale and last month the members of the committee recommended that the government seek to renegotiate the terms of the deal.

Posted by Judith — 4:07 AM

Verizon lays fiber to 1000 cell sites.

Source: TelephonyOnline.

Six months after committing to a major fiber-to-the-tower buildout throughout its territory, Verizon has connected more than 1000 cell sites with fiber Ethernet services and is on track to fully support subsidiary Verizon Wireless’ long-term evolution launch with high-capacity IP backhaul next year.

Posted by Judith — 3:40 AM

TTSL expands GSM coverage to Jharkand.

Source: TeleGeography.

Indian mobile network operator Tata Teleservices has taken another step towards achieving its aim of pan-India GSM coverage with a commercial launch in Jharkand, bringing the total number of circles where it has a GSM presence to eleven. The cellco has also said it expects to increase the number of circles where it has expanded its GSM-based infrastructure to 18 by the end of this month, with launches planned in Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West, West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh.

Posted by Judith — 3:25 AM

BSNL targets 30,000 new rural broadband kiosks in two years.

Source: TeleGeography.

State-owned Indian telco BSNL aims to set up 30,000 new broadband kiosks in rural and remote regions over the next two years using a franchise model. It is understood that BSNL will look to select one operating partner for each of its four operational zones and each kiosk is expected to develop a self-sustaining model over a three-year period.

Posted by Judith — 3:07 AM

Nokia Siemens Networks restructures .

Source: cellular-news.

NSN has outlined plans to restructure itself in an attempt to improve financial performance and return to growth. The core plan is to take the five divisions and merge them down to just three: Business Solutions, Network Systems and Global Services. There will also be job cuts and a move to lower unit costs t­o compete with Chinese vendors.
As part of this effort, the company will also conduct a global personnel review which may lead to headcount reductions in the range of about 7-9% of its current approximately 64,000 employees. That’s around 5,000 redundancies.

Posted by Judith — 3:03 AM

NTT Comm completes acquisition of Pacific Crossing Limited.

Source: Converge.

NTT has completed its previously announced acquisition of Pacific Crossing, which operates the PC-1 trans-Pacific undersea cable network. The deal was first announced in May.
By combining PC-1 capacity with NTT Com’s vast domestic and international network, NTT Com can offer customers, both in the enterprise and carrier markets, the highest quality network services between Asia, Japan and the United States.

Posted by Judith — 7:48 AM

Orange sets date.

Source: BWCS.

The first of the operators in the UK to start offering iPhones in competition to O2, has announced a launch date. From 10th of November, Orange will offer all of its customers the Apple handset, thereby becoming the first company to break O2’s monopoly. In a clear bid to make headway against its rivals, Orange said the phone will be made available for free to those willing to sign up to a two year deal.

Posted by Judith — 4:11 AM