Ericsson wins US$1.3bn. India deal.

Source: Reuters.

Ericsson has announced that it has won a US$1.3bn. network expansion contract to expand and upgrade Bharti Airtel’s GSM network in 15 of India’s 22 telecom circles during 2010-2011. This is the company’s third major order in three days, and its largest deal in eight months.

Posted by Judith — 3:56 AM

Bharti inks agreement for Zain’s African subsidiaries.

Source: TeleGeography.

Just a few days after the revelation that the board of Kuwait-based telecoms group Zain had approved an offer for its African assets, India’s Bharti Airtel has announced that it has entered into a legally binding agreement for the acquisition. Under the terms of the agreement Bharti will make a cash payment of USD9bn. Further, Bharti will assume USD1.7 billion of consolidated debt obligations as part of the deal, making it the second largest ever overseas acquisition by an Indian company.

Posted by Judith — 3:27 AM

TDC, Vodafone expand partnership to Sweden, Norway.

Source: Telecompaper.

Danish mobile operator TDC and Vodafone have extended their Nordic partnership agreement. The non-equity partner market contract now includes Sweden and Norway, in addition to the existing agreement covering Denmark.

Posted by Judith — 2:26 AM

BT fibre rollout gathers pace.

Source: TeleGeography.

Britain’s fixed line incumbent BT Group has unveiled the next set of locations where it aims to deploy its next generation fibre-based broadband services, revealing that more than 300 exchanges will be upgraded between autumn 2010 and summer 2011. It is understood that the upgrades will cover approximately four million customer lines.

Posted by Judith — 2:05 AM

Cisco receives approval for acquisition of Tandberg.

Source: Telecompaper.

Cisco has received approval from the European Commission for its proposed acquisition of telepresence systems provider Tandberg. The antitrust division of the US department of justice has also announced that it will not challenge the proposed acquisition in light of the commitments Cisco has made to the EC.

Posted by Judith — 4:13 AM

BBC bows to newspaper concerns, delays mobile apps.

Source: Reuters.

British state broadcaster BBC has delayed launching mobile applications delivering its news and sport free to devices like Apple’s iPhone after newspapers expressed concern about direct competition.
The Newspaper Publishers Association had asked the BBC’s governing body, the BBC Trust, to examine proposals it feared could harm efforts by commercial rivals to succeed with their own mobile offerings.

Posted by Judith — 3:00 AM

Carphone Warehouse breaks off telecoms unit.

Source: TeleGeography.

Britain’s Carphone Warehouse has completed a demerger of its retail and telecoms units. The company first announced its intention to split the two divisions in November 2008 citing the difficult economic climate as one of the main factors. The telecoms unit will now operate under the TalkTalk banner, with the retail unit to be known as New Carphone Warehouse in the interim; once all remaining paperwork is complete the ‘New’ moniker will be dropped.

Posted by Judith — 2:35 AM

Femtocell market to boom as AT&T climbs aboard.

Source: BWCS.

AT&T Wireless has announced plans to join the femtocell bandwagon. From the middle of next month, the operator will roll out the service in phases across the US. AT&T has been running pricing trials since September last year in selected markets across the south and south west of the USA.
AT&T will be the third operator in the US to offer femtocell connections, behind Sprint and Verizon.

Posted by Judith — 6:32 AM

Ericsson wins US$1.8bn. in contracts in China.

Source: Telecompaper.

China Mobile and China Unicom have signed 2G/3G frame agreements with Ericsson. Under the contract with China Mobile, Ericsson will provide a radio access network and mobile soft-switching technology, which will boost the capacity of the network and evolve it into an IP network.

Posted by Judith — 5:25 AM

Cable & Wireless completes demerger.

Source: TeleGeography.

UK-based Cable & Wireless has completed the demerger of its two business units, and shares in both of the freshly split entities have started trading on the London Stock Exchange. C&W has said that the separation is expected to reduce corporate costs by GBP3m. (US$4.47m.) per year.

Posted by Judith — 3:21 AM

Vivendi seeks to acquire remaining shares in GVT.

Source: TeleGeography.

Vivendi has launched a public offer for all outstanding shares in GVT Holding. The French media conglomerate currently owns 87% of the Brazilian fixed line telephony provider and ISP after acquiring a series of stakes during the last quarter of 2009.

Posted by Judith — 2:10 AM

Bell, Rogers to buy some Craig spectrum.

Source: The Globe and Mail.

Winnipeg-based Craig Wireless Systems has entered into an arrangement to sell about one-quarter of its total wireless spectrum holdings to Rogers Communications and Bell Canada for $80m.
Pending regulatory approval, Craig Wireless’s spectrum licences in Western Canada will be transferred to an affiliate partnership of Rogers and Bell, Inukshuk Wireless Partnership, a joint venture created to provide Internet services to underserved northern communities across the country.

Posted by Judith — 6:08 AM

Nokia buys mobile browser firm Novarra.

Source: Reuters.

Top mobile phone maker Nokia has agreed to buy privately-held U.S. mobile browser firm Novarra to improve Web surfing on a wide range of its low-end and mid-range phones.
Novarra’s rivals, including Opera and Myriad are increasingly refocusing their efforts to sell browsers to telecoms operators, who have a key role in phone distribution on many large markets.

Posted by Judith — 4:09 AM

Key lawmaker backs FCC’s spectrum plan.

Source: Reuters.

Representative Rick Boucher, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, has expressed support for a proposal by communications regulators to give auction proceeds to broadcasters as an incentive to give up some airwaves highly sought by wireless broadband providers.

Posted by Judith — 3:53 AM

KT and Intel ink MOU on WiBro.

Source: TeleGeography.

South Korea’s KT Corp has revealed that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with US chipmaker Intel Corp to collaborate on WiMAX technology. Under the terms of the deal it is understood that Intel will produce a chipset with a built-in WiBro (the South Korean variant of WiMAX) module, with production starting as soon as October 2010.

Posted by Judith — 3:40 AM

TeliaSonera and Cisco sign cloud computing deal.

Source: TeleGeography.

Scandinavian telco TeliaSonera has signed a deal with Cisco to jointly offer cloud computing services for business customers in Sweden under the banner ‘Business Class Cloud Services’. The new range will include virtual conferencing services allowing users to join online meetings on mobile handsets, share documents and replay conferences on demand.

Posted by Judith — 2:35 AM

Mobistar gets regulatory thumbs-up to buy KPN’s Belgian fixed line unit.

Source: TeleGeography.

Mobistar, Belgium’s second largest mobile network operator by subscribers, has been granted regulatory approval for its acquisition of the local business telecoms unit of Holland’s KPN. Under the terms of the approval it is understood that Mobistar must retain those wholesale services currently offered to other operators for 18 months, while it must also continue the resale of broadband access under the same terms as prior to the acquisition.

Posted by Judith — 2:07 AM

Zain board accepts Bharti offer for African assets.

Source: Telecompaper.

Middle East and African mobile operator Zain Group has confirmed that its board of directors has approved the offer from Indian operator Bharti Airtel to acquire its African assets, other than those in Morocco and Sudan. Bharti will pay US$9bn. to acquire Zain’s assets spread across 15 African countries. It will also adopt US$1.7bn. of Zain’s debt.

Posted by Judith — 3:12 AM

Unicom drops Google search function from new Android phones.

Source: Telecompaper.

Chinese mobile operator China Unicom plans to remove the Google search function from new phones based on Google’s Android operating system, reports the Financial Times. Unicom said the manufacturers of the Android handsets would instead choose which search engine to use on their phones. The move is the first significant fall-out from the dispute between Google and the Chinese government over internet censorship.

Posted by Judith — 2:26 AM

Deutsche Telekom confirms ClickandBuy takeover.

Source: Telecompaper.

DT has confirmed the acquisition of the remaining shares of on-line payment services provider Firstgate, best known for the ClickandBuy brand, through its venture capital arm T-Venture.

Posted by Judith — 1:54 AM

271m. mobile broadband users.

Source: BWCS.

The number of mobile broadband subscriptions grew to 271m. in 2009 according to a study by ABI Research. The global figure, which marked a year on year increase of 43%, shows clearly that the trend amongst mobile users is towards faster connections.

Posted by Judith — 1:43 AM

Clearwire announces new markets, boosts network capacity.

Source: Telecompaper.

US Wimax operator Clearwire announced a number of new markets for its service, as well planned network investments and end-user devices. Clearwire maintained its target to cover 120m. people with its network by year-end, and announced that the new market launches this year will include Los Angeles, Miami, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City. Additional cities will be announced later this year. Clearwire confirmed that service in Houston will start in the coming weeks and the majority of the new markets will launch toward the end of the year.

Posted by Judith — 2:38 AM

Microsoft and Verizon Team on VoIP.

Source: Internetnews.

Software and network provider have come to terms on syncing IP-based communications offerings in a partnership that will cover voice calling, IM and conferencing.

Posted by Judith — 2:02 AM

Tanzania to buy out Zain’s TTCL stake.

Source: TeleGeography.

The government of Tanzania is reported to be preparing to acquire the remaining 35% it does not already own of national PTO Tanzania Telecommunications Company (TTCL), after the Zain group pulled out of the partnership.

Posted by Judith — 1:41 AM

New Jamaica-Cuba cable deal inked.

Source: TeleGeography.

Jamaican telco Cable & Wireless Jamaica (which operates under the LIME brand), has confirmed that it is close to finalising a partnership deal with Telecomunicaciones Gran Caribe (TGC), the Venezuelan/Cuban conglomerate which holds a licence to build a USD70 million fibre-optic link between Jamaica and Cuba.

Posted by Judith — 1:38 AM

Ciena closes Nortel deal, details joint road map.

Source: Connected Planet.

Ciena has formally closed its acquisition of Nortel’s Ethernet business, and has immediately set out its path for delivering on a joint product road map today.
Ciena acquired Nortel’s Metro Ethernet Network and optical networking businesses in an auction purchase back in November - the final deal came in at US$773.8m., slightly higher than the original announced purchase price.

Posted by Judith — 3:29 AM

Google routes Chinese search to Hong Kong website.

Source: Telecompaper.

Google has stopped censoring search results on its Chinese site Google.cn. Users visiting Google.cn are redirected to Google.com.hk, where the company offers uncensored search in simplified Chinese, specifically designed for users in mainland China and delivered via servers in Hong Kong.

Posted by Judith — 2:41 AM

Watchdog urges BT to open up network to competitors.

Source: The Independent.

BT should open up its network of telegraph poles, underground ducts and new fibre lines to competitors under Ofcom plans announced today to promote super-fast broadband in the UK.
The telecoms regulator outlined proposals for BT to allow competitors such as TalkTalk and Sky to have access to its fibre lines that are currently being developed, which Ofcom hopes would speed up the introduction of faster broadband services.

Posted by Judith — 2:06 AM

Skype questions Egypt ban on mobile Internet calls.

Source: Reuters.

Internet telephony firm Skype has questioned Egypt’s move to ban international calls made through mobile Internet connections and said markets should be left open for consumers to choose.
The National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority said earlier this month it will ban international calls through mobile Internet connections.
The ban applies to Egypt’s three mobile operators — Mobinil, Etisalat Egypt and Vodafone Egypt. Egyptian law requires international calls to pass through a network of state-controlled, fixed-line monopoly Telecom Egypt.

Posted by Judith — 1:38 AM

AT&T throws support behind Palm.

Source: FierceWireless.

AT&T Mobility officially offered its support to beleaguered smartphone maker Palm, and said it will launch the vendor’s latest webOS devices in the coming months.

Posted by Judith — 10:15 AM

China Mobile reaches 460,000 base stations, 96% fiber-fed.

Source: Converge.

China Mobile now has over 460,000 base stations and a population coverage rate of 98%. Over 96% of China Mobile’s base stations are now served by fiber. In 2009, China Mobile has completed the upgrading of its core network to be fully IP-based.

Posted by Judith — 8:32 AM

U.S. eyes early summer for airwaves auction process.

Source: Reuters.

The FCC plans to begin a process in a few months aimed at auctioning airwaves that failed to garner enough interest during the 2008 spectrum auction.
The segment, called the D-block, is part of the 700 megahertz band of the airwaves that raised about US$19bn. for the U.S. government when other blocks were sold to carriers in 2008. But the D-Block did not sell because carriers did not like some of the conditions for use.
Companies are waiting for the FCC to issue the terms and conditions, if any, to be attached to the auction for use of the D block airwaves.

Posted by Judith — 5:40 AM

India receives 9 3G applications, 11 BWA applications.

Source: Telecompaper.

The Indian government has received nine applications for the upcoming 3G spectrum auction and eleven applications for the BWA spectrum auction. Applicants for 3G spectrum are Aircel, Bharti Airtel, Etisalat, Idea Cellular, Reliance Telecom, S Tel, Tata Teleservices, Vodafone Essar, and Videocon Telecommunications.

Posted by Judith — 4:02 AM

Introduction of O2 UK’s fixed line service delayed.

Source: TeleGeography.

British mobile network operator O2 UK has revealed that the launch of its fixed line rental service and broadband bundles has been delayed until ‘later in the spring’. The cellco initially unveiled the service in January 2010, claiming that it would be made available commercially by March.

Posted by Judith — 2:18 AM

EASSy does it

Source: TeleGeography

According to a report by Reuters, citing Kenyan MP Samuel Poghisio, the government expects the Eastern African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) to land by 21 March. EASSy follows two other cable systems which have landed in Kenya over the last twelve months, SEACOM and TEAMS, and will further boost bandwidth availability and connectivity across the region.

Posted by Judith — 12:06 PM

Virgin Media to demo 200Mb broadband

Source: The Inquirer

Internet service provider Virgin Media is set to showcase its 200Mbps broadband service at the Ideal Home Show in London over the next week.
The company will also be showing off some of the stuff people who have one of these magical connections will be able to do, including streaming 3DTV and other content to multiple devices all around the home and on an array of gadgets.

Posted by Judith — 12:05 PM

Orange to launch mobile games store with HMV

Source: The Register

Orange and high-street retailer HMV will next week launch what they claimed is a first for a UK mobile phone operator: an online games download store for Java-enabled phones.
The shop will be branded “HMV Mobile Games” and be tagged as “powered by Orange”. Even so, it will be open to gamers who use any of the other networks.

Posted by Judith — 12:02 PM

China Mobile pleads for compatible iPhone

Source: The Register

China Mobile’s inability to sell the latest tech is starting to hurt, with the company’s head asking Apple to develop a TD-SCDMA version of the iPhone, please.
Wang Jianzhou (chair and CEO of China Mobile) pointed out that RIM is prepared to create a China-Mobile-specific BlackBerry, so surely Apple could see its way to making a handset that China Mobile customers could use.

Posted by Judith — 10:16 AM

Public Mobile sets May launch date

Source: The Globe and Mail

New wireless player Public Mobile will launch in Toronto and Montreal in mid-May, offering unlimited talk and text for CAD40 a month.
Public Mobile announced Thursday it has 15 stores now open in Toronto and 10 in Montreal selling cellphones.
CEO Alek Krstajic says he expects Public Mobile to have twice the number of locations open by mid-May when the service is up and running in both cities.

Posted by Judith — 12:40 PM

DT unveils growth strategy, plans EUR10bn investment in Germany

Source: TeleGeography

German telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom (DT) has announced it is aiming to restructure its business and drive up revenue from growth areas during 2010, through investments in intelligent networks and its portfolio of IT, internet and network services. In Germany the group plans to invest around EUR10 billion (USD13.8 billion) between 2010 and 2012 in fibre-optics, new mobile communications technologies, and IT processes to give customers more speed and new products.

Posted by Judith — 12:39 PM

Telstra picks 3 suppliers for LTE tests

Source: Telecompaper

Australian operator Telstra has chosen Nokia Siemens Networks, Huawei and Ericsson to conduct trials of LTE in May. Michael Rocca, Telstra’s acting chief operations officer, said the trials will help Telstra understand how the new technology will work with the operator’s Next G network.

Posted by Judith — 12:37 PM

Svyazinvest confirms LTE plans

Source: TeleGeography

Russian state-owned telecoms group Svyazinvest has announced that it has chosen Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology for its upcoming 4G networks, Reuters reports, citing company CEO Yevgeny Yurchenko.

Posted by Judith — 11:40 AM

Industry forms Network Test Automation Forum

Source: Telecompaper

Companies from across the communications and networking industries have formed the Network Test Automation Forum. The NTAF founding members will promote interoperability between test tools and simplify lab automation efforts. Members include BreakingPoint Systems, BT, Cisco, Empirix, Ericsson, Exfo, Fanfare Software, Ixia, JDSU, Spirent Communications and Verizon.

Posted by Judith — 1:00 PM

Qualcomm to Bid for Wireless Spectrum in India

Source: BWCS

Qualcomm has filed an application with the Indian Government to bid for spectrum in the country’s upcoming auction for Broadband Wireless Access in the 2.3GHz band. The US-based mobile chip-maker says that, if successful, it will use the chunk of spectrum to roll out TD-LTE services.

Posted by Judith — 12:37 PM

SingTel, Ericsson unveil LTE demo

Source: Telecompaper

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) and Ericsson have unveiled an LTE technology trial showcase at SingTel’s headquarters, Comcentre. The objective of the LTE trial is to demonstrate the network capability to industry players like application developers, content providers and game producers so that they can start thinking of new products and services.

Posted by Judith — 12:32 PM

Brazil Preps for Mobile Upheaval

Source: Light Reading

New spectrum and licensing rules could lead to a dramatic upheaval of the mobile market in Brazil, ushering in not only a new converged fixed and mobile player, but opening the door for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that don’t need a spectrum license or a network to offer mobile services.

Posted by Judith — 12:31 PM

012.Smile shell company renamed as B Communications

Source: TeleGeography

Shareholders in 012.Smile Communication, a subsidiary of Israeli businessman Shaul Elovitch’s Eurocom Group, have reportedly voted to change the company’s name to B Communications Ltd (BCOM) at an extraordinary meeting. Following approval by the Israeli Registrar of Companies the new name is now official, and shares in the company will begin trading under the new name from 17 March 2010.

Posted by Judith — 12:30 PM

Verizon Lawsuit Targets Cablevision Boxes, ITV

Source: Light Reading

Verizon Communications Inc.and Cablevision Systems Corp., already battling for residential and business customers in New York, will soon be duking it out in the courtroom, too.Cablevision would be blocked from importing three advanced Scientific-Atlanta — owned by Cisco Systems Inc. since 2006 — digital set-top boxes that run the MSO’s interactive program guide and interactive TV programming and advertising services, if Verizon succeeds in a patent-infringement complaint it’s filed against Cablevision

Posted by Judith — 12:29 PM

Google partners call for clarity on China plans

Source: Reuters

Chinese firms selling advertising space on Google’s search pages have demanded clarity about the search giant’s plans in China, as speculation increases over Google’s future in the world’s largest Internet market.
Their demand comes amid signs that Google Inc may soon move to close Google.cn, more than two months after it hit back against sophisticated hacking attacks from inside China and said it was no longer willing to offer a censored search engine.

Posted by Judith — 11:10 AM

Egypt regulator enforces Internet voice call ban

Source: Reuters

Egypt has begun enforcing a ban on international calls made through mobile internet connections, the head of the telcoms regulator told Reuters on Tuesday, potentially boosting voice revenues at landline monopoly Telecom Egypt. The ban will apply to the three mobile operators in Egypt — Mobinil, Etisalat Egypt and Vodafone Egypt — who offer internet access for computers via USB and other mobile modems, as well as via mobile phone.

Posted by Judith — 12:57 PM

Broadsoft Files for IPO

Source: Light Reading

Hosted IP applications specialist BroadSoft Inc. , which has long talked about going public, has finally filed for an IPO, looking to raise USD103.5 million from a listing on the Nasdaq exchange.
The vendor, which will use the ticker symbol BSFT, has not identified a potential range of prices for the sale of its stock.

Posted by Judith — 12:55 PM

New Zealand’s RBI finalised

Source: TeleGeography

New Zealand’s communications minister Steven Joyce has announced that plans for the rural broadband initiative (RBI) have been finalised, with the government ratifying proposals to roll out high speed broadband networks across rural areas and reforms to the Telecommunications Service Obligations (TSO) system. Under the RBI, 97% of rural households will have access to broadband services of at least 5Mbps, with the remainder reaching at least 1Mbps.

Posted by Judith — 12:54 PM

AT&T outlines Puerto Rico spending plans

Source: TeleGeography

AT&T plans to spend USD84 million on deploying 105 new cell sites to increase 3G capacity in Puerto Rico, reports BNamericas, as part of the consolidation of Centennial Communications.

Posted by Judith — 11:37 AM

Rostelecom dominates 4G tender

Source: TeleGeography

According to a report by Reuters, incumbent long-distance operator Rostelecom has been awarded 4G network concessions covering a third of the Russian population in a series of auctions which took place throughout February and March. Rostelecom, which is the long-distance arm of state-owned conglomerate Svyazinvest, won concessions to 38 of the 40 Russian regions covered by the tender.

Posted by Judith — 1:08 PM

Mobile Fees Under Pressure With Network Rollout

Source: The New York Times

The next generation of faster mobile networks is poised to lower costs for operators and potentially unleash a new price war in the industry in Europe. As European operators prepare to install the networks, which use a technology called Long Term Evolution, or L.T.E., they are fighting to keep fees for connecting calls to other operators.
Observers say the technological leap could pave the way in Europe for U.S.-style flat-rate calling plans to all networks.

Posted by Judith — 1:06 PM

Ofcom receives digital dividend spectrum proposals

Source: TeleGeography

The British government has revealed that spectrum freed up as part of the digital dividend could be auctioned off before the end of 2010 with a view to the frequencies being used commercially by 2012, ZDnet reports. Proposals for the spectrum were sent from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to telecoms regulator Ofcom early last week, detailing plans for several spectrum bands including 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz and 2600MHz.

Posted by Judith — 1:04 PM

ST Telemedia on APAC Spree

Source: Light Reading

Singapore Technologies Telemedia Pte. Ltd. (ST Telemedia) has added to its already significant international telecom services assets in the past few days, with its latest spree very much focused on Asia/Pacific.
The investment company today announced plans to buy a 33 percent stake in Malaysia’s fourth mobile operator U Mobile, in a deal reportedly worth 625 million ringgit (USD189 million).

Posted by Judith — 1:02 PM

FCC unveils National Broadband Plan

Source: cnet

The Federal Communications Commission made its National Broadband Plan public on Monday outlining specific recommendations for policy makers over the next decade to ensure all Americans get access to high-speed Internet.
The FCC task force, which has been working on the report for nearly a year, will present its 360-page report to the FCC commissioners on Tuesday and it will present the report to Congress on Wednesday. A summary of the report is posted on the FCC Website.

Posted by Judith — 12:19 PM

SingTel indicates support for Bharti’s African adventure.

Source: cellular-news.

Singapore’s SingTel says that it may offer financial assistance to India’s Bharti Airtel in its attempt to buy Zain’s African mobile networks. SingTel owns just under a third of the Indian company.

Posted by Judith — 3:10 AM

Virgin Media to trial broadband over telegraph poles.

Source: BBC.

Virgin Media has started trials to deliver fibre-optic high-speed broadband over telegraph poles.
The firm believes it could be used to extend its reach to another one million homes in the UK, mainly in rural areas.

Posted by Judith — 4:02 AM

FCC releases Internet speed test tool.

Source: Reuters.

Located at the site www.broadband.gov, the test is aimed at allowing consumers to compare their actual speeds with the speeds advertised by their providers.
The FCC release follows a meeting in September where officials said that actual speeds were estimated to lag by as much as 50% during busy hours.

Posted by Judith — 3:39 AM

PHS provider Willcom to be split.

Source: TeleGeography.

Japanese personal handy-phone services (PHS) provider Willcom is to be split up, while its backers - Softbank, Advantage Partners and state-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp., are to provide financial aid to revive the company.

Posted by Judith — 2:56 AM

French postal operator to launch MVNO service.

Source: TeleGeography.

France’s national postal operator La Poste has confirmed it is in talks to launch an MVNO and that to that end, it will begin searching for a host network provider in the week commencing 15 March. La Poste intends to offer pre- and post-paid mobile services from launch under its own brand which will be marketed through its national chain of 17,000 post offices.

Posted by Judith — 2:03 AM

Motorola, Microsoft in deal to put Bing on phones.

Source: Reuters.

Motorola said the partnership with Microsoft means that a Bing bookmark and search widget will be loaded on cell phones, starting in the coming weeks with phones in China.
The move follows shortly after Motorola struck a similar deal to let consumers in China use Baidu, among others, as the default Web search instead of Google on Android based phones.

Posted by Judith — 3:41 AM

Judge advises against Verizon-Frontier deal.

Source: TeleGeography.

Administrative law judge Lisa M Tapia has advised state regulators to not approve a deal which will see Verizon divest operations in 14 states to Frontier Communications in a deal worth US$8.6bn.The deal, which will see fixed line service for a total of 4.8m. customers change hands, was agreed between the two parties in May 2009 but has been awaiting regulatory approval for the best part of a year.

Posted by Judith — 5:36 AM

NFL signs mobile phone deal with Verizon Wireless.

Source: Reuters.

The NFL has signed a four-year agreement with Verizon Wireless to show live games and highlights on mobile phones in a deal reported to be worth US$720m.

Posted by Judith — 4:15 AM

Unions angry as Vodafone UK confirms 375 job losses.

Source: Telecompaper.

Trade unions have expressed anger and disappointment after Vodafone confirmed plans to cut 375 jobs in the UK. The CWU said it was disappointed by the decision and expressed its concern that customer-facing jobs would be affected, despite assurances from Vodafone that the losses would only affect back-office jobs.

Posted by Judith — 3:42 AM

China Mobile to buy US$5.8bn. stake in Pudong Bank.

Source: BusinessWeek.

China Mobile Ltd., the world’s biggest phone company by market value, has agreed to buy 20% of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. for 39.8bn. yuan (US$5.8bn.) to expand its electronic-payment business.

Posted by Judith — 3:09 AM

Cable firms seek FCC help in fee disputes.

Source: The Washington Post.

Several major cable companies and a public interest group have asked the FCC to intervene in disputes over transmission fees to prevent broadcasters from withholding signals from subscribers.
In a petition filed with the FCC, Time Warner Cable, Verizon Communications, Cablevision and advocacy group Public Knowledge said that regulations governing transmissions from broadcasters to subscription-television providers are outdated.

Posted by Judith — 2:15 AM

Quartet approved for German mobile frequency auction.

Source: TeleGeography.

Germany’s telecoms regulator has announced that a total of four applicants have been admitted to the country’s largest spectrum auction since the allocation of UMTS concessions in 2000. Incumbent telco Deutsche Telekom’s (DT’s) mobile unit T-Mobile, UK-based Vodafone, Spain’s Telefonica O2 Germany and Dutch KPN’s local unit E-Plus have all been approved to take part in the auction, slated for 12 April 2010.

Posted by Judith — 5:37 AM

MTN Ghana reports 900MHz, 3G success.

Source: BWCS.

MTN Ghana says it has concluded trials of the first 900MHz UMTS network in Africa. The company, which has been working with Swedish vendor Ericsson on the system, claims that the tests show that it is possible to build and expand cost effective nation-wide mobile broadband coverage.

Posted by Judith — 3:49 AM

Verizon, Juniper, NEC, Finisar complete 100G field trial.

Source: Telecompaper.

Verizon, Juniper Networks, NEC, and Finisar have completed real traffic 100G optical fibre transmission field trial applying standards-based optics and using the 100G native router interfaces. This 100G trial used emerging network technology to transmit data over a 1,520-km optically amplified section of the Verizon network in the north Dallas area.

Posted by Judith — 3:01 AM

Qtel and Tata confirm TGN Gulf partnership.

Source: TeleGeography.

Qatar Telecom and India’s Tata Communications yesterday officially confirmed their partnership for the construction of the Tata Global Network (TGN) Gulf Project, which will see Qtel establish a landing station for the regional undersea network.

Posted by Judith — 4:27 AM

BT turns tables on Virgin in cable ducts fight.

Source: TimesOnline.

BT is demanding that Virgin Media opens its network of underground pipes to rivals.

The telecoms group wants to use Virgin’s network as part of its plans to upgrade its infrastructure and will put pressure on Ofcom to allow it access.

Posted by Judith — 3:54 AM

Belgium to hold mobile spectrum auction in September.

Source: Telecompaper.

The Belgian government will hold an auction for the country’s fourth 3G licence and five spectrum blocks for LTE in September. The first auction will be for the UMTS licence which found no buyer in a 2001 auction.

Posted by Judith — 2:07 AM

China Mobile gets green light to take first step into Taiwan.

Source: TeleGeography.

Taiwan’s government has given permission for China Mobile to open a subsidiary on the island, making it the first mainland telecom Chinese firm to establish a foothold there. The world’s largest mobile operator by users initially plans to sell electronic products wholesale in Taiwan, according to its application filed late last year. However, the Chinese cellco also has designs on a stake in Taiwanese operator Far EasTone.

Posted by Judith — 6:07 AM

UK launches new body for universal broadband push.

Source: Telecompaper.

The new government body responsible for rolling out next-generation broadband across the UK will begin its work on 4 March. Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) will be responsible for the 2 Mbps universal service commitment for 90 percent of the country by 2017, with GBP1bn. allocated for the job.

Posted by Judith — 4:25 AM

South Korea to allow MVNOs.

Source: TeleGeography.

A bill passed last week by South Korea’s National Assembly will pave the way for the entry of MVNO’s. The report says that regulator has been working to reform South Korea’s mobile market for some time, criticizing KDDI, SK Telecom and LG Telecom for charging excessively high prices and spending too much on marketing efforts that do not add quality to their services.

Posted by Judith — 2:59 AM

Nortel gets U.S., Canadian court OK to sell unit.

Source: Reuters.

Nortel Networks has announced that it has received U.S. and Canadian court approval for the sale of its carrier VoIP and application solutions business to Genband Inc for about US$182m.

Posted by Judith — 4:03 AM

Smart, Mobile-8 merge mobile brands.

Source: Telecompaper.

Indonesian mobile operators Smart Telecom and Mobile-8 Telecom have announced that they would merge their rival brands to become SmartFren, in a bid to cut costs and survive the tough competition in the industry

Posted by Judith — 3:02 AM

Facebook and Twitter access via mobile browser increases.

Source: cellular-news.

Nearly a third (30.8%) of smartphone users accessed social networking sites via their mobile browser in January 2010, up 8.3 points from 22.5% one year ago. Access to Facebook via mobile browser grew 112% in the past year, while Twitter experienced a 347% jump.

Posted by Judith — 2:24 AM

Nokia adds Skype app as free download.

Source: WSJ.

Underscoring the rapid evolution of free Internet-based telephony, handset maker Nokia has announced that it has made Skype available as a free download from its Ovi online store.
Nokia and VoIP company Skype have also released a service for the Finnish company’s Symbian-based smart phones, which will give users access to Skype via a mobile data connection.

Posted by Judith — 5:07 AM

Apple sues HTC over phones with Google software.

Source: The Washington Post.

Apple has sued Taiwan’s HTC Corp, which makes touchscreen smartphones using Google software, accusing it of infringing 20 hardware and software patents related to the iPhone.
Even though the suit did not name Google Inc as a defendant, Apple’s move was viewed by many analysts as proxy for an attack on the Internet company, whose Nexus One smartphone is manufactured by HTC

Posted by Judith — 3:19 AM

Vodafone reveals Al-Madar tie-in.

Source: TeleGeography.

UK-based cellco Vodafone has revealed that it has signed a marketing agreement with Libyan operator Al-Madar to offer Vodafone-branded services in the North African country. Under the agreement, Al-Madar will have exclusive access to Vodafone’s range of products, devices and services in Libya.

Posted by Judith — 2:50 AM

T-Venture makes strategic investment in Lantiq.

Source: Converge.

T-Venture, the venture capital company of Deutsche Telekom, has made a strategic investment in Lantiq, which specializes in next-generation access and home networking technologies.

Posted by Judith — 1:53 AM

EC clears Orange, T-Mobile merger in UK.

Source: Telecompaper.

The EC has cleared the proposed merger of Orange UK and T-Mobile UK, after the two mobile operators agreed to conditions ensuring network access for the smallest operator 3 UK in the market. Orange and T-Mobile will also have to divest part of their 60MHz of spectrum in the 1800MHz band in order to go ahead with the merger creating the UK’s largest mobile operator. The UK Office of Fair Trading said it was satisfied with the remedies and withdrew its request to review the deal after the mobile operators agreed to amend their network-sharing deal with 3.

Posted by Judith — 4:30 AM

DT to rename merged domestic fixed, mobile units.

Source: TeleGeography.

Deutsche Telekom has announced that it will rename its domestic brand to ‘T’ as part of its efforts to integrate its fixed line and mobile operations in Germany. DT currently uses the T-Home brand for its domestic fixed line operations and markets its German mobile services under the T-Mobile moniker.

Posted by Judith — 3:46 AM

Jupiter Telecommunications agrees to Sumitomo’s tender offer.

Source: TeleGeography.

Jupiter Telecommunications has agreed to a planned tender offer bid by domestic trading company Sumitomo. Last month Sumitomo announced plans to launch a tender offer of up to JPY122.18bn. (US%1.36bn.) to increase its holdings in Jupiter Telecommunications to 40% from 27%.

Posted by Judith — 3:14 AM

Telstra opposes NBN draft legislation.

Source: TeleGeography.

Telstra has hit out at the Australian government’s recent change to the country’s National Broadband Network proposal, saying it is ‘very concerned’ by the change which could impact negotiations over the sale of assets. The draft legislation would allow a new state-owned broadband network company to provide retail services, instead of just wholesale services.

Posted by Judith — 2:58 AM

Bidders invited for broadcast mobile TV spectrum.

Source: TeleGeography.

Hong Kong’s Office of the Telecommunications Authority has published an invitation for applications to bid for radio spectrum in the 678MHz-686MHz band to be used for broadcasting mobile TV, in an auction to be conducted in May.

Posted by Judith — 4:17 AM

Megafon confirms acquisition of Synterra.

Source: Telecompaper.

Russian mobile operator Megafon has confirmed the acquisition of alternative operator Synterra. The takeover gives Megafon an expanded backbone network as well as access to the corporate fixed-line services market.

Posted by Judith — 3:20 AM

Microsoft offers browser choices to Europeans.

Source: BBC.

Microsoft is to ask millions of users across Europe if they want to use a web browser other than its own.
Windows users will be offered the choice as part of a deal Microsoft struck with the EC.
The agreement resolves a long-running case in which the software giant was accused of abusing its market position.

Posted by Judith — 2:19 AM