Press Clippings: April 2010
Major Industry items you might have missed
Friday, April 30, 2010
Digiweb acquires TalkTalk’s Irish, Belgian businesses.
Source: TeleGeography.
Irish telecoms services provider Digiweb has acquired the Irish and Belgian operations of TalkTalk, the telecoms business recently spun off from the Carphone Warehouse, in a move which will boost its annual revenues and profits to around EUR50m. and EUR10m., respectively.
Posted by Judith — 3:58 AM
Watchdog approves Telefonica’s purchase of 10% of Telecom Italia.
Source: TeleGeography.
The Brazilian antitrust regulator has finally given its approval to Telefonica’s acquisition of a 10% stake in Telecom Italia. The late approval comes after years of observation of their local mobile units Vivo and TIM Brasil, which have been proven to be operating independently. The Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel granted conditional approval to the Telefonica-Telecom Italia deal in 2007.
Posted by Judith — 3:06 AM
Amazon expands its cloud services for Asia Pacific.
Source: Converge.
Amazon.com has expanded its cloud computing services for the Asia-Pacific region. Businesses with customers based in Asia can now leverage the AWS suite of infrastructure web services to build their businesses and run their applications in the cloud.
AWS technology partners include Red Hat, Oracle, Sun, MySQL, IBM, salesforce.com and RightScale.
Posted by Judith — 1:36 AM
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Hewlett-Packard buys struggling Palm for US$1.2bn. in cash.
Source: BBC.
Palm, a pioneer in the smart phone business, is being bought by US computer giant HP for US$1.2bn. cash.
HP said Palm’s webOS operating system would help it expand more aggressively in the fast-growing market for smart phones and connected mobile devices.
Posted by Judith — 4:03 AM
Equinix acquires Switch and Data.
Source: TeleGeography.
Equinix’s acquisition of Switch and Data, which is expected to close on Friday 30 April, will create a colocation services giant that dwarfs its competitors, both in the US and globally.
Equinix has expanded aggressively over the past twelve months, opening data centres in major European communications hub cities. With the addition of Switch and Data, Equinix owns 84 colocation sites in the US, Europe and Asia.
Posted by Judith — 3:29 AM
Vivendi finalises GVT buyout.
Source: TeleGeography.
Paris-based media and telecoms conglomerate Vivendi has completed the purchase of virtually all the outstanding shares in Brazilian telephony and internet operator Global Village Telecom. As a result of the purchases Vivendi has acquired 93.58% of the free float, boosting its total equity stake to 99.17% of GVT’s shares.
Posted by Judith — 2:41 AM
Indian 3G auction reaches climax.
Source: BWCS.
The auction of 3G licences in India appears to be nearing a close. According to the country’s telecoms minister the sale should be completed in “one or two days”. According to government data, bids for one set of national 3G mobile spectrum licences have already surpassed Rs89.14bn. (US$2bn.) This is well over double the original base price. It is not clear how much higher the bidding will go.
Posted by Judith — 2:08 AM
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
AT&T exits stake in India’s Tech Mahindra-sources.
Source: Reuters.
U.S. telecoms giant AT&T has sold its remaining stake of more than 7% in Indian IT services firm Tech Mahindra, mostly to Life Insurance Corp. of India.
Posted by Judith — 3:11 AM
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Nokia launches first open source Symbian phone.
Source: BBC.
The first handset to use the Symbian operating system since it became open source has been announced by Nokia.
This is a chance for Symbian to prove itself alongside Google’s Android operating system and Apple’s iPhone.
Posted by Judith — 8:25 AM
Mobilicity inks network management deal with Ericsson.
Source: The Globe and Mail
The new wireless entrant, which is set to launch cellphone service some time this spring, has announced that it has contracted out its network management to Ericsson, the telecommunications equipment builder, keeping in line with outsourcing non-core tasks to keep cellphone prices low.
Posted by Judith — 7:29 AM
ATN completes acquisition of former Alltel assets from Verizon Wireless.
Source: TeleGeography.
Atlantic Tele-Network has announced that it has completed the purchase of certain former Alltel wireless assets from Verizon Wireless. The total purchase price was US$223m. The purchase includes wireless properties and licences that serve approximately 895,000 subscribers in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Ohio, and Idaho.
Posted by Judith — 4:30 AM
Main One, Seacom partner on Nigeria, South Africa link.
Source: Telecompaper.
Main One, Seacom and eFive Telecoms have signed a memorandum of understanding to begin a project to develop a pan-African fibre ring system. This will entail extending the Main One and Seacom networks to create a system that offers redundancy and additional capacity on both the east and west routes around Africa.
Posted by Judith — 2:19 AM
Monday, April 26, 2010
Major Japanese phone manufacturers launch own software platform.
Source: BWCS.
Four major Japanese electronics companies have agreed to standardize their main software platform for future mobile phones. The quartet says the move is designed to save money and make them more competitive.
The four firms; NEC, Sharp, Panasonic and Fujistu say they will employ the new operating system on the next generation of mobile phones to be developed for domestic mobile giant NTT DoCoMo.
Posted by Judith — 6:04 AM
MTS inks outsourcing deal with Nokia Siemens.
Source: Telecompaper.
Russian mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems has outsourced the daily operation and maintenance of its entire mobile network across central Russia to Nokia Siemens Network as part of a five-year managed services deal. Under the terms of the contract, MTS will transfer around 250 employees to Nokia Siemens Networks.
Posted by Judith — 5:42 AM
Yahoo expands offering on Samsung phones.
Source: Reuters.
Yahoo has struck a deal to expand the role of its services on cellphones of the world’s second-largest handset maker Samsung, as the two battle larger rivals on the wireless market.
Posted by Judith — 4:57 AM
Vodafone to sell Google phone in UK from April 30.
Source: Reuters.
Vodafone will be Europe’s first carrier to sell Google’s Nexus One phone, starting in Britain on April 30, in a boost for the operator beaten to Apple’s iPhone by O2.
Posted by Judith — 4:09 AM
Thursday, April 22, 2010
CenturyLink and Qwest confirm plans to merge companies.
Source: cellular-news.
Two USA landline network operators, CenturyLink and Qwest Communications have announced that CenturyLink is to acquire Qwest in a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction. Upon closing of the transaction, CenturyLink shareholders are expected to own approximately 50.5% of the company.
Posted by Judith — 3:57 AM
Swiss cartel office prohibits Orange/Sunrise merger.
Source: Telecompaper.
The Swiss competition authority has decided to prohibit the proposed merger of Sunrise and Orange Switzerland. If Sunrise merges with Orange, the Swiss mobile market will have only two mobile operators (Swisscom and Orange/Sunrise), both with significant market power. The authority expects that this situation will not lead to more competitive offers from either operator and does not expect that a new third mobile operator will enter market.
Posted by Judith — 3:02 AM
Ukraine suspends Vimpelcom/Kyivstar merger approval.
Source: Reuters.
Ukraine’s anti-monopoly committee has voted unanimously to suspend its earlier decision to approve a merger of Russia’s No.2 mobile phone operator Vimpelcom with Ukraine’s Kyivstar.
Posted by Judith — 1:40 AM
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Ericsson buys out Nortel in LG-Nortel joint venture.
Source: Telecompaper.
Ericsson has agreed to buy Nortel’s stake in the network equipment joint venture LG-Nortel. Ericsson will acquire the majority stake of 50% plus 1 share for US$242m., on a cash- and debt-free basis. The new name of the joint venture will be LG-Ericsson.
Posted by Judith — 3:35 AM
BT loses appeal for backdated MTR payout.
Source: TeleGeography.
The British Court of Appeal has rejected a call by fixed line incumbent BT for a potential multi-million pound payout from mobile network operators linked to a dispute over call termination rates. The issue stems from a decision by telecoms regulator Ofcom in 2007 to set forth a four-year plan outlining proposed reductions in termination rates for 0870 numbers which was subsequently challenged by BT.
Posted by Judith — 2:42 AM
Cisco completes US$3.3bn. Tandberg buy.
Source: InformationWeek.
Cisco has announced that it has finalized the acquisition of videoconferencing firm Tandberg, a major piece of Cisco’s strategy of moving beyond routers and switches to supplying the infrastructure for Internet-delivered video communications.
Posted by Judith — 2:19 AM
TDC set to launch LTE this summer.
Source: TeleGeography.
Danish telecoms operator TDC has announced plans to roll out a LTE mobile network as early as June this year to offer Danes mobile broadband speeds three to four times higher than what is currently possible.
Posted by Judith — 1:49 AM
97.87% of Vimpelcom shareholders approve merger with Kyivstar.
Source: TeleGeography.
It is reported that 97.87% of Russian mobile operator Vimpelcom’s shareholders have approved its planned merger with Ukrainian cellco Kyivstar. The announcement confirms that the necessary 95% shareholder approval level has been passed.
Posted by Judith — 1:38 AM
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
TalkTalk planning to boost LLU coverage to 90%.
Source: TeleGeography.
UK-based broadband provider TalkTalk has confirmed that it has plans to increase the capacity of its LLU network over the coming year. It is understood that TalkTalk, which last month completed a demerger from Carphone Warehouse, expects to increase its LLU coverage to 90% of the population by the end of 2010, up from the approximate 80% of the country presently within its footprint.
Posted by Judith — 5:30 AM
Telefonica begins rebranding process on 1 May.
Source: TeleGeography.
Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica is to commence the strategic process of rebranding its customer-facing operations in both its home country and Latin America under the Movistar banner next month.
Posted by Judith — 4:37 AM
Telecom Italia outlines plans for job cuts.
Source: Telecompaper.
Telecom Italia has outlined plans for additional job cuts. In a meeting with unions on its recently unveiled strategic plan, the company said it has cut 2,300 jobs in 2009-10 and expects another 4,522 jobs to go by the end of 2012.
Posted by Judith — 4:11 AM
Third of U.S. teens with phones text 100 times a day.
Source: Reuters.
A third of U.S. teenagers with cell phones send more than 100 texts a day as texting has exploded to become the most popular means of communication for young people, according to new research.
The study, which offers a glimpse into teen culture and communication, found that texting has risen dramatically even since 2008, eclipsing cell phone calls, instant messaging, social networks.
Posted by Judith — 3:38 AM
Monday, April 19, 2010
3 UK, T-Mobile set to complete joint network by end-2010.
Source: Telecompaper.
T-Mobile UK and 3 UK are on track to complete their joint network infrastructure programme by end-2010. They have achieved over 90% outdoor population coverage to date with their combined HSDPA 3G, with this set to reach more than 98% by end-2010.
Posted by Judith — 3:07 AM
ComCom (NZ) rules on regulating VDSL.
Source: TeleGeography.
New Zealand’s trade watchdog has told Telecom New Zealand that if it delivers bitstream service over VDSL technology then it must do so on regulated terms and conditions, including price. However, if Telecom Wholesale were to use its VDSL network to deliver a service with specifications that do not fall within the regulated unbundled bitstream service, then it would be free to set its own terms and conditions.
Posted by Judith — 2:21 AM
South Koreans to invest in Peruvian broadband network.
Source: TeleGeography.
Korea Telecom, in partnership with Peruvian business group Romero, plans to invest over US$150m. to develop broadband projects in Peru. The initiative aims to expand the country’s broadband infrastructure and make it a driver of national productivity growth.
Posted by Judith — 2:13 AM
Saturday, April 17, 2010
FCC awaits economic data from Comcast.
Source: Reuters.
The FCC has extended the public comment period for the joint venture between Comcast Corp and NBC Universal because it has not received additional economic data requested from the companies supporting their deal.
Posted by Judith — 4:41 AM
Friday, April 16, 2010
Orange deal with BT stirs up fight for broadband supremacy.
Source: TimesOnline.
Orange has opened up a new front in the fight for broadband customers after abandoning its fixed-line network and cutting a deal with BT to offer better high-speed internet.
The company will now go head-to-head with the market leaders BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk, and sharply increase competition. That could drive charges down for the customer. It will piggyback on BT’s national network and almost double the size of Orange’s broadband footprint, freeing up resources to invest in improving its product and customer service. BT will take over Orange’s fixed-line infrastructure and integrate it into its network.
Posted by Judith — 4:43 AM
NZ Telecom attracts 4 bidders for AAPT.
Source: Telecompaper.
Four bidders are vying for Telecom New Zealand’s Australian telecommunications unit, AAPT. The four bidders are Australian telecommunications firms Optus, TPG Telecom, Pacnet, and private equity company Quadrangle Group.
Posted by Judith — 2:56 AM
NSN wins $620m. UK network contract.
Source: cellular-news.
Nokia Siemens Networks has won a further US$620m. contract from the UK based joint venture company, Mobile Broadband Network (MBNL) to expand its 3G network. MBNL is the network infrastructure joint venture between T-Mobile and Hutchison 3G UK.
Posted by Judith — 2:52 AM
Boingo increases network coverage through NTT Comm hotspot deal.
Source: TeleGeography.
Boingo Wireless, which claims to have established the world’s largest network of Wi-Fi hotspots, making it easier to get online at more than 125,000 locations in 103 countries worldwide, has further improved its footprint by signing a roaming deal with NTT Communications in Japan. As a result of the deal, Boingo users will be able to take advantage of NTT’s 6,500 hotspots in the country.
Posted by Judith — 2:26 AM
Cellphone satnav use surging in Europe.
Source: Reuters.
Research by comScore shows that Europeans are increasingly using their cellphones for satellite navigation in cars, directly threatening the personal navigation industry.
Competition for satellite navigation users has increased this year as the world’s largest cellphone maker Nokia in January followed Google in starting to offer free navigation on phones.
In February 21.1m. consumers in five large European markets — Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Italy — used their cellphones for navigation, 68% more than a year ago.
Posted by Judith — 2:18 AM
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Canada’s Enablence to buy Israel’s Teledata networks.
Source: Reuters.
Canada’s Enablence Technologies, which supplies optical components, agreed to buy Israel’s Teledata Networks for up to US$50m. in cash and stock, to expand in the global broadband market.
Teledata Networks provides products and services to telecom companies for migrating to Next Generation networks.
Posted by Judith — 6:50 AM
France Telecom and Orascom Telecom Holding agree to settle Egyptian dispute.
Source: cellular-news.
France Telecom and Orascom Telecom Holding have presented a joint plan to resolve their long running and acrimonious dispute over the ownership of Egyptian mobile network, Mobinil. The agreement, which has been signed today and will be finalized over the coming weeks, will effectively bring to an end all disputes in relation to their joint investment in Mobinil.
FT said that the two groups will continue their partnership on a renewed basis going forward, implementing a revised shareholder agreement but with no change to the existing ownership structure or their shareholders’ voting rights.
Posted by Judith — 2:12 AM
Japan’s FTC to impose fines on fibre optic cartel.
Source: telecompaper.
Japan’s Fair Trade Commission is expected to impose fines totalling JPY16bn. on some ten fibre-optic cable makers for forming a cartel for the sale of equipment to NTT East and West. Sumitomo Electric Industries, Furukawa Electric, Fujikura and SWCC Showa Cable Systems have been told the FTC plans to fine them and order the collusion to end.
Posted by Judith — 1:29 AM
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Canadian regulator opposes foreign control of local telecoms.
Source: Telecompaper.
The Canadian regulator has told a House of Commons committee that foreigners should be restricted to a maximum 49% of controlling shares in any telecommunications firm. He said the control of the communications sector should stay in Canadian hands, otherwise Canada will have a “branch plant” communications industry.
Posted by Judith — 7:39 AM
Broadcasters to form JV for mobile content service in US.
Source: Telecompaper.
Belo, Cox Media Group, E W Scripps, Fox, Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst Television, ION Television, Media General, Meredith, NBC, Post-Newsweek Stations and Raycom Media plan to form a joint venture to develop a new national mobile content service in the US. Using existing broadcast spectrum, the service will allow member companies to provide content to mobile devices, including live and on-demand video, local and national news from print and electronic sources, as well as sports and entertainment programming.
Posted by Judith — 7:30 AM
HP completes acquisition of 3Com for US$2.7bn.
Source: Converge.
HP has completed its previously announced acquisition of 3Com at an enterprise value of approximately US$2.7bn.
The deal will strengthen the company’s position in China via the H3C offerings. In addition, the combination will add a team of 2,400 engineers in China.
Posted by Judith — 3:04 AM
Rutland Telecom offers villagers fast broadband.
Source: BBC.
A UK village, which raised GBP37,000 to offer 200 homes the super-fast broadband that BT could not deliver, has launched its network.
Getting fast broadband to rural areas is back in the spotlight as the government shelves its funding plans.
It is estimated that around 2.5 million homes in the UK cannot get broadband speeds of more than 2Mbps.
The Rutland Telecom scheme was a joint effort between villagers fed up with slow broadband speeds and a local ICT firm that was reselling BT’s broadband.
Posted by Judith — 2:52 AM
Alcatel-Lucent launches Optism Mobile Advertising Solution.
Source: Telecompaper.
Alcatel-Lucent has launched the Optism Mobile Advertising Solution, an offering that enables mobile operators to create media inventory and provide advertisers with access to willing and highly targeted audiences.
Posted by Judith — 2:23 AM
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Microsoft makes more mobile moves.
Source: BWCS.
Microsoft, has launched two Windows-based smart phones in the US, both targeting social network users. The Kin handsets will, initially at least only be available in via Verizon Wireless, which is part-owned by Vodafone. However, the company has said that the phones should be on sale in the third quarter in Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Vodafone will sell them in each market.
Posted by Judith — 4:02 AM
Palm up for sale after failing to revive fortunes.
Source: TimesOnline.
The struggling smartphone maker Palm is searching for a buyer after its new handsets failed to revive fortunes.
The company has been struggling to revive its reputation as an innovator with competition from Nokia, Apple, RIM and Google.
Apart from Apple and Google, Palm is the only company with a modern smartphone operating system.
Posted by Judith — 2:49 AM
Spectre of separation looms again for NTT.
Source: TeleGeography
The government of Japan is reportedly revisiting plans to hive off NTT’s access network to allow other service operators to compete more fairly in the local market. NTT currently holds a dominant 70% market share in the fibre-optic services segment. However, less than one-third of Japanese households are currently on the fibre access network even though such services could theoretically be used by over 90% of the population.
Posted by Judith — 2:08 AM
SSTL expects up to US$800m. investment fund from Russia.
Source: TeleGeography.
Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL), which operates under the MTS India banner, has said that it expects the Russian Federation to invest as much as US$800m. as part of proposals that will see the cellco divest a 20% stake to the latter. SSTL said the bulk of the funding would be put toward the expansion of its coverage area, including inaugurating services in the eleven circles which it holds licences for but in which it does not yet operate.
Posted by Judith — 1:57 AM
Monday, April 12, 2010
Indian operators start bidding for 3G spectrum.
Source: TeleGeography.
The auction for third generation spectrum in India is fully underway. Nine operators are competing for 3G spectrum in the auction process: Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices, Aircel, Etisalat, STel and Videocon Telecommunications, are participating in the online auction process being held daily.
Posted by Judith — 5:08 AM
Warid, Citycell ink infrastructure sharing contract.
Source: TeleGeography.
Bangladeshi mobile network operators Warid Telecom and Citycell have signed a network sharing contract in a move that will reduce their ongoing rollout costs. Warid will be able to share the infrastructural equipment rooms of its rival Citycell.
Posted by Judith — 4:44 AM
Germany begins LTE spectrum auction.
Source: Converge.
Germany’s official telecoms regulator has initiated an auction for spectrum in the ranges 800 MHz, 1.8 GHz, 2 GHz and 2.6 GHz for wireless network access for the provision of telecommunication services. Four applicants are enrolled in the auction:
* E-Plus
* Telefonica O2 Germany
* T-Mobile Deutschland
* Vodafone D2
Posted by Judith — 4:24 AM
British cellcos face six month delay for spectrum auction.
Source: TeleGeography.
With the British government’s decision to postpone a decision on the auction of spectrum suitable for high speed data services, former regulatory official Kip Meek has claimed that a sale may now not take place until autumn 2011 at the earliest.
Posted by Judith — 2:59 AM
Egypt court upholds block on France Telecom buy of Mobinil.
Source: Telecompaper.
An Egyptian court has upheld a ruling barring a France Telecom buyout of mobile operator Mobinil. The court said minority shareholders would be disadvantaged by the French firm’s offer at EGP245 (US$44.5) per share, less than the amount an arbitration court said France Telecom should pay for Orascom Telecom’s stake in Mobinil.
Posted by Judith — 2:31 AM
Vodafone to consult shareholders on Verizon plan.
Source: Telecompaper.
Vodafone will consult its shareholders on the options for its US Verizon Wireless joint venture, which include a merger with Verizon Communications to create a company worth more than GBP120bn.
Verizon is understood to prefer the option of buying Vodafone’s 45% stake in the joint venture, despite the high price and large tax bill that would result from such a transaction. Vodafone would be willing to accept the joint venture, but Verizon is unwilling to lose large amounts of value on a business it controls. The compromise is to merge the two parent companies.
Posted by Judith — 2:06 AM
Saturday, April 10, 2010
How Apple plans to take on Google in mobile advertising.
Source: BBC.
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs has placed himself head-to-head with rival Google in the budding mobile advertising market, by announcing a new iAd advertising platform to be rolled out this summer.
The announcement follows Apple’s purchase in January of mobile advertising network Quattro Wireless for US$300m. (GBP196m.).
Posted by Judith — 3:44 AM
Friday, April 9, 2010
Nokia buys location technology firm MetaCarta.
Source: Reuters.
Nokia has announced that it has bought U.S. geographic technology firm MetaCarta, as a part of its strategy to offer local navigation services to its customers.
Posted by Judith — 8:21 AM
RIM to buy QNX Software.
Source: The Globe and Mail.
RIM is buying QNX Software Systems, an Ottawa-based company with technology that helps bring the Internet to cars.
QNX’s technology can be used to deliver wireless broadband services such as Internet radio, video-on-demand and navigation to vehicles.
Posted by Judith — 6:25 AM
Mexico may cut millions of cellphones to fight crime.
Source: Reuters.
Tens of millions of Mexicans could find their cellphones disconnected this weekend if the government goes ahead with a new law meant to fight crime by forcing people to register their identities.
Advertisements on government radio and television have been urging Mexicans for weeks to register their cellphones by sending their personal details as a text message, but on Thursday 30 million lines remained unregistered.
Posted by Judith — 1:52 AM
Swisscom buys Wayport EMEA business from AT&T.
Source: Telecompaper.
Swisscom Hospitality has agreed to acquire Wayport’s EMEA business from AT&T. Wayport provides network and broadband guest services to hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. AT&T will continue to own and operate the former Wayport assets in the US.
Posted by Judith — 1:25 AM
Thursday, April 8, 2010
UK government drops plans for broadband tax.
Source: Telecompaper.
The proposed tax on phone lines to fund next-generation broadband roll-out has been dropped ahead of the General Election. The government had hoped to raise around GBP170m. a year from the GBP0.50 per month tax on all homes with landline phones to finance super-fast broadband roll-out.
Posted by Judith — 3:04 AM
Nokia eyes China jumpstart for struggling music service.
Source: Reuters.
Nokia will launch its music downloading service in China, the world’s largest mobile market, looking to emerging markets to invigorate the struggling service that competes with Apple’s popular iTunes.
The world’s top cellphone maker will offer music from major labels and a number of independents as part of the China launch for its Comes with Music service tailored for downloads to cellphones and PCs.
Posted by Judith — 2:16 AM
FET and China Mobile to partner on LTE.
Source: TeleGeography.
Far EasTone (FET) and China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile network operator by subscribers, have signed an MOU to jointly construct a Time Division Long Term Evolution (TD-LTE) trial network and promote the development of TD-LTE technologies in Taiwan.
Posted by Judith — 1:40 AM
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Comcast wins Web traffic fight against FCC.
Source: Reuters.
A U.S. appeals court has dealt a setback to the FCC’s authority to oversee the Internet by tossing out an agency ruling that forced Comcast to change the way it managed its broadband network.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia sided with Comcast and said that the FCC failed to show that it had the necessary authority to impose such restrictions on the provider’s network operations.
The decision is likely to have major implications for future regulation of Internet access in the United States.
Posted by Judith — 4:03 AM
Vodafone to offer Web via Opera in emerging markets.
Source: Reuters.
Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile operator by revenue, is to launch the Opera Mini browser on low-cost handsets so its millions of users in emerging markets can easily access the Internet.
Wireless operators are eager to increase revenue from Internet browsing and the social network boom, as revenue from traditional voice calls falls in saturated mature markets with strong competition.
Posted by Judith — 3:30 AM
AOL plans to sell or shut down Bebo.
Source: BBC.
Internet company AOL has announced plans to sell or shut down the social networking site Bebo.
The news comes just two years after AOL bought the site for US$850m. (GBP417m. at the time).
Posted by Judith — 3:06 AM
AT&T outlines US$1bn. 2010 network projects.
Source: Converge.
AT&T has outlined plans to invest approximately US$1bn. in 2010 to scale its delivery of applications, mobility and cloud services within the United States and internationally. The spending is part of the company’s previously announced CAPEX plans.
Posted by Judith — 2:41 AM
Australia’s NBN picks first partners.
Source: Converge.
NBN Co Ltd., the consortium established to design, build and operate Australia’s forthcoming wholesale-only National Broadband Network (NBN), has selected three key technology partners.
IBM was selected for infrastructure hosting, which consists of acquiring servers, storage, operating systems, Oracle for the software platform and Accenture for implementation and ongoing support services.
Posted by Judith — 2:19 AM
TeliaSonera to expand LTE to 29 cities.
Source: TeleGeography.
TeliaSonera has revealed that it is to expand its LTE network to 29 cities across Sweden and Norway. A new 4G modem will provide support for 2G and 3G networks, unlike the version used in the pilot projects in Stockholm and Oslo, which were solely for LTE.
Posted by Judith — 2:02 AM
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Microsoft, Apple prepare new mobile phone releases.
Source: Telecompaper.
Microsoft plans to introduce a new line of mobile phones based on its development project Pink. The handsets with social-networking capabilities aimed at young consumers will be available later this month in the US with Verizon Wireless.
Meanwhile Apple announced that it would show a new version of its iPhone operating system on 8 April. The new OS is is expected to more closely integrate iPad functions and feature on a new iPhone expected to hit the market ths summer.
Posted by Judith — 4:34 AM
Cisco upgrades servers as it competes with HP, IBM.
Source: Reuters.
Network equipment maker Cisco Systems has announced that it was upgrading its servers, stepping up competition against more established players in the market like HP and IBM.
Cisco entered the server market last year with its “Unified Computing System”, a move that put it in direct competition with long-time sales partners Hewlett-Packard and IBM.
The company recently said it was unlikely to renew its resale partnership with HP.
Posted by Judith — 3:23 AM
Cablecom adopts UPC brand.
Source: TeleGeography.
Switzerland’s largest cable operator Cablecom has adopted the UPC brand. The new brand will be used in parallel with the current name to ensure a smooth transition for the customers.
Posted by Judith — 2:51 AM
China Mobile to spend US$300m. in Pakistan.
Source: TeleGeography.
China Mobile says it will invest US$300m. into Pakistan subsidiary CMPak (Zong) during 2010 to upgrade the cellco’s network. The Chinese company has already invested almost US$1.7bn. in Pakistan since acquiring a stake in Zong in 2007.
Posted by Judith — 2:04 AM
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Sharp to launch advanced 3D panels for mobile gear.
Source: Reuters.
Sharp Corp has announced that it is planning to start making advanced 3D displays for cellphones and other mobile devices that don’t require special viewing glasses, betting that demand for 3D images will grow beyond movie theatres and living rooms to portable machines.
Posted by Judith — 3:21 AM
Google makes fifth acquisition of year.
Source: Globe Investor.
Google is bringing in some extra help for its YouTube video service with the acquisition of another startup.
The purchase of Episodic marks Google’s fifth acquisition so far this year. The company provides a platform for streaming live video on the Web.
Posted by Judith — 3:16 AM
Friday, April 2, 2010
Orange, T-Mobile successfully complete UK merger.
Source: Telecompaper.
Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom have confirmed the successful completion of the merger of Orange and T-Mobile in the UK and the formation of the new JV.
Posted by Judith — 3:28 AM
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Covad, Megapath announce merger plans.
Source: Telecompaper.
US voice and data communications provider Covad Communications and North American operator Megapath have announced plans to combine their operations. The merger could create one of the largest managed service local exchange carriers in the US, pending state and federal regulator approvals.
Posted by Judith — 5:00 AM
Mobile phone charges to fall after Ofcom ruling.
Source: BBC.
Callers to UK mobile phones could see cheaper bills from 2011 after a ruling by telecoms regulator Ofcom.
It has cut the cost mobile phone firms can charge for connecting a call from another network or landline from 4.3 pence per minute to 0.5p by 2015.
Ofcom has also issued new rules to make it quicker and easier to switch mobile phone providers.
Posted by Judith — 3:56 AM
Unity launches Trans-Pacific submarine cable system.
Source: Telecompaper.
International consortium Unity announced that the Trans-Pacific Unity submarine cable system has completed testing. The cable system provides direct connectivity between Tokyo, and Los Angeles.
NEC and TE SubCom were suppliers on the project, and the operators Bharti Airtel, Pacnet, Global Transit, Google, KDDI and SingTel funded the US$300m. system.
Posted by Judith — 2:42 AM
XO Launches 40 Gbps Services Nationwide.
Source: Converge.
XO Communications announced the availability of 40 Gbps network services in all its major metropolitan markets across the U.S. The service is targeted at enterprises such as large financial institutions.
Posted by Judith — 1:43 AM
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