Press Clippings: June 2010

Major Industry items you might have missed

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Spain’s Telefonica raises bid for Brazil’s Vivo.

Source: cellular-news.

Spain’s Telefonica has raised its bid for Brazil’s leading cell phone company Vivo to EUR7.15bn. (US$8.72bn.) from EUR6.5bn. just before a shareholder vote on the unsolicited offer.
Telefonica SA and Portugal Telecom SGPS SA each own 50% of Brasilcel, a holding company which in turn owns 60% of Vivo. Telefonica wants to buy from PT the half of Brasilcel it does not already have.

Posted by Judith — 3:52 AM


Verizon Wireless to carry iPhone in 2011.

Source: Reuters.

Verizon Wireless is due to start selling Apple’s iPhone next year, bringing an end to AT&T role as the exclusive service provider for the device.

Posted by Judith — 2:44 AM


Google to push Android deeper into Asia.

Source: Businessweek.

Stepping up its rivalry with Apple and Nokia, Google has outlined plans to court developers and put its operating system on lower-priced phones in China and India.
The company also aims to put its Android operating system on lower-priced phones made by Huawei and LG in parts of Asia and Europe, where it’s taking on Nokia, the mobile market leader.

Posted by Judith — 1:40 AM

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Google to end automatic rerouting from China site.

Source: Reuters.

Google Inc said it plans to stop automatically redirecting users of its Google.cn site to its Hong Kong page, in a bid to secure renewal of the company’s China operating license.

Posted by Judith — 4:02 AM


Obama endorses plan to boost wireless broadband.

Source: Reuters.

U.S. President Barack Obama has endorsed plans by regulators to nearly double the spectrum now available for wireless devices.
The White House announced a plan modeled after proposals by the FCC to free up 500 megahertz of spectrum over the next 10 years to meet the demand for laptop computers and smartphones.
Some estimates suggest the next five years will see an increase in wireless data of between 20 to 45 times 2009 levels, reflecting the burgeoning use of wireless devices.

Posted by Judith — 2:58 AM


EU roaming price cuts to take effect 1 July.

Source: Telecompaper.

The cost of using a mobile phone while roaming in the EU will drop again from 1 July. Mobile operators will also be required to set data roaming spending limits for their customers. The default amount is EUR50 per month, although customers can choose to set a different level or opt out of a cap.

Posted by Judith — 2:21 AM


SK Telecom buys into Packet One Networks.

Source: TeleGeography.

South Korea’s leading mobile provider SK Telecom has become the second-largest shareholder in Malaysian wireless broadband company Packet One Networks (P1). According to a company press release SK Telecom has acquired a 25.8% stake for US$100m.

Posted by Judith — 1:23 AM

Monday, June 28, 2010

Comstar to sell 25% stake in Svyazinvest to Rostelecom.

Source: TeleGeography.

Russian telco Comstar United TeleSystems has got board approval to sell its 25%+1 share stake in state-owned fixed line telecoms firm Svyazinvest to Rostelecom for RUB26bn. (US$835.83m.).

Posted by Judith — 4:27 AM


GTL Infra, RCom to create US$11bn. telecom company.

Source: Telecompaper.

The board of Indian telecommunication towers company GTL Infrastructure has approved an INR 500bn. (US$11bn.) transaction to create an independent telecommunication infrastructure company, neither owned nor controlled by any telecommunication operator. The transformational deal will be implemented through a merger of Reliance Infratel’s tower assets into GTL Infra.

Posted by Judith — 3:20 AM


FET to acquire Sparq.

Source: TeleGeography.

Taiwanese mobile operator Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) will spend up to TW$20.81bn. (US$646.8m.) to buy the outstanding 73.26% stake in fixed line affiliate New Century InfoComm Tech (Sparq), in a bid to catch up with Chunghwa and Taiwan Mobile.

Posted by Judith — 2:48 AM

Friday, June 25, 2010

Ofcom consults on future of internet traffic.

Source: Independent.

The communications regulator Ofcom will study how broadband providers manage internet traffic over their networks, to crack down on potentially anti-competitive behaviour and bring greater transparency to the market.
Yesterday, the watchdog published a discussion paper about “net neutrality” after some operators expressed concerns.

Posted by Judith — 3:36 AM


Shaw to complete Canwest asset takeover.

Source: TeleGeography.

Canadian triple-play cableco Shaw Communications has received permission from the courts to buy all of the TV broadcasting assets of Canwest Global Communications at a total value of CA$2bn. (US$1.92bn).

Posted by Judith — 2:47 AM


HP acquires mobile, online media specialist Melodeo.

Source: Telecompaper.

HP has confirmed that it has acquired mobile and online media specialist Melodeo. Melodeo’s main product line is nuTsie, a service that enables users to listen to playlists from iTunes libraries on Blackberry, Android and Windows Mobile devices.

Posted by Judith — 1:14 AM

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Google’s YouTube wins Viacom copyright case.

Source: BBC.

Google has won a landmark ruling as a judge threw out a US$1bn. lawsuit brought by Viacom accusing the internet giant of allowing copyrighted material on its YouTube service without permission.

Posted by Judith — 3:30 AM


Bharti pledges US$100m. network investment.

Source: TeleGeography.

Indian telecoms group Bharti Airtel has said it will spend US$100m. on network expansion in Malawi over the next three years. Earlier this month Bharti finalised the acquisition of the African assets of Kuwait-based Zain Group, in a deal valued at US$10.7bn. The company has now taken over Zain’s operations in 15 countries, including Malawi, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda. The Indian company expects to introduce the Airtel brand across its new units by October 2010.

Posted by Judith — 3:00 AM


Telefonica sells 8% stake in Portugal Telecom.

Source: Telecompaper.

Telefonica has sold an 8% stake in Portugal Telecom (PT). Before the 8% stake sale, Telefonica was Portugal Telecom’s largest shareholder, controlling a 10% stake in the Portuguese operator. Telefonica’s move is said to be due to fears it would not be allowed to vote on its own offer to acquire PT’s stake in Vivo.

Posted by Judith — 2:20 AM


Daisy purchases MurphX.

Source: TeleGeography.

British alternative telco Daisy Group has announced that it has agreed to purchase broadband service provider MurphX Innovative Solutions for an initial cash payment of GBP4.8m. (US$7.1m.).

Posted by Judith — 1:33 AM

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

FCC OKs AT&T buy of assets from Verizon.

Source: Reuters.

The U.S. FCC has approved Verizon Wireless’s US$2.35bn. wireless spectrum license sale to AT&T.
Verizon Wireless, owned by Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group, is selling the assets as a condition for regulatory approval of its own purchase in January last year of rural provider Alltel.

Posted by Judith — 4:47 AM


Etisalat, KT forge cooperation deal.

Source: TeleGeography.

UAE-based telecoms operator Etisalat has announced the signing of a strategic partnership agreement with South Korean counterpart KT to jointly develop new telecoms products and collaborative services for customers. The collaboration will focus on creating innovative solutions for global roaming on Wi-Fi, machine-to-machine telecommunication, IPTV and managed services, to benefit both domestic and international business customers of the two operators.

Posted by Judith — 3:45 AM


BT teams up with RRsat in strategic alliance.

Source: BT.com.

BT’s Media & Broadcast division and RRsat Global Communications Network Ltd have announced a five year strategic alliance. The alliance will enable their customers to benefit from high quality broadcast services over a deeper global reach - as well as being a catalyst to facilitate both companies growth in their global media businesses.

Posted by Judith — 3:09 AM


UK mobile networks team for mobile TV trial.

Source: Telecompaper.

Three UK mobile networks - Vodafone, Orange and O2 - are joining forces for a joint mobile TV trial. They will trial the Integrated Mobile Broadband 3GPP standard over three months from October in Slough and central London. The operators will share network infrastructure during the trial.

Posted by Judith — 2:28 AM


Cablevision is buying Bresnan Communications for US$1.36bn.

Source: Forbes.com.

Cable TV and Internet provider Cablevision Systems has announced that it will buy fellow cable operator Bresnan Communications in a deal valued at US$1.365bn.
Bresnan currently serves more than 630,000 homes in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah.

Posted by Judith — 2:16 AM


Orange Switzerland restructure focuses on regional needs.

Source: Telecompaper.

Orange Switzerland announced a strategic reorganisation through which the company structure will be adjusted to fit regional requirements. This follows the failure of its proposed merger with Sunrise, due to regulatory opposition.

Posted by Judith — 1:51 AM


Chicago to New York no stretch for Spread.

Source: TeleGeography.

Spread Networks, a privately owned telecoms provider, has announced the launch of a dark fibre private network running between Chicago and New York. In development for over three years, Spread Networks now offers financial firms direct access to its network via what it claims to be the shortest possible route, some 825 miles, reducing round-trip latency to 13.33 milliseconds.

Posted by Judith — 1:15 AM

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

WiFi roaming gets a boost.

Source: BWCS.

The Wireless Broadband Alliance has received a major boost this week with a series of heavyweight operators and manufacturers deciding to nail their colours to its mast. The first two newcomers to leap aboard yesterday were AT&T and Verizon Wireless. Later that day, the WBA announced that South Korean mobile operator KT, cable operator Comcast, Cisco Systems and mobile software company Devicescape have all recently joined too.

Posted by Judith — 4:50 AM


Usmanov wins court ban on Megafon, Turkcell meger.

Source: Telecompaper.

A Russian court has blocked the proposed merger of Russian mobile operator Megafon and Turkcel. The merger was agreed last year by the two mobile operators’ main shareholders, TeliaSonera and Altimo, putting an end to their struggle for management control. The deal was opposed by Russian metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov, owner of a 39% stake in Megafon.

Posted by Judith — 3:39 AM


Intel and FTC talk settlement of market abuse suit.

Source: Reuters.

Intel and the FTC have filed motions to suspend trial proceedings while both negotiate settlement of a lawsuit, in which the agency accused the company of abusing its market dominance.
The government accused Intel in December of illegally stifling competition, in a lawsuit the agency said sought to stop the marketing practices that have helped maintain Intel’s status as the world’s top chip maker for years.
Intel said the motions would give both sides until July 22 to discuss a proposed settlement, but details of any proposed settlement were confidential.

Posted by Judith — 2:13 AM

Monday, June 21, 2010

Kenya registers mobile phones to cut crime.

Source: BBC.

Kenya has started to register all mobile phone numbers in a bid to cut crime.
Users will have to supply identity documents and proof of address before they get a number.
Any numbers still unregistered at the end of July will be disconnected.

Posted by Judith — 11:04 AM


DoT says 3G refund for BSNL, MTNL unlikely.

Source: TeleGeography.

India’s Department of Telecommunications has rejected a plea by state-owned operators BSNL and MTNL for a refund of payments the duo made towards third-generation spectrum.
For their part both BSNL and MTNL have however claimed that they were in effect not given any choice regarding whether they wished to acquire 3G spectrum, with the pair also arguing that the same holds true for the broadband wireless access concessions that they were also awarded prior to the auction of such licences to private players.

Posted by Judith — 3:53 AM


BT offers unlimited access to Wi-Fi hotspots.

Source: cellular-news.

BT has announced that it is removing the usage caps on its network of Wi-Fi hotspots. Previously, BT’s domestic broadband users had limits on Wi-Fi minutes available to use at BT FON and BT Openzone hotspots depending on their BT Total Broadband option. Recognising the growing need for internet access on the move, BT has now decided to offer unlimited Wi-Fi access across all BT Total Broadband options.

Posted by Judith — 3:32 AM


Telstra, NBN Co reach financial heads of agreement.

Source: Telecompaper.

Australia’s NBN Co has reached an agreement with Telstra on the roll out of the National Broadband Network (NBN). The parties have reached a financial heads of agreement that will provide NBN Co access to Telstra facilities and the progressive migration of Telstra traffic onto the National Broadband Network, subject to regulatory approval. The agreement for these terms will have an approximate value of AU$9bn. (US$7.95bn.).

Posted by Judith — 2:01 AM

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Orange launches mobile HD Voice trial in UK.

Source: Telecompaper.

Orange has announced a trial of HD Voice across its UK network in the South of England. With immediate effect, the trial is running across the Orange UK mobile network between Bristol, Reading and Southampton, with those participating having been selected to represent a range of demographic groups, including small businesses and early technology adopters, as well as more mainstream users.

Posted by Judith — 3:18 AM


Dutch Layar signs global augmented reality deals.

Source: Reuters.

Netherlands-based Layar, a provider of augmented reality software, has signed deals to be distributed on a third of smartphones worldwide and predicted a boost in the use of its technology, which combines real-world images with computer-generated images on a screen.
The privately owned company said LG, the world’s third mobile phone manufacturer, had signed a deal for worldwide distribution, while Samsung had expanded its relationship to its new mobile operating system Bada.

Posted by Judith — 1:14 AM

Friday, June 18, 2010

Motorola and Sprint to sell Windows phone to businesses.

Source: Reuters.

Motorola has announced that it will launch a new phone based on Microsoft software and that No. 3 U.S. mobile operator Sprint Nextel will sell the phone to corporate customers.
While Motorola uses Google’s Android software for its consumer cellphones, it is sticking with Microsoft’s technology for devices aimed at business customers.

Posted by Judith — 3:33 AM


Fibre networks go on sale in US.

Source: Telecompaper.

At least three privately owned operators of fibre-optic networks in the US have put themselves up for sale in recent weeks. Those companies, according to the paper’s sources, are KDL of Evansville, Indiana, a provider of fibre networks in 26 states; Houston-based Alpheus Communications, which builds and manages the fibre backbone that links major cities in Texas; and Fibertech Networks, which leases fibre networks to banks, colleges and hospitals in the eastern US.

Posted by Judith — 2:38 AM


Vodafone(Germany) to outsource network maintenance services.

Source: TeleGeography.

Vodafone Germany intends to outsource its network maintenance services. The company is seeking a long-term partnership running at least five years, under which 630 jobs belonging to the current maintenance unit would be outsourced, as well as management. Vodafone needs to outsource maintenance after winning more network capacity at Germany’s recent spectrum auction and because of the coming implementation of new mobile network standards.

Posted by Judith — 2:23 AM


FCC to toughen internet rules.

Source: BBC.

The stage has been set for what many predict will be an ugly fight over broadband plans for US citizens.
The Federal Communications Commission has taken the first formal steps towards tougher rules for broadband.
It asked for public comment on three different plans, igniting an expensive lobbying campaign by all sides.

Posted by Judith — 1:56 AM


Bebo sold by AOL after just two years.

Source: BBC.

Internet company AOL has sold Bebo, the social networking site it bought two years ago for US$850m. (then G417m.).
Criterion Capital Partners, a small private investment firm, announced that it had bought the business, but did not disclose the amount paid.

Posted by Judith — 1:26 AM

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Fujitsu and Toshiba to merge mobile businesses.

Source: Reuters.

Japan’s Fujitsu and Toshiba have unveiled plans to merge their mobile phone businesses in October to create Japan’s second-biggest cellphone maker in a rapidly shrinking market.
The merger will help the two electronics makers share development costs, but the combined entity is unlikely to pose an immediate threat to global leaders such as Nokia Corp and Samsung Electronics.

Posted by Judith — 3:50 AM


PCCW unit snaps up Daisy’s WiMAX spectrum.

Source: TeleGeography.

British telecoms group Daisy Communications has sold its WiMAX spectrum licences to UK Broadband, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based PCCW Group. UK Broadband paid GBP12.5m. (US$18.4m.) in cash for the spectrum, which had been held under the Freedom4 (formerly Pipex Wireless) group, while Daisy has also announced that it has divested its loss-making Wi-Fi business to the existing management team for a nominal sum.

Posted by Judith — 2:04 AM


Vodafone launches triple-play fibre package in Portugal.

Source: Telecompaper.

Vodafone has launched a triple-play package dubbed ‘Vodafone Casa com Fibra’ for customers across Portugal. The service includes voice, HD TV service and broadband internet access at speeds of up to 300 Mbps.

Posted by Judith — 2:03 AM


HomeGrid Forum partners with BroadBand Forum.

Source: Converge.

The HomeGrid Forum and the Broadband Forum have agreed to develop and deliver to the market, later this year, a global compliance and interoperability testing program for products using G.hn technology - ITU-T’s unified wired home networking standard, which aims to unify the home networking of content and devices over any wire — coaxial cable, phone lines, and power lines.

Posted by Judith — 1:41 AM


San Francisco set to pass cell phone radiation law.

Source: BBC.

San Francisco is set to be the first city in the US to require mobile phone retailers to post radiation levels next to handsets they sell.

Posted by Judith — 1:16 AM

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

ICQ sale raises security concerns in US.

Source: Telecompaper.

Senior US law enforcement officials have objected to AOL’s pending sale of instant-messaging service ICQ to a Russian investment firm. Investigators at federal agencies charged with scrutinising cybercrime are concerned about the US$187.5m. acquisition of ICQ by Moscow-based Digital Sky Technologies.

Posted by Judith — 2:07 AM


Spanish industry ministry mulling options for spectrum allocation, redistribution.

Source: TeleGeography.

Spain’s Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio has revealed its intention to distribute spectrum suitable for high speed mobile data services. The ministry has announced that it expects to hand out frequencies in the 800MHz band, which had previously been used for analogue television services, while it also intends to redistribute spectrum in the 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2600MHz bands.

Posted by Judith — 1:09 AM

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Competition authority gives FT green light for quad-play.

Source: TeleGeography.

France’s Autorite de la Concurrence has removed restrictions which previously barred France Telecom selling so-called ‘quadruple-play’ bundles of fixed and mobile services. The conditions were originally placed on the state behemoth more than ten years ago when the market was being opened up to competition.

Posted by Judith — 4:17 AM


Reliance to demerge Infratel.

Source: Telecompaper.

The boards of directors of Reliance Communications and its subsidiary Reliance Infratel have approved a plan to demerge Infratel to create an independent telecommunications infrastructure company.

Posted by Judith — 2:38 AM


BT unveils fibre broadband roll-out plans for London.

Source: Telecompaper.

BT has announced a major roll-out of super-fast broadband in London in advance of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Under the plan, 87% of homes and small businesses in London will be served by exchanges enabled for fibre broadband by spring 2011 (large companies already have access to such services on a private basis).

Posted by Judith — 1:50 AM


Cincinnati Bell acquires CyrusOne data centers.

Source: Converge.

Cincinnati Bell has acquired CyrusOne, one of the largest data center colocation operators in Texas, for approximately US$525m. in cash.
The acquisition includes seven data centers in Houston, Dallas, and Austin with a total of 174,000 square feet of data center capacity.

Posted by Judith — 1:09 AM

Monday, June 14, 2010

Cablevision agrees to buy Bresnan for US$1.36bn.

Source: TeleGeography.

Cablevision, the fifth-largest US cable operator, has agreed to buy Bresnan Communications for US$1.36bn. Cablevision competed against bids from TPG Capital, BC Partners, Suddenlink Communications and Ascent Media Corp.

Posted by Judith — 4:35 AM


QSC, freenet forge network partnership deal.

Source: TeleGeography.

German fixed network operator QS Communications (QSC) has announced the signing of a long-term network partnership agreement with freenet Cityline, a subsidiary of MSO freenet. Under the terms of the agreement, QSC will assume control of freenet’s narrowband network, which handles pre-selection, call-by-call and internet-by-call services, and integrate it into its NGN.

Posted by Judith — 2:13 AM


Safaricom to seek 3G refund from CCK.

Source: Telecompaper.

Kenyan operator Safaricom plans to seek a US$15m. refund from the telecommunications regulator following the review of 3G spectrum licence fee to US$10m. The company paid US$25m. for the 3G service in 2007, but other mobile operators set to roll out the system will pay US$10m.

Posted by Judith — 1:45 AM


Televisa consortium wins Mexico’s dark fibre tender.

Source: Telecompaper.

The consortium comprising Televisa, Telefonica and Megacable has won the tender for the Federal Electricity Commission’s dark fibre spectrum. The consortium offered MXN883m. (US$69.3m.) for the cables. The companies plan to spend an additional MXN1.3bn. to increase coverage in regions currently served by a single operator and expand the existing broadband capacity.

Posted by Judith — 1:00 AM

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Motorola, RIM settle patent fight over mobile phones.

Source: BusinessWeek.

RIM has agreed to pay Motorola an undisclosed amount to settle their battle over patents to wireless technology.
RIM will make an upfront payment to Motorola and pay royalties for future use of the technology, the companies said in a joint statement today, without providing specific terms. The companies also agreed to license each other’s patents related to industry standards for wireless phones and e-mail.

Posted by Judith — 3:18 AM

Friday, June 11, 2010

FBI begins probe into AT&T iPad security breach.

Source: Reuters.

The FBI has opened a probe into a security breach of Apple’s iPad that exposed personal information of AT&T’s customers, including those of several high-ranking government officials.
AT&T, which has exclusive U.S. rights to carry the iPad and the popular iPhone, has acknowledged the security breach but said it had corrected the flaw and that only email addresses were exposed to hackers who identified a security weakness.

Posted by Judith — 4:02 AM


Infotel wins pan-India spectrum in BWA auction

Source: Telecompaper.

India’s auction of wireless broadband spectrum has ended, with fixed-line operator Infotel the big winner of pan-India spectrum rights. Infotel acquired licences in all 22 regional telecom circles, for a total price of INR128.48bn. (US$2.74bn.). Two blocks of 20MHz each in the 2.3GHz band were issued in each circle, bringing total proceeds for the auction to INR256.96bn. (US$5.49bn.). Other winners included Qualcomm, which took a total four licences including the two largest areas of Delhi and Mumbai, Aircel with eight, Bharti Airtel with four, Tikona with five and Augere with one.

Posted by Judith — 2:50 AM


Iliad secures US$1.7bn. credit line ahead of mobile rollout.

Source: TeleGeography.

French broadband internet provider and would-be mobile start-up Iliad (Free) has secured a EUR1.4bn. (US$1.7bn.) five-year credit facility from a group of eight European banks to help refinance its debt ahead of its launch of mobile services in the country.

Posted by Judith — 1:51 AM


O2 network scraps unlimited data for smartphones.

Source: BBC.

UK phone network O2 has scrapped unlimited data downloads for smartphone customers.
All new and upgrading customers will have their usage capped at between 500MB and 1GB depending on their monthly tariff.
Analysts said the move was “inevitable” as more and more consumers switch to data-intensive smartphones that can surf the web and show video.

Posted by Judith — 1:39 AM


Speakeasy to merge with MegaPath + Covad.

Source: Converge.

Speakeasy, which is owned by Best Buy, will combine its business with Covad Communications and MegaPath. The deal will merge Speakeasy’ small business voice and data services with MegaPath’s value-added services for distributed enterprises, and make them available over Covad’s nationwide broadband network.

Posted by Judith — 1:01 AM

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Apple restricts Google access to app ad market.

Source: Telecompaper.

Apple has proposed new developer terms that may prohibit app developers from using advertising services from Google and its recently acquired subsidiary AdMob.

Posted by Judith — 3:43 AM


Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group forms in US.

Source: Telecompaper.

A group of US broadband and high-tech companies have announced initial plans for a voluntary Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group. The TAG’s mission is to bring together engineers and other similar technical experts to develop consensus on broadband network management practices or other related technical issues that can affect users’ internet experience.

Posted by Judith — 2:57 AM


Orascom calls time on talks with MTN.

Source: TeleGeography.

Egyptian telecoms group Orascom Telecom has reportedly halted negotiations with South Africa’s MTN Group related to the latter’s possible acquisition of part, or all, of Orascom. In a statement confirming that no further talks would take place between the two companies, Orascom said that the decision had been made ‘to terminate discussions in connection with the sale of certain of its operations as a result of the failure to reach a deal.’

Posted by Judith — 1:45 AM


MTN receives US$2.1bn. in loans to boost network.

Source: TeleGeography.

MTN Nigeria has announced it has received NGN310bn. (US$2.1bn.) in fresh loan facilities from a consortium of 17 banks to enable it to further expand its telecoms network across the country. A total of 15 Nigerian banks, including Afribank, Citibank and First Bank of Nigeria, are lending to the company, while further funding is being provided by two foreign banks: IPEX-Bank of Germany and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Posted by Judith — 1:21 AM

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Bharti targets 100m. African subscribers by 2013 as it closes Zain deal.

Source: TeleGeography.

India’s Bharti Airtel has announced that it has finalised the acquisition of the African assets of Kuwait-based Zain Group, with the deal valued at US$10.7bn. Under the terms of the deal, first announced in March 2010, Bharti will pay US$8.3bn. upfront, followed by a further cash payment of US$700m. after one year, while it will also take over approximately US$1.7bn. of Zain’s debt.

Posted by Judith — 4:19 AM


Alcatel-Lucent signs US$500m. deal for ACE cable.

Source: Telecompaper.

Alcatel-Lucent announced a the turnkey contract valued at over US$500m. for the new Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable. France Telecom-Orange said in a statement that the 20 members of the ACE consortium have signed the agreement for the construction and maintenance of the cable, which will run between Penmarch in France and Cape Town in South Africa.

Posted by Judith — 3:52 AM


Ireland’s An Post launches new MVNO service with Vodafone.

Source: TeleGeography.

Ireland’s national postal operator An Post has launched a new MVNO service in the Republic using Vodafone as the host network provider.

Posted by Judith — 2:21 AM


Mobistar inks MVNO deal with SME-focused Tellink.

Source: TeleGeography.

Belgian mobile network operator Mobistar has announced that virtual operator Tellink has signed a partnership deal that will see the latter switch across all of its customers to the Mobistar network.

Posted by Judith — 2:16 AM

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

EU mobile phone charge cap is legal.

Source: BBC.

Caps on mobile phone call charges made while travelling within Europe will stay in place after four phone giants failed to have them overturned.
The four - Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange and Telefonica O2 - challenged rules put in place by the EU in 2007.

Posted by Judith — 4:08 AM


Three mobile TV bidders named.

Source: TeleGeography.

Hong Kong’s telecoms regulator has named the three companies which have applied for a mobile TV broadcasting licence in the Special Administrative Region. The applicants are all existing Hong Kong-based operators: Chinese-owned cellco China Mobile Hong Kong, fixed line and fibre-based broadband provider City Telecom and Hong Kong Telecommunications.

Posted by Judith — 3:01 AM


Vodacom gets nod to take 100% stake in Africonnect Zambia.

Source: TeleGeography.

The Zambia Competition Commission has approved the 100% takeover of Africonnect Zambia by Vodacom Gateway Mauritius, itself owned by the UK’s Vodafone Group.

Posted by Judith — 2:36 AM


Libya’s Lap to buy 75% of Zamtel for US$257m.

Source: Telecompaper.

Libya’s Lap Green Networks has won the bidding to acquire 75% of Zambian fixed-line operator Zamtel for US$257m. Lap is the Libyan government’s foreign investment company. It already holds stakes in a number of African telecom operators, including Rwandatel, Uganda Telecom and Sahelcom in Cote d’Ivoire.

Posted by Judith — 1:52 AM

Monday, June 7, 2010

Ericsson and CableTica to build and operate NGN.

Source: TeleGeography.

Ericsson has signed a five-year contract with cable television operator CableTica to build and operate a fibre-optic transport network. The network will be the first in Costa Rica specifically optimised to handle the needs of the next-generation mobile networks expected to be implemented in the country this year.

Posted by Judith — 3:36 AM


Telefonica sells Manx Telecom for US$158.8m.

Source: TeleGeography.

Telefonica has confirmed the sale of Manx Telecom to HgCapital - a private equity firm - and CPS Partners - a telecommunications management company with a history of acquiring operators in small countries - in a deal worth US$158.8m. Manx Telecom was bought by Telefonica in 2006 as part of the Spanish giant’s acquisition of O2.

Posted by Judith — 2:38 AM


RCom agrees to sell up to 26% stake.

Source: Telecompaper.

Reliance Communications has agreed to sell an up to 26% stake in the company to strategic or private equity investors. The announcement follows confirmation last week from the Indian operator that the company has already received various expressions of interest.

Posted by Judith — 1:57 AM


French channels accept TDF-Virgin mobile TV plan.

Source: Telecompaper.

French broadcasters have signed up to a project to offer mobile TV channels with broadcast infrastructure and services provider TDF in the autumn of 2011. TDF has already agreed to launch mobile TV services commercially in partnership with MVNO Virgin Mobile France.

Posted by Judith — 1:56 AM

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Verizon may be alone in following AT&T rate change.

Source: Reuters.

Verizon Wireless could be prepared to follow AT&T lead and change how it charges wireless subscribers to download data — but analysts say other carriers may be better served by standing their ground in the latest pricing upheaval.
Analysts are betting that U.S. market leader Verizon Wireless and Vodafone Group, will react by cutting its prices at the low end. It will also pull its unlimited service to help it manage network capacity.
But AT&T’s next-biggest rivals — Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA — are more likely to maintain their unlimited plans, allowing customers to surf the Web as much as they want for a fixed price.

Posted by Judith — 3:02 AM

Friday, June 4, 2010

Clearwire expands WiMAX to DC, Kansas City.

Source: TeleGeography.

Clearwire has launched WiMAX high speed internet services under the ‘Clear’ brand in the Washington DC and Kansas City areas, bringing its network coverage to 33 regional markets.
By the end of 2010 Clearwire’s network is expected to cover up to 120m. people, including additional cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, Miami, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

Posted by Judith — 3:47 AM


MegaFon closes Synterra purchase.

Source: TeleGeography.

Russian cellco MegaFon has closed the US$745m. acquisition of long-distance operator Synterra, following several months of negotiations with owner PromSvyazCapital and rumours of a counter bid from Rostelecom.

Posted by Judith — 3:43 AM


France Telecom, TDC terminate Sunrise-Orange agreement.

Source: Telecompaper.

France Telecom and TDC have terminated their agreement concerning the planned merger of Orange Switzerland and TDC subsidiary Sunrise. The decision follows the Swiss Competition Commission’s 22 April decision, which prohibited the combination of Orange Switzerland and Sunrise Communications.

Posted by Judith — 2:39 AM


Google to give governments street view data.

Source: NYT.

Google is bowing to the demands of three European governments and says it will begin surrendering the data it improperly collected over unsecured wireless networks.
Google’s chief executive stated that within the next two days, the company would share the data with regulators in Germany, Spain and France. The data is thought to include fragments of personal information like e-mail and bank account numbers.

Posted by Judith — 1:31 AM

Thursday, June 3, 2010

ZTE contracted to expand Public Mobile’s CDMA2000 network.

Source: TeleGeography.

China’s ZTE Corporation and new Canadian cellular operator Public Mobile, which launched commercial CDMA2000-based services in Toronto last month, have announced an agreement to build out a CDMA network aimed at providing mobile services to 19m. potential customers across Ontario and Quebec.

Posted by Judith — 4:53 AM


EC approves virtual unbundling of BT fibre network.

Source: Telecompaper.

The EC has approved proposals from UK regulator Ofcom to mandate virtual unbundling of BT’s fibre network, but requests full unbundling as soon as possible. It has decided to accept, in view of the specific circumstances of the case, the proposal of Ofcom to oblige BT to provide ‘virtual’ access to its optical fibre infrastructure to alternative operators.

Posted by Judith — 3:38 AM


AT&T scraps ‘all-you-can-eat’ mobile data plans.

Source: TeleGeography.

AT&T, the second-largest US mobile operator and the exclusive provider of wireless service for Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices, is to scrap its USD30-a-month unlimited mobile data plan and introduce tiered plans for new smartphone and iPad owners based upon data consumption.

Posted by Judith — 2:56 AM


Bell Aliant to expand direct fibre network to Nova Scotia this autumn.

Source: TeleGeography.

Canadian telco Bell Aliant has announced that it will expand its ‘FibreOP’ FTTH network, currently operational in New Brunswick, to Nova Scotia by the autumn, helped by a contribution of CA$2m. from the provincial government. The company will initially be investing CA$15m. in the Sydney, Nova Scotia area to bring FibreOP services to more than 30,000 homes and businesses there.

Posted by Judith — 1:57 AM


Nokia unveils bicycle mobile charger.

Source: Reuters.

Nokia has introduced a bicycle charger aimed at developing countries with limited access to electricity, but the cellphone maker said the idea could catch on in Europe where cycling for work, shopping and errands is a common lifestyle.

Posted by Judith — 1:40 AM

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Huge order for Iridium spacecraft.

Source: BBC.

The mobile satellite services provider Iridium has ordered 81 spacecraft to upgrade its global network.
Thales Alenia Space of France will build the satellites - 66 to form the operational constellation, the remainder to act as spares.
The order makes the Iridium Next venture the biggest commercial space project in the world today.

Posted by Judith — 4:00 AM


Telefonica to support Intel, Nokia’s MeeGo software platform.

Source: Telecompaper.

Telefonica will jointly explore with Intel and Nokia how to leverage MeeGo’s capabilities in order to deliver converged services to its customers. The services are expected to include content and applications that can be accessed from devices such as smartphones, netbooks, tablets, and internet connected TVs for Telefonica’s fixed and mobile operations in 25 countries.

Posted by Judith — 2:46 AM


Hewlett-Packard to cut 9,000 jobs worldwide.

Source: BBC.

Hewlett-Packard says it plans to spend US$1bn. (GBP686m.) and shed 9,000 jobs over three years as it creates fully-automated commercial data centres.

Posted by Judith — 2:03 AM


Vodafone halts talks on possible Egyptian stake sale.

Source: TeleGeography.

UK-based mobile giant Vodafone Group has reportedly ended negotiations over a possible divestment of its interest in its Egyptian subsidiary Vodafone Egypt. Vodafone Group announced that it halted ongoing discussions with fixed line incumbent Telecom Egypt (TE) regarding the sale, just two weeks after it first emerged that the two companies were in talks with a view to TE purchasing Vodafone’s 55% stake in the cellco; the fixed line operator already holds a 45% stake in Vodafone Egypt.

Posted by Judith — 1:43 AM


Uninor inaugurates commercial services in five new circles.

Source: TeleGeography.

One of India’s newest mobile network operators, Unitech Wireless, which offers services under the Uninor banner, has announced that it has launched commercially in five further circles: West Bengal, Calcutta, Maharashtra (including Goa), Mumbai and Gujarat. The simultaneous launches bring the cellco’s commercial presence to a total of 13 circles nationwide, and up its network footprint to around 900m. people.

Posted by Judith — 1:21 AM

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Indian Tax Office restates demand for $2bn. from Vodafone.

Source: cellular-news.

Vodafone’s long running battle over the taxes it may have to pay on its Indian investment took a turn for the worse when the Income Tax department has reaffirmed its earlier stand that Vodafone should be held liable for the tax demand.

Posted by Judith — 4:13 AM


IIJ purchases AT&T Japan subsidiary.

Source: TeleGeography.

Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ), an internet access and network solutions provider in Japan, has signed a stock purchase agreement with AT&T Japan, under which it will acquire the stock of the new company established by AT&T in Japan.

Posted by Judith — 3:46 AM


Skype enhances iPhone app with 3G calling functionality.

Source: Telecompaper.

VoIP services provider Skype has launched the new version of its iPhone application. This update enables iPhone users to make and receive Skype-to-Skype calls, and to call mobiles and landlines around the world over their 3G data connection.

Posted by Judith — 2:34 AM

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