Press Clippings: January 2011
Major Industry items you might have missed
Monday, January 31, 2011
Comcast, NBCU seal the deal.
Source: Light Reading.
Comcast and General Electric have sewed up their US$30bn. deal, creating a new joint venture now called NBCUniversal LLC . Comcast owns 51% of the property, with GE owning the balance.
Posted by Judith — 2:44 AM
Telenor starts arbitration over Vimpelcom, Wind deal.
Source: Telecompaper.
Telenor has moved to block Vimpelcom’s proposed takeover of Wind Telecom. The Norwegian operator and Vimpelcom shareholder said it has started arbitration proceedings against Vimpelcom and the Russian operator’s other major shareholder Altimo.
Posted by Judith — 2:06 AM
Telekom Srbija too expensive: FT declines to bid.
Source: TeleGeography.
France Telecom has announced that it has decided not to take part in the privatisation of Serbian telecoms operator, Telekom Srbija, on the basis that it is too expensive. A number of other companies including Deutsche Telekom, VimpelCom, Weather Investments (now renamed Wind Telecom), Telekom Austria, America Movil and Turkcell have applied to take part in the tender.
Posted by Judith — 1:23 AM
Free Wi-Fi within London’s square mile from The Cloud.
Source: cellular-news.
The City of London has announced a deal with Wi-Fi network, The Cloud to give Londoners 15 minutes free Wi-Fi access per day within the square mile of London. The Cloud says that it expects that more than 350,000 city workers and visitors to the area will be able to take advantage of the free 15 minutes per day within the Square Mile.
Posted by Judith — 1:10 AM
Saturday, January 29, 2011
FCC moves to dismiss Verizon, MetroPCS lawsuits on net neutrality.
Source: Washington Post.
The FCC has asked a federal court to dismiss recent lawsuits brought by Verizon Communications and MetroPCS to overturn the agency’s Internet access rules.
In a press statement, a senior FCC officials said that the companies did not follow procedural guidelines and filed their suits in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit too early.
Posted by Judith — 3:10 AM
Friday, January 28, 2011
Verizon to buy Terremark for US$1.4bn.
Source: Telecompaper.
Verizon has agreed to buy Terremark Worldwide for an equity value of US$1.4bn. Operating 13 data centres in the US, Europe and Latin America, Terremark offers cloud computing, colocation and managed hosting services. It will retain the Terremark name, the company will operate as an independent unit within Verizon.
Posted by Judith — 3:41 AM
Apple, RIM, ZTE won in booming cellphone market.
Source: Reuters.
Global cellphone sales surged 18% from a year ago in October-December, boosted by strong growth of North American smartphone vendors Apple and RIM.
The phone market has recovered from a slump in 2009 when the global economic slowdown dampened demand for the latest gadgets. Demand has surged for new smartphones like Apple’s iPhone 4 and Samsung’s Galaxy S. All vendors in total sold 401 million phones in the quarter
Posted by Judith — 3:19 AM
Intel McAfee acquisition cleared by EU.
Source: InformationWeek.
European regulators have approved Intel’s planned acquisition of security vendor McAfee, saying the microprocessor maker has agreed to take steps to ensure that McAfee rivals will get the same access to Intel technology.
In addition, Intel pledged to continue having McAfee software support the products of rival chipmakers, which would include Advanced Micro Devices. The European Commission will monitor Intel for compliance.
Posted by Judith — 2:18 AM
Google-backed ‘Super Wi-Fi’ plan gets FCC approval.
Source: InformationWeek.
The FCC has conditionally granted nine companies the opportunity to manage databases that will serve to coordinate the usage of “white spaces” — underutilized frequencies of the broadcast spectrum — for high-speed wireless broadband networking.
The other eight companies tapped as white spaces database operators are: Comsearch, Frequency Finder, KB Enterprises and LS Telcom (jointly), Key Bridge Global, Neustar, Spectrum Bridge, Telcordia Technologies, and WSdb.
Posted by Judith — 1:21 AM
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Sky TV buys the Cloud Wi-Fi network.
Source: cellular-news.
UK based satellite TV provider, BSkyB has confirmed the rumours that it will buy UK Wi-Fi hotpsot operator, The Cloud. The company said that the acquisition gives it ownership of over 5,000 public Wi-Fi locations across the UK.
The company said that it signed the purchase agreement earlier this month, but only just announced it in their financial results which were released earlier today.
The sale is also believed to be the driving reason behind yesterday’s announcement by O2 that it would be building its own dedicated Wi-Fi network and would no longer roam onto 3rd-party networks as it has done until now.
Posted by Judith — 4:48 AM
RIM says no access to corporate email in India.
Source: Reuters.
BlackBerry maker RIM has said there was no possibility of providing India access to corporate emails on BlackBerry devices.
India has demanded access to all BlackBerry services as part of efforts to fight militancy and security threats over the Internet and through telephone communications.
Posted by Judith — 3:30 AM
LightSquared earns FCC approval for ‘integrated service’.
Source: TeleGeography.
LightSquared, the LTE open-access mobile network that will utilise satellite spectrum acquired by New York investment firm Harbinger Capital, has confirmed that the FCC has granted it a conditional waiver of the Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) Integrated Service rule; as LightSquared will offer both a satellite and a land-based Long Term Evolution (LTE) network it is required to acquire a licence from the FCC to operate the service under its ATC rule for integrated services.
Posted by Judith — 3:21 AM
ZTE and ChinaTel sign MoU.
Source: TeleGeography.
ZTE has announced the formation of a partnership with ChinaTel to promote broadband access solutions and services worldwide. ZTE and Perusat, ChinaTel’s Peruvian subsidiary, have been deploying a nationwide WiMAX (LTE-Ready) network.
Posted by Judith — 1:56 AM
Ericsson to supply Unicom with GPON solution.
Source: TeleGeography.
Ericsson has bagged a new contract from China Unicom to supply its gigabit-capable passive optical network (GPON) solution in more than ten provinces across China. The contract marks China Unicom’s first large-scale deployment of GPON technology.
Posted by Judith — 1:19 AM
Google voice begins number porting.
Source: Converge.
Google has begun offering U.S. number porting to its Google Voice service. The porting carriers a $20 fee and is completed in about 24 hours.
Google Voice provides the user with a single phone number that will ring your home, work, and mobile phones, a central voicemail inbox that you could access on the web, and the ability to screen calls by listening in live as callers leave a voicemail.
Posted by Judith — 1:01 AM
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Facebook buys local advertising start-up for mobile services.
Source: cellular-news.
Social networking website, Facebook has made what is thought to be its first acquisition of a mobile advertising company as the company steps up its move into the mobile website market. The USA based company, Rel8tion had been operating in “stealth mode” since it was set up nine months ago.
Posted by Judith — 3:48 AM
MasterCard, Telefonica set up LatAm m-payment joint venture.
Source: Telecompaper.
MasterCard and Telefonica have set up a joint venture to develop mobile financial services in 12 countries in Latin America where Telefonica is present with the Movistar brand. The new company will focus on integrating the accessibility provided by mobile phones with a set of financial services that will work with existing electronic payment systems.
Posted by Judith — 3:28 AM
O2 to build free Wi-Fi network across the UK.
Source: Independent.
The mobile operator O2 will today launch an ambitious drive to install Wi-Fi hotspots across the UK, bringing it into conflict with broadband rivals BSkyB and BT.
The announcement of its Wi-Fi division will mark what the company calls the first “truly free, public Wi-Fi platform” in the UK, available not just to its customers, but anyone else who wants to use it.
Posted by Judith — 3:01 AM
PT to acquire at least 22% of Oi.
Source: TeleGeography.
Portugal Telecom (PT) has agreed to buy a minimum 22% stake in Brazilian operator Telemar Norte Leste (Oi) for BRL8.3bn. (US$5bn.), confirming a preliminary agreement between the two companies dated last July. Under the agreement between Oi and PT, the Brazilian telco will acquire up to a 10% stake in PT after PT’s purchase of the stake in Oi has been completed.
Posted by Judith — 2:37 AM
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Vodafone UK and Gamma Telecom ink MVNA agreement.
Source: TeleGeography.
The UK mobile subsidiary of Vodafone Group has inked a mobile virtual network aggregator (MVNA) wholesale agreement with Gamma Telecom. According to Vodafone UK the deal will allow Gamma’s channel partners to become full MVNO’s operating on the cellco’s network, and the agreement represents the former’s first foray with an MVNA which specifically targets the business market.
Posted by Judith — 4:17 AM
Huawei seeks to stop Motorola sale to NSN.
Source: Telecompaper.
Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei has filed a lawsuit to stop Motorola from selling its mobile networks unit to NSN. Huawei and Motorola have cooperated in the radio access network and core network businesses, where Motorola has resold Huawei wireless network products to customers under the Motorola name. Huawei says that due to its relationship with Motorola, the latter has information, including plans for future products and technical specifications, and Huawei is concerned that Motorola could disclose and misuse this information.
Posted by Judith — 3:27 AM
Orange enters exclusive talks to buy 49% of Dailymotion.
Source: Telecompaper.
Orange has confirmed entering exclusive negotiations with a view to acquiring 49% of French-headquartered internet video platform Dailymotion for EUR58.8m., with the possibility of progressively increasing its stake to 100% from 2013. It will give the operator immediate access to the Dailymotion video platform to meet evolving usage on all screens (internet, Wi-Fi, 3G) and to work on the growing segments of HD, 3D and multi-screen continuity.
Posted by Judith — 2:32 AM
VimpelCom buys remaining stake in Kyrgyz mobile network operator.
Source: cellular-news.
Russia’s VimpelCom is reported to have brought out the 50.1% of Kyrgyz mobile network operator, Sky Mobile that it did not already own. The transaction was completed last October, but only just reported by local news media, and is said to have cost US$150m.
Posted by Judith — 1:07 AM
Monday, January 24, 2011
Telefonica, China Unicom fortify alliance.
Source: Light Reading.
Telefonica and China Unicom have strengthened their existing relationship with an agreement to invest an additional US$500m. in each others’ equity and work together on technology and service development.
The new agreement builds on the strategic alliance that the operators forged in September 2009 whereby they invested US$1bn. in each others’ equity.
Posted by Judith — 3:15 AM
O2 starts migrating UK iPhone4 users to 900Mhz spectrum.
Source: cellular-news.
UK based mobile network operator, O2 has doubled its planned network investment following approval from the telecoms regulator to start refarming some of its GSM900 spectrum for 3G services.
The company stated that the investment would boost network capacity for 3G users, especially as it can migrate its iPhone 4 users over to the 900Mhz spectrum. Some Nokia handsets sold by the operator also support 3G at 900Mhz.
Posted by Judith — 2:54 AM
Cellcom and Iway launch Internet system for cars.
Source: Reuters.
Start-up Iway Mobile and Cellcom, Israel’s largest mobile phone operator, have launched a communications, Internet and entertainment system for the automobile.
Comodo includes a 4.3 inch touchscreen, speakerphone, a rear camera to increase security when in reverse, a GPS antenna and a cellular modem for an always-on connection to the Internet via a 3G cellular network.
Posted by Judith — 1:49 AM
Friday, January 21, 2011
Verizon sues FCC to overturn net-neutrality rules.
Source: Washington Post.
Just weeks after the FCC adopted its first-ever rules aimed at regulating Internet access, Verizon Communications has filed a federal lawsuit to overturn the controversial order.
Verizon argues that the FCC does not have the legal authority to mandate how Internet service providers treat content on their networks.
Posted by Judith — 4:15 AM
EU approves record state aid for broadband in 2010.
Source: Telecompaper.
In keeping with the digital agenda goals set in the EU 2020, the EC has approved the use of over EUR1.8bn. of public funds for broadband development in 2010. The public funds are aimed to ensure that all citizens have access to high speed internet access in the EU, including in rural or remote areas.
Posted by Judith — 3:12 AM
Telstra in talks with Ericsson over major mobile network project.
Source: TeleGeography.
Australia’s dominant telco Telstra has confirmed that it is holding talks with Swedish vendor Ericsson regarding a mobile network expansion project. The contract for the project in question is expected to be valued at around AU$473m.(US$469m.), and should the deal be completed it is understood that it would represent the largest contract won by Ericsson since it bagged the right to construct Telstra’s 3G infrastructure in 2005.
Posted by Judith — 2:35 AM
EETT confirms USD328m autumn auction for Vodafone, Wind GSM spectrum.
Source: TeleGeography.
The chairman of Greek telecoms regulator the National Telecommunications & Post Commission (EETT), has confirmed that mobile frequencies currently used for GSM services by cellcos Vodafone Greece and Wind Hellas will be auctioned in autumn this year via a sale of four 2x5MHz blocks of 900MHz spectrum under new 15-year licences.
Posted by Judith — 2:03 AM
One out of five cellphones sold is unlicensed copy.
Source: Reuters.
Nokia has stated that one out of every five cellphones sold in the world are illegal or unlicensed copycats, hurting the position of producers like Nokia in emerging markets.
Surging growth of no-brand manufacturers coupled with growing smartphone sales boosted third-quarter cellphone sales by 35%.
Posted by Judith — 1:09 AM
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Ofcom reveals wholesale broadband pricing proposals.
Source: TeleGeography.
The UK’s telecoms watchdog, Ofcom, has unveiled a raft of proposals that it claims could mean better value broadband services for those in rural areas. The regulator has put forward a number of price reductions that will limit how much fixed line incumbent BT can charge ISP’s in certain parts of the country. Ofcom has said that it expects enhanced competition between retail ISPs as a result of the proposals to in turn lead to lower costs for consumers.
Posted by Judith — 4:09 AM
Videotron and Tata are international partners.
Source: TeleGeography.
Canada’s Videotron has signed a sourcing deal with India’s Tata Communications, under which the Quebec-based quadruple-play operator will route 100% of its international voice traffic through Tata’s network.
Posted by Judith — 3:27 AM
Samsung acquires e-paper technology firm Liquavista.
Source: Reuters.
Samsung Electronics Co said on Thursday it had acquired Dutch display firm Liquavista, which specializes in electronic paper technology, as the world’s biggest LCD screen maker seeks to expand in the booming mobile display market.
Posted by Judith — 2:15 AM
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
FCC oks Comcast’s NBC Universal deal, with net neutrality-style conditions.
Source: Connected Planet.
The FCC has approved the Comcast-NBC Universal merger with conditions to be imposed by federal regulators, as well as several conditions Comcast itself already proposed.
The most notable condition for Comcast’s telco TV competitors is the FCC’s order for an accelerated arbitration process for disputes between the cable TV programming giant and competitors seeking access to its content.
Posted by Judith — 2:12 AM
Bell Labs partners with Belgium’s IBBT.
Source: Converge.
Alcatel-Lucent’s Bell Labs and Belgian research institute IBBT are establishing a joint research lab to focus on video communications. The joint lab aims to efficiently integrate fundamental and applied research in order to unlock the value of these new dimensions of video communications within the marketplace.
Posted by Judith — 1:53 AM
DoCoMo, China Mobile, KT Corp mull joint business opportunities.
Source: TeleGeography.
Japan’s leading mobile operator by subscribers NTT DoCoMo is reportedly joining up with the largest carriers in China and South Korea - China Mobile Communications Corp and KT Corp - to consider future options for mutual business opportunities.
Posted by Judith — 1:21 AM
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
IBM and ARM collaborate on low-power chips for mobile phones.
Source: cellular-news.
UK based ARM Holdings - who develop the semiconductor chips used in most mobile phones - has announced an agreement with IBM to develop the next generation of low-power semiconductor chips.
Through this agreement ARM and IBM will collaboratively develop design platforms aligning the manufacturing process, microprocessor and physical IP design teams.
Posted by Judith — 3:30 AM
Intel to invest US$2.7bn. in Israel chip plant.
Source: Reuters.
U.S. chipmaker Intel will invest US$2.7bn. over the next two years upgrading its chip plant in southern Israel to produce 22 nanometer technology.
The amount includes a US$210m. grant recently approved by the Israeli government.
Intel Israel, which employs 7,057 people, will hire 1,000 people over the coming year.
Posted by Judith — 2:10 AM
2.5m. Italian homes passed by fibre.
Source: TeleGeography.
Italy represents one of the largest FTTH markets in Europe, with more than 2.5 million homes passed by fibre at end-December 2010; at the same date the country reported around 348,000 fibre subscribers. In November 2010 seven Italian telecoms operators agreed to join forces in order to form a new company charged with overseeing the infrastructure rollout in areas where no operator has scheduled a fibre deployment thus far. The companies involved are Telecom Italia, FastWeb, Wind, Vodafone Italia, Tiscali, BT Italia and 3 Italia.
Posted by Judith — 1:54 AM
Monday, January 17, 2011
IBM and Bharti Airtel ink ten-year partnership deal.
Source: TeleGeography.
Indian mobile giant Bharti Airtel has inked a ten-year contract with IBM which will see the latter support Bharti’s expansion across the 16 African countries in which it acquired operations last year.
Posted by Judith — 3:47 AM
EUR1.25bn. payout ends decade long Polish battle.
Source: TeleGeography.
Vivendi has confirmed that it has received a EUR1.25bn. (US$1.67bn.) payment from Deutsche Telekom, bringing to an end its long-running dispute over Polish mobile phone operator Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC).
Posted by Judith — 3:05 AM
Vimpelcom confirms ‘final approval’ for deal with newly-named Wind Telecom.
Source: TeleGeography.
Russian telecoms firm Vimpelcom has confirmed that its supervisory board has given its final approval for the proposed merger with Wind Telecom, the telecoms holding company formerly known as Weather Investments.
Weather Investments, the investment vehicle founded and run by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, switched its name to Wind Telecom on 30 December 2010.
Posted by Judith — 2:24 AM
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Openreach reveals draft proposals for duct and pole sharing.
Source: BT.
Openreach has announced the draft pricing and design proposals for its new duct and pole sharing products, which are aimed at offering communications providers an additional route to market for the delivery of super-fast fibre broadband services in the UK.
Posted by Judith — 3:26 AM
Friday, January 14, 2011
Commercial launch of Vodafone TV delayed.
Source: TeleGeography.
Vodafone Germany, a subsidiary of UK-based telecoms group Vodafone, has pushed back the commercial launch of its new TV platform while the service undergoes consumer trials. In July 2010 the compan ysaid it would launch the new television service by the end of the year. However, Vodafone has opted for an initial low-key launch in order to test the system with different platforms during real-time operations.
Posted by Judith — 3:18 AM
Lenders to lean on Eircom.
Source: Light Reading.
Senior lenders to eircom are forming a group to begin talks with the Irish national operator on dealing with a potential breach of bank covenants.
There is growing frustration among the lenders at the operator’s failure to address its high debt levels, currently running at nearly EUR4bn. (US$5.35bn.) and its apparent reluctance to update lenders on what solutions it is considering.
Posted by Judith — 3:11 AM
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Microsoft opposed to Apple trademarking ‘App Store’ name.
Source: Telecompaper.
Microsoft is opposing Apple’s move to trademark the name “App Store”, arguing that it would be unfair to allow just one company to use a phrase that is now used by lots of technology groups. Apple applied to have the term trademarked in 2008, shortly after it launched its App Store for the iPhone.
Posted by Judith — 4:24 AM
SingTel ups stake fractionally in Bharti.
Source: TeleGeography.
SingTel has fractionally increased its stake in India’s largest telecoms company by both revenues and customers, Bharti Airtel, by an additional 0.11%. SingTel acquired shares worth INR1.36bn. (US$30.2m.) from the open market, increasing its interest to 32.15% from 32.04%.
Posted by Judith — 3:28 AM
NSN opens expanded Indian network management center.
Source: cellular-news.
NSN has announced the relocation and expansion of its Global Network Solutions Center to a new site in Chennai, India. Since its launch in 2007 there has been a ten-fold increase in the number of subscribers it supports on behalf of operators around the world to 77 million. In addition the center now remotely manages over 87,000 base station sites, 14 times the number when it opened four years ago.
Posted by Judith — 3:07 AM
T-Mobile clarifies mobile phone data cap.
Source: BBC.
T-Mobile has clarified its policy on mobile data use after anger from its customers.
The company initially said that it would slash the amount of data all of its customers could use to 500 MB.
But the company has now said that the changes would be introduced from 1 February, “to new and upgrading customers only”.
Posted by Judith — 2:11 AM
Nokia scales back workforce cuts to 500 jobs.
Source: Businessweek.
Nokia, the world’s biggest maker of mobile phones, plans to cut 500 jobs in Finland, fewer than the 800 announced in an agreement with unions in December.
Posted by Judith — 1:00 AM
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
T-Mobile slashes data usage.
Source: BWCS.
The UK telecoms watch-dog Ofcom is to investigate moves by the German-owned operator T-Mobile to change its terms of usage policy. The move comes as customers were told that the company plans to cut its current mobile data limits to 500Mb, no matter how much the individual subscriber may be paying for their connection.
Posted by Judith — 4:32 AM
Tata Communications to acquire BitGravity.
Source: Telecompaper.
Indian communications services provider Tata Communications has reached a definitive agreement to acquire content delivery network BitGravity. BitGravity’s network and products accelerate the delivery of media assets to end-users and enable real-time video communications over the internet.
Posted by Judith — 4:02 AM
Vodafone, Bharti to offer India mobile banking.
Source: Businessweek.
Vodafone Group Plc’s Indian unit and Bharti Airtel have formed partnerships with the nation’s largest banks to offer phone-banking services in a bid to boost revenue after competition pushed call rates to half a cent a minute.
Vodafone Essar will tie up with ICICI Bank to offer electronic payments, while Bharti and the State Bank of India will form a joint venture.
Posted by Judith — 3:12 AM
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Verizon Wireless to sell iPhone in February.
Source: Reuters.
Verizon Wireless plans to sell Apple’s iPhone for as low as US$200 starting next month, putting the smartphone at the centre of its high-stakes battle with AT&T Inc for wireless customers.
Verizon’s announcement that it would start selling the phone on February 10 puts an end to AT&T’s three-year-old status as the exclusive U.S. provider for the iPhone.
Posted by Judith — 10:44 AM
Intel to pay Nvidia licensing fees of US$1.5bn.
Source: Telecompaper.
Nvidia has announced that it has signed a new six-year cross-licensing agreement with Intel. For the future use of Nvidia’s technology, Intel will pay Nvidia an aggregate US$1.5bn. in licensing fees, payable in five annual installments beginning 18 January. Nvidia and Intel have also agreed to drop all outstanding legal disputes between them.
Posted by Judith — 3:02 AM
TeliaSonera picks Huawei, Ericsson for network in Norway.
Source: Telecompaper.
TeliaSonera is rolling out a combined 2G/3G/LTE radio network in Norway to offer increased coverage and speed with equipment from Huawei and Ericsson. Huawei is providing equipment for the southern part of the network, while Ericsson is entering a 3-year contract to modernise and expand the northern part of TeliaSonera’s Norwegian network and to roll out LTE in the same region.
Posted by Judith — 2:54 AM
ComReg abandons plans for mobile TV licence.
Source: TeleGeography.
Ireland’s national telecoms regulator ComReg has announced it is abandoning plans to issue a mobile broadcast TV licence covering five urban areas, saying that providing a mobile TV service in Ireland was not the subject of particularly strong interest to potential operators. It is understood the regulator received just one expression of interest - from Vodafone Ireland - which agrees with the decision not to go ahead with the licensing process.
Posted by Judith — 2:04 AM
CSR settles Broadcom dispute.
Source: Reuters.
British chipmaker CSR said it had settled its legal battle over technology patents with U.S. rival Broadcom, boosting the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi specialist’s shares.
CSR said it would pay US$67.5m. to Broadcom over the next five years, the majority of which would be offset by a reduction in legal costs of at least US$50m. to settle the dispute, which predates its acquisition of GPS chip firm SiRF in 2009.
Posted by Judith — 1:50 AM
Monday, January 10, 2011
Telefonica, America Movil win Costa Rica mobile licences.
Source: Telecompaper.
Telecoms regulator Sutel has allocated Telefonica one of three mobile phone licences on auction. Sutel plans to recommend the government to award one frequency band to Telefonica for EUR73.5m.(US$95m.) and another one to America Movil for EUR58m. (US$75m.).
Posted by Judith — 3:54 AM
Tata, Aircel join forces for 3G.
Source: Light Reading.
Indian operators Tata Docomo, the GSM arm of Tata Teleservices, and Aircel have joined forces to jointly roll out 3G networks in the areas where they both have spectrum.
NSN is reported to be carrying out a pilot for Tata Docomo and Aircel in the state of Punjab in Northern India.
Posted by Judith — 2:57 AM
DNA updates partnership with Ericsson.
Source: TeleGeography.
Finnish mobile network operator DNA Finland has announced that it has extended its partnership with Swedish vendor Ericsson, with the latter agreeing to provide all the technology needed for the expansion of the cellco’s 3G/HSPA network, alongside the construction of a fourth-generation infrastructure.
Posted by Judith — 2:45 AM
Saturday, January 8, 2011
FCC eyes broadcast spectrum auction as soon as 2012.
Source: Reuters.
The U.S. government could put more wireless airwaves on the market as early as a year from now if lawmakers give the country’s telecom regulator authority to give broadcasters part of the proceeds.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is looking for broadcasters such as CBS Corp to voluntarily give up airwaves they don’t need in exchange for a portion of revenue from selling the spectrum.
Posted by Judith — 3:37 AM
Friday, January 7, 2011
Verizon launches full range of LTE phones, devices.
Source: Telecompaper.
Verizon has unveiled a range of mobile devices for use on its LTE network. The company also announced it is expanding its LTE network to an additional 140 markets by the end of this year. The mobile operator expects to cover two-thirds of the US population in the next 18 months, and by the end of 2013 offer LTE everywhere it currently offers 3G coverage.
Posted by Judith — 2:35 AM
Skype buys mobile video specialist Qik.
Source: Telecompaper.
Skype has agreed to acquire Qik to expand its range of mobile video services. Qik provides mobile video software and services that help mobile users capture and save videos as well as share the content as video messages.
Posted by Judith — 1:42 AM
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Qualcomm moves beyond mobile phones with Atheros takeover.
Source: Telecompaper.
Qualcomm has confirmed an agreement to acquire Atheros Communications for US$45 per share cash, equal to an enterprise value of US$3.1bn. The deal sees Qualcomm expanding beyond chipsets for mobile phones to embrace the growing convergence with consumer electronics and computing.
Posted by Judith — 4:32 AM
Microsoft links up with ARM in new tablet drive.
Source: Reuters.
Microsoft is taking its biggest step away from a long-standing alliance with Intel, teaming up with Britain’s ARM Holdings to take on Apple in the tablet and smartphone arena.
Posted by Judith — 3:39 AM
AT&T sees LTE roll-out completed by end-2013.
Source: Telecompaper.
AT&T has announced plans for an accelerated launch of LTE, expected to start in mid-2011 and be completed by the end of 2013. The US operator said it will deliver 4G using both HSPA+ and LTE technologies. To boost speeds, AT&T is expanding Ethernet and fibre to cell sites nationwide, which should cover nearly two-thirds of its mobile broadband traffic by year-end.
Posted by Judith — 2:38 AM
Virgin Mobile, TDF postpone French mobile TV project.
Source: TeleGeography.
MVNO Virgin Mobile France and French transmitter company TDF have apparently postponed the launch of mobile TV services in the country. The proposed Virgin Mobile-branded service was scheduled to go live in H2 2011, covering around 50% of the population. However, despite suggestions the new service would attract around a million paying subscribers in the short term, problems with the broadcast standard have thrown the whole venture into question.
Posted by Judith — 1:51 AM
Ofcom opens up more frequencies for data mobile-phone services.
Source: Businessweek.
U.K. regulator Ofcom has announced that airwaves used by mobile-phone operators for 2G services for making phone calls and sending texts will be available from today for 3G services such as mobile Internet browsing.
Posted by Judith — 1:00 AM
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Motorola completes split into 2 companies.
Source: Telecompaper.
Motorola has completed its split into two companies, with the official start of trading in the new companies Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions. Motorola Mobility includes the company’s consumer-oriented products, such as mobile phones and set-top boxes, while Motorola Solutions serves the business and professional market with products such as radio systems and network equipment.
Posted by Judith — 3:13 AM
BT shrugs off criticism of Content Connect service.
Source: TeleGeography.
British fixed line incumbent BT has dismissed criticism that its ‘Content Connect’ service, which will allow ISP’s using its network to charge content firms for the high speed delivery of video. Critics have claimed that the introduction of the service, which is due to be made available within the next few months, could spell the end of net neutrality (the principle of treating all internet traffic as equal), while it could also impact competition for consumers.
Posted by Judith — 3:06 AM
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Sprint declines to buy Clearwire debt before deadline.
Source: Businessweek.
Sprint Nextel, the third- largest U.S. mobile-phone carrier, said it chose not to buy debt from partner Clearwire, which is trying to raise capital to avoid running out of cash.
Posted by Judith — 4:59 AM
Android is the top smartphone OS for new customers.
Source: cellular-news.
According to November data, the popularity of the Android OS among those who purchased a smartphone in the last six months makes it the leading OS among recent purchasers.
But despite its surge among recent acquirers, when it comes to overall consumer market share, Android OS (25.8%) is still behind Apple iOS (28.6%). RIM Blackberry’s position is less clear: Its share (26.1%) puts it within the margin of error of both Apple iOS and Android.
Posted by Judith — 2:50 AM
Skype’s partner says it is legal in China.
Source: Reuters.
Skype’s partner in China, TOM Group, said the web-based calling service is complying with Chinese law, even as a crackdown on illegal Internet telephone providers could complicate Skype’s operations in the country.
Posted by Judith — 2:18 AM
FAS approves Svyazinvest, Mobitel deal.
Source: TeleGeography.
Russian competition regulator the Federal Anti-monopoly Service has confirmed that it has given state-owned telecoms holding company Svyazinvest the green light to acquire a combined 99.99% stake in Russian mobile operator Mobitel.
Posted by Judith — 2:00 AM
Monday, January 3, 2011
Qualcomm to build US$1bn. panel plant in Taiwan.
Source: Reuters.
U.S.-based Qualcomm will invest nearly US$1bn. in Taiwan this year to build a display plant to tap growing demand for new portable devices including electronics reading devices.
Posted by Judith — 3:37 AM
True buys Hutchison assets.
Source: Telecompaper.
Thai communications firm True has signed the agreement to buy Hutchison’s mobile business in Thailand. True subsidiary Real Move will buy a 92.5% stake in Hutchison Wireless MultiMedia Holdings.
Posted by Judith — 2:16 AM
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