LTC International: Press Clippings

Virgin Media to trial broadband over telegraph poles.

2010-03-12T10:02:44Z

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

FCC releases Internet speed test tool.

2010-03-12T09:39:49Z

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

PHS provider Willcom to be split.

2010-03-12T08:56:44Z

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

French postal operator to launch MVNO service.

2010-03-12T08:03:37Z

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

Motorola, Microsoft in deal to put Bing on phones.

2010-03-11T09:41:00Z

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

Judge advises against Verizon-Frontier deal.

2010-03-10T11:36:10Z

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

NFL signs mobile phone deal with Verizon Wireless.

2010-03-10T10:15:12Z

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

Unions angry as Vodafone UK confirms 375 job losses.

2010-03-10T09:42:23Z

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

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

2010-03-10T09:09:33Z

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

Cable firms seek FCC help in fee disputes.

2010-03-10T08:15:03Z

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

Quartet approved for German mobile frequency auction.

2010-03-09T11:37:53Z

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

MTN Ghana reports 900MHz, 3G success.

2010-03-09T09:49:33Z

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

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

2010-03-09T09:01:57Z

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

Qtel and Tata confirm TGN Gulf partnership.

2010-03-08T10:27:43Z

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

BT turns tables on Virgin in cable ducts fight.

2010-03-08T09:54:13Z

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

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

Belgium to hold mobile spectrum auction in September.

2010-03-08T08:07:30Z

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

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

2010-03-05T12:07:20Z

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

UK launches new body for universal broadband push.

2010-03-05T10:25:10Z

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

South Korea to allow MVNOs.

2010-03-05T08:59:07Z

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

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

2010-03-04T10:03:27Z

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