LTC International: Press Clippings

Thank you.

2011-11-21T00:19:15Z

The LTC News Clipping service has now come to an end.

Thank you to the fine people who have worked assiduously over the years to provide us all with up to date links to relevant telecom sector and technology news items: Judith, Sarah, Lorrie and Penny.

Thanks to all our customers who have used the service and thank you for your kind comments about the value of a human-mediated clippings service.

But things move on. When we started the LTC clippings service automated news feeds were unreliable, repetitious, and stuffed with irrelevancies. Some still are, but it is now much easier to obtain useful information from a plethora of web sources. So we have decided that we have other things to do with our time, and with regret, we're closing down the LTC clippings service.

Bye for now.

And Finally.

2011-10-31T10:00:37Z

This is my final entry in Press Clippings as the time has come for me to retire.

BT announces significant fibre progress.

2011-10-31T07:27:46Z

BT has announced two thirds of UK premises will have access to fibre broadband by the end of 2014, one year ahead of its original target of 2015. To help achieve this, BT will recruit a further 520 engineers to assist with the deployment, most of whom will be ex-armed forces.
BT is bringing forward approximately GBP300m. of investment over the next few years to fund the accelerated roll-out. These funds form part of BT's total investment of GBP2.5bn. in commercial fibre broadband.

Motorola Mobility announces 800 Job losses.

2011-10-31T06:29:17Z

Motorola Mobility has announced that it has decided to cut some 800 jobs from the company. The firm is currently in the process of being bought by Google.
Both of the Company's business segments (the Mobile Devices business and the Home business), as well as various corporate functions, are impacted by the action.

Clear Mobitel sets its sights on NZ LTE concession.

2011-10-31T05:23:03Z

Clear Mobitel NZ, the New Zealand arm of the UK-based company of the same name, has confirmed plans to put itself forward for a mobile concession when LTE-suitable spectrum in the 700MHz band is auctioned off by the government in 2012.

Google takes another shot at the TV market.

2011-10-29T07:19:35Z

Google Inc is making another push to bring its Web savvy to television sets, hoping to tap into a vast new market despite consumers' lukewarm reaction to one of its initial offerings.
The Internet search engine unveiled a revamped version of its Google TV service and announced plans to create about one hundred online "channels" of original video programming for its YouTube website.

FCC agrees USF, interconnection reforms.

2011-10-28T08:03:16Z

The US FCC has approved major changes in the country's Universal Service Fund aimed at focusing more on broadband expansion. The move will set aside US$4.5bn. of the annual USF budget for the Connect America Fund, to award funding for broadband expansion in underserved areas.

Samsung overtakes Apple in smartphone sales.

2011-10-28T05:57:01Z

Samsung overtook Apple to become the world's biggest seller of smartphones between July and September.
Research showed that Samsung sold 27.8m. smartphones in the three month period, compared with 17.1m. from Apple and 16.8m. from Nokia.

Sony buys the rest of mobile phone firm Sony Ericsson.

2011-10-27T08:07:53Z

Japanese technology giant Sony has bought full control of mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson from Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson.
Sony has agreed to buy 50% of the firm for EUR1.1bn. (US$1.5bn., GBP964m.), making the mobile handset business a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony.

Sprint and Clearwire to extend partnership into LTE.

2011-10-27T05:56:42Z

Sprint will continue to work with Clearwire as the companies roll out their respective LTE networks.
In its quarterly conference call, Sprint executives confirmed a non-binding cooperation agreement with Clearwire to work together on the technical specifications of the Clearwire LTE network. Specifically, the cooperation extends to the design and operations of the network.

Mobile banking app usage in the USA increases by 45%.

2011-10-27T05:01:45Z

An analysis of mobile financial services usage in the US shows that 32.5m. Americans accessed mobile banking information on their devices at the end of Q2 2011 in June, representing 13.9% of all mobile users. The study also revealed that 12.7m. mobile users reported using banking apps, showing a notable increase of 45% from Q4 2010.

United Nations sets global broadband targets.

2011-10-26T08:04:03Z

The United Nations has set "ambitious" new targets for broadband uptake around the world.
It calls on all countries to put in place broadband strategies by 2015.
By that time it wants to see 60% of people in the developed world online, with a slightly lower target of 50% for people living in the developing countries.
It also wants net access to be made available to 40% of households in the developing world by 2015.
It emphasised that broadband services must be "affordable" - amounting to less than 5% of average monthly incomes.
The four targets have been set by the UN's broadband commission for digital development.

Nokia bets on Windows Mobile future.

2011-10-26T06:02:52Z

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has launched two new smartphones based on Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7.5 operating system.
The Lumia 800 and the Lumia 710 mark the beginning of Nokia's fightback against Apple's iPhone and rivals using Google's Android software.

99.8% of Telecom NZ shareholders approve structural separation.

2011-10-26T05:48:14Z

Telecom New Zealand shareholders have voted to approve the structural separation of the company, with 99.8% deciding in favour of the large-scale operational demerger.
Going forward, Chorus will operate as a nationwide fixed line access network operator, offering services on an 'open access' basis, whilst 'Telecom' will function as a retail-focused telecoms business, comprising fixed, mobile and ICT operations.

European Commission investigate agreement between Portugal Telecom and Telefonica.

2011-10-26T05:00:09Z

The EC has sent a statement of objections to Telefonica and Portugal Telecom regarding their agreement not to compete on the Iberian telecommunications markets.
The Commission said that it is of the preliminary view that this agreement hinders competition in breach of EU antitrust rules that prohibit restrictive business practices.

Netflix confirms UK launch for early 2012.

2011-10-25T06:25:48Z

Netflix has announced that it will expand to the UK and Ireland in early 2012, offering TV shows and movies streamed over the internet for a monthly subscription. Upon launch, Netflix customers in the UK and Ireland will be able to watch a wide array of content on their TVs via a range of consumer electronics devices capable of streaming from Netflix, as well as on PCs, Macs, mobile tablets and phones.

Orange Jordan inks expansion deal with Ericsson.

2011-10-25T05:22:16Z

Jordan Telecom Group, which operates under majority owner France Telecom's Orange brand, has signed a deal with Ericsson to expand its 3.5G network in Jordan. The Swedish vendor will expand the coverage and capacity of the telco's existing HSPA+ network beyond its current reach of around 50% of the population. With this most recent deal, Ericsson and Orange continue a long history of cooperation in Jordan.

Virgin to launch MVNO in Chile.

2011-10-24T07:24:05Z

UK-based Virgin Media has announced that it will launch wireless services in Chile as a MVNO in the first quarter of 2012. Virgin will use the network of Spanish-based Telefonica Moviles Chile, which operates under the Movistar brand.

FT completes CCT deal.

2011-10-24T06:26:54Z

France Telecom has finalised its agreements to enter the wireless market of the Democratic Republic of Congo through a 100% acquisition of Congo Chine Telecom (CCT). The French telecoms giant has agreed to pay US$10m. for the 51% share owned by Chinese equipment manufacturer ZTE, and US$7m. to the Congolese government for the remaining 49%.

Microsoft claims Android licence patent milestone.

2011-10-24T05:49:53Z

Microsoft now has has licence deals with companies "accounting for over half of all Android devices".
The company has announced that Compal was the latest manufacturer to pay it a fee for each device sold using Google's system software.
Microsoft said it now has patent deals with ten companies covering their use of Android.
Nine of those agreements were struck over the past four months.