Telecom Asia articles from April 2004

Telecom Asia archives from April 2004

VoWLAN: stop me if you've heard this one ...(Tanner)(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... Sometimes I find it very helpful when researching a tech story to see how it plays with someone completely oblivious to the inside workings of the telecoms industry. For example, after hearing about voice-over-wireless LAN (VoWLAN) for the...

Fixed-mobile convergence: the sequel.(First Mile)
April 1, 2004... Fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) is staging a comeback. The concept of running fixed and mobile services on the same cost-effective next-generation IP infrastructure first gained traction in the late 1990s when 3G hype was just revving up. But...

American spam.(Stat Snap)(world's top 10 spam generators)
April 1, 2004... More details on The Spam Problem: Anti-virus/spam vendor Sophos Asia compiled a list of the top 12 countries of origin for global spam based on a scan of spare received over a two-day period during the last week of February. The top spam source...

FTTH moves into mainstream in Japan.(News Analysis)(fiber to the home from USEN Corp.)
April 1, 2004... Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services in Japan quietly marked a major milestone in February when the millionth subscriber was connected. It was just three years ago when USEN Corp launched the country's first commercial FTTH service in March 2001....

Trading telecoms capacity as a commodity on the Internet: flashbacks, updates and nostalgia: Telecom Asia, April 1999.(Resend)(Asia Capacity Exchange.)
April 1, 2004... SYNOPSIS: Hong Kong-based Asia Capacity Exchange (ACE) becomes the first Asian firm to enter the bandwidth-trading arena, following in the footsteps of Western pioneers like Arbinet-theXchange and Band-X that aimed to trade international...

Ethernet goes international with HGC-KT VPLS link.(News Analysis)
April 1, 2004... Ethernet's reach became a lot wider last month with the establishment of what is apparently the world's first inter-autonomous international met network launched by Hong Kong's Hutchison Global Communications and South Korea's KT Corp. The...

Competition spurs telcos to invest.(Insight: one month's telecom research)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The telecoms equipment industry saw its biggest sequential increase in quarterly sales in the fourth quarter of 2003 since the bubble year of 2000, according RHK Inc. In North America, wireline service providers spent $7.5 billion on capital...

Enterprises to embrace WLAN.(Insight: one month's telecom research)(Wireless Local Area Network.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Sales of WLAN equipment in the Asian region excluding Japan, after increasing 67% last year to $250 million, are forecast to reach $338 million by year-end. According to an IDC report, deployment of WLAN by corporations, which has lagged behind...

European networks 'not a deterrent' to PoC.(Insight: one month's telecom research)(Point Of Contact.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Despite skepticism over the feasibility of providing push-to-talk over European networks, a study by Northstream on how the service performs over different packet networks has found that GSM/GPRS radio technology can, if tuned correctly, be...

New engine of growth in China.(Insight: one month's telecom research)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... China has the potential to capture a large segment of expanded global call center business as regional and international companies move to take advantage of its low setup and labor costs. The shift to China, according a report from Frost &...

An emerging star in WLL market.(Advertorial)(BBS Access)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... An estimated 2.5 billion people, representing more than 40 percent of the planet's population, live in rural areas of developing countries, the majority of whom have no access to basic telephony services. The low teledensity in these countries...

Wang Xilin, deputy director of the Standardization Administration of China, a unit of the State Council, says China will stand firm on its June 1 compliance deadline for the controversial WAPI encryption standard mandate.(Beijing)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Wang Xilin, deputy director of the Standardization Administration of China, a unit of the State Council, says China will stand firm on its June 1 compliance deadline for the controversial WAPI encryption standard mandate. Wang's statement comes...

Commit, a joint venture formed between Texas Instruments, Nokia and LG Electronics, will launch its, and probably the world's, first TD-SCDMA chip for testing by June.(Shanghai; Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Accesss)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Commit, a joint venture formed between Texas instruments, Nokia and LG Electronics, will launch its, and probably the world's, first TD-SCDMA chip for testing by June. The chip will be ready for mass production by year-end, says Evan Yu, chief...

ZTE will invest $2m to set up a wireless infrastructure plant in Sao Paulo, Brazil.(Shenzhen)(RCS/ZTECH.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... ZTE will invest $2m to set up a wireless infrastructure plant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, making CDMA base stations for Brazilian mobile market and for export.

PCCW sells off its property assets, including the Cyberport development project, to Dong Fang Gas Holdings for $841m.(Hong Kong)(Pacific Century CyberWorks sells off its property assets, including the Cyberport development project, to Dong Fang Gas Holdings for $841m.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... PCCW sells off its property assets, including the Cyberport development project, to Dong Fang Gas Holdings for $841m. The deal, coming days after the incumbent carrier reports an annual loss of $782m for financial year 2003, gives a backdoor...

TA Orange's strategic partner Orange SA sells off 39% of its 49% stake in the Thai mobile operator to TelecomAsia for a nominal one baht ($0.02).(Bangkok)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... TA Orange's strategic partner Orange SA sells off 39% of its 49% stake in the Thai mobile operator to TelecomAsia for a nominal one baht ($0.02). TA chief Supachai Chearavanont says the deal will enable TA Orange to refinance and help fund a...

The Telecommunication Authority will auction two new mobile licenses this month to attract $1.5b in investment and expand the country's mobile subscriber base.(Colombo)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Telecommunication Authority will auction two new mobile licenses this month to attract $1.5b in investment and expand the country's mobile subscriber base from three million to 15 million in three to four years. Sri Lanka Telecom posts...

Telkom plans to spend $1.65b in capex this year.(Jakarta)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Telkom plans to spend $1.65b in capex this year, spread between its fixed-line operations and its mobile arm Telkomsel.

Piltel posts a far smaller net loss of 3.35b pesos ($59.6m) in 2003.(Manila)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Piltel posts a far smaller net loss of 3.35b pesos ($59.6m) in 2003 due to stronger mobile revenues.

The Ministry of Information and Communication imposes 33.3b won ($29m) in penalties on SK Telecom, KTF and a KTF affiliate for providing illegal subsidies to attract customers--allegedly sparked by Korea's adoption of number portability in January.(Seoul)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Ministry of Information and Communication imposes 33.3b won ($29m) in penalties on SK Telecom, KTF and a KTF affiliate for providing illegal subsidies to attract customers--allegedly sparked by Korea's adoption of number portability in...

Japan may introduce mobile number portability after a study panel organized by the telecoms ministry compiled a draft report recommending portability be implemented as soon as possible.(Tokyo)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Japan may introduce mobile number portability after a study panel organized by the telecoms ministry compiled a draft report recommending portability be implemented as soon as possible. The ministry will set a target date in its final report in...

Telstra acquires weekly classified advertisement publication.(Sydney)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Telstra acquires weekly classified advertisement publication, the Trading Post, from Dutch company Trader Classified Media for A$636m ($482m).

The Australian government resubmits a bill into the lower House of Representatives to sell its majority stake in Telstra.(Canberra)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Australian government resubmits a bill into the lower House of Representatives to sell its majority stake in Telstra. The same bill was rejected last October by the Senate, where the conservative government has a minority. A report by...

The Telecom Department approves rules allowing telecoms operators to buy local rivals within the same operating circle on conditions that their combined market share does not exceed 67%.(New Delhi)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Telecom Department approves rules allowing telecoms operators to buy Local rivals within the same operating circle on conditions that their combined market share does not exceed 67%. The rules, which are intended to encourage consolidation,...

MCI reduces its combined pretax profits for 2000 and 2001 by $74.4b.(movements)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... MCI reduces its combined pretax profits for 2000 and 2001 by $74.4b, in a restatement that clears another obstacle in the phone company's move to emerge from bankruptcy protection in April

Cingular Wireless beats out Vodafone in the race to buy AT&T Wireless.(movements)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Cingular Wireless beats out Vodafone in the race to buy AT&T Wireless, with a late-night $41b offer--the largest all-cash offer in history.

Nortel Networks delays filing its 2003 annual report with the US SEC.(movements)(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Nortel Networks delays filing its 2003 annual report with the US SEC as its previously announced accounting review could lead it to restate results for 2003.

French telecoms regulator ART pushes back the date that French mobile operators are required to launch 3G services.(movements)(third generation wireless format)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... French telecoms regulator ART pushes back the date that French mobile operators are required to launch 3G services to December 31, 2004.

Hutchison Whampoa's group MD Canning Fok testifies at the trial of six former Mannesmann directors, who face charges of breach of trust for allegedly approving 60m euros ($74.6m) of payments made to Mannesmann executives after Vodafone's record takeover.(movements)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Hutchison Whampoa's group MD Canning Fok testifies at the trial of six former Mannesmann directors, who face charges of breach of trust for allegedly approving 60m euros ($74.6m) of payments made to Mannesmann executives after Vodafone's record...

Sun Microsystems, Motorola, Nokia, Siemens and Sony Ericsson launch a new Java interoperability testing program.(movements)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Sun Microsystems, Motorola, Nokia, Siemens and Sony Ericsson launch a new Java interoperability testing program in an attempt to improve handset security over the next one to two years.

Intel president and COO Paul Otellini predicts 3G and three other high-speed wireless standards--Wi-Fi, WiMax and "WiMedia".(movements)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Intel president and COO Paul Otellini predicts 3G and three other high-speed wireless standards--Wi-Fi, WiMax and "WiMedia," an ultra-wideband technology delivering 500 Mbps--will be dominant in the next five years.

Nokia's planned buyout of Psion's stake in Symbian runs into more opposition, with Phoenix Asset Management.(movements)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Nokia's planned buyout of Psion's stake in Symbian runs into more opposition, with Phoenix Asset Management--which owns 13.5% of Psion--saying it would vote against the deal and instead recommend a flotation of Symbian, which it believes would...

Motorola plans to consolidate its design resources by closinng it semiconductor chip-design units in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.(movements)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Motorola plans to consolidate its design resources by closing its semiconductor chip-design units in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan and relocating them to India and China.

Telefonica lands a $5.85b cash-and-debt deal to buy the Latin America assets of US carrier BellSouth.(movements)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Telefonica lands a $5.85b cash-and-debt deal to buy the Latin America assets of US carrier BellSouth, making its the leading mobile operators in the fast-growing region.

France Telecom is seeking to buy an option on Polish government-owned shares.(movements)(shares in Telco TPSA)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... France Telecom is seeking to buy an option on Polish government-owned shares in telco TPSA.

EchoStar Communications ends its contract dispute with Viacom.(movements)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... EchoStar Communications ends its contract dispute with Viacom, restoring 16 CBS stations and ten national cable channels to millions of viewers in cities including New York, Los Angeles and Miami.

The Kremlin abolishes Russia's telecoms ministry in a cabinet revamp.(movements)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Kremlin abolishes Russia's telecoms ministry in a cabinet revamp, ousting the sector's long-time regulator from his ministerial post in the midst of a row with mobile operator Vimpelcom.

Truth, lies and outsourcing: offshoring may have created a political storm in some countries, but operators across the region are looking to outsource everything from IT and call centers to network maintenance and even network operations as they examine what their core business is.(Cover Story)
April 1, 2004... Will outsourcing cost my job? Is it just fad of the month? Should I contract my IT back-office? Does it work? Should my company offer outsource services? If you haven't asked yourself any of these questions lately, you're probably not in...

Falcon and the Flag man: Flag Telecom is back in business with a new shareholder, a clean balance sheet and a fresh sales pitch. But, believe it or not, it is actually throwing a new cable, Falcon, into the water. Chief executive Patrick T. Gallagher tells contributing editor Robert Clark about why he believes there's a future in the capacity business and in the Middle East.(One-To-One)(Interview)
April 1, 2004... Telecom Asia: A Lot of people, if not most people, have given up on the bandwidth business, but evidently not Flag or your new shareholder, Reliance. What is it that makes Flag so confident? Patrick T. Gallagher: It's not an evolution, it's...

MPLS ready for China's core challenge; Chinese carriers have not yet traded in their ATM networks for Layer 2 MPLS for a very simple reason: ATM works just fine as is. However, that's about to change. China Unicom was the first to shift, and if that doesn't convince rivals, growing demand for bandwidth and service flexibility will.(Multi Protocol Label Switching, automatic teller machine)
April 1, 2004... The debate over the role of MPLS in the packet-switched telecoms network has been more or less settled for some time now. While MPLS has not been without its critics and holdouts, it is nevertheless out there, somewhere, right now. Pick a...

Data mining as you shop.(Telecom Forum)
April 1, 2004... The global war over privacy in consumer purchase tracking has really just begun with a minor skirmish in Germany. In February, the Extra Future branches of the gigantic Metro Group (department stores) were forced to withdraw customer...

Communicating for growth at Communic Asia 2004.(Advertorial)
April 1, 2004... With the Asia Pacific region on the track to economic recovery, 2004 promises bright prospects for the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. CommunicAsia, Asia's leading information and communications technology trade show...

Pluggable GigE transceiver for copper.(Premiere: latest products and services)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Agilent Technologies has launched a pluggable transceiver that delivers gigabit Ethernet data transmissions over commonly installed copper cable. The HBCU-5710R supports small-form factor pluggable ports for both optical and copper-based...

Optical Ethernet OA&M solution.(Premiere: latest products and services)(Radiance optical Ethernet system)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Metrobility Optical Systems has released a new model in its Radiance optical Ethernet system family, targeting end-to-end management of metro Ethernet services. The E-Services Network Interface Device gives service providers important...

Face-to-face video call center.(Premiere: latest products and services)(video call center system)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Mitsubishi Electric has developed a "face-to-face" video call center system to meet the growing demand for face-to-face consultation in the financial, legal and medical sectors. The system is integrated with Mitsubishi's frontal projection...

Compact multiplexer for SMEs.(Premiere: latest products and services)(Fomux C100 directed to small and midsize enterprises)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The FOMUX C100 compact multiplexer, a new release by Pandatel, is designed primarily for price-sensitive carrier applications. Based on relatively cost-effective CWDM technology, the multiplexer transmits up to eight different applications...

Release 5 test system.(Premiere: latest products and services)(Racal Instruments Wireless Solutions)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The 6401 Release 5 Layer 1 test system from Racal Instruments Wireless Solutions is aimed primarily at DSP and baseband developers. The system, touted as the industry's first of its kind, is designed for testing mobile devices and base...

NEC to market CPRI-based 3G Node Bs.(Premiere: latest products and services)(Common Public Radio Interface)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... NEC will start marketing 3G Node Bs based on the recently developed Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) specification, an industry cooperation aimed at defining a publicly available specification for the key internal interface of 3G radio base...

Satellite DMB chip for mobile phones.(Premiere: latest products and services)(digital multimedia broadcasting)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Samsung Electronic has developed what it says is the world's first satellite digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) chip for mobile phones. With the deployment of the system-on-a-chip technologies, the chip converts satellite signals into...

Dilithium, NetCentrex develop 3G video services.(Premiere: latest products and services)(3rd Generation Wireless Format)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Dilithium Networks, a supplier of 3G multimedia solutions, and NetCentrex, an enabler of voice-video-data networks, have joined forces to develop end-to-end solutions that enable 3G video enhanced services. The partnership will combine...

VoIP comes of age: as VoIP technology shows its first signs of having finally matured, the industry has been forced to identify and address a number of bottlenecks impeding its growth.(Telecom Corporate)(Voice over IP)
April 1, 2004... Cut back to the '90s when VoIP made its first appearance. The very idea of making voice calls as cheap as data calls was extremely appealing to one and all. It hardly occurred to the collective imagination that the limitations inherent in...

SK Telecom names CEO.(Telecom Career)(chief executive officer)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... SK Telecom has named Kin Sin-bae, an internal executive and board member, as chief executive. Kim replaces Pyo Moon-soo, who along with three other senior officials--Chey Tae-won, Chey Jaewon, and Son Kil-seung--resigned last month as part of...

Telkom board reshuffling.(Telecom Career)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Government-owned Indonesian incumbent carrier Telkom has restructured its board of directors and commissioners following recent woes on its 2002 accounts. Tanri Abeng, the former state enterprises minister, has taken over Bacelius Ruru's...

Vodafone KK COO.(Telecom Career)(chief operating officer)(formerly J-PHONE Co., Ltd.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... David Jones, previously chief executive of Vodafone Netherlands, has been appointed COO of Vodafone KK. Jones assumed the newly created post on April 1, reporting to chief executive Darryl Green. Tomas Isaksson, chief executive of the...

AsiaSat director.(Telecom Career)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Asia Satellite has replaced Li Tongzhou with Ko Fai-wong as director. Ko, who is the deputy general manager of Shortridge, served previously as an alternative director.

TU Media names CEO.(Telecom Career)(chief executive officer)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... SK Telecom has appointed Seo Young-kil to head its satellite-based mobile broadcasting venture TU Media. Previously Seo served as vice president of TU Media, which is to offer satellite-based digital multimedia broadcasting service.

Yes TV's Plus COO.(Telecom Career)(chief operation officer)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Yes Television Asia has appointed David Mok as COO to head the company's Plus division, which operates PC-based entertainment services jointly run by Hutchison Global Communications, PowerCom Network Hong Kong and Yes Television (Hong Kong)....

Motorola's Asian broadband VP.(Telecom Career)(vice-president)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Drina Yue has joined Motorola as vice president and managing director to lead the company's broadband communications sector in Asia Pacific. Previously Yue was director and CEO of iSteel Asia.

LG Australia MD.(Telecom Career)(managing director appointed)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... LG Electronics Australia has appointed U.C. Hwang as managing director, replacing J.M. Lee. Hwang previously headed LG in Panama and Brazil. He also was LG's overseas operations managing director for 13 years.

Hutchison Whampoa alternative director.(Telecom Career)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Susan Chow, currently an executive director and deputy group managing director of Hutchison Whampoa, has been appointed as an alternative director to William Shurniak.

Siemens ICN US president/CEO.(Telecom Career)(Information and Communications Networks, chief executive officer)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Andy Mattes, a member of the Siemens ICN Group board, has been named to succeed George Nolen as president and CEO of Siemens ICN USA, effective May 1. Mattes will remain on the ICN board and retain his responsibility for ICN's worldwide...

Manufacturing director for Gemplus.(Telecom Career; Jean-Pierre Fantin)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Smartcard-based solution provider Gemplus has named Jean-Pierre Fantin as Asia-Pacific manufacturing director. Based in Singapore, Fantin will be responsible for developing and enhancing the company's regional manufacturing capabilities and...

Crossbeam regional director.(Telecom Career)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Security solution provider Crossbeam Systems has hired John Lounsbury as regional director managing Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong. Previously Lounsbury worked with Chrysalis-ITS, Westcon Asia, Bay Networks and IBM.

Sybase Asia-Pacific head.(Telecom Career; appointments)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Sybase has named Raymond Teh as senior vice president and general manager to head its Asia-Pacific operations based in Shanghai. The company has also appointed Willie Jow, currently vice president of business operations, to lead its newly...

Asurion president and CEO.(Telecom Career; Dan Currie )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Dan Currie has been promoted to president and CEO of Asurion Asia Pacific, a provider of mobile value-added services. Previously he was the head of Asia for Seven Networks and Commerce One.

MD for IDC China.(Telecom Career; managing director)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... IDC Asia Pacific has named Alan Hsieh managing director of the company's China operations, reporting directly to Piyush Singh, managing director of IDC Asia Pacific. Hsieh comes to IDC with over 15 years of IT industry experience in Asia...

Sohu.com CFO.(Telecom Career; appointments)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Chinese online media and communications company Sohu.com has hired Carol Yu as CFO, succeeding Derek Palaschuk. Yu, a Hong Kong Certified Public Accountant, previously worked with Arthur Andersen Hong Kong and Beijing.

Not happy with WAPI.(Inside Line)(WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure)
April 1, 2004... After smoldering for months, the dispute over China's new mandatory Wi-Fi security protocol has suddenly flared into the most serious Sino-American tech trade issue since the long tussle over CDMA. At this rate, it is heading before a WTO...

Retrospect.(Backpage Briefing)(John Sidgmore on internet telephony)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... RETROSPECT: Backpage Briefing recently discovered an item that appeared on this very page five years ago this month featuring UUNet chairman John Sidgmore, who years later would take the helm of UUNet's parent company, WorldCom, just before...

Piracy.(Backpage Briefing)(pay TV)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... PIRACY: The Royal Thai Police in late February announced a new ten-point plan to tackle the country's pay-TV piracy problem that cost pay-TV operators and broadcasters at least $370 million in gross losses Last year. The plan includes new...

Privacy.(Backpage Briefing)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... PRIVACY: Softbank's privacy policies have come under the following the arrest of three men in Late February who allegedly made off with the entire customer database of Softbank's DSL service, Yahoo BB. The theft is currently believed to...

Jamming.(Backpage Briefing)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... JAMMING: The Chinese press has been hailing China's next major satellite project, Sinosat-II, as the country's first domestically designed and manufactured commercial telecoms satellite, but its designers are talking up another crucial feature:...

Warfare.(Backpage Briefing)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... WARFARE: The flood of Net worms pillaging the Internet in recent months appears to be the product of the first major global "cyber war" between rival virus writing groups. Steven Sundermeier, VP of products and services at Central Command,...