Telecom Asia articles from February 2008

Telecom Asia archives from February 2008

Mobile TV in the Web 2.0 age.(TANNER)
February 1, 2008... Ever since I spent some of the 2002 FIFA World Cup watching the first half of the semi-final on an analog 2.2-inch TV set, I've been sold on the concept of mobile TV. Since then, I've had mobile TV in the form of streaming video over a 3G...

Putting the 'hot' in 'hotspots': MMI.(FIRST MILE)
February 1, 2008... In the face of skepticism, scorn and exorbitant backhaul costs, not to mention the ongoing upgrades of 3G networks to multi-megabit speeds, the Wi-Fi hotspot has proven a strikingly resilient business concept--at least if you go by venue...

Gaming firms diversity in China.(STAT SNAP)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... The online gaming industry in China is poised for more growth, after generating $970 million in revenues in 2006 on the back of more than 36 million players. According to KPMG, the market was expected to grow to $1.35 billion in 2007, as more...

Roaming: govt set to declare victory.(NEWS ANALYSIS)(China Mobile Ltd.)(China Unicom Ltd.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... After dragging themselves back from their annual Chinese New Year holiday, telecom industry regulators will find they begin the Year of the Rat in the same manner as they finished the Year of the Pig: the burning issue of domestic roaming...

Music rentals boost mobile music revenues.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S TELECOM RESEARCH)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Unlimited music downloads on a rental basis will account for bulk of mobile music revenues derived from original recordings in the next four years. According to Juniper Research, revenues from subscription-based music rental services will hit...

Base station chip sales suffer decline.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S TELECOM RESEARCH)
February 1, 2008... Manufacturers of base station chips are expected to suffer declining revenues in the coming years as operators upgrade to the fastest cellular technology while keeping the price pressure on infrastructure equipment makers. An In-Stat report...

GPS to become a handset staple.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S TELECOM RESEARCH)
February 1, 2008... Global shipments of GPS-enabled handsets are projected to more than triple in the coming years, rising from 175 million units in 2007 to 560 million units by 2012. According to Berg Insight, rapid adoption of GPS technology in the mass-market...

TD-SCDMA still only a mainland darling.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S TELECOM RESEARCH)
February 1, 2008... While strong support from the government is expected to make China's homegrown TD-SCDMA the most dominant 3G technology in the country, there are no indications that other countries will embrace the technology in the same way. ABI Research says...

Cable cuts raise security questions.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
February 1, 2008... The security of the international submarine cable networks has been called into question once again, after the recent cable cuts in the Mediterranean Sea severely disrupted internet and phone services between Europe, the Middle East and South...

The government eases new internet controls that limited video-sharing to state companies.(BEIJING)
February 1, 2008... The government eases new internet controls that limited video-sharing to state companies, saying that private companies already operating in the fast-growing industry are allowed to continue.

Six handset makers, including Lenovo and ZTE, are awarded the first post-trial period access licenses to TD-SCDMA, China's homegrown 3G technology.(BEIJING)
February 1, 2008... Six handset makers, including Lenovo and ZTE, are awarded the first post-trial period access licenses to TD-SCDMA, China's homegrown 3G technology. The move indicates that the technology is entering the commercial stage.

Sohu.com's fourth-quarter profit more than doubled on strong advertising and game revenue.(BEIJING)(Financial report)
February 1, 2008... Sohu.com's fourth-quarter profit more than doubled on strong advertising and game revenue. The firm also said it expects its sponsorship of the Beijing Olympics this summer to help boost 2008 revenues.

Heavy snow disrupts mobile phone services in 20 provinces.(BEIJING)
February 1, 2008... Heavy snow disrupts mobile phone services in 20 provinces. According to China Mobile, the country's top wireless operator, the weather caused power failures at 28,000 base stations on the company's network.

China Netcom and Vietnamese carrier EVN commission a new 10-Gbps cable between China and Vietnam.(HANOI)
February 1, 2008... China Netcom and Vietnamese carrier EVN commission a new 10-Gbps cable between China and Vietnam. The cable, which has been under construction between Dongxing, Guangxi province and north Vietnam since September 2007, has begun operation

A plan by AIS and TOT to collaborate on 3G services may be aborted.(BANGKOK)
February 1, 2008... A plan by AIS and TOT to collaborate on 3G services may be aborted because it could violate the concession deal between the state telecom enterprise and the country's largest mobile operator.

CAT Telecom is determined to award a contract to the Chinese telecom supplier ZTE.(BANGKOK)
February 1, 2008... CAT Telecom is determined to award a contract to the Chinese telecom supplier ZTE to build a 9,000-km optical-fiber cable network worth 2.6b baht ($82.6m) despite questions about transparency from the Auditor-General.

DTAC reiterates its intention to pursue 3G mobile communications, by upgrading its analog 850-MHz frequency to HSDPA in a joint venture with CAT Telecom.(BANGKOK)
February 1, 2008... DTAC reiterates its intention to pursue 3G mobile communications, by upgrading its analog 850-MHz frequency to HSDPA in a joint venture with CAT Telecom. The company, through its subsidiary Wide Broadband, has also outlined plans to apply...

Malaysia approves the transfer of telecoms firm Timedotcom's 3G license.(KUALA LUMPUR)
February 1, 2008... Malaysia approves the transfer of telecoms firm Timedotcom's 3G license to the country's smallest mobile phone firm Digi.Com.

DiGi reports a net profit of 293m ringgit ($91m) in the quarter through December.(KUALA LUMPUR)(Financial report)
February 1, 2008... DiGi reports a net profit of 293m ringgit ($91m) in the quarter through December, up 22% from a year earlier, buoyed by a growing subscriber base and higher revenue.

NTT DoCoMo lifts its stake in PLDT to 13.34%.(MANILA)
February 1, 2008... NTT DoCoMo lifts its stake in PLDT to 13.34%. The company has spent $760m on a 6.64% stake in PLDT since last March.

Globe Telecom reports a 13% rise in net income to 13.3b pesos ($334m) year-on-year in 2007.(MANILA)(Financial report)
February 1, 2008... Globe Telecom reports a 13% rise in net income to 13.3b pesos ($334m) year-on-year in 2007. Core net profit, which strips out one-off items such as costs related to a bond redemption, grew 27% to 13.7b pesos.

SingTel posts a 9.6% rise in quarterly underlying profit, as robust Asian mobile growth offset a margin squeeze at its Australian unit Optus.(SINGAPORE)(Financial report)
February 1, 2008... SingTel posts a 9.6% rise in quarterly underlying profit, as robust Asian mobile growth offset a margin squeeze at its Australian unit Optus. SingTel maintained its guidance for higher earnings.

SingTel drops its bid for Africa's Ghana Telecom.(SINGAPORE)
February 1, 2008... SingTel drops its bid for Africa's Ghana Telecom. The firm says it "decided not to proceed due to issues arising from the process."

SK Telecom reports a sharper-than-expected 76% fall in quarterly net profit as marketing costs to attract users for new services wiped out revenue growth.(SEOUL)
February 1, 2008... SK Telecom reports a sharper-than-expected 76% fall in quarterly net profit as marketing costs to attract users for new services wiped out revenue growth. Losses at its affiliates, such as US wireless joint venture Hello and mobile TV company...

Daum Communications, Microsoft and Celrun plan to set up a joint venture this month.(SEOUL)
February 1, 2008... Daum Communications, Microsoft and Celrun plan to set up a joint venture this month to offer IP television services in South Korea.

Taiwan Mobile sells a 6% stake to a foreign private equity fund in a deal estimated at NT$14b ($433m).(TAIPEI)
February 1, 2008... Taiwan Mobile sells a 6% stake to a foreign private equity fund in a deal estimated at NT$14b ($433m). The buyer could include the Carlyle Group, MBK Partners or the Blackstone Group.

NTT reports a 21.8% drop in profit for the April-December period due to declines in voice and fixed-line operations.(TOKYO)(Financial report)
February 1, 2008... NTT reports a 21.8% drop in profit for the April-December period due to declines in voice and fixed-line operations. NTT's profit for the nine months fell to 320.86b yen ($3b) from 410.14 b yen the same period the previous year.

KDDI expects record full-year operating profits after pulling in nearly 1.9 million new customers in the nine months to December.(TOKYO)(Financial report)
February 1, 2008... KDDI expects record full-year operating profits after pulling in nearly 1.9 million new customers in the nine months to December. KDDI's net profit for the nine months rose 12.4% to 214.8b yen ($2b) from the same period last year.

Sony's game unit in Japan will delay rolling out internet phone service.(TOKYO)
February 1, 2008... Sony's game unit in Japan will delay rolling out internet phone service in Japan for its latest handheld game machine because microphones developed for it didn't meet specifications, the company said.

Sanyo Electric will sell its troubled mobile phone operations to Kyocera.(TOKYO)
February 1, 2008... Sanyo Electric will sell its troubled mobile phone operations to Kyocera. The two electronics companies have said the value of the business to be transferred is about 40b yen ($374m).

Optus switches on its newest satellite, expanding its telecom capacity for rural and regional Australians.(SYDNEY)
February 1, 2008... Optus switches on its newest satellite, expanding its telecom capacity for rural and regional Australians. The Optus D2 satellite, which was launched on October 5, has been made operational after completing a series of in-orbit tests.

Telecom New Zealand posts a sharp drop in second quarter profit, and executives warned full-year earnings would be at the lower end of their forecasts.(WELLINGTON)(Financial report)
February 1, 2008... Telecom New Zealand posts a sharp drop in second quarter profit, and executives warned full-year earnings would be at the lower end of their forecasts. Net profit for the three months to December 31 was NZ$172m ($135m), down 25% from NZ$229m...

The Yahoo board formally rejects Microsoft's $44.6b offer for the internet company, almost certainly prompting a higher bid from the software giant.(movements)
February 1, 2008... The Yahoo board formally rejects Microsoft's $44.6b offer for the internet company, almost certainly prompting a higher bid from the software giant. Analysts noted that Yahoo did not reject the bid out of hand, but was clearly angling for an...

Motorola and Nortel are reportedly discussing a joint venture.(movements)
February 1, 2008... Motorola and Nortel are reportedly discussing a joint venture that would combine their wireless network infrastructure units.

Alcatel-Lucent sees global economic woes causing it uncertainty in 2008 after the merged company survived a choppy 2007.(movements)
February 1, 2008... Alcatel-Lucent sees global economic woes causing it uncertainty in 2008 after the merged company survived a choppy 2007, reporting a fourth-quarter loss and scrapping its dividend for last year.

Ericsson reports a sharp drop in fourth-quarter net profits and said it would lay off around 1,000 employees in Sweden.(movements)
February 1, 2008... Ericsson reports a sharp drop in fourth-quarter net profits and said it would lay off around 1,000 employees in Sweden. The firm said additional job-cuts worldwide are forthcoming to reach an annual cost cut goal of $629m.

Nokia Siemens Networks breaks even in the fourth quarter thanks to sharply higher sales.(movements)(Financial report)
February 1, 2008... Nokia Siemens Networks breaks even in the fourth quarter thanks to sharply higher sales. It expects the company to grow faster than the telecom infrastructure market in 2008.

Qualcomm posts an 18% increase in fiscal first-quarter profit on strong demand for cellphones that surf the internet and download music and video.(movements)(Financial report)
February 1, 2008... Qualcomm posts an 18% increase in fiscal first-quarter profit on strong demand for cellphones that surf the internet and download music and video. The news came against a backdrop of gloomy market assessments in recent days from industry...

Vodafone reports a 16% jump in quarterly revenues, boosted by acquisitions in the fast-growing Indian and Turkish markets and a strong euro.(movements)
February 1, 2008... Vodafone reports a 16% jump in quarterly revenues, boosted by acquisitions in the fast-growing Indian and Turkish markets and a strong euro. The company shrugged off fears about the impact of the recent global economic downturn, posting revenue...

Yahoo's financial funk deepens at the end of 2007.(movements)
February 1, 2008... Yahoo's financial funk deepens at the end of 2007, prompting the slumping internet icon to draw up plans to lay off as maW as 1,000 workers.

Cuts to two subsea cables in the Mediterranean have severely disrupted internet and voice services in India and the Middle East.(movements)
February 1, 2008... Cuts to two subsea cables in the Mediterranean have severely disrupted internet and voice services in India and the Middle East. Damage to the Flag Europe-Asia and the SeaMeWe-4 cables has left only the older SeaMeWe-3 system to provide service...

Samsung surpasses Motorola as China's second biggest mobile phone vendor, while Sony Ericsson's market share halved over 2007, according research firm Analysys International.(movements)
February 1, 2008... Samsung surpasses Motorola as China's second biggest mobile phone vendor, while Sony Ericsson's market share halved over 2007, according research firm Analysys International. Of the 39.96 million devices sold in the last quarter of 2007,...

Nokia signs a deal to take over Oslo software company Trolltech with a cash offer that values the Norwegian company at nearly $153m.(movements)
February 1, 2008... Nokia signs a deal to take over Oslo software company Trolltech with a cash offer that values the Norwegian company at nearly $153m. Nokia offered $2.91 per share, or 60% more that Trolltech's closing price on the Oslo stock exchange.

Sony Ericsson will sell its first Windows-powered smartphone, the Xperia, in the second half of 2008.(movements)
February 1, 2008... Sony Ericsson will sell its first Windows-powered smartphone, the Xperia, in the second half of 2008. The agreement with Microsoft leaves Nokia as the only major handset-maker that is not shipping phones with Windows Mobile.

AT&T wins government approval to buy highly coveted airwaves licenses that cover 196 million people in 281 domestic markets.(movements)
February 1, 2008... AT&T wins government approval to buy highly coveted airwaves licenses that cover 196 million people in 281 domestic markets. The FCC released an order approving the company's $2.5b cash buyout of Aloha Partners and its spectrum holdings.

Deutsche Telekom is close to resolving the future of its systems-integration business T-Systems and plans to make a decision in March.(movements)
February 1, 2008... Deutsche Telekom is close to resolving the future of its systems-integration business T-Systems and plans to make a decision in March. The firm is in final talks and sounding out all options.

The sharing mania: continued financial pressure and the need for faster network rollouts are igniting mobile operators' enthusiasm in a new wave of network sharing. While cellcos in developed markets in Europe are moving toward a more sophisticated level of sharing, operators in emerging markets are expected to increasingly explore network sharing.(Cover story)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sharing assets, especially network infrastructure, is not exactly a new concept in the mobile industry. Back in the early 2000s, a handful of 3G operators in Europe and Asia--such as KPN and Telefonica/Sonera...

Wimax brings remote Vietnamese villagers new voice: Wimax/satellite is bringing broadband internet access to a remote Vietnamese village, demonstrating Wimax's feasibility to connect the underserved areas of the world.(CASE STUDY)
February 1, 2008... According to World Bank statistics; over 70% of Vietnam s 82 million people live outside urban communities. As in other developing countries, access to modern telecommunications in many rural areas remains absent. Ta Van village is a case...

Make it tangible and personal: M1 CEO Neil Montefiore explains to group editor Joseph Waring why advertising will be a big revenue generator and why the broadband experience is going personal for the youth market.(ONE-TO-ONE)(Interview)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Telecom Asia: Last October you trialed location-based ads and quickly went to a commercial launch. What did you learn? Neil Montefiore: The trial was very successful, which was why we went straight into a launch....

Reinvention in the services area: Bob Iannucci, head of the Nokia Research Center until his appointment as CTO in January, tells Joseph Waring how Nokia is taking its model as a device company and reinterpreting that on the services and software side.(VIEWPOINT)(Interview)
February 1, 2008... Telecom Asia: How does moving from being strictly a device manufacturer a few years ago and transitioning into services impact your research investment priorities? Bob Iannucci: We can look at it philosophically, and we can look at it...

Consumer trends drive mobility usage in business: while emerging applications are more mobile-oriented and fully customized, a gap still exists between IT managers' and users' expectations.(SERVICES)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With the deluge of devices entering the market from PDAs to smart phones and iPhones, combined with the expansion of high speed cellular and Wi-Fi networks, it makes increasing sense to allow workers in the field to...

Indian SMEs eager to go mobile.(FORUM)
February 1, 2008... SMEs in India lead in the adoption of several mobile applications and have the highest projected growth, according to a recent Ovum survey. Their willingness to pay, however, lags behind their eagerness to adopt. Expected growth in mobile data...

Easier migration to NGN architecture.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... A stellia has enhanced its massive capture solution with a new OCEAN probe and a new Gigabit Ethernet acquisition board--developments that are designed to adapt to mobile networks migrating towards NGN architecture. The new OCEAN platform...

Enhanced Ethernet service module capabilities.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)
February 1, 2008... Ciena's new G10 and G10X Ethernet service modules deliver Layer 2 Ethernet aggregation, switching and transport capabilities as simple plug-and-play upgrades to the CN 4200 FlexSelect Advanced Services Platform family. The new modules simplify...

New home networking products.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)
February 1, 2008... Linksys, a division of Cisco, has unveiled several new additions to its Ultra RangePlus family of Wireless-N products. New products from the Ultra RangePlus family include the Wireless-N Gigabit Router (WRT310N), the Wireless-N Broadband...

Unified central management system.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Packeteer has introduced the IntelligenceCenter, a comprehensive application and WAN management platform that enables enterprise and service provider customers to easily monitor, enforce and optimize application performance levels with...

Smallest tunable optical transmitter.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] JDSU has developed what it claims as the world's smallest widely tunable transmitter optical subassembly for the dense wavelength division multiplexing transceiver market. The new TOSA represents a dramatic...

Digital home at your fingertips.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)
February 1, 2008... Aztech Systems has launched the Wireless Multimedia Streamer, ADSL2+/VDSL all-in-one digital residential gateway and 200-Mbps HomePlug Wireless Draft N Router. The new products seamlessly integrate triple play-data/voice/video for greater...

High Wi-Fi throughput, extended range.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)
February 1, 2008... Marvell's TopDog 11n-450, an 802.11n 3x3 wireless LAN solution with three spatial streams, is the industry's first 802.11 n chip operating at 450 Mbps. With maximum bandwidth that is more than eight times faster than 802.11g 54 Mbps...

Multi-standard mobile TV receiver.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)
February 1, 2008... Telegent Systems has released the TLG1120, what it claims as the industry s first single-chip CMOS mobile TV receiver supporting worldwide TV broadcast standards. According to the company, the TLG1120 delivers global support for NTSC, PAL,...

Movements at HTIL.(TELECOM CAREER)(Ting Yu, Susan Chow and Peter Wong appointed at Hutchison Telecommunications Ltd.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Hutchison Telecommunications International has appointed Chan Ting Yu and Peter Wong as executive directors, and Susan Chow as non-executive director. Gerald Ma has been nominated to act as an alternate director to Peter Wong, while Ragy...

HKBN hires customer relations head.(TELECOM CAREER)
February 1, 2008... Ben Hui has joined Hong Kong Broadband Network as director of customer relations, making him responsible for customer relations for the residential segment and for building a new network development team for home pass acquisition. Hui was...

Nortel taps enterprise chief.(TELECOM CAREER)
February 1, 2008... Nortel has appointed Francois Lancon as VP of enterprise networks for Asia, where he will be based in Singapore. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A telecom and IT industry veteran, Lancon comes to Nortel from Convergys, where he served most...

New NSN Hutchison business team leader.(TELECOM CAREER)
February 1, 2008... Nokia Siemens Networks has assigned Richard Kitts to head the Hutchison business team, managing all the company's Hutchison-related operations globally. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kitts joined Nokia in 1999 and was most recently head of...

Qualcomm appoints EVP.(TELECOM CAREER)
February 1, 2008... Qualcomm has promoted Jing Wang to EVP to lead the company's operations in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Wang, who was previously SVP and chairman of Qualcomm Asia Pacific, will also serve as a member...

Aperto Networks names VP.(TELECOM CAREER)
February 1, 2008... Ruchir Godura has joined Aperto Networks as VP of global customer service and South Asia sales. Godura has more than 14 years of experience in the telecom industry and was most recently CMO of enterprise services at Bharti Airtel.

Linktone CFO resigns.(TELECOM CAREER)
February 1, 2008... Colin Sung has resigned as CFO and board member of Linktone. Deputy CFO Foo Him Tiem will serve as acting CFO until the company finds a successor. For a certain transition period, Sung will remain with Linktone in a consulting capacity.

Cisco senior management appointments.(TELECOM CAREER)
February 1, 2008... Cisco has appointed Fredy Cheung as SVP for Greater China, a new position in the region's senior management team. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Charleston Sin has been promoted to MD for South China, Hong Kong and Macau, while Barbara Chiu is...

Roamware taps finance chief.(TELECOM CAREER)
February 1, 2008... Eran Pilovsky has joined mobile roaming solution supplier Roamware as its new EVP and CFO. Pilovsky, former CFO of Aperto Networks, will be responsible for Roamware's global financial, administrative and corporate development activities.

Celona Technologies names CEO.(TELECOM CAREER)
February 1, 2008... Data migration specialist Celona Technologies has appointed Charles Andrews as its new CEO. He joins Celona from IBM where he was an executive in the global technology services unit, focusing on the telecom sector.

Exec appointments at Esmertec.(TELECOM CAREER)
February 1, 2008... Esmertec has assigned Joe Burke as EVP of its mobile and multimedia device unit. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jean-Luc Gianduzzo, formerly EVP of global services, has been named EVP of the mobile operator products and customized solutions...

HK/Macau GM for Avaya.(TELECOM CAREER)
February 1, 2008... Avaya has appointed Ben Samman as GM for Hong Kong and Macau. Based in Hong Kong, Samman will be responsible for driving Avaya's sales, marketing, and business development activities in the two markets. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] He was...

Global sales appointment.(TELECOM CAREER)
February 1, 2008... Gooch & Housego has appointed Martin Cheng as director of sales for Asia Pacific, where he will be based in Hong Kong. Cheng was previously director of sales/marketing at BinOtpics/ CyOptics and regional product marketing manager in Agere...

Networking opportunities across Asia.(EVENTS CALENDAR)(Calendar)
February 1, 2008... Networking opportunities across Asia Date Event Feb 25 - 27, 2008 Digital Marketing 2.0 Feb 27 - 28, 2008 Customer Care & Billing Asia Mar 04 - 06, 2008 IMS Asia Mar 11 - 12, 2008 ...

Will bundling save the music labels?(INSIDE LINE)
February 1, 2008... Whatever you say about the recorded music industry today, there's no shortage of choice. You can buy millions of DRM-free tracks from iTunes or Amazon. You can get a year's free downloads with a Nokia phone. You can listen to streaming...

Oil's not well.(BACKPAGE BRIEFING)
February 1, 2008... Stop me before I download again! Reuters reports that a lonely Canadian oil field worker generated an $83,700 cellphone bill while working alone at an isolated shack in northwest Alberta. Piotr Staniaszek, a 22-year-old oil well tester, didn't...

Cellhat.(BACKPAGE BRIEFING)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... In 1908 now defunct Hampton's Magazine predicted the cellphone with some accuracy; "When the expectations of wireless experts are realized everyone will have his own pocket telephone and may be called wherever he happens to be." Good so far....

No royalties.(BACKPAGE BRIEFING)
February 1, 2008... The AFP reports that 47.3% of heavily wired South Koreans illegally download at least a full length movie per week. A Korean Film Council survey polling 2,358 Koreans aged 15 to 49 found that they use file sharing websites to pay from zero to...

My baby she sent me a ... email.(BACKPAGE BRIEFING)
February 1, 2008... It's been a tough few last months in your relationship. Her voice went from being a honey throated vixen to grating fingernails on a blackboard. The flower of love has wilted. Now it's time to end it, but how? According to Reuters, if you...