Telecom Asia articles from June 2001

Telecom Asia archives from June 2001

It's interactive, it's TV and it's back.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Some things in the world of TV just never go away. Quiz shows, prime time news and New Year's Eve specials are in this category. Other concepts, like "Candid Camera" or "This is Your Life", occasionally disappear from the screens but invariably...

Internet power plays.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... The telecoms industry in general has seen better days, financially speaking, but there are still plenty of optimists out there espousing the wonder of the networked future and how much better all our lives will be as a result. Despite...

At last: China Unicom kicks off CDMA network buildout.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... After years of stop-go amid intense political maneuvering, China Unicom has finally awarded its first CDMA contracts. It's the moment that the CDMA camp has been waiting for, but where does the technology fit inside China's mobile sector? ...

Hype speeds broadband talk, but not access.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2001... LMDS operators expected bandwidth-hungry Hong Kongers to drive broadband usage through the roof as they rolled out hubs around the territory. But they reckoned without the incumbent. When one of the region's pioneers, Hong Kong, handed out...

Bandwidth baron.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... SingTel will become the region's undisputed bandwidth baron if a planned 9,000-kilometer cable to Australia comes off. But the carrier and its partners still need a solid US connection. Singapore Telecom and its new acquisition, Cable &...

Shrinking returns from crowded market Down Under.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Australia is under pressure through a glut of telecom operators fighting for market share. Something has to give. SingTel's imminent takeover of Cable and Wireless Optus spells danger for smaller players in an already crowded Australian...

Strike up the bandwidth.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... TOT lets loose ADSL in a bid to boost network speed on the cheap. The Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT) had no sooner started testing its narrow band ISDN network in 1994 than plans for a broadband expansion were underway. Put to...

The US FBI arrests three Chinese nationals--including two scientists from Lucent Technologies -- on charges of stealing technology secrets from Lucent's PathStar product and illegally passing them on to ComTriad Technologies, a Chinese joint venture involving Chinese company Datang Telecom.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... The US FBI arrests three Chinese nationals--including two scientists from Lucent Technologies -- on charges of stealing technology secrets from Lucent's PathStar product and illegally passing them on to ComTriad Technologies, a Chinese joint...

Manx Telecom may not become the world's first commercial W-CDMA operator after all.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Manx Telecom may not become the world's first commercial W-CDMA operator after all. The BT-owned cellco, serving the Isle of Man, has postponed its service launch until October due to software problems. NTT DoCoMo made the same decision in...

UK-based Cable & Wireless buys Digital Island.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... UK-based Cable & Wireless buys Internet hosting and service providers Digital Island in an all-cash transaction valuing Digital Island at around $340 million, or $3.40 a share, including $49 million of net debt.

Globalstar chief Bernard L. Schwartz resigns.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Globalstar chief Bernard L. Schwartz resigns. Former ICO CEO Olof Lundberg is named as Scwartz's provisional replacement. The struggling LEOsat operator reports narrowed losses and increased minutes of use in its 1Q01 financial results, but is...

360networks' 1Q01 earnings fall way short of analysts expectations with a net loss more than double the same period last year, despite improved revenues.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... 360networks' 1Q01 earnings fall way short of analysts expectations with a net loss more than double the same period last year, despite improved revenues. The carrier says it will postpone buildout of its planned transpacific cable and will...

Singapore Telecom invests another $200m in its Indian strategic partner, the Bharti Group.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Singapore Telecom invests another $200m in its Indian strategic partner, the Bharti Group, bringing its total financial commitment in the sub-continent to $650m.

3Com Corp cuts another 3,000 jobs in its latest cost cutting measure to return the company to profitability.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... 3Com Corp cuts another 3,000 jobs in its latest cost cutting measure to return the company to profitability. The company made plans to cut as many as 1,200 people earlier this year.

The Southern Cross submarine cable consortium lights up another couple of fibers on its 30,500 km cable, boosting capacity from 20 Gbps to 60 Gbps.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... The Southern Cross submarine cable consortium lights up another couple of fibers on its 30,500 km cable, boosting capacity from 20 Gbps to 60 Gbps. The upgrade was originally scheduled to take place at the end of this year, but Southern Cross...

Siemens succumbs to the global telecoms downturn.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Siemens succumbs to the global telecoms downturn, announcing it will cut some 3,500 lobs from its telecoms unit.

Sun Microsystems plans to shut down its operations for at least a week in July to cut costs.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Sun Microsystems plans to shut down its operations for at least a week in July to cut costs. Hewlett-Packard is also reportedly planning a mandatory holiday for Its staff around the same time.

Beijing: The MII issues a notice to halt the build-out of fiber optic networks.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Beijing: The MII issues a notice to halt the build-out of fiber optic networks by companies other than licensed telecommunications carriers. A number of companies -- many of them them state backed conglomerates and government agencies -- have...

Beijing: Beijing YeeYoo Network Information Technology launches what it claims to be the first point-to-multi-point fixed wireless broadband Internet service in China.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Beijing: Beijing YeeYoo Network Information Technology launches what it claims is the first point-to-multi-point fixed wireless broadband Internet service in China. The 144-kbps YeeYoo service, which targets enterprises and schools, uses...

Shanghai: Shanghai Cable Network (SCN) selects interactive television and media solutions company OpenTV.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Shanghai: Shanghai Cable Network (SCN) selects interactive television and media solutions company OpenTV to provide a platform and an array of interactive and multimedia services for SCN's planned service rollout to around 1 million broadband...

Hong Kong: CCT Telecom bails out of its LMDS.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Hong Kong: CCT Telecom bails out of its LMDS joint venture with Teligent, which has still not managed to launch its planned wireless broadband backbone network for corporations and ISPs.

Hong Kong: China Unicom (Hong Kong) enters the Hang Seng index this month.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Hong Kong: China Unicom (Hong Kong) enters the Hang Seng index this month, replacing Hong Kong cellco SmarTone. First Pacific, which owns Philippines operators PLDT and Smart, also drops out of the index, replaced by MTR Corp.

Hong Kong: Speaking at the opening ceremony of a roundtable meeting.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Hong Kong: Speaking at the opening ceremony of a roundtable meeting at the Fortune Forum last month, Information Industry Minister Wu Ji-Chuan says that China's telecommunications market will continue to grow 20% annually over the next five...

Hong Kong: The government's 3G auction.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Hong Kong: The government's 3G auction is postponed -- again -- to September in order to put the necessary legislation in place to facilitate a planned royalty payment scheme.

Bangkok: Singapore-based Pacific Internet's Thai subsidiary.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Bangkok: Singapore-based Pacific Internet's Thai subsidiary is in discussions with potential partners to offer Internet data center services in the country. PacNet says it wants to hook up with existing IDC players rather than build its own...

Jakarta: State-owned telecoms operator Indosat.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Jakarta: State-owned telecoms operator Indosat reports a net profit of 538.5 billion rupiah ($51.8 million) for its first quarter of 2001 -- an improvement over the same period in 2000 -- thanks to a sharp increase in foreign exchange gains...

Kuala Lumpur British Telecom sells its 33.33% stake in mobile operator.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Kuala Lumpur British Telecom sells its 33.33% stake in mobile operator Maxis for $502.8m to local tycoon Ananda Krishnan, who also bought another 13% of Maxis from MediaOne Group of the US, and now holds 70% of the operator through company,...

Kuala Lumpur Lycos Asia (Malaysia) partners with Malaysian Chinese content provider Nanyang Online.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Kuala Lumpur Lycos Asia (Malaysia) partners with Malaysian Chinese content provider Nanyang Online, a subsidiary of Nanyang Press Holdings, to launch a content portal providing Chinese-language news, entertainment and technology information for...

Manila: Hong Kong-based broadband infrastructure.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Manila: Hong Kong-based broadband infrastructure company Speedcast forms a partnership with Philippines ISP Infocom to deliver Its streaming multimedia content directly to Internet users in the Philippines.

Perth: Telstra extends its optical cable network to Perth.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Perth: Telstra extends its optical cable network to Perth, where people can now access high speed broadband Internet service via came. ADSL or satellite.

Tokyo: NTT Communications' largest offshore investment.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Tokyo: NTT Communications' largest offshore investment, US Internet company Verio, posts loss of $777 million on only $328 million in sales last year. The company, which cost NTT $5 billion to acquire outright, is facing a full-year loss of...

Tokyo: British Telecom agrees to sell its stakes.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Tokyo: British Telecom agrees to sell its stakes in Japan Telecom and J-Phone to UK rival Vodafone in a $5.3 billion deal, giving Vodafone a 45% stake in Japan Telecom and a 46% share in the J-Phone mobile group. The deal should be completed by...

Tokyo: KDDI Group's Tu-ka subsidiary.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Tokyo: KDDI Group's Tu-ka subsidiary is reportedly up for sale. Proceeds from such a sale would go towards paying off KDDI's $18b debt. KDDI chairman Jiro Ushi says eight companies have already expressed interest in buying Tu-ka, which operates...

Seoul: Korea Telecom reports increased revenues.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Seoul: Korea Telecom reports increased revenues of 13.4% but a 15.6% drop in profits in its financial results for the first quarter of 2001. The revenue increase was driven largely by strong growth in KT's Internet, data, and wireless resale...

Seoul: Dacom launches a new bundled service.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Seoul: Dacom launches a new bundled service that includes local and long-distance telephony and internet access for $7.60 a month. The new service, Hangajok@ ("one family together enjoying the Internet"), can help customers save up to 34% on...

Taipei: After numerous delays due to a lack of investor interest.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Taipei: After numerous delays due to a lack of investor interest, the government will again try to offload shares in state-owned Chunghwa Telecom. About 10% of Chunghwa Telecom will be put up for sale in a public auction targeting primarily...

Sydney: The Australian Communications Authority unveils.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Sydney: The Australian Communications Authority unveils a new industry code of practice that sets minimum quality standards for the accuracy of billing systems used by fixed-line and mobile telecommunications carriers. Under the code, carriers...

Sydney: GRIC Communications and broadband wireless operator.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Sydney: GRIC Communications and broadband wireless operator SkyNetGlobal sign an agreement to deliver broadband wireless Internet roaming access to global business travelers. SkyNetGlobal has just completed what it says is Australia's largest...

Wellington: Telecom New Zealand taps Marconi.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Wellington: Telecom New Zealand taps Marconi for a three-year optical networking supply contract to establish a common SDH infrastructure platform for both its New Zealand operation and its Australian subsidiary, AAPT.

Singapore: Telco StarHub and cable/broadband operator Singapore Cable Vision.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Singapore: Telco StarHub and cable/broadband operator Singapore Cable Vision announce a possible merger that would combine StarHub's fixed line, wireless, International and Internet assets with SCV's came TV and residential broadband Internet...

Intelligent Networks Telecoms Triple C Services.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... In today's increasingly competitive telecom market, service is the key to success. For service providers and telecom operators, revenue streams largely depend on creating value through new services, which can be delivered across multiple...

Trillion dollar opportunity.
June 1, 2001... How carriers, corporates and IDCs are competitors, collaborators and customers in the race to provide B2B dial tone Asian carriers who have built co-location businesses in the last two years are finding profits rapidly drying out. Now they...

Making a mesh of things: Smart optical cores make their move.
June 1, 2001... Optical mesh networks are here, with intelligent network-aware optical switches bringing unprecedented flexibility to the fiber carriers that Sonet/SDH can never hope to match. But telco financial woes and a lack of key standards should keep...

Billing for the unknown service.
June 1, 2001... Usage-based IP billing could change the way service providers value their services. But first, billing systems have to figure out how to capture the right data A few years ago, building out a broadband network was all the rage. Today, now...

The joy of six.
June 1, 2001... IPv6, that is. IPv6 is coming -- it has to, proponents argue, to support the coming wave of wireless devices coming online that IPv4 won't have enough IP addresses to support. Some carriers are deploying IPv6 already, but others don't see...

The ITU vs. IP telephony.(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2001... It's getting on in years but the ITU is still determined to stay with-it and flexible enough to keep tabs on the latest issues facing the industry. Most recently, the ITU took on the thorny issue of IP telephony. The ITU's assessment: it's...

Monetizing eyeballs.
June 1, 2001... With an upswing in technology being countered by hard times in the industy, the question must be asked: Will video streams ever convert to revenue streams? Monetizing eyeballs. Already the term has the savor of the last decade -- hip argot...

Regional reach.(Interview)
June 1, 2001... Reach, PCCW-Telstra's regional IP baby, is finally on its feet. New CEO Alistair Grieve has the job of fending off a legion of small, hungry -- desperate, even -- international wholesalers. Sure, there's a surplus of capacity being installed...

Broadband off the tracks.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Dotconomy has had a broadband connection for nearly a year now, and I do see the benefits. It isn't so much that I actually take advantage of it. For the most part, my online activities consist of checking out telecom company sites. On a...

PC-based planning tool for 2G and 3G networks.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Nokia is hailing the NetAct Planner as the company's new fully integrated, PC-based family of network planning tool for planning voice and data networks. It is also designed to facilitate fast rollout of 3G networks. The NetAct Planner...

10 Gbps Ethernet modules for LAN, MAN and WAN.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Foundry Networks has unveiled a new suite of standard-based 10 Gbps Ethernet modules for the enterprise, metropolitan area network (MAN) service provider, and Internet service provider (ISP) market segment. The 10 Gbps Ethernet module...

PSTN gateway enables immediate deployment of VoIP services.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... TollBridge Technologies said its newly announced TB300 platform is a carrier-grade, IP-based VoCable gateway that allows cable operators to quickly and cost-effectively offer voice services to their current subscribers while leveraging their...

Fraud management system brings near real time detection for CSPs.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... The new Teradata Fraud Management system is designed to help communications service providers (CSPs) solve fraud problems quickly while enrich customer relationship management activities (CRMs). The solution uses the Teredata data warehouse...

Intelligent IP-oriented wireless DSL platform.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Airspan Networks, Inc. has released the AS4020, an IP-based wireless access product line for wireless network operators and ISPs to compete with ILECs. The product is built on Airspan's PacketDrive technology, and can be deployed as a...

TDMoIP gateway with T3/E3 interfaces.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... RAD Data Communications, Inc., has announced the release of its IPmux-16 TDMoIP (Time Division Multiplexing over Internet Protocol) gateway with T3/E3 interfaces. The latest in RAD's IPmux family of TDMoIP gateways, the new gateway allows...

Enhanced spectrum analyzers for comprehensive troubleshooting.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Agilent Technologies has added a new modulation analysis measurement personality option to its ESA-E series spectrum analyzers, making it a comprehensive troubleshooting tool. This enables wireless R&D engineers designing mobile handsets...

GPRS interoperability protocol analyzer.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Tektronix, Inc. has launched a new option for testing mobile handsets for General Packet Radio System (GPRS) compliance -- the K1297-G20 protocol analyzer with GPRS software. "GPRS interoperability test functions for the Tektronix...

Corporate learning in the Internet classroom.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Telecom and Internet companies who make a living selling Internet technologies and services are also making use of the Net to upgrade their employees' skills, as demonstrated by 3Com University. Every serious professional body recognizes...

Yatsurugi new AT&T APAC VP.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... AT&T Asia Pacific Group has appointed Yoichiro Yatsurugi as vice president to head up the Asia Pacific operations of AT&T Business, succeeding John Stretch, who will be taking up the position of vice president AT&T Business for Europe. ...

New marketing chief at Far EasTone.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Far EasTone, Taiwan's fourth largest cellular operator, has named Benny Chen as the company's new chief marketing officer. Prior to the appointment, Chen worked for Citibank in London before he returned to Taiwan in 1997 to head up branch...

Former EDS eSolution head joins Telstra.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Telstra has appointed Tony Henshaw as general manager of enterprise sales in Telstra Resale's business sales division. Prior to joining Telstra, Henshaw was deputy managing director of EDS Australia before taking responsibility of EDS's...

Commerce One Asia Pacific VP.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Neil Hudspith, a former VP and GM of Lotus in Asia Pacific, has joined e-marketplace company Commerce One as its general manager for the region. Peter Kwan has been named vice president and chief financial officer. Kwan joins Commerce One from...

PCCW's new executive director.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Pacific Century CyberWorks has appointed former J.P. Morgan executive Frederick S. Ma as an executive director, and former Swire property executive Michael John Moir as managing director of PCCW's infrastructure and real estate division. ...

iAsiaWorks hires president and COO.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Following a company restructure and downsizing, iAsiaWorks has named Dennis D. Muse president, chief operating officer and a member of the company's board of directors. Muse has previously held executive management positions with...

Global sales director at EdgeMatrix.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... EdgeMatrix, the technology company specializing in multi-channel delivery products, has appointed Bill Pascuzzi as global sales vice president, and Lim Yu Chiang the general manager in Singapore and director of global channel sales. ...

New Intelsat VP.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Intelsat has appointed Kevin Mulloy as vice president of strategy and business development. Mulloy comes to Intelsat from McKinsey & Company where he served as a partner since 1996 and as an associate for the previous six years.

Deutsche Bank appoints new telecom heads.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Deutsche Bank has named Daniel Newman and David Clarke the new co-heads of telecommunications banking for the Asia Pacific region. Newman joins Deutsche Bank from Salomon Smith Barney in Hong Kong, where he was the co-head of...

PCCW executive chairs AdSociety.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Raymond So has been appointed chair of Pacific Century CyberWorks' online advertising venture company, AdSociety. So currently serves PCCW as executive vice president for sales and marketing. AdSociety has also appointed Michael Myeong Gil...

New country head for Yankee Group.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... The Yankee Group has appointed Christopher Slaughter to head up its new Hong Kong office. Slaughter joined the company last October as research director for its Asia Pacific Communications practice. Prior to joining the Yankee Group, Slaughter...

Band-X's IP challenger.
June 1, 2001... Band-X has launched an IP transit exchange service in Hong Kong, hoping to offer a more cost-effective alternative to traditional expensive IPLC sellers. There are obvious benefits, but also challenges. Bandwidth exchanges and their related...

Tricky times for telecom spies.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Two events in the past couple of months have thrown a spotlight on the usually shady worlds of telecommunications interception and national security. The first was the incident between a US spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet near Hainan...

Worms: Internet worms may seem good for little more than seeing how many gullible users you can get to open an .exe or .vbs attachment in hopes of seeing a pornographic Snow White joke on company time.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Worms: Internet worms may seem good for little more than seeing how many gullible users you can get to open an .exe or .vbs attachment in hopes of seeing a pornographic Snow White joke on company time, but, as one worm creator tried to prove...

Security: An embarrassing online slip-up by Alcatel.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Security: An embarrassing online slip-up by Alcatel. Following public disquiet over a security hole in its SpeedTouch DSL modem, the company posted a media release to its Web site intended to reassure customers. Unfortunately, the release was...

Air: The word "Oxygen" has fine connotations, doesn't it -- it's certainly better than "carbon monoxide".(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Air: The word "Oxygen" has fine connotations, doesn't it -- it's certainly better than "carbon monoxide". But that doesn't mean it automatically augurs well for a business. Project Oxygen was the company which aimed to literally connect the...

Future: Remember BT?(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Future: Remember BT? A British phone company, apparently; if you blinked you would have missed its Asian assault. In an effort to reduce its $28 billion debt, it has now split into two: BT Wireless, containing the mobile division, and FutureBT,...