Telecom Asia articles from June 2006

Telecom Asia archives from June 2006

Mobile music: it ain't easy.(content licensing for Pay-per-view television and digital music )
June 1, 2006... Last month this space was concerned with the complicated nature of content licensing for pay-TV services, which is why IPTV operators can't put together specialized program channels as easily as one might think. However, if you think...

The new word for home networking: plastic.(FIRST MILE)
June 1, 2006... Wi-Fi is widely seen as an obvious and easy solution for home networking, but when it comes to sending video around the house, a handful of vendors--Infineon Technologies the most high-profile among them--are recommending plastic optical fiber...

The bandwidth market is feeling much better now.(STAT SNAP)
June 1, 2006... After years of enduring a glut of subsea cable capacity, the global bandwidth market appears to be safely on the road to recovery, according to the latest analysis in TeleGeography's Global Bandwidth Research Service. Symptoms of improved...

3G key to iPass' global footprint.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
June 1, 2006... Global wireless connectivity provider iPass says 3G is set to play an increasing role in the company's strategy in providing ubiquitous broadband connectivity for the enterprise. Douglas Loewe, VP and MD of EMEA and Asia at iPass, says more...

IPTV set to explode in Asia.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S TELECOM RESEARCH)
June 1, 2006... The number of IPTV subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan (APEJ) is expected to grow exponentially to 29.7 million by 2010 from only 1.2 million in 2005. Looking at current trends and the projected 89% annual growth rate, IDC...

Global telecom gear market to expand 33%.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S TELECOM RESEARCH)
June 1, 2006... Telecom and datacom equipment revenue worldwide is seen growing 33%, from $107.9 billion in 2005 to $145.5 billion in 2009. An Infonetics report states that while wireless broadband and mobile radio equipment are the biggest revenue contributor...

APac wireless revenue to hit $242b%.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S TELECOM RESEARCH)
June 1, 2006... Revenue from wireless services in the Asia-Pacific region is forecast to hit 5242.42 billion by the end of 2010 from $159.97 billion last year. In-Stat says the successful launch of 3G services in the region will significantly boost data...

Mobile devices penetrating the digital home%.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S TELECOM RESEARCH)
June 1, 2006... While the digital home still mainly entails connecting consumer entertainment devices within the home network, mobile devices are increasingly coming into the picture. According to ABI Research, consumer product vendors, content providers and...

Mobile TV wars heat up in Hong Kong.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
June 1, 2006... The battlefield for a mobile TV standard is getting more fierce with the entry of a new contender leveraging cell broadcasting technology that has existed for years in the GSM/UTMS environment. In a move to extend its popular IPTV content...

Senator Richard Alston: Australia's Internet killer?(RESEND: Flashbacks, updates and nostalgia)
June 1, 2006... SYNOPSIS: Australian Communications minister Richard Alston, who has been touting Australia's competitive regime and leadership in Internet usage as an example that the Internet can prosper in Western-style free societies, proposes amendments...

The government launches a campaign to bar minors and those thought to be accessing "unhealthy" content" from the city's Internet cafes.(BEIJING)
June 1, 2006... The government launches a campaign to bar minors and those thought to be accessing "unhealthy" content" from the city's Internet cafes. People found to have violated regulations "will be severely punished," authorities said. China Unicom...

PCCW Global and China Telecom team up to launch international Ethernet private line service providing businesses with dedicated point-to-point cross border connectivity between Hong Kong and China.(HONG KONG)
June 1, 2006... PCCW Global and China Telecom team up to launch international Ethernet private line service providing businesses with dedicated point-to-point cross border connectivity between Hong Kong and China. The High Court orders four ISPs--Hong Kong...

The National Telecommunications Commission approves draft regulations on telecom business deals with foreign partners, which require all Thai operators to seek the commission's approval before signing any agreement with overseas companies.(BANGKOK)
June 1, 2006... The National Telecommunications Commission approves draft regulations on telecom business deals with foreign partners, which require all Thai operators to seek the commission's approval before signing any agreement with overseas companies. ...

Tinhhoa Advanced Technology plans to invest $200m to build an optical cable factory at Saigon Hi-Tech Park in the southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City.(HANOI)
June 1, 2006... Tinhhoa Advanced Technology plans to invest $200m to build an optical cable factory at Saigon Hi-Tech Park in the southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City. Viettel Telephone signs up more than 2.7m subscribers to its VoIP 178...

Telekom Malaysia reports a 39% rise in its first quarter net profit on higher overseas income and foreign exchange gains.(KUALA LUMPUR)
June 1, 2006... Telekom Malaysia reports a 39% rise in its first quarter net profit on higher overseas income and foreign exchange gains. Net profit was 519m ringgit ($144m) in the quarter, up from 374.5m ringgit ($104m).

PLDT discloses that it may take a stake in local satellite TV operator GV Broadcasting.(MANILA)
June 1, 2006... PLDT discloses that it may take a stake in local satellite TV operator GV Broadcasting over the next few months.

Hutch Essar seeks approval from India's Department of Telecommunications for its planned merger with BPL Mobile Communications.(NEW DELHI)
June 1, 2006... Hutch Essar seeks approval from India's Department of Telecommunications for its planned merger with BPL Mobile Communications, which operates GSM services in Mumbai.

SK Telecom expects its wireless Internet data service business to grow 20% in 2006.(SEOUL)
June 1, 2006... SK Telecom expects its wireless Internet data service business to grow 20% in 2006. In the three months ended March 31, SK Telecom's net profit was 337.2b won ($355m), down from 368.4b ($388m) a year earlier. Warner Music Group merges the...

The National Communications Commission plans to increase the aggregate market share of broadband Internet access and fixed-line service held by nonleading operators to 30% and 15% by 2008.(TAIPEI)
June 1, 2006... The National Communications Commission plans to increase the aggregate market share of broadband Internet access and fixed-line service held by nonleading operators to 30% and 15% by 2008, in order to facilitate efficient market competition.

NTT profits dip 30% for the fiscal year ended March 31, as a drop in revenue from fixed-line business and lower prices in mobile services crimped earnings.(TOKYO)
June 1, 2006... NTT profits dip 30% for the fiscal year ended March 31, as a drop in revenue from fixed-line business and lower prices in mobile services crimped earnings. NTT's net profit totaled 498.7b yen ($4.5b) in fiscal 2005, down from 710.2b yen...

Telstra declines to take part in a government-sponsored trial in Tasmania later this year to filter Internet pornography on the grounds that it would give parents a false sense of security and slow down access speeds.(SYDNEY)
June 1, 2006... Telstra declines to take part in a government-sponsored trial in Tasmania later this year to filter Internet pornography on the grounds that it would give parents a false sense of security and slow down access speeds. The protection achieved...

New Zealand Telecom posts a net loss of NZ$244m ($156m) for the nine months to March 31.(WELLINGTON)
June 1, 2006... New Zealand Telecom posts a net loss of NZ$244m ($156m) for the nine months to March 31. The loss came as share markets wiped NZ$1.5b ($960m) off its value in two days after the New Zealand government decided to force the carrier to open its...

US Federal Communications Commission suspends its auction of wireless licenses for Internet access and other communications services aboard commercial airplanes.(movements)
June 1, 2006... * US Federal Communications Commission suspends its auction of wireless licenses for Internet access and other communications services aboard commercial airplanes. The commission said it paused the bidding to look at how the auction is...

Faced with opposition from conservative groups and some pornography Web sites.(movements)
June 1, 2006... * Faced with opposition from conservative groups and some pornography Web sites, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) decides to a proposal to create a ".xxx" domain name for voluntary use by the adult entertainment...

Siemens reveals plans to cut 1,000 jobs at its telecoms equipment unit on top of those already planned as it attempts to meet its profitability targets.(movements)
June 1, 2006... * Siemens reveals plans to cut 1,000 jobs at its telecoms equipment unit on top of those already planned as it attempts to meet its profitability targets. Some 1,500 lay-offs were already announced by the Munich-based Com unit in the first...

Egypt's Orascom Telecom plans to increase its stake further by 3.7% in Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunications International (HTIL).(movements)
June 1, 2006... * Egypt's Orascom Telecom plans to increase its stake further by 3.7% in Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunications International (HTIL). If and when the deal happens, it would increase Orascom's indirect stake in Indian mobile operator,...

Nokia pays $235m to InterDigital Communications to settle a patent dispute.(movements)
June 1, 2006... * Nokia pays $235m to InterDigital Communications to settle a patent dispute. InterDigital, however, said the companies have failed to renegotiate a licensing agreement for 3G mobile products that Nokia is currently selling.

A survey by eMarketer claims that more than one billion people in the world have access to the Internet.(movements)
June 1, 2006... * A survey by eMarketer claims that more than one billion people in the world have access to the Internet, a quarter of them with broadband.

Yahoo overhauls and redesigns its popular Internet home page displaying a more prominent section for Web searches and reconfiguring its display menu.(movements)
June 1, 2006... * Yahoo overhauls and redesigns its popular Internet home page displaying a more prominent section for Web searches and reconfiguring its display menu, in a move to respond stiff competition from the search capabilities of Google as well as...

Verizon Communications reports a 7.1% drop in first quarter earnings due to special items and the cost of a massive project to lay fiber optic lines to homes.(movements)
June 1, 2006... * Verizon Communications reports a 7.1% drop in first quarter earnings due to special items and the cost of a massive project to lay fiber optic lines to homes. Verizon earned $1.632b, compared with earnings of $1.757b in the same quarter last...

Visto files a suit against RIM, the maker of BlackBerry mobile devices, over a patent claim.(movements)
June 1, 2006... * Visto files a suit against RIM, the maker of BlackBerry mobile devices, over a patent claim. The case came after RIM agreed to pay NTP $612.5m to settle a four-year dispute.

Siemens and Time Warner Cable.(movements)
June 1, 2006... * Siemens and Time Warner Cable have announced successful demonstrations of integrated fixed-line, mobile and Wi-Fi broadband technologies via IMS standards to deliver fixed mobile convergence.

Infineon Technologies unveils a plastic optical fiber (POF)-to-Ethernet transceiver aimed at video home networking applications.(movements)
June 1, 2006... * Infineon Technologies unveils a plastic optical fiber (POF)-to-Ethernet transceiver aimed at video home networking applications. The semiconductor company claims POF is a cost-effective, reliable and flexible alternative to Ethernet cabling.

The CEO of Comverse Technology.(movements)
June 1, 2006... * The CEO of Comverse Technology, a maker of telecommunications systems and software, resigns along with two other executives amid a company probe into the timing of stock-option grants.

The great vendor shakeout: the planned Alcatel-Lucent merger better than anything else reflects the forces driving the telecom industry: carrier consolidation, the fall in cost and price, the need for scale, the drive to convergence and the challenge from Chinese vendors.(Cover story)(Company overview)
June 1, 2006... Whatever else happens between now and December 31, the $25 billion combination of Alcatel and Lucent is the biggest telecom event of the year. It's not because of the financial scale, or the disappearance of the original telecom company,...

Pay-TV made easy: satellite players ready to cash in on TV craze: starting a pay-TV service is harder than it looks, from the cost of building a headend to acquiring the programming. Enter satellite players that have hit upon a strategy for cashing in on the race to IPTV and mobile TV: bundled, preformatted content delivery and management.(SATELLITE)
June 1, 2006... Satellite industry players and observers have been saying for some time now that growing interest among telcos and cellular operators in IPTV and mobile TV, respectively, is as much an opportunity for the satellite business as it is a threat,...

Seeking Asia's best.(telecom asia awards 2006)
June 1, 2006... The ninth Telecom Asia Awards shows a mix of new with a touch of continuity. The new included winners such as SK Telecom, the Korean operator that took out the top award, and N Srinath, who was named Telecom CEO of the Year. Also new was...

Wireless Net champion.(BEST ASIAN TELECOM CARRIER)
June 1, 2006... Telecom Asia: Congratulations on becoming the first Korean carrier to win the Best Asian Telecom Carrier award. What have been the highlights of the past 12 months? Dong-seob Lee: The year of 2005 means a lot to SK Telecom. We successfully...

From i-mode to growth mode.(BEST ASIAN MOBILE CARRIER)(NTT DoCoMo Inc.)(Interview)
June 1, 2006... Telecom Asia: What have been the major highlights of the past year for NTT DoCoMo? Masao Nakamura: Total DoCoMo subscribers exceeded 50 million in November. This is due largely to our reducing the churn rate to just 0.8% through...

Going global.(TELECOM CEO OF THE YEAR)(Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. CEO N. Srinath)(Interview)
June 1, 2006... Telecom Asia: Congratulations on your award. What have been achievements at VSNL in the last 12 months? N Srinath: A lot of what we did last years is the culmination of a process that started three years ago. Initially our focus was on...

Giant transformed.(BEST PTT TRANSFORMATION)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Indian carrier BSNL took out the Best PTT Transformation prize, awarded this year for the first time. JUDGES' VIEW The winner is the largest publicly-owned enterprise in any industry in its home market. It has won strong segment growth...

Now looks to future in HD, quad-play.(BEST BROADBAND CARRIER)
June 1, 2006... Telecom Asia: When might we see a high-definition set-top box on PCCW's NOW TV platform? Paul Berriman: Maybe as early as September, but some time between then and the end of the year. It really depends on content availability more than...

PanAmSat: say hello, wave goodbye.(BEST ASIAN SATELLITE CARRIER)
June 1, 2006... Telecom Asia: How will Asia in particular benefit from the merger with Intelsat? David Ball: It'll be great to put the two fleets together. For our customers, it'll give then additional opportunities for connectivity. On many of the...

BT global services: innovation, partnerships and good timing.(BEST MANAGED SERVICES PROVIDER)
June 1, 2006... Telecom Asia: 21CN aside, what specifically is BT doing differently or better than other MSPs that are making similar migrations to IP platforms? Allen Ma: First, there is the boldness with which we walled into this new space. It's like...

Innovation fuels continued growth.(BEST EMERGING MARKET CARRIER)(Interview)
June 1, 2006... Telecom Asia: What was the main driver for your 22% jump in net profit last year? Manuel V. Pangilina: PLDT Group's strong results were fuelled by the continued growth of our cellular business and the resilience of our fixed-line...

India's mobile leader.(BEST INDIAN CARRIER)(Bharti Airtel Limited)(Interview)(Company overview)
June 1, 2006... Telecom Asia: What have been the year's highlights? Rajan B Mittal: We became the first company to cross the 20 million customer mark. As on March 31, 2006 we had 19.6 million mobile customer and another 1.3 million broadband and basic...

Boosting value through bundling.(BEST COMPETITIVE CARRIER)
June 1, 2006... Telecom Asia: What is your strategy for mobile growth and what is your outlook for '06? Our mobile operator True Move continues to grow through its convergence and bundling strategies. An example of this during the current year's first...

Mobile revolution.(the best new technology in wireless telecommunication)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... In a category that has been won in the past by well-known technologies such as Wi-Fi and VoIP, it was the unstoried mobile tech HSDPA that came up trumps. That it has failed to catch the imagination of consumers is hardly a surprise; only two...

Giant still in growth mode.(BEST CHINESE CARRIER)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... China Mobile is best-known as the world's largest carrier by customers and, despite the slowing of growth, it continues to stack on the numbers: subs were up last year by 20.7% to 246 million. The carrier's future business will come from...

HSUPA solution.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)
June 1, 2006... Qualcomm has unveiled its mobile station modem MSM7200 chipset, which it claims is the world's first HSUPA solution. The solution will enable a new generation of uplink-intensive wireless services requiring low network latency such as VoIP,...

WiMAX network planning tool.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)
June 1, 2006... Aperto Networks and EDX Wireless have entered into a marketing partnership to offer a WiMAX network planning tool that will help service providers design, deploy and optimize their WiMAX networks. The EDX SignalPro is a comprehensive and...

Hands-free, wideband Skype calling.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)(Skype Technologies S.A.)(contracts)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Polycom and Skype have forged an agreement to deliver integrated, high-quality communications solutions for businesses that use Skype. The first product from this alliance is the Polycom Communicator, a Skype-certified, co-branded USB...

New 'premium' jumper cables.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)(Radio Frequency Systems Inc introduces jumper cables)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Radio Frequency Systems (RFS) has introduced fully soldered, factory-assembled "premium" jumper cables, which promise improved RF connection between main feeders and antennas or system equipment. The elimination of polyvinyl chloride (PVC)...

Enhanced switching, load-balancing module.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Multi-threat security solutions provider Fortinet has enhanced its high-end product portfolio with a new switching and load-balancing module, the FortiController-5208 for its FortiGate-5000 series, which it claims to be the world's first...

Multiple, complex network manager.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)(Tellabs Inc introduces Tellabs 8000 network manager)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The Tellabs 8000 network manager allows service providers to minimize network operating expenses. It enables them to control multiple Tellabs systems based on various technologies, including TDM, frame relay, ATM, IP and Ethernet, with a single...

WAN, MAN services aggregation.(PREMIERE: Latest products and services)
June 1, 2006... Cisco Systems' three new products for the Cisco 7200 series routers deliver wide-area net work (WAN) and metropolitan-area network (MAN) services aggregation with a unique combination of scalability, value, performance and flexibility. ...

Networking opportunities across Asia.(EVENTS CALENDAR)(Table)(Calendar)
June 1, 2006... Networking opportunities across Asia Date Event Location Jun 14-Jun 16, 2006 China VoIP Conference & Expo Beijing, China Jun 09, 2006 CASBAA Satellite Industry Singapore...

Telecom NZ movements.(TELECOM CAREER)
June 1, 2006... Telecom New Zealand chairman Dr Roderick Deane will retire from his position within the next 12 months. The company has also appointed Robert McLeod as chairman of the audit committee to succeed Paul Baines. Wayne Boyd has been assigned to...

New assignments at DoCoMo.(TELECOM CAREER)
June 1, 2006... NTT DoCoMo has appointed its Kansai branch office SVP Kazuto Tsubouchi as its new CFO. Tokai branch EVP Bunya Kumagai, meanwhile, has been named MD of marketing. Both have been given the title of SVP and nominated to the company's board of...

J:Com COO steps down.(TELECOM CAREER)
June 1, 2006... Greg Armstrong has resigned from his posts as COO and EVP of Jupiter Telecommunications, a provider of cable TV, Internet and telephony services in Japan. While looking for a replacement, various individuals on the J:COM team will handle...

Telstra US hires new SVP.(TELECOM CAREER)
June 1, 2006... Telstra Inc., the US subsidiary of Australian incumbent Telstra Corp., has hired Vincent Morreale as SVP to lead sales and marketing activities in North and South America. Prior to this appointment, he was VP of global business development...

UTStarcom chief quits.(TELECOM CAREER)(Hong Lu )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... UTStarcom chairman and CEO Hong Lu will step down at the end of the year, making him the second senior executive to resign in recent months. COO Mike Sophie resigned on May 5. Ying Wu, company co-founder and the current head of UTStarcom's...

Mobile 365 has new country manager.(TELECOM CAREER)
June 1, 2006... Mobile 365 has assigned lane Liew as its new country manager for Malaysia, tasking her with addressing and identifying new mobile application opportunities in the country. Before this assignment, Liew worked at Maxis Communications and...

Promotions at TI.(TELECOM CAREER)
June 1, 2006... Gregg Lowe has been promoted to SVP, placing him in charge of Texas Instruments' entire analog business unit, which includes both high performance analog (HPA) and high volume analog and logic (HVAL). Arthur George succeeds Lowe as SVP and...

New iMagic CEO.(TELECOM CAREER)
June 1, 2006... Rupert Purser has joined Hong Kong-based media and technology convergence solutions provider iMagic Systems as CEO. Prior to this appointment, Purser was MD of the corporate finance and advisory division of Baker Tilly Hong Kong, a company...

Polycom hires APac chief.(TELECOM CAREER)(appointment of Hansjoerg Wagner)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Polycom Asia Pacific has tapped Hansjoerg Wagner, former MD of Packeteer Asia Pacific, as its new VP and MD. Leo Cortjens, who held the position of acting VP Asia Pacific, has been promoted to the newly created role of VP for global...

Exec movements at iPass.(TELECOM CAREER)
June 1, 2006... iPass has appointed Douglas Loewe as VP and MD for Asia Pacific, tasking him with driving growth in channel and direct sales, as well as heading operations and business development in the region. He will also continue his current role of...

New VP at Alereon.(TELECOM CAREER)
June 1, 2006... Ultra-wideband solutions provider Alereon has named Dr. David Shoemaker as VP of engineering and operations. He brings to the company more than a decade of industry expertise in RF, analog, and ASIC architectures, as well as software and system...

EMC appoints new APac head.(TELECOM CAREER)
June 1, 2006... Steve Leonard has joined EMC Corp as president to head the company's sales and service organizations in more than 12 countries in Asia Pacific including Japan. Leonard, a former executive of Symantec and Veritas Software, will be...

Telstra appoints two non-executive directors.(TELECOM CAREER)
June 1, 2006... Telstra has appointed John Zeglis and Peter Willcox to its board as non-executive directors. Zeglis is a former chairman and chief executive at AT&T Wireless and sits on a the broads of a number of US companies. Willcox is a former...

MSN assigns GM for Asia.(TELECOM CAREER)
June 1, 2006... Microsoft Corp. online services division MSN has appointed Bill Shaughnessy as its GM in Asia Pacific, including Japan. He will be based in Japan. Prior to this newly created position, Shaughnessy served as MSN's GM of product planning at...

New head for Nokia's Malaysia networks unit.(TELECOM CAREER)
June 1, 2006... Nokia has appointed Bill Chang as country director for its networks division in Malaysia. He succeeds Shekila Ramalingam, who has moved on to a regional posting within Nokia. Prior to joining Nokia in 2005, Chang was the CEO to a former...

Aperto hires CEO.(TELECOM CAREER)(appointment of Michael K. Pratt)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... WiMAX base stations supplier Aperto Networks has appointed Michael K. Pratt as its president and CEO. He replaces Reza Ahy who will continue his role as founder and chairman of the board of Aperto Networks. Pratt was recently the president...

Asia telecom transactions index.(TELECOM CORPORATE)
June 1, 2006... Asia telecom transactions index Value Seller Buyer Deal (US$) Huawei Telecom Malaysia GSM network expansion...

TA Index hits new high.(TA30 TELECOM STOCK INDEX APR 13--MAY 15, 2006)(Statistical data)
June 1, 2006... The TA Index climbed to a new high this year, reaching 1,372 points as it closed 44 points or 3.3% higher--its third consecutive" monthly rise. Gainers outweighed decliners 22 to eight. The biggest mover on the downside was Telecom New...

Colliding, not converging.(INSIDE LINE)
June 1, 2006... Convergence" is misleading word, conjuring the idea of a painless coming together. Nothing could be further from the truth in high-tech. What's unfolding now between telecom, media, software and electronics resembles not so much a convergence...

When telephony had a brand new bag.(BACKPAGE BRIEFING)
June 1, 2006... It's well understood these days that phones are now fashion accessories. What's less widely known is that fashion accessories were once phones. Well, at least this handbag was. Made in the 1970s, this 11"x 10" handbag was actually a...

Policy.(BACKPAGE BRIEFING)(Vinaphone Telecoms Operator Services Co new phone service)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... POLICY: It's not often that launching a new phone service comes with the risk of a major international incident--but that could be the case for Vietnamese cellco Vinaphone when it launches service in the disputed Spratly Islands this month. ...

WiMAX.(BACKPAGE BRIEFING)
June 1, 2006... WIMAX: Despite mobile WiMAX's current positioning by its champions as a "complementary" technology to 3G rather than a competitor, many cellcos are still reserving judgment. That goes for Vodafone--the world's biggest cellco by revenue--as...

Piracy.(BACKPAGE BRIEFING)
June 1, 2006... PIRACY: Pirated products are nothing new, particularly in Asia. But pirating an entire electronics manufacturing company? Now that's original. So to speak. Indeed, authorities in China and Taiwan recently busted a ring of pirates that had...