Tarifica Alert articles from July 2003

Tarifica Alert archives from July 2003

UK - Oftel orders BT to lower connection charges for Vodafone.
July 1, 2003... Oftel has ordered BT to reduce its charges to Vodafone for providing links, which Vodafone uses to connect up its radio base stations to the rest of its network. In taking action, Oftel ensures that BT will offer Vodafone cost oriented prices,...

Austria - Telecom Austria expands broadband network.
July 1, 2003... Telekom Austria has extended its 320 Gbit/s high-speed broadband network to Central, Southern, and South Eastern Europe. The network was first launched in 2001 and covered the route Vienna - Brno - Pargue - Frankfurt - Munich - Salzburg -...

France/Germany - Arcor and France Telecom announce partnership.
July 1, 2003... France Telecom has signed a partnership agreement with German fixed operator Arcor for the creation of Orange Wi-Fi hotspots at Arcor hotels in France, ranging from Formule 1 to Sofitel. The service will be available at 350 hotels and by the...

Hungary - 2G WAP by Westel.
July 1, 2003... Westel has introduced WAP services in Hungary. The pricing varies depending on a range of different features. The operator is the first mobile operator to offer WAP services in the country. [Copyright 2003 PBI Media, LLC. All rights...

Ireland - New flat rates for roaming in Europe by Vodafone.
July 1, 2003... Vodafone introduces new flat rate roaming charges for Vodafone networks in Europe. The new rate for the UK is C 0.59, for other European countries calls to Vodafone networks cost C 0.99. The new rates apply from 11th June 2003 and are available...

Italy - Wind signs i-mode agreement with NTT DoCoMo.
July 1, 2003... Mobile operator Wind has entered a strategic alliance with NTT DoCoMo to launch the i-mode service in Italy. During the next few months the two companies will work together to integrate the new feature with Wind's current value-added services...

Lithuania - Omnitel launched Omni DSL.
July 1, 2003... Omnitel launched a new DSL service, called Omni DSL, at the end of June 2003. The subscription of the service includes an IP address, email boxes, space for an Internet site, a virtual server and name domain in the Omnitel zone, advertising on...

Lithuania - Omnitel GPRS gains roaming partners.
July 1, 2003... Omnitel has made roaming agreements for its GPRS network in three more countries. The new operators are Partner in Israel, Omnitel Vodafone in Italy and Sunrise in Switzerland. According to Omnitel, the operator is going to add the United...

Luxembourg - new services from P&T.
July 1, 2003... Incumbent P&T has introduced the new ADSL service SpeedSurf Junior with downstream speeds of up to 256 kbit/s and upstream at 64 kbit/s. The monthly rental is C 38.55 including tax of 15 per cent. In addition, P&T's mobile arm LuxGSM is...

Malta - MCA approves tariff changes from Melita Cable.
July 1, 2003... Maltese regulator MCA has approved a request by Melita Cable to revise its tariff packages. MCA has reviewed and evaluated the proposed changes, which were based on detailed cost accounting information. Melita Cable must allow 30 days after...

Norway - Telenor 100 per cent owner of Comincom-Combellga.
July 1, 2003... Telenor has acquired the remaining stake of Russian operator Comincom-Combellga, assuming a 100 per cent ownership of the company. Telenor previously acquired a 75 per cent stake for US$ 120 million in 2000. The value of the remaining 25 per...

Norway - Telenor extends number enquiry service abroad.
July 1, 2003... Telenor has entered a roaming agreement with the United States and several countries in Europe making the number enquiry service available from those destinations. The destinations include Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the UK, Germany, Holland,...

Spain - Telefonica Moviles launches i-mode.
July 1, 2003... Telefonica Moviles Espana (TME) is now offering i-mode-based web content within its MoviStar e-mocion brand. Among the new facilities are sections like Games, Ringtones, Logos, Chat and Messaging, Leisure and Portals, News etc. There is no...

Sweden - Halebop's new mobile game zone.
July 1, 2003... Halebop launches a new mobile gaming zone. The games can be downloaded to any Java enabled handset for SEK 30 per game (including VAT of 25 per cent). [Copyright 2003 PBI Media, LLC. All rights reserved.]

Uganda - New price plan from MTN.
July 1, 2003... According to the "New Vision" (Kampala), MTN Uganda has launched a new price plan for its postpaid subscribers offering 50 inclusive minutes per month to MTN mobile and MTN fixed telephones. Calls in excess of the allowance will be charged at...

Japan - Sha Movie exceeds 2 million mark.
July 1, 2003... J-Phone Mobile's Movie Sha-Movie service now has over 2 million subscribers. The video messaging service reached 1 million in November 2002. J-Phone launched its picture-messaging service, named Sha-Mail, in June 2001 followed by the launch of...

Malaysia - Additional frequency band for DiGi.
July 1, 2003... The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has allocated Digi Telecommunications an additional 2 X 2 MHz frequency band for the operator's GSM network. DiGi Telecommunications is aiming to introduce a dual band 900 and 1800 MHz GSM...

New Zealand - VoIP services trial by Telecom.
July 1, 2003... New Zealand Telecom is carrying out trials for a network based call management service using Voice over IP. The system, called IP Centrex, is a call management system, which enables businesses to manage incoming and outgoing calls without using...

Thailand -Streaming service for DTAC subscribers.
July 1, 2003... Thailand's mobile operator Total Access Communications (DTAC) has launched DTAC streaming, a service that allows users to download video clips and movie previews. DTAC Streaming is available for both post and prepaid subscribers. The operator,...

Vietnam - First MMS service to be launched soon.
July 1, 2003... Vietnamese mobile operator Mobifone has assigned Alcatel to deploy Vietnam's first MMS service in Hanoi. Mobifone will be able to offer the MMS service to both post and prepaid subscribers. Currently Mobifone has GSM coverage in 61 cities and...

Ecuador - Regulator Conatel intervenes with Pacifictel.
July 1, 2003... Ecuadorian regulator Conatel has intervened with the administration of Pacifictel for the incompletion of its task to install new telephone lines. For the second year, Pacifictel had failed to achieve its task by more than 30 per cent. Instead...

Peru - Telmex interested in Peruvian market.
July 1, 2003... The Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications (MTC) has confirmed that Mexican incumbent Telmex is interested in entering the Peruvian telephony market. According to MTC, the Mexican operator has already approached the Government, but...

Peru - TIM evaluates the possibility to enter rural areas.
July 1, 2003... TIM Peru is currently evaluating the possibility to launch mobile telephony services in rural areas. According to regulator Osiptel, the option would be feasible for TIM, as it would thus be able to use state-owned infrastructure, in this case...

United States - BellSouth deploys high-speed DSL in Mississippi.
July 1, 2003... BellSouth has announced that it will deploy the High Speed Digital Subscriber (DSL) service in an additional 87 offices throughout the State of Mississippi. The decision is a direct result of the passage of the Mississippi Broadband Technology...

Tarifica Analysis: Voicemail retrieval whilst abroad can work out expensive.
July 1, 2003... When travelling abroad now, not just do you need to check that you have your passport, money and tickets with you, this now also needs to include the mobile phone. I don't believe many people including myself actually understand how much one is...

UK - 3 points if caught using a mobile phone whilst driving.
July 8, 2003... On the spot fines have been announced to come into effect in the UK for using mobile phones whilst driving. A fine of GBP 30 is proposed for each offence as well as 3 penalty points on the driver's licence. Licences in the UK are revoked when...

UK - 3G handsets free from UK service providers.
July 8, 2003... During June, service providers were heavily promoting 3 UK's services. Handsets were offered free if customers signed up for the following price plans: 500 minutes at GBP 25 per month and 750 minutes for GBP 35 per month. This is in real...

UK - Mobile companies forced to cut charges.
July 8, 2003... Fixed to mobile and mobile to mobile phone calls have been under investigation for some time by regulators and consumer bodies. The cuts proposed by Oftel and backed by the Competition Commission have been upheld by the High Court. It is...

Finland - One in seven intend to change operators.
July 8, 2003... According to a survey by the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications, one in seven customers plan to change their operators after number portability across networks is introduced. The new legislation on cross network number portability...

France - Lower calls to Bouygues subscribers.
July 8, 2003... France Telecom subscribers making calls from fixed lines to mobile subscribers on the Bouygues network benefit from lower rates from 1st July 2003. The new per minute rates are as follows (old per minute rates are given in brackets): To...

France - New SME voice and data service from Completel.
July 8, 2003... Completel announced the launch of six voice and high speed Internet services on 1st July 2003, which are aimed at the SME market. To date, Completel has a 2,000 km network offering direct connections to customers in the most important French...

Germany - Regulator cuts connection charges for the local loop.
July 8, 2003... German regulator RegTP has announced the new one-off charges for access to the local loop, which alternative providers have to pay to Deutsche Telekom for access to the last mile, in addition to the monthly rental. The new connection charges...

Germany - T-Mobile starts new business tariffs.
July 8, 2003... T-Mobile has recently launched three new tariff plans for business subscribers. Two of these (BusinessProfi and BusinessActive) provide voice services and the third (BusinessData) is a data tariff plan for mobile data communications via GPRS....

Lithuania - Omnitel cuts call charges for business customers.
July 8, 2003... Lithuanian mobile operator Omnitel will introduce new business rates with the 'Business Network'. The service will be available from 1st August 2003. There is a nominal connection charge of LTL 1, after which call charges will be LTL 0.25 per...

Norway - Statoil and Telenor bring wireless Internet to 300 petrol stations.
July 8, 2003... Norwegian incumbent Telenor has signed an agreement with service station operator Statoil Detaljhandel AS to provide 300 Statoil petrol stations with wireless Internet. The deal is said to be Europe's largest Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) rollout....

Russia - Vimpelcom extends GPRS availability.
July 8, 2003... The Muscovite subscribers of VimpelCom (brand name BeeLine) can now use GPRS-WAP and Mobile GPRS-Internet and MMS services on VimpelCom's network in other areas of Russia. The service extension is valid from 1st July 2003 and includes 22 new...

Sweden - SAS will provide Internet access on long haul flights.
July 8, 2003... SAS has signed an agreement with Boeing Co for the provision of Internet access on long haul flights through a satellite system called Connexion. The service is said to be available next year and will cost C 30-35. The service is available to...

Switzerland - sunrise offers discounts on international rates.
July 8, 2003... Alternative fixed operator sunrise has launched a summer promotion which offers low charges at CHF 0.07 per minute for calls to 12 countries. The offer applies until 30th September 2003 between 1700 and 0500 every day and is available for calls...

Ukraine - New benefits for UMC subscribers.
July 8, 2003... From 3rd July 2003 all SIM-SIM subscribers can carry their mobile number over to another tariff plan. The service will be free of charge. All other contract services including special offers and discounts for phones will not be affected by the...

Uganda - reward scheme for prepaid subscribers.
July 8, 2003... According to daily newspaper Monitor (Kampala), Ugandan mobile operator MTN is offering its prepaid subscribers a credit of Shs 4,000 per month when they top up their prepaid account. The new reward scheme has been named "Your Enyongeza" and is...

Somalia - Nationlink Telecom GSM expansion.
July 8, 2003... Nationlink Telecom, an affiliate of Somalia Telecom, has assigned interWAVE Communications International to deliver High Capacity GSM Switches to expand its coverage in Somalia. The expansion will allow Nationlink Telecom's capacity to increase...

South Africa - Telkom shows a 33.4 per cent growth in EBITA.
July 8, 2003... Telkom South Africa's announcement of its 2002 preliminary audited annual results ending March 2003 revealed an EBITA growth of 33.4 per cent to ZAR 12,807 million. The operator experienced a 26 per cent growth in mobile subscribers, 20.6 per...

South Africa - Lower rates from fixed to mobile calls.
July 8, 2003... South African fixed incumbent Telkom has announced it is to decrease fixed to mobile calls to the MTN and Vodacom networks. The rates will now fall to ZAR 1.82 per minute, with calls charged in 30 second bocks after the initial minute. The new...

Australia - Free messaging service for subscribers.
July 8, 2003... Fixed operator Telstra has launched a free messaging service for its subscribers named Telstra Home Messages 101y and is available with Telstra's local call service. Once the answer messaging service has been activated, messages can be...

China - Further network upgrades for China Unicom.
July 8, 2003... China Unicom has assigned Motorola to expand Phase III of the operators CDMA 2000 1X mobile network in the cities of Nanjing, Suzhou, WuXi, Changzhou, Nantong and Zhenjiang in the Jiangsu province. The network expansion is expected to increase...

Philippines - Network expansion for SMART.
July 8, 2003... Philippines mobile operator SMART Communications has awarded Nokia a contract to expand its GSM network. The expansion, which is due to be completed by the end of this year, includes Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology as well as...

Brazil - Anatel announces 25 per cent increase in national usage charges.
July 8, 2003... Brazilian regulator Anatel (Agencia Nacional de Telecomuicacoes) has announced an estimated 25 per cent increase in monthly rental and usage charges for local fixed telephony services (PSTN) for residential clients, as well as a 41.75 per cent...

Colombia - Siemens to build mobile network for Colombia Movil.
July 8, 2003... Colombia Movil has contracted Siemens to supply and install a GSM/GPRS 1900 mobile network in Colombia. The order is worth more than US$ 65 million. The mobile unit of Siemens will roll-out the transmission and receiving stations as well as...

Venezuela - Telcel launches Pegadito Noches y Fines.
July 8, 2003... Telcel has launched a new plan called "Pegadito Noches y Fines", which allows users to make calls between 0414 mobile phones for a monthly rental of Bs. 6,900, excluding VAT of 16 per cent, and includes 100 free minutes or 5,000 free seconds...

Tarifica Analysis: EU Candidates' Broadband Charges Heterogeneous Yet Competitive?
July 8, 2003... Ten European countries will join the European Union in 2004. These EU candidate countries are Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Other EU candidates such as Bulgaria and Romania...

UK - New simple pricing and keeping track of employee mobile phone usage.
July 15, 2003... Businesses can now exercise greater control over employees' mobile phone usage by setting a monthly spending limit for each employee. BT Mobile Business, which operates on the O2 network, offers companies an initial analysis of monthly usage,...

UK - Broadband trigger levels set for further 500 BT exchanges.
July 15, 2003... New demand trigger levels have been set by incumbent operator BT to roll out broadband services to a further 500 exchanges. Customers are encouraged to register their interest in receiving broadband services and exchanges are upgraded when the...

Bulgaria - BTC rebalances prices further.
July 15, 2003... Bulgaria Telecom continued with its rebalancing programme; the last review took place in May 2002. With effect from 7th July 2003, the unit price increases from BG 0.07 to BG 0.08, which sees a rise in local charges by 14 per cent, the timing...

Czech Republic - New 2 in 1 SIM card for business customers.
July 15, 2003... Cesky Mobil has introduced a new 2 in 1 SIM card option for business customers. The option provides two independent telephone numbers on one SIM card with separate billing and cost control. With SIM 2in1, customers can be reached on both...

Czech Republic - Eurotel's new smart SIM cards.
July 15, 2003... Mobile operator Eurotel will soon introduce new more sophisticated SIM cards with ID information and such applications as 'Personal SMS' and 'PIN Manager'. The cards are called 'Eurotel SMART SIM card' and 'Go SMART SIM card' for post and...

Germany - Arcor starts local pre-selection.
July 15, 2003... Since 9th July 2003, Arcor has been offering its subscribers the option of using the pre-selection service when making local calls. So far, 350,000 clients have registered for the new option. The following charges apply: ...

Ireland - Flat rate Internet access introduced.
July 15, 2003... Irish incumbent Eircom has launched a wholesale flat rate Internet access call origination (FRIACO) product which will allow both Eircom's retail division and other operators to provide flat rate internet access. This should help boost...

Italy - holiday card for prepaid customers.
July 15, 2003... Telecom Italia Mobile's 'Carta Vacanza' is now available to customers of prepaid services. The 'holiday card' enables users to send 300 SMS and MMS messages to any mobile phone for C 6.00 (including VAT of 21 per cent). For an additional C...

Russia - Megafon's new SMS service speaks.
July 15, 2003... Russian mobile operator Megafon has introduced a new SMS service that converts SMS messages into voice messages. Subscribers can choose the voice delivery from male or female voices and various voice pitches together with a time of message...

Spain - Xfera plans to roll out UMTS network.
July 15, 2003... According to the Spanish daily Cinco Dias, Xfera is currently having talks with infrastructure provider Abertis to deploy its UMTS network, which it is planning to launch in the fourth quarter of 2004. The operator is currently negotiating with...

Spain - LambdaNet Spain to streamline its operations.
July 15, 2003... The Spanish subsidiary of fibre and IP network operator LambdaNet is to realign its operations in response to subdued customer demand. LambdaNet Spain will revert to its original core network footprint of 16 cities with connectivity between the...

Switzerland - sunrise launches website on 090x numbers.
July 15, 2003... sunrise has launched a new website (www.sunrise.ch/0900) which gives customers information about using 090x numbers. It includes answers to questions about diallers and the costs, 'tips and tricks' for using 090x numbers, instructions where...

Ukraine - Cheaper weekend and holiday calls.
July 15, 2003... Ukrainian mobile operator Kyivstar has introduced a summer offer for all new subscribers of start up package ACE&BASE. The offer includes cheaper calls during weekend and holidays. The cost of calls on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays is...

Nigeria - Network upgrade for Cellcom.
July 15, 2003... Nigerian mobile operator Cellcom has awarded TELOS Technology a contract to expand its wireless network with CDMA 2000 1X Technology. The expansion will be carried out in the capital city of Lagos as well as Abuja and is due to be finished...

Tanzania - tariffs in local currency introduced by Celtel.
July 15, 2003... Tanzanian mobile operator Celtel has launched local currency tariffs charging subscribers in Tanzanian shillings rather than the US dollar. Due to the fluctuation of the shilling against the dollar, subscribers have sometimes paid higher rates....

China - China Unicom expands CDMA 2000 1X network.
July 15, 2003... China Unicom has awarded Ericsson a contract to expand its CDMA2000 1X network in the Chinese Jiangsu and Liaoning provinces. The deployment of the service in Liaoning and Jiangsu is expected to be completed with a commercial launch by the end...

China - Almost 1 million DSL lines to be deployed in China.
July 15, 2003... 920,000 DSL lines are to be supplied to the China Telecom Group by Alcatel in 18 provinces and municipalities in southern China including Shanghai, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Fujian and Anhui. The rollout is expected to be completed...

India - MOU signed between BSNL and Railtel.
July 15, 2003... A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between RailTel Corporation of India Limited and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited on various areas of co-operation in communications and information technology. The operators will be able to share...

Singapore - New value added directory enquiries service.
July 15, 2003... Singapore incumbent SingTel has introduced Directory Assistance Connect and Directory Assistance SMS services for its mobile customers. Subscribers will now be able to request numbers by SMS as well as being connected directly to their...

Brazil - Customers can now make calls using the 21 number.
July 15, 2003... Phone users in Brazil are now able to dial incumbent Embratel's 21 prefix when making national and international calls. The new service applies for both post and prepaid fixed telephony and mobile customers. The pre-selection service is also...

Chile - Telefonica CTC launches 'Chile elige a celulares'.
July 15, 2003... Telefonica CTC Chile has announced the launch of its plan 'Chile Elige a Celulares', which allows fixed telephony subscribers to control their monthly usage spent on calls to mobile phones for a monthly rental of Ch$ 1.490, including VAT of 18...

Ecuador - Regulator publishes growth rates.
July 15, 2003... The Ecuadorian regulator Supertel (Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones del Ecuador) has recently published the current subscriber figures for telecommunications services in Ecuador, as compared to those in 1996. The following table also...

Peru - AT&T Latin America launches Internet services in Lambayeque and Piura.
July 15, 2003... AT&T Latin America, which operates in five countries in the region, has announced the launch of dial-up Internet services in the regions of Lambayeque and Piura. Customers simply need to pay for using the telephony service; no additional fees...

Tarifica Analysis: Calling the UK when abroad.
July 15, 2003... Staying in touch with the office whilst on a business trip or friends when on holiday is more than just sending a postcard today. A few years ago, we relied on using the hotel phones; they are still as expensive today as they were then, but...

UK - BT must cut wholesale charges for unmetered Internet access.
July 22, 2003... UK regulator Oftel has ordered BT to reduce its wholesale unmetered Internet access charges by 17 per cent, backdated to June 2002. Although BT upgraded its network at that time, the incumbent operator continued to charge for certain call...

Belgacom - Belgacom to index standard rates.
July 22, 2003... From 1st August, Belgacom will adjust its standard usage rates. The indexation will amount to an average increase of less than 1.7 per cent, which is around the annual inflation figure. Examples of changes are (including VAT at 21 per cent):...

Czech Republic - New policy for settling unclear billing issues.
July 22, 2003... T-Mobile is introducing a new policy regarding billing issues. If subscribers find problems with the bill or other monthly charges the bill can be suspended until the issues are dealt with. In cases where the payment has already been made,...

Finland - Elisa 'still cheapest' in the capital area.
July 22, 2003... More people in Finland own a mobile than a landline, with some households opting for mobile subscriptions instead of a fixed line. Elisa, a new entrant fixed operator in the capital area, has compiled a comparison for calls in the Helsinki...

Germany - European Commission approves network sharing.
July 22, 2003... The European Commission has approved national roaming for licensed 3rd Generation (3G) network operators. According to the Commission, network sharing does not raise competition concerns, but benefits consumers by allowing the involved...

Hungary - Matav and Tak-Invest sign a 700 million agreement.
July 22, 2003... Matav's Business Solutions LOB and Tak-Invest have signed an agreement according to which Matav's Business Solutions LOB will provide MultiLAN data connections to 300 branch offices of 50 cooperative savings associations. The value of the deal...

Ireland - eircom extends broadband rollout.
July 22, 2003... Incumbent eircom has announced that a further thirteen exchanges are now DSL enabled. eircom launched its consumer broadband service i-stream Starter in April 2003 for C 45 per month (excluding VAT of 21 per cent). At the time of launch the...

Moldova - IP telephony service launch.
July 22, 2003... Moldovan mobile operator Moldcell has launched a new service called IPcell, which is based on IP-telephony. Below are the new tariffs for international calls. Zones Advance packages and postpaid Alocard Zone I 3.65 ...

Poland - PTC has 5.6 million customers.
July 22, 2003... The number of customers of Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC) has increased to 5.6 million. The operator is a market leader for mobile services in Poland. [Copyright 2003 PBI Media, LLC. All rights reserved.]

Portugal - Vodafone launches GPRS Roaming.
July 22, 2003... Mobile phone customers who subscribe to Vodafone can now use GPRS services, including Vodafone live!, WAP GPRS and MMS, when abroad. As a promotional offer, which is valid until the 30th September 2003, the same prices apply as when in...