Telecompaper Africa/Asia articles from February 2010

Telecompaper Africa/Asia archives from February 2010

Senegal - Google launches Google Maps in Senegal.
February 26, 2010... Google has launched Google Maps in Senegal, the first Francophone African country to have the service, writes Walfadjri. The Google Maps service in Senegal features maps of Dara, Zinginchor, Kaoloak, Thies, Touba and other towns and cities. It...

Azerbaijan - Nar Mobile offers SMS bundles.
February 26, 2010... Azerbaijan mobile operator Nar Mobile announced an offer of SMS bundles for subscribers, with rates of AZN 0.01 to 0.03 per message. The bundle including 30 SMS messages costs AZN 0.90, and a bundle of 300 messages is offered at AZN 3e. The...

Australia - NetComm reports AUD 22.92 mln H1 revenues.
February 26, 2010... Australian fixed and wireless broadband devices supplier NetComm has reported first half-year ended 31 December 2009 revenues of AUD 22.92 million. The EBITDA was USD 886,429. NetComm had AUD 6 million of orders on hand at the end of December,...

Thailand - AIS not expecting any effect from assets-seizure case.
February 26, 2010... Thai conglomerate Shin and its mobile flagship Advanced Info Service, said that the supreme court verdict on the assets-seizure case of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra should have no affect on their business operations, because the case...

Australia - ACFT to launch 'Online Offensive - Fighting Fraud' campaign.
February 26, 2010... The Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce will launch its 2010 Fraud Week campaign called Online Offensive-Fighting Fraud Online from 1-7 March. ACCC activities planned for Fraud Week include the release of the first ACCC scams activity report...

Qatar - Qtel extends offer on Dawli call destinations.
February 26, 2010... Qtel has extended its offers for calls to popular destinations like Egypt, India, Jordan, Pakistan, Lebanon and the Philippines for QAR 0.45 per minute on Dawli International Calling Cards, to 22 March. Under the terms of the promotion, Dawli...

Qatar - Vodafone Qatar launches mobile recycling campaign.
February 26, 2010... Vodafone Qatar has launched the first mobile recycling campaign in the country to coincide with the Qatar Environment Day. The programme 'Hand it on. Recycle your old mobile and get 10 percent off a new handset' comes as part of an effort to...

Malaysia - Maxis revenues up 3%, net profit falls in Q4.
February 26, 2010... Malaysian mobile operator Maxis saw its fourth quarter revenues grow 3 percent to MYR 2.21 billion from the third quarter. The increase in revenue was primarily due to a 5 percent increase in total mobile subscriptions, bringing the company's...

Singapore - Telechoice revenues fall 1.6% to SGD 77.7 mln in Q4.
February 26, 2010... Singaporean provider of services to the telecommunications industry Telechoice International saw its fourth quarter revenues drop 1.6 percent to SGD 77.7 million from SGD 79 million in the year-ago quarter. Personal Communications Solutions...

South Africa - MTN Business launches server virtualisation service.
February 26, 2010... South African operator MTN Business has launched its server virtualisation service. The service offers the same features as a conventional hardware-based server, without the need for physical hardware, space in a data centre or resources to...

Morocco - Morocco fixed phone users up 17.6%, internet users up 56.7%.
February 26, 2010... Morocco's fixed telephony market grew by 17.56 percent to 3.52 million subscribers at the end of 2009, compared to 2.99 million a year earlier, according to telecommunications regulator ARTP. Fixed phone penetration rose to 11.28 percent from...

Morocco - Moroccan mobile phone users grow 10.9% in 2009.
February 26, 2010... Morocco's mobile phone users increased by 10.94 percent to 25.31 million at the end of 2009 from 22.82 million a year earlier, according to telecommunications regulator ANRT. Mobile penetration rose to 81.18 percent from 73.98 percent over the...

South Africa - Blue Label sees 11% growth in revenues in H1.
February 26, 2010... South African services provider Blue Label Telecoms posted an 11 percent increase in revenue for the six months ended 30 November 2009, to ZAR 8.4 billion from ZAR 7.6 billion in the same period of the last year. South Africa distribution...

India - Orckit appoints Aggarwal as managing director for India.
February 26, 2010... Telecommunications equipment provider Orckit Communications has appointed VK Aggarwal as managing director in India. Aggarwal will be leading the Indian headquarter, based in Gurgaon. Aggarwal brings more than 35 years of sales, business...

Africa - Connect Ads forms alliance with Facebook in MENA region.
February 26, 2010... Digital advertising company Connect Ads has formed a strategic alliance with Facebook, making it the official representation partner for the social networking portal in the MENA region. Connect Ads will offer direct access to the extensive range...

India - TTML wins voice, data services contract from Magarpatta City.
February 26, 2010... Indian operator Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) has signed an agreement with Magarpatta City in Pune, India to provide wireline voice and data services. The services will cater to an estimated 7,500 residential flats and other numerous business...

Azerbaijan - Bakcell expands retail network, coverage.
February 26, 2010... Azerbaijan mobile operator Bakcell has opened three new retail outlets in Baku within the last few months. The retail network of the operator in Baku has increased to seven outlets. The operator has also launched retail outlets in Sabirabad,...

Uganda - MTN Uganda sues UTL over interconnection payments.
February 26, 2010... MTN Uganda has sued incumbent operator Uganda Telecom (UTL) for UGX 7.2 billion in interconnection fees owed the mobile operator, the Daily Monitor reports. In its case filed at the High Court's Commercial Division, the company accused UTL of...

Uzbekistan - Perfectum Mobile expands payments services.
February 26, 2010... Uzbekistan mobile operator Perfectum Mobile announced that it has expanded opportunities for customers to pay for services. The operator has launched a cooperation with Uzbekistani banks Ipoteka Bank, InFinBank, Ipak Yuli and Samarkand for...

India - S Tel launches ISD pack in Bihar, Jharkhand.
February 26, 2010... Indian telecommunications operator S Tel has launched an ISD pack in Bihar and Jharkhand circle. The pack is currently available through a passport pack at commitment of INR 24. Using the pack, customers can make calls to Malaysia, Hong kong,...

Australia - Vita Group H1 results boosted by Telstra deal.
February 26, 2010... Australia's Vita Group, owner of the Fone Zone chain, reported revenues for the fiscal first half to 31 December 2009 down 4 percent from a year earlier to AUD 144.9 million. Revenues declined due to a reduction in the number of stores by 19...

Armenia - Armentel increases roaming agreements.
February 26, 2010... Armenian mobile operator Armentel, working under the Beeline brand, has reached 3G roaming agreements with operators in 47 countries. GPRS roaming is available in 65 countries. The total number of roaming partners has reached 498 operators, an...

India - Aircel to invest USD 1.4 bln to become pan-India operator.
February 26, 2010... Indian operator Aircel plans to invest USD 1.4 billion this year to expand its operations and become a pan-India GSM operator by June, reports PTI citing Aircel chief operating officer Gurdeep Singh. Singh said Aircel will invest another USD 2.6...

Iraq - Zain, Asicell get easier schedule for licence payments.
February 26, 2010... Iraqi mobile operators Zain and Asiacell have received more favourable terms for paying their government licence fees, in exchange for a pledge to improve services. The government will monitor their services for a year, and if they meet the...

Philippines - PLDT completes another phase of fibre-optic network.
February 26, 2010... Philippine Long Distance Telephone has completed another phase of its fibre-optic network expansion programme with the activation of an additional 320 Gbps across six network loops nationwide. The expansion project increased the operating...

Nepal - Mero Mobile launches 'Sim Sim' scheme.
February 26, 2010... Nepalese mobile operator Spice Nepal, which uses the Mero Mobile brand, has launched a new scheme called "Sim Sim". Under the scheme, users can buy Mero Mobile sim cards at price of one for NPR 350. Each Sim cards in the bundle will have NPR 175...

Japan - NTT Docomo to reduce interconnection fees.
February 26, 2010... Japanese operator NTT Docomo has notified the ministry of internal affairs and communications that the fees it charges other telecommunications operators to interconnect with its network have been reduced, effective from 4 March and applied...

Africa - Zain to launch fourth season of Africa Challenge.
February 26, 2010... Africa and Middle East operator Zain will launch the fourth season of Zain Africa Challenge, a televised international academic quiz show featuring Africa's university students. The sixteen week season, running from 27 February to June, kicks...

China - Prysmian plans to grow market presence in China, India.
February 26, 2010... Energy and telecommunication cable specialist Prysmian plans to grow its market presence in both China and India as part of a global expansion programme. Speaking at the FTTH Council conference in Lisbon, the group's telecoms business director...

Hong Kong - Comba expects 100% growth in 2009 net profit.
February 26, 2010... Hong Kong-based mobile systems developer Comba Telecom Systems Holdings expects net profit for the full year 2009 to increase 100 percent against HKD 227.51 million in the previous year. It expects the preliminarily revenue for the year to...

Bahrain - Batelco offers GSM on Ship roaming service.
February 26, 2010... Bahrain's operator Batelco has reaffirmed its pledge to offer customers increased connectivity abroad with GSM on Ship, the newest addition to the company's international roaming service agreements. Through an agreement with Telecom Italia, the...

Japan - UQ expands Wimax service to additional areas.
February 26, 2010... Japanese Wimax operator UQ Communications has expanded its UQ Wimax service area to Mito-shi, Tsukuba-shi, Maebashi-shi, Takasaki-shi, Nagano-shi, Otsu-shi, Matsue-shi, Saga-shi, Nagasaki-shi, Kumamoto-shi, Oita-shi and Miyazaki-shi. This is in...

Japan - UQ starts '1st anniversary Wimax' campaign.
February 26, 2010... Japanese Wimax operator UQ Communications will start "UQ Wimax 1st Anniversary Half-Price Device Campaign". Under the campaign, the company will offer UQ branded Wimax data communication cards at half price, to users who newly contract to use...

Australia - Opposition parties block debate on NBN legislation.
February 26, 2010... Opposition political parties have delayed the Senate debate over key legislation on Australia's next-generation broadband plans. The opposition spent an hour filibustering during legislation to prevent debate on the Telecommunications...

China - Motorola deploys TD-LTE network at World Expo 2010.
February 25, 2010... Motorola's Networks business has deployed a TD-LTE network at the Expo Center for World Expo 2010 Shanghai China, and completed the first indoor over-the-air TD-LTE data sessions at the site. These milestones follow the announcement by China...

Australia - Engin narrows net loss in H1.
February 25, 2010... Australian VoIP provider Engin saw its revenues for first half-year ended 31 December 2009 grow to AUD 10.54 million, up 5.6 percent from AUD 10 million in the half-year ended 31 December 2008. Gross margin rose to 62 percent from 57 percent....

UAE - Etisalat launches 'Favourite Country Plan' for businesses.
February 25, 2010... UAE operator Etisalat has introduced the Favourite Country Plan for businesses. The Favourite Country Plan is applicable to all calls made on landlines and gives customers the flexibility to choose any three countries best suited for their...

UAE - Du revenues, net profit grows in Q4.
February 25, 2010... UAE operator Du fourth-quarter revenues grow 25 percent to AED 1.5 billion from the same period of the last year. All revenue streams displayed quarter-on-quarter growth, with mobile being the primary revenue driver increasing year-on-year by 42...

Australia - M2 revenues more than double in H1.
February 25, 2010... Australian telecommunications services provider M2 Telecommunications saw H1 revenues grow 115 percent to AUD 187.69 million from AUD 87.28 million in the previous financial year, boosted by the acquisition of People Telecom and certain business...

Hong Kong - IPC appoints Leung to manage Hong Kong network operations.
February 25, 2010... Financial services communications provider IPC Systems has appointed Peter Leung as manager of Hong Kong network operations. In his new role, Leung will head the network operations in Hong Kong and help IPC expand the company's network services...

India - India plans 3G auction for 9 April.
February 25, 2010... The Indian government announced a new schedule for the long-delayed auction of 3G mobile frequencies. The invitation to apply for the auction will be issued on 25 February, and applications are due by 19 March. The government will announce the...

Egypt - Convergys deploys Smart BSS products for Telecom Egypt.
February 25, 2010... Relationship management specialist Convergys has completed the implementation of Convergys' Smart BSS products for Telecom Egypt. Telecom Egypt is using Convergys Rating and Billing Manager Smart App to enable a customer-centric approach to its...

Togo - Xtera wins contract from Togo Telecom for optical network.
February 25, 2010... Network services provider Xtera Communications has been awarded a contract by Togo Telecom to deploy a high-capacity optical network across Togo, West Africa. Phase I of the work was completed in January. When completed, this deployment will...

India - Sports site traffic in India doubles in January.
February 25, 2010... In January, 10.3 million internet users age 15 and older visited a sports site in India from a home or work location, an increase of 97 percent from the previous year, according to a study by ComScore. Yahoo! Cricket led as the most visited...

South Korea - SKT to begin per-second charging.
February 25, 2010... Korean carrier SK Telecom plans to stop billing in 10-second pulses. The company will begin charging per second from March, The JoongAng Daily reports. SK Telecom is the first telecommunications provider to change its billing to per-second...

Cambodia - Telecom Cambodia unveils censorship plans for internet hub.
February 25, 2010... Telecom Cambodia plans to block access to websites it deems inappropriate if it is granted control over Cambodia's domestic and international internet exchange. The government wants state-owned Telecom Cambodia to establish a single, centralised...

Thailand - Shin Corp to diversify into broadcasting, digital media.
February 25, 2010... Thai conglomerate Shin Corp plans to diversify into satellite broadcasting and digital media services. The company will invest THB 1 billion to reduce its reliance on concession-based telecommunications operations (via mobile operator AIS) by...

Thailand - TOT told to continue 3G expansion.
February 25, 2010... The Thai regulator has told state-owned telecommunications firm TOT to accelerate its 3G expansion. The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) told TOT to expand its 3G coverage by August 2011 or face losing its 3G spectrum, The Bangkok...

Malaysia - Samsung to provide 500 Wimax base stations to YTL.
February 25, 2010... Malaysian Wimax licensee YTL Communications will procure 500 base stations from Samsung Electronics. Under the deal, Samsung will provide 500 2.3 GHz Wimax base stations to increase coverage on the east coast, The Star Online reports. This is in...

Australia - Macquarie Telecom's profits rise 68% on lower revenues.
February 25, 2010... Australian business telecommunications provider Macquarie Telecom posted a net profit of AUD 4.8 million for the first half ended 31 December 2009. Profits rose 67.5 percent from AUD 2.9 million in the year-ago period. EBITDA (continuing...

China - Chinese govt introduces registration rules for .cn domains.
February 25, 2010... The Chinese government has lifted a ban on registering .cn domain names but have unveiled new rules for citizens wanting to operate a website. Website operators will need to submit a colour photo of themselves for verification purposes,...

Indonesia - Telkom launches music portal.
February 25, 2010... Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) has introduced a music portal which is now in open Beta. FullTrek.com offers a music download service and also offers ringtones, Ring Back Tones, and music videos. At launch, the portal offers around 13,000...

Kazakhstan - Kcell provides access to Mail.ru.
February 25, 2010... Kazakhstan mobile operator Kcell has launched a joint project with Mail.ru. Kcell subscribers can access Mail.ru's Wap portal and use the services from their mobile phone. The service is charged according to the customer's tariff plan for...

Malaysia - Celcom's Q4 profit rises 23%.
February 25, 2010... Malaysian mobile operator Celcom Axiata recorded double digit revenue and profit growth in the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2009. Revenues rose 15 percent to MYR 1.69 billion from MYR 1.47 billion in Q4 2008. EBITDA stood at MYR 759 million,...

Australia - Around 34 film companies appeal iiNet judgment in Australia.
February 25, 2010... Around 34 film companies filed an appeal against the judgment of the Federal Court in the case against the Australian internet service provider iiNet. Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft, on behalf of the film companies, said there...

Australia - Digital television adoption in Australia grows in 2009.
February 25, 2010... The Australian minister for broadband, communications and the digital economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, announced that the number of Australians who have converted to digital television grew steadily during 2009. The results of the Digital...

India - Idea offers night tariffs for pre-paid users in Mumbai.
February 25, 2010... Indian operator Idea Cellular has introduced two new special night tariff vouchers in Mumbai. Vouchers offer night tariffs between 23:00 to 06:00 hours. Idea pre-paid customers can now avail 500 minutes of free calling at night through a...

Taiwan - China Mobile to visit Taiwan to procure handsets.
February 25, 2010... China Mobile executives are expected to visit Taiwan in March to procure products, Cens reports. China mobile vice president Sha Yuejia as well as executives of Huawei Technologies, ZTE, and Datang Telecom are planning to visit Taiwan to buy...

Malaysia - SKMM invites digital multimedia service applications.
February 25, 2010... The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM) has invited applications for licences for digital multimedia services operating on the 1452 to 1492 MHz band. In October last year, the regulator issued a standard radio system plan...

Bangladesh - Aktel sees EBITDA jump in Q4.
February 25, 2010... Axiata Bangladesh, which uses the Aktel brand, more than doubled its EBITDA in the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2009. Revenues went up by 53 percent to BDT 6.05 billion from BDT 3.95 billion in the year-ago quarter. EBITDA more than doubled...

Asia - Axiata group Q4 revenues jump 53%.
February 25, 2010... Asian mobile operator group Axiata ended 2009 with 120 million subscribers, up 34 percent year-on-year. Fourth-quarter revenues went up 53 percent to MYR 3.69 billion from MYR 2.42 billion in the year-ago period, while full year 2009 revenues...

Australia - Sony Australia launches internet-enabled Bravia TVs.
February 25, 2010... Sony Australia has unveiled its 2010 Bravia range featuring the company's first internet-enabled TVs. As part of its launch, Sony Australia announced 15 channels that will be made available through the Bravia Internet Video service, including...

Australia - TransACT offers Google Apps.
February 25, 2010... Canberra-based broadband and pay-TV provider TransACT with Neighbourhood Cable will begin offering the Google Apps range of web-based communication, collaboration, and security products. The apps are provided as part of the companies'...

Australia - Internode introduces Virtual Private Servers.
February 25, 2010... Australian ISP Internode has introduced Virtual Private Servers for business customers. Customers can buy a single Internode Virtual Private Server or multiple servers, each configured to meet their business needs and budget with no extra...

Japan - KDDI to raise JPY 100 bln in bond sale.
February 25, 2010... Japanese communications firm KDDI has launched unsecured straight bonds with inter-bond pari passu clause to raise a total of JPY 100 billion. The company plans to uses the proceeds to roll over its interesting bearing debt. KDDI iss offering...

Australia - Greens to fund Wi-Fi trial in Tasmania.
February 25, 2010... The Tasmanian Greens party will fund a AUD 300,000 pilot study for offering free Wi-Fi on Launceston buses. The trial will run for eighteen months and the Greens will also develop partnership arrangements to extend the trial to targeted private...

Taiwan - Chunghwa mulls capital reduction of 10-20%.
February 25, 2010... Taiwanese carrier Chunghwa Telecom may reduce its share capital to return excess cash to shareholders, Dow Jones Newswires writes citing CFO Shu Yeh. The company will decide on the possible reduction in April, which could be around 10 to 20...

Uzbekistan - Ucell launches 3G roaming.
February 25, 2010... Uzbekistan mobile operator Ucell has launched 3G roaming services for subscribers on the networks of operators in 25 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. 3G roaming service enables subscribers to access voice and broadband services using the...

Middle East - ASBU, Arabsat, Newtec to expand Menos TV.
February 25, 2010... The Arab States Broadcasting Union, satellite operator Arabsat and satellite communication equipment supplier Newtec have signed a contract for the expansion of the Menos TV (Multimedia Exchange Network over Satellite) and radio exchange network...

Qatar - Vodafone to launch mobile money transfer service in Qatar.
February 25, 2010... Vodafone Qatar has signed a contract with the Al Sarya Group for the development of Vodafone's mobile cash and international remittance service, Vodafone Money Transfer. A combination international remittance and mobile cash service, Vodafone...

UAE - TRA, German internet industry association sign MoU.
February 25, 2010... The UAE's telecommunications regulator TRA has signed a MOU with Eco, the association of the German internet industry with the aim of exchanging information in relation to the usage of the internet and developments in the German and UAE markets....

Lebanon - Holy Spirit University deploys Wi-Fi network with Aruba.
February 25, 2010... Holy Spirit University of Kaslik in Lebanon has deployed a campus-wide Wi-Fi network managed by the AirWave Wireless Management Suite at its Jounieh site. The network, installed by WLAN equipment provider Aruba Network' authorised partner,...

India - BSNL launches 24 Mbps broadband service.
February 25, 2010... State-owned Indian operator BSNL has introduced broadband with speeds up to 24 Mbps. This broadband service is made available with VDSL technology. This service is available at limited usage tariff plans with monthly charges of INR 4999 for...

India - India's Axis Bank launches m-payment service.
February 25, 2010... Indian private financial services provider Axis Bank has introduced a mobile payment service for debit cards. Dubbed 'Axis Call and Pay on Atom', the service enables users to make payments anywhere, anytime directly from their mobile phones. The...

India - India ends January with 581.81 mln telephone users.
February 25, 2010... India ended January with 581.81 million telephone subscribers, up 3.49 percent from 562.21 million in December, according to data from Indian regulator Trai. Teledensity reached 49.5 percent from 47.89 percent in the previous month. The wireless...

Middle East - Track inks distribution deal with Linksys in Gulf.
February 25, 2010... Track Distribution, a part of Aptec Holdings, has expanded its distribution agreement with Linksys, a subsidiary of Cisco, to include the Gulf region. Track plans to expand the current channel and recruit new value-added partners for Linksys in...

India - Open market for CDMA handsets grows in India.
February 25, 2010... The open market for CDMA2000 handsets has grown considerably in India since the CDG-led OMH initiative was launched in 2009, and is expected to expand to new regions worldwide this year. In addition to the first OMH-enabled handset, the Samsung...

India - ATC buys Essar Telecom Infrastructure in India.
February 25, 2010... India's Essar Group has agreed to sell its mobile towers company Essar Telecom Infrastructure to American Tower Company for USD 430 million. Essar Telecom Infrastructure leases mobile base station sites across India to several operators, with...

India - LG launches Ice Cream device for women in India.
February 25, 2010... LG has launched its KF350 Ice Cream, a feminine mobile phone in India, in time for Women's Day. The handset features 3 megapixel camera, is 13.6 mm thick and is equipped with a 2.2-inch colour screen with QVGA resolution, e-mail, video...

India - Telcordia to get conditional clearance for MNP in India.
February 25, 2010... The Indian union home ministry has finally agreed to give a conditional security clearance to the Telcordia Technologies' proposal to implement MNP in India, reports the Economic Times. As per the riders attached, none of the staff of the...

Timor-Leste - Timor Telecom to launch 3G services from March.
February 25, 2010... Timor Telecom will launch in March 3G services for computer use and expand the service to mobile phones in May, according to managing director Manuel Amaro. He said that Timor Telecom hopes to achieve coverage of 90 percent with the 2G network...

South Africa - Neotel selects OSS/CAD to unify data across IT systems.
February 24, 2010... South African fixed-line operator Neotel has chosen Ontology Systems' OSS/CAD to join, align and present customer, service, and infrastructure data from existing IT systems. OSS/CAD's use of semantics technology for bottom-up unification with a...

Nigeria - NCC sees number portability by year-end.
February 24, 2010... Ernest Ndukwe, vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, expects the regulator to implement number porting before the end of the year. Ndukwe gave the assurance recently at a lecture organised by the Leadership and Role Model...

Reunion - Izi boosts bandwidth to 8 Mbps, set to launch digital TV.
February 24, 2010... Reunion-based ISP Mobius, which uses the Izi brand, has increased customer's bandwidth to 8 Mbps from 1 Mbps at no additional cost. Thanks to an upcoming upgrade to ADSL 2+, customers in unbundled areas will benefit from new services, including...