Telecompaper Africa/Asia articles from June 2009, page 8

Telecompaper Africa/Asia archives from June 2009

Australia - Telstra appoints Geason to head Wholesale.
June 11, 2009... Telstra has appointed Paul Geason as group managing director of Telstra Wholesale. The appointment is effective from 30 June. Previously, Geason was executive director convergent sales at Telstra Enterprise and Government. Geason will succeed...

Hong Kong - Ofta names 3 winners for 1800MHz auction.
June 11, 2009... All the qualified operators participating in the Ofta's 1800MHz auction in Hong Kong won blocks of spectrum. SmarTone-Vodafone, China Mobile, and Hong Kong Telecommunications were named provisional successful bidders for the spectrum, each...

Australia - Vodafone Australia, Hutchison complete merger.
June 11, 2009... Vodafone Australia and Hutchison's 3 Australia have completed their merger. Recently, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it would not oppose the merger that created a new 50/50 joint venture called VHA.

Japan - NTT Docomo picks Stoke's mobile broadband gateway.
June 11, 2009... NTT Docomo has picked mobile broadband equipment provider Stoke and systems integrator Net One to provide mobile broadband multi-access gateways. The system will enhance NTT Docomo's ability to manage the increasing mobile broadband traffic...

India - France Telecom, Telstra eye stake in Aircel - report.
June 11, 2009... France Telecom and Australian operator Telstra are in talks with Malaysia's Maxis Communication to buy a minority stake in Indian mobile operator Aircel, writes the Economic Times. The talks revolve around France Telecom buying a 20-25...

India - Tata to brand GSM services as Tata Docomo.
June 11, 2009... Indian mobile operator Tata Teleservices has confirmed its launch of GSM services, which will be branded under the name Tata Docomo, to reflect its shareholder and partner, Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo. Tata Docomo will launch shortly...

India - RCom, Kribhco to form JV.
June 11, 2009... Indian operator Reliance Communications has signed a joint venture agreement with Kribhco, a co-operative society, to form a new company Kribhco Reliance Kisan, reports the Business Standard. Kribhco would hold 60 percent stake in the joint...

Africa - Zain, MTV seek music talent in video contest.
June 11, 2009... MTV and mobile operator Zain are celebrating Africa's wannabe music stars by empowering amateur singers to participate in the MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain. As part of the build-up for the MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain, MTV and Zain...

Asia - T-Systems wins contract from Brenntag Asia Pacific.
June 11, 2009... Chemical industry distribution partner Brenntag Asia Pacific has signed a contract with Deutsche Telekom's ICT subsidiary T-Systems for support with developing its international network. In the course of expanding its group presence, Brenntag...

India - Blyk preparing to enter India.
June 11, 2009... UK-based ad-funded carrier Blyk, which offers a free mobile service network to the 16-24-year-old segment in return for targeted advertising, is in talks with Indian carriers ahead of plans to enter the country. A Blyk spokesman told Indian...

Tanzania - Zantel launches discounted on-net calls.
June 11, 2009... Tanzania's mobile operator Zantel has launched a base tariff of TZS 1 per second for on-net calls, available 24 hours a day. Subscribers are required to register in order to receive the new price. Zantel is also running an offer aimed at...

Japan - Softbank to offer iPhone 3G S in late June.
June 11, 2009... Japanese carrier Softbank has revealed plans to offer the Apple iPhone 3G S from 26 June, according to a report in The Nikkei. Softbank began a promotional campaign in February under which it plans to lower the cost of the 16 GB version and...

India - Geodesic, Indyarocks launch Multi-chat service.
June 11, 2009... India-based messaging products developer Geodesic and Indian entertainment-based social network Indyarocks have launched a socially integrated Multi service instant messenger. Indyarocks users will now be able to chat with their friends...

Japan - Tocom picks Equinix as data centre collocation provider.
June 11, 2009... Data centre operator Equinix will offer high-performance collocation and low-latency connectivity services to Tokyo Commodity Exchange (Tocom) participants through Equinix's two Tokyo International Business Exchange data centres. Tocom market...

UAE - Du launches 24 Mbps broadband.
June 11, 2009... UAE operator Du announced the launch of new broadband speeds up to 24Mbps for its residential customers. Existing Du customers who have subscribed to 4 Mbps broadband will get double the broadband speed of 8 Mbps at the same price of AED 449...

Iraq - Asiacell highlights network expansion in appeal against fine.
June 11, 2009... Iraqi mobile operator Asiacell announced its completion of 100 communication towers in the country in the past month to expand its network coverage. The mobile operator called on the government to take into account the achievement when...

Zimbabwe - Econet revenues boosted by multi-currency pricing.
June 11, 2009... Zimbabwe's mobile operator Econet Wireless raked in revenue of USD 87.9 million since the introduction of multi-currency pricing. The firm said in its financial results for the year ended 28 February that its turnover was limited for the...

India - Airtel signs value added services deal with Comviva.
June 11, 2009... Indian operator Bharti Airtel has signed a managed services deal with integrated VAS products provider Comviva for its value added services portfolio. As part of this three-year deal, Comviva will manage around 2,000+ of Airtel's VAS nodes...

South Africa - Neotel opens new data centre in South Africa.
June 11, 2009... South Africa's fixed-line operator Neotel has officially opened its new data centre at its premises in Midrand, with the aim of opening a second one in Cape Town in the next few months, local news portal Mybroadband reports. The new centre...

UAE - Etisalat, Huawei sign deal to deepen partnership.
June 11, 2009... Huawei Technologies announced that it has signed a global framework agreement and financing memorandum of understanding with Etisalat, mobile operator in the Middle East and Africa, to further support its business expansion. UAE-based...

Nepal - Subisu picks Ekinops for optical network in Nepal.
June 10, 2009... Cable TV and ISP Subisu CableNet has deployed Ekinops' optical transport equipment for a major network expansion throughout Nepal. The Ekinops 360 with its DynaMux (dynamic multiplexing) capability allows any mix of protocols to be multiplexed...

Malawi - Malawi regulator, Zain differ on airtime tariff cuts.
June 10, 2009... The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) and mobile operator Zain have differed on how airtime rates could be brought down in the country. According to a report in the Daily News, Macra thinks bringing in more players would force...

India - Dish TV, Atom partner on mobile payments in India.
June 10, 2009... Indian mobile payments services provider Atom technologies has signed a partnership with DTH services provider Dish TV. Under the terms of the contract, Atom will offer mobile payment services to Dish TV's over five million customers across...

Asia - Telesoft names Nayyar VP in Asia-Pacific region.
June 10, 2009... UK-based Telesoft Technologies has appointed Rajiv Nayyar as VP of sales and operations, Asia-Pacific. Nayyar has around seventeen years of experience and will be responsible for Telesoft's overall business in the region with specific focus on...

Egypt - France Telecom rules out higher bid for Mobinil.
June 10, 2009... France Telecom has ruled out raising its bid to buy out minority shareholders at ECMS, the holding company for Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil, the Financial Times reports. France Telecom and Mobnil's other major shareholder Orascom Telecom are...

Oman - Nawras granted licence for fixed-line services.
June 10, 2009... Oman mobile operator Nawras has been awarded a licence for fixed telecommunications services through a royal decree. As licence holder, Nawras is now entitled to provide fixed data and international telecommunication services in Oman, and can...

China - Chinese computers to be sold with internet filters.
June 10, 2009... The Chinese government mandates that all computers in China will be sold with filtering software. All computers sold after 1 July must come pre-installed with 'Green Dam/Escorting Minors' software which is meant to block 'unhealthy information',...

Philippines - Globe Telecom to invest in mobile, Wimax broadband.
June 10, 2009... Philippine's Globe Telecom is expanding its wireless and mobile broadband network to meet rising demand for internet access, the Manila Times writes citing a company official. The company already offers Globe Broadband Tattoo (HSDPA) and Globe...

Malaysia - DiGi launches BlackBerry devices, plans.
June 10, 2009... Malaysian communications firm DiGi Telecommunications launched BlackBerry services and devices. DiGi offers the BlackBerry Bold and Curve at promotional prices of MYR 1,399 and MYR 999 until end-August, Bernama reports citing head of enterprise...

Thailand - TT&T creditors seek asset protection in court.
June 10, 2009... Creditors of troubled Thai fixed-line firm TT&T have gone to court to seek asset protection, The Bangkok Post reports. TT&T's parent Jasmine had earlier been warned by creditors not to move assets to profitable broadband affiliate Triple...

Taiwan - Chunghwa enters telematics market.
June 10, 2009... Taiwanese operator Chunghwa Telecom has ventured into telematics. The company recently introduced an automotive telematics unit which supports 3G communications and GPRS navigation, and contains data on shops and travel information, Cens reports...

Philippines - Philcomsat to lease facility, asks to keep frequencies.
June 10, 2009... Philippine satellite communications company Philcomsat expects to lease its satellite uplink facility to a customer shortly, The BusinessMirror reports citing a filing to the regulator by Philicomsat. The company had been ordered by the National...

Taiwan - Taiwan Mobile launches BlackBerry Storm.
June 10, 2009... Taiwanese 3G operator Taiwan Mobile has launched the Blackberry Storm. The Storm will be available for TWD 8,999 to Taiwan Mobile customers, The Digitimes reports citing local media.

Australia - Basslink to go online by end-June.
June 10, 2009... The Bass Strait fibre optic cable Basslink is set to go online by 30 June. Basslink Telecoms is completing its building activities in Victoria shortly and will then begin end-to-end testing. Customer service activations are expected to happen...

Sri Lanka - Tigo Sri Lanka expands customer service centres.
June 10, 2009... Sri Lankan mobile operator Tigo plans to expand the number of customer service centres across the country, the Lanka Business Online reports. Tigo will set-up customer service facilities in supermarkets around Colombo and at petrol stations run...

Thailand - True launches fixed voicemail services.
June 10, 2009... Thai communications company True has launched voicemail services for home phones free of charge. Customers using True's fixed line service can now use the voicemail service which will sent notifications via e-mail or an SMS to customer's True...

Indonesia - Indosat launches DVB-H service.
June 10, 2009... Indonesian mobile operator Indosat has launched a mobile TV and radio service. The DVB-H service is offered free of charge until the end of this year. Customers can access the services through mobile phones that support DVB-H or through Wi-Fi...

Philippines - Globe to list retail bonds on PDEx.
June 10, 2009... Philippine communications firm Globe Telecom will list its 3- and 5-year bonds on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange (PDEx). Globe signed an agreement with PDEx to list the bonds, which were issued in February, from 10 June. The company has...

China - Sina's revenues up 3%, net profit falls 31% in Q1.
June 10, 2009... Chinese online media and mobile VAS company Sina has seen its revenues grow slightly as net income fell in the first quarter. Revenues went up 3 percent to USD 73.8 million, meeting the company's guidance, compared with USD 71.3 million in the...

Asia - Ipstar, C-Com join forces on Asian satellite mobile market.
June 10, 2009... Mobile satellite technology company C-Com will join forces with Ipstar on the Asian satellite mobile market. The C-Com developed and manufactured iNetVu auto-deploying mobile satellite antenna systems have been fully integrated with the Ipstar...

Hong Kong - Ofta begins auction for 1800MHz spectrum.
June 10, 2009... Hong Kong's telecommunications regulator Ofta has launched the bidding stage for radio spectrum in the 1800 MHz band. Three bidders were qualified to participate in the auction: China Mobile, Hong Kong Telecommunications and SmarTone Mobile...

Australia - Telstra Foundation increases funding for cyber safety.
June 10, 2009... Telstra's philanthropic fund, the Telstra Foundation, has doubled funding to its Spotlight on Cyber Safety programme. The foundation will donate a further AUD 3 million this year. The announcement coincides with National E-Security Awareness...

Bhutan - B-Mobile expands coverage in Wangdue Phodrang.
June 10, 2009... Bhutan Telecom has erected a new base station at Pelela. With the new base station, coverage for the company's B-Mobile service is expanded to several areas within the Wangdue Phodrang district in central Bhutan. Bhutan Telecom will also erect...

China - Netbook shipments in China fall 12% in Q1 - study.
June 10, 2009... Shipments on the Chinese netbook market fell 11.8 percent sequentially in the first quarter, according to research by MIC. Shipments of 7 and 8.9" netbooks fell to 4.61 million, but year-on-year shipments grew significantly. In the fourth...

Egypt - Vodafone Egypt picks ATG for customer service.
June 10, 2009... Vodafone Egypt has deployed the Art Technology Group (ATG) Commerce Suite to provide the company with multi-channel commerce and customer service capabilities. The ATG system will enable Vodafone Egypt to further improve customer experience by...

Lebanon - Alfa launches breaking news SMS alerts.
June 10, 2009... Lebanese mobile operator Alfa has introduced breaking news SMS alerts for its subscribers. Customers can keep up-to-date with local and international news by getting breaking news headlines on their mobile. This service will be provided by Alfa...

Bahrain - BFX appoints 2Connect as telecom services provider.
June 10, 2009... The Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) announced that 2Connect will be the exchange's telecommunications service provider for voice, data and internet services. 2Connect will provide the exchange with key infrastructure for the provision of a...

UAE - DIB enhances customer service with Avaya IP telephony.
June 10, 2009... Dubai Islamic Bank has reduced its branch-to-branch communications costs by almost 50 percent in six months by deploying an Avaya IP telephony system. Covering 80 branches and more than 3,000 extensions, the new Avaya system also enables Dubai...

Africa - ACE submarine cable extended to South Africa.
June 10, 2009... The Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable system, which was initially planned to stretch from France to Gabon, will now be extended to South Africa connecting all countries along the West coast of Africa, from Morocco to South Africa. A...

Egypt - Etisalat offers SpeechStorm video IVR services.
June 10, 2009... Etisalat is offering video calling-based customer care services to its 8.5 million Egyptian customers with SpeechStorm's new Video IVR applications. The application was delivered with Genesys. SpeechStorm has provided the self-service...

Africa - Zain to sell Celtel Africa for USD 12 bln - report.
June 10, 2009... Middle East and Africa mobile operator Zain Group may agree this week a deal to sell its unit Celtel Africa to a French company for up to USD 12 billion, the Kuwait-based Al Qabas daily reports. People familiar with the matter told the paper...

UAE - Du launches flat global roaming rate.
June 10, 2009... UAE mobile operator Du has launched the One World, One Rate roaming tariff, under which postpaid and prepaid customers roaming abroad will pay a flat rate of AED 1.25 per minute for incoming calls. The operator's roaming footprint now covers 374...

China - Jiangsu Cable selects BigBand as digital video provider.
June 10, 2009... China's Jiangsu Broadcasting Television Network has extended its agreement with BigBand Networks for its interactive and personalised video services. Jiangsu Cable is equipped to evolve its network with access to BigBand Networks' complete suite...

Ghana - Vodafone Ghana gets visit from parliament committee.
June 10, 2009... Ghana's mobile operator Vodafone says the long period it takes to clear goods at entry ports in the country is affecting its planned network roll-out and services upgrades. The company's MD David Venn urged the authorities to assist in hastening...

India - RCom, Alcatel close to USD 600 mln outsourcing deal - report.
June 10, 2009... Indian operator Reliance Communications is close to awarding a USD 500-600 million operations and maintenance contract to Alactel-Lucent, Business Standard reports. The companies are in the final stages of negotiations to outsource operations...

India - Vodafone Essar faces govt questions over tower plans.
June 10, 2009... Indian mobile operator Vodafone Essar's plan to hive off its signal towers and telecommunication network-related infrastructure arm to companies in Mauritius has run into rough weather for the second time after a government agency flagged the...

India - Staff unions ask BSNL to act against NSN.
June 10, 2009... The umbrella body representing staff unions at state-owned Indian operator BSNL has asked the company's management to act against Nokia Siemens Networks for "delaying BSNL's expansion plans", reports the Economic Times. This comes after Nokia...

South Korea - NHN leads internet sites in Korea - ComScore.
June 10, 2009... In April, 28 million people in South Korea age fifteen and older accessed the internet from home and work locations, consuming an average of 4,158 pages of content and spending an average of 26 hours per person online, according to a study by...

India - Swan Telecom renamed as Etisalat DB Telecom India.
June 10, 2009... The board of Etisalat DB has announced the change of name of the erstwhile Swan Telecom, a joint venture between Etisalat and DB Realty. The company has officially been re-named as Etisalat DB Telecom India and is headquartered in Mumbai, India....

Japan - NTT DoCoMo to invest JPY 300-400 bln in LTE network.
June 10, 2009... Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo will spend JPY 300-400 billion over the next five years to develop a LTE network, which the company plans to launch in the second half of 2010, the Nikkei reports, citing president Ryuji Yamada. By 2014, the...

Japan - Japan ends May with 108.13 mln mobile users.
June 10, 2009... Japanese mobile operators added 286,300 new customers in May to reach a combined total of 108.13 million customers, according to figures from the Telecommunications Carrier Association. Softbank Mobile led in net additions and added 105,000...

Nigeria - Etisalat expands coverage in north of Nigeria.
June 10, 2009... Etisalat Nigeria has announced plans to increase its network coverage in the northern part of Nigeria. CEO Stevens Evans said the network expansion, which marks the company's second phase of its roll-out plans, will begin on 9 June. In the...

Bahrain - Bahrain issues Arab telecom price benchmarks study.
June 10, 2009... Bahrain's telecommunications industry compares well with others across the region, but there is still a lot of room for improvement, according to the country's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in its 2009 'Arab Basket Price...

Madagascar - Orange Madagascar introduces 'Be' prepaid options.
June 10, 2009... Orange Madagascar has introduced its 'Be' range of prepaid offers. The Be Family option, costing MGA 5,900, allows customers to make unlimited calls to family members for five days. Be Love, costing MGA 3,900, allows customers to make unlimited...

Mauritius - MTML launches MUR 1 per minute postpaid tariff plan.
June 10, 2009... Mahanagar Telephone Mauritius (MTML) has introduced the "Zis pou 1 Roupie" postpaid tariff, allowing customers to call any fixed or mobile number in the country for MUR 1 per minute. Sending an SMS to any network costs MUR 0.25, or 58 percent...

Saudi Arabia - Mobily, Samsung sign SAR 375 mln Wimax expansion deal.
June 10, 2009... Saudi mobile operator Mobily and Samsung have signed a second Wimax network agreement worth SAR 375 million. The deal will see broadband service extended to 20 cities in the country through Bayanat Al Oula, a subsidiary of Mobily. The Saudi...

China - ST-Ericsson offers dual-mode platform to Samsung for China.
June 10, 2009... ST-Ericsson and its Chinese subsidiary T3G have signed a contract with Samsung Mobile to provide TD-HSDPA and EDGE platform for Samsung's high-end devices, 'Emerald (GC-I6320C)', which was recently launched. It will enable Chinese consumers to...

Gabon - Gabon hit by SAT3 cable fault.
June 10, 2009... A technical problem with an undersea fibre network caused Gabon's internet traffic and international calls to fail on 7 June, according to Gabon Telecom. The company apologised to its many customers for the service interruption linked to an...

Malaysia - Celcom to launch HTC Magic in Malaysia.
June 9, 2009... Malaysian mobile operator Celcom has launched the HTC Magic smartphone, which runs on Google's Android operating system. The device is enhanced with Outlook synchronisation, Smart Dialer, and an onscreen keyboard with predictive text. The...

Viet Nam - ZTE to build UMTS network for Viettel in Vietnam.
June 9, 2009... ZTE has signed a contract with Vietnamese military-owned telecommunications company Viettel to help it build a UMTS network in the country by providing ZTE's Soft Defined Radio products to support the network. Under the agreement, the UMTS...

Kuwait - Wataniya launches BlackBerry services.
June 9, 2009... Kuwaiti mobile operator Wataniya Telecom has launched BlackBerry services in the country, in cooperation with distributor Emitac Mobile Solutions and Research In Motion. From 9 June, Wataniya customers are able to choose from three postpaid...

South Africa - Telkom cuts price for local ADSL bandwidth by over 40%.
June 9, 2009... South Africa's fixed-line operator Telkom has slashed the price of local ADSL bandwidth from the previous ZAR 25.55 per GB to ZAR 15.00 per GB. TelkomInternet subscribers get a free local data allowance ranging between 10 GB and 40 GB per...

Egypt - LinkDotNet raises DSL speeds.
June 9, 2009... Egyptian ISP LinkDotNET has announced increased speeds for its LinkDSL services. The company has doubled the speed for existing customers without changing the price of the service, while new customers can also get the higher speed at the same...

Saudi Arabia - STC names Al Daweesh as group CEO.
June 9, 2009... Saudi operator STC announced the appointment of Saud bin Majed Al Daweesh as group CEO. This follows the implementation of a new organizational structure at the company in order to cope with its expansion abroad. The change entails creating...

Australia - Telstra union claims industrial action has affected company.
June 9, 2009... The main Telstra union says that Telstra has been downplaying the effects of its industrial action, The Australian reports. The Communications Electrical Plumbing Union (CEPU) has been trying to organise a Telstra-wide agreement for Telstra...

Viet Nam - Vietnamobile launches prepaid promotion.
June 9, 2009... Vietnam's newest mobile operator Vietnamobile has begun a prepaid promotion. The promotion will run until the end of September and offers customers two minutes free for every two outgoing minutes, the Sai Gon Giai Phong reports. The free...

Viet Nam - EVN Telecom, Hanoi Telecom to invest VND 6 trillion in 3G.
June 9, 2009... The joint venture between EVN Telecom and Hanoi Telecom will invest VND 6 trillion over the next three years to roll out a 3G network, the Thanh Nien Daily writes. The JV, along with Viettel, Vinaphone and MobiFone, was recently awarded with...

Australia - Telstra awards IT contracts to EDS, Infosys, IBM.
June 9, 2009... Telstra has signed new outsourcing contracts with EDS, Infosys, and IBM, worth in total some AUD 1.2 billion. Telstra has been reviewing its IT outsourcing contracts since last year when the company decided it would trim its list of major IT...

Australia - Australia to develop disaster area mobile warning system.
June 9, 2009... The Australian government will develop a technology to broadcast disaster warnings to nearby mobile phones. The government will spend over AUD 1 million to develop accurate location technology to be able to broadcast warnings of natural...

Taiwan - Sparq cuts capital by 35%.
June 9, 2009... Taiwan's New Century InfoComm Tech, which trades under the name Sparq, will cut its capital by 35 percent, The Digitimes reports. Shareholders approved the plan to cut the capital from the currently TWD 40 billion to TWD 25.99 billion. The...

Indonesia - Indosat expands StarOne to 7 cities in West Java.
June 9, 2009... Indonesian mobile operator Indosat has expanded its StarOne services to seven cities in West Java. The CDMA-based pre- and postpaid services under the StarOne brand were previously available in 63 cities across Indonesia, but are now also...

Afghanistan - Afghanistan rolls out fibre optic links to neigbours.
June 9, 2009... Afghanistan has begun a project to roll out fibre to its neighbouring countries. The project already connects to Tajikistan and will eventually connect Afghanistan with Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Pakistan, and through them,...

Singapore - SingTel seeking new media agency.
June 9, 2009... Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) has launched a tender to review its media agency partnership. This is in line with SingTel's policy to periodically review its key vendors and partners.

Asia - Aegis launches data services company.
June 9, 2009... Essar Group's outsourcing provider Aegis has set up an independent technology subsidiary called Aegis Tech. Aegis plans to invest USD 100 million over the next 12 months in Aegis Tech, which will provide end-to-end customised services for...