Telecompaper Africa/Asia articles from June 2011

Telecompaper Africa/Asia archives from June 2011

Bahrain - Batelco offers unlimited BlackBerry plan.
June 30, 2011... Bahrain's operator Batelco launched a new scheme called SimSim Unlimited for BlackBerry customers, which offers unlimited BlackBerry access for BHD 11 each month. Users can get access to web content, as well as application downloads via the...

Kuwait - Wataniya Telecom reduces roaming call rates.
June 30, 2011... Kuwaiti operator Wataniya Telecom announced a reduction in roaming call rates for GCC countries based on the recent decision by the region's telecommunications ministers. For customers making calls back to Kuwait the operator also offers Call...

Rwanda - Tigo Rwanda introduces iPad 2, iPhone 4.
June 30, 2011... Tigo Rwanda introduced the Apple iPad 2 and iPhone 4 as well as various Samsung and LG models to cater for the company's high-end users. The devices are available at Tigo Rwanda service centers in Kigali and across the country. The 16GB iPad 2...

China - Motorola Mobility unveils TD-SCDMA 3G smartphone in China.
June 30, 2011... Motorola Mobility Technologies has unveiled its Moto MT870 dual-core TD-SCDMA 3G smartphone in China. The smartphone features Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a 4-inch qHD screen and a dual-core processor with each core running at 1GHz. The smartphone...

Qatar - Qtel offers Saturday Saver international calls discount.
June 30, 2011... Qtel has launched a series of special summer Saturday Saver offers, which will cut call rates to a range of international destinations. Every Saturday of the summer, Qtel will offer international calls for QAR 0.55 per minute for Hala customers,...

Saudi Arabia - Elephant Talk to manage mobile services for Zain.
June 30, 2011... Dutch MVNE Elephant Talk Communications has signed an agreement with mobile operator Zain Saudi Arabia to deliver and manage mobile services for Zain Saudi Arabia and Zain mobile brands in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Elephant Talk will install...

Azerbaijan - Azerfon may be tied to Azerbaijani president's family.
June 30, 2011... Azerbaijani mobile operator Azerfon, which also uses the Nar Mobile brand, appears to be part-owned by the daughters of Azerbaijan's president Ilham Aliyev. When the Azerbaijani communications ministry announced the formation of Azerfon in late...

Bangladesh - Bangladesh to return licences to five banned PSTN operators.
June 30, 2011... Bangladesh's telecommunication ministry and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) have amended rules to return licences to five fixed-phone operators, who have been out of service for over a year due to a government ban,...

China - Motorola, China Mobile to open online app store in Beijing.
June 30, 2011... Motorola Mobility and China Mobile will open an online application store in Beijing, China, reports the Shanghai Daily. The cooperation will regulate the market of Android OS-based applications. Meanwhile, both sides also jointly launched Moto...

Japan - Softbank to refinance JPY 550 bln in debt.
June 30, 2011... Japanese communications firm Softbank will refinance JPY 550 billion in debt from its mobile phone business acquisition, reports The Nikkei. Softbank intends to pay off the debt using cash on hand and JPY 550 billion from an uncollateralised...

Japan - Yahoo Japan to double size of Kitakyushu data centre.
June 30, 2011... Yahoo Japan will double the size of its data centre in Kitakyushu, adding two buildings to bring the total number of servers to 60,000, reports The Nikkei. The first building will be completed by the end of September and the second by the end of...

India - Huawei, Idea launch MNP system in India.
June 30, 2011... Huawei and Indian mobile operator Idea Cellular have launched a commercial MNP system in India. Huawei has migrated 470 sets of equipment comprising up to 60,000 links for Idea. By adopting Huawei's STP-based MNP system, Idea is able to provide...

South Korea - KT offers pocket router powered by Sequans 4G chip.
June 30, 2011... French Wimax and LTE chipmaker Sequans Communications is providing 4G chip for the 'mini Egg' pocket router available from South Korean operator Korea Telecom. The device, about the size of an egg, enables users to add 4G connectivity to...

Indonesia - Indosat selects Evolving Systems' DSA system.
June 30, 2011... Indonesian mobile operator Indosat has selected software services provider Evolving Systems' DSA system to offer its product and tariff plan for wireless customers, called 'Indosat Mobile.' Indosat Mobile is a service presented by Indosat for...

Azerbaijan - Azerbaijan's govt to boost ICT use.
June 30, 2011... The Azerbaijani ICT ministry will implement an ICT action plan to increase the use of information and communications technologies in the country, Trend reports. The ministry plans to expand the use of CDMA services, as well as ADSL, Wi-Fi,...

Hong Kong - Hutchison Hong Kong expands FTTB network.
June 30, 2011... Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong has expanded its fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) network. The company covers 8,000 buildings in Hong Kong with the network, with around half being residential buildings and half commercial buildings, the South...

Bangladesh - Grameenphone, BTCL settle international revenue share issue.
June 30, 2011... Bangladeshi mobile operator Grameenphone has settled revenue sharing issues for international calls with Bangladesh Telecommunications Company (BTCL). The matter was settled according to the International Long Distance Telecommunication Services...

Nepal - Nepal Telecom cuts international tariffs for 6 destinations.
June 30, 2011... Nepal Telecom (NT) has reduced its tariff for international calls to six destinations. Calls to India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Baharain have been discounted by up to 40 percent, Republica reports. The new rates can...

Philippines - Philippines outlines public-private ICT projects.
June 30, 2011... Philippine's Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT) announced PHP 1 billion worth of ICT projects in the next six years. The projects will be implements through public-private partnerships, the Manila Times reports. The...

Taiwan - Taiwan bans purchase of core network equipment from China.
June 30, 2011... The Taiwanese regulator has banned the use of core network equipment made by China's Huawei Technologies. The National Communications Commission (NCC) cited security concerns as the reason for the ban, the Taipei Times reports. Several Taiwanese...

Thailand - AIS eyes collaboration with TOT.
June 30, 2011... Thai mobile operator Advanced Info Service (AIS) is working on a business model for collaborating with its concession parent TOT to seek ways to ensure it will stay in business after its concession expires in 2015. The relationship could be...

Thailand - CAT wins 800 MHz plan approval, NTC to investigate True deal.
June 30, 2011... The Thai regulator has approved CAT Telecom's plan to use 800 MHz spectrum to provide 3G services. The approval should allow the state-owned telecommunications firm to take the next step in its collaboration with private operator True to provide...

New Zealand - New Zealand connects first rural schools to fibre.
June 30, 2011... New Zealand has connected its first three rural schools to ultra fast fibre under the Rural Broadband Initiative. The schools connected were Henderson Valley School in West Auckland, Te Kura o Omaio in the Bay of Plenty, and Granity School on...

Papua New Guinea - Digicel PNG begins pre-registration for m-banking service.
June 30, 2011... Mobile operator Digicel Papua New Guinea (PNG) has begun pre-registration for its upcoming mobile banking service. The service, cellmoni, will offer a range of financial services such as money transfers to other Digicel users, bill payments, as...

Africa - Augere names David Venn as CEO.
June 30, 2011... Wireless broadband company Augere has appointed David Venn as chief executive officer. Augere currently has access to spectrum in Pakistan, Bangladesh, the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in India, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Access...

Japan - UQ expands Wi-Fi hotspots, adds micro base stations.
June 30, 2011... Japanese Wimax operator UQ Communications has expanded its free Wi-Fi service. The company offers free Wi-Fi connectivity to Wimax subscribers and has now expanded the number of access points. Once customers register with UQ Wi-Fi Wide, they...

Australia - Operators to offer free Lifeline calls.
June 30, 2011... The Australian government has reached a deal with the three major mobile operators on Lifeline calls. The government is also providing AUD 18.2 million over three years to boost the capacity of the crisis helpline. Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone...

Cambodia - Smart Mobile launches top-up promotion.
June 30, 2011... Cambodian mobile service provider Smart Mobile has launched a top-up promotion. Customers recharging their prepaid account before 14 July will get 100 percent bonus credit for on-net calls, SMS, and MMS messages as well as GPRS.

Taiwan - Dimension Data contracted by UDN for shopping portal.
June 30, 2011... Taiwanese newspaper group United Daily Nations (UDN) has contracted ICT services firm Dimension Data Taiwan to design and build a new e-commerce platform. The portal, called udn shopping, will offer secure B2C online shopping with enhanced...

China - Youku, Tudou lead on China's online video market.
June 30, 2011... Youku, Tudou and Sohu Video were the top three companies on China's online video market in terms of revenue. Youku had a 21.5 percent share of revenues, followed by Tudou with a 16.2 percent share, and Sohu Video with a 13.1 percent share of...

Australia - Casuarina part of second NBN roll-out.
June 30, 2011... The Australian government has confirmed that Casuarina, in Darwn, will become part of the second roll-out of the National Broadband Network. Northern Territory Labor Senator Trish Crossin says the process has sped up due to an agreement allowing...

Philippines - Philippine court asks SEC to investigate ownership of PLDT.
June 30, 2011... The Philippine supreme court has directed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate PLDT for possible violation of the constitutional limit on foreign ownership in utilities. Human rights lawyer Wilson Gamboa sought to annul...

Japan - IIJ provides GIO cloud service to SBI Holdings.
June 30, 2011... Japanese internet and network services provider Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) will provide its GIO cloud service to SBI Holdings. The latter's MoneyLook premium service will use the cloud service and multi-factor authentication software for...

Israel - Cellcom shareholder sells 5% stake for ILS 456 mln.
June 30, 2011... Israeli mobile operator Cellcom's controlling shareholder Discount Investment Corp sold a 5 percent stake in the company for ILS 456 million. DIC said it sold the shares to a financial institution. Following the transaction, DIC holds...

Tanzania - Zantel launches Epiq Nation youth offer.
June 30, 2011... Tanzania operator Zantel launched a new product for the youth market called Epiq Nation, offering calls, internet, SMS and value-added services. Epiq Nation is a daily subscription service giving the customer 15 minutes of on-net calls and a...

South Africa - Afrihost upgrades ADSL speed.
June 30, 2011... South Africa ISP Afrihost upgraded all of its 512Kbps uncapped ADSL subscribers to 1Mbps, free of charge. The upgrade comes alongside the launch of a new 1Mbps uncapped ADSL plan priced at ZAR 297 per month. Other ISPs have also been moving to...

Kenya - Yu welcomes proposal for common mobile money system.
June 30, 2011... YuCash, the mobile money transfer service of Essar Telecom Kenya, welcomed the recent recommendation by a government taskforce calling on mobile service providers to develop a common system for facilitating mobile money transfers across...

Uzbekistan - Uztelecom drops Light 3000, Simple 10000 phone cards.
June 30, 2011... Uzbekistan national operator Uztelecom will stop selling its Light 300 and Simple 10000 telephone cards from 1 July. The change is due to the switch to a new billing system. Earlier issued cards will be valid until 1 October.

Zambia - Zamtel signs recognition agreement with union.
June 30, 2011... Zambia operator Zamtel and the National Union for Communication Workers (NUCW) signed an amended recognition agreement aimed at safeguarding the interest and welfare of all eligible employees. NUCW president Patrick Kaonga said the agreement had...

Kuwait - Wataniya unveils satellite TV channel for Ramadan.
June 30, 2011... Kuwaiti operator Wataniya Telecom has unveiled its free-to-air satellite TV channel named Wataniya. Wataniya TV Channel will air the Ramadan series in addition to religious programmes and competitions. Viewers will get to view eight hours of...

Indonesia - Thuraya inks PCO deal with Indonesia's PTSOG.
June 30, 2011... Thuraya said it has signed a new agreement with Indonesia's PTSOG, a specialized radio and satellite communications retailer based in Indonesia. PTSOG will be a key partner in promoting and providing Thuraya's Public Calling Office (PCO)...

South Africa - Telkom appoints Schindehutte as CFO.
June 30, 2011... South Africa operator Telkom appointed Jacques Schindehutte as its new chief financial officer, replacing Peter Nelson who resigned last year. Schindehutte was until recently group financial director at Absa and will take up the post at Telkom...

Hong Kong - H3C delivers cloud-optimised networks for e-learning.
June 30, 2011... IP equipment provider H3C has delivered its cloud-optimised networks to enhance the e-learning experience for Hong Kong students and improve productivity for teachers and school administrators. H3C's cloud-optimised networks accelerate the...

Nigeria - ATCON to launch investors guide at broadband forum.
June 30, 2011... The Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) plans to launch the Telecom Investor's Guide at the Broadband Investment Forum on 26-27 July in Lagos. The investors' guide book is a presentation of telecom industry data, including...

Taiwan - About 2.13 mln handsets shipped in Q1 in Taiwan - study.
June 30, 2011... About 2.13 million handsets were shipped in the first quarter in Taiwan's mobile market, down 8 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010 and up 7 percent from that of last year, reports Cens, citing data from IDC Taiwan. The quarter-on-quarter...

China - Dell to unveil Android tablet in China.
June 30, 2011... Dell will unveil its 10-inch Android tablet computer Streak 10 Pro in the China, reports China Tech News. Dell's manager for mobile business and vice president John Thode, said that the Android-based Streak 10 Pro will have its debut launch in...

Armenia - VivaCell-MTS offers roaming discount in Georgia.
June 30, 2011... Armenian mobile operator VivaCell-MTS introduced a discount on roaming services in Georgia. The rate for incoming calls has been reduced from AMD 80 to 45 per minute. The offer is accessible for prepaid subscribers of the operator until 1 October.

Uzbekistan - Beeline Uzbekistan wins contract at Bukhara airport.
June 30, 2011... Beeline Uzbekistan has become the single provider of telecommunications services at the Bukhara international airport. The operator provides fixed telephony and ADSL services for the airport, and expects the contract will be expanded further soon.

Nigeria - Starcomms says set for sustainable growth, cuts debt.
June 30, 2011... Nigerian operator Starcomms has reorganised its operations to ensure it is poised to capture growth opportunities, and cut its net debt by 36 percent in 2010, The Vanguard reported. Shareholders at the AGM heard that Starcomms has combined its...

Tajikistan - Tcell-North offers access to social network.
June 30, 2011... Tajikistan mobile operator Tcell-North has introduced a service giving access to the Russian Odnoklassniki social network. Access to the full version is being offered for USD 6 per month, which includes 600 MB traffic. The operator is also...

Israel - Select seeks ILS 1.2 bln to finance mobile network.
June 30, 2011... Israel-based Select Communications is negotiating with the banks for a ILS 1.2 billion credit line to set up its mobile network in the country, Globes reported. It needs ILS 705 million for its guarantee and ILS 500 million for its initial...

Asia - MEF elects Asia board.
June 30, 2011... Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) has expanded Its Asia board led by newly-elected chair Colin Miles, EVP & co-founder of i-POP Networks. MEF Asia board for this year also includes vice-chair Mike Kofi Okyere, head of performance advertising,...

Ghana - Huawei spends over USD 1 mln on Ghana social responsibility.
June 30, 2011... Chinese firm Huawei has invested USD 1.02 million in corporate social responsibility projects in Ghana, according to its 2010 Corporate Social Responsibility Report. It donated telecom lab equipment worth USD 1 million to three universities. For...

Ethiopia - Ethio Telecom seeks new vendor financiers for expansion.
June 30, 2011... Ethio Telecom is seeking a new round of vendor financing as it ramps up expansion plans, Addis Tribune reported. In a tender issued on 07 June, international suppliers were invited to submit expressions of interest for the turnkey expansion of...

Qatar - Vodafone Qatar gives staff paid leave to do voluntary work.
June 30, 2011... Vodafone Qatar has launched a scheme that allows its employees to take two days' paid leave every year to participate in volunteering activities, as part of Vodafone's Better World corporate social responsibility programme. Vodafone said it will...

China - Kotura opens office in Shenzhen.
June 30, 2011... Silicon photonics products provider Kotura has opened an office in Shenzhen, China. The company has also appointed Yicheng Lu as vice president. Kotura's presence in China provides access and support for their installed customer base, which...

UAE - Nokia E6 launched in UAE.
June 29, 2011... Nokia has launched its Nokia E6 smartphone in the UAE, featuring touch and type alongside strong social networking functionality. The Middle East consumption of social media is growing meteorically, with well over 2 million Facebook accounts in...

Qatar - Qtel insists local call rates are competitive.
June 29, 2011... Qtel insists that local pre-paid mobile call rates are competitive when compared with other Gulf countries, contrary to some reports that they cost almost the same as international calls. Many users have been urging a reduction in pre-paid local...

Ghana - Ghana number portability delayed to 07 July for holiday.
June 29, 2011... Ghana's telecommunications regulator, the National Communications Authority (NCA), said mobile number portability will start on 07 July instead of 01 July because there is a public holiday from 01 July to 03 July.

Turkmenistan - Turkmenistan, AMD finalise SMS hub system implementation.
June 29, 2011... The Ministry of Communication of Turkmenistan and open connectivity services provider AMD Telecom have finalised the implementation of a SMS hub system, through which Tmcell can reach more than 900 networks worldwide. AMD Telecom's Open...

Uganda - Singapore's Sure Telecom to launch services in Uganda.
June 29, 2011... Sure Telecom, a Singapore-based mobile phone company, plans to launch services in Uganda by the end of 2011, according to The Razor, a Ugandan news website. Sure Telecom has begun installing its infrastructure and plans to begin testing its...

New Zealand - Kordia selects Net Insight for Auckland metro network.
June 29, 2011... New Zealand-based state-owned telecommunications networks provider Kordia has selected optical networking equipment vendor Net Insight for the Auckland metro network. Kordia chose Net Insight and its Nimbra 680 platform. This expansion phase...

China - T-Systems, Beyondsoft set to co-operate in China.
June 29, 2011... Deutsche Telekom's ICT division T-Systems and Chinese IT services provider Beyondsoft have signed an co-operation agreement in the field of systems integration. They will offer system application services to Chinese and European corporations in...

Australia - Huawei inks distributor deal with Simms International.
June 29, 2011... Huawei has signed a distributor agreement with IT supplier Simms International. The three-year agreement will see Simms distribute Huawei's suite of enterprise products to resellers across New Zealand and Australia. Huawei's distribution...

Indonesia - Qtel builds homes in Indonesia's volcano-hit Yogyakarta.
June 29, 2011... Qtel has launched a project to help displaced people in Yogyakarta, some 450 kilometres from Jakarta, following the volcanic eruption in 2010, the Gulf Times reported. The first phase of the residential complex that the company is funding...

Uzbekistan - MTS Uzbekistan offers MMS messages to US, Canada.
June 29, 2011... Mobile operator MTS Uzbekistan has introduced MMS message capability to US-based and Canadian mobile networks for its subscribers. Sending an MMS will cost USD 0.30, while incoming MMS-messages are free. The list of the operators accessible...

South Africa - Telkom agrees to sell Multi-Links to Helios Towers Nigeria.
June 29, 2011... South Africa operator Telkom has agreed to sell its loss-making Nigerian unit Multi-Links to Helios Towers Nigeria for USD 10 million. HTN, which earlier sued Multi-Links for USD 252 million over an alleged contract breach for infrastructure...

Australia - Accan continues campaign for free service calls from mobiles.
June 29, 2011... Australian consumer advocacy group Accan says telecommunication providers need to stop charging mobile customers expensive per-minute rates for 13, 1300, 1800 calls to essential services, government agencies and businesses. The group welcomes...

Australia - TransAct signs up as NBN retail service provider.
June 29, 2011... Australian telecommunications provider TransAct has signed on as a retail service provider on the National Broadband Network (NBN). The company has signed a First Release Sites trial agreement with NBN Co which will see TransAct provide FTTP...

Australia - Zintel ups profit, revenues in FY 2010.
June 29, 2011... Australian and New Zealand telecommunications group Zintel posted a profit for the financial year ended 31 March of NZD 524,000 compared with 272,000 a year earlier. Revenues were NZD 58.12 million, up from 49.51 million in the year-ago period....

Philippines - Globe Telecom launches IaaS for enterprise customers.
June 29, 2011... Philippine communications provider Globe Telecom has launched a new cloud computing service for enterprise customers. The Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is offered through the Globe Business unit and includes Backup as a Service, Storage as...

China - China ends May with 714,000 3G base stations.
June 29, 2011... The number of 3G base stations in China stood at 714,000 at end-May. China Mobile had 214,000 3G base stations, while China Telecom had 226,000 3G base stations, and China Unicom had 274,000 3G base stations, CapitalVue reports citing figures...

Malaysia - P1 joins TD-LTE initiative.
June 29, 2011... Malaysian wireless equipment developer and service provider Greenpacket has signed an agreement with China Mobile to spearhead TD-LTE technology in Malaysia and south-east Asia. Greenpacket's subsidiary Packet One Networks (P1) has joined China...

Bangladesh - Bangladesh court stays operator audit.
June 29, 2011... The Bangladesh high court has stayed Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's (BTRC) audit into mobile operators for four months. The court has also directed the regulator to explain why it has refused to implement the decision of...

Philippines - Philippines releases draft interconnection fee proposals.
June 29, 2011... The Philippines National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has issued draft Memorandum Circulars on the interconnection of SMS and mobile voice services, the Manila Times reports citing Edgardo Cabarios, director of NTC's Common Carrier and...

India - Airtel launches interactive TV service in Hindi.
June 29, 2011... Airtel digital TV, the DTH service by Bharti Airtel, has launched iKisaan, an interactive service specially designed in Hindi. The service targets the population residing in Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,...

Australia - Telstra CFO Stanhope to retire.
June 29, 2011... Telstra's chief financial officer, John Stanhope, will retire on 30 December this year. The company has started a process to formally consider Stanhope's replacement.

China - China UnionPay to develop m-payments with CCB.
June 29, 2011... Chinese bankcard association China UnionPay (UnionPay) has signed another agreement for mobile payment services. UnionPay agreed with China Construction Bank (CCB) to develop a payments system that can be used online or via mobile phones, news...

Indonesia - Telkomsel aims to sign up 3.3 mln new T-Cash customers.
June 29, 2011... Indonesian mobile operator Telekomunikasi Seluler (Telkomsel) is aiming to sign up 3.3 million new customers for its mobile payments system, T-Cash. The company is planning to grow the service to 8 million customers from 4.7 million in 2010, the...

Australia - Exetel adds 102 business VoIP customers in June.
June 29, 2011... Australian ISP and communications provider Exetel has added 102 new business VoIP customers in June, a new record for the company. Over 15,000 of Exetel's ADSL customers use it's residential VoIP service and the number of business and...

New Zealand - Telecom NZ launches 3 prepaid add-ons.
June 29, 2011... Telecom New Zealand has launched three new Prepaid Value Packs. The add-ons offer customers a combination of bundled text, minutes and/or data for NZD 20 each, over and above their prepaid plan. The Talk pack comes with 40 minutes of talk time...

Australia - AARNet, Cisco trial 40Gb deployment.
June 29, 2011... Australia's Academic and Research Network (AARNet) and Cisco have successfully trialled the deployment of a 40Gb service for the government's research organisation CSIRO and radio astronomy community. The trial demonstrates Australia has the...

Australia - Robi launches on-net SMS, MMS offer.
June 29, 2011... Bangladeshi mobile operator Robi Axiata has launched an on-net SMS and MMS offer running until 3 July. The SMS offer costs BDT 25 (plus VAT) and includes 500 SMS messages valid for seven days. The MMS offer comes with 50 MMS messages for BDT 25,...

Uzbekistan - Ucell begins charging activation fee for Internet Boom plans.
June 29, 2011... Uzbek mobile services provider UCell has begun charging an activation fee for its Internet Mega Boom and Internet Boom plans. The Internet Mega Boom package, which charges USD 0.05 per MB between 1am and 8am on a daily fee of USD 0.10, now costs...