Telecompaper Africa/Asia articles from May 2010

Telecompaper Africa/Asia archives from May 2010

Zambia - MTN Zambia urges regulator to lower interconnection fee.
May 31, 2010... MTN Zambia has asked regulator ZICTA to look into interconnectivity charges which the mobile operator says are too high, the Zambian Chronicle reported. MTN Zambia chief marketing officer Ernst Fonternal said the authority has asked...

Middle East - OSN inks contract with Samsung Electronics for HDTV.
May 31, 2010... Samsung Electronics has signed a sponsorship contract with Orbit Showtime Network, a direct-to-home satellite provider serving the Middle East, to support the network's HD decoder roll-out and channel line-up. The contract will span OSN's...

Burundi - Burundi agrees to BBS fiber backbone.
May 31, 2010... The consortium headed by the Burundi Backbone System Company SM (BBS) has signed agreements with the Executive Secretariat for Communications and Information Technologies (SETIC) and Burundi regulator ARCT to install and operate over 1,000 km of...

Uganda - MTN Uganda calls for no ID check on small money transactions.
May 31, 2010... MTN Uganda has questioned the need for operators to get ID information from customers who make only small transactions, MobileMoneyAfrica reported. Banking regulation in many countries require the ID information but some operators believe this...

South Africa - Vodacom SA launches low cost mobile marketing tool.
May 31, 2010... Vodacom South Africa has launched Welcome Tones, a low cost mobile marketing tool for businesses. The service enables customers to market their company to callers with mobile 'jingles'. The service costs ZAR 6 per mobile phone, per month, with...

South Africa - Vodacom South Africa launches Red Alert SMS donation service.
May 31, 2010... Vodacom South Africa has launched Vodacom Red Alert, an SMS disaster fundraising platform, The Sowetan reported. Vodacom Red Alert allows customers and employees to donate money to large-scale humanitarian disaster relief efforts using an SMS or...

Zambia - MTN Zambia launches BlackBerry Bold.
May 31, 2010... MTN Zambia has launched the BlackBerry Bold. Chief marketing officer Ernst Fonternal said the BlackBerrys have proved successful in Zambia and that the Bold was being sold on order from corporate and small business entrepreneurs. Fonternel said...

Egypt - Telecom Egypt grows ADSL subscriber base 42% in Q1.
May 31, 2010... Telecom Egypt says its ADSL subscriber base rose 42 percent in the first quarter to more than 676,000, from the year before at 476.500 subscribers. Telecom Egypt earlier said that it expects its new cable to boost its internet business. The...

Philippines - Eastern Telecom forcasts flat profit for 2010.
May 31, 2010... Filipino communications provider Eastern Telecommunications Philippines expects its income to remain flat this year. The company expects a net income of PHP 130 million this year, the same as in 2009, the Manila Times reports citing president...

Australia - Australia extends Do Not Call Register registration.
May 31, 2010... The Australian 'Do Not Call Register' has been amended to extend the registration period to five years from the previous three, and to allow fax numbers to be registered. Additionally, government bodies and emergency services can register their...

Asia - Samart eyes MVNO business with Axiata.
May 31, 2010... Thai telecommunications equipment and services group Samart hopes to launch MVNO services outside of Thailand under a partnership with Asian mobile operator group Axiata. Samart's handset unit, Samart I-Mobile, already has an MVNO licence in...

India - MTS India expands voice service to Nagpur.
May 31, 2010... Mobile operator MTS India has expanded its voice services to the city of Nagpur and the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. The company already has a presence with its mobile data service, MBlaze, in the city. With the launch of voice services MTS...

India - Bharti offers free access to Encyclopaedia Britannica.
May 31, 2010... Indian communications firm Bharti Airtel has entered into an exclusive partnership with Encyclopaedia Britannica. The partnership will allow Bharti Airtel to offer a two year free subscription to Britannica online to all its broadband users.

Japan - Acrodea adds 3D support to Vivid UI.
May 31, 2010... Japanese mobile middleware developer Acrodea has added support for 3D to its Vivid UI, a user interface platform developed by Acrodea for mobile phones. Acrodea's Vivid UI is now compatible with 3D LCDs.

China - Datang launchs premium content service using Acrodea app.
May 31, 2010... Japanese mobile middleware developer Acrodea has provided its Vivid UI product to Datang Telecom. Datang has launched a Kisekae service site and offers downloads of premium mobile content. Acrodea intends to introduce technical data and know-how...

Japan - Acrodea's My Slide Video adopted by Uta Piku.
May 31, 2010... Japanese mobile middleware developer Acrodea has seen its My Slide Video ASP service adopted by Uta Piku of Avex Marketing. My Slide was developed jointly with communications firm KDDI. Uta Piku allows users to create slideshows of photos taken...

Australia - Optus adds unlimited data option for micro Sim.
May 31, 2010... Australian communications firm Optus has expanded its range of micro Sim plans with an unlimited recharge option. The company offers top-ups for its prepaid iPad plans starting at AUD 15 for 1.5 GB with a fifteen day expiry ranging to AUD 130...

Philippines - EasyCall wins wireless broadband spectrum.
May 31, 2010... Filipino operator EasyCall Communications Philippines has secured wireless broadband spectrum from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). Easycall was awarded with a 15 MHz block in the 3.4 GHz spectrum, the BusinessMirror writes. The...

China - China Telecom launches LifePad.
May 31, 2010... China Telecom has launched its first 3G tablet computer called LifePad. The LifePad is made by China's Mastone Communication & Electrical Development and uses the Android operating system, Dow Jones reports. The LifePad comes with a number...

China - China Telecom plans FTTH network this year.
May 31, 2010... China Telecom is planning a large FTTH roll out this year. The company aims to construct a fibre-optic network with capacity for 18 million lines and plans to launch 100 Mbps FTTH projects in key cities this year, Xinhua reports. China Telecom...

China - Chinese m-payments sector to jump 308% this year - study.
May 31, 2010... The transaction value of the mobile payments sector in China is forecast to jump 308 percent year-on-year to CNY 9.8 billion this year, Capital Vue reports citing a study by iResearch. The transaction value of the mobile payments sector in China...

China - BlackBerry Partners Fund establishes Chinese fund.
May 31, 2010... Canada-based global fund BlackBerry Partners Fund has launched a USD 100 million affiliate fund focused on mobile investment opportunities in China. BlackBerry Partners Fund China is a new joint venture between Chinese venture capital provider...

Uzbekistan - Ucell launches football SMS service.
May 31, 2010... Uzbek mobile services provider Ucell has launched a Football SMS service and has added more roaming partners. Ucell is offering the Football SMS service for free for two days to promote the new service. The service is offered jointly with...

Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom opens app store.
May 31, 2010... Taiwanese carrier Chunghwa Telecom has opened its online Android app store, Hami Apps. The company offers over 250 titles for download with about half of those available for free. The app store is accessible to Chunghwa customers as well as to...

Taiwan - Fitel shareholders approve turn around plan.
May 31, 2010... Shareholders of Taiwanese PHS operator and Wimax licensee First International Telecom (Fitel) have approved a corporate restructuring plan. The plan will see the company reduce its current paid-in capital of TWD 4.5 billion by 60 percent to TWD...

China - EADS D&S to expand TETRA network of Shenzhen Metro.
May 31, 2010... EADS Defence & Security (DS) will deliver digital TETRA radio communication coverage for Line 5 of the Shenzhen Metro, the subway system for the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, South China. This contract follows the successful...

Saudi Arabia - Mobily completes 42 Mbps HSPA+ trials.
May 31, 2010... Saudi mobile operator Mobily has successfully completed its 42 Mbps HSPA+ trials, Zawya reported. Mobily said it covers 400 cities, regions and provinces in the Kingdom covering 80 percent of all populated areas with its HSPA network.

Asia - Aura becomes Netbiscuits' distributor in Asia Pacific.
May 31, 2010... Asian mobile services and technology provider Aura Interactive has signed an agreement with mobile website developer Netbiscuits to distribute the latter's mobile web software in the Asia Pacific region. Aura will offer two service models,...

Philippines - EasyCall wins mobile broadband spectrum.
May 31, 2010... Filipino operator EasyCall Communications Philippines has been awarded radio frequency by Philippines' National Telecommunications Commission for the launch of broadband services, Dow Jones Newswires reports. It will roll out wireless broadband...

Zimbabwe - Econet Wireless rolls out new concept stores.
May 31, 2010... Zimbabwe mobile operator Econet Wireless has begun a rolling out new format stores, as part of a wider programme to transform the company's customer service systems. The first of the new line of stores was opened recently at Borrowdale's Sam...

China - Far EasTone, China Mobile to co-offer telecom service.
May 31, 2010... Taiwanese communications provider Far EasTone Telecom and China Mobile have signed an contract to co-offer telecommunication services specifically for Taiwanese frequenting to mainland China, Cens reports. Far EasTone and China Mobile consider...

Hong Kong - Wharf T&T launches Cloud Secure product with Symantec.
May 31, 2010... Hong Kong business ICT services provider Wharf T&T announced that it is now a Symantec hosted services certified partner and unveiled a new cloud-based ITaaS product. In line with the partnership, Wharf T&T launched Cloud Secure, a...

Asia - Datacraft expands global presence for Chinese telecom firm.
May 31, 2010... Asian ICT services provider Datacraft has won a contract from a major Chinese telecommunications company to enhance its global presence with the set-up of point of presence sites for several of its operations outside of China. Datacraft assisted...

Malaysia - Celcom Axiata inks MoU with SME Corporation Malaysia.
May 31, 2010... Malaysian mobile operator Celcom Axiata foresees good growth in its enterprise segment with the signing of a memorandum of understanding with SME Corporation Malaysia to promote a range of customised mobile products and services to its members,...

Singapore - SingTel debuts Samsung Galaxy S in Singapore.
May 31, 2010... SingTel Group will launch the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone on 4 June. The Android 2.1 Samsung Galaxy S offers 4-inch Super Amoled display, the mobile Digital Natural Image engine, 1GHz processor, 5 megapixel camera, Bluetooth and HD video play...

Japan - Softbank, Microsoft, firms to promote e-textbooks in Japan.
May 31, 2010... Japanese mobile services provider Softbank, Microsoft and several other firms will collaborate to promote the use of e-textbooks in Japanese primary and middle schools, reports the Nikkei. Toward this end, they will set up an organisation this...

Malaysia - Maxis introduces HTC Desire smartphone in Malaysia.
May 31, 2010... HTC has introduced the HTC Desire smartphone in Malaysia. The device operates on Google's Android 2.1 OS, and features 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, integrated applications from Google, including Gmail and Google Calendar, 3.7 inch, WVGA Amoled...

Japan - Sony to unveil e-book reader in Japan by end of 2010.
May 31, 2010... Sony has said that it will release its e-book reader in Japan by the end of this year, as the country's market for e-books looks set to take off with the domestic launch of Apple's iPad, Dow Jones reports. Sony Electronics senior vice president...

Uzbekistan - UCell launches campaign to offer 1000 minutes.
May 31, 2010... Uzbek mobile services provider UCell is going to conduct "Lucky 1000" campaign on 28 May. In the course of this campaign, prepaid subscribers will be able to send SMS to 4045 short-number and receive 1000 minutes for calls within Uzbekistan for...

Azerbaijan - Azerbaijani govt inks deal with Orbital for satellite.
May 31, 2010... The Azerbaijani communications and IT ministry has signed a contract with the space technology company Orbital Sciences to produce the Azerspace national telecommunications satellite, Trend Capital reports. The cost of the satellite will hit AZN...

Viet Nam - VTN selects ADVA for WDM connectivity in Vietnam.
May 31, 2010... Vietnam Telecoms National has deployed ADVA Optical Networking's FSP 3000 to provide managed WDM connectivity services to enterprises in Vietnam. VTN deployed the ADVA platform to offer advanced disaster recovery and data centre connectivity...

Africa - Airtel starts drawing funds to complete Zain deal.
May 31, 2010... Indian operator Bharti Airtel has begun drawing down to fund the completion proceeds for the sale of Zain Africa to Bharti for an enterprise value of USD 10.7 billion. On completion, Zain will repay its USD 4 billion revolving credit facility,...

Viet Nam - VinaPhone unveils 4 services.
May 31, 2010... Vietnamese mobile operator VinaPhone has launched the Call Management, Vlive, m360 and Chacha Music services. With Call Management service, VinaPhone users can manage ingoing calls by blocking, diverting or receiving, while Vlive provides...

India - Reliance, Coolpad roll-out CDMA phone in India.
May 31, 2010... Reliance Webstore and Coolpad Communications have commenced the roll-out of CDMA phone S100 across India, reports PTI. The company would be distributing as well as retailing the 'touch-screen' model through Reliance World stores across 100 top...

Kenya - ForgetMeNot Africa enters into deal with Safaricom.
May 31, 2010... UK-based LonZim announced that ForgetMeNot Africa, the company's 51 percent owned subsidiary, has entered into an agreement with Kenyan operator Safaricom to provide email and online chat access via mobile phones to over 15 million people in...

South Africa - ICASA awards mobile TV licence to e.tv.
May 31, 2010... South African regulator has awarded a mobile TV licence to domestic terrestrial TV broadcaster e.tv, Broadband TV News reported. Three other bidders were all disqualified - Multichoice Africa for submitting its application late, Super5Media for...

Middle East - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE to pioneer LTE adoption in ME.
May 31, 2010... Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and UAE will pioneer LTE adoption in the Middle East as LTE penetration rate for these countries is expected to reach 11.8 percent, more than the projected Western European average of 7.7 percent, according to a study by...

Kenya - Safaricom welcomes suspension of new telecom regulations.
May 31, 2010... Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom has welcomed moves by the Ministry of Information and Communication to suspend implementation of new regulations governing competition management and tariff control. Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph said it was a...

India - Teleca India inaugurates new centre in Bangalore.
May 31, 2010... Mobile software services provider Teleca has inaugurated its new 400 seats facility in the Salarpuria Hallmark centre in Bangalore on 27 May. Since launching its commercial operations in India in January 2009, the company has grown...

Nigeria - Nigeria to launch mobile number portability in H2.
May 31, 2010... Nigerian regulator NCC will introduce Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in second half 2010, ITNewsAfrica reported. MNP has become even more necessary because of the country's expanding mobile customer base, NCC acting vice-chairman Stephen Bello...

Lebanon - MTC Touch supports rehabilitation centre, autism society.
May 31, 2010... Lebanese operator MTC Touch will again support both the Al Younbouh Rehabilitation Centre for People with Special eeds and the Lebanese Autism Society, for the fifth consecutive year.

Israel - Israeli MultiPhy raises USD 7.2 mln.
May 31, 2010... Israeli high-speed optical communications specialist MultiPhy has raised USD 7.2 million in a financing round from Carmel Ventures, Vertex Ventre Capital and Maayan Ventures, globes.co.il reported. Around USD 3.3 million of the raised money will...

Egypt - LinkDotNet launches Link2Work remote service.
May 31, 2010... Egyptian ISP LinkDotNet has launched Link2Work, a value added service for business customers. Link2Work allows employees to remotely connect to the company's network from any location around the world, accessing the company's intranet, internal...

UAE - LG schedules UAE Cookie Fresh GS290 debut for July.
May 31, 2010... LG Electronics will release its new LG Cookie Fresh (LG GS290) in the UAE in July. The LG Cookie Fresh offers social networking features, a distinctive look in sixteen colours, and a cartoon-styled user interface. The device comes with a...

UAE - Etisalat to compensate drivers for SMS problems.
May 31, 2010... UAE mobile operator Etisalat has pledged to reimburse Dubai car owners affected by a five-day outage of its SMS mParking service, Arabian Business reported. Drivers who sent texts over the last week will be entitled to refunds of AED 0.30 per...

Viet Nam - Canal Overseas adds 13 channels to K+ pay TV service.
May 31, 2010... French pay TV operator Canal Plus subsidiary Canal Overseas has expanded the K+ package in Vietnam with 13 new channels and the Diem Hen daily football programme on the K+1 premium channel. Subscribers to K+ are offered Vietnamese channels...

Asia - APEJ enterprise applications market to grow by 15.4% in 2010.
May 31, 2010... The enterprise applications software market in the Asia/Pacific excluding Japan region returned to positive growth in second half of 2009, registering a 2 percent decline in 2009 compared to 2008, according to a study by IDC. The rebound is...

Thailand - Senate votes in favour of increase in number of NBTC members.
May 31, 2010... The senate in Thailand has voted in support of an increase in the number of National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission members from eleven to fifteen, reports the Bangkok Post. The upper house met to scrutinise the long-delayed...

Thailand - TrueMove reports 200% growth in BlackBerry sales.
May 31, 2010... Thai mobile operator TrueMove has reported 200 percent growth in its sales of BlackBerry smartphones during the past four months, the Bangkok Post reports. The record performance is three times its gross sales of BlackBerry last year, the...

South Korea - KT to relax mobile regulations for foreigners.
May 31, 2010... Korean carrier KT announced that it will drastically relax regulations that keep foreigners from getting the same services Koreans enjoy, the JoongAng Daily reports. In KT's case, foreign subscribers numbered 74,765 in 2005 but have surged to...

Australia - Google could face class-action lawsuit in Australia.
May 31, 2010... Google has been warned it could face a massive class-action lawsuit, as privacy advocates push regulators to punish the internet giant for intercepting personal data over wireless networks, the Australian reports. The Australian Privacy...

Australia - TransAct unveils IPTV package.
May 31, 2010... Australian telecommunications provider TransAct has launched its internet-delivered pay-TV product bundled with a PVR set-top box and a broadband subscription, the Australian reports. The company launched its TransTV IPTV, broadband and PVR...

China - China develops independent satellite navigation system.
May 31, 2010... China is developing an independent satellite navigation system called Beidou, reports CCTV.com. It is the third country after the US and Russia to have such a system developed on its own. At the first China Satellite Navigation Annual Academic...

China - China's 3G users to reach 150 mln by 2011-end.
May 31, 2010... China's 3G users have exceeded 20 million within one year since last May, and are estimated to reach 150 million by the end of next year, the Economic Daily reported citing data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The MIIT...

Kenya - Kenyan mobile users to grow over 15% CAGR between 2010, 2013.
May 31, 2010... The number of mobile subscribers in Kenya will grow at a CAGR of over 15 percent between 2010 and 2013 on its rapidly improving mobile infrastructure and intensifying competition among mobile operators, according to a report from RNCOS. The...

India - MTS opens 100th retail store in Gurgaon.
May 31, 2010... Mobile operator MTS India has unveiled its 100th MTS branded retail store in Gurgaon, India. Spread over 150 sq feet, furnished with a sales desk and a help desk, it will staff four to five customer care executives. MTS now possesses a chain of...

Australia - Vodafone, 3 Mobile to unveil HTC Legend phone in Australia.
May 31, 2010... HTC will launch the HTC Legend smartphone on Vodafone and 3 Mobile in Australia. The phone, built around an enhanced HTC Sense, includes a 3.2 inch, Amoled Hvga display, and an optical joystick that is surrounded by a narrow button for phone...

India - MTNL invites bids to set up Wi-Fi spots.
May 31, 2010... State-owned Indian operator MTNL has invited bids to shortlist global companies to set-up Wi-Fi spots with the total contracts estimated at INR100 million, Dow Jones Newswires reports. A bid document on its website showed that according to the...

Bangladesh - Banglalink mulls IPO.
May 31, 2010... Bangadeshi mobile operator Banglalink is considering an IPO if the upcoming budget favours the telecommunications sector. If the government reduces the Sim tax and corporate tax for telecommunications companies in the upcoming budget, Banglalink...

Kenya - Tango Telecom opens office in Kenya.
May 27, 2010... Convergent charging and messaging services provider Tango Telecom has opened its regional office in Nairobi, Kenya. With customers now in fifteen countries in Africa including in Sierra Leone, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Sudan, Ivory Coast, Chad and...

Kuwait - Microsoft Kuwait wins contract from Warba.
May 27, 2010... Microsoft Kuwait has won a contract from insurance company Warba to introduce its latest technologies and enhance operational efficiencies for better customer care, Zawya reported. The partnership will enable Warba Insurance to provide an...

Kenya - Orange Kenya launches new dress code to fight vandalism.
May 27, 2010... Orange Kenya has introduced a new dress code for technicians working on sites to help fight vandals, KBC reported. CEO Mickael Ghossein confirmed that the operator has retained a workforce of over 1,200 security agents and enlisted the...

Africa - COMESA to launch USD 10 mln telecom project before yr-end.
May 27, 2010... The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) expects its USD 10 million telecom project to begin by the end of the year, Zambia's Daily Mail reported. The company telecom (COMTEL) regional clearing house project will seek to better...

Palestinia - Wataniya launches price awareness campaign for Kalimate.
May 27, 2010... Palestinian mobile operator Wataniya Mobile has launched a new price awareness campaign for its prepaid Kalimate programme. Kalimate subscribers can call other Wataniya Mobile numbers for ILS 0.47 per minute. Calls to other local operators are...

Australia - Internode launches MiFi for AUD 299.
May 27, 2010... Australian operator Internode has launched the MiFi wireless access point for AUD 299, which delivers 3G access for up to five iPads. MiFi was designed by Novatel Wireless ans is an intelligent 3G mobile hotspot that supports as many as five...

Hong Kong - Internet users in Hong Kong watch 447 mln videos in March.
May 27, 2010... About 88.5 percent of Hong Kong's internet population viewed video online in March, with visitors averaging more than 10 hours of video viewing per person during the month, according to a study by ComScore. Nearly nine out of ten internet users...

Oman - Omantel to sponsor 2010 Salalah festival.
May 27, 2010... Omantel said that it will be the main sponsor for the Salalah Tourism Festival in July. As a long-term sponsor of the festival, Omantel will provide services to festival organizers as well as visitors. During the festival, Omantel will unveil a...

Israel - Playcast signs distribution deal with Portugal operator.
May 27, 2010... Israeli Playcast Media Systems has signed a deal with a large operator in Portugal, whose name it did not disclose, to distribute its system in the country, Globes.co.il reported. Playcast has developed a games-on-demand system for cable and...

Middle East - HP names Matthew Thomas new channel manager Mema.
May 27, 2010... HP has appointed Mathew Thomas as the channel manager for its Personal Systems Group (PSG) across the Middle-East, Mediterranean and Africa (Mema). HP's Personal Systems Group is responsible for supplying personal computing solutions and devices...

India - Vertex inks GBP 40 mln contract with Cable&Wireless.
May 27, 2010... Global customer management outsourcing business Vertex has signed a GBP 40 million, five-year private cloud contract with Cable&Wireless Worldwide. C&W Worldwide will provide a fully-managed IaaS product for Vertex to host its IT...

Sudan - UNHCR rolls out satellite tracking system for vehicles.
May 27, 2010... UN refugee agency UNHCR is rolling out a satellite tracking system for its vehicles in Chad, Sudan and Uganda that will improve staff safety through real time monitoring of movements. The automatic reporting of position and monitoring of routes...

Nepal - Nepal Telecom extends Gilat SkyEdge network to Gorakshep.
May 27, 2010... Nepal Telecom's deployment of satellite networking technology and services provider Gilat Satellite Networks' SkyEdge broadband satellite network has been extended to include the provision of data and toll-quality telephony services to...

China - UTStarcom finishes sale of facility in Hangzhou.
May 27, 2010... IP networking products provider UTStarcom has announced that the title has been transferred to the buyer in relation to sale of its facility in Hangzhou, China to the Zhongnan Group of companies. Pursuant to this transaction the company sold its...

Australia - Telstra launches business Ethernet service.
May 27, 2010... Telstra has launched a business broadband service called 'TBB Ethernet', which will replace the company's current 'Business DSL' service. The new service is designed to be more reliable and offers upload and download speeds of up to 10 Mbps...