Telecompaper Africa/Asia articles from November 2011, page 15

Telecompaper Africa/Asia archives from November 2011

Japan - Dena grows Q2 sales 28%.
November 1, 2011... Japanese online and mobile commerce and entertainment provider Dena saw its net sales rise almost 30 percent in the second quarter ended 30 September. Net sales totalled JPY 34.69 billion, up 28 percent from 27.09 billion, driven by social media...

Australia - Telstra proposes equal power for ACCC, ITA.
November 1, 2011... Australian carrier Telstra has released a new structural separation undertaking (SSU) proposal. One of the proposed changes will see the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Independent Telecommunications Adjudicator...

China - China Comservice, Bytemobile partner on optimisation service.
November 1, 2011... Chinese provider of integrated support services for telecommunications sector China Communications Services has formed a joint venture with Bytemobile, a mobile internet services provider. The joint venture will focus on the growing market of...

New Zealand - Vodafone NZ unveils Christmas promos.
November 1, 2011... Vodafone New Zealand has launched a number of promotions for the Christmas season. The company is offering a number of 'Smart Mobile Deals' which offer smartphones at special prices. Vodafone also offers a 10 percent top-up bonus for customers...

India - BSNL may be compensated for rural services.
November 1, 2011... Indian state-owned operator BSNL may be compensated for offering unprofitable services in rural areas as part of the Universal Service Obligation. The company would also be allowed to make a commercial decision to maintain services or exit from...

Indonesia - Telkomsel partners with On-Waves for roaming service.
November 1, 2011... Indonesian mobile operator Telkomsel is offering a new international roaming service for maritime workers. The new service is the result of a partnership between Iceland-based mobile services provider On-Waves, the Jakarta Post writes citing...

Australia - NBN Co amends wholesale contract to 1 year.
November 1, 2011... The Australian government-backed company rolling out the National Broadband Network, NBN Co, has amended the term of its wholesale broadband agreements. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently expressed concerns over...

South Korea - Korean smartphone users exceed 20 million mark.
November 1, 2011... The number of smartphone subscribers in South Korea has surpassed the 20 million mark. SK Telecom serves 10 million smartphone users, followed by KT with 6.8 million and LG Uplus with 3.3 million smartphone users, news agency Yonhap writes...

Philippines - Philippine regulator lowers SMS interconnection rate.
November 1, 2011... The Philippine telecommunications regulator has issued a Memorandum Circular that lowers the interconnection rate for SMS messages. The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered that the interconnection charges for SMS messages should...

Philippines - PLDT, Globe continue disputes.
November 1, 2011... The disputes between Philippine communications firms PLDT and Globe Telecom are continuing with Globe seeking to have complaints by PLDT's mobile unit dismissed. Globe subsidiary Innove Communications has asked the National Telecommunications...

Nepal - NTA begins work on national numbering plan.
November 1, 2011... The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) has established a committee to draft a policy for a national numbering plan. Until now, the regulator has been allocating the numbers to operators in the absence of a guiding policy, Republica...

Sri Lanka - Dialog Axiata grows Q3 revenues 10%.
November 1, 2011... Sri Lankan communications firm Dialog Axiata ended the third quarter 6.99 million mobile customers, up 4 percent year-on-year. Blended ARPU rose to LKR 340 from 303 in the third quarter a year earlier. Consolidated revenues went up 10 percent to...

Philippines - Sun Cellular launches IDD promotion.
November 1, 2011... Philippine mobile operator Sun Cellular launched an international calls promotion - Todo IDD - for postpaid subscribers. The service allows customers to make international calls to seven destinations (US, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, China,...

Egypt - Mobinil starts prepaid promotion.
November 1, 2011... Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil launched a promotion whereby prepaid customers get a bonus in on-net minutes and SMS equal to 10 times their recharge's value in EGP. The bonus can be used for making calls or sending SMS to any Mobinil number...

China - Balda completes sale of MobileCom business in China.
November 1, 2011... Germany-based mobile phone parts maker Balda has completed plans to sell its MobileCom division in China, selling the business to its management. The segment had already been reported in the 2011 half-year report under 'discontinued operations'....

Armenia - Armentel offers free calls to Ombudsman.
November 1, 2011... Armenian operator Armentel has launched a free info line enabling citizens to call the Ombudsman's Office. Calls are free for both fixed and mobile subscribers, and no termination fee is charged when calling from networks of other operators. The...

Kuwait - Wataniya Telecom introduces iPhone 4S.
November 1, 2011... Kuwaiti operator Wataniya has introduced Apple's newest device, the iPhone 4S bundled with a wide range of packages to suit customer preferences. The initial price for the iPhone 4S is KWD 150, plus a KWD 7 per month installment when customers...

Armenia - VivaCell offers free 3G Wi-Fi router with pack.
November 1, 2011... Armenian mobile operator VivaCell-MTS is offering a free E690 3G Wi-Fi router for subscribers of its Office-Zone package signing an annual subscription contract. Unlimited internet is offered under the package for AMD 10,000 per month.

Azerbaijan - Nar Mobile offers lower rates after top-ups.
November 1, 2011... Azerbaijan mobile operator Nar Mobile is offering customers a lower rate for ten days after a top-up. They will pay AZN 0.03 per minute or per SMS after a top-up of AZN 5 and AZN 0.02 per minute/SMS after a top-up of AZN 10.

Jordan - Orange, Umniah, Zain start sales at Leaders Center.
November 1, 2011... Jordan's operators Orange, Umniah and Zain have opened customer service outlets at Leaders Center, a 3,800 square meter technology and entertainment megastore. The three-floor store is located in West Amman on King Abdullah II Street and opened...

Kenya - Safaricom meets 6 out of 8 CCK performance targets.
November 1, 2011... Safaricom has registered an improvement in compliance with key network parameters set out by the Communications Commission of Kenya over the past year, Webaraza reported. According to a CCK audit for the period 2010-2011, Safaricom met six out...

Bahrain - Batelco, Telecom Malaysia ink MPLS connection deal.
November 1, 2011... Bahrain operator Batelco will launch MPLS IP VPN interconnectivity with Telekom Malaysia (TM), enabling both parties to extend corporate VPN services between their respective regions. The agreement will provide MPLS VPN services to businesses...

Egypt - Mobinil picks HP TippingPoint to boost network reliability.
November 1, 2011... Egyptian operator Mobinil has selected HP TippingPoint to boost network reliability and security for its 30 million customers. The operator selected HP TippingPoint S5100N IPS and HP TippingPoint Core Controller platforms to deliver real-time...

Kazakhstan - Tele2 Kazakhstan launches services in Kostanay.
November 1, 2011... Mobile operator Tele2 Kazakhstan has launched its services in the Kostanay region. The services are available in Kostanay, Lisakovsk, Rudniy and some smaller agglomerations in the initial stage, and the coverage will be expanded later. The...

Kyrgyzstan - Katel provides Kyrgyztelecom balance information by SMS.
November 1, 2011... Kyrgyzstan mobile operator Katel has expanded its SMS information services. Subscribers can now opt to get information about the state of their balance with national operator Kyrgyztelecom via SMS. The subscription rate for the service is KZS 18...

India - BSNL restores interconnection in Punjab.
November 1, 2011... Indian state-owned operator BSNL has restored interconnection with private mobile operators in Punjab after nearly a month of disruption, reports PTI. The services were restored following fresh directions issued by the Telecom Regulatory...

India - DataWind talks to Reliance on 4G tablet.
November 1, 2011... Canadian mobile web access products provider DataWind is in talks to collaborate with India's Reliance Industries (RIL) to develop the world's cheapest 4G-enabled tablet, DataWind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli told the Business Standard. The tablet...

Qatar - Vodafone Qatar launches permanent international call rate.
November 1, 2011... Vodafone Qatar said its permanent international calling rate is effective immediately. It said Vodafone Red and Freedom customers will pay QAR 0.65 per minute to more than 140 countries. All of the most popular calling destinations are included,...

UAE - Etisalat launches student plan for Wasel prepaid users.
November 1, 2011... UAE-based operator Etisalat has launched an exclusive plan for university and college students providing a range of discounts and benefits. New student customers to its pre-paid Wasel services will receive AED 25 free credit upon signing up and...

Qatar - EastNets supports Qtel mobile money service.
November 1, 2011... EastNets, a global provider of payment services, announced an agreement with the Qtel Group to provide the technology platform and expertise to support the regional and global rollout of the Qtel Group's mobile money services. EastNets will...

Qatar - Vodafone Qatar promotes prepaid Blackberry service.
November 1, 2011... Vodafone Qatar has made permanent the rate of QAR 49 per month for prepaid BlackBerry services. This includes 300MB of mobile internet data each month, of which a maximum 100MB can be used for streaming video from the internet. To get this...

Saudi Arabia - STC deploys 4G services for pilgrims.
November 1, 2011... Saudi operator STC will deploy 5,000 of its employees in Meca and the holy sites for this year's Hajj pilgrimage season, according to a statement released by the company. It will also for the first time provide 4G services for its subscribers....

Oman - Oman Mobile launches flat-rate roaming for Hajj pilgrims.
November 1, 2011... Oman Mobile has announced its newest offer for Hajj pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia. Customers using the Mobily or STC networks there will benefit from a reduced flat rate for all incoming and outgoing calls to Oman. The offer is valid until...

Qatar - iQ to introduce Huawei mobile phones in Qatar.
November 1, 2011... Informatica Qatar (iQ), an IT consulting firm and provider, will bring to the local market the Huawei X5 and Ideos mobile phones. IQ said it reached an agreement with Huawei to be the exclusive distributor and after-sales service provider of the...

Middle East - Qtel, Google provide Gmail SMS Chat across Middle East.
November 1, 2011... Qtel Group said it is tying up with Google to offer Middle East customers with the Gmail SMS Chat service. The service is free of charge and requires no subscription. Chat messages sent from a customer's mobile phones to the Gmail account are...

UAE - Du issues first sustainable development report.
November 1, 2011... UAE operator Du has released its first Sustainable Development Report. The report conforms to the United Nations Global Compact, of which du is a member. Du said its report has been established in an attempt to introduce regional standards. It...

Zimbabwe - Apple supplies solar-powered iPads to Zimbabwe rural schools.
November 1, 2011... Apple has agreed to enter a joint venture with the Zimbabwean government to deliver solar-powered iPads to rural and remote schools, PC Tech Magazine reported. The aim is to reduce the digital divide between rural and urban areas of the country....

Nigeria - Gateway Business adds network coverage in 11 states.
November 1, 2011... Gateway Business announced that 14 more states in Nigeria will have access to broadband services with the completion of phase 2 of the company's terrestrial network extension project. Phase 1 of the project was completed in November last year,...

Iraq - Asiacell 9-mth revenue up 17.3%.
November 1, 2011... Iraqi operator Asiacell saw its revenue for the nine months ended 30 September grow by 17.3 percent to QAR 4.3 billion, from 3.7 billion in the same period of 2010. The firm's EBITDA increased by 9.1 percent to QAR 2.3 billion, with growth held...

China - Sohu.com Q3 revenues up 42%, net profit grows.
November 1, 2011... Chinese internet company Sohu.com total revenues for the third quarter grew 42 percent to USD 232.8 million from USD 164 million in the year-ago quarter. Total online advertising revenues were USD 95 million, up 47 percent year-over-year. Brand...

Jordan - Orange Jordan deploys 'green' mobile phone tower.
November 1, 2011... Orange Jordan has unveiled a new "green" mobile phone tower design which operates on solar and wind power. This is part of a larger project to increase the use of renewable energy sources in the country, Jordan Times reported. CEO Nayla Khawam...

UAE - UAE orders operators to block counterfeit phones.
November 1, 2011... UAE telecommunications regulator TRA has ordered mobile networks to start blocking mobile phones that carry invalid serial numbers in a move aimed at curbing the use of counterfeit phones. The regulator instructed Etisalat and Du that they...

South Africa - Motorola launches new Razr smartphone in South Africa.
November 1, 2011... Motorola Mobility has launched the new Motorola Razr smartphone in South Africa. The device boasts a sculpted glass face, diamond-cut aluminum accents and a 4.3-inch Super Amoled Advanced display. It also features Kevlar fibre and Corning...

Bahrain - RIM launches BlackBerry Curve 9360 in Bahrain.
November 1, 2011... Research In Motion (RIM) announced that the BlackBerry Curve 9360 is now available in Bahrain from authorized partners. The Curve smartphone runs the new BlackBerry 7 operating system and comes with a keyboard and optical trackpad for easy,...