Telecompaper Africa/Asia articles from October 2007, page 2

Telecompaper Africa/Asia archives from October 2007

Palestinia - Wataniya wins Israel frequencies to operate in Palestine.
October 26, 2007... Kuwait-based mobile operator Wataniya Telecom has won Israeli frequencies to operate in the Palestinian Territories, reports Haaretz. The Palestinian telecommunications and economy minister Kamal Hassouneh said Israel's Communications...

Japan - DoCoMo follows KDDI with fresh billing, handset plans.
October 26, 2007... NTT DoCoMo unveiled two new schemes, called the 'Value Course' and 'Basic Course'. The plans will bundle different billing plans with different methods for purchasing handsets, beginning with the FOMA 905i series models that DoCoMo plans to...

Japan - DoCoMo's net income falls 20%, plans reorganisation.
October 26, 2007... Japan's NTT DoCoMo saw its revenues fall in the first half of fiscal 2008 due to lower mobile services revenues because of changed accounting methods, the launch of new discount services and growth in the number of handsets sold. Operating...

New Zealand - TNZ to supply fast broadband to all New Zealand cities - CEO.
October 26, 2007... Telecom New Zealand (TNZ) will supply fast broadband to every town and city in New Zealand over the coming four years, based on a next-generation network, according to TNZ CEO Paul Reynolds. Reynolds made his comments following the submission...

Singapore - SingTel unveils online, mobile advertising strategy.
October 26, 2007... Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) unveiled its online and mobile advertising strategy. Within five years, the company plans to lead in the mobile and internet advertising space in Singapore. The new strategy will involve delivering an...

China - AsiaInfo sees revenues rise 17 percent.
October 26, 2007... Telecommunication software, security products and services provider AsiaInfo Holdings saw its revenues and profits go up in the third quarter. Total revenue for the third quarter was USD 32.4 million, up 17 percent from USD 27.77 million in...

China - Baidu more than doubles third quarter revenues, profits.
October 26, 2007... Chinese internet search provider Baidu.com more than doubled its revenues and profit in the third quarter driven by increased traffic and active customers. Total revenues in the third quarter increased to CNY 496.5 million, up 107.5 percent...

Israel - Cellcom Israel announces partial prepayment of credit.
October 26, 2007... Israeli mobile operator Cellcom has announced a partial pre-payment of the loan provided by the company's credit facility from a bank syndicate in a principal amount of USD 140 million. The pre-payment will be made during November, in...

Kenya - Kenya shelves plan for mobile number portability.
October 26, 2007... A plan to introduce number portability into Kenya's mobile phone market has been shelved, making subscribers acquire new numbers if they intend to switch networks. The Communications Commission of Kenya director general John Waweru told...

Japan - Kyocera releases W53K mobile phone with KDDI.
October 25, 2007... Kyocera has released its W53K, a 15.4mm slim one-seg mobile phone. The W53K handset will be added to Japanese operator au's new models which were released recently. The W53K features one-touch dialing, frameless keys, floating character...

China - Shanghai Telecom deploys Alcatel's VitalQIP product.
October 25, 2007... China Telecom subsidiary Shanghai Telecom has deployed Alcatel-Lucent's VitalQIP DHCP & IP Address Management software for the carrier's IPTV service. As one of China Telecom group's IPTV demonstration projects, Shanghai Telecom is the first...

China - AsiaInfo provides billing system to China Telecom.
October 25, 2007... AsiaInfo Holdings has signed a contract with China Telecom to provide billing systems for its ongoing extended TD-SCDMA trial. Under the terms of the agreement, AsiaInfo will develop an Online Charging System (OCS) for China Telecom's...

Pakistan - Telenor Pakistan's revenues surge to NOK 887 million.
October 25, 2007... Despite strong competition, Telenor Pakistan experienced a steady growth in its subscription base with net additions of 1.9 million during the third quarter. The company increased its estimated market share by 1 percentage point to 18...

Bangladesh - Grameenphone sees revenues rise, profit drop.
October 25, 2007... Bangladeshi mobile operator Grameenphone, in which Telenor has a 62 percent stake, added 1.2 million subscriptions in the third quarter to end September with more than 15 million subscribers. Grameenphone has an estimated market share in...

Thailand - DTAC's operating profit falls to NOK 308 million.
October 25, 2007... Telenor-backed mobile operator DTAC added 402,000 new customers in the third quarter and had a market share of about 31 percent. Total revenues went up to NOK 2.98 billion in Q3, compared with NOK 2.04 billion in the year-ago period. EBITDA...

Hong Kong - SmarTone-Vodafone launches FoneTV.
October 25, 2007... Hong Kong-based operator SmarTone-Vodafone has launched FoneTV which offers live TV and other programmes in HD wide format. FoneTV offers a choice of 12 ranging from news and finance, to music and movie, cartoons and live traffic cams. All...

Japan - NTT seeks permission for interconnection services, charges.
October 25, 2007... NTT East and NTT West have applied to the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) for approval to offer inter-prefectural transmission services and set charges for telecommunications services provided by other carriers. The...

Japan - J:COM ups share in Myavision to 46.6 percent.
October 25, 2007... Japanese cable services provider Jupiter Telecommunications (J:COM) has bought 39,798 shares in Myavision (Kyoto Cable Communications) from Fujitsu for an undisclosed amount. This transfer will make J:COM the largest shareholder in the...

Singapore - SingNet launches hosted Microsoft Exchange services.
October 25, 2007... SingTel's ISP SingNet is collaborating with Microsoft to launch SingNet Hosted BizExchange service. The service targets business customers and offers a hosted messaging and collaboration service that is powered by the Microsoft Exchange...

Armenia - VivaCell launches call request service.
October 25, 2007... Armenian mobile operator VivaCell has launched the 'Call Me' service for prepaid and postpaid subscribers. Subscribers with insufficient credit can send a Call Me request asking another VivaCell subscriber to call them. Subscribers can send...

Japan - Yahoo! continues to lead top 10 internet sites in Japan.
October 25, 2007... During September, Yahoo! sites continued to lead the top 10 internet properties in Japan, according to figures from ComScore. Yahoo! sites registered 40.7 million visitors, while Google sites experienced a 4 percent gain from August to...

India - Reliance applies for CDMA spectrum in NE, Assam.
October 25, 2007... Indian mobile operator Reliance Telecom, a subsidiary of Reliance Communications, has applied for CDMA spectrum in the North East and Assam regions in India, reports the Business Standard. A spokesperson confirmed the development saying RTL's...

Japan - Opera ships widgets on 3G mobile handsets from KDDI.
October 25, 2007... Web browser company Opera Software and Japanese operator KDDI have announced that Opera Widgets will be shipped on the Toshiba W56T, Sony Ericsson W54S and Sanyo W54SA from KDDI. Branded as au one Gadget by KDDI, Opera's Widget technology...

Viet Nam - Alcatel secures EUR 20 mln contracts from VNPT, MobiFone.
October 25, 2007... Alcatel-Lucent has signed contracts with Vietnamese communications providers MobiFone and VNPT worth a total of EUR 20 million. Alcatel-Lucent and VNPT also signed a cooperation agreement to establish an IP Excellence Center in Hanoi....

India - Geodesic net profit up 52.7 percent to INR 331.8 mln.
October 25, 2007... India-based messaging products developer Geodesic Information Systems reported revenues for the fiscal second- uarter of INR 685.1 billion, up 75 percent from the year-ago quarter. Net profit was INR 331.8 million, up 52.7 percent from a year...

Bangladesh - BTTB grows revenues amid VoIP crackdown.
October 25, 2007... The Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board's revenue grew by 19 percent to BDT 2.18 billion in the first two months of the current fiscal year, compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, helped by the government's...

Taiwan - Chunghwa buys 30 percent stake in music service Kkbox.
October 25, 2007... Skysoft's digital music subsidiary Kkbox has reached an investment deal with Taiwanese communications provider Chunghwa Telecom. Chunghwa will buy a 30 percent stake in Kkbox for an undisclosed amount. Kkbox was launched in January 2005 and...

Africa - First Rascom satellite to launch in December.
October 25, 2007... The first African satellite will be launched in December 2007. The Sudan News Agency reports that the satellite, which will be launched on 18 December, was agreed at the ongoing Assembly of Parties of the Regional African Satellite...

India - Sify revenues up 6.4% in fiscal Q2.
October 25, 2007... Indian consumer internet and enterprise services provider Sify Technologies reported fiscal second-quarter revenues of USD 37.02 million, up 6.4 percent from the previous year's quarter. The net loss was USD 1.25 million, versus USD 1.27...

China - Nokia opens Flagship Store in China.
October 25, 2007... Nokia has opened its first Nokia Flagship Store in mainland China. The Nokia Shanghai Flagship Store is the seventh of eighteenth planned Flagship Stores and is the second in the region following the opening of Flagship Store in Hong Kong....

Madagascar - Orange Madagascar starts per-second billing, unlimited offer.
October 25, 2007... Mobile operator Orange Madagascar is introducing per-second billing for prepaid customers. The company is also starting a range of unlimited offers, including packages for unlimited SMS, unlimited calls during off-peak hours and unlimited...

Morocco - Bayn reaches 1 mln customers.
October 25, 2007... Moroccan operator Bayn has announced the milestone of 1 million customers, eight months after its launch. The company offers residential fixed wireless telephony and internet services, based on a range of personal and family packages. For...

Pakistan - Mobilink introduces airtime sharing.
October 25, 2007... Pakistani mobile operator Mobilink has introduced a new service called Jazz Share, allowing prepaid customers to share their airtime credit with friends and family. Users can share PKR 10 to PKR 1,000, by sending a SMS to a short code. A 5...

Philippines - Next Mobile invests PHP 500 million in iDEN network.
October 25, 2007... Next Mobile plans to invest PHP 500 million in 2008 to finance its digital mobile phone expansion nationwide. Mel Velarde, Next Mobile chairman and chief executive officer, said the company will extend the coverage of its iDEN network to fill...

India - India's Dhanus to acquire Chinese, US firms.
October 25, 2007... India-based communication services provider Dhanus Technologies will acquire two US-based communications companies and a Chinese telecommunication services provider as part of its global expansion. According to a report from the Economic...

South Africa - MultiChoice adds to basic EasyView package.
October 25, 2007... South African pay-TV operator MultiChoice has increased the number of channels in its basic package EasyView to ten video channels, five data channels and 28 radio stations. It was originally launched in 2002 with only four channels....

Israel - Bezeq launches 4 Mbps broadband package.
October 25, 2007... Israeli operator Bezeq has launched new broadband services with speeds of up to 4 Mbps download. Bezeq currently has around 950,000 broadband customers, of which some 250,000 use speeds of 2 Mbps or more. The 2.5 Mbps package was launched in...

Uganda - Uganda Telecom wins contract for Commonwealth meeting.
October 25, 2007... Uganda's national operator Uganda Telecom has won a contract to provide full voice, data and internet services to the Commonwealth meeting media centre next month. The operator said it will equip the media centre with computers, internet...

Thailand - Chulalongkorn University deploys Cisco control engine.
October 25, 2007... Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, has installed a service control engine from Cisco to optimise bandwidth usage and prioritise network traffic for researchers, students and staff. The new system allows researchers to efficiently use the...

China - Chinese govt to crack down on illegal handsets.
October 25, 2007... The Chinese ministry of information industry (MII) will continue to crack down counterfeit and refurbished handsets while strengthening the management of mobile handset quality and after-sale services, Interfax writes citing an MII official....

Taiwan - Taiwanese WiMAX companies secure international contracts.
October 25, 2007... Several international telecommunications equipment companies have signed agreements with Taiwanese WiMAX companies, the Digitimes writes. Alcatel-Lucent has signed agreements with Acer, Quanta Microsystems, and Accton Technology for WiMAX CPE...

Japan - Yahoo! Japan's operating profit rises 22 percent.
October 25, 2007... The first half operating profits for Yahoo! Japan went up 22 percent to JPY 59.7 billion, due contributions from the advertising business, the Nikkei reports. Sales at the web-portal went up 17 percent year-on-year to reach JPY 117.7 billion...

Rwanda - Rwanda to match orders in One Laptop Per Child project.
October 25, 2007... Rwanda plans to start a project in November to supply children with computers. President Paul Kagame told Rwanda News Agency that the One Laptop Per Child project will see the government buy laptops from the new sales promotion scheme dubbed...

China - Chinese govt to continue with telecom reforms.
October 25, 2007... The Chinese government will continue to push reforms in the telecommunications industry, the China Daily writes. The reforms would boost the sustainable development of telecommunications companies, deputy chief of the State-owned Assets...

Malaysia - Celcom expects corporate customers to boost earnings.
October 25, 2007... Malaysian mobile operator Celcom expects to exceed its earnings targets this year, boosted by corporate customers, CEO Shazalli Ramly told the Business Times. Celcom forecasts double-digit growth this year. In 2006, the company posted profits...

Australia - IPrimus, Landcare Australia unveil Green Broadband scheme.
October 25, 2007... IPrimus, provider of broadband and other telecommunications services in Australia, has joined forces with Landcare Australia to create a new broadband program to help consumers neutralise the effect of greenhouse emissions associated with...

Hong Kong - Hong Kong broadcasters, technology companies partner on DTT.
October 25, 2007... Several Hong Kong technology and television companies have established a digital terrestrial testing organisation. Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks (HKSTP) has signed an MOU to establish the Hong Kong Digital Terrestrial Television...

Africa - MTS wins convergent billing deal from GSM carrier in Africa.
October 25, 2007... Israel-based Mer Telemanagement Solutions has signed an agreement to provide a service for convergent prepaid, postpaid and interconnect billing to a GSM carrier in Africa. MTS will deploy a convergence service, managing prepaid and postpaid...

Niger - Portugal Telecom eyes Niger mobile licence.
October 24, 2007... Africana, the holding company of Portugal Telecom for its activities in Africa, is closely following the award of two mobile licences in Niger, a decision announced by the local government at the beginning of October. Joao Pedro Baptista, CEO...

Malaysia - Malaysia slated to begin broadband pilot.
October 24, 2007... A broadband pilot by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is slated to begin shortly, the Business Times writes. The project will focus on underserved areas in Penang and Kulim and will provide free connectivity using...

Malaysia - Wmode signs distribution agreement with EA.
October 24, 2007... Interactive entertainment software company Electronic Arts and digital media distribution services provider Wmode have entered into an agreement to distribute EA Mobile games to customers across Malaysia via local mobile operators DiGi and...

Kenya - Safaricom sets up new switch centre in Western Kenya.
October 24, 2007... Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom has opened a new switch centre in western Kenya to speed up communication and reduce the number of calls being dropped due to heavy traffic on the network. Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph said the launching of...

Tanzania - Vodacom, NMB launch ATM recharge service in Tanzania.
October 24, 2007... Mobile operator Vodacom Tanzania has joined National Microfinance Bank to officially launch the Vodacom NMB ATM recharge service. Customer will be able to recharge any Vodacom prepaid number at any NMB ATM across the country, with an NMB ATM...

Thailand - Thai mobile operators call for flexible numbering policy.
October 24, 2007... Thai mobile operators have asked the communications regulator to revise the number policy saying it is too rigid, the Nation reports citing an unnamed source. The operators are asking for a public hearing on the numbering rules. Reportedly,...

Thailand - Combining telecom and broadcasting regulator delayed.
October 24, 2007... The Thai government may delay the establishment of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) until the fourth quarter of 2008, the Bangkok Post writes. Two draft amendments to the telecommunications laws relating to...

Philippines - Philippines' Globe deploys Clarity's Unified OSS platform.
October 24, 2007... Clarity, OSS business process automation company, has seen Globe, Philippines-based telecommunications operator, choose its Unified OSS platform to provide inventory management and service assurance. Clarity will also be commissioned to build...

New Zealand - New Zealand payment companies band together in Forum.
October 24, 2007... Several New Zealand-based payment companies have formed a 'Payments Forum' to promote the New Zealand payments industry, Computerworld writes citing M-Com CEO Adam Clark. M-Com, Provenco, Etsl, Fronde Anywhere, Direct Payment Solutions,...

Japan - Comms ministry to study online threats and policies.
October 24, 2007... The Japanese ministry of internal affairs and communications (MIC) will set-up a study group on 'Next Generation Information Security Policies'. The study group will look at threats in the current internet environment, trends, analyse threats...

India - NDS launches VideoGuard Express for Indian market.
October 24, 2007... NDS has launched a new conditional access system for the Indian cable market, to meet new regulations on the market. NDS VideoGuard Express has been pre-integrated with a set-top box and electronic programme guide for quick deployment. The...

Japan - Yahoo! Japan to launch mobile video sharing service.
October 24, 2007... Yahoo! Japan plans to launch a video sharing service for mobile phones, the Nikkei writes. The service uses video distribution software from i-Broadcast and will be offered on Yahoo!'s mobile portal. Through the service, users can download...

Indonesia - ST Telemedia committed to Indosat stake.
October 24, 2007... Singapore Technologies Telemedia (ST Telemedia) plans to keep its ownership in Indonesian mobile operator Indosat, despite KPPU's allegation that the firm is violating anti-trust rules, the Jakarta Post reports. The anti-monopoly watchdog...

Taiwan - Qisda to produce WiMAX phones in 2008 - report.
October 24, 2007... Qisda (formerly Benq) will begin mass producing WiMAX handsets in 2008, CENS reports citing unnamed company sources. The company recently showed a WiMAX handset prototype and plans to use the E72 model as the basis for a dual-mode phone that...

Bangladesh - Grameenphone re-launches HealthLine service.
October 24, 2007... Bangladeshi mobile operator Grameenphone has re-launched its HealthLine service, a medical call service. Grameenphone has expanded the capacity and streamlined the process for the re-launch. The HealthLine service is operated in association...

Australia - AST Australia wins Iridium satellite deal from fire service.
October 24, 2007... Applied Satellite Technology Australia (AST Australia), an Iridium value-added reseller, has won a major contract from the Australian Department of Environment & Conservation (DEC) West Australian Fire Management Services. The contract will...

Taiwan - Chunghwa appoints Minsky Luo as senior vice president.
October 24, 2007... Taiwanese communications provider Chunghwa Telecom has appointed Mr Minsky Luo as senior vice president. Mr Luo serves as Adviser to Institute for Information and Industries (III), a semi-government agency for national ICT development. As the...

China - Alcatel-Lucent, RIM in BlackBerry distribution deal in China.
October 24, 2007... Alcatel-Lucent and Research In Motion (RIM) have signed a strategic agreement for the distribution of BlackBerry smartphones in China. The first smartphone offered to Chinese enterprise customers through this agreement will be the 8700 model....

India - Sistema to up Shyam Telelink stake to 51 percent.
October 24, 2007... Russian conglomerate Sistema has signed an agreement with Indian operator Shyam Telelink for the acquisition of an additional 41 percent stake. In September, Sistema already bought a 10 percent share in the company. Sistema further signed a...

Singapore - KT&T's third quarter turnover rises 25 percent.
October 24, 2007... Asian network engineering and communications services provider Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation (KT&T) has seen its turnover go up 25 percent in the third quarter. Turnover totalled SGD 27.71 million compared with SGD 22.15 million...

India - Reliance plans roll-out of GSM services in 100 cities.
October 24, 2007... Indian mobile operator Reliance Communications plans to roll out GSM services in over 100 cities and towns within six months of the government providing it spectrum. According to a report from the Business Standard, this will be part of the...

India - MindTree revenues up 41.2% to USD 47.4 mln.
October 24, 2007... Indian IT and R&D services company MindTree Consulting reported revenues for the fiscal second quarter to September up 41.2 percent from a year earlier, to USD 47.4 million. Net profit increased 38.7 percent to USD 6.7 million. MindTree added...

India - France Telecom to partner Moser Baer in India - report.
October 24, 2007... France Telecom will partner with India's optical storage media manufacturer Moser Baer for national and international long distance operations in India, writes the Economic Times. Sources said that Moser Baer, which recently applied for...

India - VSNL picks Ciena optical mesh network platform in India.
October 24, 2007... Tata Group-owned operator VSNL has deployed Ciena's CoreDirector Multiservice Optical Switches to create a nationwide intelligent optical mesh network in India. The network is fully operational with live customer traffic and enables VSNL to...

India - Tata Teleservices applies for GSM spectrum.
October 24, 2007... Indian CDMA mobile operator Tata Teleservices has applied for GSM spectrum in twenty telecommunication circles in India, reports the Economic Times. This follows a recent decision by the Department of Telecom to allow operators to use both...

India - COAI appeals to TDSAT over dual technology policy.
October 24, 2007... GSM operators have decided to take the Department of Telecom to telecom tribunal TDSAT over the government's decision to allow dual technology and tighten the subscriber-based spectrum allocation norm, writes the Economic Times. In their...

India - BSNL to invest INR 600 billion to expand services.
October 24, 2007... Indian state-owned operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam will invest INR 600 billion in the next three years to expand its GSM, broadband and WLL services, reports the Economic Times. BSNL will invest INR 200 billion every year till 2010. Most of the...

Japan - DoCoMo launches signature recording service.
October 24, 2007... Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo will launch a service that can store and transmit signatures, the Nikkei writes. The service is targeted at banks and insurance companies. To use the service, users need a digital pen developed by...

Japan - Citizen unveils watch with Softbank e-mail alert.
October 24, 2007... Citizen Watch plans to introduce a wristwatch that notifies wearers of incoming e-mails on their mobile handsets, Nikkei says. The watch will be available in Japan and is compatible with three Softbank Mobile handsets that support Bluetooth....

China - ZTE demonstrates TD-MBMS on Spreadtrum dual-mode platform.
October 24, 2007... ZTE has demonstrated TD-MBMS network services using fabless semiconductor company Spreadtrum Communications' TD-SCDMA, GSM, and GPRS dual-mode chipset. Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service is a packet-based broadcast service for mobile...

China - China GrenTech wins RF module orders.
October 24, 2007... China GrenTech has obtained orders worth over CNY 100 million from a well-known large domestic base station equipment manufacturer for the procurement of RF modules. These orders are expected to be delivered by year-end. China GrenTech...

Japan - Japan govt to amend telecom regulations to boost competition.
October 24, 2007... The Japanese communications ministry has released a new competition promotion programme for 2010 which aims to 'revitalise' the telecommunications industry, the Nikkei writes. The focus of the programme is to make it easier for MVNOs or...

Bahrain - Batelco posts rise in Q3 sales, profits.
October 24, 2007... Bahrain operator Batelco reported a healthy rise in sales and profits for the third quarter. Revenues rose to BHD 76.8 million from BHD 63.8 million in the year-earlier period. Operating profit was up at BHD 24.4 million from BHD 22.5 million...

Kenya - DMTV rolls out DVB-H in Kenya.
October 24, 2007... Digital Mobile TV (DMTV) has launched a mobile broadcast technology in Kenya that allows users to watch up to 10 live television channels on their mobile phones. DMTV CEO Francois Theron said at a press briefing that the company is in the...

Kenya - Telkom Kenya names procurement, communications officers.
October 24, 2007... State-run national operator Telkom Kenya has announced the appointment of two chief officers to help bolster the ongoing corporate-wide enhancement of internal capacities. The company named Bernard Rubia to the position of chief corporate...

India - HP deploys cooling technology in data centre in India.
October 24, 2007... HP has deployed its Dynamic Smart Cooling technology in an IP-based research data centre located in Bangalore, India. HP Labs, the company's central research organisation, will demonstrate the scaling of its cooling technology in a data...