Telecompaper Africa/Asia articles from October 2009, page 7

Telecompaper Africa/Asia archives from October 2009

UAE - Motorola supplies Du with IPTV set-top boxes.
October 19, 2009... Motorola announced that its Home & Networks Mobility business has supplied UAE telecommunications provider Du with new IPTV set-top boxes. The VIP12xx series set-tops support both high-definition (HD) and standard-definition (SD) digital...

South Korea - LG Telecom revenues grow, net profit falls in Q3.
October 19, 2009... South Korean mobile operator LG Telecom's third-quarter revenues rose 5.6 percent to KRW 1.27 trillion from KRW 1.20 trillion in the year-earlier quarter. Revenues from handset sales were KRW 350 billion, up 0.3 percent, and revenues from...

UAE - TRA licenses Etisalat as certification service provider.
October 19, 2009... The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has licensed Etisalat as the first certification service provider in the UAE as part of an overall objective to regulate certification service providers who are looking to offer Public Key...

China - Ericsson, Kaixin001 develop mobile app for social networking.
October 19, 2009... Ericsson and China's social networking site Kaixin001 are joining forces with a three-year partnership to develop mobile applications. With subscribers now mainly accessing the website via their PCs, the cooperation between Ericsson and...

India - Indian regulator consults on spectrum mgmt, licence terms.
October 19, 2009... Indian regulator Trai has issued a consultation paper on overall spectrum management and review of the licence terms and conditions. The Department of Telecommunications has sought the authority's recommendations on the allocation of Aaccess...

UAE - Etisalat acquires 16.6% stake in SoftAtHome.
October 19, 2009... UAE-based operator Etisalat has acquired a 16.6 percent stake in SoftAtHome, a software provider of home operating platforms that helps service providers deliver convergent applications for the digital home. Etisalat has selected the SoftAtHome...

India - Matrix invests INR 200 mln in India's Ver se Innovation.
October 19, 2009... Venture capital firm Matrix Partners has invested INR 200 million in India-based Ver se Innovation, a provider of classified services on mobile phone, reports the Business Standard. Ver se Innovation was seed-funded by OnMobile Global, a mobile...

India - BSNL plans to set-up data centres on revenue-share basis.
October 19, 2009... Indian state-owned Indian operator BSNL plans to set up and operate internet data centres in partnership with private players on revenue-share basis, reports news agency PTI. A company official said that BSNL has invited expression of interests...

South Korea - Synterra to co-operate with Korea Telecom, Gemnet.
October 19, 2009... Russian operator Synterra concluded an agreement on co-operation with Korea Telecom, reports Rosinvest.com. The operators will co-operate on developing Wimax services and innovative services at data centres. Synterra has also signed a...

South Africa - MTN, Vodacom launch summer marketing campaigns.
October 19, 2009... South African mobile operators MTN and Vodacom have launched their summer marketing campaigns. MTN's campaign is marketed under the name Ayoba, which the company says is an exuberant expression of general delight or approval, rather than a word...

Middle East - Extreme Networks expands professional services in ME, Africa.
October 19, 2009... Extreme Networks announced that it has expanded its extensive Professional Services Offerings to its MEA region customers. Extreme already has a presence in the region and now further capabilities are established, offering network-focused...

Middle East - Alcatel-Lucent appoints Bouverot as head of business in ME.
October 19, 2009... Alcatel-Lucent announced the appointment of Nicolas Bouverot as VP and head of the company's business in the Middle East region, effective 1 October. Bouverot will assume overall responsibility for managing day-to-day operations as well as...

UAE - SafeNet opens office in Dubai.
October 19, 2009... SafeNet announced that it has opened a new office in Dubai to support the business needs for data protection in the Middle East. The new office will expand SafeNet's global presence of 26 offices and more than 25,000 customers in 100 countries....

UAE - Etisalat Q3 net profit up 5% to AED 2.25 bln.
October 19, 2009... UAE-based operator Etisalat posted a 5 percent annual increase in third-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders to AED 2.254 billion. Net profit for the first nine months of 2009 fell to AED 6.85 billion, from AED 7.189 billion a year...

Jordan - Orange Jordan, Ericsson sign deal to launch 3G service.
October 19, 2009... Orange Jordan has signed a contract with Ericsson for the launch of the country's first 3G network in the first quarter of 2010. The phased roll-out will initially cover Amman and some governorates, with other areas to follow later. Orange has...

Uzbekistan - Ucell upgrades network capacity with Nokia Siemens Networks.
October 19, 2009... Uzbekistani mobile operator UCell has awarded a contract to Nokia Siemens Networks to extend its core network capacity. Under the terms of the agreement, Nokia Siemens Networks will expand UCell's existing core network and value-added services...

Japan - Warner Bros. to open Warner On Demand store in Japan in Nov.
October 19, 2009... Warner Entertainment Japan announced plans to launch "Warner On Demand" by the end of November. Warner On Demand is a website where Japanese consumers can rent or buy Warner Bros. films and TV series directly from the studio via video-on-demand...

Japan - Softbank to offer medical, educational features on iPhone.
October 19, 2009... Japanese mobile services provider Softbank Mobile has been going on the offensive with the iPhone by tapping new corporate demand, particularly in the medical and educational fields. On 15 October, Softbank held a meeting in Tokyo to introduce...

Mozambique - mCel introduces Blackberry for prepaid clients.
October 19, 2009... Mozambique's largest mobile operator mCel launched a BlackBerry service for prepaid customers in Maputo and promises to extend it to all districts this year. The BlackBerry service, which combines e-mail and internet services on the mobile...

Australia - Telstra union set to strike - report.
October 19, 2009... The five-month ceasefire between Telstra and its main union is on the verge of collapse. The union officials issued a resolution to reignite an industrial campaign against Telstra to secure a better pay deal for its members. The national...

Thailand - Thailand commission prepares 3G auction rules.
October 19, 2009... The National Telecommunications Commission of Thailand said that staging a 3G licence auction in December is less of a priority than ensuring that the rules are clear so that the auction will be a success, reports the Bangkok Post. Gen Choochart...

South Korea - Qualcomm confirms investment plan in Korea.
October 19, 2009... Chipmaker Qualcomm Korea aims invest in local start-ups involved in wireless technologies, and its level of investment could range from USD 500,000 to USD 10 million depending on the upside potential of the given project. The company is near the...

Philippines - Smart Communications sanctions 50 VAS providers.
October 19, 2009... Philippine mobile operator Smart Communications has sanctioned fifty value added services (VAS) providers for violating regulatory guidelines. The most common infractions are unwanted subscriptions, launch of new services without Smart's...

Australia - Eftel launches prepaid ADSL2+ services.
October 19, 2009... Australian ISP and wholesale provider Eftel has introduced a prepaid fixed-line broadband service. Eftel will offer prepaid ADLS2+ services without time-based fees. Customers pay a one-off membership fee of AUD 29 for existing customers or AUD...

New Zealand - TCF looking at adopting UK's PayforIt scheme.
October 19, 2009... New Zealand's Telecommunications Carriers' Forum (TCF) is reviewing UK's Trusted Mobile Payment Framework to prevent 'knee-jerk' regulation by the government. The TCF is reviewing the mobile payments network developed by mobile operators in the...

Indonesia - Telkom shifts focus, unveils new logo.
October 19, 2009... Indonesian carrier Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) plans to expand operations in its non-core businesses to increase its market share to 60 percent, from the current level of below 50 percent. The non-core businesses include media,...

China - Google to launch Chinese mobile voice search service.
October 19, 2009... Google plans to launch a Chinese version of its mobile voice search service. The Chinese-version of the voice search service targets mobile users in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, The Digitimes reports. This will be Google's second version of the...

Taiwan - FET launches Acer phones, Commtiva Android phone.
October 19, 2009... Taiwanese telecommunications firm Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) has launched several smartphones developed with Acer and Commtiva, The China Post reports. The company unveiled three models, the Acer beTouch E100, the Acer neoTouch, and...

China - Zoom provides Leimone handsets to China Telecom.
October 19, 2009... Handset maker Zoom Technologies will provide mobile phones to China Telecom. Under the agreement, Zoom will provide two CDMA 1X models, the Leimone 7100 and the Leimone 2680, and has already begun shipping to several provinces.

Laos - Viettel launches services in Laos.
October 19, 2009... Vietnam's military-owned operator Viettel has launched mobile services in Laos. Viettel, together with local partner Lao-Asia Telecom launched services under the Unittel brand. The network is run by Star Telecom, a 51:49 joint venture between...

Taiwan - Chunghwa to invest TWD 60 bln in fibre network.
October 19, 2009... Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom plans to invest TWD 30 billion per year in the next two years to expand its fibre-optic network. As more ADSL users migrate to the company's fibre network, Chunghwa plans to increase investments in the network, Dow...

Nepal - Nepal Telecom sells 29,000 SIMs in promotion.
October 19, 2009... Nepal Telecom sold 29,000 SIM cards in six days during a discount campaign, Republica reports. The company offers a 50 percent discount to students on the prepaid mobile service Namaste, charging NPR 510 for a SIM card instead of the usual NPR...

Viet Nam - Viettel, EVN Telecom accelerate 3G service launch.
October 19, 2009... Vietnamese mobile operator Viettel plans to launch its 3G services ahead of schedule, after rival VinaPhone launched 3G services on 12 October. The military-run operator now plans to launch 3G services in December, instead of June 2010, Viet Nam...

India - MEF certifies Tata's Priority Ethernet services.
October 19, 2009... Indian communication services provider Tata Communications has seen its Priority Ethernet services certified by the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) as conforming to the MEF 9 and MEF 14 specifications. This complements the already MEF certified...

India - GTL Infra sees Q4 revenues rise 53%.
October 19, 2009... Indian telecommunication towers company GTL Infrastructure has seen revenues for fourth quarter ended 30 September rise by over 50 percent. Revenues totalled INR 813.1 million, up 53 percent from INR 530.7 million in the year-ago quarter. GTL...

India - Bharti Airtel launches SMS Tweets.
October 19, 2009... Indian mobile operator Bharti Airtel has launched SMS Tweets following an agreement with Twitter. Airtel customers can now receive text messages from people they opt to follow via SMS and send text messages to a short code (53000) to Tweet or...

New Zealand - Telecom NZ unveils new logo, branding.
October 19, 2009... Telecom New Zealand has introduced a new logo and branding. Over the coming months, the company will change over its stores, websites, communications, and advertising. The brand is designed to be less about the company and more about the...

Australia - Optus' D3 satellite is fully operational.
October 19, 2009... Australian carrier Optus has announced its newest satellite, Optus D3, is fully operational after successfully completing extensive in-orbit testing ahead of schedule. The satellite was launched on 22 August to a geo-stationary 156ilE location....

Australia - Optus expands mobile network in several NSW sites.
October 19, 2009... Optus has expanded its mobile network in several areas of New South Wales (NSW). The operator expanded its 3G coverage in Lismore North, Lismore Central and Bentley. In addition to sites in Lismore, Optus is also planning investment in new...

Japan - J:Com ends September with 3.25 mln subscribers.
October 19, 2009... Japanese cable operator Jupiter Telecommunications (J:Com) ended September with 3.25 million subscribers, up by 11.8 percent from September 2008. The number of combined revenue generating units (RGUs) for cable television, internet access and...

Japan - Bell-Park revises FY forecast upwards.
October 19, 2009... Japanese communications retailer Bell-Park has revised its forecasts for the full financial year upwards owing to the impact of iPhone sales and increased 3G phone sales. Bell-Park now expects sales of JPY 44.44 billion, up from the previous...

India - Trai: Congestion on interconnection points drops in June.
October 19, 2009... The performance of Indian mobile service providers with respect to congestion on points of interconnection (POIs) has improved in June, compared with March this year, according to Indian regulator Trai's POI congestion report for April to June....

Thailand - Inet's profits rise 9% in Q2.
October 19, 2009... Thai internet services provider Internet Thailand (Inet) saw its profits rise 9 percent in the second quarter on the back of a slight revenue rise. Revenues went up 1 percent year-on-year to THB 145 million from THB 143 million, while the...

Guam - GTA TeleGuam to sell Apple iPhone.
October 19, 2009... Guam-based telecommunications provider GTA TeleGuam has reached an agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S. GTA will introduce the handsets later this year but the company did not specify a date or pricing.

Australia - Adam Internet to charge for credit card payments.
October 19, 2009... South Australian ISP Adam Internet has changed the fee structure of credit card transactions. Until now, Adam Internet has absorbed the fees applied by the bank to the credit card transactions but the company will now pass on those fees to...

Taiwan - Regulator lowers Chunghwa's last-mile fees.
October 19, 2009... The Taiwanese telecommunications regulator has reduced the wholesale fees for Chunghwa Telecom's last-mile circuits. The National Communications Commission (NCC) lowered the rate from TWD 140 per line currently, to TWD 126. Rival operators had...

Malaysia - Malaysian regulator updates standard radio system plans.
October 19, 2009... The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM) has published thirteen updates to the Standard Radio System Plans (SRSP). Each SRSP provides information on the minimum technical requirements for the efficient use of allocated...

India - Rcom special audit report 'biased and prejudiced' - Ambani.
October 19, 2009... Anil Ambani, chairman of Indian operator Reliance Communications, alleged there was a "vicious and mala fide" campaign against his company by a "known rival group", reports the Economic Times. It was Ambani's first reaction after some parts of a...

Uzbekistan - MTS to test LTE in Uzbekistan.
October 19, 2009... Mobile operator MTS Uzbekistan plans to test LTE technology. The operator said it has already received a licence for construction of a LTE technology-based network in Uzbekistan. A pilot LTE area will be set up n Tashkent in 2010-2012, and MTS...

Singapore - M1 posts flat 9-mths profits on lower revenues.
October 19, 2009... Singapore mobile service provider MobileOne (M1) posted flat profits on lower revenues for the nine-month period ended 30 September. Operating revenues were at SGD 565.3 million, down 6.7 percent from the year before due to lower service...

India - Tata Docomo to cover 18 circles by December.
October 19, 2009... Indian operator Tata Teleservices is confident of rolling out its GSM service Tata Docomo in seven more circles by December this year, reports PTI citing managing director Anil Sardana. Currently, Tata Teleservices operates its GSM service in...

India - Samsung, Reliance launch data offer with Omnia Pro device.
October 19, 2009... Samsung and Indian mobile operator Reliance Mobile have entered into a contract to launch a new consumer offer for the Omnia Pro B7320 mobile phone in India. The offer allows users to download free data of 5GB per month for a period of six...

India - BSNL signs infra deal with Datacom.
October 19, 2009... Indian state-owned operator BSNL has signed a contract to share its passive infrastructure with telecommunication service provider Datacom Solutions, the Business Standard reports. The financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. BSNL's...

Uganda - World Bank gives USD 8 mln to UCC for rural services.
October 19, 2009... The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has received USD 8 million from the World Bank to finance the installation of high-speed internet and community information centres in currently underserved areas mainly in northern Uganda. The USD 8...

UAE - Du to launch iPhone at end-October.
October 16, 2009... UAE mobile operator Du and Apple have reached an agreement to bring the iPhone to the region at the end of October. The two firms said the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS will be available to qualifying customers. From 17 October, customers can...

Uganda - I-telecom introduces PC cards.
October 16, 2009... Uganda's newest operator I-telecom has unveiled PC cards for connecting computers to the internet over its CDMA network. The card costs an initial UGX 250,000, with a monthly charge of UGX 100,000 for 2.5 GB of data. Calls over the PC cards cost...

Tanzania - Sasatel offers SMEs free test of internet service.
October 16, 2009... Tanzania's wireless operator Sasatel is offering SMEs a free internet connection for a week. Marketing manager Derick Byarugaba said that the Sasatel internet bundles offer features new to the market, such as the ability to carry forward the...

Rwanda - MTN Rwanda in talks to connect to Teams.
October 16, 2009... Mobile operator MTN Rwanda is in talks with the East African Marine System (Teams), operator of the international fibre-optic cable which will soon land in Kenya, for access to international bandwidth. The company's senior marketing executive,...

Botswana - BTC boosts capacity, cuts prices for Botsgate.
October 16, 2009... Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) has committed USD 5 million over the next three years to the enhancement of the country's internet backbone, Botsgate. The money will be channelled towards the improvement of network performance and...

Ghana - Vodafone Ghana, union reach deal on redundancies.
October 16, 2009... Vodafone Ghana's management and the Communications Workers Union (CWU) have finally reached a deal to end the stand-off between the two parties. Citing a communique issued after the meeting, the Ghana News Agency said the two parties amicably...

Seychelles - Seychelles signs contract for fibre-optic cable study.
October 16, 2009... The Seychelles government has signed a contract with French company Axiom to carry out a feasibility study on a new fibre-optic cable link, APA reports citing sources at the Department of Information Communications Technology. The ministry...

Nigeria - Nigeria bars MTN, Zain, Glo from buying M-tel.
October 16, 2009... The Nigerian government has disqualified GSM operators in the country - MTN, Globacom, Etisalat and Zain - from buying M-tel, the mobile arm of state-owned operator Nitel in the on-going effort to sell the national carrier. Director-General of...

Sri Lanka - Etisalat to acquire Millicom's Sri Lankan operation.
October 16, 2009... Global mobile operator Millicom International Cellular has agreed to sell Tigo Sri Lanka to UAE-based operator Etisalat for USD 155 million in cash. The transaction values the Sri Lanka operation at an enterprise value of USD 207 million. The...

Nepal - UTL requests frequency expansion from NTA.
October 16, 2009... Nepal fixed wireless provider United Telecom has been requesting for two years that the Nepalese communications regulator provide it additional frequency but nothing has happened yet, UTL general manager Madan Singh told the Himalayan Times....

Guam - GTA TeleGuam to bring iPhone 3G, 3GS to Guam.
October 16, 2009... Guam's telecommunications provider GTA TeleGuam has reached an agreement with Apple, to bring the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS to Guam later this year. Pricing and availability details will be revealed soon.

China - Shanghai Telecom ends September with 850,000 IPTV users.
October 16, 2009... China Telecom's subsidiary Shanghai Telecom ended September with 850,000 IPTV subscribers as of the end of September, according to Marbridge Consulting, citing Zhu Bin, general manager of the IPTV operations centre. The service currently offers...

India - DoT requires Wi-Fi users to register.
October 16, 2009... India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued a direction to ISPs regarding Wi-Fi usage. To prevent misuse, all Wi-Fi providers must implement a centralised authentication procedure for internet subscribers. Wi-Fi internet users must...

China - China Unicom to ship iPhones on 30 October.
October 16, 2009... China Unicom will begin shipping the Apple iPhone 3G from 30 October. The iPhone 3G with 8 GB will be sold for CNY 4,999, while the iPhone 3GS with 16 GB will be sold for CNY 5,880. China Unicom will offer the iPhone 3G S with 32 GB for CNY...

South Korea - LG's telecom units agree to merger with LG Telecom.
October 16, 2009... LG Group's telecommunications units have all agreed to merge operations. Mobile communications unit LG Telecom will absorb fixed-line operator LG Dacom and internet provider LG Powercomm, The Korea Times reports. The group has appointed Lee...

Indonesia - Telkom expects revenue growth of below 5%.
October 16, 2009... Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) expects revenue growth of less than 5 percent this year due to heavy competition in the sector. Last year, the company posted sales growth of 2.1 percent. The company's mobile unit, Telkomsel, could post 6 to 8...

Malaysia - Xox hits 100,000 customer mark.
October 16, 2009... Malaysian MVNO Xox has exceeded the 100,00-customer mark. The activations have been rising steadily from April this year when the company had 20,000 subscribers, Bernama reports. Xox expects to end this year with 200,000 customers.

Thailand - TrueMove financially ready for 3G battle.
October 16, 2009... Thai communications group True has said it is ready for 3G investments for mobile unit TrueMove. Major shareholder CP Group will back up the operator financially. TrueMove has cash of up to THB 9 billion and an annual cash flow of THB 7 to 8...

Thailand - Thai prime minister demands answers from NTC.
October 16, 2009... Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is demanding the telecommunications regulator answer his questions on the planned 3G licence auction. Abhisit has insisted that bidding for the licences has to be fair, transparent and non-discriminatory...

Papua New Guinea - Telikom PNG launches new website.
October 16, 2009... Papua New Guinea communications firm Telikom PNG has launched a new website. In addition to a new look and feel, the new website allows customers to check their account details and invoices. Billing details are available for six months. The...

Maldives - Wataniya Maldives launches mobile internet services.
October 16, 2009... Wataniya Telecom Maldives has launched mobile internet services called Wataniya Broadband (3G+) . Wataniya offers different tariff plans, such as the Broadband Explore plan for MVR 250 per month, which offers speeds of up to 1 Mbps and 2 GB of...

Thailand - TrueMove launches Conexus' BlackBerry roaming plan.
October 16, 2009... Thai mobile operator TrueMove rolled out the Conexus Mobile Alliance's mobile data roaming initiative for BlackBerry smartphones. This takes the number of Alliance members participating in this regional roll out to eight, following the launch of...

Australia - ACMA consults on premium SMS blocking.
October 16, 2009... The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is seeking feedback on its proposed new rules for blocking unwanted high-cost services delivered to mobile phones. The ACMA released a consultation paper on 14 September, which sets out...

New Zealand - NZ regulator consults on Telecom's loyalty offers.
October 16, 2009... As part of its investigation into alleged breaches of the separation undertakings by Telecom New Zealand's wholesale business unit, the Commerce Commission is seeking submissions on its preliminary views on the meaning of the 'equivalence of...

Viet Nam - Beeline Vietnam offers VND 345,000 in bonusses.
October 16, 2009... Beeline Vietnam has launched a promotion which offers bonus balance of up to VND 345,000. New customers signing up before 15 December, will get an account with VND 50,000 and receive further bonuses over the next six months if the SIM is being...

Afghanistan - Afghanistan establishes national data centre.
October 16, 2009... The Afghanistan communications ministry has established a national data centre, the Afghanistan National Data Center (ANDC). The ANDC will be providing a backbone for the electronic government (e-Gov) programme and is connected to the fibre...

India - BSNL launches INR 0.01 per second tariff.
October 16, 2009... Indian operator BSNL has launched a special tariff voucher that bill per 1 second pulses. Under the new tariff, local calls are charged at INR 0.01 per second, while STD calls are charged at INR 0.02 per second. Local SMS messages cost INR 0.60...

Australia - Comms Alliance publishes NBN paper.
October 16, 2009... Australian industry lobby group Communications Alliance has released a vision of the network architecture required for the National Broadband Network (NBN) in its paper, NBN Reference Architecture: High Level Architecture Options for the NBN....

Malaysia - Telekom Malaysia launches Streamyx promotion.
October 16, 2009... Telekom Malaysia (TM) has launched a promotion for its Streamyx Combo packages. New customers that sign up for any Streamyx Combo package for a minimum of two or three years, will get discounts of up to MYR 15 per month. The promotion runs until...

South Africa - Nashua Mobile creates EasiSolutions division.
October 16, 2009... South African telecommunications services provider Nashua Mobile has established a new division named EasiSolutions. This new division will provide individually tailored guidance on products and services to business customers and a one-stop shop...