Telecompaper Africa/Asia articles from September 2010

Telecompaper Africa/Asia archives from September 2010

Kenya - Google launches free web-to-cell SMS service for Kenya.
September 30, 2010... Google has launched a Gmail-to-SMS service in Kenya, which allows Gmail users in the country to send and receive chat messages for free as text messages. A Gmail user can send a text message from the desktop interface directly to phones via SMS....

Saudi Arabia - Go to increase Saudi recruitment.
September 30, 2010... Saudi operator Etihad Atheeb Telecom (Go) and the Human Resources Development Fund (HDF) have jointly signed a cooperation agreement which aims to support the training and recruitment of Saudis up to 19 percent of the total number of current...

Asia - Intelsat names Bleakley regional VP for Asia-Pacific sales.
September 30, 2010... Satellite operator Intelsat has appointed Terry Bleakley as regional vice president, Asia-Pacific sales, effective 15 November. Bleakley will lead Intelsat's sales and marketing activities and implement the company's strategy for the...

Australia - Telstra preparing to cut 15% of workforce - report.
September 30, 2010... Australian phone company Telstra is set to cut 6,000 jobs over three years, equal to 15 percent of its workforce, as it looks to revive earnings, reports the Australian Financial Review citing unnamed sources. A further 1,000 jobs would be lost...

Ghana - MTN Ghana supports best teacher award scheme.
September 30, 2010... The MTN Ghana Foundation has committed GHC 42,000 as prize for the first runner-up of the 16th edition of the National Best Teacher Award. The amount covers the cost of a new Nissan 4x4 hard body pick-up, a laptop and a printer for the first...

Tanzania - Samsung to introduce Galaxy S in Tanzania.
September 30, 2010... Samsung will introduce its Galaxy S smartphone in Tanzania in October, Samsung regional official Junghoon Choi told The Citizen. The company unveiled the Galaxy-S phone six months ago. The smartphone offers a 4-inch high definition display, 1GHz...

Kenya - Safaricom inks M-Pesa deal with Sarova Hotels.
September 30, 2010... Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom has signed an agreement with Sarova Hotels, Resorts & Game Lodges to give the hotel guests the option of settling their bills through the M-Pesa moble payments service. This follows the successful conclusion...

Africa - Eximbank to extend loans for telecom equipment in Africa.
September 30, 2010... African Export-Import Bank said it will provide USD 56.4 million in loans to help Africa import telecommunications equipment from ZTE. The bank's president Jean-Louis Ekra said the loan is part of the USD 100 million credit line that China...

Saudi Arabia - Etihad Atheeb proposes capital increase via rights issue.
September 30, 2010... Saudi fixed-line operator Etihad Atheeb said its board of directors proposed to raise its capital by USD 160 million through a rights issue. The capital increase will support the firm's expansion plans and is subject to regulatory approval, it...

Qatar - Qtel donates QAR 1 mln to Pakistan flood victims.
September 30, 2010... Qtel has donated QAR 1 million to Reach Out To Asia to support the flood victims in Pakistan. Qtel's donation aims to support ROTA's efforts to respond to the emergency situation by providing essential education supplies to targeted schools...

Qatar - Qtel promotes e-channels with device giveaway.
September 30, 2010... Qtel has urged consumers to maximise the use of its wide array of 'e-Channel' services including eQtel online and its nationwide network of Self-Service Machines (SSM). To encourage more people to use these special free services, Qtel is hosting...

Bahrain - TRA consults on regulation of commercial bulk messages.
September 30, 2010... Bahrain's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has issued a consultation document on the regulation of the commercial bulk messages. The consultation seeks views from all interested parties concerning the regulation of operators...

Iraq - Zain Iraq losses revenue due to spectrum jamming.
September 30, 2010... Government jamming of local telecommunications spectrum is costing Iraq's largest operator Zain as much as 30 percent of gross revenues. Zain Iraq CEO Emad Makiya said that while it was hard to put a cost on the phenomenon, which he described as...

Middle East - Harris Atlas venture to launch in Middle East.
September 30, 2010... Harris and Middle East telecommunication systems and security provider Atlas Telecom announced the launch of a new joint venture. The company, to be known as Harris Atlas, will deliver products such as enhanced video management and geospatial 3D...

UAE - Yahoo! Maktoob to show VoD service at Gitex.
September 30, 2010... Dubai Internet City (DIC) announced Yahoo! Maktoob will mark its 10th year of business partnership with the ICT free zone and showcase its video-on-demand services during the Gitex Technology Week 2010. In addition to hosting Yahoo! Maktoob for...

Senegal - Tigo Senegal launches Happiness deal for on-net calls.
September 30, 2010... Mobile operator Tigo Senegal, a subsidiary of Millicom affiliate Sentel, has launched the 'Tigo Happiness' deal, which allows subscribers to speak to each other free of charge after the first three minutes of a call 20 hours a day. Calls made...

South Korea - Intel, KT accelerate adoption of Wibro-branded services.
September 30, 2010... Intel and Korea Telecom are expanding their collaboration to accelerate the adoption of Wibro-branded services based on Wimax technology in South Korea. Intel's global investment organisation Intel Capital also announced an investment of USD 20...

Nigeria - Qualcomm launches West Africa operations.
September 30, 2010... Qualcomm announced the opening of a Lagos office by QCom Wireless Technologies, a wholly-owned subsidiary, to serve as the company's hub for West Africa business operations. The office will provide support to mobile operators and device...

India - Telesoft to supply ARNE IVR to Indian VAS provider.
September 30, 2010... Multimedia, signalling and monitoring platforms provider Telesoft Technologies has won an order to supply the ARNE IVR to a VAS provider in India. The ARNE IVR allows VoiceXML/CCXML compliant applications to be ported to the media platform. It...

Malaysia - TM picks Intec Wholesale Business Management Solution.
September 30, 2010... Telekom Malaysia(TM) has deployed BSS/OSS provider Intec's Wholesale Business Management Solution (WBMS) and Total Service Mediation (TSM). Intec's WBMS is the business-to-business service for communications service providers allowing for growth...

South Korea - Korean operators see mobile data usage jump.
September 30, 2010... The Korean mobile operators have seen data consumption by mobile customers jump significantly from last year. KT saw the biggest growth with 443.7 terabytes of data consumed by its mobile customers in July, up four-fold from a year earlier, the...

Japan - IIJ launches cloud service for iPads.
September 30, 2010... Japanese ISP and business services provider Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) will introduce a service that enables the safe and secure use of the iPad and other advanced mobile terminals with corporate business systems. The IIJ GIO Smart Mobile...

Australia - ComTel to buy Deal Group Media.
September 30, 2010... Mobile services provider and online advertising services provider ComTel will purchase Deal Group Media, an Australian performance-based digital marketing business. The move is in line with the company's shift to the digital performance market....

Australia - ACCC clarifies Ethernet included in DTCS declaration.
September 30, 2010... The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued a final report which varies the Domestic Transmission Capacity Service (DTCS) Declaration to clarify which network interfaces are covered by that declaration. The DTCS provides...

Asia - China Telecom opens data centres in Hong Kong, Singapore.
September 30, 2010... China Telecom has opened two internet data centres, one in Hong Kong and one in Singapore. The company has invested HKD 200 million in the data centre expansion, Computerworld reports. The two data centres complement the company's existing 260...

Thailand - NTC calls on state operators to allow 3G by concessionaires.
September 30, 2010... Thailand's National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is calling on the state-owned operators TOT and CAT Telecom to allow the three private operators to offer commercial 3G services via their existing frequencies. According to NTC...

Taiwan - Taiwanese regulator still reviewing Kbro sale.
September 30, 2010... Taiwan's telecommunications and media regulator is still reviewing the plan by Carlyle Group to sell its Taiwanese cable TV unit, Kbro. Daniel and Richard Tsai, which control Fubon Financial and Taiwan Mobile, said in July they were in talks...

Fiji - Vodafone Fiji opens outlet in Savusavu.
September 30, 2010... Vodafone Fiji has seen a ValueFone outlet in Savusavu open under its partnership between ValueFone and Vodafone Fiji. The outlet sells Vodafone and Inkk handsets, recharge vouchers, phone accessories, and also providers repairs. Separately,...

Thailand - Regulator seeks clarification of its authority.
September 30, 2010... Thailand's National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) plans to consult the supreme administrative court on the scope of its authority, after the court recently ordered the NTC to suspend its 3G licence auction. The NTC will ask the court what...

Australia - Vodafone Australia offers Pocket WiFi with AUD 39 plan.
September 30, 2010... Vodafone Australia is offering its Pocket WiFi device, a Wi-Fi and 3G router, for free on a AUD 39 per month plan. The plan includes 8 GB of data. The operator launched the Pocket WiFi in August and then offered the device for AUD 119 with 1 GB...

Uzbekistan - Ucell launches 3 airtime bundles.
September 30, 2010... Uzbekistan mobile operator Ucell has introduced three airtime bundles that are valid for 24 hours. The first bundle offers 100 minutes for USD 0.50, the second bundle costs USD 1 and offers 500 minutes, while the third bundle offers unlimited...

Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka Telecom promotes broadband.
September 30, 2010... Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) has launched a broadband promotion called 'SLT Broadband Twenty20', which runs from 20 September until 20 October. During the promotional period, customers can get an SLT broadband connection for free and also have a...

Australia - Iinet shareholders okay AAPT consumer division buy.
September 30, 2010... Shareholders of Australian ISP iiNet have approved the acquisition of the AAPT Consumer Division at the extraordinary general meeting held on 29 September. Following the merger, iiNet will have more than 1.3 million customer services, including...

Taiwan - Chunghwa, IBM set to sign cloud computing MOU.
September 30, 2010... Taiwanese telecommunications firm Chunghwa Telecom is set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with IBM for cooperation on cloud computing, the Digitimes reports. IBM is expected to offer development tools for the Platform-as-a-Service...

Hong Kong - Hong Kong ends June with 12.89 mln mobile users.
September 30, 2010... Hong Kong ended June with 12.885 million mobile users, up from 12.713 million in May, according to figures from regulator Ofta. Of the total, 6.308 million were prepaid users, down from 6.193 million a month earlier, and the number of postpaid...

Armenia - VivaCell-MTS launches Android handset promotion.
September 30, 2010... Armenian mobile operator VivaCell-MTS has launched a promotion for Android-powered smartphones. Customers that buy an Android smartphone before 1 December will get a bonus of up to AMD 85,000 which is valid for six months and can be used for...

Asia - Voice revenues in APAC to drop to USD 176 bln - study.
September 30, 2010... Voice revenues are forecast to decline steadily over the next five years for the Asia-Pacific region, from USD 182 billion this year to USD 176 billion in 2015, the Nation writes citing a report from Ovum. The trend is driven by falling ARPUs in...

India - Domestic handset makers grow share of Indian mobile market.
September 30, 2010... Mobile phone sales in India reached an all-time high of 38.63 million units in April-June this year, growing 6.3 percent quarter-on-quarter, according to a study by IDC reported by the Financial Express. The researcher said that shipments of...

India - Power Grid to lease out telecommunication towers.
September 30, 2010... India's central transmission utility Power Grid said that as part of its diversification plan it would invite bids for leasing out telecommunication towers in the next 3-4 months, reports the PTI citing CMD SK Chaturvedi. One tower can be used...

India - India plans 5-year holiday on ICT equipment tax in Northeast.
September 30, 2010... Indian minister of state for communications and IT Sachin Pilot is planning a five-year holiday on the 4 percent entry tax levied by the Assam government on telecommunication and IT gear flowing into the state, reports The Economic Times. The...

India - RCom unveils 3G network features at AGM.
September 30, 2010... Indian operator Reliance Communications (RCom) became the first private operator to unveil its 3G network features to the public, reports the PTI. A private news channel broadcast was streamed live on a mobile phone and shown to shareholders on...

Georgia - Aquafon cuts internet traffic rate at night.
September 30, 2010... Aquafon, a mobile operator active in Abkhazia, announced that it has reduced the retail rate for internet traffic at night by 65 percent. Subscribers are offered internet access for RUB 1.99 per 1 MB.

Azerbaijan - Bakcell expands retail network.
September 30, 2010... Azerbaijan mobile operator Bakcell opened a new service centre in downtown Baku. The operator currently operates seven service centres across the country. Four such centres are located in Baku, and the rest in Sumgait, Gyandja and Nakhichevan....

Egypt - ZTE, NTI sign cooperation protocol in Egypt.
September 30, 2010... Egypt's minister of communications and information technology Tarek Kamel held talks with Chinese minister of industry and IT Li Yizhong to boost bilateral cooperation in the field of communications and information technology. The ministers...

Japan - NEC to launch new division for cloud computing business.
September 30, 2010... NEC will establish a new division on cloud computing as part of a structural reorganisation, reports the Nikkei. The firm will also double the number of staff involved in planning and developing new energy and environment businesses. The new...

Cambodia - Hello launches marketing campaign with USD 1 mln in prizes.
September 30, 2010... Cambodian operator Hello is aiming to garner 'quality' subscribers in Cambodia's domestic market, reports the Phnom Penh Post citing chief marketing officer Eric Chong. He said that there are different ways to generate revenue, by increasing the...

Bangladesh - Brac Bank inks broadband deal for Citycell Zoom Ultra.
September 30, 2010... Bangladeshi operator Citycell has signed a corporate agreement with Brac Bank. Under this agreement, Brac Bank will get Zoom Ultra service, Citycell's mobile broadband service. This special Zoom Ultra offer will enable Brac Bank to conduct its...

Middle East - Etisalat Bids to Buy 46% in Zain - Report
September 30, 2010... UAE-based operator Etisalat has offered to buy 46 percent of Kuwait-based mobile operator Zain, CNBC Arabiya reported, in a deal that would be worth USD 11.8 billion. Etisalat offered AED 1.7 per share for the stake, the Arabic language channel...

South Africa - IS upgrades data centre capabilities.
September 30, 2010... South African ISP Internet Solutions (IS) announced that the upgrade and expansion of its Bryanston site has been completed, with Parklands due to be completed in mid October. The investment made in these data centres means more space, increased...

South Korea - NHN builds social internet platforms.
September 30, 2010... Korean web portal company NHN said that it is 'going social,' as it announced plans to enhance social internet services, reports the JoongAng Daily. The plan involves three of its main products: me2Day, a social network service; Naver Me, a...

Kuwait - TCL launches Alcatel brand handsets in Kuwait.
September 30, 2010... TCL Communication announced the launch of a full range of Alcatel brand handsets in Kuwait at Nanofone Mobile's outlets. The mobiles include the high-end OT-980 smartphone, which features the Android 2.1 Eclair operating system; the OT-806...

Palestinia - Palestine operators lose USD 120 mln to Israeli operators.
September 30, 2010... The Palestinian telecommunications sector is losing about USD 120 million a year to unlicensed competition from Israeli operators. Palestine's minister of communications and IT Mashhour Abudaka said Israel's mobile operators continue to give...

Oman - Oman Mobile extends top-up offer to 5 October.
September 30, 2010... Oman Mobile has extended a free credit offer it launched recently for Hayyak customers to 5 October. Following popular demand the company said it has decided to extend the online top-up promotion which was unveiled last month. The offer gives...

UAE - UAE confirms unblocking Flickr.
September 30, 2010... The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has confirmed that the website Flickr has been partially unblocked. The regulator said in a statement that the block applied on the Flickr website has been removed. However, a partial block...

Saudi Arabia - Intel, KACST inaugurate wireless research centre.
September 30, 2010... Intel has inaugurated the region's first Center of Excellence for Wireless Applications (CEWA) in partnership with Saudi's King Abduziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). This is in line with Intel's recent announcement on expanding its...

Thailand - Advanced Info Service to operate as MVNO with TOT.
September 30, 2010... Thai mobile operator Advanced Info Service (AIS) said that it is ready to start providing commercial 3G services in partnership with state-owned operator TOT as a MVNO, once contracts with the state are signed, reports the Bangkok Post. TOT will...

South Africa - Cell C expands HSPA+ to East London.
September 29, 2010... South Africa mobile operator Cell C has expanded its HSPA+ network to East London, becoming the third city in South Africa to be connected after Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein. The first phase of East London's network roll-out was completed...

Kuwait - Zain Kuwait to train staff in sign language.
September 29, 2010... Zain Kuwait announced that it will provide comprehensive training courses for its sales staff to achieve expertise in sign language generally used by people with hearing loss. Upon conclusion of the training, the staff will be able to...

Zimbabwe - Econet Wireless consolidates prepaid packages.
September 29, 2010... Zimbabwe operator Econet Wireless has amalgamated all its prepaid packages under the single Buddie brand. This means that business Partna and Liberty subscribers now fall under the Buddie package. The idea, according to Econet commercial...

Middle East - Etisalat to focus on expansion in Arab markets.
September 29, 2010... UAE-based operator Etisalat remains committed to international expansion but intends to focus more on Arab countries. The company's chairman Mohammed Omran said that while the company remains in talks with many operators in India, it intends to...

Qatar - CGC launches Nokia Touch and Type phone in Qatar.
September 29, 2010... Consolidated Gulf Cooperation (CGC), Nokia distributor in Qatar, has launched Nokia's first Touch and Type phone. The Nokia X3-02 is a slim device with a touch screen and traditional phone keypad. The keypad is optimized for one hand and ideal...

South Africa - South Africa telecoms growth to slow - study.
September 29, 2010... The reduction in interconnection rates in South Africa, together with increased competition, will slow growth in the telecommunications sector, according to a report by research firm BMI-TechKnowledge. The report says slow growth in the...

Lebanon - Lebanon plans 3G for early 2011.
September 29, 2010... The Lebanese government says the number of mobile subscribers rose by 19 percent from 2.28 million at the end of October 2009 to 2.72 million on 31 August 2010. Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahhas also announced the introduction of 3G at...

South Africa - Telkom Mobile set for mid-October launch.
September 29, 2010... South African fixed-line operator Telkom has announced plans to launch its new mobile network on 14 October. According to local news portal Techcentral, Telkom SA MD Nombulelo Moholi has indicated previously that Telkom will offer both postpaid...

South Africa - Altech H1 operating profit down 25% to ZAR 361 mln.
September 29, 2010... South Africa's Altech posted a 25 percent decline in operating profit for the six months ended 31 August to ZAR 361 million, compared to ZAR 479 million in the corresponding period a year earlier. The group remains cash positive with ZAR 318...

Iraq - CDN appoints Almalaieka as VP of operations in Iraq.
September 29, 2010... Computer Data Networks (CDN), a wholly owned subsidiary of e-Portal Holding, announced the appointment of Loay Almalaieka as VP of Operations for the company's growing business in Iraq. Almalaieka began in his new role at the beginning of August...

Iraq - Asiacell picks Movious for missed call services.
September 29, 2010... Iraq's mobile operator Asiacell has chosen Movius Interactive to provide missed call services for its eight million customers across the country. Movius will provide Missed Call Notification, which tells a subscriber if they have missed a call...

Uganda - Zain, MTN, UTL slash calling rates.
September 29, 2010... Uganda mobile operators Zain, MTN and Uganda Telecom have announced reductions in call rates a few days after Warid Telecom sparked off a price war in the industry. Market leader MTN Uganda and Zain Uganda, the second-largest telecom company by...

Jordan - Zain Jordan appoints PR, media director.
September 29, 2010... Zain Jordan announced the appointment of Diala Muwlla as its new public relations and media director. Muwlla previously held the position director of marketing and leasing at Abdali Boulevard Company. Before that, she was the communications...

Japan - Sharp establishes iDeep Solutions.
September 29, 2010... Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp has established iDeep Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary in Japan that will provide teleoffice services aimed at corporate customers. The company will begin operations from 1 October. iDeep Solutions'...

Japan - Japan records 4th consecutive drop in equipment production.
September 29, 2010... The total value of telecommunications equipment produced in the Japan in the first quarter ended 30 June fell 13.8 percent year-on-year, recording the fourth consecutive year of decreasing value, according to the Communications and Information...

China - Chinese operator picks Net Insight for contribution network.
September 29, 2010... Optical networking equipment vendor Net Insight has received an order for a contribution network from one of China's media and cable network operators. The operator will initially use Net Insight's Nimbra platform to provide video contribution...

Nigeria - Etisalat sponsors Nigerian Idol.
September 29, 2010... Etisalat Nigeria has sponsored the Nigerian Idol reality show, which is to be held in the Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Lagos. The call for entries are underway until the end of October, and the auditions will commence in two weeks in Enugu,...

South Africa - Convergys upgrades rating system at Vodacom South Africa.
September 29, 2010... Convergys supported football fever for the wholesale subscribers of Vodacom South Africa. Thanks to a successful upgrade to Convergys Rating and Billing Manager, Vodacom was able to launch a range of new football-themed products and services...

Middle East - Aptec signs Tandberg Data distribution deal.
September 29, 2010... Aptec announced that it has signed an authorized distribution agreement with Tandberg Data, the global supplier of data protection equipment, to supply the full range of Tandberg Data storage products in the Middle East and North Africa. The...

China - China Telecom considers overseas acquisitions.
September 29, 2010... China Telecom is considering opportunities for overseas acquisitions and is in talks with three Indian telecommunications firms to establish a cable connection between China and India. China Telecom is awaiting approval from the Indian...

China - Zoom ups sales guidance for Leimone handsets.
September 29, 2010... Chinese handset maker Zoom Technologies has upped the guidance for its Leimone handset sales for the year. Zoom now expects to sell 700,000 units this year, up from the previous forecast of 600,000 units. The new target represents a ten-fold...

New Zealand - Six ISPs to offer Sky's IPTV service unmetered.
September 29, 2010... Sky Television has agreements with six ISPs to offer its upcoming IPTV service unmetered. Vodafone, Orcon, Slingshot, Woosh, Xnet, and Farmside will offer the iSky service without it counting to a customer's download quota, BusinessDay.co.nz...

India - Videocon launches mobile music service.
September 29, 2010... Indian mobile operator Videocon Mobile Services has introduced V Music, a mobile radio service for its customers. V Music offers customers 30 minutes of music for INR 30 (valid for thirty days), and as an introductory offer, 70 additional...

Australia - Telstra outlines strategy for growth.
September 29, 2010... Telstra has detailed its strategy and outlined a programme to grow market share, simplify company processes, reduce operating costs and improve customer service at its investor day. The company will implement a company-wide programme called...

Thailand - Thai govt approves TOT's 3G roll out plan.
September 29, 2010... The Thai government has approved a plan by state-owned telecommunications firm TOT to roll out a nationwide 3G network. The project will cost THB 19.98 billion and under the cabinet resolution the finance ministry will will not guarantee the...

New Zealand - TCF estimates costs of proposed new copyright regime.
September 29, 2010... The New Zealand Telecommunications Carriers Forum (TCF) has provided the select committee, hearing submissions on the Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Bill, with estimates for the cost of compliance with the bill's proposed regime....

Armenia - VivaCell launches Samsung Galaxy S.
September 29, 2010... Armenian mobile services provider VivaCell-MTS has introduced Samsung's Galaxy S smartphone. The operator offers a version with 16 GB of internal memory for AMD 315,000 and a 8 GB version for AMD 295,000. Vivacell also offers twelve, eighteen,...

Nepal - Nepal's telephony base up to 9.34 mln.
September 29, 2010... Nepal had 9.34 million telephony users at 14 August, up from 8.93 million telephony users at 14 July, according to figures from the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA). The mobile operators ended the period with 8.03 million subscribers, up...