Wireless Asia articles from January 2006

Wireless Asia archives from January 2006

Switching on mobile TV.(UNWIRED)
January 1, 2006... Mobile TV is going to bug the technophobes. The same people who were first to complain about the cellphone, who thought the Internet was over-rated, who swore they never needed a Walkman--they're the ones who will object to the small screen....

TDtv joins the mobile TV tech race.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
January 1, 2006... With mobile TV already pegged as one of the hot topics for 2006, the standards battle between various mobile broadcast TV technologies saw another contender added to the fight card last month--and, oddly enough, it's already been standardized...

Asia LBS market to reach $771.9m.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S WIRELESS RESEARCH)
January 1, 2006... Despite sluggish progress these past years, the Asia-Pacific location-based services (LBS) market is seen generating $771.9 million in revenue by 2010, more than double $555 million in 2004. According to In-Star, LBS has been touted as "the...

Managed services keep cellcos focused.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S WIRELESS RESEARCH)
January 1, 2006... Employing managed services providers to run part or all of their networks will allow wireless operators to stay focused on their core business of rolling out services, battling churn and attracting high-value subscribers. According to ABI...

Mideast growth may overtake APAC.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S WIRELESS RESEARCH)
January 1, 2006... As competition heats up and telecom policies shift, the Middle East market is expected to overtake wireless penetration in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of the year. BIS Shrapnel says the Asia-Pacific market's 18% growth last year was...

Devices drive content consumption.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S WIRELESS RESEARCH)
January 1, 2006... Device characteristics such as large LCDs and even stylish appearances compel users to access more mobile applications or download mobile content. According to M:Metrics, the Sanyo SCP-8200 and five Motorola models, including the RAZR, are...

T-DMB spurs interest in mobile TV in Korea.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
January 1, 2006... Since the launch of terrestrial DMB services in Seoul on December 1, T-DMB handsets and other types of mobile TV receivers have been moving off retail shelves briskly. According to the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC), 101,000...

India's mobile growth accelerates.(METRICS / Inside the wireless data numbers)
January 1, 2006... With only 8% of India's population using mobile services and networks covering only about a third of the country, India's wireless sector still has huge room for growth. As of the end of 2005, India's mobile subscriber base, including GSM and...

Expanded handset range fuels FOMA take-up.(METRICS / Inside the wireless data numbers)
January 1, 2006... The number of subscribers to DoCoMo's 3G FOMA service has passed the 20-million mark as of the end of 2005, with subscriptions expected to hit 23.5 million by the end of March. NTT DoCoMo and its eight regional subsidiaries attribute the...

US federal agencies conduct a probe into whether telephone companies are sufficiently protecting consumers' records amid concerns.(Movements)
January 1, 2006... US federal agencies conduct a probe into whether telephone companies are sufficiently protecting consumers' records amid concerns that Internet sites were selling cellphone call information.

The US FCC is planning to sell airwaves starting in May.(Movements)
January 1, 2006... The US FCC is planning to sell airwaves starting in May to provide communications services like high-speed Internet to US air travelers.

Sony Ericsson reports that its earnings nearly tripled in the fourth quarter, boosted by strong sales of Walkman phones.(Movements)
January 1, 2006... Sony Ericsson reports that its earnings nearly tripled in the fourth quarter, boosted by strong sales of Walkman phones. Net profit rose to 144m euros ($174m) in the three months ending December 31, up from 55m euros ($66.5m) in the same period...

Nokia resolves a patent dispute with Kyocera, allowing the Japanese company to use some of the world's largest mobile phone maker's patents.(Movements)
January 1, 2006... Nokia resolves a patent dispute with Kyocera, allowing the Japanese company to use some of the world's largest mobile phone maker's patents. According to an agreement, Kyocera will pay royalties on "Nokia's essential patents."

European regulators clear a $31.5b deal by Telefonica to buy British wireless operator 02.(Movements)
January 1, 2006... European regulators clear a $31.5b deal by Telefonica to buy British wireless operator 02 after the Spanish acquirer agreed to exit an international roaming alliance.

The European Union successfully deploys the first satellite in the 3.8b euro.(Movements)
January 1, 2006... The European Union successfully deploys the first satellite in the 3.8b euro ($4.5b) Galileo satellite system that allows civilians to calculate their geographic position to the nearest meter.

LG Electronics and Samsung have developed the world's first wireless phones.(Movements)
January 1, 2006... LG Electronics and Samsung have developed the world's first wireless phones based on the DVB-H and Media FLO mobile broadcasting standards.

Samsung secures a supply contract to provide 500,000 sets of digital multimedia broadcast cellular phones.(Movements)
January 1, 2006... Samsung secures a supply contract to provide 500,000 sets of digital multimedia broadcast cellular phones to Beijing Jolon Digital Media Broadcasting and Guangdong Yue Guang Digital Multimedia Broadcasting.

Huawei Technologies' global sales for 2005 reached $8.2b.(Movements)
January 1, 2006... Huawei Technologies' global sales for 2005 reached $8.2b, representing a year-over-year growth rate of 40%.

Hutchison Telecommunications, through Hutchison Essar, its joint venture in India with Essar Teleholdings.(Movements)
January 1, 2006... Hutchison Telecommunications, through Hutchison Essar, its joint venture in India with Essar Teleholdings, completes the acquisition of BPL Cellular.

Nokia predicts sales of Bluetooth phones to increase 65% year-on-year in 2006.(Movements)
January 1, 2006... Nokia predicts sales of Bluetooth phones to increase 65% year-on-year in 2006, as the technology continues to gain momentum.

Qualcomm completes the acquisition of Flarion Technologies.(Movements)
January 1, 2006... Qualcomm completes the acquisition of Flarion Technologies.

China Netcom confirms that its Wi-Fi dual-mode mobile phone tests have been approved by the Ministry of Information Industry.(BEIJING)
January 1, 2006... China Netcom confirms that its Wi-Fi dual-mode mobile phone tests have been approved by the Ministry of Information Industry.

Chinese TD SCDMA chip producers, including Datang Mobile, Commit and Chongyou Information Technology, begin a new round of tests for TD-SCDMA.(BEIJING)
January 1, 2006... Chinese TD SCDMA chip producers, including Datang Mobile, Commit and Chongyou Information Technology, begin a new round of tests for TD-SCDMA. The tests, which run for six months, have been moved from indoors to outdoors to simulate business...

PCCW received 30,000 registration applications for its free six-month 3G trial service within one day of launch last month.(HONG KONG)
January 1, 2006... PCCW received 30,000 registration applications for its free six-month 3G trial service within one day of launch last month. The company plans to deliver the service, under the brand "PCCW mobile" through its subsidiary Sunday Communications'...

The Bangladesh government orders operators to stop offering free late-night calls, claiming the scheme corrupts the country's youth.(DHAKA)
January 1, 2006... The Bangladesh government orders operators to stop offering free late-night calls, claiming the scheme corrupts the country's youth. The government has received numerous complaints from parents saying that the free calls make the youth "speak...

The Vietnamese government plans to privatize the country's two biggest mobile companies.(HANOI)
January 1, 2006... The Vietnamese government plans to privatize the country's two biggest mobile companies--Vinaphone and MobiFone--in an effort to attract telecom companies to invest in Vietnam.

Hutchison Telecom Indonesia selects Siemens as the supplier for the carrier's nationwide turnkey wireless network and managed services.(JAKARTA)
January 1, 2006... Hutchison Telecom Indonesia selects Siemens as the supplier for the carrier's nationwide turnkey wireless network and managed services.

PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler selects Huawei Technologies as its preferred vendor.(JAKARTA)
January 1, 2006... PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler selects Huawei Technologies as its preferred vendor to build unified 3G and 2G softswitch core networks.

Maxis, in partnership with the Chennai-based Apollo Group, acquires a 100% stake in Aircel for $1.08b.(KUALA LUMPUR)
January 1, 2006... Maxis, in partnership with the Chennai-based Apollo Group, acquires a 100% stake in Aircel for $1.08b. Of the total investment, $280m in cash will be injected into the Tamil Nadu-based mobile operator.

Kosmo Technology signs an agreement to acquire a 30% stake in M.Mobile.(KUALA LUMPUR)
January 1, 2006... Kosmo Technology signs an agreement to acquire a 30% stake in M.Mobile for 11m ringgits ($2.9m) cash.

Assuming a 1.5% increase in mobile service subscribers, the Ministry of Information and Communication has set a 254.9b won ($262m) spectrum usage fee for the top three mobile operators this year.(SEOUL)
January 1, 2006... Assuming a 1.5% increase in mobile service subscribers, the Ministry of Information and Communication has set a 254.9b won ($262m) spectrum usage fee for the top three mobile operators this year. The regulator also set a 3b-won spectrum usage...

Samsung, which saw its market value hit 100 trillion won ($100b) for the first time last month.(SEOUL)
January 1, 2006... Samsung, which saw its market value hit 100 trillion won ($100b) for the first time last month, plans to invest $15m to set up a mobile handset manufacturing facility in India.

NTT DoCoMo says the number of its 3G FOMA subscribers surpassed the 20 million mark in December.(TOKYO)
January 1, 2006... NTT DoCoMo says the number of its 3G FOMA subscribers surpassed the 20 million mark in December, a little over four years since the service's launch in 2001.

Optus takes over Virgin Mobile Australia after acquiring the remaining 74.15% of the company for A$30m ($22.44m).(SYDNEY)
January 1, 2006... Optus takes over Virgin Mobile Australia after acquiring the remaining 74.15% of the company for A$30m ($22.44m). Virgin has granted Optus a 15-year license to use the Virgin brand in Australia.

MobileOne posts a 13.5% increase in earnings over the previous year, to S$332.4 m ($203m).(SINGAPORE)
January 1, 2006... MobileOne posts a 13.5% increase in earnings over the previous year, to S$332.4 m ($203m). Profit after tax for the year rose by 4.6% to S$161m ($98.7m) while service revenue grew by 3.5% to S$704.9m ($431m).

An AC Nielsen survey finds that nearly half of Singapore mobile users won't switch service providers even if they aren't tied to a contract.(SINGAPORE)
January 1, 2006... An AC Nielsen survey finds that nearly half of Singapore mobile users won't switch service providers even if they aren't tied to a contract. But the pending introduction of mobile number portability is expected to encourage increased churn in...

AZ Communications Network, Multimedia Telephony, Next Mobile and Pacific Wireless--companies which failed to secure licenses for 3G--file an appeal with regulators.(MANILA)
January 1, 2006... AZ Communications Network, Multimedia Telephony, Next Mobile and Pacific Wireless--companies which failed to secure licenses for 3G--file an appeal with regulators, each attempting to win the single remaining license of the five that were...

BayanTel announces plans to expand into wireless communications this year.(MANILA)
January 1, 2006... BayanTel announces plans to expand into wireless communications this year, a move that company officials say will let the telco evolve into a 3G operator at a "low cost."

PLDT plans to bring its mobile services to other overseas markets with large Filipino communities.(MANILA)
January 1, 2006... PLDT plans to bring its mobile services to other overseas markets with large Filipino communities including North America, the Middle East and Europe.

Telecom regulator TRAI reprimands members of the Cellular Operators Association of India.(NEW DELHI)
January 1, 2006... Telecom regulator TRAI reprimands members of the Cellular Operators Association of India, saying that the operators were attributing the delay in interconnectivity and spectrum related issues as the cause for poor quality.

Bharti Tele-Ventures plans to invest up to a $1b to roll out 3G services once issues such as a national spectrum policy and 3G pricing become clear.(NEW DELHI)
January 1, 2006... Bharti Tele-Ventures plans to invest up to a $1b to roll out 3G services once issues such as a national spectrum policy and 3G pricing become clear.

Plotting the 4G roadmap.(Cover story)
January 1, 2006... With 3G barely out of the gate and still evolving, the cellular industry is already plotting a course toward 4G. But while it looks linear and neat on a PowerPoint slide, the details are mind-bogglingly complex--which is why the first of the...

MDM: Positioned for growth.(APPLICATIONS)
January 1, 2006... The mobile device management sector is poised for robust growth as operators start to invest in advanced MDM solutions that help reduce customer-care costs and boost revenue by to increasing usage of" applications. Growth, however, is being...

MVNOs: virtuals multiply and go vertical: a new and more sophisticated breed of MVNO is evolving and looks to be well on the road to becoming a major force in the international wireless industry.(BUSINESS)
January 1, 2006... After a rather patchy start confined to particular regions, mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) are now literally queuing up to attack wireless markets across the planet. In the space of barely one week last December, for example, giant...

Beyond 3G--promises and pitfalls.(WIRELESS FORUM)
January 1, 2006... At present the major players in wireless are locked in a debate at the 3GPP that will determine the shape of the industry. At stake is enormous R&D investment, industry influence, even survival. The current heavyweights are the...

PHS: still growing.(CHINA FORUM)
January 1, 2006... This year marks the tenth anniversary of personal handyphone services (PHS). Thanks to the remarkable technological advancement and impressive marketing efforts by the whole value chain, PHS evolved from simply a low-cost wireless voice...

New flash technology.(tools)
January 1, 2006... Adobe Systems' Macromedia Flash Lite 2 software and Macromedia Flash Player SDK 7 promise to help build richer user experience on non-PC devices. Using Flash technology, the new releases enable consumer electronics manufacturers, systems...

Specialized test tool.(tools)
January 1, 2006... Teleca has developed MMS and IMPS test tool ProTeller Lite, a version of the Teleca ProTeller that is specially adapted for members of the Open Mobile Alliance. The new tool is used to ensure that messaging solutions conform to OMA...

Updates to VoiceEngine Mobile.(tools)
January 1, 2006... Global IP Sound, a provider of embedded speech-processing solutions for the VoIP market, has released updated versions of its VoiceEngine Mobile product, including VoiceEngine Mobile for Symbian 9 and VoiceEngine Mobile for Pocket PC with...

Support for Sony Ericsson Themes Creator.(tools)
January 1, 2006... Scalable vector graphics (SVG) software solutions provider Ikivo has extended its support for the Mobile SVG element of Sony Ericsson's Themes Creator tool. SVG content authoring tool Ikivo Animator will also extend its pro-view feature to...

Google in Motorola handsets.(out now)
January 1, 2006... Motorola has entered a three-year deal with Google to pre-load its handsets with the search company's software. Motorola plans to launch the Google-carrying phones by the end of the first quarter. Web site: www.motorola.com, www.google.com

Paperless concert tickets.(out now)
January 1, 2006... Singapore concert goers can say goodbye to long queues for tickets and even to the paper tickets themselves as SISTIC, which handles some 90% of all ticketed events in the city-state, plans to introduce mobile tickets by April. By the end of...

DoCoMo to pay $6m for JMI stake.(deals)
January 1, 2006... NTT DoCoMo will pay $6 million to acquire a stake in Just In Mobile International, the holding company of Chinese mobile payment service provider Just In Mobile. Through the investment, DoCoMo aims to boost Just In Mobile's services in China by...

Fujian Mobile opts for Nokia's PTT platform.(deals)
January 1, 2006... Fujian Mobile has tapped Nokia to supply it with a push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) platform aimed at enterprises. The contract also includes systems integration services to the carrier's provisioning and billing platforms. Web site:...

SMS payments across China.(deals)
January 1, 2006... SmartPay Jieyin and Pudong Development Bank have entered into a nationwide mobile payment partnership that will enable the bank's clients to use SmartPay's mobile payment services, which allows users to pay for goods and services via SMS. ...

Thales, Salt Group forge tech accord.(deals)
January 1, 2006... Thales UK and Australian e-security firm Salt Group are partnering to jointly promote mobile authentication solutions using Thales' end-to-end authentication platform SafeSign and Salt Group's Mobile Token authentication technology. SafeSign...

'One Shot' content downloading.(out now)
January 1, 2006... The One Shot service from Dutch-Swedish firm OP3 and mobile content distributor GetJar allows users to download content with the click of their phones' built-in camera. Mobile users can download OP3's mobile software from GetJar's homepage....

Home monitoring via mobile phones.(out now)
January 1, 2006... mEye from DiGi Telecommunications and iNavigate enables users to access home or office Web cams via their mobile phones. The broadband wireless solution provides either still images or 10-second video clips. The mEye service can be installed...

La Liga on M1 3G phones.(out now)
January 1, 2006... M1's 3G subscribers can now enjoy soccer action anytime, anywhere, starring La Liga stars. Soccer can download video clips featuring goals from every match, match highlights and the best moments from the Spanish League. To watch La Liga video...

Followap powers True IM service.(out now)
January 1, 2006... Thailand's True Corp. has launched its branded mobile messenger service, which is powered by Followap, a provider of presence and instant messaging solutions. The service allows True subscribers to access real-time communication services and...

MSN Hotmail, messenger via SMS.(deals)
January 1, 2006... MSN India and Mobile 365 have forged strategic alliances with five India mobile operators for the provision of MSN Hotmail and Messenger services via SMS. Joining the alliance are Reliance IndiaMobile, Reliance GSM, Tata Teleservices, Spice...

Motricity, Sony Ericsson form alliance.(deals)
January 1, 2006... Mobile content services provider Motricity has formed a deal with Sony Ericsson to exclusively power the handset maker's Web-based and mobile Application Shop via its Fuel platform. The Sony Ericsson Application Shop is a go-to-market channel...

'Legend of Genghis Khan' goes mobile.(deals)
January 1, 2006... Content provider GAMEiSLIVE Corp. has launched Legend of Genghis Khan, a mobile role playing game that tackles the exploits of the great military hero during China's Yuan dynasty. The game is available to China Mobile's more than 230 million...

Heard it on the iRadio.(this month's model)
January 1, 2006... Still smarting from the bashing it took over its ROKR iTunes phone, Motorola is hoping to make up for it with a new service: iRadio. Put simply, iRadio is not literally broadcast radio, but more like a podcasting service for cell phones....

Paying through loopholes.(STREETWISE)
January 1, 2006... One story that was circulated in social circles in Hong Kong involves a wealthy businessman and a famous Chinese restaurant. As a closure to his meal with some partners, the businessman ordered red bean soup, a popular Chinese dessert. The...

Deadly mobiles.(SHORT MESSAGE: Around the wireless industry)
January 1, 2006... It had to happen sooner or later--world-famous horror author Stephen King has written a new novel featuring cellphones. Titled "Cell", the novel is an end-of-the-world yarn in which a pulse sent out through cellphones turns every person who...

Corruption of Bangladeshi youth must end at midnight.(SHORT MESSAGE: Around the wireless industry)
January 1, 2006... Bangladesh's telecoms regulator has ordered the country's five cellcos to stop offering free calls after midnight on the grounds that it is corrupting the morals of young people. The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission says it took the...

Cucumbers! Carrots! 1x handsets, get 'em while they're fresh!(SHORT MESSAGE: Around the wireless industry)
January 1, 2006... Two of India's CDMA operators have come up with a novel new point-of-sale outlet for selling handsets in rural areas: vegetable stands. In a joint marketing effort, Reliance Infocomm and Tata Teleservices plan to train vegetable and grain...

No punch line necessary.(SHORT MESSAGE: Around the wireless industry)
January 1, 2006... Next time you're in need of rescue and your cellphone's gone dead, try peeing on it. It could save your life. Provided it's equipped with a special battery that's been developed by physicists at Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and...