Wireless Asia articles from June 2006

Wireless Asia archives from June 2006

Mobile contenders bulk up.(UNWIRED)
June 1, 2006... What goes round comes around in the mobile industry. NTT DoCoMo and Hutchison Telecom have just announced a joint venture to offer i-mode services in Hong Kong and Macau. That was the original intent when DoCoMo bought its stake in the...

Simple interface key to boosting mobile search.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
June 1, 2006... Although only a small percentage of mobile users use search, a panel of mobile professionals in Hang Kong agreed it has huge potential and is likely to be the closest thing to a killer mobile app. They point to the fact that search is the...

Mobile WiMAX may stunt fixed WiMAX growth.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S WIRELESS RESEARCH)
June 1, 2006... While the number of fixed WiMAX subscribers is expected to reach 8.5 million in 2011 from the current 1.3 million, the advent of mobile WiMAX equipment next year may stunt the growth of its stationary counterpart. According to Juniper Research,...

China handset sales expand 7.3% in Q1.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S WIRELESS RESEARCH)
June 1, 2006... Sales of mobile handsets in China hit 22.27 million units in the first quarter, up 7.32% from the fourth quarter of last year. Analysys International says GSM handset sales hit 20.92 million units while CDMA device sales, after suffering...

Mobile TV gains ground in the US.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S WIRELESS RESEARCH)
June 1, 2006... More than two million wireless subscribers, or 1.4% of the total cellular subscriber base in the US, have subscribed to a mobile TV plan in the first quarter, according to Telephia. Of this number, 47% are white Americans, 23% Hispanics, 19%...

Contactless payment to migrate to cellphones.(INSIGHT: ONE MONTH'S WIRELESS RESEARCH)
June 1, 2006... While more than 40 million contactless payment cards are expected to be shipped globally this year, card-based contactless payment is seen as just an intermediate step as Near Field Communications (NFC)-enabled mobile handsets may soon become...

Mobile email war heats up in China.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
June 1, 2006... The race for push email service in China is on, with the country's two major mobile carriers, China Mobile and China Unicom, unveiling their own services to tap the country's nascent business wireless email market. While China Mobile has...

1b new mobile subs by 2010.(METRICS / Inside the wireless data numbers.)
June 1, 2006... The world will have 2.6 billion wireless subscribers by the end of the year, with the number seen passing the three-billion mark by late 2007 or early 2008. According to Pyramid Research, the number of mobile subscribers is expected to grow...

Growth accelerate in the Middle East.(METRICS / Inside the wireless date numbers)
June 1, 2006... The issuance of new licenses, the growth in competition and the use of good strategies resulted in strong growth in the Middle East mobile market in the first three months of the year. According to Wireless Intelligence, Iraq posted the...

Several European mobile operators, including Germany's T-Mobile and Britain's Orange, agree to halve the price of international roaming calls.(Movements)
June 1, 2006... Several European mobile operators, including Germany's T-Mobile and Britain's Orange, agree to halve the price of international roaming calls. The group of companies will cap the average wholesale rates they offer each other for providing...

Telekom Malaysia, KT, NTT Broadband, PCCW, Covad from the US and 17 other telecom players from 15 countries sign a MoU to establish the WiBro & Mobile WiMAX Community to develop relevant business models for WiBro global roaming and wide adoption of the technology.(Movements)
June 1, 2006... Telekom Malaysia, KT, NTT Broadband, PCCW, Covad from the US and 17 other telecom players from 15 countries sign a MoU to establish the WiBro & Mobile WiMAX Community to develop relevant business models for WiBro global roaming and wide...

Vodafone Group reports a full-year net loss of 21.9b pounds ($40.7b) due to a 23.5b pounds ($43.7b) charge for the continuing writedown of assets bought.(Movements)
June 1, 2006... Vodafone Group reports a full-year net loss of 21.9b pounds ($40.7b) due to a 23.5b pounds ($43.7b) charge for the continuing writedown of assets bought during a spree of acquisitions in 1999-2000.

The European Union plans to seize regulatory control over the UK's communications sector in a plan that government officials have branded "harmonization by force.".(Movements)
June 1, 2006... The European Union plans to seize regulatory control over the UK's communications sector in a plan that government officials have branded "harmonization by force." The idea is being promoted by the EU Commissioner for Information Society and...

Starting from June 1, Orange becomes the single brand of France Telecom's Internet, TV and mobile offerings in France and the UK.(Movements)
June 1, 2006... Starting from June 1, Orange becomes the single brand of France Telecom's Internet, TV and mobile offerings in France and the UK, while Orange Business Services is now the group's business brand name in 220 countries and territories.

Vodafone Group and Softbank set up a 50-50 joint venture to develop mobile phones, services and content.(Movements)
June 1, 2006... Vodafone Group and Softbank set up a 50-50 joint venture to develop mobile phones, services and content. The new deal gives Vodafone a way to hang onto the piece of the phone business in Japan after it agreed in March to sell its Japanese...

Motorola unveils its highly anticipated "Q" mobile phone, joining other manufacturers in aiming for businesspeople who want email on the go.(Movements)
June 1, 2006... Motorola unveils its highly anticipated "Q" mobile phone, joining other manufacturers in aiming for businesspeople who want email on the go. The Q, which has a QWERTY keyboard and runs a version of Microsoft's Windows, enters a crowded field...

Qualcomm files a suit against Nokia, alleging the company had infringed on two Qualcomm patents in Britain.(Movements)
June 1, 2006... Qualcomm files a suit against Nokia, alleging the company had infringed on two Qualcomm patents in Britain. The suit covers high-speed wireless technologies that are popular in Europe.

Visto files a suit against RIM, the maker of BlackBerry mobile devices, over a patent claim.(Movements)
June 1, 2006... Visto files a suit against RIM, the maker of BlackBerry mobile devices, over a patent claim. The case came after RIM agreed to pay NTP $612.5m to settle a four-year dispute.

Siemens and Time Warner Cable have announced successful demonstrations of integrated fixed-line.(Movements)
June 1, 2006... Siemens and Time Warner Cable have announced successful demonstrations of integrated fixed-line, mobile and Wi-Fi broadband technologies via IMS standards to deliver fixed mobile convergence.

Nokia receives $341.25m on the completion of the sale of Turkish operator Telsim's assets.(Movements)
June 1, 2006... Nokia receives $341.25m on the completion of the sale of Turkish operator Telsim's assets, after the two companies agreed on a settlement last year.

Motorola also receives a $410m windfall from on the sale by the Turkish Savings and Deposit Insurance Fund of Turkish cellular operator Telsim Mobil Telekomunikasyon to Vodafone Group.(Movements)
June 1, 2006... Motorola also receives a $410m windfall from on the sale by the Turkish Savings and Deposit Insurance Fund of Turkish cellular operator Telsim Mobil Telekomunikasyon to Vodafone Group. The payment stems from an agreement related to Motorola's...

China Unicom slashes its mobile charges by more than 60%.(BEIJING)
June 1, 2006... China Unicom slashes its mobile charges by more than 60%, following rate cuts announced earlier by rivals.

France Telecom's research unit in Beijing is assessing the TD-SCDMA standard.(BEIJING)
June 1, 2006... France Telecom's research unit in Beijing is assessing the TD-SCDMA standard, which its parent company may consider using in Europe at a later date.

The Ministry of Railways selects Nortel Networks to provide GSM railway switching centers.(BEIJING)
June 1, 2006... The Ministry of Railways selects Nortel Networks to provide GSM railway switching centers to enable digital mobile signaling and operational communications along passenger lines covering 20 provinces across the country.

Hutchison Telecommunications and NTT DoCoMo plan to launch the Japanese mobile operator's i-mode mobile Internet services in Hong Kong and Macau by the end of December.(HONG KONG)
June 1, 2006... Hutchison Telecommunications and NTT DoCoMo plan to launch the Japanese mobile operator's i-mode mobile Internet services in Hong Kong and Macau by the end of December. The two companies have also agreed to consider the launch of...

CAT Telecom may have to delay the official debut of its mobile service in 51 provinces until next year.(BANGKOK)
June 1, 2006... CAT Telecom may have to delay the official debut of its mobile service in 51 provinces until next year, pending the readiness of a marketing plan, a billing system and availability of handsets.

Shin Satellite plans to use Thaicom 5 satellite for high-definition TV services once it begins commercial operations in July.(BANGKOK)
June 1, 2006... Shin Satellite plans to use Thaicom 5 satellite for high-definition TV services once it begins commercial operations in July. The company expects only 40% of the transponders on the new satellite are for new customers, as clients currently...

The Sri Lankan government introduces a plan to offer 3G licenses.(COLOMBO)
June 1, 2006... The Sri Lankan government introduces a plan to offer 3G licenses to the country's four cellcos at $5m each.

Hutchison Telecom signs a deal with Hanoi Telecommunications to launch a 3G network with a total investment of $655m over 15 years.(HANOI)
June 1, 2006... Hutchison Telecom signs a deal with Hanoi Telecommunications to launch a 3G network with a total investment of $655m over 15 years. The two companies will build and develop a cellular network and value-added services using cdma2000 technology,...

KT teams up with Research In Motion to introduce BlackBerry services in Korea.(SEOUL)
June 1, 2006... KT teams up with Research In Motion to introduce BlackBerry services in Korea. The service, which will be offered through KT's push-to-talk unit KT Powertel, is aimed at its corporate customers.

KT rolls out the world's first commercial WiBro card supplied by Axalto.(SEOUL)
June 1, 2006... KT rolls out the world's first commercial WiBro card supplied by Axalto, enabling mobile subscribers to connect to wireless broadband services.

NTT DoCoMo plans to make all its models compatible with global standards so they can be used in more than 130 countries.(TOKYO)
June 1, 2006... NTT DoCoMo plans to make all its models compatible with global standards so they can be used in more than 130 countries. The move will have all of DoCoMo's models compatible with GSM in two years, making it the first Japanese mobile company to...

Vodafone K.K. reports that its consolidated net profit in fiscal 2005 plunged 69.4% from the previous year to 49.5b yen ($440m).(TOKYO)
June 1, 2006... Vodafone K.K. reports that its consolidated net profit in fiscal 2005 plunged 69.4% from the previous year to 49.5b yen ($440m) due to a revenue fall and an increase in sales promotion costs.

KDDI plans to launch Sony's Walkman brand mobile phone.(TOKYO)
June 1, 2006... KDDI plans to launch Sony's Walkman brand mobile phone in Japan by the end of June.

Prime Minister John Howard doesn't expect the talks between Telstra and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over how much access rivals would be given.(SYDNEY)
June 1, 2006... Prime Minister John Howard doesn't expect the talks between Telstra and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over how much access rivals would be given to the incumbent carrier's A$3.1b ($2.3b) fiber-to-the-node network would...

Over 200,000 of Hutchison Telecom Australia customers have upgraded from 2G services.(SYDNEY)
June 1, 2006... Over 200,000 of Hutchison Telecom Australia customers have upgraded from 2G services to W-CDMA following the re-branding of Orange to "3 CDMA" in February.

The New Zealand Commerce Commission will examine reasons for the lack of new entries in the mobile services market.(WELLINGTON)
June 1, 2006... The New Zealand Commerce Commission will examine reasons for the lack of new entries in the mobile services market. The study is a prelude to a decision on whether to start a probe into possible changes to the regulatory framework.

The defense ministry plans to release 45 MHz of spectrum by the end of this year for 3G services.(NEW DELHI)
June 1, 2006... The defense ministry plans to release 45 MHz of spectrum by the end of this year for 3G services. The ministry would release spectrum in the IMT 2000 band and 1800- to 1900-MHz band.

Hutch Essar seeks approval from India's Department of Telecommunications for its a planned merger with BPL Mobile Communications.(NEW DELHI)
June 1, 2006... Hutch Essar seeks approval from India's Department of Telecommunications for its a planned merger with BPL Mobile Communications, which operates GSM services in Mumbai.

The Cambodian government is prohibiting the use of 3G phones.(PHNOM PENH)
June 1, 2006... The Cambodian government is prohibiting the use of 3G phones to curb the dissemination of pornography.

Cracking the mobile music puzzle: the future of digital music may be mobile, but it's a hard dollar for everyone, thanks to complex licensing and a lack of affordable DRM interoperability. As for a viable business model, the ticket isn't the big names so much as ease of use and value-adds.(Cover story)
June 1, 2006... Once the scourge of the music industry, digital downloads are now officially "the way forward" for the "Big Four" record labels--EMI, SonyBMG, Universal and Warner Music, which together control over 70% of the world's recorded music--now that...

Making IMS pay: IMS success depends on billing customers properly. Operators that don't have the budget for a full IMS makeover will need a transitional strategy not just for IMS, but for their back-end systems as well.(APPLICATIONS)
June 1, 2006... IMS, which has been around for years as a 3GPP standard in the cellular world, enables telcos to monetize their IP networks by giving them much-needed control over their bit pipes. It reinstates a model in which telcos can add legitimate value...

Perfect fit for convergence: Comverse CMO Benny Einhorn met with group editor Joseph Waring at the company's annual Asia-Pacific client and partner conference to explain how its move into post-paid has positioned it for growth in the converged billing world.(VIEW POINT)
June 1, 2006... Wireless Asia: What was the rationale behind your acquisition of CSG System's GSS division, which was completed last December? Benny Einhorn: About ten years ago, after the acquisition of a US company with real-time capabilities of...

UWB and Bluetooth roadmaps better defined: having the race tilted in Favor of the WiMedia Alliance is a boon for small test equipment vendors that can now limit their investments to one technology.(INDUSTRY INSIDER)
June 1, 2006... Bang! Last January with the IEEE's 802.15.3a task group members voting to get out of the high data rate UWB standards business, the two special interest groups--the UWB Forum and the WiMedia Alliance--were off to the races. The prize being...

Cashing in on shared content.(WIRELESS FORUM)
June 1, 2006... "I feel pressure, you feel pressure." This declaration by "Bus Uncle", an irate senior citizen caught on camera in Hong Kong and posted on YouTube, could also apply to media owners. They have been largely caught unaware by the growth of...

Easy Web content presentation for mobile.(tools)
June 1, 2006... The World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) first public working draft of Device Independent Authoring Language (DIAL) is aimed at making presentation of Web content easier on a wide variety of mobile devices. While it's already possible to tailor...

LCD keypads.(tools)
June 1, 2006... Yuvee has announces its NeoKeys interface for mobile phones, which it says gives consumers better control over advanced features that are otherwise difficult to find and use. The solution effectively uses small LCD displays next to each key on...

SMS-based services made easy.(tools)
June 1, 2006... 3rdSun Solutions has unveiled the 16ixty (one-sixty) total SMS solution in cooperation with mobile message carrier Clickatell. 3rdSun says 16ixty makes it easy for non-technical users to set up SMS-based services online, as well as provides a...

Content mediation platform.(tools)
June 1, 2006... Argent Networks has launched a new content mediation platform, ACMP, which provides a robust platform for delivery of mobile content in real-time from content providers to subscribers. It also integrates with Argent's existing billing system...

Enterprise-grade mobile push email.(out now)
June 1, 2006... Visto and Lenovo Chinaweal System & Service have joined forces to bring the first enterprise-grade mobile push email solution to the Chinese market. The agreement allows Lenovo to immediately offer the Visto Mobile secure push email service to...

Voice SMS in Indonesia.(out now)
June 1, 2006... Bubble Motion has implemented the largest commercial deployment of its core "Bubble Talk" voice SMS service to Indonesian mobile phone users via Indosat. Voice SMS allows subscribers to send a voice message to a recipient in the same way as...

Webraska becomes Sony Ericsson Power Partner.(deals)
June 1, 2006... Webraska has joined Sony Ericsson's Business Partner Program as a Power Partner. Under the partnership, Sony Ericsson commits to promote Webraska Navigation on its branded devices, offering carriers and mobile operators an attractive bundle....

Coding Technologies, A8 enter partnership.(deals)
June 1, 2006... Coding Technologies has forged an alliance with China tele-music service provider A8 to bring more music content to more mobile devices, enable faster downloads and higher audio quality. According to A8, it seeks to accelerate its growth by...

Philips, SKT alliance to simplify NFC development.(deals)
June 1, 2006... Royal Philips Electronics and SK Telecom have entered into a partnership to simplify the development and deployment of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology currently being used for contactless transactions, including secure payment and...

fastmobile joins MSH Mobile Developer Program.(deals)
June 1, 2006... Mobile integrated messaging and content solutions provider fastmobile has joined the MSN Mobile Developer Program, enabling the company to include services such as MSN Messenger the products that it offers its mobile carrier customers. Web...

Mobiqa 'mobi-tickets' from Tickets.com.(out now)
June 1, 2006... Tickets.com is now offering Mobiqa's mobile phone-based "mobi-tickets" at major venues and events throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Using Mobiqa's technology, Tickets.com will offer tickets as unique barcodes to mobile handsets, providing a...

Easy mobile Web browsing.(out now)
June 1, 2006... Opera Software has launched Opera Mobile 8.60, its mobile browser for Symbian Series 60 ($60) mobile phones. Opera Mobile 8.60 for $60 is designed to let users interact more effectively with the Web on their phone, and includes new features to...

Google in KDDI's EZ service.(out now)
June 1, 2006... KDDI has inked an agreement with Google to incorporate Google's search engine into KDDI's EZ Web Internet service for au mobile phones beginning this July. The search service, which will synthesize content aimed at both mobile phones and PCs,...

BlackBerry goes to Korea.(out now)
June 1, 2006... Push-to-talk operator KT Powertel and Research In Motion have introduced BlackBerry for the first time in Korea via the BlackBerry 7100i together with BlackBerry Enterprise Server for its corporate customers. Web site:...

Adamind to deploy MMS solution at Taiwan Mobile.(deals)
June 1, 2006... Adamind has deployed its Spire Messaging Suite at Taiwan Mobile, enabling the mobile operator to provide high-quality peer-to-peer MMS and email services to its six million subscribers. The suite has been integrated into Taiwan Mobile's network...

6WIND software for Samsung Mobile IP apps.(deals)
June 1, 2006... Samsung Electronics has tapped 6WIND to provide the 6WINDGate software license with Mobile IP features for the company to develop a new generation of mobile broadband applications. The software will allow end-users to stay connected on the...

bcgi, Telogic forge alliance.(deals)
June 1, 2006... bcgi and Telogic have formed a partnership to offer efficient and easy-to-deploy payment and access control solutions to mobile operators in Asia. Under the agreement, Telogic will act as a channel partner, reselling bcgi's Payment Manager and...

Mobile TV sans standards.(this month's model)
June 1, 2006... Hong Kong's PCCW has joined the mobile TV race with a new service that rely on its existing network rather than upcoming standards like DMB, DVB-H and MediaFLO that require new infrastructure and spectrum. PCCW's mobile TV service--offered...

Bus Uncle and Big Brother.(STREETWISE)
June 1, 2006... A funny thing happened on a Hong Kong bus last month. The story goes that a young man, annoyed with an older man in front talking too loudly on his mobile phone, tapped him on the shoulder asking him to quiet down. The older man on the...

Steal this UI icon (and you're busted).(SHORT MESSAGE: Around the wireless industry)
June 1, 2006... Samsung Electronics has been complaining in recent months about other companies, particularly in China, copying its handsets. Last month, however, the company was forced to admit that it had done a bit of copying itself after users of a Korean...

Know when to hold them and when to fold them ...(SHORT MESSAGE: Around the wireless industry)
June 1, 2006... One of the chronic issues with mobile multimedia is the screen size--for many people, it's still too small to watch video. A design studio called Inventables is proposing an interesting solution: origami displays. Their idea for an...

No 3G, please.(SHORT MESSAGE: Around the wireless industry)
June 1, 2006... Banning adult mobile content is nothing new, but Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen managed to put a new spin on it last month by banning 3G services completely because of their ability to send and receive pictures and video that could be...

2006: the year of the WAP.(SHORT MESSAGE: Around the wireless industry)
June 1, 2006... WAP wasn't crap after all--it was just ahead of its time. And its time is now. So says Paul Griffiths, managing director of by Dialogue Communications, who declared at the Internet World conference and exhibition in London last month that...