CommsUpdate
TeleGeography's free daily email summary of the world’s top telecom news stories.
17 Jan 2013
WIRELESS
Bouygues may have to wait for regulatory approval
French newspaper Les Echos reports that Bouygues Telecom may have to wait until the second half of 2013 or early 2014 before the telecoms regulator Arcep allows it to refarm... more
Telenor calls on Huawei for LTE-ready microwave backhaul
Chinese vendor Huawei has announced that it has inked a three-year strategic cooperation framework contract for IP microwave technologies with Norway’s Telenor Group. Under the terms of the deal, Huawei... more
Golan Telecom CEO says operator now has 200,000 customers
Michael Golan, CEO of Israel’s newest mobile network operator, Golan Telecom, has claimed that the cellco has reached the 200,000 subscriber milestone, less than eight months after it launched services.... more
US Cellular launches LTE in eleven markets with NSN
US Cellular and its partner King Street Wireless have teamed up with Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) for the launch of the Chicago-based mobile operator’s Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in... more
Anatel holds meeting with cellcos, MMDS operators on 2.5GHz band
Brazil’s telecoms watchdog Anatel has held its first discussions with the country’s Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service (MMDS) operators and its four main mobile service providers concerning the vacation of the... more
KPN Mobile unveils more details on LTE plans
KPN Mobile The Netherlands, the cellular division of KPN Telecom, has announced that its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) services will go live from next month. According to ZDNet the... more
T-Mobile lines up Las Vegas, Kansas City for LTE debut
Fierce Wireless has revealed that T-Mobile USA will launch its inaugural Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in Las Vegas within a matter of days. The mobile operator originally planned to... more
Sprint commences LTE rollout in 28 markets incl. Muscle Shoals and Paris, Texas
Sprint Nextel has announced that its Long Term Evolution (LTE) network rollout is progressing in 28 additional markets within its nationwide 3G footprint. The deployment forms part of Sprint’s ongoing... more
MTEL drops roaming charges in Serbia
Montenegrin full service provider MTEL has announced that it has eliminated roaming charges for its customers travelling in Serbia. The telco, which is part owned by Telekom Srbija, will no... more
MNP leads to 25% fall in tariffs
Tariffs for wireless services have decreased by around 25% since the introduction of mobile number portability (MNP) in January last year, Chile’s transport and communications minister, Pedro Pablo Errazuriz was... more
TOT’s 3G to go ‘nationwide’ in late February; 4G trial also going ahead
Thai state-run telco TOT plans to launch its expanded 3G mobile network on 24 February, although with a total of 4,000 W-CDMA base stations across the country, lower than the... more
CDMA price cut gets green light
The Indian cabinet has approved a 50% reduction in the base price for CDMA frequencies, Reuters reports citing information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari. The 800MHz spectrum remained unsold after... more
Com Hem offers fixed-mobile convergence app
Cableco Com Hem has introduced an application for Android and iPhone smartphone users which allows users to receive calls to their fixed home telephone on their mobile phone, amongst other... more
Qtel focused on network improvements, 4G launch this year
Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has announced that it will focus on boosting mobile network performance and coverage throughout 2013, and is in the process of establishing dozens of new cell sites... more
Ukrtelecom launches higher usage 3G internet package
Ukraine’s Ukrtelecom has announced on its website a new 3G mobile broadband tariff plan called ‘OGO! Mobile Ultra’ targeting higher usage customers aiming to make full usage of its 7.2Mbps-capable... more
BROADBAND
Maroc Telecom outlines spending plans
In a filing to the French stock market regulator, Maroc Telecom has revealed that it plans to invest MAD10 billion (USD1.2 billion) to upgrade its broadband network. The telco, which... more
TOT’s MeTV IPTV expands nationwide
Thai state-owned telco TOT on 16 January 2013 announced the nationwide commercial launch of the ‘MeTV’ IPTV service, which was first launched in October 2012 over TOT’s network in partnership... more
WIRELINE
Nepalese operators seek spectrum fee payment extension
A number of Nepal’s telecoms service providers have requested that the national industry regulator, the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), extend the frequency fee payment deadline and even lower the costs... more
Optima’s Tornado OTT VoIP service built on CounterPath’s software
CounterPath, a developer of VoIP solutions for desktop, tablet and mobile devices, has announced that its ‘Bria’ mobile softphone application is the core technology behind Tornado, the new OTT VoIP... more
CORPORATE/FINANCIAL
Softbank sells two-thirds of eAccess
Japan’s third largest wireless operator by subscribers, Softbank Corp, is to sell two-thirds of eAccess to more than ten companies, including Samsung Electronics and a unit of Nokia Siemens Networks... more
AT&T considers European expansion; KPN, Everything Everywhere named as targets
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported that US telecoms giant AT&T Inc is considering an expansion into Europe, as part of an attempt to gain a competitive advantage overseas.... more
Rami Levy considering sale of MVNO unit to Pelephone?
Israel’s Rami Levy Chain Stores Hashikma Marketing 2006 is reportedly considering selling its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) unit, Rami Levy Communications. According to Globes Online, the retailer’s chairman Rami... more
Filipino financial regulator issues new guidelines to calm investor fears
The Manila Standard Today reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Philippines has reconsidered its classification of foreign ownership of domestic utilities, and in so doing appeased... more
Hibernia Atlantic rebrands to Hibernia Networks, to reflect shift in global business focus
Dublin-based Hibernia Atlantic, a provider of global capacity services, has announced that it has changed its name to Hibernia Networks, to reflect the company’s organic and strategic network growth since... more
Spiritage (Brodacom) assets to be acquired by Kingdom Bank
The assets of Zimbabwean telecoms start-up Spiritage, owner of wireless internet/voice operator Brodacom, are set to be acquired by the domestic Kingdom Bank via a court order to settle unpaid... more
Vodafone Qatar’s nine-month EBITDA up 78%
Vodafone Qatar has released its nine-month operational highlights for the April-December 2012 period. Total revenue of QAR1.09 billion (USD299 million) for the nine months to 31 December represented 20% growth... more
MISCELLANEOUS
Orange seeks new horizons
France Telecom-Orange (FT-Orange) has created a subsidiary called Orange Horizons that will ‘seek out new business opportunities in countries where the Group is not already present as a mass-market telecommunications... more