CommsUpdate
TeleGeography's free daily email summary of the world’s top telecom news stories.
26 Feb 2013
FEATURE
10G wave prices tumble as buyers seek fatter pipes
Wavelengths are replacing lower-capacity SDH/SONET circuits as the primary unit of wholesale bandwidth in an increasing number of markets around the world. As a consequence of this, wavelength prices are... more
WIRELESS
SSTL back on the ropes as March auction falters
A second attempt to auction off India’s wireless spectrum has fallen at the first hurdle, with a sole operator applying to participate in the sale. Business Line writes that Russia’s... more
Telenor Hungary picks ZTE for LTE rollout
Mobile network operator Telenor Hungary has selected ZTE of China to deploy its nationwide 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in the country, with the initial phase covering 76 Hungarian... more
Nepal’s STM Telecom submits request for unified licence
Nepalese rural telecoms service provider STM Telecom, also known as Gramintel, has submitted an application to the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) for a unified operating licence – making it the... more
Sprint explores Virgin territory with pre-paid LTE Boost
Sprint Nextel has revealed that it will offer Long Term Evolution (LTE) services through its two existing pre-paid brands, Virgin Mobile USA and Boost Mobile. The move is expected to... more
Upwardly mobile Telecel launches post-paid campaign, reveals expansion plans
Telecel Zimbabwe has launched its ‘Red’ product range, aimed at increasing its post-paid subscriber base, targeting the middle- to upper-income user segment, local website TechZim reports. Contracts are for twelve... more
Bharti to provide 2G voice to 4G users in Pune
Bharti Airtel has selected Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) to deploy its Circuit Switched FallBack (CSFB) voice solution in Pune. The technology will allow the cellco to provide GSM voice services... more
Court dismisses last-minute challenge to SIM registration
Kampala’s High Court has rejected a request for an interim order to block the telecoms regulator from deactivating unregistered SIMs at the end of this month, Ugandan news portal UGO... more
SKT signs LTE-A MOU with Ericsson
SK Telecom (SKT) and Ericsson have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate on the development and promotion of Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) technologies, Telecom Tiger reports. Under the... more
Telstra and Ericsson renew LTE partnership, trial LTE Broadcast, expand fibre backbone
Australia’s Telstra has announced that it will partner Ericsson for a live network trial of LTE Broadcast technology in the second half of 2013, which the telco says will improve... more
BROADBAND
Beltelecom reveals more plans for internet capacity upgrade
Online news agency BelTA reports that under the plan to increase the country’s external internet gateway capacity by 100Gbps by October, national PTO Beletelecom has invited firms to bid on... more
Ruckus chosen for Ulaanbaatar Wi-Fi network
Ruckus Wireless has announced that Mongolian internet service provider (ISP) Nomsys has selected its Smart Wi-Fi products and technology for the roll out of the country’s largest Wi-Fi access network... more
GCF taps Ciena to boost Antilles Crossing submarine network
Global Caribbean Fiber (GCF), which owns a number of submarine cable links across the Eastern Caribbean region, has reportedly selected Ciena to upgrade its Antilles Crossing network, which links St... more
Telkom plans 40Mbps product after successful trial
Telkom South Africa has revealed that its trial of 20Mbps and 40Mbps broadband services, which commenced in October 2012 in Benmore Gardens, Fourways and Waterkloof (all Gauteng), Durban North (KwaZulu-Natal)... more
Airtel to deploy Wi-Fi throughout Africa
Indian telecoms group Bharti Airtel is planning to roll out large-scale Wi-Fi networks throughout its 17 African units in a bid to bolster the delivery of wireless data services, GigaOM... more
WiMAX
NT postpones WiMAX launch again
Nepal Telecom (NT) has pushed back its long-anticipated launch of WiMAX services to the consumer market by another three weeks, due to ongoing problems in sourcing appropriate customer premises equipment... more
CORPORATE/FINANCIAL
Vivendi beats profit target despite SFR’s performance; delays GVT sale
French entertainment and telecoms conglomerate Vivendi says it beat its full-year earnings target for 2012, despite a fall in profits at its French telecoms unit SFR. Reuters adds however that... more
Qtel group rebranding as Ooredoo
Qatar Telecom (Qtel) is rebranding its Qatari and international operations under the name ‘Ooredoo’, translating as ‘I want’ in Arabic, after unveiling the new brand at Mobile World Congress in... more
Telefonica Brazil (Vivo) reports rising net profits in 2012
Telefonica Brazil (Vivo), a unit of Spanish telecom giant Telefonica, has reported net profits of USD2.22 billion in full-year 2012, up 2.1% year-on-year, on revenue of USD16.97 billion (up 2.3%).... more
Softbank’s move prompts DoCoMo to get the M&A habit
Kaoru Kato as saying that following rival Softbank Corp’s move to acquire a majority stake in US operator Sprint Nextel, his company is ready to return to investing in phone... more
Paltel reports a 1.3% fall in revenues in 2012
Palestinian fixed, mobile and data services provider Paltel has reported a 1.3% year-on-year decrease in net operating revenue to USD516.0 million in 2012, from USD522.7 million a year earlier. The... more
Vodafone Hungary dismisses government takeover plan as ‘false’
Janos Suba, Vodafone Hungary’s director of communications has dismissed as ‘false’ a report claiming that the government of Hungary is considering a plan to take control of the mobile operator.... more
Orange faces disciplinary action over Simyo deal
Spain’s National Competition Commission has initiated disciplinary proceedings against Orange Espana, owned by France Telecom-Orange, for completing the acquisition of mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Simyo before informing the antitrust... more
MVNO Lycamobile anticipates EUR1bn turnover ahead of US launch
Milind Kangle, CEO of international mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Lycamobile has revealed that the reseller is expected to generate revenues of more than EUR1 billion (USD1.3 billion) in its... more
Sale of Etisalat’s African towers still on the cards, report says
Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) is still looking to sell its tower operations across Africa, and is thought to have hired Booz & Company, Allen & Overy and KPMG to assess... more
Netia to see ownership shuffle
Polish triple-play provider Netia has tasked Morgan Stanley with finding a new investor to replace stakes currently held by two private equity funds, rpkom reports. Morgan Stanley is looking for... more
MISCELLANEOUS
EU opposes plan to merge anti-monopoly body with telecoms watchdog
A letter sent by European Union (EU) Commissioner Neelie Kroes to the Spanish government expresses ‘deep concern’ over a plan to merge Spain’s anti-monopoly authority with its regulatory agencies for... more
Du extends data centre agreement with Injazat
United Arab Emirates telecoms operator Du has extended its managed collocation services contract with Injazat Data Systems for a further three years. Under the terms of the renewed agreement, Injazat’s... more
‘Disillusioned’ Branson to back out of Virgin experiment?
According to an unconfirmed report by online journal Izvestia.ru, Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has distanced itself from plans to launch as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in Russia, with... more