CommsUpdate
TeleGeography's free daily email summary of the world’s top telecom news stories.
5 Mar 2013
WIRELESS
POTRAZ plans universal service licence and shared infrastructure
Zimbabwean newspaper The Herald reports that the country’s government is creating legislation that will allow telecoms regulator POTRAZ to issue universal service licences. The proposed concessions are expected to replace... more
Anatel gets tough: demands MMDS operators to vacate 2.5MHz-2.6MHz band by 12 April
BNamericas writes that Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel has issued a demand to the country’s multichannel multipoint distribution service (MMDS) pay-TV providers, that they vacate the 2.5MHz-2.6MHz bands (set aside for... more
Orange Moldova receives temporary operating concession
Moldova’s telecoms regulator, ANRCETI, has issued a temporary GSM licence to Orange Moldova. The 20-month concession will replace the cellco’s existing licence which expires on Thursday. The temporary extension is... more
Sprint extends LTE to nine new markets, including San Juan, Puerto Rico
US mobile giant Sprint Nextel is extending its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network to nine new markets, namely: Altoona (Pennsylvania), Asheville and Statesville (both North Carolina), Columbus and Elkhart/Goshen... more
Moscow court chastises 'inactive' watchdog; finds in favour of Antares Telecom
The Moscow Arbitration Court has found the State Radio Frequency Commission (SRFC) ‘guilty of inaction’ with regards to its lack of consideration of Antares Telecom’s disputed Long Term Evolution (LTE)... more
Oi SA relaunches integrated telecoms services in Antarctica
Brazilian telecoms giant Oi SA has re-established operations in Antarctica, at the Comandante Ferraz military base, which was destroyed following a fire in February 2012. According to Telecompaper, the carrier... more
BROADBAND
Aster la vista, baby; Netia snaps up networks from rival
Polish triple-play provider Netia has signed an agreement with its chief rival, US-backed cableco UPC Poland, to acquire infrastructure previously operated by Aster, prior to its takeover by UPC in... more
GBI confirms launch of inaugural Gulf-to-Europe terrestrial fibre link through Iraq, Turkey
Gulf Bridge International (GBI) has announced that it has launched the first ever terrestrial fibre-optic link connecting the Gulf region to Europe. The link consists of robust diverse routes through... more
DT teams up with Fon for blanket Wi-Fi network, updates brand identity
Deutsche Telekom (DT) and global Wi-Fi provider Fon have unveiled a new partnership which will enable the Bonn-based operator to launch Germany’s largest Wi-Fi network. With ‘WLAN TO GO’, users... more
VIPnet near-doubles cable internet speeds to 60Mbps
Croatian cellco VIPnet – which includes the cable network operations of B.net Croatia it took over in mid-2011 – has raised cable broadband package speeds to 60Mbps, up from the... more
CaribNET launched in Trinidad
The Caribbean Research and Education Network (CaribNET), a broadband fibre-optic network constructed by regional telecoms operator Cable & Wireless (LIME), was officially launched in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad on 26 February 2013,... more
WIRELINE
Complete IP migration in 2013 for MakTel
Macedonian incumbent fixed and mobile operator Makedonski Telekom (MakTel) plans to migrate all of its customers to its new IP network by the end of 2013, according to the group’s... more
CORPORATE/FINANCIAL
Go with the Flow: Karib Cable bought by Columbus
Barbados-based telecoms group Columbus International has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Kelcom International, which operates cable-based services under the name Karib Cable in St Lucia, St Vincent & the... more
Increased competition dents Cellcom’s revenues in FY2012
Noting that its financial performance ‘reflect the continued impact of the heightened competition in the cellular market’, Israel’s largest mobile network operator by subscribers, Cellcom, has published its results for... more
OTE reconsidering GloBul sale
Greek telco OTE may abort the planned sale of GloBul, its Bulgarian unit, according to Sofia News Agency citing company officials. GloBul has recently successfully refinanced its debt, and is... more
PLDT reports 12% rise in FY12 net profit as Q4 income surges
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), the country’s biggest telecoms operator by subscribers and revenue, posted net profits of PHP35.5 billion (USD873.6 million) in full year 2012, up 12% from... more
PT Indosat reports slump in preliminary 2012 net profit
Indonesia’s second largest telecoms group PT Indosat says its preliminary net profits for full year 2012 fell to IDR417.4 billion (USD43 million) from IDR879.7 billion in the previous year, as... more
QSC sales rise 1% in 2012
QS Communications (QSC), a provider of ICT and telecoms services to small- and medium-sized enterprises in Germany, has announced its preliminary financial results for the twelve months ended 31 December... more
Vodafone case to be concluded before changes are made to tax laws
India will not look to secure parliamentary approval to implement controversial rules regarding retrospective taxation until it concludes a long-standing dispute with UK-based Vodafone Group, Reuters quotes finance minister Palaniappan... more
Dialog Axiata approaches Airtel Lanka, sources say
Malaysian group Axiata, parent of Sri Lanka’s largest cellco by users Dialog Axiata, has approached India’s Bharti Airtel with the intention of acquiring its Sri Lankan mobile subsidiary Airtel Lanka,... more
MIC ups investment in online service arms
Luxembourg-based telecoms group Millicom International Cellular (MIC), which provides wireless and broadband services in LatAm and Africa under the Tigo brand, has increased its holdings in its online service and... more
Haiti surpasses Jamaica as Digicel’s top earner
Pan-Caribbean telecoms group Digicel ended 2012 with 10.2 million subscribers, up 8.6% from last year, with Haiti knocking Jamaica from the top-spot as the company’s greatest earner. Irish news portal... more
Competition Bureau OKs Bell’s Astral takeover re-jig; must still face CRTC scrutiny
BCE, the parent of Bell Canada, has received Competition Bureau clearance for a revised proposal to take over broadcasting group Astral Media and merge it with its Bell Media division.... more
TT&T’s annual revenues slide 11%, loss near-triples
Thai provincial fixed line provider TT&T has reported its annual financial results for 2012 to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), showing that revenues dropped to THB2.347 billion (USD78.6 million),... more