CommsUpdate
TeleGeography's free daily email summary of the world’s top telecom news stories.
18 Mar 2013
WIRELESS
Norway sets 800MHz auction goals: 100% of households to have good quality broadband access
Norway’s Ministry of Transport & Communications (MoTC) has said that it expects 100% of the country’s households to have access to broadband in the near future at what it has... more
High court stays Bharti 3G roaming ban
Indian wireless operator Bharti Airtel has been allowed to continue offering 3G roaming services until a hearing on the matter on 8 May, after sector regulator the Department of Telecommunications... more
MTN activates DC-HSPA+ upgrade
MTN Uganda has implemented the nation’s first dual carrier (DC) HSPA+ upgrade on its wireless network, boosting maximum download speeds to 42Mbps, New Vision reports. Chief marketing officer for the... more
Slovenia invites bids for 1800MHz, 2100MHz licences; settles 900MHz renewal
Slovenia’s Agency for Post and Electronic Communications (APEK) has issued an open call for bidders for the assignment of additional mobile frequencies in the 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands, under a... more
MegaFon launches 4G in South Ossetia
Russia’s MegaFon has announced the commercial launch of Long Term Evolution (LTE) services in South Ossetia. The new 4G network supports mobile broadband at maximum download speeds of up to... more
Menatelecom not allowed to bid in 4G auction
Bahrain’s Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) has issued a clarification for its upcoming frequency licence auction in the 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz and 2600MHz bands, stating that participation in the tender process... more
Unitel to pay USD7.5m for STP telecoms licence
Unitel International Holding, backed by Isabel dos Santos, is to pay USD7.5 million for Sao Tome and Principe’s second fixed and mobile licence, Macauhub cites a report by pan-African news... more
Smart reports 132% growth on mobile broadband drive
Online news portal Philstar.com reports that Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) mobile unit Smart Communications grew its post-paid broadband business by 132% last year, driven by a surge in demand... more
Honduran regulator cuts mobile tariffs
The Comision Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Conatel) in Honduras has imposed a 17% price reduction in mobile to mobile telephony calls in the country, and a 40% cut to the cost... more
Lonestar Cell launches service on borrowed time
MTN Liberia, trading under the Lonestar Cell brand, has launched a new service ‘Xtra Time’ which allows its mobile users to ‘borrow’ airtime credit (in case of emergency etc) and... more
INCM to offer 800MHz frequencies in Jun-13 auction
The Instituto Nacional de Comunicacoes de Mocambique (INCM) has confirmed that it intends to offer up five 2x5MHz spectrum blocks in the 790MHz-862MHz band in an auction set for June... more
AT&T refuses to rule out tower sale
AT&T Inc has admitted that it could sell off selected non-core assets as part of a strategy to achieve additional financial flexibility, but has declined say which assets might be... more
Details of Ooredoo's LTE network launch confirmed
Qatar Telecom (Ooredoo) has confirmed details of its upcoming 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network launch, with commercial services initially being made available only to customers in the capital Doha... more
BROADBAND
Minister inks new contract for Far East submarine cable
Nikolai Nikiforov, Russia’s Minister for Communications and Mass Media, has signed an agreement with Vladimir Pechyony, the acting governor of the Far East’s Magadan Region, to resume construction of a... more
Telstra and Ericsson celebrate successful trial of 1Tbps optical link
Australian fixed line incumbent Telstra has successfully carried out its first trial of 1Tbps technology in partnership with Swedish vendor Ericsson. In a press release revealing the achievement, Ericsson noted... more
IQ Networks taps Menara for 10Gbps DWDM solution
IQ Networks, a facility-based internet service provider (ISP) based in Iraq, has selected Menara Networks to deploy its transponder-less dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) solution as part of a nationwide... more
Claro launching commercial IPTV this month
Quadruple-play telecoms and pay-TV operator Claro Puerto Rico, part of the America Movil group, has confirmed that it will officially launch commercial IPTV services by the end of March 2013,... more
WIRELINE
ComReg reports 2.4% drop in Q4 2012 telecom revenues
Ireland’s telecoms regulator the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) has published its ‘Irish Quarterly Communications Market Data Q4 2012’ report showing that revenues from electronic communications fell by 2.4% year-on-year... more
CORPORATE/FINANCIAL
Telefonica investigates bond issue
Following its spin-off from Spanish telecoms group Telefonica last year, Telefonica Deutschland is considering a possible bond issue to finance its debt more cheaply, Reuters reports, citing comments made by... more
Poor finances delay Telecom Cambodia listing
Plans to list Cambodia’s state-owned fixed line incumbent Telecom Cambodia (TC) on the country’s fledgling stock exchange have been postponed indefinitely due to the firm’s poor financial performance, the Phnom... more
Potential purchase of Gabon Telecom by Etisalat under discussion
A proposal under which incumbent telco Gabon Telecom (including cellular division Libertis) has reportedly been targeted for takeover by UAE-based group Etisalat (via its Atlantique Telecom division operating locally as... more
China Mobile books strong revenue, profit growth in 2012
China Mobile, the world’s largest cellco by subscribers, booked net profits of CNY129.38 billion (USD20.6 billion) for the year ended 31 December 2012, up from CNY125.97 billion in 2011. Revenues... more
All aboard the spectrum gravy train as Woosh completes 2.3GHz deal
Craig Wireless has announced that its subsidiary, Woosh Wireless, has completed the acquisition of the remaining spectrum management rights – comprising more than 35MHz of 2.3GHz spectrum – previously held... more
MISCELLANEOUS
Libyan government slams the brakes on telco management tender
The Libyan government has abruptly halted a tender to manage the country's monopoly telecoms operator, state-owned Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology Co (LIPTIC), and its wholly-owned cellular subsidiaries Libyana... more
Cuba renames, restructures communications ministry
Cuba’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has been renamed and restructured under Decree Law 308, which was approved by the State Council and published in the Official Gazette No.... more