Press Clippings: December 2008
Major Industry items you might have missed
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
China Mobile signs deal to lease TD-SCDMA network from parent company.
Source: cellular-news.
China Mobile has agreed to lease the TD-SCDMA network being built by its parent company, China Mobile Communications and has announced that it will pay a maximum of RMB1bn. (US$146m.) during 2009. The company has already invested some US$2bn. building its trial network.
Posted by Judith — 4:15 AM
Sprint Nextel increases comission payments to Virgin Mobile.
Source: cellular-news.
Sprint Nextel has changed the terms of its commission payments to its MVNO partner, Virgin Mobile USA which suggests that the firm is taking a more aggressive stance in trying to boost its flagging subscriber base.
According an SEC filing, Sprint Nextel will increase its payment to Virgin Mobile for each gross new subscriber from US$2.50 to US$4.50 in the last three months of this year. A limit of US$10m. on all payments during the quarter has also been removed.
The two firms also agreed to lower the access charge that Virgin Mobile makes each year for access to Sprint’s CDMA network.
Posted by Judith — 3:19 AM
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
BroadSoft acquires Sylantro.
Source: InformationWeek.
BroadSoft has announced that it has acquired Sylantro Systems in a move merging two leading VoIP software applications providers that primarily serve the telecommunications industry.
Both companies have their own lines of VoIP products and BroadSoft said it will continue to support Sylantro’s Synergy platform and continue to utilize Sylantro’s authorized partners as well as BroadSoft’s partners and resellers.
Posted by Judith — 6:20 AM
Microsoft outlines vision of pay-as-you-go computing.
Source: CNN.
Microsoft has applied for a patent on metered, pay-as-you-go computing.
Under a Microsoft proposal, consumers would receive heavily discounted PCs, then pay fees for usage, with charges based on both the length of usage time and the performance levels utilized, along with a “one-time charge.
Posted by Judith — 4:22 AM
Khanty-Mansiysk ruling against Telenor cancelled by Omsk court.
Source: cellular-news.
The Eighth Arbitrazh Appellate Court in Omsk in Siberia has cancelled the US$2.8bn. judgment issued against Telenor last August in Khanty-Mansiysk. The Omsk court said it will reconsider the case from the beginning on 19 February.
The original case was filed by little-known British Virgin Islands-based Farimex Products, Inc., which claimed that VimpelCom suffered financial harm allegedly caused by Telenor due to delays in VimpelCom’s acquisition of loss-making Ukrainian mobile operation, Ukrainian Radio Systems.
Posted by Judith — 3:56 AM
Monday, December 29, 2008
Verizon wins US$33m. in suit over domain names.
Source: NYT.
Verizon Communications has been awarded US$33.2m. in a lawsuit against an Internet services company that it claimed had registered hundreds of domain names with Verizon trademarks.
Verizon sued OnlineNic of San Francisco in June, accusing the company of trademark infringement and illegal “cybersquatting,” or registering addresses intentionally to confuse Web users.
Posted by Judith — 3:07 AM
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Cellcos complete asset swap.
Source: TeleGeography.
AT&T and Verizon Wireless have completed an asset swap which helps them meet the regulatory conditions of two recent buyouts of smaller operators. The FCC approved AT&T’s buyout of Dobson in November 2007 and Verizon’s purchase of rural Cellular in August 2008 as long as a number of overlapping operations were divested. Verizon has now acquired licences, network infrastructure and subscribers from AT&T in Kentucky and other unspecified areas, while AT&T has acquired Verizon assets in rural areas of Vermont, New York, Washington State and Kentucky. Verizon has also received an undisclosed cash payment under the deal.
Posted by Judith — 5:40 AM
Mobile phone subscribers pass 4bn. mark.
Source: cellular-news.
Trade body, 3G Americas says that a historic milestone was achieved for the wireless industry in December 2008 with 4 billion connections to mobile devices worldwide.
This estimate by Informa Telecoms & Media represents 60% of the entire global population today.
Posted by Judith — 4:52 AM
D.T. and Vodafone combine to expand German VDSL.
Source: Reuters.
Telecom giants Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone will work together to expand high-speed VDSL internet broadband services in Germany.
The two companies would begin next year by expanding in two German cities, giving about 50,000 households in each city access to the super-fast network. So far, 50 cities in Germany have access to VDSL.
Posted by Judith — 3:28 AM
Monday, December 22, 2008
Apple buys US$4.8m. stake in mobile chip maker.
Source: InformationWeek.
Apple has bought a stake in a company that makes semiconductors for mobile phones, portable media players, and other consumer electronics, increasing Apple’s investment in chipmakers with technology that could fit in the company’s iPhone and iPod product lines.
The investment, amounting to 8.2m. shares of Imagination Technologies Group, is roughly a 3.6% stake in the U.K. company.
Posted by Judith — 4:22 AM
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Clearwire, Sprint Nextel face lawsuit over mobile WiMAX.
Source: RCR.
A Dallas-based company has filed a lawsuit against Clearwire and Sprint Nextel, alleging patent infringement in regard to technology being used for Clearwire’s WiMAX offering. Adaptix has filed the lawsuit in Eastern District Court of Texas alleging the defendants are illegally using six of its patents.
Posted by Judith — 4:46 AM
Severed cable disrupts web access.
Source: BBC.
Internet and phone communications between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia have been seriously disrupted after submarine cables were severed.
It is thought the FLAG FEA, SMW4, and SMW3 lines, near the Alexandria cable station in Egypt, have all been cut.
A fault was also reported on the GO submarine cable 130km off Sicily.
The cause of the break is as yet unknown, although some seismic activity was reported near Malta shortly before the cut was detected.
Posted by Judith — 3:41 AM
Friday, December 19, 2008
Oi’s acquisition of Brasil Telecom gets green light.
Source: Telecoms.com.
The proposed mega merger between Brazilian carriers Telemar Participacoes, which operates under the Oi brand, and fixed line operator, Brasil Telecom, moved a step closer to reality this week as the local regulator gave preliminary approval for the deal.
The acquisition was first announced in April, when Telemar announced plans to pay out Reais5.9bn. (EUR2.26bn.) to acquire the parent of Brasil Telecom, accompanied by an offer to minority shareholders which would increase the total purchase price to about Reais12.4bn.
Posted by Judith — 4:53 AM
BCE sues for US$1.2bn. break-up fee.
Source: FierceTelecom.
Bell Canada Enterprises has filed a lawsuit against the parties that had sought to acquire the company, in an attempt to recovery the US$1.2bn. break-up fee that was written into the deal. It is believed to be the largest merger break-up fee ever sought, because the BCE buyout would have been the largest leveraged buyout in history, worth at least US$35bn.
Posted by Judith — 3:31 AM
China says US$41bn. to be spent on 3G.
Source: Reuters.
The government has announced that Chinese telecom operators will spend about US$41bn. on next generation (3G) mobile networks over the next two years.
Beijing is developing its own TD-SCDMA 3G standard to promote domestic industries and technology and to avoid the hefty royalties demanded by foreign companies that own the rights to the technologies that are commonly used around the world, WCDMA and CDMA 2000.
Posted by Judith — 3:12 AM
French operators sign FTTH line sharing pact.
Source: Converge.
Numericable, Orange and SFR signed an agreement setting out the conditions for sharing fibre optical cables in buildings installed by any of them. Specifically, the signatories agreed to implement a “single mode” solution in zones where they currently deploy or soon plan to deploy their networks. Residents will be able to choose from amongst the three operators.
Posted by Judith — 2:36 AM
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Mobile only homes increasingly popular.
Source: BWCS.
Just under one fifth of households in the US rely solely on wireless connections and have no fixed line connection, according to figures released by the government. This marks a sizeable increase on the position last year. In the first half of 2008, 17.5% of US homes were ‘wireless only’, this compares to 13.6% of homes during the same period last year.
The percentage of households with both a landline and a wireless phone declined slightly in the first half of 2008, at about 58.5%, compared with 58.9% a year earlier.
Posted by Judith — 5:02 AM
Ericsson signs deal with Nigerian 21st Century Technologies.
Source: TeleGeography.
Ericsson has announced that it has signed a contract with Nigerian telco 21st Century Technologies to deploy a nationwide residential fibre-optic broadband network, including GPON fibre-to-the-home technology enabling high speed broadband access, IPTV and VoIP.
Posted by Judith — 4:08 AM
French watchdog cancels deal between Orange and Apple.
Source: Telecoms.com
French mobile operator Orange has admitted that it has been struck a serious blow as the local Competition Council ordered the carrier to dissolve its exclusive iPhone contract with Apple.
Although legal challenges to Apple’s exclusivity contracts with mobile operators have been raised in the past, most notably in Germany, the French watchdog’s decision is likely to pave the way for similar decisions elsewhere.
Posted by Judith — 3:30 AM
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Portland next up for Clearwire.
Source: TeleGeography.
The WiMAX operator Clearwire has announced that it will launch its next commercial network in Portland, Oregon, on 6 January. The network will be Clearwire’s second live mobile WiMAX system after Baltimore, which launched at the start of October. Other cities with networks in the pipeline include Chicago, Boston and Atlanta.
Posted by Judith — 4:06 AM
BT targets advertising breakthrough.
Source: Light Reading.
BT looks set to introduce technology that enables targeted online advertising, following a successful trial, dubbed “BT Webwise,” with specialist vendor Phorm Inc.
Posted by Judith — 3:22 AM
Just the ticket for mobile travellers.
Source: BWCS.
Passengers on almost all UK trains will soon be able to pay for their journeys direct from their mobile phone. The new system is based on an agreement between mobile application developer Masabi and the Rail Settlement Plan, set up by the Association of Train Operating Companies.
Posted by Judith — 2:02 AM
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Motorola wins China Telecom network upgrade work.
Source: Reuters.
Motorola has won a contract to upgrade part of China Telecom’s network for advanced multimedia services. Motorola will provide CDMA infrastructure in 42 Chinese cities, which would be installed in early 2009.
It is the second announcement about 3G network upgrade work awarded to a foreign company in recent weeks. Alcatel-Lucent has already won a UD$230m. contract from China Telecom to provide CDMA equipment in 56 cities.
Posted by Judith — 3:08 AM
Wireline licensee looks to US$3bn. rollout.
Source: TeleGeography.
The Saudi Arabian fixed line licensee Optical Communications Co, which is led by US telco Verizon Communications, is expecting to spend US$3bn. on deploying infrastructure. Verizon has taken a 15% stake in the venture, with other investors including Millicom International Cellular and a number of local partners.
Posted by Judith — 3:01 AM
Charter in debt talks.
Source: TeleGeography.
The fourth largest US cable operator, Charter Communications, is thought to be attempting to renegotiate its debt in an effort to avoid bankruptcy. Charter has hired Kirkland & Ellis as bankruptcy legal counsel, while Lazard is assisting in the talks with creditors. The operator warned earlier this year that it may need to file for bankruptcy protection if it failed to raise additional funds to finance its cash needs by 2010.
Posted by Judith — 2:44 AM
Monday, December 15, 2008
Tech giants limber up for smart meter contract battle.
Source: TimesOnline.
Some of the world’s biggest telecoms and technology companies have begun discussions to team up for a multi-billion-pound contract to run “smart meters” in Britain.
Telecoms giants Vodafone, O2 and BT and system integrators Logica, Accenture, IBM and Capgemini are understood to have started talks to form bidding consortiums.
The scheme envisages the installation of digital meters in every home to tell customers how much energy they are using. The government expects the scheme to revolutionise the energy industry and lead to lower consumption. The tender will be launched in the new year.
Posted by Judith — 4:29 AM
FCC cancels meeting at U.S. lawmakers’ request.
Source: Reuters.
The FCC has announced that it is cancelling a December 18 meeting in response to a request by Democratic lawmakers that it pay more attention to a smooth transition to digital television early next year.
The meeting had been scheduled to consider a plan for auctioning a slice of the airwaves for free Internet and proposed rules to handle disputes between cable companies and content providers — both potentially controversial matters.
Posted by Judith — 4:06 AM
AT&T completes Wayport acquisition.
Source: Converge.
AT&T has completed its previously announced acquisition of Wayport, a leading integrator of Wi-Fi hotspots. The deal adds local Wi-Fi network management and infrastructure expertise to AT&T’s world-class communications capabilities and brings its number of domestic hotspots to nearly 20,000 — the most of any U.S. provider. Globally, AT&T has nearly 80,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, including roaming locations.
Posted by Judith — 3:26 AM
Telstra’s NBN bid rejected by government panel.
Source: TeleGeography.
Australian incumbent Telstra has reportedly had its bid to build the National Broadband Network (NBN) rejected by the government panel responsible for assessing all proposals. It is understood that the rejection was based on a technicality, with the panel stating that Telstra’s bid failed to include any measures for involving small and medium business in the project.
The rejection of Telstra’s proposal leaves three bidders that have nationwide proposals still under consideration; Optus, consortium Acacia; and Canada’s Axia Netmedia.
Posted by Judith — 2:56 AM
Saturday, December 13, 2008
A subtle thaw in credit freeze.
Source: NYT.
Verizon Wireless has found a crack in the iced-over credit markets. The mobile phone service has tapped banks for US$17bn. in loans to complete its purchase of a competitor, Alltel.
Alltel was the target of a leveraged buyout in November 2007. Verizon Wireless bought some of Alltel’s debt at a discount, but the banks that financed the initial buyout, Citigroup, Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland, still held a chunk.
The new deal, led by the Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, refinances the remaining Alltel debt.
Posted by Judith — 3:09 AM
Friday, December 12, 2008
Alcatel-Lucent to cut 1,000 management jobs.
Source: MarketWatch.
Alcatel-Lucent, the world’s largest maker of telecommunications equipment, has announced that it plans to cut 1,000 management jobs as part of an effort to save EUR1bn. (US$1.33bn.) over the next two years.
Posted by Judith — 3:38 AM
Ericsson launches spare parts management service with TMIB in Bangladesh.
Source: cellular-news.
Ericsson has launched spare parts management services (SPMS) to support TM International Bangladesh’s (TMIB) mobile network. The deal marks Ericsson’s first SPMS contract in Bangladesh, and will help boost operational efficiencies, revenue and network performance.
Posted by Judith — 3:21 AM
Orange extends Telepresence to 65 cities in 34 countries .
Source: Converge.
Orange Business Services has extended its Telepresence-enabled network to 65 cities in 34 countries and extend to 104 countries through international leased lines. This makes its Telepresence footprint the world’s largest to date, according to the company.
Posted by Judith — 2:40 AM
Thursday, December 11, 2008
BCE’s C$34.8bn. buyout collapses.
Source: Reuters.
The C$34.8bn. (US$27.8bn.) buyout of Canada’s biggest telecoms company BCE has collapsed after the buyers said a key condition to the deal was not met.
BCE struck the deal to be bought by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, along with U.S.-based private equity firms Providence Equity Partners, Madison Dearborn Partners and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity nearly 18 months ago.
One of the conditions to closing the deal was receipt of a solvency opinion from a nationally recognized valuation firm.
In a statement, the buyers said they terminated the agreement because KPMG had concluded that the required test for the solvency opinion was not met.
Posted by Judith — 4:22 AM
Sprint to pay US$17.5m. for early termination fees.
Source: InformationWeek.
In a move that may help it move beyond consumer litigation, Sprint Nextel has announced that it has secured preliminary court approval for a US$17.5m. nationwide settlement over the carrier’s early termination fees.
The judge in New Jersey federal court said the settlement does not include the California case where a judge ruled the carrier had to pay US$73m. over its cancellation fees. A settlement would potentially derail a nationwide US$1.2bn. class-action lawsuit that charges Sprint’s early termination fees — or ETFs — violate several state laws.
Posted by Judith — 3:46 AM
BT aims new services at U.S. service providers.
Source: TelecomWeb.
BT has launched a pair of services targeted at U.S.-based broadband and telecom service providers and utility companies — one to help them communicate with their own mobile workers and the other to fine-tune xDSL delivery.
The offerings come from BT Global Telecom Markets, BT’s carrier-services business, and they in part represent the commercialization of techniques and technology BT has developed for its own internal needs.
Posted by Judith — 3:45 AM
Verizon Wireless-Alltel deal gets FTC clearance.
Source: RCR.
The Federal Trade Commission has removed the last regulatory hurdle for Verizon Wireless’ purchase of Alltel, which will create the country’s largest wireless carrier.
The FTC’s antitrust regulators approved an early termination of their antitrust review, indicating that they had no objections.
The FCC and the Justice Department have already signed off on the deal, with conditions that included the sale of some service areas.
Posted by Judith — 3:10 AM
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Sony Ericsson, Vodafone back Google’s Android.
Source: NYT.
Fourteen of the world’s largest mobile phone and chip makers, including Sony Ericsson, Vodafone and ARM Holdings, joined the Open Handset Alliance to support the Android mobile device platform developed by Google.
The new members’ pledge to back the Android software is a significant feat for Google in the mobile phone industry, as its T-Mobile G1 phone takes on rival Apple’s popular iPhone 3G.
Posted by Judith — 3:38 AM
Mobile TV in SA.
Source: BWCS.
South Africa is to launch a tender for licences to provide mobile digital video broadcasting services in the country. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa has published the tender for two metropolitan multiplexes to enable mobile TV services based on the DVB-H standard.
Meanwhile, mobile TV is continuing to grow in patches across the world. In the US mobile television and digital radio service provider MobiTV has announced that it has passed the five million subscriber mark, apparently demonstrating that there is a growing consumer demand for mobile TV outside Korea and Japan.
Posted by Judith — 3:08 AM
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
AT&T-Wayport deal approved.
Source: TeleGeography.
AT&T has received antitrust approval to proceed with its proposed US$275m. acquisition of wireless LAN hotspot operator Wayport. The US FTC has given the go-ahead for the deal after granting an early termination to the required waiting period when regulators raised no objections.
Posted by Judith — 4:34 AM
Vodafone to buy Sweden’s Wayfinder systems.
Source: Reuters.
Vodafone is to make a cash offer for a Swedish navigational software firm to help improve its mobile Internet offering by providing local search, advertizing and direction services.
Vodafone has targeted growing mobile data revenues as the mobile market becomes saturated, and the acquisition of Wayfinder Systems could help it attract and keep customers.
The offer values the Swedish company at SKR239m. (US$30 million).
Posted by Judith — 4:09 AM
TTSL set to roll out 60m. GSM lines.
Source: TeleGeography.
Tata Teleservices has inked deals with hardware vendors Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei Technologies for the rollout of approximately 60m. GSM lines. The cellco has signed five-year contracts with both vendors worth an estimated US$3.5bn.
Posted by Judith — 3:56 AM
AT&T enhances Cisco TelePresence capabilities.
Source: Converge.
AT&T is now supporting multipoint, intercompany Telepresence connectivity using its Cisco TelePresence infrastructure. The enhanced service enables customers to host multipoint meetings with customers, suppliers and partners using the AT&T Business Exchange.
Posted by Judith — 3:40 AM
Monday, December 8, 2008
Lack of spectrum to limit number of 3G licences up for grabs.
Source: TeleGeography.
A draft information memorandum by the Indian Department of Telecommunications has reportedly revealed that no more than four 3G licences are expected to be auctioned per telecoms circle. The revelation comes despite previously announced plans for between eight and ten concessions to be offered in each circle.
Posted by Judith — 4:11 AM
PCCW buyout vote set for 30 December.
Source: TeleGeography.
PCCW Group has set a date of 30 December for shareholders to vote on China Netcom and Richard Li’s proposal to buy out and take private the company, reports Telecom Asia. Crucially, it has cleared Li - its chairman and largest single shareholder - to vote on the transaction, greatly increasing the possibility the deal will be completed. The proposed deal is worth HK$15.9bn. (US$2.05bn.)
Posted by Judith — 3:26 AM
Kenyan operator to offer mobile money transfers from the UK.
Source: cellular-news.
Kenya’s Safaricom and The Western Union Company are to pilot a cross-border Mobile Money Transfer service between the UK and Kenya. This service will enable customers to send cross-border remittances from select locations directly to Safaricom mobile subscribers in Kenya generally in minutes.
Posted by Judith — 2:36 AM
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Alcatel-Lucent CEO: We will remain in wireless, will have LTE products.
Source: RCR.
Next week Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen will unveil a plan that is geared to turn around the fortunes of the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker — and wireless is expected to be part of that plan.
Despite pressure from investors to close up the wireless division of the business, Verwaayen said that the company will continue with research and development of wireless products.
Posted by Judith — 4:44 AM
Friday, December 5, 2008
AT&T to cut 12,000 jobs as landline losses grow.
Source: NYT.
AT&T has announced that it plans to lay off 12,000 people and curb spending on new equipment — a sign that the telecommunications industry is beginning to feel the pain of the economic downturn.
AT&T had already been struggling with a decline in revenue from its traditional wireline phone service as customers continued to drop landlines.
Posted by Judith — 4:28 AM
Ofcom allows BT to raise rivals’ prices by 11%.
Source: TimesOnline.
BT could charge other telecoms carriers up to 11% more for using its network under long-awaited pricing proposals published by Ofcom, the telecoms watchdog.
Ofcom announced in May that it would formally consider letting BT’s Openreach division raise the prices it charges competitors for wholesale access to local exchanges and has now issued a new range of tariffs.
Posted by Judith — 3:40 AM
Yell merges mobile division as part of US$163m. restructure.
Source: mocoNews.
UK local listings directory business Yell, publisher of Yellowbook.com in the US, is merging its mobile division into its main digital department as part of a GBP100m. (US$162.9m.) restructure
Posted by Judith — 3:03 AM
Tata Teleservices offers managed PBX based on Nortel .
Source: Converge.
Tata Teleservices has launched Managed PBX services for SMBs in India in collaboration with Nortel and LG-Nortel. The service provides a single interface solution for all SMB communications requirements, including digital ISDN connectivity, voicemail services, interactive voice response and Mobile Extension Services.
Posted by Judith — 2:42 AM
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Top U.S. wireless service providers for the third quarter.
Source: RCR.
The companies listed below represent the 12 largest national and regional licensed wireless carriers and mobile virtual network operators based on subscriber numbers at the end of the third quarter of this year.
There was no movement among the top carriers when compared with numbers from the second quarter. AT&T Mobility remained at the top of the list with nearly 75m. subscribers. Verizon Wireless remained a close second with 70.8m. subscribers.
Posted by Judith — 5:15 AM
Vodafone faces US$2bn. Indian tax bill.
Source: TimesOnline.
A court in India has given the country’s taxman the green light to pursue Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile operator by revenue, for an estimated US$2bn. (GBP1.4bn.) in capital gains tax.
The ruling makes it likely that hundreds of other overseas companies that have invested in the sub-continent - many of them British - will have large tax bills hanging over them for years to come. It may dissuade foreigners from making future Indian acquisitions.
Posted by Judith — 3:31 AM
EC targets German mobile fees.
Source: BWCS.
Following yesterday’s news that the French regulator is to force mobile operators to cut termination rates, it has emerged that the EC is demanding more information on German rates from the national regulator the BNetzA. The EC has reportedly sent a letter to the Berlin-based watchdog demanding that it hands over information on all German mobile operators’ termination rates.
Posted by Judith — 3:06 AM
Orange Money launched.
Source: TeleGeography.
Orange has announced the commercial launch of ‘Orange Money’ in Ivory Coast in alliance with BNP Paribas. This is the Orange group’s first mobile based payment and money transfer service in Western Africa. Orange customers do not need a bank account to subscriber to the service which is activated free of charge and without any minimum deposit.
Posted by Judith — 3:05 AM
AT&T and ChaCha announce strategic relationship.
Source: Converge.
AT&T has announced a strategic relationship with ChaCha, a provider of text messaging mobile search services. As part of the agreement, ChaCha will use a co-branded greeting and promote AT&T when consumers call 1-800 number. AT&T and ChaCha also will work together to further enhance ChaCha’s free mobile-answers service and explore opportunities in both text and voice ad-based services.
Posted by Judith — 2:52 AM
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
AT&T goes global with ethernet VPLS.
Source: TelecomWeb.
AT&T now is offering its Ethernet-based virtual private local area network service (VPLS) in 14 countries across Europe and AsiaPac.
First offered in the United States, AT&T’s service now can be purchases in Germany, the U.K., Belgium, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore and Japan.
AT&T says that the geographic expansion means its VPLS service enables businesses to link multiple locations with the “ease and efficiency of a flat Ethernet WAN” that now can be extended globally.
Posted by Judith — 3:13 AM
New coalition drawing up nationwide broadband access strategy.
Source: WashingtonPost.
President-elect Barack Obama has said getting affordable high-speed Internet service to every American home would create jobs, fuel economic growth and spark innovation. Representatives from technology and telecommunications companies, labor unions and public interest groups frequently at odds with one another have agreed to provide the next president with a roadmap for how to accomplish those goals.
Posted by Judith — 3:11 AM
Telecom Italia to sell assets, cut workforce.
Source: Reuters.
Debt-laden Telecom Italia, Europe’s fifth-biggest telecoms provider, will shed assets worth nearly US$4bn. and cut another 5% of its workforce in a bid to slash borrowings and costs amid a weak economy.
Outlining its strategy for the next three years, the company confirmed its intention to grow in Brazil and said it had no plans to spin off its fixed-line network.
Posted by Judith — 2:25 AM
New domain to be web’s phone book.
Source: BBC.
Companies are now able to buy addresses associated with a new web domain.
Called .tel, the domain is intended to act as a universal contact point rather than as a hook on which to hang websites.
Owners of .tel domains will be encouraged to populate it with details about how they can be contacted.
The domain is designed to work on the web and with mobile phones such as the Apple iPhone and Blackberry.
Posted by Judith — 2:13 AM
Telus buys 40Gbps technology.
Source: TeleGeography.
Canadian telco Telus has ordered 40Gbps fibre-optic network equipment from domestic technology provider Nortel Networks to enable it to quadruple the transmission capacity of its national fixed backbone infrastructure. In September Bell Canada announced a similar purchase of 40Gbps fibre-optic equipment from Nortel to upgrade its transport network speeds.
Posted by Judith — 1:57 AM
US$420m. bid for AAPT from Pacnet.
Source: TeleGeography.
It is reported that Pacnet, the company formed by the merger of Asia Netcom and Pacific Netcom, has tabled a bid of US$420m. for Australian telco AAPT. The report suggests that AAPT, a subsidiary of Telecom New Zealand, is a target for Pacnet as the latter looks to round out its Asia-wide telecoms network.
Posted by Judith — 1:53 AM
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Qualcomm ruling affirmed, vacated in part: U.S. court.
Source: Reuters.
A U.S. federal court has affirmed a ruling against Qualcomm Inc in its long-running battle with Broadcom Corp over some video technology patents, but voided a part of the lower-court decision that said Qualcomm could not enforce the patents.
Posted by Judith — 4:12 AM
Underground mobile launched in UK.
Source: BWCS.
Passengers on Glasgow’s “Clockwork Orange” subway system yesterday became the first in the UK to be able to use their mobile phones whilst underground. The new service, offered by O2, follows extensive work by UK firm Arqiva to extend the operator’s network below ground.
Posted by Judith — 2:47 AM
Monday, December 1, 2008
Yahoo signs deal with Virgin Mobile.
Source: BBC.
Yahoo has agreed a deal to make it the exclusive search engine for Virgin Mobile’s four million subscribers.
After losing out to Google in the fight for dominance of the desktop computer market, this is being seen by some as an attempt to make a comeback.
Yahoo will increase its share of mobile search engine users in the UK to 80%.
Around the world Yahoo has now got 70 similar deals to the one with Virgin, theoretically giving it access to 850m. mobile users.
Posted by Judith — 10:28 AM
Companies line up for BSNL WiMAX partnership project.
Source: TeleGeography.
More than 20 companies have expressed an interest in becoming a franchisee for rolling out state-owned telco BSNL’s WiMAX services. Vendors including Motorola, Huawei and Alcatel-Lucent have all been named as possible partners, alongside smaller India-based companies such as Adina Telecom, Wellcom Communications and Aban Informatics.
Posted by Judith — 5:41 AM
Belgacom completes Scarlet purchase for lower than expected price.
Source: TeleGeography.
Belgian telco Beglacom has announced the completion of its takeover of broadband operator Scarlet. The final value of the deal was EUR175m. (US$222.2m.), approximately EUR10m. less than originally planned; the revaluation of the acquisition came after a price review ordered by the Belgian Competition Council.
Posted by Judith — 5:05 AM
Clearwire deal clears.
Source: Converge.
Clearwire and Sprint Nextel have completed the financial transaction combining their next-generation wireless Internet businesses. The new company retains the name Clearwire and remains headquartered in Kirkland, Washington.
Sprint contributed all of its 2.5 GHz spectrum and its WiMAX-related assets, including its XOHM business, to Clearwire.
In addition, Clearwire has received a US$3.2bn. cash investment from Comcast, Intel, Time Warner Cable, Google and Bright House Networks.
Posted by Judith — 2:54 AM
- Press Clippings Archives
- November 2011 (1)
- October 2011 (72)
- September 2011 (81)
- August 2011 (77)
- July 2011 (75)
- June 2011 (81)
- May 2011 (70)
- April 2011 (63)
- March 2011 (91)
- February 2011 (67)
- January 2011 (78)
- December 2010 (62)
- November 2010 (84)
- October 2010 (86)
- September 2010 (87)
- August 2010 (81)
- July 2010 (87)
- June 2010 (93)
- May 2010 (90)
- April 2010 (80)
- March 2010 (92)
- February 2010 (78)
- January 2010 (74)
- December 2009 (70)
- November 2009 (91)
- October 2009 (113)
- September 2009 (107)
- August 2009 (77)
- July 2009 (98)
- June 2009 (75)
- May 2009 (63)
- April 2009 (83)
- March 2009 (69)
- February 2009 (60)
- January 2009 (73)
- December 2008 (68)
- November 2008 (84)
- October 2008 (112)
- September 2008 (118)
- August 2008 (76)
- July 2008 (91)
- June 2008 (93)
- May 2008 (97)
- April 2008 (100)
- March 2008 (99)
- February 2008 (99)
- January 2008 (121)
- December 2007 (74)
- November 2007 (124)
- October 2007 (105)
- September 2007 (111)
- August 2007 (88)
- July 2007 (89)
- June 2007 (84)
- May 2007 (99)
- April 2007 (85)
- March 2007 (103)
- February 2007 (96)
- January 2007 (93)
- December 2006 (84)
- November 2006 (107)
- October 2006 (134)
- September 2006 (122)
- August 2006 (103)
- July 2006 (133)
- June 2006 (133)
- May 2006 (135)
- April 2006 (116)
- March 2006 (137)
- February 2006 (112)
- January 2006 (102)
All materials on this website are © LTC International Inc., 1999-2024.
All rights reserved. [Terms of Use]