Press Clippings: March 2009
Major Industry items you might have missed
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Cox contracts Huawei for 3G rollout.
Source: TeleGeography.
Triple-play cable operator Cox Communications has selected China-based Huawei Technologies to provide CDMA-based equipment for its planned wireless network infrastructure. Cox spent US$550m. on its wireless licences in August 2008 and is ultimately aiming for a 20% market share.
Posted by Judith — 5:30 AM
Lebara Mobile joins list of Australian MVNOs.
Source: TeleGeography.
UK-based company Lebara Mobile has launched its pre-paid mobile services in Australia under an MVNO deal with Vodafone. The company will target the growing expatriate market in the country, focussing on lower international call costs.
Posted by Judith — 4:42 AM
Monday, March 30, 2009
Dell to launch MVNO venture supported by HSPA-enabled laptops.
Source: TeleGeography.
The Japanese operating division of leading computer manufacturer Dell plans to launch an MVNO business in the country, by bundling its notebook PCs with built-in HSPA cards. The equipment maker has secured an MVNO licence from the MIC and will use NTT DoCoMo as its host network.
Posted by Judith — 5:16 AM
Skype announces service for iPhone, BlackBerry.
Source: Reuters.
Skype, the Internet telephone unit of eBay, is planning to launch its service for iPhone users on Tuesday and for BlackBerry in May as part of its effort to expand beyond desktop computers.
Posted by Judith — 4:18 AM
Verizon launches fiber backhaul for other wireless carriers .
Source: Converge.
Verizon has begun offering backhaul services to other mobile carriers using its extensive fiber-optic network to connect cellular towers and mobile switching offices. Thousands of Verizon Wireless’ cell sites and mobile switching offices across the country are among the first being networked using Ethernet-based fiber-optic technology, under a contract negotiated with Verizon Partner Solutions, the company’s U.S. wholesale division. The Verizon fiber links are available to other wireless carriers.
Posted by Judith — 3:41 AM
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Charter files for Chapter 11, begins new restructuring phase.
Source: Telecompaper.
US cable operator Charter Communications has begun the next phase of its previously announced financial restructuring, and has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a New York court. The operator in February reached an agreement to restructure its debt obligations with bondholders in a series of moves expected to reduce the company’s debt by around US$8bn.
Posted by Judith — 5:09 AM
Friday, March 27, 2009
Vodafone UK starts Twittering via SMS.
Source: Telecoms.com.
Microblogging and social networking tool Twitter has made a made a return to the UK mobile market, after signing a deal with Vodafone that will allow users to send updates to and receive SMS notifications from the messaging network.
Twitter pulled the plug on part of its UK mobile service in the summer of 2008, citing the high prices charges by UK operators for SMS notifications.
The company has already achieved similar deals in Canada, India, and the United States.
Posted by Judith — 5:01 AM
Vodafone and DTAC sign strategic partnership.
Source: TeleGeography.
UK-based Vodafone Group and Thailand’s second largest mobile operator DTAC have jointly announced that they have signed a ‘partner market’ agreement, under which DTAC will have exclusive access to Vodafone’s range of products, devices and services in Thailand and will be able to draw on Vodafone’s experience in supply chain management, technology development, the acquisition of enterprise customers as well as improved interconnection between networks.
Posted by Judith — 4:01 AM
Digital Island signs MVNO deal with Telecom New Zealand.
Source: TeleGeography.
Digital Island has signed a deal with Telecom New Zealand to become an MVNO. Digital Island, which supplies telecoms solutions to businesses, will use Telecom’s 2G network to connect to clients but will not gain access to its 3G infrastructure, which Telecom plans to launch in June 2009.
Posted by Judith — 3:42 AM
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Sprint WiMax expansion news.
Source: BWCS.
US mobile operator Sprint has announced plans to roll out its nascent WiMax service across the US.
Sprint said it will extend its WiMax networks into ten major urban areas including, Atlanta; Charlotte; Chicago; Dallas; Fort Worth; Honolulu; Las Vegas; Philadelphia; Portland; and Seattle. The American cellular company launched its WiMax services in Baltimore in September of last year, following an agreement with Clearwire to combine their WiMax businesses.
Posted by Judith — 4:42 AM
Nokia invests US$70m. in Obopay.
Source: FierceWireless.
Nokia is investing around US$70m. in mobile payment firm Obopay, lending its clout to the burgeoning mobile payment industry.
Obopay, which currently operates in the United States and India, allows people to fund accounts with cash or by linking the account to a credit card. Users can then send money via text message.
Posted by Judith — 4:16 AM
Telefonica selects Level 3 for North American network.
Source: cellular-news.
Level 3 Communications has expanded its relationship with Telefonica International Wholesale Services to establish a dedicated wavelength network across North America.
Telefonica International Wholesale Services is the organization within the Telefonica Group which provides global Telecommunication services for fixed and mobile carriers, ISPs and content providers.
Posted by Judith — 3:52 AM
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
NEC to upgrade Pan-American cable for eleven telcos.
Source: TeleGeography.
Japan’s NEC Corporation has signed a contract with a purchaser consortium of eleven telecoms carriers for upgrading the Pan-American Cable System, which connects the west coast of South America and the Caribbean through Panama. The eleven purchasers are: AT&T, Telmex, CANTV (Venezuela), Cable & Wireless Panama, Embratel (Brazil), Ecuador’s CNT, Entel Chile, Telefonica Colombia, SETAR (Aruba), Antelecom and Cable Andino. The Pan-American Cable System was first installed in 1999, and the upgrade will give a boost to regional capacities of multiple 10Gbps wavelengths.
Posted by Judith — 5:52 AM
3 and Vodafone gearing up to take on Telstra .
Source: BWCS.
Vodafone has set the first week of May as the date for the switch on of its new Australian joint venture with Hutchison’s 3. The new service provider, which will operate as VHA, will become the second largest 3G operator in Australia behind Telstra.
Posted by Judith — 4:04 AM
EU reaches agreement on lower roaming rates.
Source: Telecompaper.
The European Parliament and member states are reported to have reached an agreement on further cuts to mobile roaming prices in the EU. The parties were in negotiations ahead of a planned final vote in parliament next month. If passed in parliament, the new prices are expected to take effect from 1 July.
Posted by Judith — 3:53 AM
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sprint eyes tie-ups with gadget makers.
Source: Reuters.
Sprint Nextel Corp is reported to be looking to rent the excess capacity on its network to makers of consumer gadgets.
The No. 3 U.S. mobile service provider is talking with companies such as navigation device maker Garmin, photography company Eastman Kodak Co and storage device maker SanDisk Corp about delivering wireless Internet service for their products.
Posted by Judith — 4:10 AM
OnRelay, BT Global Services ink deal for FMC trial.
Source: Telecompaper.
Fixed mobile convergence provider OnRelay has entered into a contract with BT Global Services. Under the contract, BT Global Services will begin on-site trials of OnRelay’s MBX software with a number of UK-based and multinational customers as part of BT’s unified communications offering. OnRelay’s MBX allows companies to replace their IP desk phones with mobile phones.
Posted by Judith — 3:44 AM
Monday, March 23, 2009
Telefonica, Vodafone to share networks in Europe.
Source: Telecompaper.
Telefonica and Vodafone have signed a partnership agreement to share their networks in several European countries where they operate. Under the terms of the agreement, Telefonica and Vodafone will share infrastructure in Spain, Germany, Ireland and UK. The two operators are continuing network-sharing negotiations for their infrastructure in the Czech Republic.
Posted by Judith — 5:17 AM
Chinese sign Ericsson for major 3G work .
Source: BWCS.
Swedish vendor Ericsson has won a major order to supply 3G mobile network equipment to China Unicom. The Chinese company plans to roll out W-CDMA infrastructure across 15 provinces. Ericsson also reported that it had signed a deal to upgrade second generation mobile network equipment in ten Chinese provinces for China Unicom.
Posted by Judith — 5:03 AM
Alcatel-Lucent wins Belgium network management contract.
Source: cellular-news.
Alcatel-Lucent has announces that it is to takeover the end-to-end responsibility for all network operations and network rollout for BASE’s Belgium network, comprising approximately 3,000 sites.
The contract also involves the transfer of around 29 BASE employees to Alcatel-Lucent. BASE will continue to own its network and continue to carry out key roles such as network design and customer service.
Posted by Judith — 4:00 AM
FCC approve IDT Spectrum’s WiMAX plans.
Source: TeleGeography.
IDT spectrum, a subsidiary of IDT Corporation, has announced that the FCC has authorised plans to operate 46 WiMAX base stations in the 3.65GHz band in Colorado and along the Gulf coast. IDT Spectrum currently holds over 1,250 FCC licences for fixed wireless spectrum including a nationwide 3.65GHz licence.
Posted by Judith — 3:51 AM
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Phone companies move deregulation forward in Florida.
Source: FierceTelecom.
Legistlators in Florida are scoring a win for AT&T, Verizon, and other telecommunications providers. The House Energy & Utilities Policy committee passed a bill to remove most state regulation and allow steeper rate hikes for all but the most basic landline phone services.
The “Consumer Choice and Protection Act,” would purportedly raise the maximum annual hike increase in Florida from 6% to 20% for most business and residential customers with landline phones.
Posted by Judith — 5:01 AM
Friday, March 20, 2009
ACCC starts legal action against Telstra.
Source: TeleGeography.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission and incumbent Telstra are to lock horns once more, as the regulator starts legal action against the telco over wholesale access issues. The ACCC claims that Telstra falsely alleged that there was no free space in several key exchanges for competitors to install their own equipment.
Posted by Judith — 5:09 AM
Ohio: Verizon gets greenlight for phone price hikes.
Source: FierceTelecom.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has granted Verizon pricing flexibility in 21 Ohio exchanges. Under the provision, Verizon can increase basic phone service rates by up to US$1.25 annually and caller ID rates by up to 50 cents.
However in order to raise rates, the company must demonstrate an exchange is open to competition and customers have service alternatives.
Posted by Judith — 4:10 AM
Scots cities to benefit from superfast broadband.
Source: The Scotsman.
Scotland’s two biggest cities will be among the first parts of the UK to benefit from a GBP1.5bn. superfast broadband scheme.
More than 34,000 homes and businesses in Glasgow and Edinburgh could benefit from the investment by BT.
The cities are included in the first major phase of the new programme - the biggest of its kind in Britain.
Posted by Judith — 3:09 AM
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Orange UK to outsource Mobile Operations to NSN .
Source: Converge.
Orange is to outsource its mobile network operations in the UK to Nokia Siemens Networks. Under the contract, Nokia Siemens Networks will manage, plan, expand, optimize and provide maintenance services for the Orange UK 2G/3G mobile network for the next five years. The deal aims to deliver improved quality of service and enhanced coverage for Orange UK’s 15.9m. mobile subscribers, while driving operational efficiency.
Posted by Judith — 4:25 AM
Cisco buys Flip Video maker for US$590m.
Source: Reuters.
Cisco is buying digital camcorder-maker Pure Digital Technologies as it seeks to push further into the consumer market.
The world’s largest maker of computer networking equipment has announced that it will pay US$590m. in stock to purchase all of privately held Pure Digital’s shares.
Posted by Judith — 4:01 AM
Sun Micro takes on Amazon in cloud computing.
Source: Reuters.
Computer maker Sun Microsystems is preparing to take on Web retailer Amazon in the fledgling market for “cloud” computing services that can be accessed via the Internet.
Sun, which sells high-end business computers, will lease the use of servers and data storage space to developers who can access those resources over the Web.
Posted by Judith — 3:10 AM
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Ericsson to take care of Vodafone’s UK network.
Source: BWCS.
Mobile network operator Vodafone has signed a seven year agreement with Ericsson which will see the Swedish vendor provide maintenance and operations for the operator’s second and third generation mobile networks in the UK. As part of the deal, around 350 workers will be transferred from the operator to the vendor. Both sides are confident that the contract will lead to appreciable cost-savings for Vodafone.
Posted by Judith — 7:17 AM
Ofcom makes network operators carry mis-selling can.
Source: The Register.
UK regulator Ofcom has made good on its promise to punish network operators who allow their services to be mis-sold, insisting that operators take responsibility from September this year.
Resellers will have to keep better records of the sales process, including recordings of all telephone calls relating to the sale, and conform to a more stringent code of practice - but if they don’t it will be the network operator who risks a fine of up to ten per cent of turnover.
Ofcom’s power is restricted to providers of communication services, not third-parties who sell those services, so the regulator is forced to put pressure on the network operators in the hope they will police their resellers.
Posted by Judith — 4:50 AM
Tata Communications invests in Seacom cable.
Source: Telecompaper.
Tata Communications has signed up as the Seacom undersea cable’s anchor tenant and struck a deal to manage the cable, its billing systems and customer relations. Tata owns 56% of South African operator Neotel, which will benefit from the Seacom cable landing on the east coast of Africa. India-based Tata will also land the cable at Mumbai and connect to it in Marseilles when the 13,500km cable reaches India and France.
Posted by Judith — 3:54 AM
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Nokia to cut 1,700 jobs.
Source: The Globe and Mail.
Nokia Corp. has announced that it will lay off 1,700 people worldwide to cut costs, as the global economic downturn strikes deeper into the mobile phone sector.
The world’s top mobile phone maker said the job cuts will affect several sectors, including its devices and markets units, the corporate development office and global support functions.
Posted by Judith — 5:14 AM
New Swedish Licences in the 900MHz range.
Source: BWCS.
The Swedish telecoms regulator, the PTS, has approved new applications for the use of frequencies in the 900MHz range. The five domestic mobile operators Tele2, 3, Swefour, Telenor and TeliaSonera will now be able to bring in new mobile broadband services in that band, while at the same time continuing to offer GSM mobile telephone services. The PTS has also granted a new GSM licence to 3.
Posted by Judith — 4:33 AM
Telenor agrees larger stake in Unitech Wireless.
Source: Telecompaper.
Telenor has agreed to changes in its agreement to take a majority stake in Indian mobile operator Unitech Wireless. Under the terms of the new agreement, Telenor’s initial investment will continue to be the previously agreed INR 61.2bn. (US$ 1.2bn.). However, the Norwegian company will acquire a larger stake, of 67.25 percent, versus the previously announced 60%
Posted by Judith — 4:00 AM
Monday, March 16, 2009
Egypt’s OT says Canada unit gets wireless spectrum.
Source: Reuters.
Egypt’s Orascom Telecom has announced that its Canadian investment has been granted a spectrum license for wireless internet in Canada and expects to launch its network in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Globalive Wireless, in which OT has 65% indirect equity ownership, has received the corresponding spectrum, after paying C$442m. (US$350.8m.) for provisional spectrum in May last year.
Posted by Judith — 5:50 AM
Ice.net’s Swedish, Norwegian operations bought by US conglomerate.
Source: TeleGeography.
The Norwegian and Swedish businesses of wireless broadband operator Nordisk Mobiltelefon (Ice.net) have been bought by US group Access Industries, following last month’s announcement that both companies had entered bankruptcy. The US buyer purchased the Norwegian operation in its entirety in late February and has now done the same with its Swedish sister company.
Posted by Judith — 4:24 AM
As growth slows, ex-allies square off in a tech turf war.
Source: WSJ.
With a big product launch set for Monday, Cisco Systems is propelling the technology industry into a new era: Giant companies that once prized profitable cooperation are invading each others’ turfs.
Cisco will announce it will start building its own servers, the machines that run corporate computer centers across the globe. Its “blade” server, which it designed and developed for two years under unusual secrecy, places it in direct competition with long-time partner Hewlett-Packard Co.
Posted by Judith — 3:42 AM
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Major UK network share deal.
Source: BWCS.
Rival UK mobile operators Vodafone and O2 are reported to be about to pool their networks in a major shake-up of the mobile market in Britain. It is also reported that Vodafone’s existing partner Orange will jump ship to join forces with T-Mobile and 3, hoping to join their network sharing venture. In theory this could leave just two networks serving the UK.
Posted by Judith — 5:50 AM
Friday, March 13, 2009
U.S. phone companies spar over universal fund fix.
Source: Reuters.
U.S. phone companies have complained to U.S. lawmakers that a US$4.5bn. annual fund intended to ensure nationwide service in high-cost areas is outdated and promotes inefficiency.
AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications, net payers into the fund, called for competitive bidding to set fund awards. Some also want its annual total capped, amid double digit growth in the last several years.
Rural carriers like Embarq and United States Cellular say funding should stay based on actual costs and said a cap would discourage investment and jeopardize coverage in hard-to-serve areas.
Posted by Judith — 3:14 AM
EC approves plans to open broadband access.
Source: TeleGeography.
The EC has given Danish telecoms regulator backing to force operator Fixnet Nordic (formerly TDC) to open up its cable broadband network. Under the plans, Fixnet Nordic will have to grant its competitors wholesale access to the network, allowing rivals to compete in the broadband market, which is currently dominated by the incumbent.
Posted by Judith — 3:01 AM
BCE and MTS to appeal CRTC ruling on opening up NGNs.
Source: TeleGeography.
BCE and MTS Allstream have revealed they are appealing to the country’s federal cabinet to reverse a decision by telecoms regulator the CRTC on providing regulated access to NGNs. The telcos claim the ruling - made in December 2008 - will discourage further investment in NGNs, such as the FTTN networks currently being deployed.
Posted by Judith — 2:43 AM
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Comcast now the 3rd largest U.S. residential phone provider.
Source: Converge.
Comcast has surpassed Qwest to become the third-largest residential phone service provider in the U.S.
Comcast Digital Voice now serves 6.47m. customers, which exceeds Qwest’s reported residential subscriber base.
Posted by Judith — 5:09 AM
Nortel in talks to break up instead of trying to rebuild.
Source: The Globe and Mail.
In a move that would end one of Canada’s oldest and greatest business sagas, Nortel Networks is looking to break itself up by selling off major divisions rather than trying to rebuild itself under bankruptcy protection.
The company is fielding offers from potential buyers who are interested in purchasing both its wireless-gear business as well as a separate division that manufactures office telecom equipment. Together, those two divisions posted US$6.7bn. in revenue last year, or more than half the company’s sales.
Posted by Judith — 3:49 AM
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
AT&T plans US$18bn. spend.
Source: TeleGeography.
AT&T has announced that its capital spending could reach US$18bn. this year as it continues the expansion and upgrade of its fixed broadband and cellular networks. The firm plans to build more than 2,100 new cell sites across the US during 2009, as well as expanding its 3G coverage to 20 new markets.
Posted by Judith — 4:29 AM
Telecom firms eager to help U.S. spend US$7.2bn.
Source: Reuters.
Lobbyists, telecommunications industry officials and others crowded into a public meeting on Tuesday to influence the government’s US$7.2bn. grant program for high-speed Internet expansion.
The funding aims to encourage broadband networks to connect rural and other unserved areas to the Internet.
Small to mid-sized carriers with inroads in rural areas are the most likely to seek the funds. These carriers include CenturyTel, Windstream and Frontier Communications.
Posted by Judith — 3:32 AM
Verizon Business wins DoD contract valued at up to US$2.5bn.
Source: Converge.
Verizon Business has announced a contract valued at up to US$2.5bn. over ten years to provide network and data services at U.S. Department of Defense installations around the world.
Under the contract, Verizon Business will provide telecommunications services at military installations and other government sites located in the Asia-Pacific region, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America and South America, the Middle East and the United States.
Posted by Judith — 3:17 AM
European Parliament reaches agreement to lower data roaming charges.
Source: Converge.
The European Parliament, through a vote in its Industry Committee, has agreed to the European Commission’s proposals to reduce, as of 1 July, consumer roaming charges for sending text messages and downloading data in the EU.
Posted by Judith — 2:50 AM
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Mobile majors launch Voice over LTE initiative.
Source: Telecompaper.
Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Huawei, Kineto Wireless, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nortel, Samsung, Starent Networks, T-Mobile and ZTE have announced a joint effort, referred to as the Voice over LTE via Generic Access (VoLGA) Forum. It aims to define a set of specifications within the forum for enabling delivery of voice services over LTE access networks based on the current 3GPP Generic Access Network standard.
Posted by Judith — 3:04 AM
Leap arrives in Philadelphia.
Source: TeleGeography.
The US cellular operator Leap Wireless International, which offers flat-rate unlimited services under the Cricket brand, is to launch services in Philadelphia tomorrow, taking its total network coverage to 83.8m. people in 30 states.
Posted by Judith — 2:53 AM
Monday, March 9, 2009
China Mobile in talks with Taiwan firms on roaming services.
Source: Reuters.
China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile carrier, is in talks with Taiwan’s three major mobile phone network operators to cooperate on roaming services.
China Mobile will work with foreign companies including Nokia to produce 3G mobile phones.The company said it plans to spend 58.8bn. yuan (US$8.6bn.) this year on its 3G network, which will cover about 300 Chinese cities by the end of 2009.
Posted by Judith — 4:34 AM
Orange and Barclaycard to bolster mobile payment market.
Source: BWCS.
UK mobile operator Orange has released details about a new wireless payment scheme it will operate with Barclaycard. Orange customers signing up for the service will be able to use their handset to pay for a wide variety of goods and services at selected retail outlets by simply waving their phone under a reading device.
Posted by Judith — 4:11 AM
Tiscali stops interest payments after UK sale fails.
Source: Telecompaper.
Tiscali has abandoned the planned sale of its UK operations and announced plans to restructure the company and its debts. In a statement, Tiscali said it was ending talks on the UK sale to BSkyB, as market conditions have deteriorated so drastically as to make a sale unfeasible for both sides.
Posted by Judith — 3:58 AM
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Clearwire chooses cities for mobile WiMax In 2009.
Source: InformationWeek.
Clearwire has unveiled a new list and schedule of cities getting its mobile WiMax service in 2009, naming Atlanta; Las Vegas; Chicago; Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas/Fort Worth; Honolulu; Philadelphia; and Seattle. The company already offers mobile WiMax in Baltimore and Portland, Ore.
Posted by Judith — 4:14 AM
Friday, March 6, 2009
Broadcasters file suit over white space spectrum.
Source: TeleGeography.
The National Association of Broadcasters and the Association for Maximum Service Television have filed suit against the FCC, following its decision last November to allow the so-called ‘white space’ spectrum for unlicenced wireless applications. Major players, including Hewlett-Packard, Google and Microsoft campaigned heavily for the FCC to open up the spectrum for wireless internet services, but the TV broadcasters claim use of white space spectrum will interfere with their TV signals. The FCC’s rules on white space devices are due to come into effect on 19 March.
Posted by Judith — 4:23 AM
SingTel bags Indian NLD and ILD licences.
Source: TeleGeography.
SingTel has obtained international long-distance and national long-distance licences in India.
SingTel is the sixth global telecoms company to enter India’s enterprise services arena through long-distance licences, following AT&T and Verizon of the US, Britain’s BT and Cable & Wireless, and France’s Orange Business.
Posted by Judith — 4:00 AM
Arcep to license fourth 3G licence in June.
Source: TeleGeography.
The French telecoms regulatory authority Arcep has advised the government it will start the process of awarding the country’s fourth and final 3G licence in June this year. A lot of 1x5MHz will cost EUR206m. (US$259m.). Broadband internet provider Iliad (Free) remains the favourite to qualify.
Posted by Judith — 3:45 AM
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Government to spend AU$60m. on rural telecoms.
Source: TeleGeography.
The Australian government has revealed that it has set aside AU$60m.n (US$38.4m.) for regional, rural and remote telecoms projects. The bulk of the funding is expected to be spent in conjunction with local government bodies. In addition, it has been announced that the Satellite Phone Subsidy Scheme will receive a boost in funding of AU$11.4m.
Posted by Judith — 3:40 AM
Vodacom to join SA fibre network project.
Source: TeleGeography.
Following the sale of Telkom South Africa’s stake in Vodacom, the mobile operator has said it is now able to join MTN and Neotel in building a national long-distance fibre-optic network.
Posted by Judith — 3:14 AM
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
CenturyTel/EMBARQ deal gets green light.
Source: TeleGeography.
US wireline carriers CenturyTel and EMBARQ have received regulatory approval for the proposed merger from authorities in the states of Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska and Ohio. The merger is worth around US$11.6bn. including debt. The combined company will have operations in 33 states and serve around 7.7m. access lines and 2m. high speed internet customers.
Posted by Judith — 4:39 AM
MetroPCS heading for LTE in 2010.
Source: TeleGeography.
US cellular operator MetroPCS has revealed plans to begin deployments of LTE technology in the second half of next year. The cellco currently operates CDMA wireless networks in 14 cities across the US and says its rollout of 4G technology should be a relatively simple process due to the limited geographic coverage of its systems.
Posted by Judith — 3:22 AM
AT&T goes the next step on managed IT.
Source: Telephony.
AT&T is upping the ante in the managed IT services space, offering to take on existing IT infrastructure and equipment, whether it is located in a customer-owned data center, a remote office or even at a third-party collocation space. AT&T’s Remote Infrastructure Management service will include managing and service IT equipment, software and applications as a managed service with a set monthly fee.
Posted by Judith — 3:06 AM
TTSL and Alcatel-Lucent sign seven-year deal.
Source: TeleGeography.
Indian cellco Tata Teleservices (TTSL) and French hardware vendor Alcatel-Lucent have inked a seven-year deal, covering the cellco’s GSM- and CDMA-based services across 22 circles. Alcatel-Lucent will provide its SDH-based solution for data, voice and video delivery, as well as its optical multi-service node solutions.
Posted by Judith — 2:14 AM
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Bell Canada buys The Source retail chain.
Source: Telecompaper.
Bell Canada has agreed to buy the retail chain The Source from Circuit City in order to expand its sales network. In addition to its range of consumer electronics products, The Source plans to carry the full array of Bell consumer services at its more than 750 stores across Canada.
Posted by Judith — 4:10 AM
Green light for faster broadband .
Source: BBC.
Ofcom has ruled that it will present “no regulatory barriers” to the development of super-fast broadband infrastructure.
The ruling will allow BT to proceed with an investment of GBP1.5bn. in the network, giving up to 20 million UK homes access to high-speed internet.
Posted by Judith — 3:59 AM
Microsoft makes fresh attempt to take on Google and Yahoo.
Source: TimesOnline.
Microsoft is conducting internal tests of a new online search tool, signalling renewed attempts by the software giant to challenge both Google and Yahoo’s search engines in the coming months.
The new version of Microsoft’s online search service has been codenamed kumo.com, and a company spokesman has confirmed that it is being tested internally by employees.
Posted by Judith — 3:58 AM
MTN buys Verizon unit.
Source: TeleGeography.
South Africa-based cellular group MTN has completed its purchase of Verizon Business South Africa and has renamed the corporate communications provider as MTN Business. The firm, which offers data solutions in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Kenya, has been acquired from US carrier Verizon Communications.
Posted by Judith — 2:49 AM
DT to open up VDSL network to competitors.
Source: TeleGeography.
German incumbent DT has announced it will open up its VDSL network to competitors and start selling a wholesale service for VDSL double-play packages with speeds of up to 50Mbps.
This move is a major change in strategy for DT. The incumbent previously argued it was not required to open its VDSL network to competitors, insisting it constituted a ‘new market’ and was therefore, under German law, exempt from regulation.
Posted by Judith — 2:21 AM
Monday, March 2, 2009
Hutchison to spin off Hong Kong unit.
Source: TeleGeography.
Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd is reported to be planning to spin off its Hong Kong fixed line and mobile network operating businesses later this year.
The group offers mobile services in Hong Kong under the 3 brand name via Hutchison Telephone Company, and operates fixed line and broadband services through another subsidiary, Hutchison Global Communications.
Posted by Judith — 4:20 AM
Fujitsu to acquire Kaz from Telstra.
Source: Telecompaper.
Fujitsu has inked an agreement to acquire the IT services provider Kaz Group from Telstra for AU$2m. Kaz’s existing business will enable Fujitsu to deliver new commercial opportunities. The deal also creates a strategic alliance between Fujitsu and Telstra Enterprise and Government. The acquisition of Kaz gives Fujitsu enhanced service capabilities for federal public sector opportunities and a strong physical presence in Canberra.
Posted by Judith — 3:39 AM
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