Malaysia’s top mobile phone operator Maxis has tied up with the Philippines’ Globe Telecom to introduce a new mobile international money transfer service called M-money (but this is not a first, as they claim - see links below), enabling thousands of Filipino workers in Malaysia to remit money to their families back home. Associated Press reports.
“Under the system, Maxis customers can wire up to 500 ringgit ($143) per transaction to Globe subscribers in the Philippines, who can retrieve the money at Globe’s 6,000 outlets, the statement said.
Maxis customers must cash in the money with Maxis before making any overseas remittance and are charged only a five ringgit ($1.47) service fee per transaction, less than half the fee that bank charges, it added.”
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EJL Wireless Research has predicted that the global mobile advertising market will reach $9.5 billion in gross revenues by 2011, of which the largest segment is expected to be mobile coupons which will bring in almost $4 billion by 2011, or 42 percent of the overall market. Other forms of mobile advertising will include SMS/MMS, search, video, display, sponsored content, ad-supported MVNOs and proximity advertising. The US willl account for about a quarter of the total with a $2.3 billion market, and EJL expects more M&A activy. “We believe that the recent transaction involving Third Screen Media and AOL is the tip of the M&A iceberg for the mobile advertising industry and anticipate and recommend a significant consolidation of the industry to create market efficiencies that will eventually lead to explosive growth,” said president Earl Lum. He also warned of “significant market barriers” including issues regarding 3G services, data plan pricing, ARPU, personal behaviour and a negative advertising stigma.
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Nokia Siemens Networks today announced that it has won its first contract from Maxis Group, India, which operates under brand name of Aircel, to build a greenfield GSM network in Kolkata. The Rs. 300 crore contract includes supply of GSM/EDGE equipment, implementation, project management and managed services, such as operating and maintaining the network infrastructure. Nokia Siemens Networks will deploy latest state-of–the-art equipment like Flexi base stations, mini-ultra base stations, 3GPP-based mobile softswitching solution including MSC Servers and Media Gateways PDH, SDH. The network will be supported by the multi-technology, multi-vendor NetAct network and service management system, and will be ready for commercial operations by December 2007.
Commenting on the partnership, Sandeep Das, CEO, Maxis, said: “Today’s announcement is another step in our efforts to build a strong GSM network footprint for Aircel across the world’s fastest growing mobile market. The roll-out of our network in Kolkata will further consolidate our position in East India.” He added “We chose Nokia Siemens Networks as they met our three key criteria – protecting our network investments against technology obsolescence, extensive managed service experience and speedy network deployment within our timelines.”
Added Rohit Chandra, CEO North & East, Aircel, “Our partnership with Nokia Siemens Networks will provide us with the latest GSM technologies such as the multi-radio Flexi Base Station Platform that will not only help us provide services today but will also makes our network ready for 3G and WIMAX services as and when the regulation permits.”
“This contract is special as it is our first contract with Aircel, and we’re very pleased about it,” said Mr. Ashish Chowdhary, Head India Sub-region, Nokia Siemens Networks. He added, ”We would also like to congratulate Aircel on its innovative approach to the provisioning of mobile services in a greenfield network by going for Managed Services right from the start. This will not only help them in achieving OPEX savings but also allow them to focus on their customers’ acquisition and service strategies from the first day of commercial operations.”
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The two companies have signed an agreement on the establishment of a joint SFR-Nokia Siemens Networks Competence Center in Paris. The SFR-Nokia Siemens Networks Competence Center aims to develop innovative concepts and appealing services for mobile centric applications. The main objective of this joint effort is to develop a common approach for launching advanced services.
The Competence Center combines SFR’s knowledge of the end-user and business requirements and Nokia Siemens Networks’ expertise in the development of application platforms and solutions.
“The launch of this Competence Center is the latest in a long list of achievements that underscores our good cooperation with Nokia Siemens Networks,” says Paul Corbel, Chief Technical Officer, SFR. “SFR also turned to Nokia Siemens Networks to migrate our core network to 3GPP Release 4 softswitches, as well as to help us to launch France’s first nationwide HSDPA and the first to make a WCDMA 900 test call in France. Today our 3G service is successful in France with more than 3 million subscribers, thanks to a network provided by the newly formed Nokia Siemens Networks, confirming that choosing to continue with Nokia Siemens Networks as our preferred partner in 3G is indeed the right choice.”
“We are very pleased to be working hand-in-hand with SFR to make SFR’s mobile centric strategy a reality,” says Olivier de Percin, Head of the SFR Customer Team at Nokia Siemens Networks. “The continuous flow of projects developed jointly between SFR and Nokia Siemens Networks is a great tribute to the partnership built between two companies that share the same vision of a mobile centric telecom world.”
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AT&T also announced that it will be the first carrier in North America to offer Research In Motion’s (RIM) latest handset, the BlackBerry Curve. The carrier will begin selling RIM’s smallest and lightest full QWERTY BlackBerry in retail outlets and through business channels beginning May 31.
“The BlackBerry Curve has all of the qualities of a winner that will resonate with a broad segment of AT&T customers,” said Kent Mathy, president of AT&T’s Business Markets Group, in a statement. “Business professionals and consumers alike will gravitate to its iconic look, industry-leading coverage both here in the U.S. and abroad, robust e-mail and Web browsing capabilities, and powerful entertainment offerings.”
The BlackBerry Curve will be available for $200 with a 2-year contract and mail-in rebate starting tomorrow at AT&T’s retail outlets and Website.
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The managing director of Hong Kong’s largest fixed line telco PCCW, Alex Arena, told reporters today that the company has not received any new interest in its assets. Last year, the company’s chairman, Richard Li, failed on two occasions to sell his controlling stake in the firm, firstly to foreign investors and then to a consortium led by Hong Kong financier Francis Leung. The Chinese government, owner of PCCW’s 20% shareholder China Netcom, opposed a sale to foreign buyers, whilst other shareholders subsequently voted against a lower offer from Leung. Li has since raised his stake in PCCW to 28%.
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US telecommunications group AT&T is keen to explore opportunities for growth though international acquisitions, says its chief operating officer Randall Stephenson. Stephenson, who takes over as CEO from Ed Whitacre on 3 June, told investors that AT&T has the assets needed to compete effectively in its domestic market following a string of acquisitions – culminating in the USD68 billion purchase of BellSouth last year. He went on to say that ‘Internationally there might be opportunistic opportunities over time that will enhance our international product set and capabilities.’
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Irish incumbent eircom has announced its fourth quarter and year to date results for the financial period ending 31 March 2007. The operator reported operating profit of EUR240 million (USD322 million) for the full year, up from EUR234 million in fiscal 2005-06, as total revenues rose 16% to EUR1.96 billion. The telco’s fixed line business was the single largest contributor to the total, driven by strong growth from broadband. 57,000 DSL broadband customers signed up in the fourth quarter to 31 March, bringing the total number of subscribers to 417,000, an 81% increase on the previous year. As of 10 May 2007, there are 440,000 broadband customers on eircom’s network. The former monopoly is committed to developing its broadband access capabilities and NGN core network in 2007, which it hopes will provide the backbone of advanced services for years to come. Fixed line revenue was up 2% to EUR1.65 billion, but eircom reported that underlying profits dipped to EUR594 million, due in part to repairs from winter storms carried out on its network.
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US mobile device manufacturer Palm announced the Palm Foleo, its first smartphone companion product. The Foleo mobile companion has a large screen and full-size keyboard with which to view and edit e-mail and office documents residing on a smartphone. Edits made on Foleo automatically are reflected on its paired smartphone and vice versa. Foleo and its paired smartphone stay synchronized via Bluetooth throughout the day or at the touch of a button. Foleo has a Linux-based operating system, a USB port, video-out port, headphone jack, and slots for SD and compact flash cards for memory expansion. Foleo applications include email, full-screen web browser, and editors or viewers for common business documents such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files and it uses the smartphone’s radio or the Foleo’s built-in Wi-Fi radio for general internet connectivity.
Foleo mobile companions work with Palm’s Treo smartphones (Palm OS and Windows Mobile versions). However, Palm believes that most smartphones based on Windows Mobile should work with little or no modification. Smartphones based on operating systems from Research in Motion, Apple, and Symbian likely can be supported with a modest software effort. The Foleo’s synchronisation architecture is open, and Palm expects to work with third-party developers to support as many smartphones as possible.
The new Palm Foleo mobile companion will use the Opera web browser. Based on Opera 9, Opera for the Palm Foleo offers intelligent navigation features and support for advanced Web 2.0 applications using Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML). DataViz provides its Documents To Go software for Palm Foleo mobile companions. The mobile Office suite, Documents To Go, will provide Foleo customers with the ability to create, view
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When three-time Latin Grammy Award winner Calle 13 hit the stage in New York City this week to introduce their latest SONY BMG album “Residente o Vistitante”, fans enjoyed more than just vibrant Latin hip hop music. Verizon Wireless, a major sponsor of
SONY BMG’s 2007 Latin Album Release Series and a recognized leader for its
commitment to preventing domestic violence, donated $5,000 to Sanctuary for
Families, offering integrated legal, clinical, shelter and economic
stability services exclusively to domestic violence victims in all five
boroughs of New York City.
The $5,000 HopeLine(R) grant was Verizon Wireless’ second in a series
of five earmarked for New York area domestic violence organizations in
conjunction with the SONY BMG Latin Album Series. The first SONY BMG
HopeLine donation came in February, when Mexican-based pop rock band La
Quinta Estacion launched its third album. Other SONY BMG artists in the
series who will join with Verizon Wireless to present HopeLine grants are
Jennifer Lopez in June, Alejandra Guzman in August and Alejandro Fernandez
in September.
“The SONY BMG album release series presents a perfect opportunity to
marry our Latino marketing efforts with our HopeLine community service
program,” said Rob Davis, associate director of marketing for the company’s
New York Metro region. “It is our hope that high profile events like these
will help us remove the shroud of silence surrounding domestic violence,
especially as it impacts the young people who follow these artists.”
Guests invited to each of the release parties are encouraged to bring
old, no-longer used wireless phones, batteries and accessories for donation
to the company’s HopeLine wireless phone recycling program. HopeLine
collects wireless phones and accessories from any wireless service
provider, and then refurbishes the phones or recycles them in an
environmentally sound manner.
Verizon Wireless was the first wireless carrier in the nation to
collect and recycle old cell phones and has done so since January 1999 –
first in New York and then across the U.S. Wireless phone donations
continue to be accepted at all Verizon Wireless Communications Store
locations in New York City, throughout the New York Metro area and across
the country.
Sanctuary for Families, the largest such agency in New York, is
committed to reaching out to the most underserved communities including the
City’s immigrant population. Because a large percentage of clients are
Latina, Sanctuary provides domestic violence victims and their children
with all direct services in Spanish. Spanish-language support groups offer
clients the opportunity to share experiences and gain strength from each
other.
“All of us at Sanctuary are enormously grateful for the commitment that
Verizon Wireless has made to domestic violence victims through its HopeLine
program,” said Laurel W. Eisner, Sanctuary’s Executive Director. “It has
truly been a lifeline for many victims, allowing them to get the help they
need and to feel less alone.”
Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine program has collected more than 3.5 million
wireless phones, and given more than $3 million in cash grants and nearly
40,000 phones to domestic violence prevention organizations. Local HopeLine
grants include $120,000 already donated to the New York City Family Justice
Center Initiative.
“Each of us can have an impact on someone’s life,” Davis said.
“Donating an old, unused cell phone is a simple act but it can help provide
support to victims who all too often suffer in silence.”
In addition to a successful phone recycling program and funding for
non-profit domestic violence organizations, HopeLine includes free wireless
service and voice mailboxes for survivors, community and corporate
awareness initiatives, and a bilingual “Invest in Yourself” program
designed to help survivors re-enter the workforce.
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Maxis unveils cell phone money transfer
