Thailand’s second largest cellco, GSM operator DTAC, has shelved plans to form a joint venture with state-run CAT Telecom to roll out 3G services, and is instead going it alone in upgrading 2G networks to UMTS standard under a THB5 billion (USD160 million) plan, reports the Bangkok Post. CEO Sigve Brekke said DTAC expected to roll out commercial 3G services in Phuket and Chon Buri by the end of this year, building up to nationwide coverage in 2009. DTAC, a subsidiary of Norway’s Telenor, plans to utilise its legacy 850MHz frequency band to roll out W-CDMA/HSDPA technology enabling mobile internet access at speeds of up to 1Mbps. Brekke said that setting up a 3G partnership with CAT would take more time because it required Cabinet approval. However DTAC still needs approval for the plan from CAT, under its build-transfer-operate (BTO) network operating concession with the state telco, and is set to meet with CAT’s board this week to discuss the matter. The CEO said DTAC had three possible 3G equipment suppliers lined up, and added that his firm recently took over three content providers – Radio Fat Co, Play Sabai Co and Create Co – for a combined THB150 million to help build up a range of downloadable 3G content. Mr Brekke also said that DTAC would not entirely abandon joint-venture plans with CAT and would seek to develop the partnership after the commercial rollout of 3G. ‘We are willing to have CAT as our partner. [the venture] can be formed after the launch,’ he said.
DTAC’s larger GSM rival Advanced Info Service (AIS) appears to have a headstart in the race to launch UMTS, after announcing earlier this month that it would soft launch a 3G network using existing 900MHz spectrum in Chiang Mai by the end of May, and hoped to do the same in Bangkok in June. Thailand’s National Telecommunications Commission is yet to issue 2100MHz UMTS licences, but is expected to do so in the second half of this year.
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Affle’s short messaging service termed SMS 2.0 claims that it has crossed 100 million impressions in mobile advertising. The service is currently available in alliance with Airtel but the company aims to rope in more operators now.
“The user uptake for SMS 2.0 was unprecedented as the primary focus was to provide quality service to users. They can now send their messages with attractive background colours or emoticons. We look at adding about 10-11 lakh users by the end of the year,” said South Asia Executive Director Anuj Kumar.
Affle claims that its SMS 2.0 service is neutral to GSM and CDMA platforms. The SMS 2.0 application enhances the user-friendliness of using messaging services.
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Slovenian mobile operator Tus Mobil and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) have signed a contract to upgrade and expand the fledgling cellco’s GSM network by deploying 400 of NSN’s 3.5G HSPA-enabled base stations and MSC Server mobile softswitch. According to a press release, the upgrade will improve network efficiency and coverage, allowing Tus to offer new services to its customers, including high speed mobile data applications and multimedia content such as mobile TV. The network is due to be ready for commercial launch by the end of the year. The contract marks an extension of the partnership between domestically owned Tus Mobil and NSN dating back to 2006, when the Finnish technology giant was chosen as GSM/EDGE core and radio network supplier.Tus launched commercial services over its own GSM network at the end of October 2007, and was awarded Slovenia’s fourth 3G mobile licence free of charge earlier this month, after no other interested parties came forward.
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France Telecom which, together with a Dubai-based Alcazar Capital Limited, secured a 51% stake in December 2007 in Telkom Kenya, plans to invest KES7 billion (USD115 million) in the telco during 2008. The majority of the funding will be spent on the company’s new wireless network which will be based on GSM technology and will operate under France Telecom’s Orange brand name. France Telecom CEO, Didier Lombard, said ‘We are investing in Kenya for the long-term because we believe it is one of the fast growing economies in the world’, and claimed the new network will be launched ‘very soon’. About 20% of the KES7 billion investment will go towards upgrading Telkom Kenya’s international broadband capacity and fixed line network.
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Sierra Leone is to get two new GSM operators after the National Telecoms Commission (NTC), gave Israel-based Cellcom and Lybian state-backed vehicle LAPGreen Networks approval to provide services. The watchdog’s executive secretary, Bashir M. Kamara said that the cellcos had been given the green light and would be launching services soon. ‘I can tell you that there are two other registered GSM operators in the country right now that are yet to roll out into the market. They have been approved and have paid their licence fees just like every other GSM service provider. They just need to roll out into the market.
Sierra Leone currently has five mobile operators, serving an estimated 800,000 subscribers at the end of last year. The NTC has recently announced that all GSM operators will be required to achieve 50% population coverage by the end of this year, which could well lead to consolidation in the market as the smaller cellcos may not be able to fund the required expansion.
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Advanced Info Services (AIS) has announced that it will launch commercial 3.5G mobile broadband services for handset users next month, including high speed internet access and video calling, reports the Bangkok Post. The CEO of Thailand’s leading cellco by subscribers, Vikrom Sriprataks, said that the new ‘3GSM Advance’ suite of services would be based on high speed packet access (HSPA) technology utilising the existing 900MHz frequency band. AIS had previously signed an agreement with its GSM concession holder TOT to upgrade the 900MHz network to support W-CDMA/HSPA, whilst regulator the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has given TOT permission to take delivery of 3.5G equipment. AIS expects to introduce mobile broadband services in Chiang Mai on 6 May and in Bangkok in mid-June. The operator’s president Wichian Mektrakarn said AIS could not wait for the NTC to issue 2GHz UMTS licences, expected in the second half of this year. He added that the company had already invested THB600 million (USD19 million) to install HSPA equipment in 20 provinces. AIS’s chief marketing officer Sanchai Teoprasertkul said that its HSPA network would support maximum download speeds of 7.2Mbps, compared with 160kbps on its existing EDGE network, and added that 3GSM Advance would initially be available to post-paid customers, with the aim of signing up 80,000 users by the end of this year. The Shin Corp subsidiary is planning to charge THB3 (USD0.095) per minute for video calls and THB100 (USD3.17) a month for data usage of 500MB. Mr Sanchai added that AIS expected 3GSM Advance to increase non-voice revenues by 20% this year.
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Telecom Italia and 3 Italia have signed a EUR280 million (USD439 million) renewal of their existing mobile roaming agreement. The deal allows 3 Italia to use Telecom Italia’s national GSM and 3G networks for a further four years. Telecom Italia says the agreement will benefit Italian mobile users since the market ‘will be better off not just in terms of the better service provided but also the development of new and innovative services.
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Celcom claims to have become the first operator in Malaysia to establish a single core network platform for its GSM and W-CDMA networks, using a Mobile Softswitch solution from Ericsson. The deployment also marks the first step for Celcom in migrating its core network to an all-IP architecture. Upon completion, Celcom will benefit from having a single, common infrastructure that will handle both 2G and 3G network services, including the current available voice, data and TV services such as MMS, mobile broadband and mobile TV. The common infrastructure will also enable Celcom to introduce innovative new services such as dual numbers in one SIM card or same number in multiple devices, 3G services on 2G SIM card and mobile number portability, to name a few.
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- March 31st, 2008
- 11:06 am
Celcom today became the first operator in Malaysia to establish a single core network platform for both GSM and WCDMA technology with the deployment of Mobile Softswitch solution from Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), in its network.
The move is in line with Celcom’s continuous focus to modernize its network to deliver classic telephony services over a more modern and cost efficient network while creating a common foundation for new services. The deployment of Ericsson Mobile Softswitch also marks the first crucial step for Celcom in migrating its core network to an all-IP architecture.
Upon completion, Celcom will benefit from the convenience and simplicity of having a single, common infrastructure that can handle both 2G and 3G network services, including the current available voice, data and TV services such as MMS, mobile broadband and mobile TV.
The common infrastructure will also enable Celcom to be ahead of its competition in introducing innovative services such as dual numbers in one SIM card or same number in multiple devices, 3G services on 2G SIM card and mobile number portability, to name a few.
By deploying Ericsson Mobile Softswitch, Celcom is able to introduce a layered architecture design in its GSM/WCDMA mobile circuit core. Layered architecture enables separation and centralization of the equipment responsible for call control and network intelligence, enabling a reduction in the number and size of main core network sites for Celcom. This will ultimately provide significant savings for Celcom and reduces the company’s core network operating expenditures (OPEX).
“As a long-time partner to Celcom, Ericsson is excited to play a prime role in supporting Celcom’s decision to create yet another milestone in the industry. Ericsson is fully committed to ensure a smooth evolution of Celcom’s core network to an all-IP architecture.” said Krishna Kumar, President and Country Manager of Ericsson Malaysia.
Ericsson is the world’s leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. The market leader in 2G and 3G mobile technologies, Ericsson supplies communications services and manages networks that serve more than 185 million subscribers. The company’s portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, and broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and developers. The Sony Ericsson joint venture provides consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.
Ericsson is advancing its vision of ‘communication for all’ through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 70,000 employees generated revenue of USD 27.9 billion (SEK 188 billion) in 2007. Founded in 1876 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on the Stockholm, London and NASDAQ stock exchanges.
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Marc Rouanne will head up Nokia Siemens’s radio access business.
Nokia Siemens Networks Monday announced it has appointed Marc Rouanne as head of its radio access business unit.
Rouanne joins the vendor from rival Alcatel-Lucent, where he headed up the company’s convergence business group. However, Rouanne quietly left his post at Alcatel-Lucent at the beginning of 2008.
“[Rouanne] brings with him exceptional experience, having been part of the team that created GSM technology,” said Mika Vehviläinen, COO of Nokia Siemens Networks, in a statement.
Before joining Alcatel in 1998 as vice president of operations at its mobile networks division, Rouanne developed GSM products as part of Matra Communication’s R&D team, and then as director of network engineering for Nortel Matra Cellular.
Nokia Siemens said it will benefit from Rouanne’s extensive experience in working with joint ventures.
The appointment comes as Ari Lehtoranta the vendor’s current head of radio access has decided to take a leave of absence for personal reasons.
The loss of Rouanne from Alcatel-Lucent earlier this year marked another executive departure from the Franco-American company.
In 2007 its chief administrative officer Frank D’Amelio, and Mike Quigley, president of science, technology and strategy both resigned. Then, two months later chief financial officer Jean-Pascal Beaufret followed them out the door. And Jean-Christophe Giroux, head of Alcatel-Lucent’s communications technology group, was reassigned in January.
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DTAC goes it alone in 3G race (Thailand)
