UDcast has announced a strategic cooperation with Zentek, an integrated solutions provider for Digital TV, IPTV, wireless broadband, mobile phone and car entertainment devices, to provide the Japanese and Far East Asia markets with the mobile TV standard DVB-H.
Under the terms of the non-exclusive cooperation, Zentek will act as the reseller and integrator of UDcast’s DVB-H mobile TV products in these markets to bring the tools for Japanese manufacturers and Asian broadcasters enabling delivery of competitive products and services for this global standard. In Japan, the equipment provided by UDcast and Zentek will enable manufacturers to develop and produce mobile phones, notebooks, chipsets, in-car TV receivers and other devices compatible with DVB-H technology.
As the first result of their cooperation in the Far East, Zentek and UDcast provided the DVB-H solution for TV2Go, a Digital Mobile TV Broadcasting trial operated by PGK Media in Singapore, where Zentek was appointed as main system integrator and UDcast supplied the DVB-H network equipment. The trial was announced June 19 during Broadcast Asia 2007. UDcast’s equipment is also deployed in two Asian commercial Mobile TV networks (Vietnam and Philippines) and more than 10 trials in the Far East Asia region.
There will be approximately 446 million mobile TV subscribers worldwide by the end of 2011.
“UDcast already has a long successful track record in Japan and Far East Asia. Now, in order to best serve our customers, we are expanding our local presence and offering of DVB-H equipment in these markets,” said Jas Saini, CEO, UDcast. “Zentek’s solid relationships with UDcast’s potential manufacturer customers in Japan and strong technical competencies in the broadcasting area will enable us to provide the best possible customer service and perfect understanding of the local user’s needs.”
“We are excited to work with UDcast, giving Zentek the opportunity to complete our product offering with the most advanced and most sold DVB-H solution,” said Takashi Nakamuro, General Manager, Zentek Technology Japan Inc. “UDcast is witnessing a very high international growth rate in response to the projected domination of mobile TV and manufacturers’ development of DVB-H-enabled handsets and other mobile devices.”
In addition to the DVB-H mobile TV technology, Zentek and UDcast will also provide UDcast’s satellite IP acceleration products to satellite operators. Japanese satellite service providers will now be able to provide satellite transmission services that integrate seamlessly into complex enterprise and government networks, taking into account all stringent performance and security requirements.
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Softbank, a Japanese Internet services company and mobile phone carrier, said its group net profit fell 50% for the fiscal year just ended.
Softbank, which acquired Vodafone’s Japan unit last April, said net income for the year totaled 28.8 billion yen ($240 million), down by half from the 57.6 billion yen the year before.
But the Tokyo-based company also said group revenue more than doubled in the fiscal year through March, buoyed by its purchase of British cellular giant Vodafone Group’s Japan operations.
Sales jumped to 2.544 trillion yen ($21.2 billion) for the fiscal year, up from 1.11 trillion yen a year earlier.
Softbank reported results after the close of trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where its stock finished down 1.09% to 2,700 yen ($22.50).
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WHAT A strange conclusion to Vodafone’s triumph in the Indian mobile arena. It’s landed the deal to take over Hutch (Hutchison Essar) but lost the rights to i-mode.
In a very terse statement, Japanese giant NTT Docomo has pulled the plug on a deal announced back in December 2006. The aim had been to utilise Docomo’s proprietary i-mode system to provide a mobile Internet service in India.
Now that Vodafone has finally won out and taken control of Hutch, Docomo says Hutch has “agreed not to proceed” with i-mode.
Which is a bit strange. Vodafone’s Live! rival to i-mode has hardly set the world alight. But then i-mode – which is a whole eco-system rather than just a markup language- requires a fairly high level of commitment from its operators.
After a whole heap of twoing an froing, the Indian government satisfied itself last week that its rules over foreign ownership of a telecoms company hadn’t been breached. Even though Vodafone would still appear to have options to increase its stake.
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Japanese communications group NTT has posted a net income of JPY476.9 billion (USD4 billion) in the fiscal year ended 31 March 2007, down 4.4% from JPY498.7 billion in the previous year. Mobile unit NTT DoCoMo stepped up efforts to encourage subscribers to shift to its 3G FOMA service, amid stiffer competition from KDDI and Softbank, which pushed up its operating costs. Japan’s largest telco also blamed sluggish performance at its fixed line units, which are trying to entice customers to use high speed, fibre-to-the-home services, for the drop in profits. The group’s consolidated operating revenues were JPY10.76 trillion, up only 0.2%. Operating expenses were up 1.1% to JPY9.65 trillion as a result of increased expenses associated with higher system integration revenues, increased mobile phone handset costs and other sales related expenses. NTT’s operating income, however, fell 7% to JPY1.11 trillion, from JPY 1.19 trillion last year, whilst consolidated income before taxes was JPY1.14 trillion, a decrease of 12.9% from JPY1.31 trillion a year earlier.
The group ended March with 6.08 million customers of its B FLET’S fibre-optic broadband service, up 2.66 million over last year, and NTT expects to win a further 2.7 million new fibre users in the 2007/08 financial year. Its ADSL customer base at the end of the financial year numbered 5.32 million, but the company expects this number to fall to 4.42 million by end-March 2008 due to fibre substitution. NTT’s IP telephony service had 3.17 million subscribers at 31 March and it expects that total to reach 6.27 million this fiscal year. Correspondingly it predicts fixed line telephone customers will decline from 43.34 million to 38.98 million in the twelve-month period due to the shift to IP-based services.
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Japanese communications group NTT saw its net income fall on heavy competition and demand for new services which led to a decrease in traditional voice services. The company aims to develop new consumer and corporate services. The group’s consolidated operating revenues were JPY 10.76 trillion, up only 0.2 percent only just missing the company’s forecasted JPY 10.8 trillion. The increase was mainly driven by increases in IP-related revenues from B Flets and FOMA and system integration revenues. Operating expenses were up 1.1 percent to JPY 9.65 trillion as a result of increased expenses associated with higher system integration revenues and increased mobile phone handset costs and other sales related expenses. NTT’s operating income, however, fell 7 percent to JPY 1.11 trillion, from JPY 1.19 trillion last year and missed the guidance of JPY 1.20 trillion. Consolidated income before income taxes was JPY 1.14 trillion, a decrease of 12.9 percent from JPY 1.31 trillion a year earlier. The group posted a net income of JPY 476.9 billion, down 4.4 percent from JPY 498.7 billion. For financial 2008, NTT expects operating revenues and operating income to be less than in the last financial year. Revenues are expected to come in at JPY 10.70 trillion and operating income is expected to amount to JPY 1.12 trillion.
The group ended the financial year with 6.08 million subscribers for its B Flets fibre-optic service, up 2.66 million over last year. NTT expects to win a further 2.70 million new customers for the service this financial year. The number of ADSL customers at 31 March totalled 5.32 million but the company expects this number to fall to 4.42 million at the end of next financial year due to substitution to fibre-optic services. The IP telephone service had 3.17 million customers at 31 March and the group expects that number to reach 6.27 in March 2008. The number of fixed-line voice subscribers fell to 43.34 million and is expected to drop to 38.98 million due to the shift to IP-based services.
NTT plans to pay-out dividends of JPY 8,000 per share, comprising a JPY 4,000 end-of-term dividend and a JPY 4,000 interim dividend. For the next annual period, dividends are planned to be JPY 9,000 for the full year.
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UDcast Expands DVB-H Mobile TV Technology to Japanese and Far East Asia Markets with Zentek
