MO-Call Home provides low-cost international calling direct from a mobile phone, without the need to change mobile number, SIM or network. MO-Call Home offers savings of up to 90% over existing Mobilenetwork international tariffs. MO-Call Home service covers 39 countries around the world.
Countries in which MO-Call Home is available are Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA.
“Together with a local SIM card from any of these countries, MO-Call Home will dramatically reduce international calling costs for consumers. What’s more, MO-Call World can also help customers avoid roaming charges when they are traveling.” said Morodo Technical Director, James Barne. This service work throughs a plug-in software application that can be installed on most mobile phones. Customers can download the plug-in, free of charge, from the MO-Call website.
Trial credits are available for a limited time for GBP 2.50, Euro 3.50 or USD 5.00 to allow new customers to avail its benefit.
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Vodafone’s top executive said his hopes that India’s regulatory bureaucracy has modernised was shaken by last-minute moves to derail his company’s $11 billion ($NZ14.1 billion) takeover of Hutchison Essar.
Arun Sarin, the chief executive of global wireless operator Vodafone Group, called for greater transparency in India’s merger approval process to defeat backroom efforts by vested interests to manipulate India’s political bureaucracy.
“I really did not expect people - the ‘good and great’ of India - to be calling cabinet secretaries, ministers, to say, ‘You have to unwind this deal, because we want a piece of it,’” Sarin told a conference of Indian business and academic leaders taking place in Silicon Valley.
He was speaking to hundreds of fellow alumni - academics, engineers and entrepreneurs - from India’s elite technical universities, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). IIT graduates have founded many of Silicon Valley’s top companies.
Sarin, now a U.S. citizen, is one of India’s best-known expatriate businessmen. Raised at a military boarding school in Bangalore, he graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology then rose through the ranks of the U.S. telecommunications industry before joining London-based Vodafone as CEO in 2003.
Vodafone edged out some powerful Indian business groups with an $11 billion bid for Hutchison Telecommunications’ majority stake in India’s fourth-biggest mobile firm in January.
It then underwent a three-month regulatory wait - rapid by U.S. or European standards, he noted.
Sarin said he was confident the deal would sail through until the regulatory process in New Delhi entered its final weeks and he became aware of behind-the-scenes lobbying of key bureaucrats by competitors attempting “to crater the deal.”
“The billionaire losers’ club was trying to unwind the deal,” the Vodafone leader said. “What was fascinating was that there was absolutely no transparency to the process.”
“What I didn’t count on was that the bureaucracy would kick in with this kind of evil spirit from our competitors who had lost,” he said at a news conference after his speech.
Despite his criticisms of India’s regulatory environment, Sarin said he was confident throughout the government approval process that political and economic forces now at work in India would allow Vodafone’s bid for Hutchison Essar to prevail.
Before entering the bidding for Hutchison Essar, Sarin said he had spent time with Indian government leaders to gain assurance that Vodafone’s entry into India would be welcomed.
“I was completely confident from a political standpoint we would have the blessing and air cover” to get the deal done, he told reporters.
Despite the resistance, Vodafone’s bid gained approval in April. Previously known as Hutchison Essar, the Indian company has been renamed Vodafone Essar.
Vodafone owns two-thirds, while Indian company Essar owns the remaining third.
Vodafone, the world’s biggest mobile phone operator by subscribers outside China, aims to be the top wireless carrier in India, where the local customer base is expected to rise to 500 million in four to five years from around 150 million now.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Sony Ericsson, the world’s fourth-largest mobile phone maker, said Thursday its net profit rose 54 percent in the quarter ended June 30, as it expanded its market share with low and mid-range phones.
The company, a joint venture between Sweden’s LM Ericsson and Japan’s Sony Corp., said net profit rose to euro220 million ($303 million) from euro143 million. Revenues grew 37 percent in the second quarter to euro3.1 billion ($4.3 billion) from euro2.3 billion in the same period a year ago.
Sales in the quarter were boosted by a 59 percent rise in handset shipments to 24.9 million from 15.7 million the previous year.
The London-based mobile phone maker said its global market share grew to more than 9 percent during the quarter, an increase of around 3 percentage points from a year ago.
The company expects to keep expanding its market share this year, Sony Ericsson President Miles Flint said in a statement.
“We expect the market in 2007 to remain competitive, but with recently announced products … we aim to continue to grow faster than the market,” he said.
Sony Ericsson expects the 2007 global market for mobile phones to be more than 1.1 billion units.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Tira Wireless, the premier provider of technology and services for the mobile market, today announced that it has secured an additional US$5 million in funding from existing investors Lehman Brothers Venture Partners, Brightspark Ventures, Flagship Ventures and Export Development Canada. With this latest round of funding in place, Tira Wireless will execute on the third phase of its technology vision and extend its reach into new markets that go beyond mobile entertainment.
Earlier rounds of funding enabled Tira Wireless to complete development on the first two phases of its Tira Jump platform. The first phase focused on building out the platform to incorporate asset management and deployment planning capabilities. The recently completed phase two provides significant productivity breakthroughs in content development and deployment by enabling code re-use, collaboration and interoperability.
Tira Wireless is now embarking on the third phase in its strategic plan. This phase will enable the company to further extend its technology platform and deliver products that appeal to a broader audience of large and small developers that want to embrace the mobile platform, but require additional domain expertise and tools to address the complexities of fragmentation. Among the potential new targets are those that offer single applications, like messaging or GPS-enabled location based services; and companies with Web 2.0 and highly interactive applications for social networking, blogging and other rich media experiences. Tira Wireless will also extend its reach to providers of branded media and traditional Internet applications for music and video.
“We have been very successful in executing our strategic plan for market growth, and are now well positioned to embrace the latest phase of our product roll out,” said Doug Barre, CEO of Tira Wireless. “The first rounds of funding enabled us to establish a solid foothold in the mobile ecosystem by supporting the needs of those in the entertainment and mobile games sector. The market is now ready to embrace a new genre of mobile content, and with this latest round of funding, we have the resources needed to captivate an audience of developers that are looking to get their existing applications to a mobile device and mobile market.”
About Tira Wireless
Tira Wireless provides application developers and content publishers with a unique combination of products, technology and services that greatly reduce the complexity of mobile deployment. By facilitating the development, porting, optimization, certification and delivery of titles for mobile consumption, Tira Wireless enables organizations such as Warner Bros., THQ Wireless, Yahoo, Accuweather and Loopt to more effectively embrace the mobile market. Founded in 2001, Tira Wireless is a venture-backed company headquartered in Silicon Valley, with offices in Toronto, London, Seattle and Ukraine.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Spirent Communications plc (NYSE: SPM - message board; London: SPT) has sold wireless video test business SwissQual Holding AG for a fraction of the price it paid for the business just 18 months ago, the company announced today. (See Spirent Sells Unit.)
In January 2006 Spirent bought SwissQual for 62.5 million Swiss francs ($51.3 million), with additional payments of up to CHF28 million ($23 million) to be made if certain financial and technical milestones were achieved. Now, though, Spirent has offloaded the business to unidentified “private investors” for just $3 million in cash. (See Spirent Buys Wireless Test Firm.)
While Spirent noted last January that SwissQual was “a profitable and fast growing business” that was expected to enhance earnings in 2006, it now says the wireless test unit “has been operating unprofitably, with losses continuing through the first half of 2007.” (See Spirent to Buy SwissQual.)
Spirent reported goodwill impairments against the SwissQual business in its 2006 financial report, and noted today that it would “record a loss on disposal” of about £5.5 million ($7.5 million) this year as a result of the divestment.
The sale is part of new chairman Edward Bramson’s strategy to boost Spirent’s profits. Bramson, who took control of the company late last year and ousted the CEO, is already implementing a new restructuring program, and is currently formulating a “Strategic Review” that focuses on “balance sheet structure and other matters.” (See Spirent Makes Deeper Cuts , Spirent Suffers Boardroom Coup , and Spirent Spikes CEO .)
In a prepared statement, Bramson noted: “The sale of SwissQual releases resources for use in Spirent’s core businesses and it provides continuity for the customers and employees of SwissQual.” (See Siemens Tests Mobile Quality and O2 Tests With Spirent.)
Spirent executives were unavailable for comment, so it’s unclear whether the sale means the test vendor no longer has mobile video quality test capabilities, or whether the APEX Wireless Multimedia Analyzer product announced in February this year was developed separately and is not part of the sale. (See Spirent Evaluates Mobile Video.)
Spirent is the subject of much speculation in the test sector, with many believing the new board is preparing the company for a sale, though the company’s president and COO, Rob Piconi, told Light Reading recently that isn’t the strategy. (See Spirent: We’re Not Prepping for Sale.)
Spirent’s share price edged up 1.6 percent today to 77.5 pence on the London Stock Exchange , just more than double the share price (37 pence) a year ago.
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Elitel Telecom, the independent Italian telecommunications group, said Thursday that the talks with its creditors announced on June 13 which were expected to result in a substantial reduction in the Company’s debt position combined with a revised repayment schedule, have not yet been concluded.
As a result the company’s annual accounts for the year to Dec. 31, 2006 can not be yet be finalised and will therefore not be published on or before June 30.
Accordingly, the company confirms that it will not be able to comply with Rule 19 of the AIM Rules requiring an AIM Company to send its annual accounts to shareholders not later than six months after the end of the financial year to which they relate and as a result will be immediately suspended from AIM.
The directors expect that an agreement will be reached with creditors shortly and they will be able to publish their annual accounts and restore the dealing facility in due course.
The London Stock Exchange said Thursday that at the request of the company trading on AIM for its Ordinary shares has been temporarily suspended from 0700 BST pending publication of the company’s annual reports and accounts.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
LHS, a leading provider of telecom billing and customer care systems across the wireless, wireline, and IP telecom markets worldwide was awarded today the “2007 Stratecast Global Investment of R&D Resources to Address Core Billing Needs Award” by the Stratecast Research Group of Frost & Sullivan.
“The Award is bestowed upon the company that has carried out extensive research and has a strong commitment to research and development as demonstrated by the relative level of R&D expenditures to the company’s size. It also recognizes a company’s research and development program that has or is expected to bring significant contributions to the billing sector in terms of adoption, change, and competitive posture,” said Karl Whitelock, Senior Consulting Analyst at Stratecast. LHS won the award because of its significant and sustained emphasis on research and development.
LHS has since the year 2001 significantly invested into R&D and has successfully applied this investment to its business and product offerings. The investment has been mainly used for rearchitecting its BSCS business support system, resulting in BSCS iX, a fully convergent end-to-end componentized realtime billing system providing web-based applications for customer care and self-care.
“LHS was the obvious choice for our award. The company is a global industry leader regarding billing sector R&D. It has invested considerable resources in R&D and has successfully converted the results of the research into innovative and sustainable business solutions,” Whitelock added.
In the billing sector, outstanding performance in a real-time system means low latency, but high throughput is also essential in both batch and real-time modes. LHS’ BSCS iX has a latency of sub-20ms for rating and has one of the best-performing rating and billing engines on the market. The system supports full convergence across all markets, services and payments – wireline and wireless, voice, data, content and IPTV, prepaid and postpaid.
In addition, BSCS iX can be scaled to match the customer’s needs from entry level to serving to large Tier 1 subscribers. “Its forward-looking R&D investments excellently position LHS in the billing and related areas in the future when convergence of networks and technologies, and the resulting exponential explosion of service offerings are expected to take center stage,” said Karl Whitelock.
Another criterion for receiving the award is LHS’ use of technology to promote integration, interoperability, and userfriendliness. Within BSCS iX, business documents are all created in the XML format, allowing for paper or electronic bills to be defined in the layout needed by the carrier. Further flexible XML output formats enable bill generation as required as well as electronic billing e.g. for web-based customer self-care. In addition, open and standard-based APIs enable stepwise migrations, easier integration with other systems, and preintegration with major financial systems.
“Our recently announced benchmark results of BSCS iX rating more than 320 million usage data records per hour, as well as the generation of 1.69 million invoices per hour in the offline mode and 550,000 invoices per hour in the real-time mode are indicative of LHS’s ability to convert R&D efforts into business results,” said Dr. Jens Troetscher, Chief Technology Officer of LHS.
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About LHS
LHS is a leading provider of telecom billing and customer care systems across the wireless, wireline, and IP telecom markets worldwide. LHS Business Support Systems offer full convergence on various levels, supporting the complete range of business models both across the mix of fixed and mobile services, as well as prepaid and postpaid services. LHS builds innovative systems that enable our customers to introduce new services fast, helping drive revenues up, while keeping operational costs to a minimum. LHS was awarded “Best Billing or Customer Care Solution” by the GSM Association in Cannes in 2005, and won the IIR World Billing Awards for its “Overall Best Contribution to Billing” in London in 2005 and 2006. LHS is an independent software vendor (ISV) with headquarters in Germany, and offices in Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Malaysia, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates.
About Stratecast
Stratecast is the Research Group division of Frost & Sullivan. Stratecast’s industry analysts and market experts provide the telecommunications industry with market consulting and tactical strategic forecasting. This market information and industry research helps senior executives make critical business, technology, product, partnership, and tactical strategy decisions. Stratecast’s custom consulting, analyst availability and market subscriptions provide the firm with winning business growth strategies.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Verizon Business is extending the benefits of Converged Packet Architecture (CPA) into Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. CPA converges all services, whether IP or traditional data, onto one common network-access interface, allowing customers to more easily and efficiently scale bandwidth or make other adaptations.
“Our Converged Packet Architecture has allowed us to meet the growing demands of our large-business customers in the United States, and we now have the opportunity to bring its benefits to our customers in other parts of the world,” said Fred Briggs, Verizon Business executive vice president of operations and technology. “CPA provides the speed, scalability and operating efficiencies large-business customers need to quickly adapt to changing business requirements.”
In Europe, where numerous multinational companies have operations, Verizon Business will deploy CPA in 19 key cities this year, including large financial and business centers such as London, Frankfurt, Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Poland, Dublin, Madrid, Brussels and Zurich. In the Asia-Pacific region, Verizon Business is deploying CPA in five locations this year: Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Melbourne and Sydney.
Verizon Business also continues its aggressive CPA deployment in the United States bringing to 46 the number of U.S. cities that will have CPA by the end of 2007. New additions include New Orleans, Orlando, Memphis, Nashville, Milwaukee and Grand Rapids.
CPA supports a full range of legacy and next-generation services including IP, Private IP, Ethernet, private line data, voice traffic, Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) and Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS). It provides a single packet-access connection via an Ethernet interface at speeds up to GigE. CPA is also the ideal network platform to allow customers to migrate from the older time division multiplexing (TDM) hierarchy to a packet-based technology.
Traditionally, network access requires separate lines for each service¡ªvoice, video, data or Internet¡ªalong with rigid bandwidth boundaries. By contrast, CPA relies on virtual, or logical, connections that converge all applications on a single carrier-class packet access network. As a result, CPA improves operating efficiency and reduces the number of network touch points.
“Simply put, CPA is compatible with all forms of access over any physical connection,” said Briggs. “The customer benefits from robust flow-through automation, broad global coverage, improved network performance and excellent quality of service. It’s a winning combination.”
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Sonus Networks (Nasdaq: SONS), a leading supplier of service provider Voice over IP (VoIP) infrastructure solutions, and Operax, a leading vendor of Network Service Quality control solutions, has announced at NXTcomm 2007, one of North America’s largest communications industry trade shows, that they have entered into a non-exclusive partnership.
As network operators look to leverage broadband as a service delivery vehicle for advanced applications such as IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)-based services and services that integrate voice, video and data, the joint solution facilitates faster service creation and superior service quality, essential to protecting the consumer experience. In addition, the ability to create and provision these new services effectively helps network operators realize new revenue streams through enhanced control of their network resources.
“Broadband is a revolutionizing force in the communications industry as it provides a platform on which network operators can deliver services that change the way people communicate,” said Vikram Saksena, chief technology officer, Sonus Networks. “Sonus Networks is focused helping network operators maximize this opportunity by building out its next generation networking ecosystem through innovation across its solutions as well as on the integration of the industry’s best third party products, such as the service quality-control solutions from Operax.”
“We are proud to work with Sonus, a leading player in the next generation voice market. Operax has pioneered the development of standards-compliant Quality of Service solutions designed specifically to ensure the highest level of reliability and performance in multi-vendor networks,” said Roberto Kauffmann-Dev, Operax Solutions Alliances Director. “Operax Bandwidth Management products key strength is to ensure sufficient end-to-end resources are reserved for all types of services and sessions across all components of the IP network. The combined Operax and Sonus solution is a robust platform for today’s most demanding network operators that are looking to benefit from standards-based, cost-effective technologies for their non-IMS, pre-IMS and IMS network infrastructure.”
As a result of the partnership, network operators will be able to seamlessly deploy Sonus’ Network Border Switch (NBS) in combination with Operax Bandwidth Management products for resource and policy-based admission control (RACS), resulting in a TISPAN-compliant Border Gateway Function (BGF). The BGF provides control of media resources, such as voice and video, by providing services such as metering, policing, marking and gate control.
About Operax
Operax is an independent software vendor offering innovative products and solutions for dynamic Bandwidth Management and guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS) in IP-based networks.
Throughout the world telecommunications operators are seeking to maximize their Returns on Investment in Next-Generation Networks. In converged broadband networks, providing guaranteed Quality of Service is a key capability and essential for the successful commercial deployment and operation of new solutions, such as IPTV, VOIP and IMS-based services. For carriers seeking these capabilities today, Operax provides flexible Bandwidth Management solutions for real-time, end-to-end QoS Control.
Operax has made extensive contributions, and continues to participate, in the forums for next-generation network standards. The company been granted many patents for its technology and has many applications pending. Operax customers are network operators and service providers, along with defense organizations and leading telecommunications system vendors.
Founded in 2000, Operax is a privately held company with headquarters in Stockholm and offices in Washington DC, London, Rome, and Luleå - Sweden. The company is owned by Nordic Venture Partners, Innovacom, Nomura and Emano, along with its founders.
About Sonus Networks
Sonus Networks, Inc. is a leading provider of voice over IP (VoIP) infrastructure solutions for wireline and wireless service providers. With its comprehensive IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) solution, Sonus addresses the full range of carrier applications, including residential and business voice services, wireless voice and multimedia, trunking and tandem switching, carrier interconnection and enhanced services. Sonus’ voice infrastructure solutions are deployed in service provider networks worldwide. Founded in 1997, Sonus is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Orga Systems, a leading expert in convergent real-time billing, has been delivering the “Best Contribution to BSS” at this year’s World BSS Awards at Billing & Information Management Systems (BIMS) 2007.
Being nominated for three categories “Overall- Best Contribution to BSS”, “Innovation In Billing & Information Management” and “Best Billing/Charging Implementation”, the flagship “Best Contribution to BSS” award was given to Orga Systems for its outstanding industry contribution in the area of convergent real-time billing.
Orga Systems recognized the growing need to “Think Customer” and to utilize its real-time billing expertise to deliver new approaches for an enhanced customer experience. With respect to Orga Systems leadership capabilities in bridging the gap between IN and IT, the Award recognizes Orga Systems exceptional impact on the billing landscape in 2007.
The World BSS Awards raise awareness of the significance of billing and information management processes to the communications industry, identifying key trends and rewarding BSS best practice. Now in their 11th year, the World BSS Awards are widely regarded as the highest industry recognition of BSS excellence.
An independent panel of judges, chaired by Hugh Roberts, Consultant Director for IIR’s BSS/OSS and RM events, decides winners of the awards.
“We are delighted to receive this prestigious award that recognises Orga Systems tremendous achievements during the past year,” said Andreas Freund, Vice-President of Marketing, Orga Systems. “By bridging the gap between prepaid and postpaid billing, Orga Systems had exceptional impact on the billing landscape in 2007.”
Orga Systems picked up the award at the BIMS 2007 Gala Dinner at the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, London, on Thursday 7 June.
About Orga Systems
Orga Systems is a leading expert in mission critical, convergent real-time billing. Its products enable international telecommunication companies to rate, charge and bill any service for prepaid, postpaid and hybrid subscribers.
450 employees in Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey, the Ukraine and Brasil create cost-effective, custom-tailored solutions based on highly flexible products.
42 leading mobile network operators in Continental and Eastern Europe, Africa, Middle East, Latin and Central Americas experience Orga Systems as a strong partner. Characteristics of this partnership include a quick and flexible response to customer requirements and best-in-class, state-of-the-art support and services before, during and after the deployment of its products and solutions.
About the World BSS Awards
The World BSS Awards were introduced to acknowledge billing best practice and raise awareness of how significant billing, IT, revenue & customer management and associated processes are to the communications industry. Launched in 1997, this will be the 11th year that these important awards will be presented.
About the Billing & Information Management Systems 2007
Billing & Information Management Systems 2007 – London Olympia 2, 4-8 June 2007 – is the leading conference and exhibition in the EMEA Telecoms BSS, Billing and IT calendar. The operator-led conference programme offers insights into benchmarking and improving current billing, IT/IS and customer care practices, while achieving operational excellence and shaping strategy for next generation financial transaction processing.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
MO-Call Home saves upto 90% on international tariffs (London)
