The country’s biggest operator, Telkomsel, will offer the iPhone to its customers. Telkomsel is a state-owned company, with 35 percent of its stake owned by Singapore giant SingTel. As reported earlier, SingTel and its mobile associates will bring Apple Inc’s popular iPhone to Singapore, India, Australia and the Philippines later this year.
Also, Hutchison will team up with Apple to offer the iPhone. The telecom company operates mobile phone services in Hong Kong, Thailand, Israel, Macau, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Vietnam. So, Indonesia will be its next logical step to offer the iPhone.
But looking at the number of users Telkomsel, which has more than 50 million users now, will win the bid rather than Hutchison. A close soource unveils that “Telkomsel will offer iPhone 3G in Indonesia. It’s almost confirmed.”
“Telkomsel will offer the iPhone to its postpaid customers. Now they are working on how to determine the plan that will be offered to the customers.” as quoted by source.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) said Tuesday its Asia Pacific mobile phone subscriber base rose almost 50 percent to 185.34 million at the end of the March quarter from a year earlier.
Southeast Asia’s biggest telecom firm said the increase was driven by strong growth in all eight of its markets: Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand as well as the home market in Singapore.
Compared with the previous quarter, growth came in 8.0 percent higher, or a record 13.80 million new customers, SingTel said ahead of its full-year earnings report on Wednesday.
India’s Bharti, where SingTel holds a 30.44 percent stake, drew a record 6.82 million new clients for the quarter ended March 31, it said. Bharti’s total mobile subscriber base stood at 61.99 million, up 67 percent from the year before, SingTel said.
Indonesia’s Telkomsel added 3.45 million new mobile clients during the quarter, bringing its total subscribers to 51.34 million, up 32 percent from the same quarter last year, SingTel said. It owns 35 percent of Telkomsel, Indonesia’s biggest mobile phone operator.
Thailand’s AIS, where SingTel has 21.36 percent equity, expanded its customer base by 3.6 percent in the quarter or 19 percent year-on-year, while the Philippine associate Globe Telecom added 26 percent more subscribers compared with the same quarter last year, SingTel said.
Warid Telekom of Pakistan reported 14.40 million mobile clients at the end of March, up 9.0 percent from the previous quarter. Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Ltd (PBTL) grew its customer base by 11 percent from the December quarter, SingTel said.
SingTel owns 30 percent of Warid Telecom and 45 percent of PBTL.
SingTel’s wholly-owned Australian subsidiary Optus reported a total mobile customer base of 7.14 million for the March quarter, up 5.9 percent from the previous year and 2.0 percent from the December quarter.
For the Singapore home market, SingTel added a record 244,000 mobile customers, raising its customer base to 2.57 million, up an annual 41 percent, it said.
SingTel, the biggest company on the Singapore stock exchange in terms of market capitalization, is 56 percent owned by state-linked investment firm Temasek Holdings, according to the Temasek website.
SingTel shares were trading at 3.76 Singapore dollars a share Tuesday afternoon, up five cents from the previous day.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
- December 19th, 2007
- 6:52 am
Indonesia’s Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) has announced it is widening its probe into alleged price-fixing of SMS messages by eight of the country’s mobile operators, The Jakarta Post reports. In a statement the body said it had found evidence, albeit preliminary, of a ‘cartel-like’ arrangement between the companies involved. ‘From the preliminary evidence, we have discovered that there’s a kind of agreement between the mobile cellular companies to fix the prices of text messages at between IDR250 (about USD0.027) and IDR350,’ KPPU chairman Muhammad Iqbal said Monday. He went on to say it would take about 60 working days for the KPPU to finally make its adjudication on the case. The eight companies allegedly involved are Bakrie Telecom, Indosat, Telkomsel, Telkom, Excelcomindo, Hutchinson CP Telecommunications (HCPT), Mobile-8 Telecom and Smart Telecom.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
- November 20th, 2007
- 2:36 pm
The Indonesian anti-trust watchdog has said that Temasek Holdings has violated competition laws and ordered the investment group of the Singapore government to sell its stakes in Indosat or Telkomsel within two years. In a hearing the KPPU said it would fine Temasek and its telecommunications units IDR 25 billion each, Reuters reports. The KPPU further stipulated that buyers acquiring Temasek’s stakes were not allowed to buy more than 5 percent of the shares and cannot be affiliated with Temasek or other buyers. Temasek holds a 35 percent stake in Telkomsel through subsidiary SingTel while ST Telemedia, which is wholly owned by Temasek, has a 41.9 percent share in Indosat through a subsidiary, Asia Mobile Holdings. According to the anti-trust agency, Temasek’s cross-ownership has caused a price leadership in the telecommunications market. Both Temasek and ST Telemedia denied any wrongdoing and issued statements they would fight the decision. Simon Israel, Temasek’s executive director stated, “The charge against Temasek is groundless – Temasek has no shares in Indosat and Telkomsel, and we play no role in their business decisions and operations. Telkomsel is controlled by the Indonesian Government which also has a golden share in Indosat.”
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
- November 6th, 2007
- 11:30 am
Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) has seen its total subscriber-base in Asia reach 157.97 million at the end of September. Year-on-year the customer base grew by 57 percent from about 100.77 million customers. Bharti (India) and Telkomsel (Indonesia) had the largest subscriber growth in the group. Bharti added 6.17 million net mobile subscribers in quarter to reach 48.88 million with the bulk being prepaid subscribers while Telkomsel added 1.65 million subscribers to reach 44.46 milion. Warid Telecom, SingTel’s latest investment in Pakistan, contributed 11.87 million subscribers to the group. In its home-market, SingTel reached 2.13 million after adding 185,000 new customers, of which 163,000 were prepaid users. Optus (Australia) added 92,000 new subscribers of which 62,000 were postpaid, to reach 6.89 million in total. The number of 3G subscribers with Optus reached 868,000, up 27 percent quarter-on-quarter. On 7 November the company will issue its financial results.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
- August 13th, 2007
- 11:29 am
Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) has seen the aggregate number of mobile subscribers in the region, including its associates, reach 136.35 million at end-June. During the quarter, SingTel companies added 12.6 million new customers. Among the associates, Bharti and Telkomsel again posted the largest subscriber growth rates. Bharti added a record 5.6 million net mobile subscribers to bring its total mobile subscriber base to 42.7 million while Telkomsel added 3.9 million new subscribers in the quarter to reach a total of 42.8 million. The number Telkomsel’s 3G mobile subscribers went up 31 percent from a quarter ago to reach 2.8 million. The SingTel Group also continued to do well in the more mature markets. SingTel Optus defended its market position in Australia and added 65,000 mobile customers to reach a total of 6.80 million, a 3.8 percent increase year-on-year. In Singapore, SingTel’s mobile subscriber base grew to 1.95 million, after adding 124,000 mobile subscribers in the quarter, of which 108,000 were prepaid customers. The number of SingTel 3G subscribers rose by 17 percent to 544,000 compared to the previous quarter.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Industry groups Home Gateway Initiative (HGI) and the Fixed Mobile Convergence Alliance (FMCA) enter a formal cooperation agreement that will see the two bodies collaborate towards interoperability concerns. HGI and FMCA together represent 36 telecom operators and over 1 billion customers around the world.
Indonesia’s Telkomsel selects solutions provider Comverse to provide the carrier with personalized ringback tones and content management applications. Telkomsel said the new solutions will help the firm position “the coolest and most up-to-date content and personalization offerings.”
Motorola signs a deal with Tata Teleservices on the launching of the MOTO Q mobile handset, based on Qualcomm technology, in India. The MOTO Q handset combines voice, data and design technology in one ultra-thin device for increased productivity and entertainment.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Telegeography writes….Indonesia’s largest cellco by subscribers, Telkomsel, has announced that it plans to issue IDR2 trillion (USD211 million) in bonds in the third quarter of this year. The money raised is to be used to help finance capital expenditures for 2007. Rinaldi Firmansyah, President director of parent company Telkom, told reporters that Telkomsel is also seeking bank loans worth USD1.5 billion to further develop its wireless business. The cellco’s subscriber base stood at 35,597,000 at the end of 2006, a figure which it believes will rise to 56 million by the end of 2007.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
- February 7th, 2007
- 2:15 pm
Telegeography writes…Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) reported 112 million regional mobile subscribers at the end of December 2006, up 11.5 million quarter-on-quarter, the highest quarterly growth recorded by the company. SingTel’s domestic operations combined with its Optus subsidiary in Australia and five regional associates, reported growth of 44% in the fiscal fourth quarter, with the best performance coming from Bharti Airtel in India and Telkomsel in Indonesia. At the end of the year Bharti controlled 32 million subscribers, having added 4.9 million in Q4, while Telkomsel signed up an additional 3.1 million new users to lift its customer base to 35.6 million. Elsewhere, Optus added 76,000 net new additions to end with 6.68 million subscribers, while at home, SingTel reported a net increase of 66,000 customers and 1.76 million overall.
Wireless Mobile Telecom
- February 7th, 2007
- 12:57 pm
Telecompaper writes…SIngapore Telecommunications (SingTel) reported a total mobile subscriber base of 112 million at the end of 2006, after adding 11.5 million new customers in the fourth quarter. Proportionate for the company’s ownership in various affiliates, the mobile base reached 42.14 million at the end of December, compared to 38.38 million at the end of September. Out of SingTel’s seven markets the strongest growth came from Bharti in India and Telkomsel in Indonesia. Bharti added 4.9 million customers in the fourth quarter for a total 32 million, and Telkomsel gained 3.1 million new subscribers in the quarter for a total base of 35.6 million. In Australia, SingTel Optus added 76,000 customers in the quarter for a total 6.68 million, including 276,000 with 3G services. In the home market Singapore, the company had 1.77 million mobile customers at the end of 2006, after adding 66,000 in Q4. The number of 3G subscribers reached 367,000, up 42 percent from Q3.
Wireless Mobile Telecom
Telkomsel may offer iPhone 3G in Indonesia
