Wireless Federation

Alcatel-Lucent and Australia’s leading carrier Telstra announced the opening of a mobile TV handset testing service centre in Melbourne, Australia.
 
The facility was developed to support Telstra’s Mobile FOXTEL
TV service and will help ensure that Alcatel-Lucent’s MiTV application and the Mobile FOXTEL service are compatible with and operate smoothly on the handsets that Telstra offers to its customers.

The first Alcatel-Lucent facility of its kind outside of France, the centre represents a key step forward in bringing mobile TV-ready handsets to market quickly, dramatically reducing delivery time from up to three months to just 15 days.

Seen as key to ensuring the reliability and availability of new applications, the facility will test up to 100 UMTS 3G-enabled handset models a year including models from the all the major manufacturers to ensure their compatibility and suitability for the network and the anticipated applications and services to be offered.

Testing will involve Streamezzo, which supplies a rich media client software application to support Alcatel-Lucent’s MiTV application and Mobile FOXTEL service on the handsets being offered by Telstra.

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Telstra plans to activate ADSL2+ broadband at more than 900 telephone exchanges serving 2.4 million consumers across the country. Telstra’s decision follows an assurance that it had an appropriate level of regulatory certainty. Communications minister Stephen Conroy acted on advice provided by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Telstra will immediately upgrade some 370 telephone exhanges, 132 telephone exchanges will be upgraded within three weeks and 405 exchanges will be upgraded within 200 days. The company further reiterated it is still committed to investing more than AUD 4.1 billion in an open-access fibre-to-the-node broadband service.

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The Australian government has decided that Telstra will not be allowed to close its CDMA network in favour of its Next G network on 28 January. Under Telstra’s carrier licence it is only allowed to switch off the network when the government finds the replacement provides equivalent coverage and equivalent retail services. On 9 January the Australian communications minister has received the report from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on Telstra’s HSDPA network. The report showed that the Next G network footprint is equivalent to the CDMA network, and the communications minister Stephen Conroy said he agrees with ACMA’s finding on this. ACMA also found that the Next G coverage using an external aerial was equivalent. However issues were identified with handheld coverage, which Telstra has been asked to address. The communications minister has asked Telstra to provide the government with a detailed report that identifies how the issues have been resolved so the matter can be reconsidered. Telstra has said it will provide the information by 28 April. Telstra welcomed the confirmation that the Next G Network was providing an equivalent network coverage footprint to the outgoing CDMA network. The company has also re-committed to continue to work with the customers who may be experiencing genuine issues with equipment. Telstra Chief Financial Officer, Mr John Stanhope, said the government’s decision would not change Telstra’s financial guidance issued in November 2007.

In order to access a Next G service that is equivalent to a CDMA service, it is crucial customers use an appropriate handset or equipment. In some cases, customers have purchased, or are purchasing, Next G handsets and equipment that do not provide equivalent coverage. The communications minister said that Telstra should do everything possible ensure that customers are using the correct equipment. This should include replacing handsets at no financial penalty in genuine cases. In addition to the ACMA report, the government has also been provided with material by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. This includes the results of a survey which indicates that some customers have not received the most appropriate advice for their needs.

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According to sources, Some of the biggest achievers selected for Communication Awards 2007:  

Allen Timpany, CEO, Vanco
 VNO pioneer. Now every value-added reseller wants to be the “next Vanco”.
 
Arun Sarin, Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Group
 His deals with Google and eBay “started the Mobile Internet”. That’ll be the one regularly used by 6% of mobile owners, then.

Ben Verwaayen, CEO, BT
 Split local access and services in UK as an example for all the other EU countries. Then took over the broadband revolution. But has he reached the crest of the New Wave?

Bill Gates, Founder and Chairman, Microsoft Corp
 He may be adrift in online adland, but his company’s Communications Server has brought the LAN to life.
 
Carl Henrik Svanberg, CEO, Ericsson
 Has kept the strategy clear and built a leadership position in wireless into a total communications offer whilst others have dug themselves deeper into their problems.

Cesar Alierta, President, Telefonica
 Last of the great global Telco heroes? No blockbuster deals last year though.
 
Chua Sock Koong, CEO, SingTel
 SingTel veteran Chua is in the regional hotseat; tasked with making sense of the company’s expansionist strategy across Southeast Asia to Australia.

Dayanidhi Maran, Telecom Minister, India
 Revolutionised the Indian telecom scenario with liberalised policies, promoting Foreign Direct Investments and providing clear strategies for mobile and broadband expansion.

Dr. Saad Al Barrak, Deputy chairman and managing director, MTC
 MTC Group’s champion has transformed the Kuwaiti operator into a regional investment player. Can he take his 3×3x3 strategy global?

Ed Whitacre, Chairman and CEO, AT&T
 Retiring after driving telecom consolidation, with the integration of SBC, Cingular and AT&T. Now going after Telecom Italia and the iPhone.

Helmut Leopold, Head of Platform and Technology Management, Telekom Austria AG
 Put Engerwitzdorf on Europe’s IPTV map. Leads development of IPTV and IP-driven multimedia services at Telekom Austria, as well as president of the Broadband Services Forum (BSF). .

Ildar Zhuravlev, Partner, Ernst & Young
 He is one of the most influential persons in the Russian telecom sector. He provides consulting services to 18 of top 20 major Russian telcos. At least he isn’t being called a revolutionary.

Ivar Plahte, CEO, OnRelay
 ”Defining the next era of [mobile] PBX.” Cisco, Nortel, IBM, Verizon, and others are following his lead, some say.

John Chambers, CEO, Cisco Systems
 He’s putting Cisco on Second Life. That’s how determined he is to win this award again.
 
John Legere, CEO, Global Crossing
 Two years ago a $24 billion accounting ‘fresh start’ helped bring GX back to life. Now it is a model for how to use IT to speed up your telecoms services delivery.

John Pluthero, Executive Chairman , Cable & Wireless
 He’s “blown the whistle on the telecoms industry” for its lack of  customer care, apparently.And he knows how to reinvigorate a demoralised company.

Josep A. Aliagas, CEO, Arena Mobile
 This content aggregator is currently working in 60 countries and with 110 mobile operators as well as worldwide Media Groups including Shanghai Media Group in the mobile TV area in China. China is potentially the biggest revenue generator in the industry and Arena Mobile is the leading company in China.

Larry Page, Co-founder, Google
 Telcos are running a bit less scared now Google is concentrating on TV and radio advertisers. 
 
N Srinath, CEO, VSNL
 ”The CEO of the last year”, according to one nomination. He has “single-handedly” changed VSNL from an incumbent niche operator to a multinational telecom player, according to another. He must have a little help, though.

Niklas Zennstrom, Co-founder, Joost TV
 Since he sold Skype to eBay, the IP telephony service has reached 150 million users, reducing the price paid from $68 million to $23 million - per subscriber.

Patricia Russo, CEO, Alcatel-Lucent
 Running a combination “too big, too exotic and too powerful to be ignored.”
 
Phuthuma Nhleko, President & CEO, MTN Group
 Phuthuma has revolutionalised telecoms in Africa and the Middle East by providing telecoms to 21 countries in MEA.

Sol Trujillo, CEO, Telstra
 ”Creating a Telstra that is more adaptable to market needs.” Really? The “only real ass-kicker and visionary in the industry”. That’s more like it!

Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple
 He seems to understand consumers better than most. The iPhone has raised expections high this time.
 
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman - Bharti Group, Bharti Airtel
 A “Telecoms Tsar”- in India? No, he’s “a revolutionary”. He can’t be both.
 
Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner, EU
 She has upset mobile operators, NextGen network builders and even outsourcing associations, so she must be doing something right.
 

Telstra has upgraded its EBIT guidance for 2007-08 and and its long-term objectives for revenue and EBITDA growth. According to CEO Sol Trujillo, the outlook for EBIT growth for 2007-08 has been increased from 3-5 percent to 5-7 percent, which includes a AUD 100 million distribution from Foxtel. The long-term objectives for revenue and EBITDA growth to 2010 will rise by 0.5 percentage points from the 2-2.5 percent per annum range to the new 2.5-3 percent per annum range.

According to Trujillo, Telstra has beaten by two months its schedule to switch on ‘IT release one’, a transformed new IT system that will make it easier for customers to do business with the company. The company has also launched an icon store in Sydney, Australia. The new IT system will eventually serve 5.3 million consumer and small business customers by giving call centre staff a single view of the customer. The new icon store will allow customers to test live products, learn from interactive, hands-on technology demonstrations and receive advice from specially trained staff.

Telstra has built over 6,000 NextG base stations (nearly twice the number of CDMA) providing a cell range as far as 200 km and peak network speeds of 14.4-Mbps, sold nearly 400,000 mobile data cards for laptops, installed 2.2 million ADSL1 and 2.7 million ADSL2+ ports, upgraded to 30 Mbps the HFC network passing 940,000 homes in Melbourne and 925,000 homes in Sydney, and achieved 99.999 percent reliability on the NextIP network for business. Strike rates on customer contacts doubled from 8 percent in April-June 2006 to 16 percent one year later.

Telstra added 33,000 retail customers to the traditional copper phone service in July-September 2007. By 30 September, the company had 2.51 million 3G customers, of whom 1.546 million are NextG customers. Telstra has generated more mobile revenue from non-SMS data content than from SMS. Telstra has also unveiled six new NextG devices. The new devices include two from Nokia and others from ZTE, Samsung and Motorola.

Telstra also announced new online content and services, including 33 channels of mobile Foxtel and 33 shows on BigPond TV, a BigPond Office application that makes it easy for small businesses and families to share documents or budgets, a trial of exclusive discounts for NextG customers who use their handset to scan barcodes at shops and restaurants, the creation of a simulated city of Sydney on Second Life, and a new pocket-sized mobile credit card terminal for business customers.

Since November 2005, unsatisfied ADSL orders have fallen 90 percent, activation costs are down 22 percent, field workforce productivity has improved 20 percent and reported problems per 100 services have declined by 40 percent. Telstra’s partnership with Brightstar for end-to-end handset procurement has delivered savings of over AUD 300 million vs old buying practices, including AUD 246 million in 2006-07 alone. Telstra will also enter phase two of a contract with IBM to transform the supply-chain.

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Telstra has raised its 2008 profit forecast and its long-term growth estimates, as cost-cutting and increased revenue from 3G boosted its outlook. The former government-owned monopoly is two years into a five-year overhaul to reduce costs, boost margins and reduce dependence on shrinking revenue from fixed line phones. The company has lifted its long-term objectives for both revenue and EBITDA growth to a range of 2.5%-3% a year, up from a previous forecast of 2%-2.5%.

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The Australian telecommunications market grew by 5.2 percent to AUD 36.6 billion in the 12 months to June 2007, according to a report from BuddeComm. Growth is expected to subside over the next two years as Telstra is forced to begin a period of transformation and rationalisation, according to the report. Telecommunications market growth is forecast to fall to 4.1 percent by 2008 and 3.4 percent by 2009. Telstra had revenue of just under AUD 3 billion in 2007, which constituted just over 70 percent of the AUD 4.2 billion wholesale market.

The total 2nd tier market grew at around 7.9 percent in 2007 to AUD 9.2 billion, but growth is forecast to fall to around 6 percent in 2008 and the same growth into 2009. Telstra’s retail broadband subscriber base grew 60 percent to 2.4 million, and market share increased from 45 percent to 47 percent. By 2009 BuddeComm expects the fixed-line voice market to drop to 28 percent of the overall market.

Mobile operators’ revenue growths will be modest from 2008 onwards. Growth was around 8.5 percent for 2006 and 10.3 percent in 2007 and this is forecast to gradually taper off to around 7.2 percent in 2008 and 5 percent in 2010.

Broadband revenue growth rate for 2006 was 27 percent, vs 33 percent in 2007. Strong growth is expected to continue moving into 2008, although the market probably has peaked in 2007. Telstra is forecast to increase its overall market share of internet access revenues, extending its market share from 36 percent in 2007 to 39 percent in 2008. By late 2007 there was demand for another 1 million broadband users and by 2008 broadband penetration in Australia will cross the 5 million mark.

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Having completed his long journey from offices hard-by St Paul’s Cathedral in London to Telecoms New Zealand’s (TNZ) HQ in Auckland, the carrier’s new CEO, Paul Reynolds, has been inducted into the company and appointed to the board.

Mr. Reynolds immediately outlined plans to consult widely on ongoing challenges and take what he calls “the most sensible path forward for shareholders and customers.”
 
While the new CEO’s rhetoric echoes that of Australia’s Telstra, TNZ’s rival across the Tasman sea, the fact is that Paul Reynolds is leading his company in a very different direction to Telstra.

TNZ claims to be embracing regulatory change and to be well underway with newly-mandated separation requirements, while Telstra remains locked in a pitched battle  with the Australian government and has threatened legal challenges to any attempt to enforce the company to split.
 
Mr. Reynolds, who has joined TNZ after leading the separation of BT in the UK, says acceding to government makes sense for the benefit of shareholders, customers and staff.

“This principle is a simple yet powerful one. It makes sense,” Mr. Reynolds said at the TNZ annual general meeting in held in the South Island city of Dunedin.

He continued, “Though the largest player on the New Zealand telecommunications scene, Telecom is no longer a monopoly – and hasn’t been for some time. The final form of operational separation, in combination with other regulatory decisions, will accelerate that process.”
 
TNZ chairman, Wayne Boyd, has outlined five key projects the company must address concur-rently: unbundled local loop and wholesale broadband regulation, operational separation, next-generation network deployment, PSTN voice replacement and WCDMA network upgrade.

Yesterday, he called the appointment of Paul Reynolds to the post of CEO “a watershed” for the company. Mr. Boyd went on to confirm that a “workable separation model” should be agreed with the New Zealand government by year-end and that the strategy will be ready for implementation next March.

Although TNZ board members and senior executives were widely reported to have been opposed to any plans for separation, Mr. Boyd insists they are now all fully behind the plans and ready, willing and able to embrace change.
 
He said, “Change is a way of life in the telecommunications industry, where the regulatory, consumer and technology currents all move rapidly. Change means new challenges and lots of opportunities. There is now industry-wide acknowledgment that we have engaged openly and showed integrity in our dealings with industry and our wholesale customers.”

Paul Reynolds played a major part in guiding TNZ’s negotiations with the government prior to his arrival in New Zealand and says he will now extend conversation with stakeholders.
“I’ll be looking better to understand the character of that debate as it applies here, and assess Telecom’s part in it. If you can do it, getting things right first time every time is ultimately a good way to run a company.”

The New Zealand government has directed that TNZ be separated into three units: network, wholesale and retail. The carrier has already established a separate wholesale entity and is increasing the scale of its Gen-I enterprise business as well as investing in Australia.

Wayne Boyd says,“While we now comprise a number of businesses we are a sustainable entity and one that is focussed on delivering greater shareholder value and focussed on meeting customers needs.”

Paul Reynolds has also revealed that he plans to look closely at what’s happening in Australia where TNZ is currently monitoring the integration of AAPT and PowerTel and examining opportunities to grow in the wholesale market. Last week PowerTel announced a major new wholesale supply deal with Macquarie Telecom, thus effectively taking away from Telstra as much as A$100 million in potential annual revenues.

According to Mr. Reynolds, “We have a strong team over there [in Australia] and we’re anticipating benefits from the integration of PowerTel and AAPT.”

He added, “I’ll be trying to meet as many of our customers, shareholders and other stakeholders as possible, here and in Australia. While I will be based in Auckland, I intend to roam far and wide.”

Asked about his move from the UK, Pail Reynolds said strong “pull factors” had drawn him to TNZ. The company’s shareholders yesterday approved his remuneration package, that includes a NZ$1.75 million salary and NZ$1.75 million annual performance-based cash and share package. Up to NZ$1.75 million of rights shares will also be paid contingent on company long-term performance.

Company chairman, Wayne Boyd, says management will establish measures for the annual performance-based package within the next 60 days. These could include EBITDA and strategic targets. The long-term remuneration agreement is based on TNZ’s performance against a group of 20 global telecom companies. It requires TNZ to be above the 50th percentile of them.

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An unprecedented gathering of leading operator CEOs(i) will debate the future of the mobile industry at the GSMA’s Mobile Asia Congress at the new Venetian Macau Resort on November 12-15.

The chief executives of China Mobile, the world’s largest operator, NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest operator, MTS, Russia’s largest operator, the Chairman and Group Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, India’s largest operator, and the CEO of Mobilink, Pakistan’s largest operator, the Chairman of Smart, the Philippines’ largest operator, Grameenphone, Bangladesh’s largest operator, and Telstra, Australia’s largest operator, will be among the keynote speakers.

They will be joined by many other industry leaders and visionaries, including the President of China Unicom, the CEOs of Softbank of Japan, Orascom Telecom, VimpelCom of Russia and the CEOs of equipment vendors Ericsson and ZTE and content companies Warner Music and EMI Music International.

Preceded by a board meeting of the GSMA, which represents more than 700 mobile operators from around the world, the Congress provides a unique opportunity for the leaders of Asia’s mobile operators to discuss the most strategic issues facing the mobile industry today. Among the themes for the keynote sessions: The shape of the mobile industry in three years time; the respective roles of operators, equipment vendors, Internet companies and content suppliers; future revenue models; reinventing cost structures; the potential of mobile broadband, low ARPU growth and the forms of entertainment that will work best on mobile.

“With mobile broadband services proliferating, handset technology evolving rapidly and the Internet fast going wireless, this industry is reaching a major inflexion point as many operators, vendors and entertainment companies review their strategies, their business models and their partnerships,” said Craig Ehrlich, Chairman. “A catalyst for the leaders of Asia’s mobile ecosystem to engage in face-to-face discussions, the Mobile Asia Congress will play a major role in shaping the strategic agenda of this industry, while setting trends in the world’s fastest-growing mobile markets.” Asia-Pacific is adding 20 million new mobile connections every month - more than four times the growth rate of any other region.

The Congress will also explore Asia’s role as a pioneer of new services, the imminent rollout of mobile broadband in China and India and how mobile technology will showcase the Olympics in Beijing next year. On the first evening of the event, there will be the presentation of the GSMA’s Asia Mobile Awards, recognizing the best commercial mobile products and services targeted at Asian consumers.

The most innovative ideas in the Asia-Pacific region will also be highlighted in Macau through the Mobile Innovation Awards, the culmination of the two-day Mobile Innovation Summit. A key part of the GSMA’s new Mobile Innovation Programme, the Summit will bring together the inventors of the region’s most innovative products, services and technologies with operators, the investor community, and vendors.

Ministers and Heads of Regulatory Authorities from approximately 20 countries in the Asia Pacific Region are also set to gather in Macau to attend the GSMA’s Government Symposium. At the Symposium, sponsored by Telenor, they will discuss the most pressing regulatory issues in the region with senior representatives from international institutions and CEOs from the mobile industry.

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Vodafone will today start to sell packages that include mobile phone plans combined with a landline and “free” DSL broadband, with 1GB a month data allowance.

Customers can pick any You Choose mobile phone plan, add a landline connection for $41 a month, with the broadband thrown in, with Vodafone promising a $30/month saving for the lot.

Previously, Vodafone didn’t have the mobile phone bundled for its landline/broadband offering.

Vodafone is also launching a low-price 3G phone, the Chinese-made Huawei V715.

This ninety gram candybar model provides UMTS speeds at up to 384kbit/s downloads and all the other features of Vodafone’s 3G network such as video calling and access to the Live! portal.

In Europe, the V715 retails for between 89 to 99 Euros, or between NZ$175 to NZ$195.

However, New Zealand customers will have to stump up some more than their European counterparts: according to company spokesman Paul Brislen, the V715 will retail for $299 here, with lower pricing available if customers agree to lock themselves into two-year contracts with the mobile provider.

Business users looking forward to the 7.2Mbit/s upgrade to Vodafone’s cellular 3G broadband service will have to wait further however.

According to Brislen, the upgrade will be demonstrated before Christmas, but he declined to give any exact date, or say when Vodafone intends to launch the faster service.

The reason for the delay is mainly down to lack of devices supporting the faster speeds, says Brislen.

In Australia, Telstra said in August that there won’t be any devices available for its 14.4Mbit/s capable Next G network; presently, Telstra’s data cards support 3.6Mbit/s downloads only, and the regional telco giant intends to skip 14.4Mbit/s devices completely, and go for faster than 20Mbit/s ones instead, without giving a timeframe for when this will happen.

Cheaper conference calls could however appeal to Vodafone’s business customers.

The company is rolling out a teleconferencing service that was used in-house only, but which Vodafone decided could be sold outside as well.

The teleconferencing service will be priced at the cost of the call only, with no further surcharges. Brislen says the service is full-duplex, meaning parties can speak at the same time, and will utilise an 021 number.

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