Brazil proposes opening TV sector to telecom operators (Brazil)
A parliamentary commission has approved a law proposal that regulates the participation of telecom operators in broadcasting activities. According to the proposed legislation, fixed and mobile companies can run cable TV, satellite TV and IPTV operations, in association with Brazilian companies. Telecom operators will be able to have a maximum 30 percent share in the broadcasting companies, the same percentage that foreign companies can have in Brazilian broadcasting media. The proposal still has to be cleared by the broader parliament. The proposal also sets a minimum 50 percent of national content in transmissions realised by operators.
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PCCW launches fixed, mobile broadband package (Hong Kong)
PCCW has introduced the PCCW 1000M+ optical fibre connectivity and wireless broadband services package in Hong Kong. PCCW 1000M+ will provide customers with the high-speed connectivity of Netvigator Fiber Direct 1000M, together with Netvigator Everywhere, a wireless broadband service integrating HSDPA, 3G and Wi-Fi services and high-definition TV. The 100M package comes with Netvigator Fiber Direct 100M, citywide wireless connectivity via 3,000 PCCW Wi-Fi hotspots and high-definition TV. The broadband services include continuous customer service support. The 100M and 1000M services are priced at HKD 588 and HKD 2,188 respectively per month. PCCW will provide a 1250 Mbps service on their networks soon and expects to roll out even faster broadband services later in 2008.
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AT&T starts commercial operations in Vietnam (Vietnam)
AT&T has announced the commercial launch of business in Vietnam. This follows the announcement in November 2006 for a collaboration with the local telecommunications carrier Viettel. Under the agreement between AT&T and Viettel, initial services available to multinational customers include VPN and frame relay services. There are plans to add more services in the future. In addition to the existing office in Hanoi, AT&T plans to set up another representative office in Ho Chi Minh by the end of the year.
Universal Music Mobile attracts millionth customer (USA)
The Universal Music Mobile service attracted its millionth customer, three years after launch. The company offers mobile phone services under licence on the Bouygues Telecom network since August 2004. Targeted at 15-20 year olds, Universal Music Mobile has launched a contest to invite customers to discover Jenifer’s new album, Lunatique, at a private concert on the Champs Elysees. The operator’s services include unlimited SMS to all operators out of school hours, unlimited minutes carry-over, and lower call charges after school.
Celtel extends One Network to six additional countries
Mobile operator Celtel International, part of the Zain group, has extended its ‘One Network’, the borderless mobile network in Africa, to an additional six countries. These are Burkina Faso, Chad, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan. These countries now join the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in the network which was initially launched in September 2006. All Celtel’s customers both prepaid and postpaid in the twelve countries from East, Central and West Africa, can move freely across geographic borders making calls and sms at local rates. They can top-up their prepaid phones with locally-bought airtime cards. The One Network service is automatically activated upon crossing into any one of the other countries, with no prior registration required or sign up fee charged.
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KPN sees SMS usage cross 2 billion mark (Netherlands)
KPN has sent its 2 billionth SMS this year. This is a record number, according to the operator that surpassed the 1 billion mark in 2003. Over the past four years, SMS usage has doubled for KPN due to increased SMS usage and an increased subscriber base. On average, users send 41 SMS messages a month, up from 29 in 2003.
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German mobile phone sales to grow 6% to 36.5 million (Germany)
The number of mobile phones sold in Germany is expected to grow by 6 percent from 34.4 million in 2006 to 36.5 million during this year, according to the German federation for ICT and new media Bitkom. At the same time, mobile revenue will grow by 2 percent from EUR 4.1 billion in 2006 to EUR 4.2 billion this year, as the growing number of mobile customers offsets only partially the drop in mobile minute fees. The mobile penetration is expected to grow from 104 percent in 2006 to 109 percent at the end of this year. A recent survey executed by Forsa for Bitkom shows that Germans increasingly use or want to use mobile internet applications, with navigation mentioned by 36 percent followed by information about traffic jams by 31 percent. Both news and bus/train time tables were mentioned by 26 percent followed by weather news by 24 percent. The survey also found that around 20 percent of German mobile users will use mobile internet services by 2010.
TIM, Claro win market share in October (Brazil)
Brazilian mobile carrier Vivo had a 27.61 percent market share in October, while its major competitor TIM had 25.88 percent. The figures from regulatory agency Anatel show TIM edging higher from the previous month and a small drop in Vivo’s share. Claro was the third largest player in Brazil with 25.89 percent share, up from September, while Oi had 13.27 percent and Telemig Celular/Amazonia Celular had 4.41 percent. The technology GSM is the leader in the country with 86.6 million access lines, or 75.52 percent share. CDMA has 22 million accesses (19.26%) and TDMA has 5.9 million accesses (5.20%).
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O2 begins Spodtronic Radio consumer trial (Ireland)
Mobile operator O2 Ireland has begun a trial of Spodtronic Radio. German company Liquid Air Lab is O2′s partner in delivering the Spodtronic Radio trial in Ireland. Spodtronic Radio allows users to scan and listen to live FM, AM and internet radio stations on their mobile, offers access to artist information and the ability to create a list of favourites, rate songs and choose radio stations. Users also have access to audio podcasts and the BBC Live Concert Archive where they can browse for specific artistes and concerts from the past thirty years. Many of the customers taking part in the ten-week trial are foreign nationals, who will be able to access popular radio stations in their native countries. As part of the trial they will use the Nokia N73 handset and will feedback their views on the service to O2 Ireland.
Luxembourg extends Hotcity project with EPT
Luxembourg city government will launch phase II of its Hotcity wireless internet project during the first weekend of Advent, 8-9 December. Coverage will be extended and diversified services will be launched with technical partner and incumbent operator EPT. Since July, the city of Luxembourg offers people on the go internet access on their PDAs and smartphones in the Ville-haute area. From 1 December the railway station and its square will also be covered, and by the first quarter of 2008, the whole station neighbourhood will have access. Services include a store and restaurant localised search function, to be put into practice during the Christmas shopping period. Users must register with Hotcity.
EPT is providing its Wi-Fi experience to the project, which it gives it a chance to boost its innovation. The mayor is convinced that the entry of other partners, such as SES Astra and its mobile digital TV service, will make it possible to attract loyal users. Several European cities will soon join the Hotcity project to assess the possibility of repeating the model. The whole city of Luxembourg will be covered with Wi-Fi next year. Future services will feature an electronic guide and an emergency service for the elderly.
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