Oman Mobile contracts NSN for upgrades
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has inked a deal with Oman Mobile to upgrade 90% of the cellco’s network. The contract, worth between USD80 million and USD100 million, will see 90% of the company’s base stations and core connectivity replaced, and take 18 months to complete.Oman Mobile had 1.48 million subscribers at the end of 2007, equivalent to a 59.7% market share. In 2008 it hopes to add an average 100,000 subscribers per month.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
GSM-K ups network investment
Kazakhstan’s largest cellular operator by subscribers says it plans to invest USD264 million this year, up from USD223 million in 2007, as it pushes ahead with the expansion of its network. GSM Kazakhstan (GSM-K), which offers services under the K-Cell brand, is set to install 310 new base stations by the end of the year, Interfax reports. GSM-K is 49%-owned by Kazakhtelecom and the remainder is held by Fintur Holding, a venture between Turkcell and TeliaSonera. The cellco had just over six million subscribers and a 54% share of the Kazakh mobile market at the end of 2007.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Safaricom launches mobile TV (Kenya)
Kenya’s largest cellular operator by subscribers, Safaricom, has launched the country’s first mobile TV service. Under a partnership with pay-TV operator DSTV and Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, customers can access ten local channels plus content from international broadcasters such as CNN and the BBC. At launch services are available only to customers in the capital, Nairobi. With a DVB-H handset priced at KES25,000 (USD388) and monthly subscription charges set at KES1,000, subscriber take-up is likely to be slow, for the time being at least.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
Prepaid Mobile Broadband from M-Tel Bulgaria
M-Tel* has launched ‘M-Tel Free Surf’ a prepaid 3G tariff available to ‘Prima’ customers (prepaid). The tariffs which can be ordered via SMS text to read 250 MB†or 25 MB – are as follows:
Tariff Cost per Included Cost per Validity
month extra Mbyte
M-Tel Free Surf 25 9.90 25 MB 2.56 30 days
M-Tel Free Surf 250 24.50 250 MB 2.56 30 days
Prices are in BGN and include tax at 20 per cent, BGN 9.90 = Euro 5.08
Connections are billed in increments of 20 kbytes
Pay-as-you-go for prepaid subscribers accessing the Internet is BGN 2.56 per 1 Mbyte, tariffed in increments of 100 kbytes, however billed in increments of 20 kbytes. Postpaid subscribers benefit from a lower rate of BGN 0.61 after 10 use of 10 MB.
By launching ‘M-Tel Free Surf’, M-Tel is attempting to increase usage of its mobile Internet service to a larger customer base. This is because by allowing customers to purchase prepaid 3G, they have more flexibility and are not tied to a commitment. For reference, the following per Mbyte rates apply as per the inclusive amount.
Tariff Per Mbyte Factor
outside bundle Outside versus inside bundle
M-Tel Free Surf 25 0.396 6.5
M-Tel Free Surf 250 0.098 26.1
Prices are in BGN and include tax at 20 per cent.
Postpaid subscribers have the option to sign up to three bundles namely 250 kb, 1.5 GB and 5 GB.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
China Telecom sees capacity challenge as broadband demand grows
Chinese operator is first customer for Huawei’s core router cluster system, which claims to lower TCO by up to 60%.
The cost and complexity of increasing network capacity to cope with the growth in broadband customers and changing usage patterns presents a significant challenge to telecoms carriers, according to China Telecom.
“[There has been a] rapid and huge increase in the number of broadband users, and insufficient network capacity,” said David Chen, deputy managing director of China Telecom Europe, at Sofnet on Tuesday.
Operator challenges going forward also include a “very complicated network structure,” and the fact they have to “spend a lot of money on high construction and maintenance costs,” he added.
China Telecom ended 2007 with 35.65 million broadband subscribers, up from 28.31 million a year earlier and 21 million in 2005, representing an annual growth rate of 25%.
By the end of 2007, 85% of the telco’s broadband customers had services “at [speeds of] 2 Meg or higher, and 65% at 8 Meg,” added Ronald Raffensperger, director of core network marketing at Chinese equipment maker Huawei Technologies.
As the speed of downlink services grows, operators need to be capable of routing at least 10 terrabits per-second in data, said Raffensperger.
He recommends that rather than adding additional routers to the network, thereby multiplying the number of connections and making the network more complex to manage, operators should move to a cluster model.
“[Clusters] allow you to expand quite easily,” he said. They are simpler and “you have a lower cost of ownership.”
On Tuesday Huawei presented its Quidway NetEngine 5000E core router multi-chassis cluster system, which it claims is the first in the industry to provide 10 terrabits per-second of throughput.
Huawei introduced the 5000E router, capable of 1.28 Tbps of throughput, in 2004 and two years later enabled the connection of two together for double the bandwidth. “Today [we have]… the ability to go to eight clusters,” said Raffensperger. “That gives you 10 terrabits per-second of throughput.”
Raffensperger claimed that cluster system can generate total cost of ownership savings of between 40% and 60%.
Much of this comes from its reduced power consumptions and more efficient cooling, but also from the fact that it weighs less than traditional hardware and is more compact.
China Telecom is currently the world’s largest Internet service provider by customers, Raffensperger said. “They were our first customer for this cluster.”
Telenor eyes merger with TeliaSonera
Creation of Nordic super-operator on the cards once again, but competition issues would likely derail any deal.
Telenor is considering a tie-up with TeliaSonera and has hired advisors to look at a possible deal, the newswires reported Tuesday, citing Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.
The paper, which did not name its sources, said the Norwegian incumbent has appointed Nordea and JP Morgan to analyse the situation, adding that the two telcos have already held talks.
Both Telenor and TeliaSonera declined to comment on the rumours.
The news comes two weeks after it emerged that France Telecom is interested in taking over TeliaSonera.
Having initially refused to comment, the French telco later admitted it has take exploratory steps towards TeliaSonera, describing the operator as potential strategic opportunity. It also expressed interest in other possible targets, including Telenor.
However, France Telecom has not made any formal bid.
While Telenor and TeliaSonera might appear to be a good fit culturally, a merger would face heavy scrutiny from competition bodies. Both companies have mobile operations in the other’s home market, and both offer mobile services in Denmark, for example, while there is also cross-ownership with their emerging market assets.
History is not on the side of a tie-up between the pair.
Sweden’s Telia agreed to merge with Telenor in October 1999, but the deal fell apart two months later as the two governments failed to resolve various issues surrounding the deal.
Telenor admitted to a second attempt in 2002. Following the tie-up between Telia and Sonera to create TeliaSonera, the Norwegian operator revealed that it had taken part in secret talks earlier that year over a possible three-way merger.
The path would be unlikely to be any smoother this time around.
The Norwegian government still holds a 53.97% stake in Telenor, while Sweden and Finland claim shares of 37.3% and 13.7% respectively in TeliaSonera.
Quoting Norwegian analyst firm SEB Enskilda, Reuters also noted that the Norwegian government would be unlikely to agree to the deal, since it would result in it losing some control of Telenor, as the telco would have to pay for part of the acquisition in shares.
