Bharti Airtel, India’s leading mobile operator posts rising profits for its fiscal Q2′08. The net profits were at $414 million, a rise of 26.8% quaterly, were less than the market forecasts.
The mobile operator totalled its subscriber base to 77.5 million, adding nearly 8.1 million new subscribers.
On 10.31.08, In Mobile, By Editor
On 10.31.08, In Mobile, By Editor
The high specification N-Series range of Nokia phones has expanded again to include the new Nokia N85, a multimedia mobile phone that closely resembles the previous Nokia N96 release and holds some exciting features that consumers have come to expect from this high end range of devices.
Originally launched as a SIM free mobile phone with no network ties or ongoing line rental costs the new Nokia N85 can now be connected to Orange with a range of competitive tariffs, affordable packages and free gifts.
Owning a mobile phone by signing up to a minimum term contract deal is far from buying a SIM free mobile phone as the Nokia N85 was first offered, firstly and probably most importantly the handset is subsidised by the network meaning that they will not pay the ‘true’ value of the handset.
Instead of paying for the entire price of the Nokia N85 up-front in one payment the customer instead pays an ongoing line rental charge with a set amount of minutes and text messages bundled together, this means that the handset is far more affordable at point of sale and the consumer benefits from inclusive free calls and text throughout the contract period.
With a strong lineup of multimedia features, the Nokia N85 is taking the world of mobile convergence to the next level. Gaming, photos, navigation and music blend together with the newest Ovi and third party services via 3.5G HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity to make discovering and sharing experiences quick and seamless.
While it comes out of the box with a multitude of powerful functionality, the pre-loaded Nokia Download! application makes the Nokia N85 truly customizable by offering a wide range of bespoke content. This includes an outstanding selection of world-class branded entertainment content, the latest in mobile gaming and dynamic applications so users can really make their device their own.
A state-of-the-art 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and bright dual LED flash captures clear, sharp images as well as DVD-quality videos at 30 frames per second. Combined with A-GPS it is possible to geotag favorite pictures to see where each photo was taken using the Nokia Maps application or online sites such as Share on Ovi or Flickr.
The Nokia N85 is pre-loaded with at least 10 made-for-mobile N-Gage gaming titles that jump off of the screen thanks to the dazzling OLED display and a voucher to activate one full game license. Dedicated gaming keys light up when the device is in landscape gaming mode to further enhance the action-packed experience.
Each Nokia N85 comes with an 8 GB microSD card, up to 30 hours of music playback time and its high-fidelity sound means favorite tracks can be enjoyed virtually anywhere. Build a personal music collection from the millions of tracks and playlists available from the Nokia Music Store or other online music vendors, or synchronize PC and mobile music libraries via USB cable.
Alternatively, consumers can enjoy RDS radio or a wide selection of stations via the internet. The 3.5 mm audio jack makes connecting a top-quality headset simple and an in-built FM transmitter lets the N85 play wirelessly through a car or home stereo to really crank up the sound.
Although initially only availble as a SIM free mobile phone and on the Orange UK network the Nokia N85 is expected to be picked up by further network operators over the coming days further expanding the number of tariffs and packages available and allowing consumers to get the closest deal to their current usage requirements.
For more information log on to www.orange.co.uk
About Wireless Federation
Wireless Federation is an industry research conglomerate headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The mandate of the Wireless Federation is to provide its members and customers industry knowledge that can further enhance their understanding of the wireless industry. Wireless Federation conducts bespoke research and produces boxed reports in collabaration with Industry Bodies, Telecom Operators for Issues that revolve around ARPU, CHURN and Loyalty.
They have been associated with more than 225 mobile operators globally to set their Pricing/ Tariff Strategies, Go-To-Market Strategies for Mobile Advertising, Mobile Payments, Cutting VAS among others amongst 59 countries globally.
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On 10.31.08, In Mobile, By Editor
GrameenPhone, Bangladesh, delays its IPO plans led by economic breakdown globally. Anders Jensen, CEO GrameenPhone, says that the telco has postponed the pre-IPO process due to hesitancy among international investors, and now expects the shares to be floated in February 2009. The operator had earlier sought to raise $300Mn half through a private placement and half via a subsequent domestic IPO. But now the Bangladeshi operator hplans to raise $50Mn in the pre-IPO sale, subjected to an rise if demand exceeds expectations, and $75Mn in an IPO on the Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges.
On 10.31.08, In Mobile, By Editor
Israeli cellco Pelephone is poised to begin internal trials of its new UMTS network, with company employees expected to be issued compatible handsets within next few days, according to a media report. Further the report says that the mobile operator has completed overseas trials of the new network infrastructure. Pelephone have invested approximately ILS1 billion on the new infrastructure and commercial services are expected to commence by early 2009 .
On 10.31.08, In Mobile, By Editor
Chunghwa Telecom (Taiwan’s fixed line, mobile and internet and data service provider) has annoounced its thirdd quarter results. Chunghwa posted its net income totaled TWD13.3 billion, an increase of 0.8% year-on-year. The total revenue shrinked by 1.5% to TWD50.9 billion. The promotional packages and price cuts imposed by NCC have lead to decline in mobile revenue by 3.4%, whereas mobile VAS revenue increased by 18.3%.
The subscriber base of Chunghwa reaches the mark of 8.87 million by adding 91,000 during the third quarter. Chunghwa adds 350,000 new 3G subscribers reaching the total of 3.24 million, up 62.6% year-on-year.
On 10.31.08, In Mobile, By Editor
The Lebanese telecom ministry seeks to increase the capacity of the two state-owned operators by 80% in order to have better quality of service without any congestion and enhanced value of networks ahead of their planned privatisations.
Roger Najar, the head of the cellular supervisory board reports that the work has already begun on the project. Out of the two operators, Alfa already has appointed Ericsson for network upgradation.
The Telecom Minister, Gebran Bassilhas planned to upgrade the network capacity and lower mobile tariffs.
On 10.31.08, In Mobile, By Editor
Datang Mobile is anticipated to win the largest share of China Mobile’s contracts to build TD-SCDMA networks in 28 cities, media reported. ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies are also eyeing significant contracts. More than 10 companies have joined the race for tender.
On 10.31.08, In Mobile, By Editor
Comcel, the GSM service provider under the brand name Voila claims to launch country’s first voice SMS service. Comcel has reportedly invested nearly $200Mn in Haiti till date.
On 10.31.08, In Mobile, By Editor
Vodafone agrees to purchase an additional 4.8% stake in Polkomtel, Poland priced at EUR 176 million from Danish operator TDC. This will give rise to Vodafone’s stake from 19.6% to 24.4%. Vodafone along with the other shareholders of Polkomtel, elected to exercise its pre-emptive rights, pro rata to its existing shareholding of 19.6%, over TDC’s shareholding in Polkomtel, which arose following the change of control of TDC in February 2006. TDC, back in 2006, had agreed to sell its remaining stake in Polkomtel to other Polish shareholders. However, Vodafone disputed the sale process and the acquisition by the Polish shareholders was suspended by a court injunct2008-end. TDC said the sale of the entire Polkomtel stake will result in a one-time gain of DKK 4.0 billion in Q4.
On 10.30.08, In Mobile, By Editor
America Movil has announced its third quarter results. It posts a rise of 31.6% in net profit, higher sales and lower depreciation and amortisation charges are the driving factors for good results. The net profit was MXN12.4 billion in comparison to MXN9.4 billion for the same period in 2007. It is noted that depreciation and amortisation costs for its older TDMA and CDMA networks had slipped to 11.9% of revenues, down from 15.7% a year earlier. Total revenues for the group mounts 9.8% year-on-year, attributing the possitivite results to the revenues from from value added services in Brazil and Columbia.
Taking into account the subscriber base for third quarter, it had reached the mark of 172.6 million wireless customers and 3.9 million wireline, and signs up 7.3 million new wireless subscribers. America Movil’s Brazilian operations adds 2.6 million subscribers to its kitty, followed by Mexico and Columbia where it added 1.5 million and 1.2 million customers respectively.