Orange & SFR in talks with WiMAX licensee over a partnership (France)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Orange and SFR, the French mobile operators, are reportedly in talks with Bollor© Telecom, the WiMax licence holder, for a possible partnership, a local media report unveils. Bollor© Telecom is keen to profit from its 20 regional WiMAX licences and aligning itself to the mobile operators could be a way for it to do that.
The WiMax licence holder, anticipates to take advantage of the mobile operators’ networks which are overloaded by the explosion of mobile internet in the country.
Bollor© Telecom could either seek to form a joint venture with one of the mobile operators, which would see Bollor© contribute its WiMAX licences in return for access to the operator’s customer base. Alternatively, Bollor© could broker a deal that would see it hand over its frequencies to one of the operators.
Sun Cellular launches Sun Prepaid Roaming (Philippines)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Sun Cellular proudly introduces its newest service, Sun Prepaid Roaming. This service provides prepaid subscribers who travel abroad a convenient yet affordable way to keep in touch with their family and friends. This service is especially beneficial to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) wanting to remain in constant contact with their loved ones.
Sun’s Prepaid Roaming Service can be activated in any Sun Prepaid SIM – Sun Super Value SIM, Super Combo SIM, Sun Call & Text International SIM, or Super Budget SIM. Subscribers traveling to countries like China, Macau and Singapore can avail of the Prepaid Roaming Service without having to change their current Sun Prepaid SIM.
Activation of the service is easy: Just text ROAM ON†to 222 (free of charge), and your roaming service is immediately activated. With Sun’s roaming service, you can make and receive calls and texts.
But what makes Sun Cellular’s service unique is that family and friends in the Philippines can send unlimited texts to the Sun subscriber abroad! All they have to do is load any of Sun Cellular’s unlimited texting products, and then they can send texts all they want, just like local texts. Furthermore, Sun Cellular’s Prepaid Roaming service does not require a maintaining balance in order to receive text messages.
Sun Prepaid Roaming SIM is initially available to 5 countries – China, Macau and Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. But for Sun Postpaid subscribers, international roaming service is already available in 100 countries with over 200 roaming partners. For more information, you can call the SUN hotline 395-8000 using a landline, or 200 from a mobile phone.
Yemen Mobile awards Huawei Technologies network expansion contract
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Yemen Mobile has reportedly awarded a $ 13.6 million contract to a Chinese firm, Huawei Technologies. The contract is aimed to at raising the subscribers number to 3 million and expanding cell phone coverage throughout the nation. Under the contract Huawei company will import, install and operate the expansion networks according to modern world standards.
Samsung ‘Star’ sales surpass 5 Mn mark
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, announced that sales of the Samsung Star, its hugely popular touch screen mobile phone, surpassed the 5-million mark this month. The Star (model number S5230), launched in May, is the fastest model in Samsung’s history to reach the milestone.
Launched first in Europe, one million of the touch screen devices were sold in the first month and a half alone, after which the company expanded sales efforts to include markets in CIS, Southeast and Southwest Asia, East-Central Africa, China, and Central America.
More than 700,000 units of the Star were sold in May and more than 900,000 in June. Monthly sales in July and August were 1.6 million and 1.8 million, respectively. Based on the current trend, Samsung projects total cumulative sales to reach 10 million globally by November. (more…)
ZDA looks for equity partner for Zamtel (Zambia)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) reportedly unveils that an equity partner for the Zambian incumbent Zamtel will be chosen through an open tender process. Moreover, the announced that the tender would be open to both local and foreign companies.
The announcement was made after the governement last month announced the sale of a 75% stake in the telco in a bid to save it from collapse; the remaining 25% will be retained by the state.
The winner of the tender will receive its stake in Zamtel by January 2009, which will cost around USD200 million to capitalise the ailing operator.
RIM launches BlackBerry Curve 8520 in France
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Research In Motion (RIM) today announced the new BlackBerry® Curveâ„¢ 8520 smartphone for customers in France. The stylish handset, a new addition to the BlackBerry® Curveâ„¢ series of smartphones, is available from wireless carriers in France.
The slim new BlackBerry Curve 8520 is an incredibly approachable smartphone. For people who like to be connected, it provides easy mobile access to email, messaging (IM, SMS, MMS) and popular social networking sites (including Facebook® and MySpace) and features a highly tactile full-Azerty keyboard for comfortable, accurate typing. It also features rich multimedia capabilities and access to music, games and other mobile apps for entertainment on the go.
The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone is a quad band phone, and is also Wi-Fi®-enabled to arm customers with fast Web browsing, Wi-Fi calling via UMA where available, and extended data coverage. (more…)
Bharti Airtel secures $5Bn funding for the merger with MTN (India)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Bharti Airtel, the Indian mobile operator, has reportedly secured $5 billion in funding from a consortium of international and local banks, taking it closer to a merger with MTN South Africa. The media reports suggest that deal could be inked by early September.
Bharti has lined a $1.5bn Indian rupee equivalent and a $3.5 billion portion that will be used to help fund the purchase of shares.
Vodafone announces mobile broadband speeds of 14.4Mbps (UK)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Vodafone UK has announced that it ill reportedly offer the UK’s fastest mobile internet speeds of 14.1Mbps in ertain areas of the nation. The upgradation will be made on the sites which have greatest demand. These include busy areas of London, Birmingham and Liverpool that have already seen the upgrade with the roll out will due to continue across the UK on an ongoing basis.
Nearly 80% of the datacards, dongles and 3G handsets can work with the improved network speeds. Vodafone says customers can expect to see typical speeds of anything between 1 and 4 Mbps with a practical maximum speed of 10.8Mbps.
India increases 3G spectrum base to $715Mn
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: India has reportedly hiked the reserve price for the auction of 3G spectrum to 35 billion rupees ($715 million) from 20.20 billion rupees set last year, the telecoms minister said.
The minister further revealed that four slots in each service area would be put on block and that the auction would be conducted within three months.
Antitrust authorities ask Telecom Italia to sell assets in Argentina
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The Argentine anti-trust authorities have reportedly ruled that Telecom Italia should sell Telecom Argentina to avoid a telecommunications monopoly.
Argentina’s CNDC anti-trust commission has been investigating the possible dominant position of Spain’s Telefonica SA in Argentina’s telecommunications market because it controls telephone company Telefonica Argentina, which competes with Telecom Argentina.
CNDC Vice-President Humberto Guardia Mendoza was quoted as saying the commission “will force Telecom Italia to sell all its assets in Argentina.”
While Telecom Italia has, according to a media report, will appeal against the ruling at the World Bank’s arbitration body.
Telecom Italia is likely to sell its stake in its Argentine company due to the anti-trust probe. Telecom Italia owns half of Sofora Telecomunicaciones SA, the holding company that controls Telecom Argentina.
