Vimpelcom building a solid South East Asian Cluster – Boris Nemsic, CEO Vimpelcom.

On 09.23.09, In Mobile, By Editor

VimpelCom will pay about $66 million for Millicom’s 78 percent stake in Millicom Lao Co. Ltd. The remaining 22% of Millicom Lao Co., Ltd. is owned by the Government of the Lao PDR.

VimpelCom’s CEO Boris Nemsic describes the deal as, “the next logical step in our international expansion strategy” and one that “fits perfectly into our strategy of building a solid Southeast Asian cluster.”

VimpelCom already has mobile operations in Vietnam and Cambodia, having launched services in both markets in July 2008. It holds a 40 percent stake in a JV established with state-owned GTEL in Vietnam. In Cambodia, it owns 90 percent of Sotelco.

Laos has a population of 6.5 million people and low mobile penetration estimated at around 23%, thus making it attractive for Vimpelcom and an obvious choice for acquisition.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 
0 Comments
Leave A Response

Millicom to exit Asia totally by Q1 of 2010. Sells Laos share to Vimpelcom for $66 Million.

On 09.23.09, In Mobile, By Editor

Millicom has agreed to sell its GSM business in Laos to Russia’s VimpelCom and has bidders lining up for its Sri Lankan operations, the sale of which will end Millicom’s activities in Asia. VimpelCom will pay about $66 million for Millicom’s 78 percent stake in Millicom Lao Co. Ltd.

Last month Millicom agreed to sell its 58.4 percent share in CamGSM, Royal Telecam International, and Cambodia Broadcasting to its Cambodian partner, The Royal Group, for $346 million in cash.

That leaves just Sri Lanka from Milicom’s Asian portfolio, and its operations there are also up for grabs. Millicom is the sole owner of Celltel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.  It was the first mobile operator in Sri Lanka. Mobitel and Tigo both claim to be the second largest. Dialog GSM is the country’s largest operator.

Indian State owned, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL), UAE’s Etisalat, Malaysia’s Axiata Group and India’s Bharti are also said to be bidding to acquire Tigo Lanka.

Axiata’s Dialog and Airtel already operate in Sri Lanka. Airtel winning the bid might sit better with the regulator since Axiata winning it would give Dialog an overwhelming position in the market.

Millicom expects to exit Asia Q1 of 2010. At the end of the first quarter, Millicom had a total of just over 4.5 million subscribers in Asia.  Millicom’s Asian Revenues for 2008 are at $262 million with an EBDITA of $101.5 million. This is a year-on-year increases of 24.4 percent and 27.5 percent respectively.VimpelCom will pay approx $66 million for Millicom’s 78 percent stake in Millicom Lao Co. Ltd.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 
0 Comments
Leave A Response

VimpelCom launches BlackBerry Internet Service in Russia

On 09.23.09, In Mobile, By Editor

The VimpelCom Group (NYSE: VIP) and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced the launch of BlackBerry® Internet Service and the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8900 smartphone for Beeline customers in Russia.

BlackBerry Internet Service is a powerful and easy to use service designed for smaller businesses and individuals. It allows customers to access up to 10 supported corporate and personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts, such as Yahoo! Mail and Google Mail) from a BlackBerry smartphone. Set up is easy and does not require IT support, making it an excellent option for business users, professionals and individuals who don’t have the resources to manage a corporate email server. It enables automatic synchronization of messages between the subscriber’s BlackBerry® smartphone and email accounts.

Kent McNeley, Vice President, Marketing and Sales, VimpelCom said, “We are glad that following the success of the BlackBerry solution in the corporate market in Russia, we are now able to offer a service for the wider consumer market. A key feature of the BlackBerry solution is the ability to stay connected practically wherever you are in the world and receive your emails automatically. Today, we are offering our Beeline subscribers the opportunity to connect on BlackBerry Internet Service with unlimited data for just 300 rubles per month.” (more…)

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 
0 Comments
Leave A Response

Reliance plans IPO for Infrastructure arm. Hopes to raise $1Bn for 10% via IPO.

On 09.23.09, In Mobile, By admin

India’s second largest Mobile Operator, Reliance Communication plans to seek regulatory approval for selling 10% of Reliance Infratel (its infrastructure arm) for close to $1Bn.

Reliance Infratel sold a 5 percent stake to  global investors for about $290 million in 2007. It  had revenue of more than $1 Bn and a profit of $300 Mn in the year ended March 31, according to  Billionaire Chairman Anil Ambani.

The share sale will  help fund an expansion of the nationwide network of 48,000 towers at Reliance Infratel as demand for leasing networks is likely to double in the next couple of years according to Ambani.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • •
 
0 Comments
Leave A Response

Russian Government to buy stake in Indian Mobile Operator

On 09.23.09, In Mobile, By Editor

Russian Government is said to have budgeted $680-$780 million to acquire a 20% stake in Indian Mobile operator – Sistema Shyam TeleServices. Russia’s Sistema owns 73.71 percent in the company and India’s Shyam Group holds 23.79 percent.

Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said that they were in the process of completing the appraisal to acquire the stake. It would be paid through Indian Rupee deposits that the russian government now holds.

According to sources, Avers, a St. Petersburg-based consultancy commissioned by Russia’ Federal Property Agency is said to have valued the company at around $3.4 Bn.

Sistema Shyam TeleServices operates in 6 of India’s 22 telecom circles (zones) and has licences for the remaining 16.

Tagged with: • • • • • • •
 
0 Comments
Leave A Response

ZTE to market $20 mobiles in India

On 09.23.09, In Mobile, By Editor

ZTE has entered the Indian retail market as a standalone player.

It is hoping to hike the contribution of the Indian market to its global handset sales would go up to 20 per cent from the existing 16 per cent.

ZTE India Chairman & Managing Director D K Ghosh said in a statement that India is a key focus market for ZTE.

The company has launched a range of low-cost GSM handsets — S315, A261, R220, R230 and R230BT at price points ranging from USD 20 to USD 80. ZTE has sold over 20 million handsets in India through operator partnerships . It is targeting a network of 100,000 retail outlets in India by this year-end.

The company has appointed “Overseas Mobiles” as its national distributor. Overseas Mobiles will be appointing 80 regional distributors across India and will manage relationships with distributors and corporate customers on behalf of ZTE.

With global sales of over 100 million handsets last year, ZTE is currently the sixth-largest handset manufacturer in the world. It has established partnerships with mobile operators like Vodafone, Hutchison Whampoa, Telefonica globally and BSNL, Reliance, Tata, Vodafone, Spice Telecom and Aircel in India.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 
0 Comments
Leave A Response

World’s largest Mobile Number Portability project launch delayed again.

On 09.23.09, In Mobile, By Editor

The Indian Mobile Number Portability project is the world’s largest since mobile number portability was introduced into the US and is likely to be the largest for some time, as China is moving slowly.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) awarded Mobile Number Portability (MNP) contracts to US Based Telcordia and Syniverse in March 2009. MNP was meant to launch in August initially, which was later delayed to September and now the TRAI has revealed that it will be a phased launch – Main Metropolitan & Key Areas on December 31 and Rest of India on March 20, 2010.

“It was a little too aggressive a schedule” commented Tony Holcombe, CEO of Syniverse. Similar delays happened with mobile number portability projects in other countries, including the US and Singapore, he added.

Each of the two companies will run a database covering users in half the country: Syniverse handles operators in the north and west and Telcordia will take the south and east. The two databases will be connected.

According to the regulator, India has over 456 Million customers at the end of Aug 2009.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • •
 
0 Comments
Leave A Response

Sony Ericsson launches skin-activated headphones

On 09.23.09, In Mobile, By Editor

Sony Ericsson has announced a pair of inner-ear headphones that know when you’re using them.

According to Sony Ericsson, the MH907 headphones use capacitive technology to start the music when you insert both headphones into your ears.

Removing one of the earbuds will pause the music, while reinserting it will cause the music to resume – all without the need to touch the controller, which could be useful for those gasped conversations on the treadmill.

For added convenience, removing one of the headphones will allow you to answer an incoming call on your smartphone, while removing both will cause you to hang up. Not necessarily that helpful if you simply want to switch somebody to speaker phone.

Powering all this inner-ear gimmickery is “capacitive sensing technology”, much like that used on smartphones such as the iPhone. Capacitive technology uses the body’s natural electrical charge as an input, basically making these devices skin activated.

The headphones will work with any Sony Ericsson device with a Fast Port connector, and also feature a built-in microphone and FM antenna, according to the company.

Sony Ericsson claims they’ll be available worldwide later this week, with a price of between $55 and $60.

Tagged with: • •
 
0 Comments
Leave A Response

iPhone arrives in Korea. SKT and KT Corp discussing potential partnerships with Apple.

On 09.23.09, In Mobile, By Editor

South Korea’s telecommunications regulator has given the green flag to apple to launch the iPhone in Korea.

The Korea Communications Commission made an exception to a rule that requires cellphones sold in the country to use domestic technology for location-based services. The commission’s action comes after months of consumer pressure.

This move is likely to create a stir among the dominant domestic manufacturers – Samsung and LG.

This development comes a month after Apple managed to clear its entry in China too. China Unicom, Apple’s partner in China will start selling the iPhone in the fourth quarter.

Lauren Kim, a spokesperson for SK Telecom Co. and Yeom Woo-jong, a spokesperson for KT Corp both admitted to being in discussion with Apple.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • •
 
0 Comments
Leave A Response

Zain brings mobile banking to over 100 million East Africans

On 09.23.09, In Mobile, By Editor
Leading mobile telecommunications provider Zain today announces the revolutionary enhancement of Zap, its rapidly expanding mobile banking service currently available  to over 100 million people in East Africa and run in partnership with CitiBank and Standard Chartered Bank. From today Zap customers can swiftly and securely receive money from any bank account around the world and easily send money to any bank in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. This is the first time in the world any mobile bank account has been configured so that its users can receive funds from anywhere in the world directly to their mobile handset as well as send funds directly to their Bank accounts.
In addition Zap allows customers to use their mobile phone 24 hours a day to:
  • Manage their bank accounts
  • Pay for goods and services and settle their utility bills
  • Receive Zap money – and send Zap money to their friends and family
  • Top up their airtime account – or top up someone else’s
  • Check their balance and keep on top of their payments

(more…)

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 
0 Comments
Leave A Response
« Previous Entries
Go To Top »