Wireless Federation will shortly be announcing the availability of the results of India’s largest primary research project undertaken to study Mobile usage in India. The project is titled IndiaMobile 2009.

The survey  is one of the most representative, independent enumeration of mobile phone usage in India. Close to 285,000 urban and rural Indians, covering all states and union territories574 districts, 3,175 towns and over 2,800 villages were interviewed. With at least 30 plus sample each from 323 districts and 419 towns, and 100 plus sample each from 184 districts and 155 towns, the study could actually be the World’s largest  mobile (telecom) usage study carried out in a single country. The survey was carried out by a reputed local research agency under the guidance of Wireless Federation.

With the Mobile sector in India seeing close to 20% of its market capitalisation knocked off in the last few days and increased momentum in the price war in India, the results from this survey will help the sector understand its customers better in order to re-gain some of its strength back.

Airtel, Aircel, Tata Indicom, Tata DoCoMo, Etisalat, MTS India, Loop Mobile, Reliance Mobile, Idea Cellular, Vodafone, BSNL, MTNL, Telenor, Virgin can all now compare data from each and every circle and each live operator to understand demographic spread, handset usage and analysis as well as detailed psychographic analysis of the Indian mobile consumer.

The Indian mobile industry will be able to plan better based on the results from this study, which is now planned to occur each year. A large majority of mobile operators have expressed keen interest in the results of the study.

By using the IndiaMobile 2009 results, Mobile Operators will be able to further mould the study to better suit their needs from 2010 onwards.

This study will be the de-facto benchmark for Mobile Usage in India, given the thorough nature of the research, the sheer size of the sample and the level of interest from the Mobile Eco-System in utilising the results from this study.

For More information, please write to Audrey [at] WirelessFederation.com for your free copy of the headline results.

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Nokia’s Booklet3G, a Windows 7 based notebook computer will be sold in November through AT&T and Best Buy. It will be on offer for $299.99 with a 2 Year AT&T Data Connect plan.

PRESS RELEASE

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Sleek, strong Windows 7-based mini-laptop hits Best Buy stores for 299.99 USD in time for the holidays

New York, NY, USA – Drawing upon its rich heritage and leadership in the mobile industry, Nokia is opening a new chapter in mobility with the introduction of the Nokia Booklet 3G to the U.S. together with AT&T, Best Buy and Microsoft. Developed for connectivity just about anytime and virtually anywhere, the Nokia Booklet 3G is refining what consumers can expect at the crossroads of mobility and the personal computer.

“Nokia understands mobility like no other company and recognizes that the most ‘powerful’ device is the one that doesn’t have you running for the power plug or network point” said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, president and CEO of Nokia. “By combining the Booklet’s sleek design, impressive features and competitive price together with the new Windows 7 operating system from Microsoft, AT&T’s nationwide 3G coverage and Best Buy’s unmatched national retail footprint, we believe we have a winning combination for U.S. consumers” (more…)

Deutsche Telekom CFO, Timotheus Hoettges told Bloomberg News that he sees no need for further consolidation of the U.S. mobile-phone market.

He mentioned that there are four national players in the U.S. market for 300 million households, whereas in Europe, there are 350 million households with close to 70 operators.

Deutsche Telekom’s current focus in the U.S. is on expanding its 3G network.  It is investing $3.5 billion euros in the network in 2009. He said that the mobile data market in the US is booming and they must participate in that now.

On the Issue of 4G networks, there is a possibility that T-mobile could provide funding in exchange for access to ClearWire’s 4G network. Verizon and AT&T are already buliding independent 4G networks.

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M1 will sell the iPhone to its subscribers later this year, breaking Singtel’s  monopoly over the iPhone in Singapore.

Starhub, the third mobile operator has chosen to remain tight-lipped about its plans and negotiations with Apple.

The price of the iPhone in singapore is likely to drop with this development.

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The board of CAT Telecom has given the green light to sign a memorandum of understanding with Hutchison Telecom on CAT’s plan to buy four Thai cellular and related businesses from the Hong Kong telecom operator. Hutchison-CAT is a 75:25 joint venture of Hutchison Telecom and CAT.

The board has assigned CAT CEO, Jirayuth Rungsrithong to sign the MOU before the end of this week.

CAT will buy BFKT, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hutchison Telecom. CAT also plans to buy assets of Hutchison Telecom in the joint venture – its call centre and content businesses.

The CAT board also approved the plan to hire Allen & Overy for legal advisory services, Bualuang Securities for financial advisory services and Chulalongkorn University’s Chula Unisearch for HR advisory services.
CAT will transfer under itself a combined 1,000 employees of the four businesses it plans to buy.

Hutchison Telecom had invested about Bt30 billion in the CDMA business since Hutchison-CAT’s service debut in 2003.

Interestingly also, Krisda said CAT was concerned about a clause in the draft law governing the creation of the new broadcasting and telecom regulator in Thailand. The clause mandates that if CAT were to list shares in the stock exchange, it will have to either pay half of its revenue to the state or return to the state the spectrum it granted to private concessions.

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China Mobile will be introducing eight Motorola phones based on the OPhone smartphone platform sometime next year, according to a report by Reuters.

OPhone is a lower-cost cellphone platform developed by California based firm, Marvell Technology.

AT&T Mobile has certified the OPhone platform for use on its network. Other carriers in the US, Asia and Europe are also considering similar moves.

Motorola and Dell are among the handset vendors currently working on the Ophone platform. Dell chose the OPhone platform to make its foray into the handset business.

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M-Pesa launches in UK (Kenya)

Vodafone’s group company, Safarikom has launched m-pesa, it’s mobile money transfer and payment service at selected outlets in the UK.

Kenyans in the UK  can now send money to their friends and family in Kenya through M-pesa UK, direct to their mobile phone wallets.

Western Union, Provident Capital Transfers and KenTv were involved in a small pilot before the commercial launch of this service.  A total of 19 outlets with high local kenyan population were selected to trial this service.

To send money using M-PESA, the sender in UK will be required to identify themselves and furnish the agent with the recipient’s name, Kenyan mobile number and the amount being sent in Sterling Pounds. This will be converted at current rates and sent in Kenyan Shillings.  Neither party is charged a registration fee.

A transaction fee ranging from £4 to £6.90 will be charged though.

Following authorisation by the Central Bank of Kenya, Safaricom shall be increasing the locations in the UK from which money can be sent to M-pesa customers as well as launching services across other popular remittance corridors

Currently, the maximum amount that can be sent internationally per transaction through M-pesa is £250 while the total allowable per month from a single sender in the UK is £1,000.

The successful take-up of M-PESA in Kenya has clearly demonstrated the demand for easily accessible, secure cash payment services in emerging markets,” said Nick Hughes, Vodafone’s Head of International Mobile Payments. Our partnership with Western Union allows M-PESA subscribers to receive international remittances and builds on the demand we have already seen domestically in Kenya.”

This program aligns a global leader in money-transfer services, the world’s largest mobile operator group, and arguably one of the most impressive success stories in mobile money,” said Matt Dill, Senior Vice President, Western Union Digital Ventures.  In offering M-PESA users the opportunity to receive funds from abroad for the first time, these three companies are changing the way money moves around the
globe.”

Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph said: We wish to invite Kenyans living in the UK to take advantage of this service, which presents a real innovation on our M-pesa menu. Through strategic partnerships with Western Union, Provident Capital and KenTV we are giving them an opportunity to convert across two currencies into M-pesa and send money affordably without any hidden costs directly to the mobile phone of the recipient.”

MTN in Uganda has raised USD 100 Million for network expansion with Absa Capital as the lead arranger.

Stanbic Bank, Standard Chartered, Kenya Commercial Bank, Barclays, DFCU and Orient bank participated to raise the amount.  Isaac Nsereko, chief marketing officer of MTN Uganda confirmed the development to Reuters.

Uganda has a total of 6 telecom players: Uganda Telecom (UTL), Zain, Orange, Warid, I-Telecom and MTN. MTN is the largest with 60% market share and just under 5 million subscribers, according to Isaac Nsereko.

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Oberthur Technologies the world’s second largest provider of Smart Card based solutions today announced the commercialization of its OMHTM (Open Market Handsets) SIM cards for CDMA (Code Development Multiple Access) networks. OMH SIM cards contain subscriber, network and service configuration data that allow subscribers the freedom to easily change and upgrade their handset, but maintain their network configuration.

Oberthur Technologies collaborated with Tata Teleservices Limited, one of India’s fastest growing private telecom service providers, and Qualcomm Incorporated, a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies, to introduce OMHTM SIM cards into the India market.

Olivier Leroux, Head of the Mobile Product Line for the Card Systems Division at Oberthur Technologies said, “Oberthur Technologies is the first to commercially launch OMHTM SIM cards. We are pleased to partner with industry leaders such as Tata Teleservices and Qualcomm who are enhancing the subscriber experience for Indian consumers.”

The OMHTM SIM card, referred to as a removable user identity module (R-UIM), is a state of the art smartcard that stores operator and subscriber specific configuration parameters, separate from the handset memory. By having this configuration parameters located on the OMHTM SIM card rather than the device, subscribers can more easily switch or upgrade their handsets. These cards allow CDMA network operators to increase the selection of devices and services while lowering distribution and inventory costs.

“These are exciting times in the Indian telecom space where innovation, research and development are the key to success and remain competitive in the business. In our constant effort to redefine the telecom space keeping customers at the central point, Tata Teleservices decided to partner with Qualcomm and Oberthur Technologies to further develop the Open Market Handset initiative and offer more choice to customers”, said Lloyd Mathias, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata Teleservices Limited.

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“Qualcomm is pleased to work with Oberthur Technologies for its leadership as one of the first companies to develop OMH SIM cards,” said Nakul Duggal, Senior Director and OMH Project Lead, Qualcomm Corporate Engineering Services. “The OMH initiative is focused on increasing device variety by offering new channels and distribution options within the CDMA ecosystem to provide greater subscriber flexibility.”

About Oberthur Technologies

With sales of 882 million Euros in 2008, Oberthur Technologies is a world leader in the field of secure technologies. Innovation and high quality services ensure Oberthur Technologies’ strong positioning in its main target markets:

– Card Systems: The world’s second largest provider of security and identification based on smart card technology and associated services for mobile, payment, transport, digital TV and convergence markets. – Identity: Leading international supplier for the manufacture and personalization of secure identity documents such as passport, identity card, driving license or health care card – traditional and electronic – and associated services for both governmental and corporate markets. – Security printing: World’s third largest private security printer specialized in high security for the production of banknotes, checks and other fiduciary documents in more than fifty countries. – Cash protection: World leader in the emerging market of intelligent systems to secure cash-in-transit and ATM.

Close to its customers, Oberthur Technologies benefits from an industrial and commercial presence across all five continents.

Oberthur Technologies S.A. is a limited liability company (societe anonyme) registered in France with its registered office at 50 quai Michelet 92 532 Levallois Perret, France. Oberthur Technologies S.A.’s corporate registration number is 340 709 534 R.C.S. Paris.

Website: http://www.oberthur.com

About Tata Teleservices Limited

Tata Teleservices Limited is one of India’s leading private telecom service providers, having a pan-India presence across all of India’s 22 telecom Circles. The company offers integrated telecom solutions to its customers under the Tata Indicom, Tata DOCOMO, Photon and Walky brands, and uses both the CDMA and GSM technology platform(s) for its wireless networks. Tata Teleservices Limited, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited, operates in more than 325,000 towns and villages across the country. In November 2008, Tata Teleservices entered into an agreement with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO, and this transaction marks a key step in the strategic evolution of Tata Teleservices Limited. Tata DOCOMO has so far launched GSM services in eight telecom Circles, and the remaining part of the country is also expected to be covered shortly. In December 2008, Tata Teleservices announced a unique reverse equity swap strategic agreement between its fully-owned telecom tower subsidiary-Wireless TT Info-Services Limited-and Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Limited, thereby becoming the largest independent entity in this space. Tata Teleservices’ bouquet of telephony services includes mobile services, wireless desktop phones, public booth telephony and Wireline services.

For details, visit http://www.tatateleservices.com, http://www.tatadocomo.com or http://www.tataindicom.com.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm is a registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Bharti Airtel CEO, Manoj Kohli told reporters in India that Airtel may bid for Millicom’s Sri Lankan operation. Bharti already operates in SL.

Wireless Federation had earlier reported that Millicom/Tigo Laos has been sold to Russia’s Vimpelcom.

Bharti is actively considering acquisitions in Africa and the world over after the talks with MTN collapsed.

Bharti group CEO Sunil Mittal has said that the company won’t engage in dialogue with MTN for a third time, after inconclusive talks twice.

Nasdaq-listed Millicom provides prepaid cellular telephony services to over 30 million customers in 16 emerging markets in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Asked if Bharti Airtel was also interested in Kuwait’s Zain Telecom,  Kohli said they will continue to explore international acquisitions. (Airtel-Zain, See Here)