TOT to hold e-auction for 3G network contracts in Jan (Thailand)
Thailand’s TOT PCL is planning to hold an electronic auction for US$580.8 million worth of equipment and installation contracts for its 3G mobile phone network on Jan. 28.
According to Senior Executive Vice President Kamthon Waithayakul, TOT aims to sign contracts with the winners around Feb. 15-18. The sale of bidding applications, which has been postponed from end-November due to delays in preparing the terms of references, is expected to take place within this week.
TOT’s total investment budget of US$0.67 million for the 3G network project was approved by the country’s cabinet in September after a court issued an injunction to freeze a planned auction of licenses by industry regulator, the National Telecommunications Commission, to private operators for the 2.1 gigahertz spectrum.
Korea Telecom blocks Skype on 3G network
Korea Telecom (KT), a major telecom operator in South Korea has blocked many of its subscribers from using free mobile Internet phone services such as Viber and Skype over its 3G network.
The newly placed restriction on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) on mobile phones indicates the growing concern of telecom operators faced with new competition from alternative service providers. But the logic works the other way for iPhone and other smartphone subscribers. In contrast to pricey mobile call services, especially concerning international calls, Viber and Skype are extremely affordable and convenient.
On Monday, KT began to shut off Internet telephony services including Skype, Viber and Fring on the 3G network. KT’s iPhone users, however, are not treated equally: Those who have signed up for a monthly plan that exceeds US$48.01 will be allowed to continue to use VoIP on their iPhones and other smartphones; other subscribers with less expensive plans will be blocked from using the free services.
According to KT, Skype and Viber are free-riding on its 3G network, which requires higher expenditure in build up and maintenance.
China Unicom rebuke locking Apple IPhone to its network
China Unicom has reportedly been warned about protecting customer rights after it started locking the Apple iPhone to its network.
The warning came from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which regulates the industry after the phone network started locking handsets from the beginning of this month.
According to China Unicom, users would have their iPhones locked and their bundled phone numbers suspended if the two are being used separately. This restriction has been put into new contracts since December 1.
Although only China Unicom offers the necessary 3G network for the mobile data service, the handset can be used on Wi-Fi hotspots and for voice calls on the rival China Mobile network.
Shareholders Inject additional Funds into 2Degrees
The shareholders in New Zealand’s smallest mobile network operator, 2Degrees have invested an additional US$23.5 million in the company through the issuance of new shares.
According to documents filed with Companies Office, 2Degrees major shareholders, Trilogy International New Zealand, Tesbrit and Hautaki Trust took up the share offer.
According to Director of corporate affairs Mathew Bolland, telecommunications is a capital-intensive industry with high entry costs that need a constant investment, though he wouldn’t elaborate on whether the funds were going into capital or operating expenditure.
He added that investment in the beginning was always going to exceed profit, but it’s in line with expectations – their shareholders are happy to provide it. It’s a $2.4 billion industry and the rewards are real.
That takes the total injection from shareholders to almost $44.5 million after Trilogy, Tesbrit and founder Tex Edwards’ KLR Hong Kong bought shares in May and June to help fund the roll-out of its 3G network.
2Degrees – formerly, NZ Communications, and then before that, Econet Wireless – was granted a mobile license in 2001 when it formed an alliance with the Hautaki Charitable Trust which was allocated a 3G license at a discount price by the regulator. After many delays and changes in shareholders, it finally launched its network in 2009.
Tusmobil selects NSN to expand 3G network
Slovenian operator Tusmobil has selected Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) to expand its 3G network to support HSPA+ technology.
The operator claims it will be the world’s first all-IP HSPA+ network running IPv6 and Direct Tunnel.
NSN will provide its Flexi Multiradio Base Station, FlexiPacket Microwave and complete IP-backhaul platform as part of a three-year deal, operating in the 900MHZ spectrum band.
Tusmobil is the third largest mobile operator in Slovenia. In October 2008 it passed the milestone of 100,000 customers.
Big 3G Network Savings for Three and T-Mobile
Prior to Everything Everywhere being formed and the amalgamation of Orange and T-Mobile within it, Three had an agreement with T-Mobile to share a certain amount of their network transmitters etc. The agreement between Three and T-Mobile resulted in MBNL, the network joint-venture being formed.
Now that to Everything Everywhere is official and in place, the deal with MBNL remains in place. This means that Three and T-Mobile share 12,000 3G sites around the UK.
The sharing of sites includes: transmitters, base station equipment and backhaul connected to the operator’s core networks, the result is greater 3G coverage. There are also cost savings because in addition to sharing the costs for the 12,000 3G sites another 5000 will be turned off resulting in a much larger saving.
A number of companies have supported the project and these are Ericsson, BT Wholesale, BT and Arqiva.
NTT DoCoMo Plans Two-year Investment in LTE (Japan)
NTT DoCoMo plans to invest US$3.3 billion over the next two years for launching next-generation LTE cellular data service to major cities across Japan.
The company is spending US$434.87 million this fiscal year (April 2010 to March 2011) on an initial roll-out of the technology to Tokyo and two other major cities.
According to the company, the latest investment plan, disclosed as part of the carrier’s quarterly earning announcement, puts three-year spending on LTE at US$3.7 billion. DoCoMo had previously stated that it would spend between US$3.72 billion and US$4.97billion over five years, so the latest figures add a little more detail to that plan.
As per the company, LTE is new packet data transmission technology that’s based on IP, the same basic protocol as the Internet. It’s seen as a replacement for current 3G networks and promises faster data transfers. Its network will support speeds of up to 75Mbps.
The service is scheduled to launch in December in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya from around 1,000 base stations.
According to the carrier’s plans, the LTE service will launch with data modems for personal computers. A personal Wi-Fi hotspot device will be offered around the middle of 2011 and cell phones with LTE will be available in late 2011. Details of the service and initial pricing plans will be disclosed in a Tokyo news conference on Nov. 8.
Verizon Wireless Stores to roll out Apple iPad Today
Verizon Wireless is launching Apple’s iPad tablet today. Verizon will offer the tablet packed with a Mi-Fi 2200 device for Internet access through the operator’s 3G network.
Customers who buy one of the three iPad/ Mi-Fi packages on offer will be benefited with the carrier’s monthly access plan, which offers users with 1 GB of data for US$20.
Apple sold about 4 million iPads during the first half of the year and plans to sell a further 9 million in the second half.
Apple iPads don’t needs any feature specification but here it is for Verizon subscribers:
- 9.6″ long and 7.5″ wide
- 1/2″ thin and only 1 1/2 lbs
- 9.7″ IPS display with multi-touch sensors
- 1GHz Apple A4 chip.
- Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1 EDR
- Supports 16 to 64 GB Flash Storage
- Accelerometer
- Compass
- Speaker
- Microphone
- 30-pin connector
- 10 hours of battery life, 1 month standby
- Environmentally friendly being Arsenic-free, BRF-free, Mercury-free, PVC-free and is highly recyclable.
- Runs all iPhone apps, and can run them full screen by doubling the pixels.
Philipp Humm, the new CEO of T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile USA has announced Philipp Humm will be the president and chief executive of the comapny. The designation will be effective from Nov. 1, three months earlier than originally planned when the transition was announced in May. Humm is succeeding Robert Dotson, who will be vice chairman.
T-Mobile also announced that on Nov. 1 Chief Technology Officer Cole Brodman will become chief marketing officer and chief network officer Neville Ray will succeed him as CTO. The change of CEO comes as T-Mobile USA has been struggling to keep pace with its larger U.S. rivals.
According to Rene Obermann, chief executive of T-Mobile USA’s parent company Deutsche Telekom AG, Philipp and Robert have chosen the right timing for this change. This move allows the new team to prepare a strong foundation for 2011 and forward.
Humm is known for turning around T-Mobile’s German operations through cost cuts and a focus on wireless data, brings significant experience in striking partnerships. He stepped down as managing director of T-Mobile Germany two years ago amid a massive breach of customer data when information about 17 million T-Mobile customers was stolen. According to Deutsche Telekom, at the time there was no personal misconduct by Humm.
Dotson was largely responsible for making T-Mobile USA a national player in the U.S. wireless industry, but more recently he has been hampered by the slow upgrade to T-Mobile’s 3G network, the rise of smaller unlimited prepaid carriers, and a widening gap between T-Mobile and market leaders.
Nextel Mexico Continues to organize 3G Network across Mexico
Nextel Mexico will continue to execute the strategy that calls for the employment of a 3G network across Mexico with the first phase of the commercial launch of that network expected to occur in the next 12 to 18 months.
It has also mutually agreed with Grupo Televisa to conclude the pact that was agreed earlier this year to jointly build a 3G network. NII Holdings and Televisa have agreed to continue to discuss entering into commercial agreements. No reason was specified as to why the two companies decided to end their agreement.
The new 3G network will be supported by the 30 MHz in the AWS spectrum granted to Nextel Mexico on October 1, 2010.
According to Gokul Hemmady, NII Holdings’ Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, the company is excited to be moving forward with plans for the deployment of 3G network in Mexico utilizing the spectrum granted by the Mexican government to Nextel Mexico. The company is in a strong financial position with the funding necessary to carry out deployment plans in the country and look forward to offering more choice in wireless services to the people of Mexico.
