www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Indian telco Aircel and handset maker INQ Mobile will launch the INQ Mini 3G and the INQ Chat 3G phones in India.
INQ Chat 3G is a Qwerty device while INQ Mini 3G is a slim-line mobile and both allow users to multi-task and to switch between applications such as Facebook and a camera. Over 5,000 outlets will make the phone available.
A campaign fronted by Indian cricketer and company ambassador MS Dhoni has been used by Aircel to support the launch.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 3G services have been launched by Malawi mobile operator TNM along with mobile broadband and video calling. The service is already available for postpaid customers from the first week of April; it will also be made available to pre paid users.
Blantyre and Lilongwe are currently receiving network coverage. The network will soon be extended to other major urban areas of Mzuzu, Zomba, Mangochi and Karonga. By the end of June, videos calls will be offered by TNM at the same price as voice calls.
Trials on the WCDMA/HSDPA network were started by TNM in December last year. TNM’s rival, Zain Malawi was awarded a 3G license in November 2009.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Investment of USD84 million has been contemplated by telecom operator AT&T to increase 3G capacity in Puerto Rico by deploying 105 new cell sites.
According to AT&T Puerto Rico’s CEO Jose Juan Davila, the investment is part of the consolidation of Centennial Communications, which is due to be completed by the end of the second quarter.
A combined 1.1 million subscribers on the networks of Centennial and AT&T in Puerto Rico has been estimated by Davila.
Bridgewater has announced that it will be participating in the Global MultiService Forum (MSF) interoperability testing event. This event will take place at Vodafone’s Centre for Test and Innovation in Dusseldorf and the China Mobile Research Institute Lab in Beijing. The focus of the testing is on validating Evolved Packet Core network interfaces to enable multi-vendor deployment strategies for LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology.
The MSF event will promote and foster compatibility and interoperability with leading network equipment vendors and operators including Vodafone, China Mobile, NEC, Starent Networks, Huawei, ZTE, Alcatel Lucent, Agilent and Codenomicon.
The event will prove out to be an important step towards validating MSF architectural framework release 5 for LTE, developed to incorporate 3GPP System Architecture Evolution.
NearVerse, mobile networking firm has unveiled its first mobile application, LoKast. It allows its users to share media between iPhones and iPod touch devices at super-fast speeds. The application can also be downloaded from the Apple App Store.
Also known as ‘Local-casting’, LoKast aims to eliminate the need for sharing content through physical media such as DVDs or CDs. LoKasters can share certain parts of their digital profile with other people, also using the application, within a limited proximity. Its process is very similar to browsing for Facebook profiles, but its target limits to people who are physically closer.
Users can easily download the free app and add photos, videos, music, contacts and web links to their personalized portal. The application will automatically allow other users to view and download their content if they are within proximity of 300 feet of another LoKast user.
The best part of LoKast is that it does not require 3G connectivity; it functions in subways, underground and heavily congested areas such as stadiums where 3G connectivity are not reliable.
The aim of the application is to offer its users the opportunity to distribute exclusive content they receive at shows to other. It thus becomes a walking media distribution hub to help spread the content to others nearby.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A fall of 9% in the revenue has been reported by Moldovan incumbent telco Moldtelecom for the year ended December 31, 2009, earning a revenue of MDL2.4 billion (USD188 million). However, company’s profit from operating activities increased 3% year-on-year to MDL384 million due to the reduction in the costs by 11% during 2009.
4% increase in revenue in 2010 has been expected by the operator to MDL2.5 billion. The profit is predicted to remain stable compared to 2009. The total subscribers’ base of the firm reached 1.34 million, including 1.11 million fixed telephony customers and 101,000 mobile users.
An investment of MDL739 million was made by Moldtelecom during 2009, MDL55 million of which was ploughed into the deployment of infrastructure for the company’s new IPTV service, MDL156 million was spent on the rollout of a 3G network and MDL153.3 million was invested in the PSTN. The remaining amount was put into fibre-optic cable layout, CDMA network roll out, and information technology.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The 3G services is planned to be launched by Bangladesh’ state-owned communications firm TeleTalk in the country. Though the operator is very far behind when compared to the private operators due to funding shortages, strong foothold on the 3G market is still expected by the Bangladeshi firm.
Exim Bank of China and the operator are already under negotiations and the bank is going to finance the project which could cost up to USD 211 million. It was earlier announced by Bangladesh telecommunications ministry that it would hold a ‘beauty contest’ to award three licenses.
The guidelines are still being finalized by the regulator for 3G but no decision has yet been taken whether TeleTalk will get a license without participating in the beauty contest.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Pre orders for the iPad have started pouring in and Apple has started accepting the orders. IPad is a new touch-screen gadget for reading books, watching video and surfing the Web.
IPads with Wi-Fi wireless connections have been priced at $499 and up and it will go on sale on April 3. Order can also be placed online and people can get it on April 3 where Saturday delivery is available.
IPad can be reserved online too and shoppers can pay for it and pick it up at a local Apple store. According to Apple, versions of the iPad with cellular data connections and Wi-Fi will go on sale at the end of April.
Orders for the latest version of its iPhone, the 3GS have also been taken by Apple and it will be released in June and it is expected that many consumers lined up overnight anyhow to be among the first buyers.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A series of HSPA+ enabled 3G network tests have been completed by Turkcell in collaboration with Ericsson, attaining a peak transmission speed of 42Mbps. Ericsson provided its dual carrier and multi carrier frequency solutions in a network upgrade programme.
According to Turgut Erkul, business area radio manager at Ericsson, Turkcell and Ericsson conducted an HSPA multi carrier 42.2Mbps test on 5 March 2010 in Istanbul. Turkcell is among the first operators in the world to reach 42.2Mbps speed with Ericsson’s HSPA multi carrier solution.
Turkcell chief network operations officer, Ylter Terzioolu, on the other hand added that Turkcell will provide these speed levels to its customers in 2010 and aims to eventually reach 84Mbps in 3G.
Investment in cutting-edge infrastructure will be continued by Turkcell to ensure that its network can utilize the most up-to-date technologies.
