Telsur bought by GTD for USD115 million

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: In a USD115 million deals, Quinenco agreed to sell telecom firm Telefonica del Sur (Telsur) to rival telco GTD. Chilean financial and industrial conglomerate Quinenco has 74.43% stake in Telsur.

While highlighting the magnetism of Telsur, GTD said that the company has transformed itself from line operator into a multi service provider and now offers a range of broadband and broadcast services. GTD also felt that by the end of 2009, GTD and Telsur together will have a customer base of 480,000 subscribers in fixed and wireless telephony, internet, and digital TV.

Telsur has predicted an annual revenue of USD133 million while GTD expects USD175 million for 2009.

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Verizon Wireless has activated a new cell site in Pulaski County, which will enable more customers to use their wireless phones concurrently to make calls; send and receive email and text, picture and video messages; access the Internet; view high-quality videos; and download music, games and ringtones, while enjoying clearer reception and fewer dropped calls.

The new cell site improves Verizon Wireless voice and data coverage in the communities of Karnak, Cypress, Grand Chain, Belknap, and in nearby rural areas of Pulaski, Johnson and Massac counties along Illinois routes 169 and 37.

“Network reliability is the No. 1 reason that customers choose and stay with Verizon Wireless,” said Brendan Fallis, president-Kansas/Missouri/Southern Illinois Region, Verizon Wireless. “Getting through on the first try and maintaining a connection are important to our customers. We continue to optimize our network so that it remains the most reliable in the nation.”

Reliable service is fundamental to customer loyalty, and Verizon Wireless boasts the highest customer loyalty in the industry, as measured by the company’s low percentage of customer turnover.

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www.WirelessFederation.com/news: South African regulator has called a meeting of all the mobile operators in the country to talk about the dropped calls, busy network signals and delayed messages that have been a reason of resentment among subscribers in recent weeks. Vodacom, MTN and Cell C have asked to appear before the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa after the regulatory body was inundated with complaints from users, Spokesman Sekgoela Sekgoela reportedly said. The spokesman said the companies would each appear before the regulatory body individually. Chairman of the National Consumer Forum Thami Bolani confirms a rise in mobile phone-related complaints. He said people are complaining about dropped calls and have found that mobile companies are often not willing to address the concerns of the public.

Mero Mobile to invest $250Mn in Nepal

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Mero Mobile, the mobile arm of Spice Nepal, will make an investment of US$ 250 million in next two years of its operations in order to offer better coverage and services to its subscribers.
“Our aim is to be the number one mobile operator in Nepal,” said Lars Nyberg, president and chief executive officer of TeliaSonera, the Finnish-Swedish telecommunications company which holds an 80 percent controlling stake in Spice Nepal. “We want to provide the best network quality to Nepali consumers.”
“There will be three things that we will concentrate on — quality of service, customer service and competitive pricing,” said CEO Nyberg. The mobile tariffs which at present are higher at Mero Mobile in comparison to its rival operator will be slashed in a year or so.
At present, the matters of concern for the operator are dropped calls and power outages.
The operator will invest US$ 120 million in 2009 and US$ 130 in 2010, Dilip Singh, chief executive officer of Spice Nepal, said. “There is only 60 percent mobile penetration in Nepal now, and there is no reason why this cannot be 100 percent,” Nyberg said. According to Singh, the company wants to provide services to 1.2 million more consumers in 2009 in addition to its existing 1.7 million subscribers.
“Securing a connection at the first attempt and hearing a clear voice from the other end is important,” Singh said.
Singh reportedly said that the telco is in talks with the Nepal proposal for reframing frequencies because Telecommunications Authority’s it was a complicated and expensive process and such reframing would affect consumers.