Si.mobil secures 3G licence
Slovenian mobile operator Si.mobil has acquired nationwide UMTS frequencies for EUR 6.5 million, valid for 15 years. UMTS licences were first offered in Slovenia in 2001, but Si.mobil did not participate in the tender and has been using EDGE instead since late 2003. The announcement was made by Simobil’s parent company, Telekom Austria.
Source- http://www.telecompaper.com
Technorati : Mobile, Si mobil, Slovenia
Ice Rocket : Mobile, Si mobil, Slovenia
Mobile phones dangerous for children, Austrian doctors warn
VIENNA (AFP) – Doctors in Austria warned of the dangers of mobile phones to children and called for them to carry labels showing their radiation levels.
When drugs are launched into the market the research on their effects is made public. With mobile telephony on the other hand, new technology is being distributed when its effects are still not known,” warned Erik Huber, a doctor specialising in environmental issues, on the Austrian doctors’ association website.
He said Friday children should be specially protected against radiation emitted by mobile telephones.
“Our children should not be used as guinea pigs,” warned Huber, adding that “mobile telephones are about as dangerous for children as sunbathing”.
The group advised that phones should be used as infrequently and as briefly as possible, and not in cars as this increased radiation levels.
Its recommendations, which also include avoiding playing games on mobile phones, have been taken up by Austria’s health ministry.
Source- http://news.yahoo.com
Mobiltel reports 4 million mobile subscribers in Bulgaria
Telekom Austria Group’s Bulgarian mobile subsidiary Mobiltel has reached the 4 million subscriber mark on 14 September. The company also announced that within the next days Mobiltel will launch HSDPA modems on the Bulgarian market within the framework of its Vodafone partnership. The HSDPA modem allows fast internet connection and mobile data transfer of up to 1.8 Mbps.
Source- http://www.telecompaper.com
Technorati : Bulgaria, Mobile, Mobiltel, Vodafone
Ice Rocket : Bulgaria, Mobile, Mobiltel, Vodafone
Palm Introduces Windows Mobile-Based Treo 750v Smartphone for Vodafone Customers
Palm has announced the Palm Treo 750v, the first Treo to take advantage of Vodafone’s 3G/UMTS network around the world. The new Treo 750v will be available first to Vodafone customers in the following countries:
Austria
,
France
,
Germany
,
Ireland
,
Italy
,
Netherlands
,
Spain
,
Switzerland
, the
UK
and other regions by the end of the calendar year.
The Treo 750v combines the Palm experience of a multifeatured mobile phone with email, messaging, web browsing and organization software all in a new compact design.
The new device comes with Microsoft’s Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) for Windows Mobile 5.0, which includes Direct Push Technology and enhanced security features free and out of the box, when combined with a Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2 for communications.
It is also fully compatible with Vodafone Business Email, giving remote access to enterprise and Internet-based email accounts.
Unique to the Treo smartphone on Windows Mobile 5.0 is a suite of software enhancements developed by Palm, including Today screen enhancements, which feature the ability to “dial by name” with a few keystrokes on the keyboard, perform a web search directly from the Today Screen and perform one-touch dialing with personalized photo speed dials.
Also featured is the ability to manage a call directly from the Today Screen and stay on top of voicemail with on-screen, VCR-like icons, such as rewind, delete and fast-forward controls for easy navigation.
For users who are constantly busy in meetings and appointments, the software supports the ability to ignore a call and quickly compose a text message, such as “In a meeting” or “Can’t talk”.
The Windows Mobile 5 platform comes with mobile versions of Microsoft Office applications (including Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel), a messaging application for e-mail, SMS and MMS and 1.3 megapixal digital camera.
Users can expand the built-in memory through miniSD cards, and connect to other devices via Bluetooth, which also supports Bluetooth enabled stereo headsets, so users can enjoy multimedia through the built-in Windows Media Player 10 mobile.
Source- http://www.geekzone.co.nz
Technorati : Mobile, New Zealand, Palm, Vodafone
Ice Rocket : Mobile, New Zealand, Palm, Vodafone
Mobilkom Austria contests Slovak mobile tender
Austrian mobile operator Mobilkom Austria is considering legal action over Slovakia’s handling of a tender on a third mobile license, while another failed bidder, Slovak private equity group Penta Investments, has filed an appeal with the supreme state attorney asking for a revision of the tender awarded to Telef³nica O2 Slovakia.
Penta participated in the tender in consortium with Czech alternative operator Radiokomunikace under the name B Four. Penta spokesman Martin Danko told CBW that Penta filed the appeal because it’s convinced that the tender wasn’t conducted in accordance with the law (see CBW online news, Aug. 24, 2006). The Slovak Telecom Office (Tš SR) named Telef³nica O2 Slovakia the winner Aug. 2. Radiokomunikace declined to comment on the issue. “The tender wasn’t fair and transparent,” Danko said. The committee for evaluating the bids was composed of members who had clear conflicts of interest, he alleged. Furthermore, the committee members were changed during the tender – which is illegal – and the importance placed on each criterion wasn’t announced beforehand, Danko said. In its complaint, Penta also alleges that the Tš SR didn’t fulfill formal requirements when asking for bids and announcing the winner.
“The only way the [Slovak] telecommunication office can solve such serious accusations with dignity is to either cancel the tender or publish details of the applicants’ offers along with criteria and its quantification,” said Penta investment director Marek Ondrejka in a news release issued late Aug. 24. Penta is confident that its offer was the best and is ready to have its bid publicly compared to those of the other applicants, the press release said.
The Tš SR had stated that within four weeks of announcing the tender result it will issue the right to use the frequency spectrum to the winner, during which time the detailed license conditions and rollout plans will also be specified.
Last week, Mobilkom Austria asked the Tš SR not to allocate the GSM, UMTS and FS frequencies to Telef³nica 02 Slovakia and called on the regulator to repeat the tender for the third mobile license. “In our opinion, the tender wasn’t in accordance with the [Slovak] electronic communications law,” Erich Gnad, the company’s international operations department chief, told Slovak news agency SITA, adding that it wasn’t transparent or in line with standard norms.
The Slovak capital group Eco-Invest, which bid in a consortium with Mobilkom Austria, plans to use all options available under Slovak law to protect its interests, the group said in separate press release.
Telef³nica O2 Slovakia offered Sk 150 million (K?? 111 million/€ 3.97 million) for the 20-year license. B Four offered Sk 400 million and Mobilkom Austria Sk 250 million. The license includes the right to use frequencies GSM 900 MHz, GSM 1800 Mhz, UMTS and FS 29 GHz to provide telecommunication services in Slovakia – but experts warn that Slovakia won’t be an easy market for a new entrant. Apart from the relatively high mobile penetration, over 80 percent, in a fairly small market of 5.4 million people, any new third mobile operator will be taking on established mobile operators Orange Slovakia, a unit of France Telecom, and T-Mobile Slovakia, controlled by Deutsche Telecom. Orange Slovakia and T-Mobile Slovakia have 2.5 million and 2 million customers, respectively. Besides taking on the competition, the new entrant will have to invest an estimated € 1 billion over the next three years on roll out and network building, which won’t be easy due to the Slovakia’s generally hilly landscape and the Tatra mountain range, with peaks more than 2,500 meters high.
Source- http://www.cbw.cz
Technorati : Austria, Mobile, Mobilkom, O2, Slovakia, Telefonica
Ice Rocket : Austria, Mobile, Mobilkom, O2, Slovakia, Telefonica
Telekom Austria net profit up 74% in Q2 on Mobiltel takeover
Telekom Austria reported second-quarter net profit up 74.6 percent from a year ago to EUR 130.9 million, driven by the company’s takeover of Bulgarian mobile operator Mobiltel and lower depreciation and amortisation charges. Revenues increased 16 percent to EUR 1.169 billion, with a 33 percent rise in mobile sales to EUR 710.9 million helping to offset a 1.9 percent drop in fixed-line revenues to EUR 519.3 million. EBITDA rose 20 percent to EUR 477.5 million. Telekom Austria expects full-year revenues to grow 5 percent and annual EBITDA up 10 percent, while the company raised its forecast for operating and net profit and now expects annual growth of more than its previous outlook of 20 percent. For the period 2005-9, the company predicts a CAGR of 2 percent for revenues, 2.5 percent for EBITDA and 13 percent for net profit. Telekom Austria also expects a reduction in net debt and higher dividend for the year.
Source- http://www.telecompaper.com
Technorati : Austria, Mobile, Telecom
Ice Rocket : Austria, Mobile, Telecom
Bulgarian wireless carriers at odds over mobile number portability
Bulgaria’s 3 wireless telecom operators have clashed over the approach that should be taken to subscribers changing carriers that want to keep their mobile phone number, it transpired after the Communications Regulation Commission adopted the rules for the mobile number portability. The service should be available from January 1, 2007. A year later, the carriers should have a joint database with all numbers that have migrated between cellular networks. According to Greek-owned Globul, one obstacle facing the rollout of the new service is the position of rival Mobiltel which is insisting that each telecom carrier should establish its own database. This means incoming calls to a Mobiltel number that has moved to another network will have to be routed through the Mobiltel network first, adding to the call tariff, said Globul. Creating a joint database is costly option that will take at least a couple of years, said Telekom Austria-owned Mobiltel. The telecom regulator is urging the carriers to adopt both approaches to ensure the service is up and running by January 1, 2007. The carriers have so far been mute on what extra-cost add-ons the new service will have for the end-user. Globul estimates the cost per operator at a six-figure amount in euro. That is in sharp contrast to Mobiltel’s estimates which range between 8- to 9-figure sums. The adoption of mobile number portability by other markets has shown that no more than 10% of existing subscribers take advantage of the service
Source- http://news.dnevnik.bg
Technorati : Bulgaria, Mobile, Wireless
Ice Rocket : Bulgaria, Mobile, Wireless
Iranian mobile phonemakers to merge
Iran Telecommunications Manufacturing (ITMC) has told the Iranian Labour News Agency that two companies that signed an agreement with the government to produce mobile phones will be merged, Iran Daily reports. The companies, Soroush Resaneh and Nimeh Hadi Emad, will be part of a consortium of domestic firms that will set up a production line by March 2007, said ITMC managing director Mohammad Ebrahim Mottale. The group expects to produce 6 million phones per year. Mottale added that ITMC was in talks with Nokia on the project. He said earlier that talks were in their final stages with Hong Kong Bell, Austria’s Telme and
Malaysia’s Mmobile, only one of which will join the consortium.
Source- http://www.telecom.paper.nl
