www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Bharti Airtel, India’s leading mobile operator, has reportedly announced the launch of its m-Commerce service ‘mChek on Airtel’, enabling its susbcribers to pay their Airtel mobile and fixed-line bills on the voice platform. The service will also enable subscribers to recharge Airtel mobile pre-paid and DTH accounts through Interactive Voice Response (IVR). The subscribers will have to call 543219 to access the service, which is toll free, and this service ensures seamless and secure use of voice (IVR) for m-Commerce transactions for all Airtel mobile customers, Airtel said in a statement.
“There is a tremendous potential for voice enabled m- Commerce services in India and we are giving a huge thrust in this area. We believe that m-Commerce has the power to facilitate a paradigm shift in the way mobile users do commercial transactions and business in future,” Bharti Airtel President (Mobile Services) Atul Bindal said.
To avail the service the subscribers will have to call the number and create their own six-digit mChekPIN and link their VISA/Mastercard credit card and for later transactions, the subscriber needs to enter the PIN on their registered mobile number to authorise the transaction.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: As part of its belief in the importance of constantly utilizing the latest technological advancements across the global telecom scene to offer cutting-edge services to the Iraqi market, and based on its desire to regularly upgrade its services n order to meet the expectations of its subscribers, Asiacell – the largest private Iraqi company and the first and only mobile telecommunications company to provide coverage for all of Iraq – announced the launch of its new Melody Service, which offers Asiacell subscribers a unique experience that enables them to replace the traditional ring tone heard by incoming callers with personalized songs or jingles of their choice.
Starting from the first of September, both postpaid and prepaid Asiacell subscribers all over Iraq will be able to activate the Melody Service and choose their favorite song or clip by dialing 300 on their mobile phones, or by sending 1 to the number 300 via SMS, to activate the service and enjoy the numerous privileges which include loading different ringback tones and choosing the songs that they want their callers to hear.
Subscribers can customize their ringback tone to reflect their own personal tastes or mood on special days or occasions, as the Melody Service offers a wide variety of songs that includes the latest Arabic, Kurdish, English and other music in addition to comedic audio clips, religious prayers and hymns, and customized content for the holy month of Ramadan. (more…)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Nawras is celebrating the third anniversary of the successful introduction of mobile number portability (MNP) in the Sultanate.
This service has enabled thousands of new customers to move to Nawras from the other operator while keeping their existing number.
To date the fastest growing family in Oman has welcomed almost nine out of ten porting customers who have chosen to change operator and join the Nawras family so they can enjoy great value, pleasingly different service and excellent quality.
Nawras makes it easy for customers to move as many tens of thousands have already discovered. MNP expanded customer choice and put the Sultanate ahead of almost all other countries in the region.
The service is an important element in a free mobile telecommunications market focused on fair competition.
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www.WirelessFederation.com/news: True Corp, the Thai telco, has reportedly swung to a THB1.22 billion (USD36 million) net profit in Q2′09, compared with a loss of THB2.67 billion in Q2′08, driven by foreign exchange growth f THB1.46 billion (compared with FX losses of THB2.48 billion in April-June 2008).
The operator further said the revenues excluding interconnection charges grew by 0.8% to THB12.8 billion, while EBITDA climbed 5% due to a reduction in net interconnection payments, stricter cost control and revenue gains. The mobile unit of the telco added 243,000 net new subscribers in Q2, including 80,000 post-paid subscribers to end June 2009 with 1.2 million monthly contract subscribers amongst a total base of 15.25 million.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Avea presents “Welcome 3G Package” which consists of 200 minutes of call and 3G services to its subscribers every month during 6 months when they buy one of U800 or I900 Omnia 3G compatible models of Samsung.
Avea, Turkey’s GSM operator with highest MoU, launched a new campaign for its subscribers wishing to utilise 3G technology. Adding pleasure to the lives of its subscribers with the products and services it develops, Avea presents 3G Welcome Package and 1200 free minutes in total during 6 months to its individual subscribers buying one of Samsung U800 and I900 Omnia models within the scope of 3G device campaign.
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www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Omantel, the Oman based mobile operator, has reportedly unveiled five mobile internet packages for its postpaid Mada subscribers. Mada post paid subscribers can opt from five different packages depending on their unique needs. There are twohourly based packages; 10 hour packaged priced at RO5 with unlimited download and the 30 hour package priced at RO10 with unlimited usage. There are also three data based packages which are: 1GB for RO19 with unlimited usage, 15GB for RO34 with unlimited usage and the 30GB package for RO59 with unlimited usage as well.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Swisscom, the Switzerland based mobile operator, will reportedly introduce mobile flatrate tariffs for prepaid, postpaid and business subscribers from 17 August’09. The tariffs will offer free calls, free SMS/MMS and unlimited mobile internet access within Switzerland. The prepaid version is dubbed as Natel Easy BeFree and offers unlimited calls within Switzerland for CHF 2 per day; unlimited SMS/MMS for CHF 3 per day and unlimited mobile internet use for CHF 4 per day.
The fees will be charged only when subscribers make calls, send SMS or use internet that day. The postpaid versions are Natel BeFree and Natel Business One, both cost CHF 169 per month including unlimited calls, SMSs, and MMSs within Switzerland plus mobile internet access up to 2 GB per month at HSPA/UMTS speeds. After the limit is reached, the speeds are decreased to GPRS levels until a new month begins.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news:Zain Kenya has started exploiting the efficiency associated with technological convergence by rolling out a convenient and easy to remember flat international calling rate. Customers can now make calls to any international destination for KES25. Launching the promotion today, Managing Director Rene Meza announced that the rates will apply from 9pm to 6am every day. The offer is open to both pre-paid and post-paid subscribers and billing will be per second.
“As we continue to strengthen and upgrade our network, we would like to ensure that our customers enjoy the benefits that come with the increased efficiency.” said Mr. Meza.
To enjoy the service, customers will be required to dial 123 followed by the recipient’s number. Mr. Meza said the reduced rate was as a result of Zain embracing the emerging technologies. “The ongoing convergence of technology in the telecommunications sector will see us unveil easy to access services” he said.
Since the beginning of the year, Zain has continued to invest in upgrading her network and overhauling the IT system in readiness for the anticipated growth in data business and the roll out of value added services. Said Mr. Meza: “We are now witnessing a significant improvement in the traffic of international calls largely due to the continued evolution of technology which has enabled operators to cut down on costs of providing services.”
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The French mobile operators have added 678,600 new subscribers in Q2′09 to end June with 58.91 million subscribers, reports the French telecom regulator Arcep. While the overall mobile market grew by 1.2% in Q2, the postpaid subscriber base grew by 1.8% to 40.51 million and prepaid subscribers fell by 0.3% to 18.4 million. MVNOs, at the end of June, had a 5.3% market share by subscribers, up from 5.17% at the end of March and 4.67% at the end of June 2008. During the Q2, SMS traffic grew by 7.2% to 14.66 billion messages, or 85.9 per month per active subscriber, compared to 13.68 billion or 80.6 monthly messages per customer in Q1.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Mobistar, the Belgian mobile operator, has posted a 4% rise in its subscriber base in H1′09, ending with 3.87 million subscribers. The number of Mobistar postpaid subscribers grew by 8.6% over a one-year period and at June’09-end, passed the 2 million mark.
Turnover went up by 2.2% to EUR 761.6 million from EUR 745.5 million in the year-ago period. However, EBITDA dipped by 7.2% to EUR 278.4 million from EUR 300. Mobistar posted a net profit of EUR 128.5 million for H1′09, down 11.4% from EUR 145.1 million a year earlier, due to lower EBITDA margin and an increase in the financial costs.