Brazil adds 2.2 million subscribers in April (Brazil)
Brazil added 2.2 million new subscribers in the month of April, representing an increase of 0.86 percent compared to March 2012. 3G terminals (mobile broadband) totaled 54.3 million hits, as reported by telecommunications regulator Anatel.
As per a report by DJN, TIM Participacoes SA added the most subscribers in the month, with 37 percent of net additions, far above second-placed Oi SA with 23 percent. Telefonica Brasil SA was third, with 22 percent of total additions, and Claro, the local unit of Mexico’s America Movil SA (was fourth with 16 percent.
Further, Telefonica, part of Spain’s Telefonica SA, was still the largest operator overall, with nearly 30 percent market share. TIM, a unit of Telecom Italia SpA was second with 27 percent, Claro was third with 24 percent and Oi had 19 percent.
Mozilla to begin sale of smartphone in end 2012 (USA)
Mobile phones running an operating system developed by makers of the Firefox web browser will go on sale in late 2012, according to a report by BBC. The first handsets running Mozilla’s ‘Boot to Gecko’ (B2G) software will be available in Brazil on Telefonica Vivo’s mobile network.
Announced in July 2011, B2G aims to be an open rival to Google’s Android.The Mozilla Foundation is best known for its Firefox browser that adheres strictly to official standards for writing and viewing web pages.
As per the report, Gary Kovacs, chief executive of Mozilla, said this openness would make a difference to the way applications on phones operate. B2G aimed to make apps more like webpages and able to share data and links, he said. It did this by basing everything on the latest web standard known as HTML5.
No details were given on who would make the handsets that Telefonica Vivo was planning to offer to its 90 million customers. It said the phones would cost about the same as existing feature phones.No specific date for the launch was given but Telefonica said it should happen at the end of 2012 or in early 2013.
Brazil plans LTE auction in June 2012 (Brazil)
Brazil plans to auction spectrum in the 450MHz and 2.5GHz bandwidth on June 10 in an attempt to launch upgraded broadband technologies. According to reports, telecom operators TIM Brasil and Vivo had initially opposed the auction citing that it is too soon after the 3G rollout.
However, the regulator aims to hold the auction soon so as to ensure rollout of 4G services in time for the 2014 soccer World Cup. As per reports, operators winning the 2.5GHz spectrum will be required to launch their services by the end of 2013, in all the cities hosting the FIFA World Cup.
The operators expected to participate in the bidding are rumoured to include Claro, Oi and Nextel Brasil, along with TIM Brasil and Vivo.
Claro Brazil partners with NetCracker to improve network efficiency (Brazil)
NetCracker Technology has announced that Claro Brazil has selected NetCracker’s Telecom Operations and Management solution to streamline operations and improve end-to-end visibility of its network. Part of the Mexican telecom group América Móvil, Claro Brazil is the second largest mobile operator in Brazil with close to 59 million subscribers.
According to company reports, Claro Brazil will utilize the NetCracker solution to achieve three key objectives; which include, improving efficiencies through the creation of a unified and centralized view of the transport network, rapidly introducing new services and improve service quality and service delivery by ensuring greater visibility and control of all its transport network assets and enabling faster adoption of new technologies as the company seeks an expanded network footprint.
NetCracker will also be providing Claro Brazil with a full suite of professional services capabilities to ensure successful implementation of the solution.
Andrew Feinberg, President and CEO, NetCracker, has said that they are pleased to be working with Claro Brazil, one of the most innovative and visionary operators in Latin America. Further, NetCracker is looking forward to working closely with Claro Brazil and to delivering a standards-based solution that achieves their network, technology, and business goals.
America Movil Partners with Appia for the launch of ‘iApps’ (Latin America)
Wireless service provider America Movil, has announced the launch of its iApps Application Stores powered by Appia, bringing a vast catalog of apps and games to all America Movil subscribers across Latin America. According to company reports, the iApps Application Stores are now available through America Movil’s operating partners Claro, Comcel, and Telcel reaching over 240 million mobile subscribers in 18 countries across Latin America including Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
Marco Quatorze, Director of Value Added Services, America Movil, has said that with the launch of the Application Stores powered by Appia to all America Movil subscribers, Apps are now available to the majority of Latin American Mobile subscribers. Further, Appia’s carrier-grade solution enabled them to quickly roll out the largest Application Store across Latin America.
Appia’s Application Catalog includes thousands of applications and games for Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, and Java phones. The iApps Application Stores include both paid and free applications such as social media, news, weather and sports apps in Spanish, English and Portuguese. Leading application developers including Rovio and Gameloft are distributing their app through the iApps Application store, along with internationally recognized application developers including Facebook, Electronic Arts, and MocoSpace.
Lukasz Deszczulka, Executive VP Marketing, Tequila Mobile, has said that America Movil’s iApps Application Stores have been a great source of traffic for them. Also, the Latin American apps market is growing rapidly, and Appia and America Movil have made it incredibly easy to reach users and generate downloads.
Jud Bowman, CEO, Appia, has said that Appia is excited to partner with America Movil to bring apps to the hundreds of millions of mobile subscribers in North, Central and South America. As app use continues to grow globally, Latin American is a phenomenal opportunity for application distribution and we expect tremendous growth in app consumption.
Telefonica and MasterCard form a new joint venture for m-payment services (Brazil)
Mobile operator, Telefonica has reportedly formed a joint venture with MasterCard, in an attempt to offer mobile financial services to around 65 million Vivo consumers in Brazil. According to reports, the service will enable users to make payments, transfer funds as well as purchase good online via their mobile device.
The new service is expected to help bridge the gap between the banked and unbanked segments as well as increase the reach of mobile payments in a user’s daily life where cash was the only base for a transaction. As per sources, each company will hold a 50 percent equity share in the new company which will function as an independent entity.
Reports suggest that Joaquin Mata, Global Head (Financial Services), Telefónica Digital has said that this partnership positions Telefónica as a leading developer of mobile financial solutions in Brazil.
Telefonica signs network sharing agreement with China Unicom (Spain, China)
Spanish telecom operator Telefonica has reportedly entered into a strategic partnership with China Unicom, wherein both operators will use each other’s networks to expand their coverage. According to reports, the deal will provide Telefonica access to China Unicom’s network in the regions of Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia, France and Sweden.
In return, China Unicom can reportedly increase its presence through Telefonica’s network in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, Mexico, USA, Puerto Rico, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria Denmark, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.
Reports suggest that Telefonica believes this agreement will help both operators expand their capabilities to provide telecom services to various customers in different geographic areas.
Virgin Mobile to launch MVNO services in Chile in 2012 (Latin America)
Virgin Mobile, an innovative wireless service provider, plans to launch mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services in Chile in Latin America by early 2012. As per reports, the company will use Movistar’s (Telefonica) network and has signed an agreement for the same. The company, which begins its MVNO services in Chile, plans to expand its services in Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, Colombia and Mexico. The company aims to target the youth consumers by positioning itself as a fresh alternative to existing wireless providers.
As per sources, Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin, has said that they are very excited about what they have achieved in their first commercial operation in Chile. He added that this is a very interesting project for Virgin and they believe that all Virgin Mobile Chile clients will be very satisfied with the services they will offer with this launch. Further, Claudio Muñoz, Executive President, Movistar has said they are convinced that this agreement will make the telecommunications market grow in Chile. The fact that Virgin Mobile will start operating as a new mobile operator shows that this type of business is likely between companies.
ZTE records 35 million handsets for 2011 first half (China)
China based ZTE stated that the handset manufacturer has recorded shipment of 60 million terminal products, of which 35 million devices constitute handsets for the first half of 2011. In the process, the company has seen an approximate 30 percent rise in handset shipments on a year-on-year basis. Interestingly, ZTE has seen a 400 percent increase in smartphone sales, in addition to a 300 percent increase in the USA.
Meanwhile, ZTE’s Blade has emerged as one of the best selling smartphones across the globe. In partnership with about 80 operators worldwide, the Blade is available in about 50 countries, including regions. In China, Blade happens to be biggest selling Android smartphone in China, in terms of daily sales, accounting for 16,000 units per day. So far, there are 2.5 million Blade handsets sold worldwide, primed to hit the five million milestone within this year.
In addition, ZTE is looking at shipping some 12 million smart terminals in the second half of the year, while the company has increasingly captured market shares in China, North America, Europe and Latin America.
Across Europe, ZTE has smartphone partnership deals with more than 65 operators on the back of rising handset sales of more than 30 percent in this part of the world for the same period. Meanwhile, ZTE has seen its Brazilian market share increase by 46 percent, in addition to the company securing investment for a high-tech industrial park, touted to become the country’s biggest telecommunications research, production and training centre; ZTE’s first R&D location in Latin America.
According to ZTE Executive Vice President He Shiyou, they are pleased with the success of the Blade worldwide and of their other handsets in other major markets. In addition, they are aiming to launch over 30 smart terminals during the remainder of 2011, including mid to high-end smartphones such as the ZTE Skate, a smartphone harnessing Windows Phone 7 and TD-LTE dual-module and dual-waiting models.
