www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Conatel, the Venezuelan regulator, has reportedly unveiled that the country ended June’09 with 27.9 million mobile phone subscriptions. regulator’s figures suggest, total active mobile SIMs increased by 8% year-on-year, taking the mobile penetration above the 100% mark.
On 08.20.09, In Mobile, By Editor
On 07.28.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 2degrees, a new name in the New Zealand mobile market, has reportedly announced to commercially launch its network on 5 August. 2degrees, formerly known as NZ Communications, has from past 8 years made attempts to build and launch a national network to break Telecom and Vodafone’s mobile duopoly.
2degrees will be taregetting the prepay market of the country and will sell cellphones, plans and SIM cards through petrol stations, supermarkets and other retailers.
The tariffs will be unveiled a day before the launch of services.
On 07.23.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Econet Wireless will reportedly roll-out commercial 3G services alongside an expanded 2.5G data service on 28 August. Econet CEO Douglas Mboweni said the GSM operator was ready to roll out a comprehensive package of data services based on 3G (W-CDMA), GPRS and EDGE technologies. Initially, the new range will be rolled-out only in Harare, but extended to all major cities by the end of the year, with the 3G service targeted at the top end of the market and post-paid contract subscribers. 3G capacity will initially be limited to 55 000 subscribers. Mboweni added that the cellco’s GPRS network, which does not support video applications but enables internet browsing and e-mail services, is already being offered to a limited market and would now be substantially expanded with the company’s utilisation of new bandwidth. ‘GPRS is also being used for other critical services such as vehicle tracking systems and point-of-sale terminals,’ he said.
In a separate news report, the firm has reportedly slash prices of its bundled handset/SIM/airtime starter-packs in response to the government’s removal of duty on mobile phones. Mboweni said, ‘We are grateful to the Finance Minister for the concession. Our response is to immediately pass this benefit on to the consumer through this reduction. We are not taking any mark-up on the handsets. In fact, as a gesture of goodwill we are reducing the price even on handsets for which we had already paid duty.’
On 07.04.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: x-Mobility today announces the launch of its Mobile Virtual Network Aggregator (MVNA) service that provides a white-labeled MVNO service for brands wishing to enter the mobile space. As the holder of a full Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) licence on the 3UK network, x-Mobility’s MVNA service allows new entrants into the market with a quicker and more cost-effective solution than dealing directly with an operator.
The MVNA service from x-Mobility provides everything a company needs to set itself up as a new MVNO, targeting its own distinct customer base. Services include:
Click here to find out more!• White label branding of both the USIM and the network name on the handset, making all aspects of the service ‘branded’ in the eyes of your customers
• Operations Support Systems (OSS), for provisioning of services
• Billing Support Services (BSS), with both wholesale & retail billing interfaces available
• Customer Care services so that any issues your customers face can be resolved
• Number portability, allowing you to port your customers’s numbers from other networks
“The MVNO concept is particularly well suited to developing niche propositions and, while this has benefitted consumers in some European markets, the UK mobile operators have yet to truly embrace that model,” said Phil Kendall, Director – Global Wireless Practice, Strategy Analytics. “The MVNA approach is an excellent way to facilitate that step change in the market. This is especially true if services like low-cost international calls and data services, that are not traditionally associated with an MVNO, can be added to the mix.”
x-Mobility works closely with 3 and has a full MVNO licence on the 3UK network. This allows x-Mobility to aggregate the service to other brands as a white-label service and x-Mobility can provide pre and post-paid voice and data services for its customers.
David Bickett, Business Development Director at 3, said: “x-Mobility has created a very compelling service which suits the excellent network that we have built in the UK. We believe that the smaller, niche MVNO players will be able to profit from the combination of 3UK’s network and x-Mobility’s MVNA service.”
One of the companies that is taking advantage of x-Mobility’s MVNA service is Uni-Tel Mobile, which has been set up to target the UK student market.
“I’m really impressed with the x-Mobility business model and really grateful of it too,” said Mike Hall, the Operations Director at Uni-Tel Mobile. “Thanks to x-Mobility we’ve been able to get our MVNO service up and running quickly. We think that we have a very compelling offering to the student market and we’re extremely excited about the possibilities.”
Wayne Myers, CEO of x-Mobility, said: “This is culmination of a lot of hard work and planning, But now we have launched we’re able to help even more brands that want to launch an MVNO service within 120 days and at a fraction of the cost of the traditional, direct route.”
“It’s great that we’re able to help companies like Uni-Tel Mobile provide a new service to their customers within a few months. We hope to help many more companies launch MVNOs to service consumer segments that the mobile operators cannot reach.”
x-Mobility is currently working with a number of brands that will be launching their own MVNO service shortly. Based on the volume of SIMs ordered, x-Mobility is one of the biggest MVNOs on the 3UK network.
For more information, please visit www.x-mobility.com
On 06.30.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has reportedly ruled that individuals must only subscribe to a maximum of three pre-paid SIM cards from each mobile network provider. The new regulation also barred subscribers from using other people’s names, dates of birth and ID cards or passport numbers to buy pre-paid SIMs with exception of parents or guardians registering for users below the age of 14. According to the report, a government decree released in May states that from 15 July, anyone caught using another person’s ID card number to register a SIM card will be fined from VND2 million-VND5 million (USD117-USD292) and from 1 January 2010, anyone caught falsifying information on their registration forms will have the service cut off. The service providers and retailers are also expelled from activating SIM cards when the subscribers have not registered their information, and from disclosing or using the information for illegal purposes.
On 06.17.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Greek communication minister Evripidis Stylianidis announced that as per the new legislation, all pre-paid mobile phone subscribers will have to register their identities with a network operator before activating their SIM card.
This move is reportedly aimed at tackling a wide range of criminal activity, would require all pre-paid SIMs to be registered by 30 June 2010, pending approval by parliament. Greece ended March with a subscriber base 19.6 million. According to a report, the introduction of a prepaid registration scheme has led to fall in mobile subscribers.
On 06.09.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 3 UK has introduced a one-month mobile broadband plan dubbed as Broadband 5GB. The subscription offers subscribers with a 3 mobile broadband SIM 5GB of data for GBP 15 a month to use with their existing 3 dongle. According to the carrier, 5GB is enough to send 5,000 emails or about 50 hours of web surfing.
Subscribers can opt to upgrade their PAYG broadband packages to a pay monthly after which they won’t have to purchase a new 3 dongle. The new mobile broadband subscribers or those without a spare dongle can purchase the new service by buying a Huawei MF627 or E156g USB modem for GBP 19.99.
On 06.04.09, In Mobile, By Editor
Orange have announced that it is extending its Pay Monthly (PAYM) range to include a £5 tariff, the lowest contract price point on the market, alongside new £10 and £15 monthly plans. Available from 1st June 2009, these 36 month great value plans provide customers with two handsets – one when they sign-up and another after 18 months. Orange will also introduce 18 month SIM Only contracts for the first time which provide customers with more inclusive minutes and text messages offering better value than ever before.
Neil Macgeorge, Director of Pay Monthly, Orange UK said: “In the current economic climate, the demand for both low-cost monthly plans which include a phone and SIM only deals has materially increased. These new 36 month phone plans starting at £5 will provide light users with more choice since currently their only option is a pay as you go package. They are ideal for people who don’t want to go through a top up process, are happy to commit to a contract, want the security of knowing that they won’t run out of credit and who want a phone included in the package. Some customers worry about handsets wearing out so the mid term replacement means they needn’t be concerned. We think that this is just the sort of innovative approach our customers need during these times.”
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