Bharti Infratel files legal case against STel (India)
Bharti Infratel has sued telecom operator STel for not paying outstanding rent on 1,200 tenancies it had leased from the company, according to a report by ET. As per the report, Bharti Infratel filed a suit in the Delhi High Court early this month saying STel used its towers for providing mobile services to its subscribers over the last two years, without disclosing the amount.
The report reveals that STel said that deliberations were on between the companies, in an attempt to settle the dispute. Previously, Reliance Infratel, had also taken STel to the telecom tribunal seeking recovery of dues from the operator for the infrastructure it had taken on lease in 2009.
STel held 2G mobile permits in Bihar, Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and the northeastern region; and 3G spectrum in Bihar, Orissa and Himachal Pradesh.
Hutchison Whampoa net profit crosses $7 billion (Hong Kong)
Telecom company Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. reported a net profit of more than double from the past year, owing to significant contributions from the infrastructure and energy businesses. As per reports, the net profit was up $ 7.2 billion from $ 2.6 billion.
Li Ka-shing, Chairman, has said that the company would continue to grow its recurrent earnings and maintain a strong financial position and liquidity in 2012. He claimed that the rate of growth may be slow in the short term owing to measures for controlling inflation.
The company reported a 7 per cent rise in its 3G subscriber base reaching over 31 million.
Carlos Slim to invest $3.6 billion in Mexico in 2011
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has announced that companies he control will invest US$3.62 billion in Mexico this year, including significant amounts in infrastructure, mining and telecommunications.
According to reports, the Mexican billionaire, who controls Latin American mobile giant America Movil, will invest around US$820 million in the group, while a further US$820 million is expected to be set aside for Mexican fixed line incumbent Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex).
With Telmex still awaiting regulatory approval to offer television services of its own, it currently offers billing services for direct-to-home satellite company DISH; delays in allowing the operator to enter the TV sector stem from the government’s concerns that competition in the market could be hampered should such approval be granted.
The report notes that in response to queries regarding whether Slim could consider acquiring a stake in the satellite TV provider the executive noted that they are not focused on that, they are waiting (for the authorization) to offer triple-play.
Palestine Network inks an Expansion Contract with Ericsson
Palestinian mobile network, Jawwal has signed a US$15 million network expansion contract with Ericsson.
According to Kamal Tartor, director of engineering, Jawwal, the company is continuously seeking to improve and update its network to better serve its customers. It also seeks to increase the quality and number of services provided, and the 10th phase implementation in cooperation with Ericson will allow more customers to join its network.
As per the agreement the contract will help in improving the network and its coverage, and that the crew is working hard to make the network even stronger, and already expanded the internet network.
Mr. Hekmat Daqqa, CEO of Ericson Company in Palestine has harmonized the strategic relations between the two companies, where Ericson is the largest heavy equipment provider for many telecommunication companies in the Arab countries and the world. Thus, this will support the advancement of its infrastructure.
Anatel warns operators to prove their 3G capacity in Brazil
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Brazil’s telecommunications regulator Anatel said that it will continue to veto the aggressive promotions of broadband Internet services of the operators. It warned the telco’s to prove that their networks can cope with the demand for mobile broadband services.
There has been an extensive expansion of broadband Internet services on mobiles with 20% increase in the clients taking the tally to 7.9 million in the month of October itself and is expected to reach 10 million by the end of the year.
The warning was issued amid this rapid expansion and in order to facilitate this growing demand, Anatel may also authorize network sharing between operators.
The local unit of Mexico’s America Movil SA and market leader in the Brazilian market, Vivo Participacoes and Claro along with other operators has decided to share infrastructure in order to face enormous investments in infrastructure in the coming years.
TATA and BSNL enter Network Sharing deal (India)
Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL), India’s fastest-growing pan India telecom service provider, today announced the signing of a landmark ‘Master Services Agreement for Passive Infrastructure Sharing’ with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
Becoming the first Indian private telecom operator to enter into an agreement of this nature. The agreement which is valid for 15 years will be applicable to both Tata Teleservices Limited and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited in all of India’s 22 telecom Circles.
This is a moment of pride for us, as we have become the first private telecom operator to enter into such a strategically important agreement with BSNL, one that will allow us to expand our telecom footprint across the country much more quickly,†Mr Madhav Joshi, President, Legal and Regulatory Affairs, Tata Teleservices Limited, said.
The agreement comes at a very strategic time for Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited (TTML), as both companies have been aggressively expanding their network presence on the CDMA side with Tata Indicom, while also rolling out GSM services under the TATA DOCOMO brand name. In the short space of just three months, we have already rolled out our GSM services in nine Circles—Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orissa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh and Haryana,†Mr AG Rao, Chief Technology Officer, Tata Teleservices Limited, said. This agreement has the potential to not just speed up our network expansion and rollout process, but would also have a substantial impact in terms of reduced costs,†he added.
Under the terms of the agreement, TTSL and TTML will have access to thousands of BSNL towers all across the country.
Maxis to invest MYR1.6 Bn for network upgradations (Malaysia)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Maxis Communications, the Malaysian mobile network operator is planning to invest MYR1.6 billion (USD458 million) for upgrading its infrastructure. According to Mohamed Fitri Abdullah, VP,Maxis’ Enterprise and Career Business Division, the proposed upgrades will be designed to accommodate the rapid uptake of data-centric devices. According to a report, the cellco’s W-CDMA network, launched in May 2005, had covered approximately 65% of the population at the end of 2008.
Abdullah also said that the company was delisted from Malaysia in July 2007. ‘We will make a special announcement on that,’he added.
Visabeira plans to invest USD3.1m in Timor-Leste
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Nokia Siemens Network is in partnership with Visabeira Global, is planning to invest to invest EUR2.2 million (USD3.1 million) in the construction of telecoms infrastructure in Timor-Leste, media reports.
Chairman of Visabeira Global, Paulo Varela, said that under the contract the two companies will deploy 18 cellular base stations in various regions of Timor, including Dili, Lauten, Viqueque, Manatutu and Manufahi.
