Zain Kuwait slashes call charges to Bangladesh
Zain Kuwait announced that it will be offering a 50% discount on all SMS messages to Bangladesh. the operator will also be offering a 20% discount on international calls to Bangladesh as they celebrate Independence Day on March 26.
The offer applies for one day only for both postpaid and prepaid customers.
Safaricom cuts international call rates by 90% (Kenya)
Safaricom, Kenya’s largest mobile telephony operator has slashed its international calling rates by almost 90% in an attempt to protect its market share after its competitions made similar drops in a move that looks set to further pile pressure on its profitability.
Safaricom reduced its international call tariffs to US$0.04 a minute from US$0.31 for calls made to USA, China and India, putting it at par with rivals Zain, Orange and YU.
Zain Kenya bowled the first round by reducing its international tariffs by 70% to US$0.04 per minute on October 1 to be followed by Essar’s Yu that reduced it’s by 98% to US$0.03 a minute later.
Orange followed the suit and on October 7 lowered its charges for the three markets to US$0.04 per minute from US$0.10.
US, China and India accounts for the industry’s largest international traffic, making calls headed to these market a key battle front for the operators.
As per the Analysts, the move by Safaricom will not hurt its earnings significantly given that international traffic accounts for a smaller share of its revenues.
According to Eric Kimathi, senior research analyst at African Alliance Kenya, Safaricom must have taken longer to negotiate with the rest of international operators for a termination rates, but we don’t expect the international price cut to significantly affect Safaricom. The company must, however, protect its share of the market and be at par with the competition, and ignoring any front will be costly at this time.
Safaricom’s rivals have operations in other markets and this made it easier for them to cut the international tariffs speedily compared to the market leader which only operates in the Kenyan market.
SK Telecom to Develop 3G Mobile Standard in China
Faced with diminishing prospects at home, South Korea’s SK Telecom has of late been looking at China to tap into the world’s largest mobile market. The groundwork is starting to pay rich dividends.
According to published reports, SK has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese government to jointly develop a 3G mobile standard in the world’s most populous nation.
South Korea’s number one mobile phone operator and the Chinese government will cooperate on the development and commercialization of TD-SCDMA, China’s home-grown 3G standard.
TD-SCDMA allows communication of numerous subscribers by dividing a spectrum into time slots unlike other platforms, which use separate spectrums for wireless transmission and reception.
TD-SCDMA is one of three technologies that is recognized by the International Telecommunications Union as the next-generation mobile telecom standard. The other two are CDMA2000 and wideband-CDMA.
Under the agreement, SK plans to set up a TD-SCDMA experimental station in Pundang, south of Seoul, in 2007 to carry out tests on the mobility-specific techniques. It will also establish a TD-SCDMA service center in China to pursue joint research in 3G multimedia services, value-added devices and platforms.
“SK Telecom is the first foreign telecom service provider to establish a cooperative relationship with China on TD-SCDMA technologies. This signifies the full recognition of our technological prowess,” SK CEO Kim Shin-bae said.
SK spokesperson Do Hoon added: “We have agreed on building a cooperative model with China for the telecom industry, for not only TD-SCDMA technologies but also beyond 3G standards.”
In June, SK had agreed to buy up to $1 billion worth of China Unicom’s (News – Alert) bonds, giving it an option on a 6.67 percent stake in China’s second-biggest mobile firm.
The Unicom share first gave SK Telecom entry into the fast-expanding Chinese market. It is the largest mobile phone market in the world in terms of subscribers. China has more than 421 million mobile phone subscribers and the number is slated to rise to at least 600 million within the next three years.
SK Telecom provides cellular services, wireless Internet services, and online Internet and Internet access via CDMA networks. Through its subsidiary, SK Teletech, it also designs, markets and sells digital handsets under the brand name Sky. The company provides international calling services, multimedia services and a telematic service called NATE Drive, which offers drivers with real-time location and traffic information.
Source- http://ipcommunications.tmcnet.com
Technorati : China, Mobile, SK Telecom, South Korea
Ice Rocket : China, Mobile, SK Telecom, South Korea
