MegaFon buys fibre-optic operator Metrocom (Russia)
Russian mobile operator MegaFon has agreed to acquire 100% stake of Metrocom, a St Petersburg-based regional operator in a deal worth US$67 million.
MegaFon will acquire 55% stake of Metrocom from the government and 45% stake from Russian company MCT, which is owned by the son of St Petersburg governor Sergei Matvienk.
The stake in Metrocom was auctioned by the Russian state property fund; competitor telcos Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) and Rostelecom ruled themselves out of the auction, citing that US$67 million is too expensive.
Metrocom owns a 1,500km fibre-optic network and is presently the sole operator in St Petersburg with metro cables in place. The company is employed in providing telephone services, Internet, data transmission, as well as rent a wide range of communication channels.
Sony Ericsson finally launches XPERIA X8 and Cedar
Sony Ericsson has finally launched the Android-based XPERIA X8 and the GreenHeart Cedar. The XPERIA X8 is launched with Android v1.6 Donut, but will be upgraded with v2.1 Eclair before the end of the year.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 features 3-inch touchscreen display. The device runs on Android mobile OS. It features 3.2 megapixel camera, 1200 mAh battery and WiFi, games, video, internet and more . The device internal memory is 128MB expandable upto 16 GB. The phone additionally features NeoReader barcode scanning app, USB mass storage, Google services, Android Market Client, Gmail, Google Talk, and YouTube. There is no official announcement on prices but the phone is expected to cost around US$256.37.
The other handset launched by the company is the Sony Ericsson Cedar, which is a low budget phone and offers 3G capability. The company has used recycled plastic in Cedar, and has a low power consumption charger, no hard copy of manual, waterborne paint, and small packaging.
The phone features a 2MP camera, VGA video recording, Music player & FM radio. The device has a Bluetooth and also holds 3.5 mm jack for audio. The phone has 2.2 TFT screen with 262K colors and comes with Applications for Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace.
Cedar comes with a micro USB charger, and is available in two colors, black/silver and black/red. Company has not provided any details about the price yet, but is expected to be around US$104.75
Western Union collaborates With SBI to Launch Mobile Money Transfer in India
Western Union has collaborated with State Bank of India (SBI) to provide accountholders with cross-border money transfers via mobile phones. In July, Western Union announced the introduction of the Account-Based Money Transfer (ABMT) service which will be launched in early 2011. This service will facilitate SBI customers with online bank accounts to pull a Western Union Money Transfer directly into their accounts via Internet or ATM.
According to Anil Kapur, Western Union’s Senior VP (South and Southeast Asia), India is the world’s No. 1 remittance recipient country, and according to World Bank figures, has received US$52 billion in 2009. Currently, consumers can send Mobile Money Transfers from nearly 70,000 Western Union Agent locations in 25 countries.
Western Union has 61,000 locations in India, and the mobile transfer partnership will allow it to expand its distribution within India using SBI’s network. Western Union already has a partnership with SBI, with over 12,000 SBI branches offering Western Union Money Transfer service.
SBI has 110 million accountholders, of which more than 4 million are registered for online banking.
Western Union also offers the Mobile Money Transfer service in the Philippines with Smart Communications and Globe Telecom; in Kenya with Safaricom; in Malaysia with Maxis; and in South Africa with Absa Bank.
The company also announced an agreement with EnStream in Canada and has agreements with Tunisian Post and Bank of Commerce & Development (BoCD) in Libya. In addition, Western Union previously announced an alliance with Zain (Airtel) in Africa.
Telefonica planning to rent Femtocells to its customers
Telefonica SA, Spain’s largest telecommunications company by market value and customers has announced that it will offer its customers in Spain Femtocells to boost mobile signals in areas where cellular coverage is uneven.
Femtocell is a small cellular base station, designed for use in a home or small business. It connects to the service provider’s network via broadband. A Femtocell allows service providers to extend service coverage indoors, especially where access is limited or unavailable.
According to Telefonica, it would rent Femtocells for US$11.67 a month to residential and business customers that don’t have strong mobile coverage in their home or office. The Femtocells have a coverage area of about 150 square meters and support 3G data services for Smartphones.
To avail this, Customers needs to have a high speed Internet connection from Telefonica to power the device.
China Telecom H1 Profit rise by 0.8 %; mainly contributed by Internet & mobile business
China Telecom Ltd., the country’s biggest fixed-line carrier has revealed 0.8% increase in first-half profit though the Internet and mobile businesses. While the telecom giant witnessed a growth in internet and mobile services, the demand for traditional service has considerably come down. Profits for the six months ending June 30 were US$1.3 billion, compared to last year. Broadband subscribers climbed 9.1 percent to 58.3 million, while the number of mobile accounts rose 32.9 percent to 74.5 million. The number of subscribers for 3G mobile service jumped 76.4% to 7.2 million.
According to Wang Xiaochu, Company Chairman, China Telecom expects to take advantage of new opportunities as the government promotes the convergence of the Internet, mobile phones and television. The company will focus on fulfilling the customers’ needs and accelerating the promotion of broadband access and mobile services, particularly in the 3G development.
The company announced China Telecom’s number of fixed-line accounts fell 4% to 181 million as of June 30.
Indonesia leads BuzzCity Ad Index
The result of the BuzzCity’s Global Mobile Advertising index has been released for Q1 2010. It reveals that there has been a 38% increase in the number of ads served in the BuzzCity network over the previous quarter. The data has been gathered over the three month period from January to March.
Canada has joined the top five league for the first time while Indonesia, India, the US and S Africa continue to dominate the chart. UK is not very far as well, with over 230 million ads served over the three month period- an increase of 114% on the previous quarter.
According to BuzzCity CEO, KF Lai, during Q1, a total of 32 markets each delivered monthly traffic in excess of 10 million impressions per month. This demonstrates the continued advertiser interest in mobile Internet advertising, and with many of the campaigns now being run through experienced agencies, they are starting to see a more constant and structured investment in the medium.
1020 Placecast launches ShopAlerts
1020 Placecast, location-based marketing firm has unveiled ShopAlerts which according to the firm is a new way to bring customers closer to the brands they love. The company has claimed that the service has already demonstrated promising results in trials with retail marketers across the United States.
According to Greg Sterling, Senior Analyst for Opus Research’s Internet2Go program, SMS is already a very effective marketing platform and by adding location to the proposition the companies will see even greater consumer response.
ShopAlerts is designed to work easily and efficiently within the existing marketing structure and needs of retailers.
Mobile porn laws to protect kids in Australia
AU : THE Federal Government last night vowed to introduce laws protecting children from pornographic images being distributed via mobile phones.
Communications Minister Helen Coonan told The Daily Telegraph the Government would extend censorship and regulatory laws to mobile phones and include penalties.
“I will introduce to Parliament legislation to extend the current safeguards that apply to content delivered over the internet or television to content delivered over convergent devices,” Senator Coonan said.
The changes will include prohibition of content rated X18+ and above, as well as requirements for age-restrictions on access to content suited only to adults.
These prohibitions will be backed by strong sanctions for non-compliance with the new regulatory framework, including criminal penalties for serious offences.
The move comes as child safety groups called on parents to not buy their children phones with internet access.
NetAlert corporate affairs adviser Rod Knockles said last night many parents may not know of the capabilities of latest generation mobiles.
About 40 per cent of mobiles sold are internet enabled, meaning they can download clear images either via email or direct from the internet.
“Parents should think about what age it’s appropriate to give their children mobile phones that are internet enabled,” Mr Knockles said.
These mobiles are expected to grow in use in the years ahead as telecommunications companies push for more revenues through online content.
Among internet-enabled phones, lower end devices have access to their operator’s “walled garden” of content which can include songs, pictures and ringtones.
Recent phones have full HTML browsing – they offer an identical internet experience to your PC, only on a smaller screen. This means the user can visit websites, including adults-only sites.
Third generation networks will make accessing the internet even faster.
Mr Knockles said the images were generally downloaded from home computers, so a family-friendly filter would provide protection.
NSW Parents and Citizens president Dianne Giblin said mobile phone were an essential part of life for children
Source- http://www.news.com.au
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