SingTel Chairman Mr Chumpol NaLamlieng to Resign (Singapore)
Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) has announced that Mr Chumpol
NaLamlieng will resign as Chairman and Director of the company, and will be
succeeded by Mr Simon Israel at the end of July.
Mr NaLamlieng was appointed a non-executive and independent Director in 2002 and has been Chairman of the Board since 2003. He was President
of Siam Cement for 13 years before stepping down in 2005 and his career there spanned more than 30 years.
According to Mr Kai Nargolwala, Lead Independent Director, the Group has indeed been fortunate to have benefited from Khun Chumpol’s vast experience and understanding of the business environment in Asia. His acumen and insights have been instrumental in guiding the SingTel Group through its journey of transformation and helping to reinforce its position as Asia’s leading communications group, particularly through periods of severe economic downturn as in the recent past.
Mr Israel, a non-executive and non-independent Director of SingTel since 2003, has been appointed by the Board to take over as Chairman. He will retire as Executive Director, President and Board Member of Temasek Holdings, effective 1 July 2011. Other changes to the Board In addition, Mr Graham John Bradley AM and Mr Nicky Tan will be stepping down as non-executive and independent Directors after the AGM. Mr Bradley has been a
Director since 2004 and Mr Tan, since 2002.
Broadcom to acquire Square (US)
Broadcom has inked a definitive agreement to acquire Israel-based security software developer Square.
Broadcom is expected to pay around US$41.9 million, net of cash assumed, to acquire all of outstanding stock and other equity rights of Square.
The boards of directors of the two companies have approved the acquisition. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to complete in the second quarter.
DigiMo introduces m-payment platform (Israel)
DigiMo has launched its mobile payment platform. The service requires no hardware or software modification at either the POS or mobile device itself, whether cell phone, tablet computer, or smartphone.
It is ready for immediate deployment worldwide. Consumers who register for the service online, and supply their preferred billing method and phone number, will receive a PIN, after which they can pay at any participating retailer.
The service targets online companies, credit card companies and mobile operators who plan to launch a wide-scale mobile payment service at multiple retailers without requiring POS integration at each one.
DigiMo’s platform integrates customer loyalty programs, coupons and interactive discounts. Telecoms operators, credit card companies, and financial institutions can white label DigiMo as a value-added service.
Israeli court orders new auction of Modu patents
An Israeli court has ordered Modu receiver Adv. Hanit Nov to hold a new auction for the company’s patents.
According to reports, the court accepted the request by Google for a new auction. Kingston Technology won the original auction with a bid of US$5 million, while Google submitted a late bid of US$7 million.
Judge Eitan Orenstin dismissed Kingston’s objections against the new auction and ordered Nov to announce the new auction in both the Israeli and foreign media. He said that if he had been asked to approve the sale of modu’s patents to Kingston on the basis of the previous auction, he would not have do so because the auction was inadequate.
Kensington submitted the only bid in that auction. Orenstin ruled that there was no evidence that Google knew about the previous auction. He gave Nov 21 days to hold the new auction, which will be open to new bidders. Current bidders for modu’s patents are Kingston, Google, Silver River of the US, and Wi-Lan of Canada.
Alvarion Loss expands on restructuring charges (Israel)
Alvarion has stated that its first-quarter revenues dropped by 10.4% to US$46.5 million, and the net loss widened to US$14.5 million from US$4.9 million.
The net loss included restructuring and other charges of approximately US$7.1 million related mainly to employee termination expenses and vacating office space. As of March 31, 2011, cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $69.2 million.
According to Eran Gorev, President and CEO of Alvarion, during Q1 they completed a difficult but successful restructuring which lays the foundation for sustained profitability. Their backlog of orders and pipeline of business opportunities indicate that they are on track to achieve their goal of profitability from Q2 onward. They also have a significant amount of business to ship before the end of the second quarter and remain vulnerable to potential delays, as they are in any quarter. They are pleased with their progress and generally confident about achieving their strategic goals.
Orange and Partner to review royalties licence agreement (Israel)
France Telecom and its Orange licensee in Israel, Partner Communications, have altered their royalties agreement to reflect more accurately France Telecom-Orange’s provision of marketing assistance and support with devices.
The licence agreement, entered into on 14 September 1998, with the Orange Brand Services unit, provided for a royalty review period from 1 July 2012 to 30 September 2012 to be applied for five years starting 1 July 2013. The amendment means that Partner will pay royalty fees to Orange before 1 July 2013.
Royalties payable will be based on a percentage of Partner’s revenues from the provision of services offered under the Orange brand. The Amendment provides for agreed royalties for a period of 15 years, commencing on 4 July 2011, subject to the establishment of a mutually acceptable procurement arrangement.
If a mutually acceptable procurement deal is not reached, the amendment will terminate and the original agreement will remain in effect, with the two operators to negotiate the terms of the royalties during the originally agreed period. The Amendment also provides that Partner may terminate the Amendment by not less than 3-months notice at any time before the second anniversary of the Amendment.
Israel offers first Yiddish mobile phone
An Israeli telecoms company is reportedly offering ultra-Orthodox Jewish clients a kosher smartphone with Hassidic folk music ringtones and a menu in Yiddish.
While other firms have tapped into the religious market by offering phones free of internet access, with no email or access to Facebook which could lead users into temptation, none has so far offered its services in Yiddish. The phone has no text messages, internet access, Facebook, email or camera.
According to reports, all the menus are in Yiddish, the traditional German-derived language still widely used by ultra-Orthodox Jews, with the local market estimated at between 350,000 to 400,000 people.
Local importer Accel Telecom stated that it took four months for a pair of ultra-Orthodox translators to come up with the interface which is written in Hebrew characters and uses words such as “Klingen” (ringtone) and “Schirm Verteidikung” (screensaver). To win rabbinical approval for the device, which is based on an Alcatel T-701 handset, Accel had to first prove that tech-savvy users would not be able to work their magic to circumvent the safeguards and succumb to sin.
Apple offers iPad 2 in Japan
Apple is now offering the iPad 2 tablet PC in Japan. iPad 2 features a 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen, dual-core A5 processor, two cameras, a front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime and Photo Booth, and a rear-facing camera that captures HD video, bringing the FaceTime feature to iPad users. iPad 2 delivers up to ten hours of battery life.
iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will be available in Hong Kong, India, Israel, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey and UAE on 29 April. The suggested retail price for the device is US$499 for the 16GB model, US$599 for the 32GB model and US$699 for the 64GB model.
iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G will be available for a suggested retail price of US$629 for the 16GB model, US$729 for the 32GB model and US$829 for the 64GB model.
iMovie and GarageBand for iPad applications are available for USD 4.99 each from the App Store on iPad or itunes.com. The Smart Cover is available in a range of colours in polyurethane for US$39 or rich leather for US$69. iPad 2 will be available at Apple retail stores, select Apple authorized resellers, and online through the Apple Store. In addition, iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will be available in China beginning 6 May.
Israel approves one way roaming rules for new carriers
Israel’s Communications Ministry has approved one-way roaming to help lower entry barriers for the new mobile carriers.
The ministry published its decision on nationwide roaming, which regularizes the obligation of current mobile carriers to allow the two newly approved carriers to use their networks. The ministry reportedly decided that the roaming will be one-way.
Current carrier Mirs Communications, which is also one of the winners in the tender, wanted a “ping pong” model, which would allow its roaming subscribers to switch to a host network and switch back when returning to an area covered by it.
Mirs, 018 Xfone win mobile licence tender (Israel)
Mirs Communications and 018 Xfone Telecom, have won the Ministry of Communications tender for two mobile operator licences and 3G spectrum.
Mirs will reportedly pay US$206.27 million and 018 Xfone US$204.82 million, after beating Golan Telecom and Select Communications in the bidding.
Golan Telecom is controlled by Xavier Niel, the founder of French operator Free, and Michael Boukozba, former CEO of Free. Mirs was the only existing operator allowed to bid. The new licences are expected to boost competition in the mobile sector.
