Telstra receives telecom licences in Japan and Singapore (Australia, Asia)

On 12.16.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Australian telecom operator Telstra has reportedly been given operating licences in Singapore and Japan, enabling the operator to expand its footprint in the Asian continent. As per company reports, Telstra plans to open and operate voice and data networks that will allow the company to build the local backbone required for new cable submarine capacity to Singapore.

Further, the company has reportedly claimed that the license enables them to offer voice and data services as well as systems and facilities locally. As per sources, the operator had previously received three telecom licences in India for providing customers with international telecommunication services.

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Telefonica signs network sharing agreement with China Unicom (Spain, China)

On 11.22.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Spanish telecom operator Telefonica has reportedly entered into a strategic partnership with China Unicom, wherein both operators will use each other’s networks to expand their coverage. According to reports, the deal will provide Telefonica access to China Unicom’s network in the regions of Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia, France and Sweden.

In return, China Unicom can reportedly increase its presence through Telefonica’s network in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, Mexico, USA, Puerto Rico, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria Denmark, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.

Reports suggest that Telefonica believes this agreement will help both operators expand their capabilities to provide telecom services to various customers in different geographic areas.

 

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America Movil’s increases its stake in Telemex to 93 percent (Latin America)

On 11.17.11, In Mobile, By Editor

America Movile, the leading wireless service provider in Latin America, has reportedly said its stake in Telmex has gone up from 60 percent to as much as 93 percent, as a consequence of a shareholder buyout offer. According to reports, the operator will be required to pay around US$ 4.6 billion, to increase its holding, for which the company reportedly sold bonds worth over US$ 5 billion in the UK, Japan, Switzerland and the US since August this year.

As per industry reports, in August, Carlos Slim, Chairman, America Movil had said that they were looking to restructure their telecoms empire by buying out a 40.4 percent stake in Telmex for US$ 0.77 per share in an attempt to reduce administrative costs along with improving its competitiveness in the market.

 

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NTT DoCoMo begins tests for its real time voice translation service (Japan)

On 11.11.11, In Mobile, By Editor

NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s leading wireless operator, has reportedly achieved success in the trial of its new service of a real time voice translator for mobile handsets. According to reports, the service was offered by the operator to 400 testers and is expected to be launched next year.

Currently, the service only offers translations between Japanese and English, with improved results of 90 percent accuracy in Japanese recognition and 80 percent accuracy in spoken English, as compared to the demo conducted earlier in the year.

As per sources, the service sends the voice input to remote servers where it is translated and sent back to the device in both text and voice form. Further, reports suggest that the translation can be used for live phone calls as well as a for a face-to face conversation.

 

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Softbank still ahead of KDDI in terms of user additions (Japan)

On 11.09.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Japanese telecommunications operators, Softbank Corp. and KDDI Corp., have been competing with each other in an attempt to increase their presence in the growing smartphone market. According to reports, Softbank has once again emerged as the winner in terms of user additions by the operators. As per sources, Softbank reported net additions of 247,600 new mobile subscribers in October, while KDDI added 196,900 subscribers during the same period.

According to industry reports, Softbank was the sole carrier of the iPhone and had a monopoly on the market for three years, till Apple appointed KDDI to sell its latest iPhone 4S. KDDI Corp.’s broader network for new subscribers indicating better reception was considered by many analysts to further intensify competition between the two firms.

 

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Huawei in discussions with Microsoft regarding Android software (China, USA)

On 11.09.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Chinese based Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, is reportedly talking to Microsoft for use of its Android software. According to reports, Microsoft has claimed that Google’s Android operating system has violated its intellectual property rights and has already convinced mobile phone makers such as Samsung and HTC among others, to pay patent royalty fees.

As per sources, Victor Xu, CMO, Huawei has said that the discussions with Microsoft are in progress. Further, he also hinted that the firm my open up a new design centre in London and has picked UK as the launch site for the launch of its smartphones and tablet computers. Reports suggest that the firm is looking to expand into other markets such as US, Japan and India in the coming year, followed by other regions in 2013. Mr. Xu reportedly said that they have established very aggressive targets in the market, and are aiming to be among the top five smartphones over the next three years.

 

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eAccess may launch LTE services in 2012 (Japan)

On 11.09.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Japanese telecommunications company, eAccess, may be planning to launch 4G LTE services in the country by next year, as suggested by reports, making it the second operator in the country to do so. Currently, NTT DoCoMo is the only mobile operator to offer LTE services in the country which it launched last year.

Further, in order to promote its LTE services DoCoMO also introduced its new range of ‘NEXT’ smartphones capable of offering mobile data communication at a speed of 75Mbps via its 4G network.

Sources suggest that while the LTE applications currently offered by DoCoMo are limited to data only, the operator has hinted at plans to introduce voice-over LTE services by March next year.

 

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Sony to buy out Ericsson’s stake in Sony Ericsson for US$ 1.46 billion (Japan, Sweden)

On 10.28.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Sony has reportedly announced that it will acquire Ericsson’s stake of 50 percent in mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson for $1.46 billion. Consequently, Sony Ericsson will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony and will be integrated into the company’s platform of network-connected consumer electronics products.

As per sources, Hans Vestberg, CEO, Ericsson said that when the joint venture was formed ten years ago, thereby combining Sony’s consumer products knowledge with Ericsson’s telecommunication technology expertise, it was a perfect match to drive the development of feature phones. However, today they take an equally logical step as Sony acquires their stake in Sony Ericsson and makes it a part of its broad range of consumer devices.

Sony President, Chairman, and CEO, Howard Stringer has reportedly said that this acquisition makes sense for Sony and Ericsson, and it will make the difference for consumers, who want to connect with content wherever they are, whenever they want. Further, Ericsson reportedly plans to focus on the global wireless market as a whole as well as how wireless connectivity can benefit people, business and society beyond just phones. The agreement, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in January 2012.  According to reports, the transaction also includes a patent deal enabling Sony to receive the five sets of patents that are essential to making the phones and a licensing agreement on any other intellectual property.

Reports suggest that shares in Ericsson rose by 5.1 percent to $10.7, while Sony’s share price rose 5.4 percent to $21.7 at the time of closing.

 

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KDDI to replace 2 million Sony made lithium-ion batteries (Japan)

On 10.17.11, In Mobile, By Editor

KDDI Corp., Japan’s second-largest mobile-phone operator, will replace the battery packs made by Sony Corp on two million handsets over concerns of the device overheating.

According to reports, KDDI said in a statement that the replacement involves two handsets of Casio and one by Hitachi. Further, the company added that the first overheating problem was reported in January last year but no decision was made to replace the battery packs at that time because the incident occurred after the battery had been damaged. However after two customer complaints in 2010 followed by six this year, wherein the damaged batteries emitted smoke while being recharged, KDDI announced replacing the batteries free of charge stating that the batteries may heat and melt.

Industry analysts say that while this expense is not of much significance to a large organization like Sony, it does raise concerns regarding the reliability of its products. In 2006, Sony recalled as many as 9.6 million lithium-ion batteries, the largest recall in consumer-electronics industry, over concerns that the batteries could overheat and become fire hazards.

KDDI fell 3.4 percent closing at $6,950.98 in Tokyo, marking a third straight day of declines. Sony dropped 0.5 percent while Casio and Hitachi fell by 2.4 percent and 0.8 percent respectively.

 

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KDDI to sell iphone 5, shares up by 2.1% (Japan)

On 09.26.11, In Mobile Operators, Mobile Phones, By Editor

According to reports, KDDI Corp. has signed an agreement with US based Apple Inc. for the sale of its iPhone 5. The deal is a major concern for Softbank Corp., who had a monopoly on the sale of iPhones in Japan for the past three years.

KDDI is expected to sell the iPhone 5 in November, a little later than its expected release in the US. This comes as great news for Apple iPhone loyalists and android users looking to switch to the iPhone. For KDDI, this contract will help the carrier enhance its customer base, as many users shift operators when they buy an iPhone. However for Softbank on the other hand, losing the monopoly could hamper the company’s earnings, which is largely supported by the iPhone.

Sources claim that the speculation around this deal has caused KDDI’s shares to rise up by 2.1% while Softbank’s shares saw a dip of 7.3% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

 

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