Iran officially receives third mobile operator ‘Ritel’ (Iran)
Iran has reportedly received a third mobile phone operator by the name of Ritel to offer users in the country with mobile services. Prior to this, Iran played host to two mobile phone operators, Mobile Communication Company of Iran (MCI) and South African-owned MTN Irancell.
According to reports, the government had awarded a third licence to Tamin Telecom in October 2009, however the operator is not yet operational, but has however revealed plans to cover 60 percent of the population with its 2G network and 40 percent with its 3G network by 2014.
Sources claim that there have been speculations regarding whether the licence awarded to Ritel is a new licence or the one issued to Tamin Telecom. Details regarding Ritel’s coverage area or the ownership structure are yet to be disclosed.
Mobily launches ‘Mobily maktabi’ plan for SME segment (Saudi Arabia)
Saudi Arabia’s telecom operator Mobily, has launched a new Mobily Maktabi package aimed at the Small and Medium (SME) Business segment. According to reports, the plan includes special features such as high-speed Internet, laptop or desktop and the ‘mobily Maktabi’ phone with a business SIM card for voice calls, in addition to company’s E-mail and mobile handsets.
As per sources, Mobily has said that subscribers would be able to select services based on the number of employees in their organization, along with an option to settle the cost of services and items of the package over a certain period of time without any advance payment.
According to company reports, Mobily is the only mobile phone operator in Saudi Arabia to offer such an innovative package containing all the required products and services, along with ensuring the technical support and services around the clock.
Clearwire accused of misleading customers (US)
Clearwire, US WiMax operator is accused of knowingly signing up customers who weren’t in the company’s coverage area to artificially boost growth.
According to reports, a motion filed by a law firm stated that Clearwire’s management changed the settings in the company’s software to allow its salesmen to sign up customers who lived too far away from a tower to get an adequate signal.
The firm also claimed that the resulting service cancellations would increase the company’s revenue through the collection of early termination fees, part of a plan named Project Star Trek.
Kcell to expand 3G network (Kazakhstan)
Kazakhstani mobile operator, Kcell, is planning to expand its 3G network to new regions.
The company launched 3G services in the cities of Astana and Almaty at the end of last year.
The company will now expand the network to Shymkent, Aktau, Karaganda, Pavlodar, Taldykorgan, Kostanay, Kokshetau, Semey, Ekibastuz, Ust-Kamenogosrk, Talgar, Kaskelen, and Kapshagay.
Bouygues Telecom won’t transfer VAT Tax hike to customers (France)
French fixed, broadband and mobile operator Bouygues Telecom has claimed that it is absorbing the cost of a government-imposed tax hike which took effect on 1 January and will not pass on the rise to its customers. However it has also claimed that its DSL broadband users are set to see a small rise in their monthly connection fee.
According to reports, France has increased value added tax (VAT) to 19.6% from 5.5% on combined internet, TV and telephony packages, scrapping a reduced rate applied to the TV portion of triple-play bundles.
As per earlier reports by Bouygues’ rivals SFR and Numericable, tariff increases to partially compensate for a VAT rise on triple-play services. SFR will raise retail broadband prices by US$2.66 for most monthly packages and by US$1.33 for its entry-level option and many of its mobile tariffs on 1 February 2011, whilst cableco Numericable’s prices will rise by 3% on average as of August 2011.
France Telecom has stated that it will increase monthly tariffs by between US$1.33 and US$4 as of February 2011, although a company spokesperson has stated that the tax increase will still cost it around US$93.35 million a year.
Earlier this month Bouygues indicated it would pass on at least some of the tax hike to customers, but in its latest release says mobile phone customers and people with a fibre-optic connection will see their monthly fees unchanged, while customers with an ADSL connection will see a US$2.50 monthly increase on their bill.
Econet appeals government for $38 million recovery (Zimbabwe)
Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, the country’s largest mobile operator, has appealed to the government to help it recover US$38 million in call termination fees which it claims is owed by state-run fixed line incumbent TelOne.
The cellco claims that TelOne has not paid it any fees for terminating fixed-to-mobile calls on Econet’s network since January 2009, when the sector began a changeover from local currency to US dollars.
Econet chairman Tawanda Nyambirai on Wednesday appealed to Vice-President Joice Mujuru during a government-business conference held in Harare, for assistance in recovering the accumulated monthly arrears.
Sitronics Signs Agreement with Mobile Operator Warid Telecom Uganda
Sitronics, a provider of solutions in the field of telecommunications, information technology and microelectronics in Russia and CIS countries, with a presence in other EEMEA emerging markets, announced that it has signed a new contract with Ugandan mobile operator Warid Telecom Uganda.
As part of the new agreement Sitronics provided additional FORIS licenses to support growth of Warid Telecom Uganda. Upgrade is 1.1 million licenses by which customer will reach total of 2.4 million licenses.
“We are pleased to announce this new deal with Warid Telecom Uganda,” said Sitronics Telecom Solutions CEO Mikhail Bondarenko. “This agreement highlights the beneficial relationship and trust between the two companies, and further developing our cooperation will enable Warid to increase the number of their satisfied customers and to extend their market presence in Uganda.”
Sitronics products, services and solutions currently enable the operations for over 100 million end users in such telecommunications operators as the MTS Group, Comstar UTS, Vodafone and Telecom Serbia, in a number of countries around the world, including the Czech Republic, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, India, Pakistan, Serbia and Uzbekistan.
More than 60% Users dissatisfied with their Mobile Operator (India)
As per the survey conducted by Techtree, a mass of the mobile users wish to switch their service provider once number portability is implemented.
With a lot many delays in the implementation of number portability for cell phone users in India, at this stage the DoT has given a date of November 25 for its commencement in the state of Haryana.
The website conducted the survey and found a surprising 63% of the people were willing to change their service provider whenever MNP is in process. The only reason they wait for MNP is so that they don’t have to change their number.
On a positive note but sadly only 34% of the people said that they’re happy with their mobile operator and would not want to switch to another.
A minor 3% ultra-frustrated people said that they’re tired of waiting for MNP and would rather give up their existing number and switch to another operator anyway.
This survey shows that a lot many people are seriously fed up of their mobile phone operators. The survey can be an eye opener for the government, as how desperately people are waiting for the implementation of the MNP and on the other hand this is an alarm for the mobile operators. As soon after the implementation of MNP this is show how many people are fed-up of their operator’s services.
AT&T to open R&D centers with Alca-Lu and Ericsson
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: AT&T Innovation Centers has been planned to be launched by the mobile operator for the development of next-generation devices, applications and equipment with an aim to expand the capabilities of mobile and wired broadband. Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson has also announced to participate in the AT&T Innovation Centers.
The R&D facilities is planned to be opened in at least three locations later this year, namely two locations in the US and one international facility, enabling AT&T scientists and engineers to work directly with device makers, application developers and network equipment providers.
This will accelerate development of an ecosystem of mobile and wired broadband services and capabilities for consumers and business users. Each of the AT&T Innovation Centers will include dedicated facilities and staff focused on application and service development, prototyping, equipment testing and demonstration of emerging capabilities.
Vinaphone to start 3G roaming service by 2010
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Vietnam leading mobile operator, Vinaphone will start international roaming service by 2010. The decision came after the company joined Conexus, an alliance of international mobile phone providers. Through
this agreement, subscribers to one of the alliance’s members and VinaPhone’s users will be permitted to use the services provided by all the other members of the alliance.
A flat rate of 0.2 USD per SMS on roaming will be charged from the customers of Conexus’ 11 members. Other support services such as handset lending, SIM card replacements overseas, making free calls to 18001091 when in Vietnam will also be provided to the subscribers.
11 members of the Conexus Mobile Alliance networks is there in growing economies such as the Republic of Korea , Japan , Hong Kong , Taiwan , Macau , India , the Philippines , Indonesia , Singapore and Thailand and boasts a combined customer base of more than 240 million mobile subscribers across the region.
