Etisalat today announced the introduction of ‘My BusinessPlan’ the most comprehensive, convenient and affordable postpaid business mobility package for enterprise and SMB customers. Available for existing postpaid and prepaid customers, as well as new postpaid customers, the package promises to deliver an unmatched mobility experience, through enhanced convenience and increased savings.

The new ‘My BusinessPlan’ postpaid mobile service offers flexible package options for local and international calls, text messages and mobile data, in addition to an attractive advantage of getting a latest smartphone free or discounted. Under the new My BusinessPlan service, companies opting for the ‘Basic Package’ can receive back either 100 minutes of local calls or 15 minutes of international calls.

In addition, My BusinessPlan offers three distinct bundles that are tailored to suit varying requirements of businesses. Enterprise customers can subscribe to packages for calls, text messages and mobile Internet at a discounted price, depending on their usage patterns and requirements. Calls and text messages outside of the subscribed packages will be charged at the regular rates.

The ‘Plus Package’ offers customers 200 minutes of local phone calls along with 25 minutes of international calls, 50 local text messages, as well as 20MB of data. The “Extra Package” offers customers 350 minutes of local calls, 50 minutes of international calls, 75 local text messages and 100 MB of data access.

The “Ultra Package” offers 550 minutes of local calls, 100 minutes of international calls, 100 local text messages and 400 MB data access.

Optionally, customers subscribing to Plus, Extra or Ultra packages can buy an additional 1GB of data per month.

“These new mobility packages offer the best value proposition in terms of business mobility services in the UAE today,” said Abdulla Hashim, Senior VP, Business Solutions, Etisalat. “They will greatly reduce the total cost of ownership and increase business productivity by providing enterprises and SMBs with the requisite mobility tools of their choice for both voice and secure internet connectivity.”

“Given that most businesses and their workforce are on the move, mobility solutions are critical in enhancing productivity and helping them maintain their competitive edge. In such an environment, Etisalat with its deep insights into current customer requirements has come up with a single window solution with My BusinessPlan,” Hashim added.

­As per new report conducted by Pyramid Research, the arrival of more vigorous mobile data services will trigger the development of m-agriculture applications that will help make agricultural economies in the Africa/Middle East region more efficient and more profitable.

According to research, by 2015, 27% of revenue for mobile network operators in the AME will come from data services; consequently, Pyramid Research believes that the increasing mobile phone subscriptions and the large agricultural workforce in Africa and the Middle East make m-agriculture applications an area worth developing for MNOs.

The use of mobile applications in agriculture provides mobile phone users in the AME with several socioeconomic benefits that vary from better crop management to increased income. Although it is still too early to document the direct impact it will have for mobile network operators, the experience with other applications in the region leads us to believe that m-agriculture will contribute to lower churn rates, increased network traffic, and increased loyalty.

Productivity and efficiency in the agricultural sector are often crucial to a country’s stability for economies in the developing world that still rely heavily on agricultural production.

According to Ronda Zelezny-Green, Associate Research Analyst at Pyramid, the volatility of global food prices is a continuing concern, and when pricing transparency and information on the supply of crops are unavailable or inaccurate, food security can become threatened by panic buying and hoarding. Due to poor infrastructure in some of these countries, it is difficult to receive accurate information about crop pricing and other market conditions. As a result, large agricultural populations often rely on middlemen to obtain this information.

Additionally, a lack of understanding about outside factors, such as insects, droughts, and disease that can afflict crops, leaves agricultural populations prone to crop loss, Zelezny-Green added. These stark realities highlight the potential of m-agriculture applications to deliver on-demand agricultural information to the most vulnerable, thus creating a virtuous cycle of increased prosperity for farmers and operators alike.

Nokia Money due to launch soon

Nokia is attempting to create a multi-bank, multi-operator and multi-device collaboration on mobile banking.
Nokia’s mobile banking and payment service is expected to be commercially available in its first market in Q1 2010, though no location details have been revealed yet.
According to Teppo Paavola, vice president, GM mobile financial services, Nokia cannot reveal any details until a banking partner is confirmed. It is learnt that the service requires a banking license before it can be launched.
Nokia said its target is to have 300 million active users of its services by the end of 2011; the number is expected to be 80 million by the end of 2009.
Paavola said the service will enable un-banked people in emerging markets to transfer money, top up prepaid mobile services, pay bills, carry out online transactions, and pay merchants.
Global mobile payments market is expected to be worth €18 billion by 2014 – €12 billion from emerging markets and €6 billion from developed markets.
Approaches to mobile banking so far have lacked scale and have not worked across operators and across banks.
Nokia therefore plans to drive the collaboration on an open financial ecosystem, with Nokia Money at its core. Paavola added that it has taken a long time to get all the players together, from banks through to mobile operators.
The Nokia Money application will not only be pre-loaded but could be sideloaded, or downloaded later.
Nokia will also be able to provide the physical distribution channel that is critical for the service to work. For example, Nokia handset sellers can be turned into Nokia Money agents, providing the devices, the application, and the ability to handle cash.

Nokia is attempting to create a multi-bank, multi-operator and multi-device collaboration on mobile banking, a service dubbed Nokia Money.

Nokia’s mobile banking and payment service is expected to be commercially available in its first market in Q1 2010, though no location details have been revealed yet.

According to Teppo Paavola, vice president, GM mobile financial services, Nokia cannot reveal any details until a banking partner is confirmed. It is learnt that the service requires a banking license before it can be launched.

Nokia said its target is to have 300 million active users of its services by the end of 2011.

Paavola said the service will enable un-banked people in emerging markets to transfer money, top up prepaid mobile services, pay bills, carry out online transactions, and pay merchants.

Global mobile payments market is expected to be worth €18 billion by 2014 – €12 billion from emerging markets and €6 billion from developed markets.

Approaches to mobile banking so far have lacked scale and have not worked across operators and across banks.  Nokia therefore plans to drive the collaboration on an open financial ecosystem, with Nokia Money at its core.

The Nokia Money application will not only be pre-loaded but could be sideloaded, or downloaded later.

Nokia will also be able to provide the physical distribution channel that is critical for the service to work. For example, Nokia handset sellers can be turned into Nokia Money agents, providing the devices, the application, and the ability to handle cash.

Oberthur Technologies the world’s second largest provider of Smart Card based solutions today announced the commercialization of its OMHTM (Open Market Handsets) SIM cards for CDMA (Code Development Multiple Access) networks. OMH SIM cards contain subscriber, network and service configuration data that allow subscribers the freedom to easily change and upgrade their handset, but maintain their network configuration.

Oberthur Technologies collaborated with Tata Teleservices Limited, one of India’s fastest growing private telecom service providers, and Qualcomm Incorporated, a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies, to introduce OMHTM SIM cards into the India market.

Olivier Leroux, Head of the Mobile Product Line for the Card Systems Division at Oberthur Technologies said, “Oberthur Technologies is the first to commercially launch OMHTM SIM cards. We are pleased to partner with industry leaders such as Tata Teleservices and Qualcomm who are enhancing the subscriber experience for Indian consumers.”

The OMHTM SIM card, referred to as a removable user identity module (R-UIM), is a state of the art smartcard that stores operator and subscriber specific configuration parameters, separate from the handset memory. By having this configuration parameters located on the OMHTM SIM card rather than the device, subscribers can more easily switch or upgrade their handsets. These cards allow CDMA network operators to increase the selection of devices and services while lowering distribution and inventory costs.

“These are exciting times in the Indian telecom space where innovation, research and development are the key to success and remain competitive in the business. In our constant effort to redefine the telecom space keeping customers at the central point, Tata Teleservices decided to partner with Qualcomm and Oberthur Technologies to further develop the Open Market Handset initiative and offer more choice to customers”, said Lloyd Mathias, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata Teleservices Limited.

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“Qualcomm is pleased to work with Oberthur Technologies for its leadership as one of the first companies to develop OMH SIM cards,” said Nakul Duggal, Senior Director and OMH Project Lead, Qualcomm Corporate Engineering Services. “The OMH initiative is focused on increasing device variety by offering new channels and distribution options within the CDMA ecosystem to provide greater subscriber flexibility.”

About Oberthur Technologies

With sales of 882 million Euros in 2008, Oberthur Technologies is a world leader in the field of secure technologies. Innovation and high quality services ensure Oberthur Technologies’ strong positioning in its main target markets:

– Card Systems: The world’s second largest provider of security and identification based on smart card technology and associated services for mobile, payment, transport, digital TV and convergence markets. – Identity: Leading international supplier for the manufacture and personalization of secure identity documents such as passport, identity card, driving license or health care card – traditional and electronic – and associated services for both governmental and corporate markets. – Security printing: World’s third largest private security printer specialized in high security for the production of banknotes, checks and other fiduciary documents in more than fifty countries. – Cash protection: World leader in the emerging market of intelligent systems to secure cash-in-transit and ATM.

Close to its customers, Oberthur Technologies benefits from an industrial and commercial presence across all five continents.

Oberthur Technologies S.A. is a limited liability company (societe anonyme) registered in France with its registered office at 50 quai Michelet 92 532 Levallois Perret, France. Oberthur Technologies S.A.’s corporate registration number is 340 709 534 R.C.S. Paris.

Website: http://www.oberthur.com

About Tata Teleservices Limited

Tata Teleservices Limited is one of India’s leading private telecom service providers, having a pan-India presence across all of India’s 22 telecom Circles. The company offers integrated telecom solutions to its customers under the Tata Indicom, Tata DOCOMO, Photon and Walky brands, and uses both the CDMA and GSM technology platform(s) for its wireless networks. Tata Teleservices Limited, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited, operates in more than 325,000 towns and villages across the country. In November 2008, Tata Teleservices entered into an agreement with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO, and this transaction marks a key step in the strategic evolution of Tata Teleservices Limited. Tata DOCOMO has so far launched GSM services in eight telecom Circles, and the remaining part of the country is also expected to be covered shortly. In December 2008, Tata Teleservices announced a unique reverse equity swap strategic agreement between its fully-owned telecom tower subsidiary-Wireless TT Info-Services Limited-and Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Limited, thereby becoming the largest independent entity in this space. Tata Teleservices’ bouquet of telephony services includes mobile services, wireless desktop phones, public booth telephony and Wireline services.

For details, visit http://www.tatateleservices.com, http://www.tatadocomo.com or http://www.tataindicom.com.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm is a registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Hutchison 3G Austria is modernizing its radio access network to be ready for HSPA+ and the next generation of mobile broadband, or LTE. At the same time this step will allow the operator to halve the energy consumption of its base stations. Nokia Siemens Networks will undertake this upgrade starting in autumn 2009.

The demand for increased mobile broadband capacity and throughput in Austria is reflected in the increasing usage of data cards and mobile services like Mobile TV, video download or video sharing,” said Berthold Thoma, CEO of Hutchison 3G Austria. Mobile broadband is also one of the most pragmatic solutions to bridging the digital gap between cities and rural areas. For rural areas, mobile broadband coverage is simply less expensive and faster to deploy than fiber to the home” solutions. We hope that with our nationwide coverage we will contribute significantly to this end.” (more…)

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: British Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Lycamobile announced that it has reached its target of 1.2 million subscribers within the first year of operation. The operator, targeting the ethnic markets in UK, said that its sign-ups have been driven by customers looking for ‘no-commitment’ mobile service and low cost international calls. Lycamobile stated that over 80% of the calls made by people using its service are to international destinations.

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MVNO deal signed by Tele2 in Germany

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement has been signed between Tele2 Telecommunications Services GmbH and VIAG Interkom in Germany as per which Tele2 will use Interkom’s wireless network to provide the air interface for Tele2′s fixed line customers.

With over 1 million residential and business fixed telephony customers, Tele2 is one of Germany’s largest Indirect Access Operators.

According to Lars-Johan Jarnheimer, President and CEO of Tele2 AB, Germany is the largest telecoms market in Europe and this MVNO will enable Tele2 to offer an attractively priced offering of both fixed and mobile services on one bill to its customers.

The MVNO is expected to be operational in Q2 2002.