www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Despite the fact that charges are unlikely to be regulated, bringing down the mobile termination rates has still being described a costly affair by Vodafone. Telecom and Vodafone’s undertaking that they will lower their rates has been accepted by the Commerce Commission and the recommendation will now go to Communications Minister Steven Joyce for consideration.

According to Ernie Newman, Chief executive, Telecommunications Users Association, text messages sell for about half a cent each, but Vodafone and Telecom charge competitors several times that to receive one which entrenches the dominance of the two large networks.

Regulatory and commercial manager Bill McCabe feels that New Zealand continues to have some of the highest mobile prices in the world and the large companies have only offered to lower prices because they were threatened with regulation.

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The proposed mobile termination rate (MTR) cuts have been rejected by South African regulator the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) which instead will impose its own regulations on the country’s telcos.

On November 13, 2009, an agreement was reached between Cell C, Vodacom and MTN to reduce MTRs from an average of ZAR1.25 (USD0.16) per minute during peak times, to peak ZAR0.89 and off-peak ZAR0.77.

According to ICASA, it aims to introduce its own proposals for MTRs in March 2010.

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A consultation on a draft determination has been published by UK’s telecoms regulator Ofcom to resolve disputes between the country’s smallest mobile network operator Hutchison 3G UK (H3G) and each of its four major rivals – O2 UK, Vodafone UK, Orange UK and T-Mobile UK.

The mobile termination rates (MTRs) for calls to ported numbers is the reason behind the disputes between H3G and the other telcos. H3G applied to the regulator in March 2008, to examine the four spate cases to be resolved.

It has already been concluded by Ofcom that a switch to alternative charging arrangements could be appropriate. However, it has also noted that the other operators acted reasonably in rejecting previous proposals from H3G regarding changes to the existing arrangements. The calculation will close on February 12.

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www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Commerce Commission received proposals from Vodafone New Zealand and Telecom NZ on lower mobile termination rates. Since late 2008, the commission has been looking at whether to regulate the tariffs and the entry of a third operator on the market, 2degrees.

Telecom’s proposal will experience a drop of 12 cents of minutes in rate until the end of 2010 and the per-second billing introduced form 1 April 2010. By 2012, the rate will come down to 10 cents in 2011, 9 cents in 2010, 8 cents in 2013 and 6 cents in 2014.

Vodafone will try the same price cuts but from October 2010 as under the current proposal, Vodafone risks of losing around NZD 50 million in revenues. The Commerce Commission will make the recommendations to the ICT ministry in February.

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The unlocked edition of Palm Treo Pro will now be available for $400, down from $550 a week earlier. This edition of the handset can be used with any GSM operator without a contract—in the USA whereas a CDMA version is available from Sprint for $200 with a two year agreement.
The Treo Pro runs Windows mobile 6.1 Professional. Enhancements to Windows Mobile include a feature that allows the user to perform a Web search directly from the Today screen.

Movistar Mexico launches Palm Treo Pro

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Movistar Mexico, introduced the Treo Pro smartphone by Palm. The 3G Treo Pro operates on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and is compatible with the Microsoft System Centre Mobile Device Manager 2008 and Microsoft Direct Push Technology.
The Palm smartphone features e-mail, Wi-Fi, GPS, web and CDMA EV-DO Rev A network capabilities. Treo Pro is adorned with a high-resolution colour LCD touch screen, a full QWERTY keyboard and a voicemail indicator which flashes to let users know that a voicemail message is waiting.

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Telus and Palm together launch Palm Treo Pro in Canada. Treo Pro offers TELUS subscribers simplicity and productivity with features like Telus mobile email, TELUS Navigator, Wi-Fi, web and 3G network capabilities(1) – to meet the needs of businesses and consumers alike.
Treo Pro enables users to open ZIP files, edit Microsoft Word and Excel documents and view PowerPoint presentations and PDFs.

The Treo Pro smartphone also features:

  • One-touch Wi-Fi button — Easy, fast Wi-Fi connection experience (802.11b/g)
  • Ringer switch — Silences the device immediately
  • Screen saver — Lets users know at a glance — without turning on the device
  • New voicemail indicator — The center button flashes to let users know that a voicemail is waiting
  • Dedicated email and calendar buttons — Fast one-button access

Palm launches a second Windows Mobile Professional device, the Palm Treo Pro, just about a month and a half after the launch of Treo 800w. The Treo Pro is launching in the U.S. only in an unlocked configuration with a retail price of US$549, so low cost is not a feature of the Treo Pro (in comparison, the Treo 800w is US$249 with a contract).

Specifications:

  • Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
  • Quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA/UMTS support, WiFi and GPS
  • 128MB RAM and 256MB flash ROM
  • Qualcomm MSM7201 400MHz processor
  • 1.74 inch square 320×320 high resolution display
  • Integrated 802.11 b/g WiFi radio
  • Integrated Bluetooth 2.0 radio with A2DP
  • Infrared port
  • Integrated A-GPS receiver
  • 1500 mAh Lithium ion battery with reported 5 hours of talk time
  • MicroSD card slot with microSDHC support
  • 2 megapixel camera
  • Micro USB port for syncing/charging/wired headset
  • Standard 3.5mm headset jack
  • Weight of 4.69 ounces
  • Size of 4.49 x 2.36 x 0.53 inches
  • Flush display
  • Centro-like keyboard