www.WirelessFederation.com/news: After facing the failure in its First attempt, he Agency for Electronic Communication (AEC), Macedonia’s national telecoms regulator, has announced a new tender for two 3G operating licences. The watchdog reportedly invited bids from up to 20 international companies, as not one of them expressed interest in its previous tender. The price for which the licence is being offered is EUR5 million (USD7.1 million) each for a ten-year concession, with the possibility of extending the period. The bid winner would need to begin the operations commercially within six months of the award and ensure 50% coverage within the first year.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) has reportedly increased its stake in new Indian mobile operator S-Tel from 36.9% to 42.7% following a USD38.8 million investment. According to a report, S-Tel won a legal challenge against the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), with the Delhi High Court ordering the regulator to grant the cellco licences to operate in 16 additional circles. In spite of the victory however, S-Tel has indicated it will likely focus its efforts on rolling out in the north east of the country.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Loop Telecom announced its first call in Karnataka and Kerala as it gears up to extend its presence across the country. Loop Telecom is the first amongst new GSM operators to have started operations in these two states. Last month, Loop Telecom had started its operations in Tamil Nadu&Orissa. The services will be available under the brand name Loop Mobile.
Loop Telecom is among the new mobile services companies to be awarded licensees to operate across 21 circles by DoT. The company, as part of its Pan-India rollout has achieved its plans of soft launch in five states that were scheduled for mid June. The sequence of circles launch is in sync with the sequence of the spectrum allocation. (more…)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies, Azerbaijan, plans to issue 3G licences in 2009, ICT minister Ali Abbasov reportedly revealed. The three operators Azercell, Bakcell and Nar Mobile have already applied for the licence and minister hopes that the awarded operators will launch the services by 2009-end.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Nigeria has reportedly cancelled three licenses to operate in the 2.3 gigahertz frequency range. According to a report, the three firms that have the licences will be refunded the 4.10 billion naira ($27.5 million) that has already been paid, and a new licensing round will be held. The licences were cancelled due to a lack of transparency in the award process. Communications Minister, Dora Akunyili has cancelled licenses.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Telecel Globe, a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E., announced today that it has acquired the mobile telecommunications operator Cell One in Namibia.
Namibia is amongst the wealthiest countries in sub-Saharan Africa with a GDP/capita of US$ 5,200 (at PPP). It has a population of approximately 2.1 million and a mobile penetration of close to 50% at the end of 2008. Cell One operates a GSM 900/1800 network and has 198,000 active subscribers and over 20% market share.
The total consideration is approximately US$59 million in cash, of which US$32 million already paid and the balance due in January 2010. The debt assumed as part of this transaction is non-recourse on Telecel Globe. (more…)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The Japanese mobile operators, have reportedly, taken a step further to build their 4G networks, with infrastructural investment of $10 billion. NTT will alone use up half of the anticipated investment, to enable data delivery at near fiber speeds, with service launch expected in fiscal 2010 with the others set to follow by 2012.
NTT, DoCoMo, KDDI, Softbank Mobile, Emobile will apply for the 4G licences by May7.
For more details on NTT DoCoMo’s LTE plan click here.
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Unitech Wireless, the newest telecom services player in India, today announced that it had awarded a multi-hundred-million long term outsourcing contract to Wipro for creating the next generation telecom company. Unitech Wireless, with licences to operate in all 22 circles across India, is launching state-of-the-art telecommunication services to provide advanced wireless voice, data and ILD/, NLD services. Unitech Wireless proposes to succeed in this highly attractive and fast growing telecom market, with a strong differentiator in customer experience and service delivery.
To achieve its ambitious goals, Unitech Wireless has structured its organization and operational architecture around innovation, scalability and flexibility. Its partnership with Wipro will enable this uniqueness and provide non-linear, scaleable growth, while delivering the highest levels of customer service to their subscribers. (more…)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Idea Cellular, mobile operator based in India, is reportedly intending to move forward with the demerger of its licences for the Punjab and Karnataka circles.
Regardless of any official decision on this issue, Idea was informed it may have to get rid of the licences following its acquisition of Spice Communications. As per the present legislation, companies cannot own more than one licence for any circle. Moreover, it is believed that the operator will include Spice’s four recently acquired licences for Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Maharashtra in any demerger attempts, with the company anticipating to raise up to INR8.5 billion (USD168.9 million) from the sale.
