www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Reflecting its belief as a national Iraqi company in the importance of providing promotional offers that correspond to the needs of all segments of Iraqi society in different seasons and occasions, Asiacell – the largest private Iraqi company and the first and only mobile telecommunications company to provide coverage for all of Iraq – announced its offer for the holy month of Ramadan that includes a new off-peak offer in addition to a welcome gift for new subscribers.

According to the offer, all Asiacell subscribers, both monthly subscribers and pre-paid customers, will benefit from special Ramadan free off-peak calls starting from 2:30am until 4:30am during the Suhoor time that Asiacell has included to its off-peak periods. Asiacell subscribers will also be able to benefit from the low off-peak rates that were part of the summer offer that will remain active until the end of the holy month.
Furthermore, upon purchasing the special SIM cards related to this offer at the price of USD 5, new Asiacell subscribers will receive USD 10 in free credit upon recharging their account for two consecutive times, as a welcoming gift for all new subscribers during the holy month. (more…)

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Nawras is celebrating the third anniversary of the successful introduction of mobile number portability (MNP) in the Sultanate.

This service has enabled thousands of new customers to move to Nawras from the other operator while keeping their existing number.

To date the fastest growing family in Oman has welcomed almost nine out of ten porting customers who have chosen to change operator and join the Nawras family so they can enjoy great value, pleasingly different service and excellent quality.

Nawras makes it easy for customers to move as many tens of thousands have already discovered. MNP expanded customer choice and put the Sultanate ahead of almost all other countries in the region.
The service is an important element in a free mobile telecommunications market focused on fair competition.
(more…)

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MTN launches MTN Mobile Money (Ghana)

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: MTN has launched a mobile payment service dubbed as MTN Mobile Money for its subscribers. The service will enable subscribers to make payments for utility services, transfer money and buy air time credits for now.
The service at present will be available to the subscribers who register with authorized mobile money agents. These include going through the normal Know Your Customer (KYC) registration by banks with just your passport or driving license.
After the registration subscribers can create a wallet of their own where they can deposit money.
Subscribers may have to get dedicated mobile money SIM cards to use service MTN mobile money is a cash management service available across the nation. It could also perform the function of a debit card.

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has reportedly given consent over the regulations for introducing mobile number portability (MNP) in the country, which will take effect in August.

Mobile operators must comply with customer requests to move their existing number to another network within three months of the regulation’s publication, said NTC commissioner Sudharm Yoonaidharma, whereas the fee for porting a number must not exceed the retail cost of a pre-paid SIM card (which can be bought for as low as THB50 [USD1.50]), although whether any such charge would actually be levied is dependent on an agreement between operators which will be submitted to the NTC for its consideration, he added.

As it was earlier reported, Thailand’s cellcos said that it was impossible to implement MNP in three months, citing market leader AIS that necessary preparations could take anything up to year .

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www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Nokia, MTN Nigeria and Digital Mobile TV (DMTV) have inked  an agreement enabling subscribers to watch MultiChoice’s digital satellite TV (DStv) portfolio of TV channels at no cost for the next twelve months. The subscriber can activate this service by inserting an MTN SIM card into a Digital Video Broadcast Handheld (DVB-H)-enabled Nokia handset.

‘This is an exciting time for mobile convergence in Africa,’ said Philip De La Vega, General Manager of Nokia Nigeria, adding, ‘We are especially pleased that Nokia, working together with DMTV and MTN, are able to offer consumers twelve months free access to DStv Mobile when they purchase a compatible DVB-H handset and activate the service. This showcases the enormous advancements in devices technology, now enabling TV on-the-go-for consumers.’

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www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Etisalat is offering the replacement SIM cards online, through the Etisalat online services portal. The operator will also offer home delivery of the replacement SIM cards free of cost. The subscribers of Etisalat can now replace their lost, stolen or damaged SIM cards online, for both mobile prepaid (Wasel) and postpaid (GSM) accounts, for AED 25.  There is an option to pay cash on delivery for the subscribers or through their credit cards.

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www.WirelessFederation.com/news: KPN said that it will stop offering free mobile handsets to customers taking out a pay-as-you-go package, instead charging them between EUR70-EUR80 (USD97-USD112) for the handset of their choice. The head of KPN’s mobile services division, Marco Visser, reportedly said that currently, many consumers take out a three-month pre-paid contract just to get a new mobile phone. ‘There are more SIM cards in the Netherlands than there are people … in addition, the Netherlands has some of the lowest charges in Europe thanks to tough competition,’ Visser said.

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Lycamobile has reportedly postponed the launch of its new mobile/fixed product by a month to the first week of July. The product is undergoing checks, will provide cheaper calls to existing Lycamobile subscribers when using a fixed line to call abroad. The call tariffs are comparatively cheaper than mobile rates. The subscribers will get a ‘0207′ or ‘0800′ dial-in number to receive the discounted international minutes and credit will be deducted from the subscriber’s existing Lycamobile SIM card.

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www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Swisscom and Swiss supermarket chain Migros have together introduced a pilot selling M-Budget Mobile services in 14 Swisscom Shops in the Zurich region. The pilot of M Budget service will end on 15 August and will find out how subscribers accept the portfolio expansion. After the end of pilot, decision will be taken on the continuation and expansion of the M-Budget Mobile services to all Swisscom shops.
M-Budget Mobile offers a prepaid Sim card including CHF 15 call credit and the choice between four mobile phones: the SonyEricsson J132 for CHF 29.90; the Nokia 1650 for CHF 39.90; the Samsung GT-E 1360 for CHF 49.90 and the LG KP 235 for CHF 59.90.

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Vodafone Romania and Cosmote Romania will slash their roaming tariffs for the voice, SMS and data transfer services for the subscribers roaming in EU member nations starting from July 16 and July 1 respectively.
The subscribers of Vodafone travelling in EU member nations, in the EEA (European Economic Space), as well as in Switzerland will enjoy tariffs of EUR 0.512 with VAT per minute for a call to any destination from the EU, EEA and Switzerland and a EUR 0.226 with VAT per minute for any call from the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
The tariffs of SMS will be set at EUR 0.131 without VAT per SMS (0.131 euros with VAT) for the SMS sent in roaming in the EU, EEA and Switzerland to any destination and of EUR 0.35 per SMS for users of the Vodafone SIM card.
On the other hand, Cosmote Romania will reduce the roaming tariffs from 1 July on certain categories of calls, SMS and data transfer by up to 40% (for voice), 63% (for SMS) and 75%.

For further insight on Best Practices/Case Studies on Roaming Tariffs please contact christina@wirelessfederation.com