Mobinil laying the ground work for expansion (Egypt)

On 08.12.11, In Mobile, By Editor

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Egypt based Mobinil stated that the telecom company is revamping as well as expanding its networks on the back of $671 million fresh investment. According to Hassan Qabani, Managing Director of Mobinil, the telco is looking to offer additional services while better managing the existing ones.

Mobinil had set out on an employment drive early this week. The telco is looking to employ 100,000 Egyptians for on the job training as well as facilitating the expansion of the network.

Mobinil has roped in five local development organizational partners to take this initiative forward in the Orman charity organization, Ebtisama group, Awtad for free business development, Engaz Masr and the developing organization for the disabled DAESN.

According to Qabani, Mobinil is proud to launch the expansion and that it is critical in two respects; the first one is investing in the economy with manpower while the second is training and rehabilitating workers to compete in the market.

“We have invested over 40 billion EGP since the company started working, 3 billion of that is dedicated to this latest initiative,” said Qabani.

Among the five partners of the telco, two work to train persons with disabilities.

Analysts say the expansion plan will enable Mobinil in creating more jobs and at the same time, create better functioning networks for existing and future customers.

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Airtel ropes in additional distribution channels to spread money transfer (Kenya)

On 08.12.11, In Mobile, By Editor

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In a bid to lure more subscribers for its money transfer product, Airtel Kenya has added more distribution channels to its list while reducing transaction fees at the same time.

The outlets of this money transfer product also, known as Airtel Money will take the form of banks, Nakumatt and Pesa Point.

According to Airtel Kenya Managing Director Rene Meza, in order to increase the uptake of the service, more than 6,000 agents have been recruited countrywide and the number is expected to grow to 8,000 by the end of the year.

The telco has also revised the rates at which it applies charges for money transfer. The rate will be $0.269 for money sent to on-net and off-net subscribers. According to the data furnished by the Central Bank of Kenya, $33.334 million worth of value are exchanged on mobile transfer platform per day while the number of money transfer transactions carried out nationwide stands at 1.1 million.

The preceding announcement to this move is the roll out of the telecom’s 3G mobile internet technology this September.

Meza also stated that technical and billing trials in Nairobi and Mombasa stand to be completed within the next two months thereby laying the groundwork for the launch of this technology that is understood to present customers more choices in terms of mobile payments.

Currently, Airtel provides data services by the use of older technology whilst the roll of 3G services is tipped to make it possible for the telco and offer high speed internet to its users.

The only company that offers 3G services in Kenya is Safaricom while tests by other companies are ongoing.

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After SK Tel, KT to cut basic mobile fees in October (South Korea)

On 08.11.11, In Mobile, By Editor

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The second largest mobile carrier in South Korea, KT Corp announced its plans to cut monthly basic mobile fees by $0.93, come October as part of the carrier’s tariff savings plan to the tune of $448.18 per year.

The government has been telling the South Korean telecom operators to reduce tariffs in its bid to arrest inflation in the economy, the fourth largest in Asia. Meanwhile, investors are concerned about further tariff cuts in the wake of the approaching presidential and general elections next year.

KT happens to be the second major telco to join its rival SK Telecom in cutting basic fees. Apparently, LG Uplus is also expected to take the same route shortly.

In addition, KT has announced plans for offering subscribers 50 text message services per month, free of cost as on November.

SK Telecom in June unveiled a mobile tariff savings plan worth $696 million annually.

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Telefonica O2 Czech Republic, a.s. : 58% of Czechs surf 3G network from O2

On 08.11.11, In Mobile, By Editor

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Telefónica is strengthening its position in 3G networks. In the last month alone, Telefónica added more than 80 new locations to the map of mobile broadband access. As of now, residents of 854 towns and villages in the Czech Republic can now connect to O2′s 3G network, which is 58% of the population. The expanding coverage drives forward the popularity of smartphones, smartphone applications and small-screen internet.

An increasing number of people want the convenience of online access wherever they happen to be. Since the launch of the NOW I KNOW WHY campaign, small-screen internet activations went up 25%. Samsung smartphones are also riding the wave of success, with their sales doubling in volume. Samsung Galaxy S2 is beating the rest of the field to the finish line with a sales increase of 283%. Applications are also gaining in popularity.

“The above figures clearly demonstrate the success of our biggest campaign of this year, Now I Know Why, which we launched in June together with our partners Google and Samsung. Users were fast to discover the magic of smartphones and the simplicity and convenience of applications,” says Ji

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Telenor buys back 855,000 of its own shares (Norway)

On 08.11.11, In Mobile, By Editor

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Telenor has on 9 August 2011 purchased 855,000 own shares at an average price of NOK 83.83 per share. After this transaction, Telenor owns a total of 28,104,021 own shares.

The transaction is part of the share buyback programme announced by Telenor Group on 21 July 2011. The buyback programme comprises around 48 million shares, of which close to half will be repurchased in the open market. The rest will be purchased from the Kingdom of Norway through the Ministry of Trade and Industry on a proportionate basis, so that the Ministry’s current ownership interest in Telenor of 53.97% will remain unaffected.

For further information about the share buyback programme Telenor refers to the Oslo Stock Exchange notification made on 21 July 2011 (available from www.newsweb.no).

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Vodafone to test trial crisis texting service with Foreign Office (UK)

On 08.11.11, In Mobile, By Editor

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Vodafone announced that it has partnered with the Foreign Office to put a free SMS service through the paces that will deliver text messages to the customers of Vodafone when out of their home country of potential dangers.

This way Vodafone customers stand to receive information cum warnings when they travel to foreign countries, and they encounter a major crisis in the form of a natural disaster or civil conflict, and about potential trouble.

According to Vodafone UK’s head of central government Jayne Rees, they are pleased to be the first mobile network operator to partner with the Foreign Office to deliver this trial. They also know how essential mobile phones are for keeping in touch with friends, family and colleagues, as well as being one of the things people won’t leave home without – whether they’re at home or abroad.

In addition, this new service is touted to be an innovative way to exploit the ubiquity of mobile phones and use existing mobile technology to support UK Nationals abroad and provide them with information when they need it the most.

While the Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne stated that the pilot is part of the Foreign Office’s commitment to improve consular services. They will soon have the ability to send text messages to all affected British Nationals registered on their crisis database. In addition to this, they’re also exploring delivering important information through a range of mobile and online tools, including smartphone apps, a travel advice site for mobile phones and making effective use of social media and digital tools.

Whilst, the Foreign Office also said that it will not be replacing any existing services and information provided on its website, Facebook and Twitter channel.

The Foreign Office plans to pilot the crisis text service for a 12 month period.

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ZTE preparing to head towards the exit door in DRC mobile joint venture

On 08.11.11, In Mobile, By Editor

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The China based ZTE is a major supplier of telecom gear in Africa; still, the firm is understood to be devising exit plans in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

ZTE is bracing up for the sale of its 51 percent stake in Congo China Telecom. The fourth largest telecom company telco in the DRC is partly owned by the government of DRC with 49 percent stakes in it.

Meanwhile, the DRC government is also mulling sale of its own stake in the telecom operator as part of a broader effort to divest some assets and transform more state-owned companies into private businesses.

ZTE facing operation problems is primarily attributed as the major cause for the company in the process of exiting the DRC mobile market.

Few international telecom operators have already shown interest to make forays into the DRC market, including South Africa’s MTN and France Telecom that see tremendous potential for growth in mobile phones; most of the towns and communities lack proper connectivity in terms of mobile communication.

The population in DRC stands at 70 million, with only 17 percent mobile penetration level.

MTN is looking at widening its geographical presence while France Telecom wants to establish itself in the DRC so as to cushion the impact of lower revenue in Europe, given that the DRC telecom market is by far less mature compared to other markets in African countries.

Meanwhile, France Telecom already operates in a number of African countries including Egypt, Cameroon, Kenya, Ivory Coast and Egypt. Apparently, France Telecom is the favorite to buy ZTE’s stake in China Congo Telecom whilst the company is expected to buy the government stake in the company to own it 100 percent. The combined transaction stands to run to close to $425 million.

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BSNL finalizes tower-sharing deals with Tata, Etisalat DB, Videocon, Airtel, Aircel and R-Comm (India)

On 08.11.11, In Mobile, By Editor

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Of late, BSNL has been in the news for a lot many times for its loss making ways. Nonetheless, BSNL could be heading towards making good use of its idle tower assets in the wake of a pact that the state owned telecom operator has signed with Tata Teleservices, Etisalat DB, Videocon Telecom, Bharti Airtel, Aircel and Reliance Communications whilst issuing instructions to all circle heads to respond to tower renting re-quests of these companies on a priority basis.

Apparently, BSNL is not looking at spinning off its tower assets in the form of a separate subsidiary, for the moment. On the other hand, both Vodafone Essar and RCom have been attempting to find buyers for their tower assets arms.

Currently, BNSL owns more than 60,000 telecom towers spread across the country. It is known that the bulk of these towers are idle; specifically, towers in the Category B & C circles whilst the BSNL leadership sees a potential revenue opportunity to the tune of $221.19 million in case, the company is able to address the demand.

As part of the terms of the towering sharing MoUs, BSNL will define service level agreements (SLAs) that will facilitate the offering of its tower premises, DC power support and antennae fixing slots to the private telcos. The financial details have not been revealed though. On the other hand, BSNL is understood to looking at charging charge tower rent in the region of $663.57 to 774.17 per month per operator.

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Korea’s SK telecom partners Japan’s GREE to facilitate the social gaming heavyweight’s expansion

On 08.11.11, In Mobile, By Editor

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The previous week, China based Tencent had joined hands with the Japanese social gaming heavyweight GREE for augmenting a new open platform for feature phones and smartphones that works fine with the latter’s own game platform standards. Apparently, South Korea’s SK telecom is also treading the same route because the operator has partnered with GREE to facilitate the social gaming company’s entry into the Korean games market.

Understandably, the partnership bodes well for GREE given that SK telecom is the largest carrier in South Korea, with over 25 million subscribers as of November 2010, and represents half the Korean telecom market share.

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Chunghwa Telecom and China Telecom join hands to augment Wi-Fi roaming service (Taiwan)

On 08.11.11, In Mobile, By Editor

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The Taiwan based Chunghwa Telecom joins hands with China based China Telecom so as to cooperate with each other and facilitate the launch of Wi-Fi mobile internet roaming service.

Chunghwa Telecom stated that the increasingly popular adoption of smartphones and tablet computers coupled with the cross-strait communications and exchanges getting more frequent mean that the demands going to jump in terms of cross-strait voice and data roaming services. Earlier, Chunghwa Telecom was seen lowing voice roaming fees, in addition to offering data roaming choice based policies. As on August 2011, the network operator had also started offering Wi-Fi mobile Internet roaming services.

Data released by the Tourism Bureau of Taiwan, in 2010 revealed that there were as many as 2.42 million mainland visitors to Taiwan, representing an increase of 60% based on the figures in the previous year. Apparently, meeting the customers’ demands for mobile, fast, stable, and cost-effective Internet roaming service are the primary concerns of Chunghwa Telecom’s development of Wi-Fi roaming service with the Chinese mainland operator.

In addition, it has been announced by Chunghwa Telecom that Taiwan based users travelling to China mainland stand to take advantage of China Telecom’s Wi-Fi Internet service at the rate of $.31 per minute. Previously, the rate for international mobile Internet roaming was between $0.78 and $1.25 per minute.

Chunghwa Telecom has plans for setting up 20,000 Wi-Fi hot spots in the pipeline across Taiwan, before the close of this year. Meanwhile, China Telecom will provide preferential Wi-Fi service to its CDMA users. So far, China Telecom has developed 120,000 Wi-Fi hot spots while it plans to establish one million additional hot spots over the next three years.

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