Batelco Introduces SMS Translation Service (Bahrain)
Batelco, Bahrain’s leading telecommunications provider has introduced a new SMS service to translate text from English to Arabic instantly. The service, which is available for both prepaid and postpaid customers, provides instant translation of words or phrases by simply sending the chosen words by SMS to 92001.
Up until April 30th customers can try out the new SMS translate service free of charge. Following the promotional period, each SMS will be charge at a rate of 250 fils.
This service has been designed to enhance the current portfolio of services available for Batelco’s mobile customers, said Batelco Group General Manager Media Relations Ahmed Al Janahi.
He added that Batelco designs and develops convenient services for all segments of its customers to deliver products and services to meet their requirements and to ensure they benefit from the best value for their money.
Meteor abolishes roaming charges in Europe (Ireland, Europe)
Mobile operator Meteor Ireland has become the first operator to abolish roaming charges in Europe enabling consumers to pay the same charges for calls and texts as when they are at home.
According to the company, the new service applies to both Pay-as-you-go and Bill pay customers. Further, the new policy would enable customers to pay more than 60 per cent less than Vodafone and O2 while roaming.
For users on the operator’s pay-as-you-go service, the call rates will be dropped to US$ 0.38 while texts will be charged at US$ 0.16. While, on the other hand, Bill Pay customers will be charged US$ 0.13 for a text and US$ 0.33 for a call. Also, all incoming calls and texts would be free for the consumer.
Reports reveal that Bill Blake, spokesman for Meteor has classified this decision as a groundbreaking one. He said that their customers will no longer have to worry about paying more for calls and texts while in the EU, with the added benefit of being able to receive calls from family and friends for free, as reported by the Irishtimes.
Talking about mobile data charges while roaming, Blake said that the wholesale rate for data in Europe at the moment is US$ 1.04 per Mb so they will be dropping their charges by 90 per cent. He concluded by saying that as this price continues to drop they will be hoping to pass that on to consumers but they’ve unfortunately not been able to bring it in line with domestic rates just yet.
Globe offers new billing system for Blackberry users (Philippines)
In an attempt to offer convenience to its Blackberry users, mobile operator Globe Telecom has introduced a new billing system for mobile applications. According to reports, the new system enables Blackberry users to charge their mobile app purchases directly to their postpaid account or prepaid credits.
Peter Bithos, senior advisor for consumer business, Globe Telecom has said that integrated billing will make it easier than ever for subscribers to purchase apps for their BlackBerry smartphones. Through the secure billing system interface, they are able to provide subscribers a convenient and worry-free way to purchase premium content on BlackBerry App World without the need for a credit card or direct cash payments. The cost of apps purchased from the app store will be charged to their postpaid phone bill or from their prepaid credits.
The new billing service is expected to commence from Q2 this year.
UAE hits a new high with 801,000 new GSM subscribers (UAE)
UAE’s leading telecom providers Etisalat and du have managed to rope in 187, 000 new GSM subscribers to their clientele by December 2011. UAE’s telecommunication authority (TRA) announced that the telecom providers fetched fairly well in the GSM sector in 2011 than in 2010. Now the total number of GSM users has hit a subscription of 11, 727 in December itself.
According to reports, the business expansion strategies of Etisalat and du, in mobile phone and other telecommunication services, played a key role in achieving the targeted figure of subscriptions in UAE. As per TRA, a total of 10.355 million GSM subscribers in UAE are in the pre-pay category and rest of the users fall under the monthly billing arena.
Telecom operator du stated that it is expecting to overtake Etisalat in terms of number of mobile phone users in the near future. UAE has one of the biggest segment of mobile phone users when it comes to GSM subscription. According to reports, the boost in GSM subscription has helped UAE in sustaining its status as a country with highest GSM penetration ratio. By 2010 end, the mobile phone penetration ratio in the UAE was around 134 per cent for a population of 8.2 million.
Globe Telecom launches new apps portal under ‘MyAppsMall’ (Philippines)
Philippines telecom operator Globe has partnered with parent company Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), in bringing to the country ‘MyAppsMall’, a new apps store enabling customers to search, purchase and download mobile applications and games in a single portal.
According to company reports, Globe prepaid and postpaid subscribers will be able to avail this service for free. MyAppsMall offers a combination of over 20,000 free and paid apps ranging from games, entertainment, social networking, productivity, lifestyle, sports, news, finance, and weather and is accessible via mobile browser (m.apps.globe.com.ph) or via PC web browser (apps.globe.com.ph).
Once registered, users can personalize their homepage with social networking sites, emails, news updates and RSS feeds. Users will also be provided with a free MyApps email account for an easier and more secure access.
In order to make the user experience more enjoyable, MyAppsMall can be accessed via a single portal, eliminating the need for users to go to multiple sites just to search for various applications that suit their interests. Its cross-platform support lets users find content suited specific to their mobile device, whether Android, Symbian, Java or BlackBerry.
Further, in an attempt to offer convenience to users, purchasing apps on the MyAppsMall do not necessitate a credit card. The amount purchased will be automatically charged to the users Globe prepaid or postpaid bill.
MyAppsMall also provides an exclusive platform for application developers to create, distribute and monetize their apps to an international market, making content available not only to the Philippines but also to the rest of the region covered by SingTel via its multiple market base.
Through the operator billing capability, subscribers from other SingTel affiliates can also purchase content from MyAppsMall, while subscribers from networks outside the SingTel Group can still buy apps using their credit cards. This further widens potential market for local developers, exposing their creations to a vast audience from around the world.
Glenn Estrella, Head, Globe Digital Media, has said that they are very excited with this new offering for their subscribers, leveraging on their strong affiliation with SingTel. Through MyAppsMall, their subscribers get the best mobile browsing experience by getting exclusive access to their apps of choice. Purchase for paid apps is so convenient and worry-free with the secure billing platform, with costs directly charged to user’s prepaid load or postpaid account.
Further, with this innovation, Globe and SingTel are also helping expose Filipino talent and creativity to the global market by tapping local developers and allowing them to sell their apps and services. With the MyAppsMall portal, there is indeed everything for everyone, and with Globe, everyone can enjoy it their way.
Globe Telecom to sign $700 million contract with Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei (Philippines)
Globe Telecom has launched a massive investment deal for its network modernization program. Globe has roped in cellular firm Huawei Technologies as lead partner and Alcatel-Lucent as project manager in the $700 million deal. Alcatel-Lucent is engaged with the Ayala-controlled cellular firm for Australia’s national broadband network project. As per sources, for Alcatel, the deal with Australia is far bigger in terms of investment than with Globe.
The network modernization project of Globe will be comprised of all-internet protocol infrastructure, extensive 3G coverage, double fiber optics capacity, 4G, overall quality and flexibility, etc. According to sources, a minimum of $570 million of the total amount will be utilized this year and rest will be taken care of in 2013. Throughout the year, Globe continued to excel in its performance via initiating post paid plans, launching value for money services for prepaid customers, etc.
Globe’s postpaid, prepaid and broadband business generated stupendous revenue throughout 2011, and the company closed its postpaid business with almost 1.5 million subscribers. Globe Telecom’s service revenues closed at $67.8 billion last year, 9 percent higher than previous year. The company said that the network modernization project will yield positive results with $170 million as savings. The company expects to complete the network modernization project in five years.
Globe Telecom reports 7 percent rise in subscriber additions (Philippines)
Philippines telecommunications company Globe Telecom has reported an increase in its subscriber base for the past year. According to company reports, Ernest Cu, President, Globe Telecom has said that the firm had a total of 30 million subscribers by the end of 2011, representing a 13 per cent increase over its client base of 26.47 million at the end of the previous year.
The telecom operator has been working towards increasing its market share and increasing its subscriber base across segments, in comparison with rival Smart Communications. Cu added that they have actually been converting more and more users from rival operators to Globe, in addition to converting more of their own prepaid users to postpaid users.
As per the company, gross subscriber acquisitions increased to 6.1 million in the fourth quarter. Further, the total additions for the year stood at 23.2 million, representing a 7 per cent rise from 21.8 million subscribers in 2010.
Looking towards the finances for this year, the operator claims that it has sufficient funds to carry out the required capital expenditures for 2012. As per sources, Albert Larrazabal, CFO, Globe, has said that the company would require raising US$ 585 million this year to carry out the planned network upgrade. He added that the company also plans to undertake US$ 234 million in retail bonds by June or July this year, while the remaining US$ 117 million will be raised in 2013. Larrazabal also said that the company will prepay its debt amounting to US$ 70 million this month.
Larrazabal states that the benefits of the transformation will be felt towards the second half of the year, actually what will happen as they roll out in different areas. Sources claim that the network upgrade is expected to improve quality in voice, text and data services.
MTN launches promotion for new prepaid customers (Africa)
Africa’s leading telecommunication provider, MTN, has launched a promotion for new prepaid subscribers by offering them free airtime. According to reports, the operator will offer customers purchasing the MTN Pay As You Go starter kit, free airtime worth US$ 14.2 for an entire year, on every recharge of US$ 7.13 or more. Apart from this, the operator also offers the users various benefits such as ten free daily call-backs, five free text messages for every fifteen messages sent along with thirty free SMS every month.
As per sources, the operator says that the US$ 14.2 free airtime is spread across the year, enabling users to receive US$ 1.2 each month. However, in order to receive the monthly airtime, the users need to have a minimum recharge of US$ 7.13 every month. Further, the offer is considered to be valid for a year from purchase of the starter kit, and any customer migrating out of this price plan within the 12 months will lose this benefit.
The promotion is said to be valid from 1 December 2011 to 20 May 2012.
Bharti Airtel hikes international call rates by 10 percent (India)
Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company, has hiked its international call tariffs by 10 percent for certain destinations for both prepaid and postpaid users while also reducing benefits on add-on services for prepaid users.
According to reports, an Airtel spokesperson has reportedly said tariff rationalisation is a continuous process and a function of market dynamics. With the correction of tariffs for a few international destinations, they continue to remain competitive and deliver value to their customers.
Further, it has been reported Airtel’s prepaid schemes offering users flexible billing plans and reduced roaming tariffs, will now offer fewer benefits for a validity period of six months as compared to one year. As per sources, the operator has reduced the data limit from 2GB to 1GB for US$ 1.91, while also cutting down on the price for regular data download to US$ 0.002 per 10 KB from the earlier charge of US$ 0.005 per KB.
According to company reports, the operator witnessed its seventh consecutive profit decline in the third quarter results, reporting a net profit of US$ 200.5 million down by 38.17 percent from US$ 324.4 million recorded during the same period last year.
