www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Starcomms, the Nigerian CDMA operator, has reportedly introduced a new promotion for the month of Ramadan, whereby subscribers can make on net calls for NGN1 (USD0.006) per minute. The offer is applicable between the hours of 10pm and 6am, with no usage or recharge commitment. ‘This promotion is based on our philosophy of making communications affordable and providing unlimited freedom to the consumers,’ commented Tushar Maheshwari, COO of Starcomms.
On 08.28.09, In Mobile, By Editor
On 08.16.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Warid Telecom, the Bangladeshi mobile operator has reportedly introduced a new prepaid package which offers 3 options to choose from along with a basic product. Chief Executive Officer of Warid, Muneer Farooqui said, “We believe in innovative, customer-centric and reasonably priced solutions that would create a niche for Warid and engrave its brand image into the hearts and minds of the people.”
The new package offers minimum call rates at Tk 0.29 per minute for Friends and Family numbers, off-peak rates of Tk 0.49 per minute for other numbers, peak rate Tk 0.59 per minute for Warid numbers and Tk 1.19 per minute for other operators.
Local SMS will be charged a minimum of Tk 0.29, while the maximum charge will be Tk 2.49 for international SMS.
The new and existing Warid subscribers can easily choose from any of the three options by SMS anytime, but they may not make more than one switch a day, said Abraham Kaikobad, senior manager, marketing, products and services.
On 07.03.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news:Red Mobile, the prepaid mobile operator, has relaunched its service across the nation to the 40 million 2G handset users and aims to expand its subscriber base to 1 million by 2009-end.
“Out of 55 million mobile phone users, only 15% to 20% are with 3G handsets. So, by making it available on the 2G network, we are now expanding our service offerings to those that are still using 2G mobile phones,” Danilo J. Mojica, Smart Communications, Inc. wireless consumer division head, reportedly said.
The relaunch is anticipated to raise the average revenue per unit (ARPU) of the operator by 10%, at around P100 per subscriber, officials said.
“Because our subscriber base is low, it is understandable that our ARPU is at that level. But hopefully, it will increase with our affordable service offerings,” Mr. Zaballero explained.
Red Mobile offers calls at P0.50 per minute within the network and the same rate applies to video calling, short messaging, and multimedia messaging services.
“We are the only brand in the market that allows customers to consume their load up to the last drop,” Mr. Zaballero said.
On 06.15.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 3 UK announces that from 17 June the UK’s first £0 a month contract service will be available for its subscribers. The offer dubbed as SIM ZERO, is hoped to make money from the calls made by the subscribers without them paying any upfront fees for the connection.
In order to attract new subscribers, 3 is also offering free Skype-to-Skype calls and IM without paying any amount in the hope that they will make the odd “real” phone call.
The subscribers who opt for the contract will also be offered free voicemails in UK for a one month of minimum contract.
Calls will be charged at 20p per minute for all standard calls, 10p per text, and 30p per MB of data within the UK. The contract will not offer any handset.
On 06.11.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Vip, the Macedonian mobile operator, has introduced the Facebook notification service for mobile. Vip subscribers can now receive Facebook notifications from their profile at no charge on their mobile phones. Subscribers who activate the Facebook@SMS service will receive notifications about the new happenings, comments, messages or invitations from their Facebook profile via SMS. The subscribers can also change their status or reply to comments by sending an SMS via their Vip mobile number. Subscribers can also upload pictures on their personal profiles from their mobile phone via MMS. Incoming SMS are free of charge whereas subscribers will be charged MKD 5.90 (VAT included) per sent SMS and MKD 17.7 per MMS.
On 05.14.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: According to a recent media report, it is revealed that from July roaming services across Europe will be capped at 10p a text while the cost of downloading a MB of information will cost no more than 92p if subscribers pay standard rates.
Whereas, From 1 June Vodafone will enable its “Passport” subscribers to make calls, send SMS and pictures to friends from over 35 countries for the same price they would pay at home.
Passport subscribers will pay a fee of 75p to make calls and send SMS abroad included in their all-inclusive packages or take advantage of the domestic rates. However, that fee has been scrapped until the end of August.
Vodafone is likely to extend its offers or launch similar initiatives if it proves to be successful. The offer will also increase pressure on other mobile operators to abolish roaming surcharges.
Vodafone is also slashing the cost of making international calls from a PAYG phone.
On 05.06.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: MobiFone, the Vietnamese mobile operator, has launched the Voice SMS service for its subscribers. The service will be available at a price of VND 500/message with free incoming SMS charges.
On 05.01.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The subscribers will be charged not more than Rs. 300 to avail number portability service, likely to start from September 20. “It will be one time cost for subscribers seeking portability but the charge is not yet finalised by the DoT and TRAI, on which they are working. So far, it seems the charges would not be more than Rs 300 but this could be even below Rs 200,” according to the sources. The government has deliberately forced operators to keep the cost and charges at a level so that the subscribers are willing to use the service. Also at the same time make the service providers a viable business model, they said.
On 03.25.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A Filipino lawmaker has announced that he will shove up for an additional 5 centavo fee per SMS, in place of 10 centavos which was proposed earlier. According to Danilo Suarez, Chairman House oversight Committee, the charges levied on mobile operators’ broad spectrum usage fees will also include voice calls.
He further reveals that the charges being levied will be imposed on every SMS sent as well on every call and it is for the operators to decide whether to absorb these charges or pass it on.
The House Oversight committee will draft a resolution directed to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to impose the P5-centavo fee. The law would not need an approval as NTC has already made the additional charges mandatory.
On 03.12.09, In Mobile, By Editor
China Telecom is reportedly offering free internet access for its mobile-telephone service in Beijing to attract subscribers. New users will get 20-50 megabytes of free internet usage per month, in comparison to the charges of 50-300 CNY. The incumbent will also slash local call charges by 72%. China Telecom is promoting the mobile service and intends to introduce its upgraded 3G service in Beijing and Guangdong in March. China Unicom Chairman Chang Xiaobing, reportedly said that his company was planning to invest CNY 95 billion this year on network expansion. About CNY 60 billion would be spent on 3G mobile networks in 284 cities with more than 200,000 base stations. Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Li Yizhong said the country’s three 3G networks would be able to support 150 million subscribers by 2011.