Smart Communications starts public trial of its LTE network (Philippines)
Philippines’ leading wireless services provider, Smart Communications, has reportedly started the public trial of its LTE network in Manila which is expected to last for three months. According to reports, the operator plans to offer selected users access to thirty LTE sites in the capital, by providing them with LTE and HSPA capable dongles.
As per sources, the dongle is expected to offer users speeds of up to 42 Mbps during the trial period which will be till mid-February next year. Further, Smart is the first operator in Philippines to launch LTE services, which is currently limited to the region of Boracay.
Reports reveal that rival operator Globe Telecom has secured a loan amounting to US$ 114.2 million in order to funds its network upgradation, and is currently working towards launching its HSPA+ network.
Smart to deploy 800 WiMAX sites (Philippines)
Smart Communications has unveiled its plans to deploy a further 800 WiMAX sites during the first half of 2011.
The launch will be focused on in provinces with low internet penetration where access to high speed broadband is limited.
According to the company, its WiMAX network is to complement its HSPA network. At the end of 2010, Smart claimed more than 51% of the country’s wireless subscriber market, while parent company PLDT was the dominant operator in the broadband sector, with an almost 60% share of subscribers.
Western Union collaborates With SBI to Launch Mobile Money Transfer in India
Western Union has collaborated with State Bank of India (SBI) to provide accountholders with cross-border money transfers via mobile phones. In July, Western Union announced the introduction of the Account-Based Money Transfer (ABMT) service which will be launched in early 2011. This service will facilitate SBI customers with online bank accounts to pull a Western Union Money Transfer directly into their accounts via Internet or ATM.
According to Anil Kapur, Western Union’s Senior VP (South and Southeast Asia), India is the world’s No. 1 remittance recipient country, and according to World Bank figures, has received US$52 billion in 2009. Currently, consumers can send Mobile Money Transfers from nearly 70,000 Western Union Agent locations in 25 countries.
Western Union has 61,000 locations in India, and the mobile transfer partnership will allow it to expand its distribution within India using SBI’s network. Western Union already has a partnership with SBI, with over 12,000 SBI branches offering Western Union Money Transfer service.
SBI has 110 million accountholders, of which more than 4 million are registered for online banking.
Western Union also offers the Mobile Money Transfer service in the Philippines with Smart Communications and Globe Telecom; in Kenya with Safaricom; in Malaysia with Maxis; and in South Africa with Absa Bank.
The company also announced an agreement with EnStream in Canada and has agreements with Tunisian Post and Bank of Commerce & Development (BoCD) in Libya. In addition, Western Union previously announced an alliance with Zain (Airtel) in Africa.
Conexus Mobile Alliance unveils logo, welcomes Smart Comms
The Asian alliance of mobile operators unveiled its official name and logo: Conexus Mobile Alliance. Furthermore, Philippine mobile operator Smart Communications has joined the alliance. The alliance, created in April 2006, was formed to enhance members’ competitiveness in international roaming services in their own countries/regions and across Asia-Pacific.In addition to offering roaming services, most member operators have begun providing caller ID and short-code services to their customers as they roam into another member operator’s network. Alliance members are also working with multinational corporate clients to provide international data roaming packages and are considering the possibility of joint procurement to reduce costs.
The alliance’s other members are Far EasTone Telecommunications (Taiwan), Hutchison Essar (India), Hutchison Telecommunications (Hong Kong and Macau), Indosat (Indonesia), KT Freetel (South Korea), NTT DoCoMo (Japan) and StarHub (Singapore). Conexus said it continues to encourage other mobile operators to join the alliance.
Source- telecompaper Wireless Mobile Telecom
