Mobily launches ‘Mobily maktabi’ plan for SME segment (Saudi Arabia)
Saudi Arabia’s telecom operator Mobily, has launched a new Mobily Maktabi package aimed at the Small and Medium (SME) Business segment. According to reports, the plan includes special features such as high-speed Internet, laptop or desktop and the ‘mobily Maktabi’ phone with a business SIM card for voice calls, in addition to company’s E-mail and mobile handsets.
As per sources, Mobily has said that subscribers would be able to select services based on the number of employees in their organization, along with an option to settle the cost of services and items of the package over a certain period of time without any advance payment.
According to company reports, Mobily is the only mobile phone operator in Saudi Arabia to offer such an innovative package containing all the required products and services, along with ensuring the technical support and services around the clock.
MTN Business launches SME Plus solution ‘MTN4SME’ (South Africa)
MTN Business, a leading global communications partner, has announced the launch of a customized portfolio of solutions in order to meet the communication needs of SME’s in South Africa. According to reports, the company has launched the SME Plus solution ‘MTN4SME’, offering small business owners significant discounts on various voice packages.
As per sources, Nomalanga Nkosi, GM for Business Marketing, MTN Business said that a recent SME business survey revealed that there are almost 1.5 million SMEs in the country, representing the growth of the business sector as well as its contribution towards South Africa’s economic development. He added that SME Plus helps support this sector in cost effectively meeting their technological and business connectivity needs and increasing operational effectiveness.
SingTel and SAP offer cloud solutions to SMEs (Singapore)
In a positive move for the SMEs, SingTel and SAP have come together for the launch of the SAP Business One hosted on SingTel PowerOn. This cloud computing business management solution enables enterprises to upgrade their IT resources in a cost efficient manner and helps eliminate the inconvenience of purchasing and managing additional servers and systems. This solution helps SMEs to better manage their overall business operations in a more systematic and efficient manner.
This solution is offered on the basis of a monthly subscription. A big advantage of the solution to the small and medium enterprises is that it allows them to focus all their resources towards their core business activities. Further, it provides business organizations with a competitive edge by enabling them to deploy their IT resources in a short span of time and activating them in real time via a user-friendly online portal.
Telenor Norway launches mobile office service
Telenor Norway has launched ‘Mobilt Bedriftsnett,’ a mobile office service which is focused on both small as well as large businesses.
Gintel has developed some custom software for this project, including a special switchboard for inbound call management.
The service will be offered across Norway to enterprises and SME customers and leverages the Trusted Services Gateway, which Gintel also developed for Telenor. The service’s monthly cost per employee starts from US$7.
SK Telecom Opens Cloud Data Center
SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) announced today that it opened Cloud Data Center, a cloud computing data center, to offer innovative cloud-based services and solutions to its customers.
Cloud Data Center is located at SK Broadband’s Internet Data Center (IDC) in Ilsan, Seoul. With its 1,500 cloud servers, the center will be providing SK Telecom’s cloud-based services.
SK Telecom’s Cloud Data Center was built in accordance with global standard cloud infrastructure (including IaaS, management solution, security value-added service, etc.) in November 2010. The company conducted tests and launched beta-service for the following two months.
*IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) is the delivery of computer infrastructure (server, storage, network, etc.) as a service
SK Telecom aims to open up a new cloud service market in Korea centered around cloud-based services tailored to each customer’s needs and specialized cloud-based solutions and plans to expand its cloud infrastructure in stages reflecting the market growth.
Moreover, SK Telecom plans to use its cloud for services like marketing analysis solution, LBS and M2M solution to cater to SMEs in the public cloud market. The company plans to lead the cloud market and build a cloud ecosystem by focusing on areas that have clear value. Some of the promising areas include cloud services for hospitals (u-hospital), education companies and game companies.
SK Telecom will also forge more partnerships with and extend greater support to SMEs to help them develop diverse cloud-related source technologies and application services.
The company has been providing cloud-based services through Officepack solution of ‘T bizpoint’. ‘T bizpoint’, launched in June 2010, is a mobile and fixed one-stop business support solution for SMEs designed to realize an effective working environment. SK Telecom further expanded its cloud-based service by opening ‘T cloud biz’ in December 2010, through which it provides a total cloud service for SMEs.
Park In-Sik, Executive Vice President and Head of Enterprise Business Division at SK Telecom said, “Expecting a rapid growth of the cloud market in year 2011, SK Telecom will provide differentiated cloud services by creating customized and specialized solutions. SK Telecom will shape the cloud market while forging close ties with SMEs as it is determined to build an ecosystem that works for mutual benefits.”
Telecom to launch SMS Directory Service (Namibia)
Telecom has announced that it is all set to launch an innovative text message service, which for the first time in Namibia will deliver a range of key classified business information using Short Messaging Service (SMS) platforms across a multiple of mobile networks in Namibia.
The service, which will be available from next Monday will offer classified directory information searches for business and service types covering the most common needs of mobile phone users whilst on the move or in the event of an emergency.
According to the company, the SMS offering reflects Telecom’s commitment to provide new and flexible ways for consumers to access its database of business listings as quickly and conveniently as possible.
Telecom is offering the service through a partnership with CellDirect Namibia and Schoemans Office Systems. CellDirect is an SME with four years of experience in SMS Communications services working with Schoemans Office Systems, an organization that has been providing innovative solutions for over 50 years in Namibia.
The service will enable mobile users to request and receive contact details of companies such as Taxis, Florists, Takeaways and Locksmiths, by SMS – at any time and where there is network coverage. Users on the main mobile networks can access businesses across various locations via a single designated number, 100, and have a choice of results sent direct to their phone quickly and discreetly, 24 hours a day.
According to Telecom Namibia’s Managing Director Frans Ndoroma, the Namibian market has embraced the text message and made it one of the most popular ways to communicate. The company has recognized this and as a result has developed a service which enables users to access our business directory data via text. It’s more flexible, less intrusive and more discreet than a telephone call and can be used in situations with a lot of background noise such as busy bars and clubs.
He added that the use of SMS as a communication tool has grown beyond anyone’s expectations around the world. The company has seen how difficult it is to simply find a business name or phone number. With people using SMS for everyday communication, they realized that there is a gap in the market for a simple SMS directory service.
Windstream to acquire Q-Comm Corp for $782 million
Windstream is acquiring Q-Comm in a $782 million cash and stock deal. As a part of the deal, the company will issue about 20.6 million shares valued at $237 million on the New York Stock Exchange. It will also pay $278 million in cash and repay the fiber-optics network operator’s debt worth $267 million.
The deal will also comprise Q-Comm’s subsidiaries Kentucky Data Link (KDL), a fiber services provider in 22 states, and Norlight, a phone and internet company that provides services to about 5,500 SMEs in the Midwest.
The deal, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010. Stephens Inc and BofA Merrill Lynch are adviser to Windstream on the, while RBC Daniels are advising Q-Comm.
According to Windstream President and CEO Jeff Gardner, this transaction would build on Windstream’s strategy to become a next-generation telecom provider focusing on broadband and enterprise customers. KDL’s widespread fiber network will create savings for the company plus would provide opportunities to grow business revenues, particularly transfer services for wireless carriers.
Telstra launches business laptops with Acer
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Acer Computer and Telstra Business joins hand to to release three ready-to-go business laptops and data plan bundles with built-in wireless mobile broadband connectivity. These bundles will make it easier for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to join the remote workforce revolution, thus providing better services and products to small business.
According to Telstra Business Group Managing Director Deena Shiff, 2010 Back to Business SME survey1 found that not only was the availability of finance a serious concern for about 70 percent of those polled, but investing in technology, including wireless broadband, featured in the growth plans of one in four.
Charles Chung, Acer computer regional Managing Director feels that expansion of 3G embedded notebooks, with their eight hour battery life, onto the Telstra Next GTM network for business customers means all-day, on-the-go computing is now in the reach of more SMEs.
Gateway Communications acquires 10.5GHz spectrum license
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 10.5GHz spectrum license has been acquired by Gateway Communications, a telecoms network operator, for ten states in Nigeria: Kano, Kaduna, Rivers, Delta, Abuja, Edo, Oyo, Anambra, Abia and
Enugu. Earlier, Airlink and MetroLink 10.5GHz spectrum solutions targeted at SMEs in Lagos was deployed by the company.
Both the steps aim to strengthen its drive to build a pan-African connectivity network that covers every major African city based on satellite, submarine cable and fibre infrastructure. The services will be rolled out across the ten states in 2010 while Port Harcourt and Abuja will go live in February 2010. The solution will be deployed in further 14 states in 2011.
According to John Dindlebeck, MD at Gateway West Africa, the flexibility of the broadband 10Mbps solution with an MPLS backbone can customize the solutions provided to individual client needs.
Besides, the commitment of the company to provide world class connectivity solutions in Nigeria is also demonstrated through this expansion.
