Megafon launches top-ups abroad (Russia)
Megafon in partnership with Ezetop, has launched a service for customers to top up their balances when abroad.
Presently, the service is accessible at over 80,000 points in the US, France, UK, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain. It will be expanded to 250,000 sales points in 16 countries later.
Movistar offers LG Optimus Black in Spain
Movistar has introduced the LG Optimus Black smartphone in Spain. The Optimus Black comes packed with a 4-inch Nova display, a 1 GHz processor, and the device runs on Android.
The handset also features a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front facing camera, Wi-Fi connectivity, Gyro sensor, 2 GB of internal memory and MicroSD support.
Lebara introduces summer promotion in Spain
Lebara Movil, which is a MVNO in Spain, has introduced a summer promotion. Lebara will lower international mobile call tariffs by an average of 41% until 31 July.
Lebara customers can make calls to 233 country destinations. Lebara will maintain its 1 cent per minute offer for calls to Argentina, Brasil, China, Colombia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Romania and Venezuela.
National calls to fixed and mobile numbers will be charged 9 cents per minute. SMS are charged US$0.15 to national numbers and US$0.23 to international numbers.
Gowex to roll out capital increase (Spain)
Gowex, which is a wireless internet services provider in Spain, will launch a capital increase, ranging between US$8.68 to US$10.13 million. The operation is scheduled for completion this month.
Vodafone launches Vodafone Smart in Spain
Vodafone has introduced Vodafone Smart, its white-label Android handset in Spain. The handset runs on Android 2.2 OS and comes packed with a 2.8-inch QVGA screen, 2-megapixel camera, 512MB memory, microSD slot, HSDPA, Wi-Fi and A-GPS.
According to reports, the handset will be available in Spain starting with 22 June. The handset targets young customers and will be offered as part of a prepay pack available for US$99.87. As a launch promotion, customers will receive free mobile internet access until 31 August.
comScore Launches Mobile Measurement in Canada
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today announced the introduction of its syndicated mobile measurement service, comScore MobiLens, in Canada. MobiLens offers insights into mobile consumers’ demographics, behaviors, and device attributes and capabilities, to provide a comprehensive picture of the mobile market. Canada marks the eighth individual market now reported in MobiLens, along with U.S, U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan.
“We are excited to bring MobiLens to market in Canada in order to deliver a mobile measurement solution to this growing industry,” said comScore vice president Bryan Segal. “MobiLens provides valuable and actionable reporting capabilities, essential for establishing mobile as a legitimate advertising medium. Advertisers, publishers, advertising agencies, and mobile carriers alike can now gain visibility into Canada’s mobile audience and optimize their sales and marketing strategies for this rapidly developing market.”
Mobile Behaviors in Canada
Mobile subscribers in Canada exhibited strong usage of mobile media on their devices. In March 2011, 40.6 percent of mobile users in Canada used an application on their mobile device, while 32.7 percent used a mobile browser. Accessing of news/information was conducted by 35.2 percent of the mobile audience, while social networking sites or blogs were used by 25.4 percent. Sending text messages and taking photos with their phone were the top two activities, used by 64.5 percent and 48.9 percent, respectively. Accessing work or personal email represented 29.7 percent of the total mobile audience.
| Select Mobile Behaviors in Canada March 2011 Total Canada Mobile Audience Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
|
| Share of Mobile Subscribers | |
| Total Mobile Subscribers: 13+ yrs old | 100.0% |
| Sent text message | 64.5% |
| Took photos | 48.9% |
| Used application | 40.6% |
| Accessed news and information | 35.2% |
| Used browser | 32.7% |
| Used email (work or personal) | 29.7% |
| Played games | 27.3% |
| Accessed social networking site or blog | 25.4% |
| Accessed weather | 22.9% |
| Used major instant messaging service | 21.1% |
| Accessed search | 21.1% |
| Captured video | 20.3% |
| Listened to music on mobile phone | 19.0% |
| Accessed maps | 17.5% |
| Accessed sports information | 13.1% |
| Accessed entertainment news | 13.0% |
| Accessed movie information | 12.0% |
| Accessed bank accounts | 11.1% |
| Accessed restaurant information | 9.8% |
| Accessed financial news or stock quotes | 9.4% |
Smartphone Penetration Across Global Markets
Smartphone adoption continues to spread across the globe at various rates. Canada’s smartphone penetration reached 32.8 percent in March 2011, marginally higher than that of the U.S. The U.K. led all reportable markets in smartphone penetration at 40.8 percent, followed by Spain (40.2) percent and Italy (38.3 percent).
| Smartphone Penetration Across Global Markets March 2011 Total Mobile Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
|
| Share of Mobile Subscribers | |
| Total Smartphone Subscribers | 100.0% |
| United Kingdom | 40.8% |
| Spain | 40.2% |
| Italy | 38.3% |
| Canada | 32.8% |
| United States | 32.2% |
| France | 31.4% |
| Germany | 28.3% |
| Japan | 9.7% |
Smartphone Platform Market Share in Canada
In March 2011, 6.6 million people in Canada owned smartphones, representing one-third of the total mobile audience. RIM was the leading mobile smartphone operating system with 42.0 percent share of Canadian smartphone subscribers. Apple ranked second with 31.0 percent share, followed by Google with 12.2 percent, Symbian with 6.4 percent share and Microsoft with 5.1 percent share.
| Top Smartphone Platforms March 2011 Total Canada Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
|
| Share of Smartphone Subscribers | |
| Total Smartphone Subscribers | 100.0% |
| RIM | 42.0% |
| Apple | 31.0% |
| 12.2% | |
| Symbian | 6.4% |
| Microsoft | 5.1% |
Mobile Industry Leaders Voice Support for comScore Mobile Measurement in Canada
“comScore has a heritage of commitment to the Canadian marketplace. With the growth of mobile from a consumer perspective, and an advertising platform, we are very excited to see the first ongoing syndicated measurement of the mobile market established,” said Michael Becker, Managing Director of North America for the Mobile Marketing Association. “The availability of ongoing data should only help raise the profile and investment in this important and growing media”
“Consumption of mobile media is dramatically accelerating in the Canadian market,” said Greg Banducci, Head of Mobile, Yahoo! Canada. “In order to continue leading and innovating, Yahoo! relies on on a comprehensive data set to provide insight into consumers’ mobile behaviors; our own methods and insights combine with products like MobiLens provide us with that advantage.”
“Reliable data is an essential ingredient in delivering sound strategic planning and media buying solutions for our customers,” said Robert Jenkyn, Vice President of Digital Solutions at Media Experts. “We welcome the advent of a comprehensive and ongoing mobile measurement service in Canada. We are eager to derive actionable and verified mobile consumer behaviours as we continue to explore this rapidly evolving media.”
For more information on comScore MobiLens, please visit: http://www.comscore.com/Products_Services/Product_Index/MobiLens
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
Vodafone extends World Calling Club promotion (Qatar)
Vodafone Qatar has extended its World Calling Club international call rates to more than 180 countries for just US$17.69 a minute until June 30.
All of the most popular calling destinations are included in this promotion, which included Bahrain, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Iran, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America and Yemen.
Vodafone is also extending until 30 June its International Calling Card 25 offer that gives customers 51 minutes of talk time at a rate of US$0.13 a minute. The countries included in this are India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Thailand, Syria, Sudan, Turkey, Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia.
ZTE Wins China Telecom’s IMS Network Development
ZTE Corporation, a publicly-listed global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, today announced it has won the IMS network development contract for five key developed provinces in China, including Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Sichuan.
With its advanced IMS+xPON fixed network transformation solution and innovative ETCA (Enhanced Telecom Computing Architecture) platform, ZTE is now the major player in China Telecom’s IMS commercial network construction in China.
Based on its vision of Driving business growth from its network development programs, China Telecom has been actively building its IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) network since 2009. Key project milestones included network testing were completed in July 2010, and the IMS commercial bidding was kicked off in January 2011.
ZTE is the only vendor to support all different access technology (include H.323, No-IMS SIP, MGCP, H.248, V5, PRI etc) with unified ETCA platform in China Telecom. By working closely with China Telecom, ZTE also builds together the IMS+xPON fixed network transformation model, which is fully compatible with the existing network services The two parties also worked together to ensure smooth network evolution, commercially developed by Fujian Telecom first.
By having a deep knowledge of China Telecom’s existing network, ZTE provided a full range of IMS network elements based on its ETCA platform, delivering operational benefits of higher integration, stronger performance, seamless scalability and increased energy efficiency.
As the world’s leading IMS vendor and a long-term strategic partner of China Telecom, ZTE is committed to building a top performance IMS network that delivers an enhanced end-user experience with greater network convergence and efficiency, said Ye Zheng, Vice President of Core Network Product, ZTE. With our IMS network benefit and efficient project deployment capabilities, ZTE is confident in delivering a top quality solution for China Telecom to enhance its network services.
As one of the few vendors that provide end-to-end IMS solutions and efficient project deployment, ZTE’s zMILE (ZTE’s Multimedia Integrated Life Experience) solution can seamlessly interface with any operator’s overall service development and evolution. It can provide seamless access over multiple networks, and solutions that help operators deliver multimedia services for enterprise, home and individual users.
As of Q4 2010, ZTE leads all telecommunication brands in China on IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) deployments having signed 110 commercial deployment or solution testing contracts in Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Albania, Philippines, Singapore, India, Saudi Arabia, U.S. and China.
Globe Telecom Launches VMS as its Latest Value-Added Service
Globe Telecom, one of the leading mobile operators in the Philippines (over 27 million subs), is launching VMS (Video Message Service) nationwide. By doing so, Globe will be the first to market VMS as a new media channel to their subscribers.
VMS is a video service that allows users to share video via mobile person to person, follow local and foreign video bloggers and take part of premium content offered by VMS broadcasters. This means the customers can subscribe to VMS from celebrities and infotainment broadcasters from around the world.
Globe shall be supporting the launch with a massive media campaign, and on-ground interactive use of VMS, in partnership with GMA New Media, Inc. GMA will provide exclusive VMS content in form of short clips of GMA TV shows and video blogs.
- We are very excited to bring another innovation to our subscribers with the launch of VMS. This allows our subscribers another opportunity to enjoy their mobile phones apart from texting, calling or doing mobile internet. And with this new technology, we are strengthening the connections and bonds of every Filipino by providing them yet another exciting and innovative platform to share their precious moments with each other, says Joanna Africa, Head for Portfolio management of Globe team.
VMS is developed by the innovative mobile technology company Ironroad.
- We are very excited about Globe’s launch of VMS in the Philippines. Globe is the right partner for us since they have a great strategy to launch VMS widely in a short time, says Jonas Litborn from Ironroad.
The VMS app is available for download from Android market and App store.
About Ironroad
Ironroad is a Swedish company that has developed the VMS (Video Message Service) technology, which was fully launched in 2010. VMS is now established in 10 countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. Ironroad has about 75 employees and offices in Sweden (headquarter), Norway, Spain, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. Our partners and clients are several global mobile operators and media companies, such as Tele2, 3 Hutchinson, TeliaSonera, Indosat and Telkomsel.
VMS is the sequel to SMS and MMS, a simple and inexpensive way to share experiences and communicate through your mobile phone. VMS is downloaded as an app from the App Store or Android Market.
To learn more about Ironroad or VMS please visit http://www.ironroad.com
Vodafone launches LG Optimus Pad in Spain
Vodafone has introduced the LG Optimus Pad tablet in Spain.
The device runs on Android 3.0 operating system and features an 8.9-inch display, and dynamic stereo speakers. The Pad also comes with a 5.1-megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera, GPS, HSDPA/HSUPA support, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity.
Vodafone will be selling the LG Optimus Pad for US$499 with the Internet Contigo Express tariff plan, or for US$642 with its Internet Contigo 15 and Internet Contigo 2h packages.
The device is also available for US$856 without contract.
