MTN borrows 18Mn for network overhaul (Rwanda)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Africa’s fastest growing and leading mobile network, MTN, signed US$18 million deal with six local banks to overhaul its network in Rwanda. The deal came after Millicom International Cellular, a rival operator, started its mobile operation in mid November.
The deal is a part of the 100 million investments, MTN is set to make in the network this year. The debt will be taken in two different installments of $8 million and $10 million payable in three years and five years respectively. The loan will finance the network expansion of MTN above the current 90 percent coverage and will help to strengthen its position in the highly competitive market.
MTN has over 1.8 million subscribers in the country with a population of about 10 million people. It was awarded a national GSM license in Rwanda in 1998. Country’s third mobile license was won by Millicom International Cellular in November 2008, for $60 million.
Wataniya finally launches in West Bank.
Wataniya Mobile finally began operations after months of disputes with Israel. This will break Paltels monopoly and is likely to drive down prices.
Qtel owns 57% of Wataniya Palestine and the remainder is owned by the public Palestine Investment Fund. Wataniya has invested USD 100 Million already and a further $700m is planned over the next decade.
Current penetration in the west bank is only 35% which Wireless Federation expects to go up rapidly following the launch of Wataniya. Paltel currently has 1.5 million Palestinian subscribers.
Wataniya said it has received only 3.8MHz of bandwidth from Israel, instead of the 4.8MHz that had been promised. Without this Wataniya will not be able to launch 3G services.
MTel offers a post-paid package with per-second billing (Montenegro)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: MTel has introduced a post-paid package with billing by the second in Montenegro.The move follows the tariff policy guidelines from the Agency for Telecommunications.The package is available at a monthly subscription of EUR5 (USD7.28) for 50 minutes of conversation. The inclusive minutes cover calls to both mobile and fixed networks in Montenegro. Each call is subject to a connection fee of EUR0.03.For the new subscribers, the SIM card pack costs EUR6. The subscribers can also purchase the Samsung E1110i phone for EUR8.99 when taking out a 24-month subscription.
M1 inks deal with Novatel Wireless (Singapore)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Novatel Wireless has inked a deal to supply Singaporean mobile operator MobileOne (M1) with its ‘MiFi’ battery-powered Intelligent Mobile Hotspot solution. With this Mobile hotspot, the subscribers can create their own personal Wi-Fi hotspots, revolutionising the way mobile broadband is used, it claims.
Softbank adds 115,100 new subscribers in August (Japan)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: SoftBank has added a net 115,100 new subscribers in the month of August. The telco leapfrogged NTT DoCoMo in terms of net additions, as it added 112,900 subscribers. KDDI gained 77,800 subscribersSoftBank has added a net 115,100 new subscribers in the month of August. The telco leapfrogged NTT DoCoMo in terms of net additions, as it added 112,900 subscribers. KDDI gained 77,800 subscribers.
Nokia and Telecom Italia team up for Nokia Messaging
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Nokia and Telecom Italia have teamed up for bringing Nokia Messaging, an easy-to-use and convenient messaging service. The subscribers will be able to operate the Nokia Messaging push email service, from mid-Sept.
This agreement contributes to the evolution of the mobile phone that will increasingly be a tool to access one’s ecosystem of private, family and professional content. TIM believes in this evolution and wants to experience it alongside its customers,†stated Oscar Cicchetti, Head of Domestic Market in Telecom Italia.
With this service, Nokia and Telecom Italia join forces to drive mobile messaging adoption for their customers using Nokia solutions and Telecom Italia special data plans. We are glad to satisfy the growing consumer demand to access email accounts directly from the device whenever they want, wherever they are. The objective is to bring mobile email to everyone and make it easily accessible to the largest number of users possible,†explained Alessandro Mondini Branzi, General Manager, Nokia Italia.
Telecom Italia and Nokia have conformed to offer Nokia Messaging service with some 30 Nokia Symbian devices which include Nokia E75, Nokia E55, Nokia N97 alongside the Nokia E71 and Nokia N95 8GB. Users merely need to enter their email address and passwords in order to get emails pushed directly onto the homescreen of their mobile phones. With ease and comfort, users will be able to read, send, forward and reply to emails, read and attach files at the same time.
Idea launches STD pack for its prepaid subscribers (India)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Idea cellular has launched a new STD Pack for its prepaid mobile subscribers in the Southern region states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh telecom circle. The new pack allows its new and existing subscribers to make STD calls to all mobile and landline networks in the above states, at just 50 paisa per minute. The subscribers can avail this offer by purchasing tariff vouchers priced at Rs.26. This offer is valid upto first 300 minutes and after that the STD charges of the subscribers regular plan will be applied.
Digicel to launch 4G by 2010 (Jamaica)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Digicel will now be offering 4G broadband service in Jamaica as of next year, having secured a licence in the 2.5Ghz spectrum for the deployment of wireless broadband services. Presently, LIME, Claro are offering 3G services. Digicel (Jamaica) CEO Mark Linehan said “Only eight years ago, Digicel entered the mobile market in Jamaica and turned it on its head. Today we have two million customers benefiting from the best service and the best value available. We want to do to broadband what we did to mobile in Jamaica. Customers will be able to experience the multiple benefits of 4G technology in terms of flexibility, affordability, coverage, bandwidth and security.
“We have had phenomenal demand for our personal WiMAX services in the Cayman Islands and have had huge success with our corporate fixed WiMAX solution here in Jamaica. Digicel is bringing 4G to Jamaica and it is going to be fantastic,” he added.
