Wireless Federation

MTN extends managed services contract with Ericsson (Africa, Sweden)

On 01.30.12, In Mobile, By Editor

South-Africa based mobile telecommunications company MTN has extended its managed services contract with Sweden’s Ericsson for its Ghana operations. According to company reports, the contract was originally signed between the two companies in 2009 for the roll-out of MTN’s 3G network in Ghana. As per the agreement, MTN will retain full ownership of the network and responsibility for its strategic direction, while Ericsson will manage the network operations, optimization and field maintenance for MTN’s 3G sites.

Jon Hoffmann, Chief Technical officer, MTN Ghana said that their first two years together achieved the results they were hoping for: they could focus on subscriber growth, and Ericsson delivered network reliability and efficiencies.

Valter D Avino, Head of Managed Services, Ericsson, has said that MTN and Ericsson collaborate in many areas across this and other regions for several years now and in Ghana they are especially pleased to have been part of the journey towards 10 million subscribers. With Ericsson continuing to run the operations of the network, MTN will be able to dedicate even more time and focus on delivering innovative products and services relevant to the needs of their customers.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: 3G • Africa • Ericsson • Ghana • Managed services contract • MTN • Sweden

Zain signs network outsourcing deal with Ericsson (Middle East)

On 11.24.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Zain, a leading telecom operator in the Middle East, has reportedly signed a network outsourcing deal with Sweden based Ericsson worth $650 million, in an attempt to improve the quality of its network.

According to reports, under the five year deal, Ericsson will manage Zain Iraq’s mobile network and IT operations and is the next step towards the operator launching third generation (3G) services. Further, Zain has reportedly said that the agreement covers Zain Iraq’s 3,700 network sites, including the Kurdish north where the operator recently launched commercial services, and will enable it to reduce operating costs and bring products and services to market quicker.

The operator claims that this agreement is a significant deal for Zain as it is expected to enhance the company’s competitiveness in the Iraqi market.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: 3G • Ericsson • Iraq • Network Outsourcing • Sweden • Zain

Telefonica signs network sharing agreement with China Unicom (Spain, China)

On 11.22.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Spanish telecom operator Telefonica has reportedly entered into a strategic partnership with China Unicom, wherein both operators will use each other’s networks to expand their coverage. According to reports, the deal will provide Telefonica access to China Unicom’s network in the regions of Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia, France and Sweden.

In return, China Unicom can reportedly increase its presence through Telefonica’s network in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, Mexico, USA, Puerto Rico, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria Denmark, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.

Reports suggest that Telefonica believes this agreement will help both operators expand their capabilities to provide telecom services to various customers in different geographic areas.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Denmark • Argentina • Australia • Austria • Belgium • Brazil • Bulgaria • Chile • China • China Unicom • Colombia • Czech Republic • Ecuador • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Guatemala • Hong Kong • Hungary • Ireland • Italy • Japan • Latvia • Lithuania • Mexico • Morocco • Netherlands • Network Sharing • Norway • Oman • Panama • Peru • Poland • Portugal • Puerto Rico • Romania • Singapore • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland • Telefonica • USA • Venezuela

Mobile operators form joint venture for Mobile Payments (Sweden)

On 11.21.11, In Mobile, By Editor

In a move to further the facilitation of mobile payment services in the country, Sweden’s mobile operators – Telenor, Tele2, 3 and Telia, have reportedly formed a joint venture, which is expected to commercially launch its services next year.

The penetration of m-payment services in Sweden have shown considerable growth with an increasing number of customers using their mobile handset to pay for regular activities such as parking and public transport among others.

The joint venture will reportedly help extend the variety of services that can be carried out by a customer through the mobile handset. Further, sources claim that for users the venture will ensure uniformity amongst the services offered by the operators.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: 3 • M-Payment • Mobile payment • Sweden • Tele2 • Telenor • Telia

Tele2 looks for acquisition opportunities in Central Asia to compete with TeliaSonera (Europe)

On 11.18.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Sweden based telecom firm, Tele2 is reportedly looking for acquisition opportunities in Central Asia, in an attempt to better compete with rival operator TeliaSonera. According to reports, Tele2 had acquired a majority stake in Kazakhstan’s wireless operator NEO, in March 2010.

As per sources, Lars Nilsson, CFO, Tele2 has said that countries in the vicinity of Kazakhstan can always be of interest as long as the market is not too small. He added that the target markets need at least 1 million potential customers for Tele2 to make an investment worthwhile. Further, reports suggest that Tele2 has more than 1 million Kazakh customers and expects to reach as many as 2.5 million by the end of 2012.

TeliaSonera currently operates in the regions of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. As per reports, it is looking to increase its stake in partially owned companies and is currently investing more in Kcell.

Sources claim that Telenor has been focusing on India and regions in Southeast Asia for opportunities in the emerging markets. According to reports, Richard Olav Aa, CFO, Telenor said that he expects Indian authorities to create more transparent rules for mergers and acquisitions within the next three years, and the company would be able to engage in mergers if it meets its 2013 breakeven goal.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: ASIA • Azerbaijan • Georgia • India • Kazakhstan • Moldova • Sweden • Tajikistan • Tele2 • Telenor • TeliaSonera • Uzbekistan

Bharti Airtel goes green with Ericsson (Africa)

On 11.17.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Telecommunications operator Bharti Airtel has reportedly signed an agreement with Sweden based Ericsson to upgrade its diesel powered stations in Nigeria with E-site, a new green energy solution. According to reports, Manoj Kohli, CEO and joint Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, has said that the new E-site solution would enable Airtel to harness solar energy to power mobile base stations across Nigeria.

He added that they are happy to take the lead in deploying and rolling out state-of-the-art green power solutions and reducing dependency on diesel. Further, this latest initiative will not only enable Airtel to significantly reduce operating costs but also contribute to the reduction in the greenhouse effect.

As per sources, the E-site solution developed by Flexenclosure, has been tested for two years in Kenya helping them in reducing the diesel consumption and emissions of the diesel powered sites. Further, the E-site is said to use renewable sources of energy including wind turbines.

Reports reveal that Lars Linden, President (sub-Saharan Africa) Ericsson, has said that they are driving the implementation of this innovative solution in support of sustainability and development of the networked society. The new green and highly cost efficient base station solution makes not only environmental sense but also financial sense for their customers, enabling the efficient deployment of services to previously un-served or underserved areas.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Bharti Airtel • E-site • Ericsson • Flexenclosure • Kenya • Lars Linden • Manoj Kohli • Niger • Nigeria • Sweden

Telenor combines with Google to enhance Android adoption (Asia, Europe)

On 11.16.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Telecommunications giant, Telenor has entered into an agreement with Google in an attempt to increase Android adoption. According to reports, Telenor’s Android users will be able to access an updated range of apps on the front page of Android Market, pay for them apps via their mobile operator. This will also benefit local developers by increasing the accessibility of their apps while helping them increase their revenues.

As per sources, the deal is expected to be launched initially in Thailand, Sweden, Hungary, Malaysia and Denmark, early next year, and subsequently cover all of Telenor’s international markets. The deal comes as a result of the ever-increasing demand for mobile content across the European and the Asian economies.

Reports suggest that Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President & CEO, Telenor Group has said that this deal between Google and Telenor is designed to inject even more energy into the Android ecosystem. Most importantly, it means that millions of Telenor customers will experience easier access to more and richer mobile content, as well as flexible payment solutions.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Denmark • Android • Apps • Google • Hungary • Malaysia • Sweden • Telenor • Thailand

Ericsson seeks to increase revenues through patents (Sweden)

On 11.10.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Sweden based Ericsson, the world’s leading mobile telecommunications equipment vendor, is reportedly planning to increase revenues from its 27,000 patents as devices from toys to energy meters get wireless access, as said by CEO, Hans Vestberg.

According to reports, Vestberg claims that by 2015 two thirds of all consumer electronics devices will have some sort of connectivity and any company or manufacturer that wants to get in there will require an agreement with Ericsson. The firm currently has the industry’s largest portfolio of wireless communication patents and believes that increased revenue from rights would help smooth out fluctuations in network orders.

As per sources, Vestberg has said that the intellectual property covers basically everything in the telecom industry, including the world’s largest collection of WiFi patents. Sources reveal that revenue from patents went up from $ 368 in 2006 to $847 in 2010. Vestberg also said that if they are going to get 50 billion connected devices in 2020 it’s not only going to be handsets. He added that it is not going to be practical for them to make bilateral negotiations with all the manufacturers, and that they need new business models and need to work in groups.

Vestberg claims that the connected devices may include shipping containers that transmit their position and interior temperature, as well as appliances that are hooked into a network. He also revealed Ericsson’s plans to get royalties from intellectual property in areas it hasn’t monetized before, such as Web search and optical transmissions.

As per sources, Ericsson had entered into a transaction along with other companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Sony in July to buy 6,000 patents from Nortel Networks Corp for $ 4.5 billion. Vestberg reportedly said that this transaction was important for Ericsson as it didn’t have a deal covering those patents.

According to reports, industry analysts have valued Ericsson’s patents at $ 15.5 billion, on the basis of Google’s agreement to buy Motorola Mobility Holdings for $ 12.5 billion. Vestberg has said that the company has more than 90 licensing deals for its core technologies with handset companies and infrastructure producers. He added that they are not looking to sell patents but to receive recurrent revenue.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Apple • Ericsson • Hans Vestberg • Microsoft • Motorola • Patents • Sony • Sweden

Sony to buy out Ericsson’s stake in Sony Ericsson for US$ 1.46 billion (Japan, Sweden)

On 10.28.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Sony has reportedly announced that it will acquire Ericsson’s stake of 50 percent in mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson for $1.46 billion. Consequently, Sony Ericsson will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony and will be integrated into the company’s platform of network-connected consumer electronics products.

As per sources, Hans Vestberg, CEO, Ericsson said that when the joint venture was formed ten years ago, thereby combining Sony’s consumer products knowledge with Ericsson’s telecommunication technology expertise, it was a perfect match to drive the development of feature phones. However, today they take an equally logical step as Sony acquires their stake in Sony Ericsson and makes it a part of its broad range of consumer devices.

Sony President, Chairman, and CEO, Howard Stringer has reportedly said that this acquisition makes sense for Sony and Ericsson, and it will make the difference for consumers, who want to connect with content wherever they are, whenever they want. Further, Ericsson reportedly plans to focus on the global wireless market as a whole as well as how wireless connectivity can benefit people, business and society beyond just phones. The agreement, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in January 2012. According to reports, the transaction also includes a patent deal enabling Sony to receive the five sets of patents that are essential to making the phones and a licensing agreement on any other intellectual property.

Reports suggest that shares in Ericsson rose by 5.1 percent to $10.7, while Sony’s share price rose 5.4 percent to $21.7 at the time of closing.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Ericsson • Hans Vestberg • Howard Stringer • Japan • Sony • Sweden

Open Mobile may be the first to launch 4G LTE services in Latin America

On 10.28.11, In Mobile Operators, By Editor

Puerto Rican network operator, Open Mobile, is reportedly planning to launch 4G LTE mobile broadband services in Latin America along with Sweden based Ericsson, a world-leading provider of telecommunications equipment and related services to mobile and fixed network operators globally. As per reports, Neville Cruz, CTO, Open Mobile said that the companies have worked closely to rapidly build a high-quality 4G LTE network and that the LTE rollout would continue in metropolitan areas during the remainder of 2011 and early 2012.

Sources claim that Frank Bell, President, Open Mobile has said that being at the forefront of broadband evolution means that the customers in Puerto Rico will be the first in Latin America to benefit from this groundbreaking technology. He added that having an experienced partner in LTE deployment like Ericsson is a key step towards bringing their customers the fastest mobile broadband network. Industry sources reveal that of the many networks aiming to launch LTE services in Latin America, US-based AT&T and Mexican-based Claro have been targeting Puerto Rico for the launch of their services by early 2012.

Filed under:Mobile Operators Tagged with: 4G LTE • Ericsson • Frank Bell • Latin America • Neville Cruz • Open Mobile • Puerto Rico • Sweden