Zain Malawi gets 3G Licence.
MACRA has awarded a 3G licence to Zain Malawi, which is expected to enhance high-speed wireless internet access.
Zain marketing director, Enwell Kadango confirmed that discussions that started between the company and MACRA since 2006 has finally borne fruit as its licence conditions have now been changed.
3G is the telecommunication hardware standard and general technology for the mobile networking superseding 2.5G system which will now allow speed in data processing,†said Kadango who added that Malawi is taking after most developing countries that are using this technology.
Currently Zain Malawi is about to finish its equipment installation across the country which will be compatible with the new system which offers fast downloading speeds of between 2-8mbps.
Malawi’s Zain CEO Fayaz King said 3G would also allow users to watch television besides connecting to the internet and make video calls.
TNM Limited, Zain’s competitor in the market got the licence sometime back but it is only now that the company has been testing it.
CAT gets nod to purchase Hutchison-CAT’s cellular businesses.
The board of CAT Telecom has given the green light to sign a memorandum of understanding with Hutchison Telecom on CAT’s plan to buy four Thai cellular and related businesses from the Hong Kong telecom operator. Hutchison-CAT is a 75:25 joint venture of Hutchison Telecom and CAT.
The board has assigned CAT CEO, Jirayuth Rungsrithong to sign the MOU before the end of this week.
CAT will buy BFKT, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hutchison Telecom. CAT also plans to buy assets of Hutchison Telecom in the joint venture – its call centre and content businesses.
The CAT board also approved the plan to hire Allen & Overy for legal advisory services, Bualuang Securities for financial advisory services and Chulalongkorn University’s Chula Unisearch for HR advisory services.
CAT will transfer under itself a combined 1,000 employees of the four businesses it plans to buy.
Hutchison Telecom had invested about Bt30 billion in the CDMA business since Hutchison-CAT’s service debut in 2003.
Interestingly also, Krisda said CAT was concerned about a clause in the draft law governing the creation of the new broadcasting and telecom regulator in Thailand. The clause mandates that if CAT were to list shares in the stock exchange, it will have to either pay half of its revenue to the state or return to the state the spectrum it granted to private concessions.
Bharti Airtel considering bid for Millicom SL
Bharti Airtel CEO, Manoj Kohli told reporters in India that Airtel may bid for Millicom’s Sri Lankan operation. Bharti already operates in SL.
Wireless Federation had earlier reported that Millicom/Tigo Laos has been sold to Russia’s Vimpelcom.
Bharti is actively considering acquisitions in Africa and the world over after the talks with MTN collapsed.
Bharti group CEO Sunil Mittal has said that the company won’t engage in dialogue with MTN for a third time, after inconclusive talks twice.
Nasdaq-listed Millicom provides prepaid cellular telephony services to over 30 million customers in 16 emerging markets in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Asked if Bharti Airtel was also interested in Kuwait’s Zain Telecom, Kohli said they will continue to explore international acquisitions. (Airtel-Zain, See Here)
MTN and Bharti now rivals in a bid for Zain.
What was to be a merger is now likely to turn into a battle to acquire Zain. Reliable sources have revealed that a dialogue between Airtel and Zain has now been initiated via intermediaries. With this Bharti will now take on MTN in a bid to acquire Zain.
Last month, MTN CEO Phutuma Nhleko had stated that it would consider buying the African assets of Zain Telecom if the deal with Bharti did not go through.
Bharti Airtel is trying its hardest best to get a foothold in Africa, which is where the growth story is playing out as well.
Zain is considered a valuable asset because it has over 69 million customers and operations in 24 countries across West Asia and Africa, and a market capitalisation in excess of $19 billion. In Africa alone, it has 41 million customers and is the number one mobile operator in 12 of the 16 countries it operates in. As a comparison, MTN has over 103 million customers and operates in 21 countries.
Hutchison 3G Austria modernizes its network for HSPA+ and LTE
Hutchison 3G Austria is modernizing its radio access network to be ready for HSPA+ and the next generation of mobile broadband, or LTE. At the same time this step will allow the operator to halve the energy consumption of its base stations. Nokia Siemens Networks will undertake this upgrade starting in autumn 2009.
The demand for increased mobile broadband capacity and throughput in Austria is reflected in the increasing usage of data cards and mobile services like Mobile TV, video download or video sharing,†said Berthold Thoma, CEO of Hutchison 3G Austria. Mobile broadband is also one of the most pragmatic solutions to bridging the digital gap between cities and rural areas. For rural areas, mobile broadband coverage is simply less expensive and faster to deploy than fiber to the home†solutions. We hope that with our nationwide coverage we will contribute significantly to this end.†(more…)
KCC asks mobile operators to slash call charges (South Korea)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Choi See-joong, the Chairman of South Korean regulator, has reportedly asked mobile operators to lower call charges on the back of an OECD report highlighting the country as one of the world’s most expensive for mobile phone use .
As per his recommendations, a similar pledge by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to cut mobile rates by 20%. The regulator is considering a variety of methods to force rate reductions, including the banning of handset subsidies to promote cheaper call rates, expanding pre-paid tariffs and most notably allowing the introduction of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). However, all three telcos are not in favour of this. SK Telecom has claimed that government interference could have a negative effect on competitiveness in the wireless sector.
BH gives Ericsson’s Croatian unit new 5.9Mn GSM contract (Bosnia & Herzegovina)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: BH Telecom given Croatia-based technology provider Ericsson Nikola Tesla a new contract for GSM mobile network expansion worth HRK30 million (USD5.9 million). With immediate effect, the contract covers expansion of BH Telecom’s GSM/GPRS/EDGE infrastructure to allow for continued user base growth, as well as faster and more reliable mobile voice and data access across the network. Gordana
Kovacevic, President of Ericsson Nikola Tesla, said, ‘I am very pleased with the continued cooperation [with] BH Telecom in mobile telephony. It should provide a foundation for even larger projects with our strategic customer in further mobile network modernisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.’
China Unicom & Spain Telefonica ink $1 Bn strategic alliance agreement
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: China Unicom, one of the leading mobile operators in China, has reportedly inked a strategic alliance agreement with Spain Telefonica. Under the agreement, the two firms will exchange US$1 billion in shares. Telefonica will buy 693.91 million new shares in China Unicom at HK$11.17 each, while China Unicom will buy 40.73 million shares of Telefonica at EUR 17.38 a share.
After the transaction is made, China Unicom’s shareholding in Telefonica will reach 0.88%, while Telefonica’s shareholding in China Unicom will increase to approximately 8% from 5.38%.
Chang Xiaobing, Chairman of China Unicom, said the partnership will improve the company’s ability to provide telecom and information services and maximize shareholders’ returns.
Deutsche Telekom likely to sell T-Mobile U.K. Unit-report
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Deutsche Telekom AG is in talks with Vodafone Group Plc, France Telecom SA and Telefonica SA about selling its T-Mobile U.K. unit, media reports. All three companies have expressed their interest in the unit however talks are still at a preliminary stage,the report said.
As per the report, a merger between T-Mobile U.K. and France Telecom’s Orange U.K. unit is being mulled.
