Six operators to launch LiMo handsets this year February 11, 2009
Posted by aikservices in KTF, LiMo, Linux, Mobile Network Operator, NTT DoCoMo, Orange, SFR. Softbank Mobile, SK Telecom, Swisscom, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Verizon Wireless, Vodafone.Tags: KTF, LiMo, Linux, Mobile Network Operator, NTT DoCoMo, Orange, SFR. Softbank Mobile, SK Telecom, Swisscom, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Verizon Wireless, Vodafone
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Six operators will launch mobile phones based on the LiMo operating system this year, announced the LiMo Foundation, an industry group promoting Linux software for mobile services. The operators planning LiMo devices include NTT Docomo, Orange, SK Telecom, Telefonica, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone. Further active operator participants in the LiMo Foundation include KTF, SFR, Softbank Mobile, Swisscom and Telecom Italia. To date 33 commercial handset models have been certified as LiMo Compliant, of which 10 will be on display at the Mobile World Congress by NEC and Panasonic. LG and Samsung will also show new prototype models at MWC in Barcelona.
The LiMo Foundation also announced that all technologies specified for the R2 release of the LiMo Platform have been contributed on time, and LiMo members are currently introducing reference implementations for devices. The LiMo Reference Implementations will include code specified within both LiMo Platform R1 and LiMo Platform R2. This code includes source code contributions from members as well as components originating from open source communities. LiMo Reference Implementation contributors include Access, Azingo, LG Electronics, Purple Labs and Samsung Electronics. The latest technologies in the LiMo Platform include support for features such as advanced multimedia, location-based services, device management and enhanced security. The LiMo Foundation also announced its endorsement of the OMTP Bondi specification, which future LiMo handsets using a web runtime will support for widgets.
DiGi Appoints New Chief Technology Officer February 11, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Digi, Malaysia, Mobile Network Operator, Telenor.Tags: Digi, Malaysia, Mobile Network Operator, Telenor
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Ole Martin Gunhildsbu has been appointed by Malaysian mobile network, DiGi Telecommunications as its new Chief Technology Officer with immediate effect. He has been acting CTO since November 2008 when his predecessor left to take up a new role within the Telenor Group. On his appointment, DiGi Chief Executive Officer Johan Dennelind said: We are happy with Ole’s steady leadership, and his accomplishments in improving network coverage and quality over the past year. I am confident that he will manage this core business aspect of ours effectively as we move forward to take DiGi to the next level.
I’m thankful for this opportunity and really excited to take on the new challenge. Last year the technology organization made a big leap in terms of quality and coverage. I’m positive the organization has what it takes to improve even further and take on the broadband challenges as well, said Gunhildsbu.
One in three iPhone users use LBS in Q4 February 11, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Apple, iPhone, LBS, SMS.Tags: Apple, iPhone, LBS, SMS
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Users of Apple’s iPhone are more than twice as likely as non-iPhone users to browse the mobile web and more than three times as likely to use LBS or a location-based social network, according to a mobile advertising report by Limbo. The report suggests that advertisers can reach iPhone users with mobile campaigns more easily than with other platforms, with more than 80 percent of iPhone users taking advantage of non-voice mobile data services, compared to just over 60 percent of non-iPhone users. One in ten mobile phone users in the US used a location-based service such as a map, friend or restaurant finder in the fourth quarter. The 25-34 age group saw the highest levels of interest in this type of offering, with 22 percent penetration. In contrast, iPhone users are four times as likely to recall LBS ads as non-iPhone users. While 33 percent of mobile consumers recall seeing mobile advertisements, 41 percent of iPhone users recall seeing mobile ads, according to the survey. The vast majority of these ads were seen in SMS text messages, twice as much as mobile web ads, which are the second most common mobile ad viewed. Significantly fewer consumers see other forms of mobile advertising unless they have an iPhone.
Globecomm Systems 2Q profit falls 75 pct February 11, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Financial, Globecomm, Mobile, VoIP.Tags: Financial, Globecomm, Mobile, VoIP
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Satellite communications company Globecomm Systems Inc. reported a 75 percent decline in fiscal second quarter earnings Monday on falling sales in its infrastructure business. Globecomm said separately it has launched a global maritime broadband satellite service for cellular, VoIP, video teleconference, data and e-mail service. Globecomm is said it is pairing with the company Mach6, which provides applications including onboard computing, voice and video, mapping and others.
Globecomm posted a profit of $948,000, or 5 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31 compared with $3.7 million, or 18 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Sales fell 26 percent to $40 million from $54.4 million, led by a 45 percent decline in the satellite infrastructure business, which the company attributed to the worldwide economic slowdown.
CSR expands in GPS market with Sirf takeover February 11, 2009
Posted by aikservices in CSR, GPS, Mobile, Sirf, Telecom, Wireless.Tags: CSR, GPS, Mobile, Sirf, Telecom, Wireless
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Bluetooth chip specialist CSR has agreed to merge with Sirf, a maker of GPS semiconductors. The merger is expected to diversify CSR’s product base and strengthen its position in the mobile phone market. Around 20 percent of mobile phones had GPS in 2008, and this is expected to double by 2012, CSR said. Under the terms of the deal, Sirf shareholders will receive 0.741 share in CSR for each Sirf share they hold. This will give Sirf shareholders 27 percent of the new company. Sirf’s executive chairman Diosdado P. Banatao and founder Kanwar Chadha will join the CSR board as non-executive director and executive director respectively; they have also both agreed to vote their shares in the merger. CSR expects annual cost savings of USD 35 million within two months of closing the deal. Sirf generated revenues of USD 232 million in 2008 and is expected to contribute immediately to profits. The merger is expected to close late in the second quarter of 2009.
Singtel mobile customer base grows 7.3% in Q4 February 10, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Airtel, Australia, Bangladesh, CityCell, Globe Telecom, India, Indonesia, Mobile Network Operator, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Singtel, Thailand, Warid.Tags: Airtel, Australia, Bangladesh, CityCell, Globe Telecom, India, Indonesia, Mobile Network Operator, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Singtel, Thailand, Warid
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SingTel reported a mobile customer base of 232.422 million at the end of 2008, up 35 percent from a year earlier and up 7.3 percent from September. The customer base includes its operations in Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Proportionate for its ownership, the operator had 82.364 million customers at year-end, up 34 percent from 2007 and up 6.8 percent from the third quarter. In its home market, the total mobile customer base rose to 2.942 million from 2.874 million in September. A total of 68,000 new mobile customers were added during the quarter of which 30,000 were postpaid net additions, with continued good take-up of Apple’s iPhone 3G, SingTel said. The operator’s largest affiliate market is India, where Bharti Airtel grew its base to 85.65 million at the end of 2008, from 77.48 million three months earlier. Telkomsel in Indonesia finished the year with 65.30 million customers, up from 60.50 million in Q3, and AIS in Thailand added 1.3 million customers in Q4 for a total 27.40 million at year-end. Australian operator Optus increased its base to 7.63 million from 7.42 million in September. Optus attracted 213,000 new customers, including 104,000 postpaid in the quarter, compared to 182,000 in the preceding quarter. Optus’ 3G subscriber base now stands at 2.33 million, an increase of 7.9 percent over the previous quarter. Globe Telecom in the Philippines grew to 24.70 million subscribers from 23.75 million three months earlier. In Pakistan, Warid grew its total customer base to 16.9 million, up 28 per cent year-on-year or 4.7 percent from a quarter ago. CityCell’s mobile customer base in Bangladesh was 1.8 million, up 29 percent from a year ago or 3.7 percent from a quarter ago.
Former Blyk chief takes the helm at O2’s media arm February 10, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Blyk, Mobile Network Operator, MVNO, O2, UK.Tags: Blyk, Mobile Network Operator, MVNO, O2, UK
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O2 has appointed former Blyk chief executive Shaun Gregory as managing director of media. He will take on the role on March 1. Gregory will be responsible for the overall media strategy at the operator, as well as building an advertising business to offer mobile and cross-media opportunities for brands in the UK. He will report to O2 UK customer director, Tim Sefton.
Prior to joining O2, Gregory was chief executive at ad-funded youth MVNO Blyk in the UK. He has also held positions including new media director at The Telegraph Media Group and board director at Emap.
VipNet to offer HSPA+ from spring February 10, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Croatia, Ericsson, HSPA, Mobile Network Operator, VipNet.Tags: Croatia, Ericsson, HSPA, Mobile Network Operator, VipNet
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Croatian mobile operator Vipnet has successfully tested and demonstrated mobile broadband HSPA technology with Ericsson Nikola Tesla at the Vipnet Technology Day. The operator says it will support the HSPA+ speeds of up to 21 Mbps starting from the spring in major cities. HSPA+ speeds require new devices to access the internet, and manufacturers are expected to start delivering devices for the Croatian market in the second semester this year. Vipnet also started to introduce HSUPA 5.7 technology, which offers data upload speeds almost four times higher than current levels.
LG targets KRW 3 trillion in cost savings February 10, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Cost Cutting, Korea, LG Electronics.Tags: Cost Cutting, Korea, LG Electronics
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LG Electronics announced efforts to weather the world economic slowdown, including plans to reduce its costs by KRW 3 trillion. Despite the weaker demand, LG said it will continue to invest, and may even raise its spending, on R&D and marketing. The company has intensified its efforts to increase market share despite the volatile economic situation. To achieve this, LG has reorganized its business portfolio to focus on areas with longer-term growth potential and profitability. Partnerships will continue to be a key element of the company’s marketing activities to elevate its brand position.
LG will continue to invest in future growth engines such as solar power, commercial air conditioners and business (B2B) solutions, all sectors LG expects will expand and become increasingly profitable once the economy is back on track. At the end of 2008, LG Electronics established a Crisis War Room (CWR) to bring together LG’s five business units, eight regional headquarters and executives to implement and manage the company’s business plan. In three months, the CWR has identified and developed 11 key action items. Business units have been instructed to establish task force teams to take responsibility for managing the cost-saving initiatives. The company-wide cost-cutting initiative also applies to manufacturing and indirect costs. Globally, LG has been working to further improve its procurement system, which includes everything from raw materials to investment in facilities, financial services and recruitment. LG’s efforts to improve its cash flow has already resulted in reduced inventory, increased liquidity, optimized supply chain management and a more consolidated, efficient purchasing process overall, the company said.
Nokia to open Music Store in South Africa February 10, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Ireland, Nokia, South Africa, UAE.Tags: Ireland, Nokia, South Africa, UAE
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Nokia has announced its intention to bring the Nokia Music Store to South Africa. The store, which will open its doors on 24 April, promises to make millions of digital tracks available to local consumers. The store will feature a broad range of genres including popular and non-mainstream genres, independent artists and a wide selection of South African artists. In addition, the Nokia Music Store will offer a host of interactive features such as music browsing and personal track recommendations. South African users will be able to access the Nokia Music Store via their personal computer or directly from Nokia devices including the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia N96, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia N81 8GB, Nokia N82 and the Nokia N79. All music on the Nokia Music Store can be purchased through a variety of payment options, including credit cards and prepaid vouchers. South Africa is the 12th country to see a local launch of the Nokia Music Store. Most recently the store was launched in Ireland and the United Arab Emirates.
Malaysia’s Digi Reports Full-Year Revenues Up 10% February 9, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Asia, Digi, Financial, Malaysia.Tags: Asia, Digi, Financial, Malaysia
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Malaysian mobile operator, DiGi has reported an after-tax-profit of RM1.1 billion (US$304 million) on the back of a 10% growth in revenue to RM4.8 billion (US$1.3 billion) in 2008. The rise in revenue was driven by steady demand for mobile services and an increase in subscriber base to 7.1 million at the end of 2008. Average revenue per user (ARPU) maintained at RM59 (US$16.35).
Commenting on DiGi’s performance in 2008, chief executive officer Johan Dennelind said, We are pleased to have met our financial guidance despite intense competition and a more challenging macro-economic environment towards the second-half of 2008. Encouragingly, we are gaining positive momentum for our postpaid business as seen in the significant increase in subscriber base by 56%, surpassing the 1 million mark.
Year-on-year, DiGi’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to RM2.2 billion (US$609 million). As expected, EBITDA margin decreased to 45.1% due to competitive price pressure, higher traffic and network operating costs as well as increased sales and marketing expenses.
New Palestinian mobile network receives funding February 9, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Financial, GSM, Palestine, Qtel, Wataniya.Tags: Financial, GSM, Palestine, Qtel, Wataniya
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International Finance Corp (IFC), the private-sector lending arm of the World Bank, is to invest USD 30 million in a new operator building a mobile network in Palestine’s West Bank. The operator, known as Wataniya Palestine, is a joint-venture between the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) and Wataniya Telecom, which is majority-owned by Qatar’s Qtel. “The network being built by Wataniya Palestine will use the internationally popular GSM standard,” Allan Richardson, Wataniya’s chief executive, told Reuters. The operator received its GSM license, the second to be issued in Palestine, in September 2006. IFC said its investment was driven by the desire to provide jobs and help make mobile services more affordable and more widely available in the Palestinian territories.
Verizon CFO to Retire in Mid-2009 February 9, 2009
Posted by aikservices in North America, USA, Verizon Wireless.Tags: North America, USA, Verizon Wireless
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Verizon’s Chief Financial Officer, Doreen A. Toben has announced her intention to retire around the middle of this year. As CFO since 2002, Toben has been involved in virtually all of Verizon’s strategic initiatives and significant decisions. The company said that a successor to Toben will be named shortly.Verizon CEO Ivan G. Seidenberg said: Doreen’s contributions as CFO throughout Verizon’s history as a company will make a profound and positive difference for many years to come. She has been an outstanding executive, helping Verizon integrate multiple acquisitions, demonstrate financial discipline, improve execution and strengthen our balance sheet for the benefit of investors. We are grateful for her dedication throughout her career and are pleased that she will stay to assist during the transition period.
Since April 2002, Toben has been responsible for Verizon’s finance and financial planning efforts. Prior to being CFO, Toben was senior vice president and chief financial officer for Verizon’s Domestic Telecom group, with responsibility for finance and strategic planning.
Mobile Linux Group Selects Wind River As Systems Integrator February 9, 2009
Posted by aikservices in LiMo, Mobile Linux, Telecom, Wind River, Wireless.Tags: LiMo, Mobile Linux, Telecom, Wind River, Wireless
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The Mobile Linux organisation, the LiMo Foundation has selected Wind River as the systems integrator to deliver the common infrastructure, tools, testing and integration services for the LiMo platform. A Board member of LiMo Foundation, Wind River will now be LiMo’s chosen systems integrator providing technology and services to combine, harden and validate code contributions of LiMo members through a Common Working Environment (CWE).
As the mobile industry now breaks out of its traditional, controlled development environments and embraces collaborative approaches that unlock innovation, operators and device manufacturers are turning to vendors they can trust to guide them through the evolving mobile software landscape, said Morgan Gillis, executive director of LiMo Foundation. Through its selection of Wind River as a company with a legacy of world-class embedded software, LiMo expects to be able to accelerate its goal of reducing Linux fragmentation while intensifying platform development through the rapid adoption of member contributions.
VeriSign sells European mobile branch to Sinon February 9, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Europe, Financial, MMS, Sinon, VeriSign.Tags: Europe, Financial, MMS, Sinon, VeriSign
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Global internet infrastructure services provider VeriSign is selling its European mobile branch to Austrian investment group Sinon, with effect from 1 January. The new company, which specialises in mobile messaging, will be called Mobile Messaging Solutions. The sale follows VeriSign’s decision to withdraw from the mobile business sector and focus more on its online naming and security activities. MMS has named Otto Legerer as CEO. The management team comprises Peter Kraus as CFO and Harald Weinberger in the role of CTO. Kraus was previously VeriSign’s financial manager. Weinberger says that the company aims to expand its presence in Vienna and Central and Eastern Europe. Furthermore, ongoing technical development and innovation will be encouraged allowing the company to continue its ongoing expansion into new markets in Asia and Africa. MMS aims to provide mobile applications and SMS services with its international mobile messaging network made up of data centres. These centres will be responsible for the transmission of more than 240 million SMS messages each year on behalf of tier 1 clients including all Austrian mobile communications operators, media providers and large branded organisations. The company will also focus on SMEs to receive support for mobile marketing. MMS and VeriSign plan to continue a long-term partnership within the verticals of mobile security and mobile international services.
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