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.
Tata Completes GSMA IP EXchange Trials February 6, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Asia, GSM, India, Tata Communications, Telekom Austria, Telus.Tags: Asia, GSM, India, Tata Communications, Telekom Austria, Telus
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India’s Tata Communications says that it has successfully completed trials of its wireless IP interconnection technology, part of the international GSM Association’s program to develop the next generation of wireless services. Tata Communications’ trials were part of the GSMA’s IP eXchange (IPX).Pre-Commercial Implementation Project, which is verifying the design and operation of IPX networks through a series of trials designed to validate technical and commercial specifications.Once adopted, IPX will act as a private global IP backbone, open to any telecommunications company adhering to the required standards. IPX will provide fixed and mobile service providers with a technical and commercial platform for the performance-based exchange of IP-based services.
Tata Communications’ participation and completion of the GSMA’s IPX trial is key to our strategy of delivering innovative voice solutions to our customers worldwide,” said Michel Guyot, President, Global Voice Solutions for Tata Communications. Our company is committed to working with the IPIA (IP Internetworking Alliance) to promote and support the launch of IPX services and is planning to launch its own IPX rich, integrated offering to service providers – like TELUS and Telekom Austria – delivered over next-generation network architecture. We truly believe the IPX model will have a very significant impact on the industry.
Gemalto Expands Mobile Banking Availabilty February 3, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Asia, Bangladesh, Gemalto, India, Indonesia, mChek, Mobile Banking, Philippines, Sri Lanka.Tags: Asia, Bangladesh, Gemalto, India, Indonesia, mChek, Mobile Banking, Philippines, Sri Lanka
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Gemalto says that it is planning to expand the availability of its mobile banking services to markets in South Asia. The firm has been working with India-based technology partner mChek since last September to offer mobile banking services with telecom operators in India and Sri Lanka. Tan Teck Lee, President of Gemalto Asia said: mChek has demonstrated an exceptional platform that is flexible and scalable for a broad range of mobile banking and payment applications. By leveraging Gemalto’s worldwide partnership programme, we can partner with mChek to better serve our customers be they telecom operators or subscribers. Together we aim to bring new levels of security and convenience beyond India and Sri Lanka into markets such as Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Vodafone Report Says Mobile Phones Drive Economic Growth January 20, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Asia, India, Mobile, Telecom, Vodafone, Wireless.Tags: India, Mobile, Telecom, Vodafone, Wireless
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A report funded by Vodafone has looked at mobile phone use in India, and found clear evidence to suggest that mobile penetration facilitates economic growth. It shows that Indian states with 10% higher mobile phone penetration will enjoy an annual average growth rate 1.2% higher than those with a lower teledensity.There have been similar claims in the past – but the difficulty has typically been in finding out which came first, the prosperity or the mobile phone.
The report on the socio-economic impact of mobile technology was carried out by a team of researchers led by Professor Rajat Kathuria of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). Funded by Vodafone as part of a series of studies on the socio-economic impact of mobile (SIM), the report demonstrates that mobiles aid the process by which disadvantaged groups, including the low-skilled labour force, enjoy the fruits of economic growth.
Bharti starts mobile services in Sri Lanka January 12, 2009
Posted by aikservices in 3G, Airtel, Asia, Bharti, India, Mobile, Sri Lanka, Telecom, Wireless.Tags: Airtel, Asia, Bharti, India, Mobile, Sri Lanka, Telecom, Wireless
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India’s top mobile operator, Bharti Airtel, said on Monday it had launched mobile services in Sri Lanka and would invest $200 million on the operation in the island.
The services were launched on a third generation network through its subsidiary Bharti Airtel Lanka.
The company said it signed a three-year managed network deal with Huawei and has partnered with IBM to manage its IT, infrastructure and application requirements in Sri Lanka.
RCOM launches GSM-based services in Punjab; TTSL details own GSM plans (India) January 7, 2009
Posted by aikservices in GSM, India, Mobile, RCOM, Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices, Telecom, Wireless.Tags: GSM, India, Mobile, RCOM, Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices, Telecom, Wireless
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Hot on the heels of announcing the launch of GSM-based services in Mumbai earlier this week, Reliance Communications (RCOM) has revealed that it has begun GSM operations in the Punjab circle. According to Indian news source The Hindu, the launch makes RCOM the first operator to offer both CDMA and GSM-based services in the region. RCOM’s regional head, Arvind Kumar, said of the launch, ‘The service will cover 460 towns, 11,741 villages and a number of national, state and other highways, tourist and religious places throughout the state.’ The launch comes as part of RCOM’s nationwide rollout of its GSM-based services.
In separate but related news RCOM rival CDMA operator Tata Teleservices (TTSL) has stated it will roll out its own GSM-based services by the end of 2009, and will invest approximately USD2 billion on the new infrastructure. The operator has noted that it has already been allocated spectrum in most circles, and the announcement follows reports in December 2008 that it had signed deals with hardware vendors Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and Huawei Technologies for the rollout of approximately 60 million GSM lines.
Reliance Communications launches India-wide GSM network January 5, 2009
Posted by aikservices in CDMA, Edge, GSM, India, Mobile, Reliance Communications, Telecom, Wireless.Tags: CDMA, Edge, GSM, India, Mobile, Reliance Communications, Telecom, Wireless
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Indian mobile operator Reliance Communications (RCom) is launching a nationwide enhanced GSM network that will cover over 1 billion people, the widest one-time launch. Reliance’s new network is expected to be activated within 5 days and offer seamless coverage on major railway routes, national and state highways through dedicated mobile towers. At the same time the network is connected to Reliance owned fibre network for unlimited capacity, both in India and overseas and EDGE-enabled. RCom will offer stutter-free video capability including 16 TV channels, sports updates as well as access to video sharing websites like Youtube plus access to R-World mobile content offering entertainment, music, news, cricket, bollywood, maps and search and set-up and access to e-mail and social networking. RCom claims to be the first Indian mobile operator that will have a nation-wide CDMA network as well as a nation-wide GSM network.
Russia’s MTS Brand Expands into India December 31, 2008
Posted by aikservices in Asia, India, Mobile, MTS, Russia, Shyam Telelink, Sistema, Telecom, Wireless.Tags: Asia, India, Mobile, MTS, Russia, Shyam Telelink, Sistema, Telecom, Wireless
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India’s Shyam Telelink, which is controlled by Russia’s Sistema has announced plans to use the brand-name of the Russian mobile network operator, MTS in the Indian market. MTS is itself 52.8% majority-owned by Sistema. Sistema guaranteed US$520 million of the total US$630 million that Shyam Telelink paid for obtaining its operating licenses. The company recently used a call-option to increase its shareholding in India’s Shyam Telelink from 51% to 72% – just shy of the 74% which is permitted under Indian laws.
At STL, our endeavour is to provide world class affordable mobile services to the customers, said Mr. Vsevolod Rozanov, CEO, Shyam Telelink Limited. Coming to market with a fully developed and globally recognized brand will give us a clear competitive advantage in the marketplace. The MTS brand offers Shyam Telelink a valuable portfolio of marketing guidelines that will provide time and cost advantages. The universality of MTS’ brand values and the simplicity of its design will resonate well among potential customers in India, and we are confident that the brand will aid in the expansion of our business.
Telenor expects to close transaction with Unitech in Jan’09 December 26, 2008
Posted by aikservices in India, Mobile, Norway, Telecom, Telenor, Unitech, Wireless.Tags: India, Mobile, Norway, Telecom, Telenor, Unitech, Wireless
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Telenor is expecting to close transaction with Unitech Wireless in January next year. Unitech had said that it would sell 60% of its stake in its telecom venture for about Rs 6,120 crore to Telenor, in October. It was earlier announced that, Telenor would be able to complete transaction by the end of 2008. The company is also evaluating alternatives to fund the transaction, it said.
“The closing of the transaction is subject to certain conditions being fulfilled. Telenor and its partner, the Unitech Group, anticipate that not all conditions for closing (the deal) will be fulfilled before year-end,” the telecom entity said. The company is also planning to proclaim a decision on the “funding of the investment at, or prior to, the closing of the Unitech Wireless transaction”. Unitech is also planning to launch its services in the first half of 2009.
Google releases unlocked G1 for developers December 9, 2008
Posted by aikservices in Android, Australia, Austria, Canada, CDMA, Finland, France, G1, Germany, Google, GSM, Hungary, India, Japan, Mobile, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Smartphone, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, T-Mobile, Taiwan, Telecom, United Kingdom, USA, Wireless.Tags: Android, Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, France, G1, Germany, Google, Hungary, India, Japan, Mobile, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, T-Mobile, Taiwan, Telecom, United Kingdom, USA, Wireless
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To make the phone more accessible to developers, Google’s Android development team released the first SIM-unlocked and hardware-unlocked version of the T-Mobile G1, which runs on the Android platform.
The move, which the development team quietly let slip on Friday, is a clear signal to application developers that they now have a G1 to test their applications on free from the constraints of signing up for a service contract with T-Mobile USA. The phone, called the Android Dev Phone 1, is available for $399 in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, India, Canada, France, Taiwan, Spain, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Poland and Hungary.
Developers who are registered in the Android Market can sign into their account and purchase the phone. Google is limiting one phone to each developer account. Google warned that non-developers should probably not make use of the phone, noting that, “Since the devices can be configured with system software not provided by or supported by Google or any other company, end users operate these devices at their own risk.”
Source: http://www.fiercewireless.com
Tata Teleservices selects NSN to launch GSM services December 8, 2008
Posted by aikservices in Asia, CDMA, GSM, India, Mobile, Nokia Siemens Networks, Tata Teleservices Limited, Telecom, Wireless.Tags: GSM, India, Mobile, Nokia Siemens Networks, NSN, TTSL, Wireless
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Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) has tied up with Nokia Siemens Networks for its pan-India GSM network rollout. Under the terms of the partnership, Nokia Siemens Networks has been identified as one of the main vendors that will manage the operations of the networks it deploys over a period of five years.
Managed services forms just one portion of the vast scope of the deal — the complete services outlay includes local supplies, network planning, project management, network roll-out and systems integration activities across the national network.
Commenting on the tie-up, Anil Sardana, Managing Director, Tata Teleservices Limited, said, “As we gear up for our GSM launch, the need of the hour is to provide quick time-to-market services that ensure better network quality and uptime. In keeping with this mission, we feel suitably aligned to Nokia Siemens Networks, which with its massive services set-up in the country, can provide us the required support.”
Nokia Siemens Networks is said to have been selected on the basis of its mobile softswitching solution, its Home Location Register, its advanced Subscriber Data Management platform and the energy-efficient Flexi Base Station. Underscoring its faith in Nokia Siemens Networks, TTSL will also deploy the company’s packet core solution, including the Flexi Intelligent Service Node, for all 22 circles in the country, enabling it to offer mobile Internet access across subscriber segments.
According to Michael Kuehner, Head: Nokia Siemens Networks, sub-region India, “Not only does this partnership allow us to work with one of the most prestigious names in Indian corporate history, but being selected for TTSL’s GSM launch also considerably strengthens our dominance across the Indian telecom landscape.”
Nokia Siemens Networks will be responsible for GSM services across a majority of TTSL’s 22 telecom circles in India.
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