July 30, 2006
Warid Telecom Selects Motorola to Deploy Extensive GSM Network in Bangladesh
Bangladesh a step closer to seamless mobility as Warid Telecom International LLC commits to providing cost-effective voice and data services across the country by end-2006
Motorola, Inc.(NYSE:MOT) announced that it has been chosen by Warid Telecom International LLC, a full service telecom provider for Bangladesh, to deploy a new 2.5G GSM network in the country. Expected to be commercially deployed by the end of 2006, the network will provide region-wide coverage in the Northeastern region. Eventually Warid Telecom's entire network will support voice and data services for up to five million new customers in Bangladesh.
Warid Telecom is fully committed to establishing itself as a leading provider of wireless services in Bangladesh. Bashir A. Tahir, CEO for Warid Telecom International LLC said, “Mobile communications is an empowering tool to transform individuals and businesses. We are pleased to be playing a part in the growing telecommunications sector in Bangladesh, and we are fully committed to building a world class mobile communications infrastructure in the country to deliver affordable voice and data services to all major cities and towns in 2006.”
"Although we are a late entrant, Warid Telecom has an aggressive roll out plan that will see us reach the entire Bangladesh population within one year. We will also ensure that we offer our Bangladeshi brethren a wide range of differentiating services that will add value to their lives, as well as redefine customer service in the country," adds Muneer Farooqui, Chief Executive Officer Bangladesh Operations, Warid Telecom International LLC.
Warid Telecom will be deploying Motorola Reach GSM solutions to provide an 1800 MHz mobile network to deliver voice and data services. This new network will form the foundation for Warid Telecom's expansion in the country, and will be upgradeable to EDGE and eventually 3G to deliver media-rich data services. Motorola will also be supplying and implementing its wi4 Canopy® wireless broadband system to connect Warid's headquarter with its distributors nation-wide in Bangladesh. The wi4 Canopy, part of Motorola MOTOwi4TM wireless broadband solutions, provides a scalable, reliable platform that supports high speed broadband applications.
Jay Andersen, vice president, sales and operations for Motorola Networks & Enterprise, Asia said, “The telecommunications market in Bangladesh certainly presents many opportunities for growth. Morgan Stanley revealed in a report1 that mobile penetration in Bangladesh can reach 25-30 percent within the next five years. With our expertise in designing cost-effective networks in emerging markets, we are confident that this relationship with Warid Telecom will create the building blocks to drive seamless mobility for consumers in Bangladesh.”
Warid Telecom is a fast growing telecommunications provider that has already established a strong reputation in neighboring Pakistan. Delivering comprehensive communications services to over 100 major cities in Pakistan, Warid Telecom has managed to win over 4 million subscribers within first year of its launch in that competitive market.
Wateen Telecom, part of Warid Telecom International LLC, has recently announced plans with Motorola to deploy a nationwide wireless broadband voice and data network in Pakistan using Motorola's wi4 WiMAX solutions. The solutions and integration services from Motorola are the first step for Wateen to make Broadband Pakistan a reality.
In this current deal with Warid Telecom, a portion of the purchase price will be financed by Motorola.
Posted by admin at 01:38 PM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2006
China's mobile market continues to boom
China' two largest mobile-service providers are showing strong growth in subscriber numbers for January.
China Mobile Ltd., which is based in Hong Kong and is the largest mobile carrier in China by subscribers announced that it added 4.07 million subscribers in January. Subscribers to its mobile services totaled 250.72 million in January.
China's second-largest mobile carrier by subscribers, China Unicom Ltd., said Sunday it added 1.31 million subscribers in January, the largest monthly increase since May 2005. This brought the number of its mobile-service customers to 129.10 million.
While analysts attributed January sales to seaosonal factors, clearly China. In 2003 China became the largest mobile phone market according to a BBC report.
Posted by admin at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2006
From shipping hub to information hub Asia: Singapore takes the broadband route
Armed with BS degree in math, diploma in computer science and masters in public administration from Harvard's Kennedy School Singapore's prime minister Lee Hsien Loong seems to have the right strategy to convert his country from a shipping hub to an knowledge hub.
As part of this strategy Singapore government is putting the pumbing together to create a nation-wide high speed broadband networking that will connect schools, offices, homes and mobile users. The plan is similar to one back in the 90s when Singapore put together SingaporeONE which created one networking infrastructure for the country cutting redundent effort and bringing the latest technology back then.
The Singapore government also has created and R&D assistance fund that will grow to $3.5 billion US in the next five years.
Singapore's national carier, Singapore Airlines already provide wireless broadband on selected flights today.
In order to become the knowledge hub the country needs not only to develop the greatest technologies but also a place where such knowledge is exchanged as per statements made by Lee Hsien Loong.
Posted by admin at 04:13 AM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2006
Chinese Huawei Signs 3G Handset Deal with World's Largest Mobile Operator
China's Huawei Technologies Co. reached a deal to supply 3G mobile phones to Vodafone Group PLC, the world's largest cell phone company. It is Huawai's first significant breakthrough into Europe's large handset market.
Under the five-year deal, Huawei-made 3G handsets will be sold by Vodafone in 21 countries, Vodafone said. Vodafone anticipates offering the first Huawei handset in September.
Posted by admin at 06:48 AM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2006
Nokia sales in China grew 29% last year
(MENAFN) The Finnish telecom giant Nokia said that its net sales in China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, surged by 29 percent to $4.6 billion last year, Xinhuanet reported.
The president of Nokia (China) Investment Co Ltd. said that this revenue growth has turned China into Nokia's largest single market.
China last year contributed 11 percent of the annual global sales of Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker and a major mobile telecom equipment maker.
Nokia's exports from China grew by 15 percent to reach $3.43 billion last year.
The senior vice-president in charge of Nokia's customer and marketing operations in Greater China, said the past year was a banner year for Nokia because the firm made good profits in a mature market.
Posted by admin at 06:22 AM | Comments (0)
February 10, 2006
Japan's DoCoMo to sell adds on mobile devices
Japan's 3G mobile phone service provider NTT DoCoMo Inc., is targeting television advertisements as a new source of growth as falling mobile phone charges deminish margins.
DoCoMo announced yesterday a tie-up with broadcaster Nippon Television Network Corp. to create television programs specifically for its cellphones and to use this to sell ads.
The alliance comes as Japan's cellular industry is preparing to offer digitally broadcast TV over cellphones in April. DoCoMo president yesterday said that it is crucial for the carrier to develop its own content rather than recycle what broadcasters already offer.
Posted by admin at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2006
Cambodia gears up for wireless broadband
ZDNET ASIA: Cambodia Data Communication (CDC) holds a license from the country's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and has started providing wireless broadband access to the capital city, Phnom Penh. The carrier intends to expand coverage to other Cambodian cities this year.
Wireless broadband typically covers a range of up to 30 miles, delivering Internet access speeds of up to 75 megabits per second. This is more than 20 times the speed of the fastest wired broadband available commercially.
Channda Sok, managing director of CDC, said in a statement that Cambodia's history of civil wars has prevented the deployment of an effective telecommunications infrastructure based on physical wires.
She added that CDC turned to wireless broadband because it needed a solution that would allow the country to take advantage of the latest advances in wireless and Internet Protocol (IP) technologies.
Cambodia has a population of 15 million, and according to the International Telecommunications Union, the country has a low Internet penetration rate of just 0.5 percent, or 41,000 Internet users, as of Sept. 2005.
Posted by admin at 06:52 AM | Comments (0)
February 02, 2006
Nortel and Chinese competitor Huawei join forces on broadband venture
TORONTO (CP) - Nortel Networks Corp. (TSX:NT) is joining hands with major Chinese competitor Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. in a global partnership to develop "ultra" broadband projects.
The telecom giant said Wednesday that it and Shenzhen-based Huawei have entered into supply agreement allowing Nortel to "immediately begin engaging customers with Huawei's current industry-leading broadband access portfolio."
Huawei has in the past been seen as a growing threat to Nortel and other big established telecom equipment suppliers as it gains worldwide market share and expands throughout Asia.
http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/story.html?id=ba95bcca-a52c-4a17-8f40-0ed2ed458e48&k=90463
Posted by admin at 01:11 PM | Comments (0)
February 01, 2006
Motorola unveils second iTunes-compatible phone
Motorola has unveiled its second Apple's iTunes-compatible phone, ditching the ROKR design for the RAZR-inspired SLVR L7.
The Bluetooth capable phone is less than half an inch thick and weighs a mere 3.5 ounces. It contains a VGA camera with video capture and playback and a Micro SD slot for adding up to 512MB of extra storage. The iTunes software enables playback of up to 100 songs.
Motorola's new phone still does not offer over the air download of digital music from Apple's online music service.
Unfortunately, the SLVR L7 is currently only available in the US.
Posted by admin at 01:34 PM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2006
VoIP providers add multimedia, teleconferencing and more
As rates fall for basic VoIP telephone services, operators are quickly adding new functionality to differentiate themselves from the crowd.
Skype which already lowered rates to Bangladesh to US$ .05 from anywhere in the US has introduced video in Skype 2.0 software.
AT&T's call vantage offers multiple line support, and also allows call forwarding to any phone of your choice. Of course regular call charges apply when you forward calls.
Most VoIP service providers also allow sending instant messaging during voice communication. Handy especially when long text, or internet webpage addresses need to be communicated.
Having your own toll free number is also a snap with VoIP services. Skype for example goes beyond providing just toll free numbers. The service allows you to have local numbers in one country when physically you are located somewhere else. For example, if one lives in India but have many friends in England, he or she can get a local SkypeIn number in UK. Any calls made to the UK phone will be considered local in England.
Skype, Yahoo and Google's services are free for computer to computer based communication today. However, new standalone Internet enabled phones already allow making free calls over the net without using the PC.
http://skype.com/products/skypeout/rates/all_rates.html
Posted by admin at 06:58 PM | Comments (0)
January 23, 2006
China Approves a 3G Standard, Setting Stage to Issue Licenses
The Chinese Ministry of Information Industry's formally approved on Friday China's home grown 3G standard the TD-SCDMA. This approval removes an important obstacle in launching third-generation, or 3G, service in the world's biggest wireless market. There has been speculation in recent months that China has been delaying roll out of 3G services to give time for its own version to be ready.
The 3G service lets users send and receive data more quickly with their mobile phones, enabling video and high-speed Internet transmission and other fancy functions. Nortel Networks Corp., Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson, Motorola Inc., Lucent Technologies Inc., Huawei Technologies Co. and other big telecom-equipment makers have been eagerly anticipating China's decision to move forward with 3G, which is expected to yield billions of dollars in spending on network upgrades by the country's wireless carriers.
TD-SCDMA is part of a broad effort by Beijing to create increase local expertise and cut technology licensing related spending on imported technology. Foreign companies such as Siemens AG have helped the development of TD-SCDMA, but China's government and Chinese companies have taken the lead in promoting the technology. The two other 3G standards are WCDMA and CDMA2000.
Friday's statement, published on the Ministry of Information Industry's Web site, makes TD-SCDMA the first of the 3G standards to be formally approved in China.
Posted by admin at 04:41 AM | Comments (0)
January 13, 2006
Asian telcos heighten focus on broadband
ZDNetAsia: According to the research company, revenues in the Asia-Pacific broadband and mobile market totaled US$246.20 billion in 2004 and will reach US$320.80 billion by the end of 2008.
"Although service providers are providing faster network speed, the pressure to bring down prices persists," Janice Chong, program leader at Frost & Sullivan, said in a statement. "In time, service providers are likely to migrate to flat-rate or capped plans as the cellular market matures and the rate of broadband adoption improves."
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,39304516,00.htm
Posted by admin at 02:14 PM | Comments (0)
January 11, 2006
Suadi Arabia a major mobile phone growth market
Arab News: JEDDAH, 9 January 2006 — Mobile phones have transformed Saudi Arabia's telecom market thanks to huge investments that it continues to attract.
The Kingdom has emerged as the second biggest mobile market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This market has also experienced strong growth over the last three years.
The cellular market is booming not only in the Kingdom but in the entire Middle East as well, and the region is tipped to overtake Asia-Pacific in mobile penetration rate, according to market leaders.
Saudi mobile telecommunications operator Ettihad Etisalat's Mobily service, which began operations in the Kingdom last spring, signed up one million subscribers by the end of 2005 after successfully bidding $3.2 billion to gain the Kingdom's second mobile phone license late last year.
The Kingdom already comprises the largest telecommunications market in the Gulf and is one of the fastest growing in the Middle East. The sector, which has some four million fixed lines and eight million mobile lines, has been expanding at a rate of 30 percent a year.
The region's mobile market reached a new record in 2005, as a massive 20.6 million new subscribers took up a cellular service. "This boosted mobile subscriber rates across the Middle East by 48 percent, bringing the total cellular subscriber base to 62.9 million by the end of 2005," said Francis who has also authored the Middle East Telecommunications 2005 to 2010 report.
Posted by admin at 02:55 AM | Comments (0)
January 09, 2006
Vodafone brings mobile radio to 3G phones in Europe
LONDON (Dow Jones Newswires)– Vodafone Group PLC said it has teamed up with Sony Corp. to offer a mobile-radio subscription in Europe, the latest attempt to draw in extra sales by offering music services.
The monthly subscription – dubbed Vodafone Radio DJ – allows consumers to listen to personalized radio channels via third-generation mobile handsets or computers. Customers can select a channel based on mood or genre, and they can also buy any tracks for download.
The service will launch in the coming months in the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The company didn't specify prices.
Posted by admin at 07:37 PM | Comments (0)
January 08, 2006
Hybrid mobile phone promises to cut bill
UTStarcom's new GF200 cell phone, previewed at CES in Las Vegas, combines GSM and VoIP over WiFi. The GF200 looks like just another cell phone, users can get both types of functionality from the one phone that they will be carrying around anyways.
Connecting to both GSM and WiFi networks at the same time, and sending a call over either one at the push of a button will drastically reduce mobile minutes especially for people who have access to Internet at work and home.
In developing countries such as Bangladesh cell phone rates are one of the highest in the world due to limited competition among service providers as governments restrict number of operators.
Posted by admin at 03:01 PM | Comments (0)
January 07, 2006
China's homegrown 3G standard ready?
The People's Daily reported on Friday that China's TD-SCDMA technology has reached a stage where it can be used to offer 3G services.
"China has been able to produce the desired result of the TD-SCDMA standard in a short time," said a Ministry of Information Industry official, quoted by the newspaper.
China's homegrown 3G standard known as TD-SCDMA will be competing with CDMA2000 and WCDMA international standards. By promoting local 3G standards China wants to cut down licensing costs in manufacturing 3G infrastructure, cell phones and mobile devices.
3G wireless systems are designed to move data at broadband speeds to cell phones and other mobile devices, allowing Web surfing, video streaming and downloads of music, video and other content.
Posted by admin at 12:10 AM | Comments (0)
January 04, 2006
Samsung introduces world's first WiMAX phones in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time in the United States, Samsung demonstrates WiBro (Korean Wireless Broadband) service on one of its world's first Mobile WiMAX phones, the Samsung M8000. Samsung's WiBro service demonstration is an exciting precursor to the first commercial service in the
Korean market slated for the first half of 2006.
WiBro, a Korean Wireless Broadband service based on the mobile WiMAX
technology (IEEE 802.16e TDD OFDMA standard), is a wireless high-speed broadband service able to deliver voice, data and video at speeds of up to 120 km per hour. The Mobile WiMAX technology provides true mobile connectivity by giving users seamless broadband connections anytime, anywhere.
Mobile WiMAX's advantages include a broad range of converged services
delivered from a single, IP-based network. Home, business, and vehicular applications include Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIp), video telephony, multimedia messaging and conferencing, location and telematic services, broadcast, and multimedia push and demand services.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-04-2006/0004242458&EDATE=
Posted by admin at 06:40 PM | Comments (0)
January 02, 2006
Business or consumers to dominate airline WiFi
With a large number or airports offering WiFi Internet connectivity and major airlines such as Lufthansa providing similar access inflight one would expect that such connectivity is gaining popularity.
Research published by Gartner however, show things are otherwise. Only 25% of business travelers are using WiFi hotspots in the US airports and in airlines things are similar.
Perhaps airlines should focus on leisure travelers in getting WiFi up to spead!
Posted by admin at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)
Malaysia's Maxis buys Indian Cell Operatro
Taking a bet on India’s rapidly growing mobile phone market, Malaysia’s Maxis Communications has acquired Aircel, one of India’s smaller cellular operators, for $1.08bn.
The Malaysian group and the Chennai-based Reddy family, an Indian joint venture partner, have purchased 100 per cent of the equity in Aircel, whose 2.2m subscribers are located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/8a4de0b0-7bad-11da-ab8e-0000779e2340.html
Posted by admin at 09:20 PM | Comments (0)
December 28, 2005
Chinese government signals 3G arrival next year
What many consider delaying tactics by Chinese authorities to allow home grown 3G technology to develop before opening local market is now coming to an end.
China's top telecommunications regulator, the Minister of Information and Industry, this week made his most definitive public statements yet on the timetable for licensing third-generation, or 3G, networks. According to a ministry spokesperson who later confirmed statements made by Wang Xudong the Information & Industry minister that China will be finalizing policies guiding 3G deployment in the country by 2006.
With 388 million users, China today is the world's largest mobile phone market. Already networking infrastructure heavy weights Nortel, Alcatela, Ericsson and Lucent along with mobile set makers Motorola, Nokia and Siemens are eagerly making plans to play major roles in the 3G rollout.
China's homegrown 3G technology based on TD-SCDMA met with some initial disappointment during tests several months back. China wants to have at least one of the 3G networks running TD-SCDMA.
Posted by admin at 05:26 AM | Comments (0)
December 27, 2005
Welcome wireless VoIP
Wireless VoIP is about to hit mainstream after much anticipation. Vonage , the world largest voice over IP service provider rolled out their first wireless VoIP product this month.
The Vonage F1000 can access any public WiFi (802.11b) wireless network, and make use of all the standard features, including 3-way calling, voicemail, and call display.
Similar in appearance to another wireless VoIP phone from BoradVoice, the F1000 allows for five hours of talk time, or 100 hours of standby time between battery charges.
Vonage isn’t the first provider to launch a wireless VoIP phone, they are getting in on the ground floor of what could be an amazing opportunity. European Internet phone service provider Skype partnered with Motorola to provide Wireless VoIP although the solution requires a PC with bluetooth interface.
Posted by admin at 02:32 PM | Comments (0)
December 21, 2005
Korean broadband service provider completes upgrade of state run telecom in Bangladesh
KT, the biggest fixed line and broadband service provider of Korea, announced Wednesday that it completed the joint project with the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) to upgrade telecom networks of Bangladesh. They held a ceremony to celebrate the completion in Chittagong, Bangladesh, KT said.
The project, launched in September 2004, was about building 125,000 telephone lines in Chittagong, Khulna and Sylhet. KT managed the whole process, including procurement of equipment, design and construction, of the $28.5m project
Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing mobile markets in Asia with several major global telcos invested in the local infrastructure.
Posted by admin at 06:33 PM | Comments (0)
Pakistan's telecom privitazation bang
Alas the government of Nawaz Sharif managed to break the deadlock and privatize the state run telco.
The Pakistani government and Emirates Telecommunications Corp., or Etisalat, reached an agreement on the privatization of Pakistan Telecommunication Ltd., according to a statement issued by Pakistan's Privatization Commission. Under the agreement the UAE company will purchase 26% stake of PTCL for $2.6 billion.
India has already deregulated its telecom industry by selling its state run long distance phone provider back in February 2002. The country is considered one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world.
Bangladesh which has been demonstrating tremendous economic performance (with exports growing at 11% and GDP 5.6% according to World Bank figures) in the past several years also started deregulating its telecom market with several private mobile and fixed line operators. The countries mobile phone market is one of the fastest growing and most profitable in the region. Bangladesh however has not been able to privatize its state run telecom company due to heavy union resistance.
Posted by admin at 03:13 AM | Comments (0)
December 20, 2005
As sales slowdown in existing markets Vodafone looks to developing countries
The world's largest mobile phone company Vodafone is targeting developing countries such as India and now Turkey to offset sluggishness in Europe and Japan.
Growth has stalled within Vodafone's core European markets, and in its Japanese venture, Vodafone K.K. But the company has continued push into emerging markets and recently acquired Turkey's largest operator as part of this initiative. With the acquisition Vodafone gains 9 million new customers.
In March of this year, Vodafone paid $3.5 billion to acquire cellphone operators in Romania and the Czech Republic. Vodafone also acquired 10% of India's biggest wireless company, Bharti Televentures, for $1.5 billion. The company spent $2.4 billion to increase its stake to 50% in Vodacom, South Africa's largest mobile phone operator.
Other developing countries can provide very high margins that the company needs. Bangladesh for example has one of the highest mobile phone rates in Asia mainly due to lobbying (and possibly bribing of govt. officials) by existing service providers to keep new players from entering the market. The Bangladesh government has so far provided explanations that make little sense such as running out of wireless spectrum especially in a country with limited military utilization of the airwaves and few existing service providers. If Vodafone however can overcome artificial barriers setup by corrupt governments regaining lost margins may not be too far away.
Posted by admin at 12:58 AM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2005
Motorola's WiMAX Dreams in Asia Pacific
Wireless giant Motorola is focusing its efforts on developing WiMAX 802.16e solutions that provide mobility as well as fixed and nomadic access in the Asia Pacific region.
WiMAX is an acronym that stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is similar to WiFi in concept, but has certain improvements that are aimed at improving performance and permits usage over much greater distances. Currently the specification permits ranges up to 31km allowing WiMAX usage in connecting WiFi hotspots.
Motorola’s WiMAX which is grouped under MOTOwi4 consists of a portfolio of access technologies, customer premise equipment, mobile devices and services. The MOTOwi4 WiMAX solutions include a “light infrastructure” solution for rural areas and developing countries that offers cost effective deployment and ownership. The MOTOwi4 portfolio also includes Motorola’s Canopy solution that provides fixed wireless service for more than 200 operators worldwide.
In the Asia Pacific, MOTOwi4 offers solutions that are relevant to operators in both emerging and mature markets. In markets such as Singapore and Australia MOTOwi4 provides a cost-effective last-mile connection to deliver broadband access to businesses and residential customers. MOTOwi4 also can be used to deliver broadband access beyond WiFi zones in metropolitan areas.
Operators in emerging markets such as India, Bangladesh and Vietnam can deploy MOTOwi4 solutions to cost-effectively broaden network coverage as well as to deliver broadband voice, data and video services such as distance learning, video on demand and real time medical support.
Posted by admin at 04:36 PM | Comments (0)
December 14, 2005
PC based VoIP services marks end of telephone card business?
With major software and telecom companies globally merging their offerings to provide integrated Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, telephone card companies are having a hard time maintaining their margins.
The pioneer of PC based VoIP service, Skype has already taken signficant market share in Europe and doing the same in the US. According to a report on the Wall Street Journal published during October, Skype is adding 170,000 new subscribers every day to its 61 million-person user base, up from 150,000 a day until September.
With its latest software Skype 2.0, the company plans to bring VoIP based service mainstream. The new version provides better voice quality, integration with VoIP based standalone phones that directly connect to the Internet without a PC, and video conferencing/calling features.
Instant messenger providers such as AOL, Yahoo and MSN also are joining the bandwagon by integrating VoIP service to their respective instant messaging clients. Microsoft this week partnered with MCI to provide voice calling to regular phones.
Most of the PC based services provide unlimited free voice calling between PC-to-PC but a nominal fee for PC to regular phone lines.
Certainly the heavily regulated and taxed PSTN telephone networks are at a disadvantage to this onslought of IP based voice services.
In the past one had to purchase telephone card to channel calls via the Internet to lower costs and avoid associated taxes. Now services such as Skype, MSN, AOL and Yahoo are gradually removing the need to carry a phone card around.
Posted by admin at 02:20 PM | Comments (0)
December 11, 2005
China's Huawei displaces Nortel in VoIP Sales in Asia-Pacific
According to Dittberner Associates, next generation network (NGN) equipment shipments were up 70 percent, with 27.3 million media gateway, softswitch and integrated voice over IP (VoIP) ports shipping last quarter. Worldwide VoIP port shipments alone rose 67 percent during the same period.
Revenues were up 49 percent worldwide as pricing pressure continues. VoIP revenues reached US$609 million in the third quarter, while Voice over Packet; IP/ATM/TDM revenues hit US$671 million.
China's Huawei Technologies displaced Nortel as the dominant player, shipping 12.36 million VoIP ports last quarter. Siemens continues to control the second largest share of the market, with 16%, while Nortel's market share slipped to 11%. According to Dittberner, Huawei's relative growth is due largely to the 202% increase in the Asia-Pacific NGN market, and an 81% growth in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Posted by admin at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)
December 09, 2005
IEEE Approves Mobile WiMax Standard
IEEE has approved a mobile WiMAX standard to be designated 802.16e-2005. WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) allows wireless Internet connectivity ranging up to several miles versus WiFi that has a range of several hundred feet.
WiMax however, is expected to compliment not replace WiFi. One use of WiMax is to connect WiFi hotspots at cafes and hotels.
Mobile WiMax which would bring long range wireless connectivity to portable devices will be going on trials starting in the first quarter of 2006, organized by the WiMax Forum. Products will likely follow late 2006 and services by early 2007.
Posted by admin at 02:46 AM | Comments (0)
December 08, 2005
World's First Broadband Satellite Data Service Launched
Inmarsat PLC switched on the first phase of its long-awaited $1.5 billion satellite network Wednesday, giving users across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia access to simultaneous voice and broadband Internet service.
London-based Inmarsat, which operates a constellation of satellites that enable voice and data services, said its Broadband Global Area Network, or BGAN, will allow data transfer speeds of up to 492 kilobits per second.
The first of those satellites was switched on Wednesday. The second is scheduled to come online in the second quarter of 2006 and will extend coverage to the Americas, meaning the entire service will cover 85% of the world's land mass and 98% of the global population.
Posted by admin at 08:07 AM | Comments (0)
November 30, 2005
Samsung to setup cell phone manufacturing plant in India
(Bloomberg) -- Samsung Electronics Co., the world's third-largest mobile-phone maker, plans to build a manufacturing plant in India to win market share in one of the world's fastest-growing major cellular-phone markets.
The factory will be built at Manesar in Haryana state, near New Delhi, Ruchika Batra, Samsung India spokeswoman, said in a telephone interview today. The company didn't provide details.
Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung follows Nokia Oyj and Motorola Inc., the top two mobile-phone makers, in manufacturing locally. South Korean rival LG Electronics Inc. has started making mobile phones in the western Indian city of Pune.
Posted by admin at 01:27 PM | Comments (0)
November 26, 2005
Nokia posts 77% sales growth in China
The world's largest maker of mobile phones, Nokia, has sold 23 million mobile phones in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Handset sales in the China region rose 77 percent in the first nine months of this year compared with a year earlier.
Espoo, Finland-based company has invested around US$2.2 billion in China, which has 383 million subscribers and is the world's largest cell-phone market by number of users. Nokia employs about 6000 people in China carrying design, development and manufacturing in the region.
Posted by admin at 06:12 PM | Comments (0)
November 22, 2005
SMS Messages to Fixed Line Phones?
DOHA: A new service that allows mobile phone users to send short text messages to land-line telephones will soon be introduced by Qatar Telecom, a senior official at the company said. The company plans to spend QR950m between 2006 and 2008 to further develop its telecom infrastructure, he added.
Khalil Ebrahim Al Emadi, Executive Director, Wire-line services, in an interview with the Al Sharq daily, said the facility that enables mobile phone users to send short text messages and faxes to fixed line telephones would soon be tested by the company.
Posted by admin at 05:16 AM | Comments (0)
November 20, 2005
Motorola to start assembling cellphone handsets in India
Motorola Inc. will start assembling mobile handsets in India by this December seeking to boost its market share selling locally manufactured low-cost handsets.
India is one of the fastest growing mobile phone markets in the world With more than 2.5 million mobile-phone subscribers being added every month.
The first made-in-India handset, the Motorola C115, will be introduced next month, costing less than $40. Motorola currently has six research-and-development centers in India.
Posted by admin at 04:07 PM | Comments (0)
3G in China Next Year!
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article China may be introducing third generation mobile phone services as early as next year.
The Chinese government has been delaying giving permission to a move to 3G primariy because of difficulty in determining how many carriers would eventually survive in the new space and allowing time for home grown network development by local manufacturers.
A handful of chip providers and phone makers announced second-generation chip sets and more-mature handset prototypes for the TD-SCDMA standard that China is developing as the basis for its 3G will be thrown into the mix with wideband-CDMA and cdma2000 1X when the government issues its 3G licenses.
That updated timeframe would allow China's mobile carriers to have 3G networks up and running by the time Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Mobile networks based on 3G offer users broadband multimedia services such as access to video and music in addition to providing location based services. This would allow mobile service providers expand revenue base while providing Internet access to wider group of Chinese citizens.
Posted by admin at 12:58 AM | Comments (0)
November 13, 2005
Japan Expanding Cell Phone to Pay
Japanese cellular giant NTT DoCoMo Inc. said it will buy a 42% stake in Tower Records Japan Inc., which sells music CDs and DVDs, this month in an effort to widen its customer base and diversify its services.
NTT DoCoMo said in a news release that it will spend 12.8 billion yen ($108.2 million) to buy the stake. As part of their alliance, the two companies will bolster services that distribute information about music to DoCoMo's mobile phone users.
NTT DoCoMo also is looking at introducing its mobile phone-based electronic money and credit-card services at the retail stores operated by Tower Records, a move that would enable customers to pay for music by waving their mobile phones near sensors placed at cash registers. As of the end of September, about 6.5 million NTT DoCoMo subscribers owned a cellular phone handset with such e-money and credit-card functions.
Posted by admin at 01:33 PM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2005
Taiwan launches first WiFi cell phone
Taiwan-based Accton Technology Corp has launched what they call the world's first cell phone that can use the popular Skype software for making free Web calls. They launched this product yesterday in Tokyo, Japan. This device does not require a personal computer to connect to the internet to make calls using the Skype technology.
Accton said in a statement that the WiFi SkyFone WM1185-T wireless mobile phone would benefit more than 50 million customers of Skype as well as companies and households, which have not yet used Skype. Users can use this particular mobile phone product to make peer-to-peer (P2P) Internet calls to any phone users in the world without having to switch on their computers.
Skype for recently purchased by the ecommerce giant eBay for big bucks and has more than 190 million people worldwide. At any particular time, the service is being used by more than 3-4 million users making it the leaders in VoIP technology on the internet. Accton said that they appreciate the technical capabilities provided by the company and decided to develop telecommunication devices using the Skype technology one year ago.
The company is a Skype's partners and their WiFi SkyFone WM1185-T is the world's first mobile phone, which can be used to make Internet calls independent of any computer.
Posted by admin at 01:15 AM | Comments (0)
November 08, 2005
Cheap cell phones to account for 50% of global market, thanks to developing countries
As developing countries join the mobile bandwagon cheap cell phones priced around $50 (US) may account for 50% the global cell phone sales.
From low-end makers such as Siemans to the high-end of the spectrum dominated by Nokia and Motorola, mobile handset markets are introducing low cost cell phones at a record pace.
Expecting that mobile phones may become preferred way of accessing Internet in developing countries various web portals are offering services catered to cell phone users. Both Google and Yahoo are launching multimedia rich mobile content within a year.
Posted by admin at 01:13 AM | Comments (0)
November 07, 2005
Linux of mobile phones
The Linux Phone Standardization Forum (LiPS), a consortium of cell phone and handheld vendors including France Telecom, Motorola, PalmSource and Trolltech is set to launch later this is planning to expand Linux's reach in the mobile phone market.
Cell phone and smart phone industry watchers say the use of Linux on such devices will be a big shakeup in the industry over the next several years, just as Linux has been a disruptive force in the server operating system market. Currently, most intelligent mobile devices run Symbian OS or Windows CE. But Linux on cell phones has made strides in Asia, where Motorola is reported to have sold more than three million Linux-based phones.
Posted by admin at 03:59 AM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2005
GSM Association and MTN Nigeria plan for $30 GSM handsets in Nigeria
Nigeria will benefit from a programme by the GSM Association (GSMA) for handsets costing below $30 (US) aimed to make mobile telephony affordable to the unconnected segments of the population in developing nations.
The GSMA programme which is led by Erik Aas, chief executive of Grameen Phone Limited of Bangladesh, is supported by 10 other leading operators in emerging market which includes MTN Group and Vodacom. The operators are expected to order about six million of these low cost handsets from Motorola.
Posted by admin at 02:13 PM | Comments (0)
Nokia unveils digital TV phone
At the Nokia Mobility Conference, Nokia today presented the Nokia N92, the first integrated DVB-H mobile device in the Nokia Nseries range for watching broadcast TV programs set to launch mid 2006. The Nokia N92 offers easy access to TV programs without having to sit in front of a television set. Users can set reminders to watch their favorite TV programs, create personal channel lists and subscribe to TV channel packages.
DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting – Handheld) is the new digital broadcast standard for the transmission of broadcast content to handheld terminal devices, developed by the international DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) Project and recently published by ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). Up to 50 TV channels can be delivered with low cost, over one network. With extensive pilots of broadcast mobile TV currently taking place across the globe, involving leading broadcasters, mobile operators, broadcast network operators and handset manufacturers, the market for commercial broadcast services is expected to spread during
2006.
Posted by admin at 01:55 PM | Comments (0)
November 01, 2005
Motorola targets developing countries with lower cost phones
Motorola is planning to sell two million handsets in Africa for less than US$30 each in its bid to take market share away from Finland's Nokia. In emerging markets of Asia and the Middle East Motorola is expecting to sell a further four million handsets.
World cellular industry body GSM Association (GSMA) recently awarded Motorola a tender to “connect the unconnected” as part of the emerging markets handset programme.
The phones can handle voice and text messages, but are devoid of fancy features such as cameras, e-mail and internet access.
Motorola's new phones which will mainly target rural communities that do not have access to electricity, will have batteries to last up to three weeks.
In a bid to reduce mobile phone call charges Motorola and Intel have announced a joint effort to push development of the WiMAX wireless standard based on the proposed IEEE 802.16e standard, for both fixed and wireless broadband applications.
Intel and Motorola, both being members of the WiMAX Forum, aim to jointly ensure network and device interoperability issues are addressed adequately.
WiMAX networks are likely to be available mainly in urban areas, with the advantage not only of a broadly available network for Internet access, but also for making cheap voice calls and a range of other potential services.
About 75 per cent of the world’s population live in areas covered by cellular networks yet only 25 per cent own and use handsets, largely due to the cost. There are two billion cellular subscribers worldwide today.
Posted by admin at 05:07 AM | Comments (0)
October 31, 2005
Vodafone re-enters Indian Market
World's largest mobile phone company, UK's Vodafone bought 10% stake in India's Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd., for $1.5 billion. India is the world's fastest growing mobile phone market.
This would be Vodafone's second foray into India market after it sold stake on a previous venture in 2003.
Bharti Tele-Ventures, which is India's largest mobile operator, is 31% owned by Singapore Telecom.
India's mobile companies attract approximately 2.5 million new subscribers monthly. The current base of 65 million subscribers is expected to double in the next few years driven by strong growth in India's middle class population.
Posted by admin at 04:03 AM | Comments (0)
October 30, 2005
As instant messengers offer voice communication is there need for paid VoIP?
As Internet portals and search engines offer voice calls for free, viability of VoIP services such as Vonage or numerous calling card based phones services is being questioned.
This year's launch of Google talk and improved voice services from MSN allow free PC-to-PC voice communication. MSN and Yahoo are even offering integration with re-chargeable calling card providers such as Net2Phone. Yahoo has started offering Yahoo rechargeable phone card that can used to call PC-to-phone.
Yahoo plans to offer phone-to-PC service soon according to a recent article in Wall Street Journal.
By providing lower rates for international calls particularly from US or Europe to Asia calling cards have gained popularity particularly among Asian consumers.
However as instant messengers integrate voice calling and PC penetration increases in developing countries, phone card companies that currently offer affordable international calling will face extreme pressure in maintaining viability.
Posted by admin at 05:48 AM | Comments (0)
October 29, 2005
Vodafone takes stake in India's Bharti Televentures
K.C. Krishnadas
EE Times
BANGALORE, India — Vodafone has taken a 10 percent stake in India's Bharti Tele-ventures Ltd., the holding company whose Airtel GSM-based services is one of the the largest GSM service provider in India.
The Vodafone Group Plc. paid about $1.50 billion for the equity, the single largest foreign investment ever in Indian corporate history.
"We are delighted that Vodafone has made a call on the Indian telecom sector and today, when Bharti stands on the threshold of being an Asian telecom powerhouse, it has tied up with Vodafone to take the company to the next level," said Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and group managing director, Bharti Televentures Ltd.
"This transaction is consistent with Vodafone's strategy of developing our global footprint in growth markets, where we can create value for shareholders," said Arun Sarin, CEO, Vodafone Group Plc. Bharti Tele-Ventures has over 14 million customers for its mobile services and also provides wireline and broadband services over DSL across India. Singapore Telecommunications, known as SingTel, holds a 30-percent equity stake in Bharti Televentures.
Posted by admin at 05:38 AM | Comments (0)
October 28, 2005
Nokia zeros in on emerging markets with affordable phones
Nokia launched four new CDMA handsets on Wednesday, including two aimed specifically at fast-growing emerging markets where its sales has been rising rapidly.
CDMA, or Code Division Multiple Access, is the world's second most common phone technology after GSM, or Global System for Mobile Communications, and is common in Latin America, the United States and parts of Asia.
The cheaper 1255 and 2355 phones aimed at emerging markets have features not usually available on lower-cost phones, Nokia said in a statement released in Brazil.
The 1255 has a two-way hands-free speakerphone and voice recorder and allows up to four hours of talk time and 10 days of standby time.
The folding-type 2355 phone has a color screen, FM radio and a flashlight. Both are expected to go onto the shelves in the first quarter of next year.
Posted by admin at 07:52 AM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2005
Intel launches internet over powerlines in India
BANGALORE (PTI): With most of the technical problems in delivering internet connectivity over the electric power lines addressed, Intel Corporation is planning to start the user trials of the technology in India in next few months.
"Most of the technical issues that were coming in the way of delivering internet over power lines have been largely addressed. We will link up with our India team in the next eight weeks to begin the trials of the technology," Intel Corporation Vice President and General Manager (Digital Home Group) Donald J MacDonald said at the Intel Developer Forum here.
He said till date the trials of the Home Plug Technology have been confined to the US and it would expand to other geographies including India.
If the technology proves itself in Indian environment, it would go a long way in addressing the goal of taking connectivity to remotest of areas in the country.
Apart from Intel, other partners in the Home Plug Powerline Alliance are Cisco, Comsat, General Electric, Sony and Sharp.
Posted by admin at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
October 23, 2005
Emerging Markets Fuel Nokia Sales
Worlds largest mobile phone maker Nokia last Thursday lifted its forecast for global phone sales for this year to 780 million handsets from previously targets of 760 million driven mainly by increased demand in emerging countries.
Jorma Ollila, chief executive, said advances in the large Asian markets, including China, had helped Nokia’s performance. Nokia was expected to gain market share in the crucial fourth quarter.
Posted by admin at 05:22 AM | Comments (0)
October 22, 2005
India raising foreign investment cap on telecom
India's federal cabinet announced plans to raise the foreign investment cap in the country's telecommunications sector, to 74% from 49% allowing for the first time non-domestic companies take majority stake.
As per the revised rules resident Indians would manage the operating company but 74% foreign investment can be made directly or indirectly in the operating company or through a holding company. The remaining 26% stake would be owned by resident Indian citizens or an Indian company.
India currently is one of the fastest expanding mobile phone markets experience 35% annual growth according to a recent report by Financial Times of UK.
According local telecom operators who have been lobbying for the raising of FDI cap initial investment in the sector will help further expand teledensity in the rural market.
Posted by admin at 04:27 PM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2005
Japan's mobile giant takes on electronic auction
NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan's biggest mobile-phone company, will acquire 40% of Rakuten's Internet-auction business for $37 million further expanding its e-commerce offerings.
The deal would allow DoCoMo to diversify its sources of revenue. In Japan, consumers commonly use cell phones to access the Internet. The new unit will give DoCoMo’s customers another service to play with by allowing them to take part in Internet auctions on cell phones.
DoCoMo has been an e-commerce global leader in using mobile phones to download video clips and music, accessing information on various services such as train schedules, restaurants and weather reports.
Posted by admin at 02:45 PM | Comments (0)
Indonesian government moves to protect phone users
According to a report by the Jakarta Post, Indonesian government is taking steps to protect mobile and fixed line users from what it calls "unfair billing."
Mobile users have complained that they were being charged for receiving SMS messages that they did not ask for. Recently, a group of consumers of telecommunications firm PT Telkom complained they had been charged Rp 2,000 for a service they never received.
Billing complaints over telecommunications services are common as the industry grows. The new regulation to be issued will deal with customers who have been billed for unasked for services.
Among the features to be regulated are voice mail box, call forwarding, call waiting, three party calling, abbreviated dialing, detail billing and ringtone services.
Operators will be required to familiarize consumers on their service charges for a period of at least one month, during which they must cease the applicable services.
The features can again be made available after the Telecommunications Regulatory Body (BRTI) is informed of the service contracts made with the customers.
There were 40 million cellular subscribers as of September 2005 in Indonesia.
Posted by admin at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)
October 19, 2005
Asia-Pacific VoIP market grows 28% in Q2
The IP telephony equipment market for Asia/Pacific leads the growth in the telephony equipment market, reaching over USD 150 million in Q2. IDC's latest Asia/Pacific Quarterly Enterprise Telephony Equipment Tracker reveals that the IP Telephony market has grown 28 percent in Q2 compared to Q1 in terms of revenues, while the traditional market remains stagnant.
This clearly shows that the Asia/Pacific telephony market is heading in the direction observed in the worldwide marketplace. Countries like Australia, India, New Zealand, and Philippines are already showing signs of migration to IP communications products with increasing revenues coming from Pure IP PBXs, Hybrid IP PBX IP lines and IP Phones and a notable decrease in spend on traditional telephony equipment. Australia and New Zealand are at the forefront of the migration to IP in the region with revenues in the IP telephony market accounting for more than 50 percent of the total telephony market.
Posted by admin at 04:11 AM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2005
Cell phones changing Africans
NAIROBI (AP), Kenya - Amina Harun, a 45-year-old farmer, used to traipse around for hours looking for a working pay phone on which to call the markets and find the best prices for her fruit. Then cell phones changed her life.
"We can easily link up with customers, brokers and the market," she says, sitting between two piles of watermelons at Wakulima Market in Kenya's capital.
Cell phone use changes life in Africa
RODRIQUE NGOWI
Associated Press
NAIROBI, Kenya - Amina Harun, a 45-year-old farmer, used to traipse around for hours looking for a working pay phone on which to call the markets and find the best prices for her fruit. Then cell phones changed her life.
"We can easily link up with customers, brokers and the market," she says, sitting between two piles of watermelons at Wakulima Market in Kenya's capital.
Harun is one of a rapidly swelling army of wired-up Africans - an estimated 100 million of the continent's 906 million people. Another is Omar Abdulla Saidi, phoning in from his sailboat on the Zanzibar coast looking for the port that will give him the biggest profit on his freshly caught red snapper, tuna and shellfish.
Then there are South Africans and Kenyans slinging cell phones round the necks of elephants to track them through bush and jungle. And there's Beatrice Enyonam, a cosmetics vendor in Togo, keeping in touch with her husband by cell phone when he's traveling in the West African interior.
As cell-phone relay towers sprout on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti plain, providers are racing to keep up with their exploding market.
The numbers are staggering.
Cell phones made up 74.6 percent of all African phone subscriptions last year, says the U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union. Cell phone subscriptions jumped 67 percent south of the Sahara in 2004, compared with 10 percent in cell-phone-saturated Western Europe, according to Mo Ibrahim, the Sudanese who chairs Celtel, a leading African provider.
An industry that barely existed 10 years ago is now worth $25 billion, he says. Prepaid air minutes are the preferred means of usage and have created their own $2 billion-a-year industry of small-time vendors, the Celtel chief says. Air minutes have even become a form of currency, transactable from phone to phone by text message, he says.
This is particularly useful in Africa, where transferring small amounts of money through banks is costly.
"We are developing unique ways to use the phone, which has not been done anywhere else," says South African Michael Joseph, chief executive officer of Safaricom, one of two service providers in Kenya. For an impoverished continent, low-cost phones make "a perfect fit."
And cash-strapped governments which have had to give up their monopoly on land lines are looking to reap huge revenues from license fees, customs duties and taxes on calls.
"We all misread the market," Joseph said.
The mistake, providers say, was to make plans based on GDP figures, which ignore the strong informal economy, and to assume that because land line use was low, little demand for phones existed.
The real reason for weak demand was that land lines were expensive, subscribers had to wait for months to get hooked up, and the lines often went down because of poor maintenance, floods and theft of copper cables.
Cell phones slice through all those obstacles and provide African solutions to African problems.
Wildlife researchers in Kenya and South Africa have put no-frills cell phones in weatherproof cases on a collar that goes around an elephant's neck. The phone sends a message every hour, revealing the animal's whereabouts.
It cuts the cost of tracking wildlife by up to 60 percent, said Professor Wouter van Hoven of the University of Pretoria's Center for Wildlife Management.
"You don't have to walk around the bush searching for the animals," he says. "I have sat around in Europe and was able to monitor animals in the mountains using a cell phone that had access to the Internet."
Saidi, the Zanzibar fisherman, can now check beforehand whether prices justify him sailing his catch to the Tanzanian mainland, while Wilson Kuria Macharia, head of the traders' association at the Nairobi market, says he no longer has to spend two to four weeks at a time roaming across Kenya and Tanzania in search of fresh produce.
"A few mobile phone calls take care of what used to be the most grueling part of the business," said Macharia, 61.
Cell phones also make traders more competitive, meaning better prices for farmers, he said.
People who don't own a cell phone can use public telephone centers linked to cellular networks, creating badly needed jobs.
Across the continent, in Nigeria, privately run cell phone services arrived in 2001 and started out charging $150 just to sign up. Nowadays four companies vie for customers by offering free sign-ups and introductory air minutes.
The number of subscribers in the nation of more than 130 million has jumped from about 700,000 to over 10 million, and hawkers make a living selling air time cards to motorists trapped in traffic.
On the downside, however, bus passengers on cross-country journeys have to turn off their cell phones because criminals are known to use them to coordinate highway robberies.
Inevitably, cell phones have become status symbols. "If you do not have one, your friends will laugh at you and say that you are outmoded," says Akpene Rose, a 23-year-old hairdressing student in Togo, a tiny West African country where every sixth person is estimated to have a cell phone.
And just as inevitably, there are those who wish they had never been invented.
Ayi Aime, a 60-year-old Togolese, says both her school-age daughters have cell phones. "I do not know how they got them. I do not mind," she says. "But the persistent noisemaking, constant ringing, has become a nuisance."
Posted by admin at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
Africa makes progress on VoIP
African countries are gradually opening up to legalizing VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) services.
Last month, Telkom Kenya Ltd. launched a VOIP service that allows telephone users to make cheaper international calls, after the country's Communications Commission released policy guidelines for the provision of VOIP services. Earlier this year, South Africa allowed value-added network services and or enhanced-service licences to carry voice on their networks. Mauritius has also legalized the provision of VOIP services.
African regulators have who have been reluctant to legalize VOIP in a bid to protect the revenue base of the incumbent fixed-line, and in some cases, mobile telcos are now facing significant marketshare due to grey market of VoIP based telco services.
This year, nearly 50% of all African inbound have been lost to VoIP and 57% of all outbound traffic in being routed via VoIP according to market research firm Insight.
Posted by admin at 05:11 AM | Comments (0)
October 15, 2005
India takes steps to boost teledensity
In the seas off the Cochin coast of southern India, motorized fishing boats is often interrupted by the ringing of mobile phones from various fish markets looking to buy their catch reported International Herald Tribune earlier this month.
Currently growing at 35% India may be the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world. A recent report by UK's Financial Times states that Indian government is taking steps beef up adoption of mobile phones in its mostly rural areas.
According to the FT report India is considering using its Universal Services Obligation Fund, to which all telecoms operators in India currently contribute, to set up 20,000 new base stations across the country.
Posted by admin at 08:46 PM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2005
Free VoIP phone calls without a headset
Skype Technologies which allow users make free PC-to-PC calls over the Internet and charges for PC-to-regular phones is offering a new solution that would make free Internet based phone calls even easier.
Skype and Linksys have teamed up to offer a $130 USB cordless handset that enables Skype users to make free VoIP calls. The cordless unit unlike conventional phones utilizes USB interface of PCs to make free Internet calls.
From a users standpoint it's no different from using conventional phones as long as high speed Internet is available.
The new solution called the Internet Telephony Kit, would free Skype users from being fettered to their computers by headsets, which most VoIP users currently use. The CIT200 handset includes a handset, a charger and a USB base station that plugs into a computer’s USB port.
Posted by admin at 02:31 PM | Comments (0)
Nokia, China Putian To Set Up 3G Joint Venture In China
STOCKHOLM -- Finland's Nokia Oyj (NOK) Thursday said it has signed an agreement with China Putian Co. Ltd. to set up a joint venture in China to focus on research and development, manufacturing and sales of 3G network solutions for TD-SCDMA and WCDMA technologies.
Through this joint venture Nokia and China Putian, an equipment manufacturer and service provider, will provide 3G products and solutions to their customers.
The total investment in the joint venture is CNY900 million, or about EUR90 million.
China Putian and Nokia will have 51% and 49% shares respectively in the joint venture.
Products of the joint venture will be marketed under the Potevio brand held by China Putian. The joint venture will launch TD-SCDMA and WCDMA systems in 2006.
Nokia will continue to sell WCDMA systems under its own brand both globally and in China.
Posted by admin at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2005
Malaysia awards mobile virtual network provider licence
ASIA Telecommunications Sdn Bhd has been awarded the first Network Service Provider (1) licence in Malaysia to operate as a mobile virtual network provider (MVNO).
The license – issued by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission – enables it to lease mobile services and ”airtime” from established cellular carriers without the need of owning a spectrum license or maitaning infrastructure, the company said in a press statement.
“The concept of an MVNO will alter cellular product offerings for Malaysian cellphone users,” said P. Danesh, Asia Telecom's chief operating officer.
Danesh said that by being an MVNO, the company would be able to issue its own SIM (subscriber identity module) cards, and operate its own mobile switching centre using a pricing plan that is fully independent from that of its host network.
The company said it would begin offering location-based services, enterprise connectivity, mobile TV, and mass media and video gateways in 2006.
Posted by admin at 04:29 AM | Comments (0)
October 01, 2005
Wireless Internet Access Taking Off In India
Wireless internet hotspots known as "Wi-fi hotspots", are spreading in India.
According to research firm Frost & Sullivan estimates, there were 300 public 'hotspots' in India at the end of 2004, of which 80 percent were in Bangalore. According to some analysts this is set to cross the 1500 mark by the end of this year.
The standard 2.4 GHz frequency band has been de-licensed by the Indian government and almost all the major service providers are jumping on to the bandwagon. "Basically, it gives me immense freedom when I am in transit," says Abhisheka Kumar, a Mumbai-based banking professional, checking his mails and sipping his favourite ice tea at a famous cafe chain's outlet that is Wi-Fi enabled, in New Delhi's Connaught Place. I have everything here, says Kumar, pointing to his laptop.
Wi-Fi is helping the service industries like hospitality, airlines & airports to give additional value added services to its customers. Special care is being taken to give a laptop-friendly environment for the wireless customers including comfortable seats, tables to accommodate the laptops and other services at 'hotspots' across the country.
Posted by admin at 12:17 PM | Comments (0)
September 29, 2005
SMS messaging finds voice?
A Singapore technology company, Bubble Motion, has teamed up with Sweden's Ericsson to market a messaging service that eliminates the need to type a text message and replaces it with voice recording. It is a potentially lucrative product for wireless-service providers in developing countries and could make inroads in places where text messaging never caught up.
In Asia, short-message service, or SMS -- is extremely popular. This service allows users to type messages using the letters on the keypad of their cell phone to send to another person at a fraction of the cost of a regular phone call. Many people however find the process of typing on a small phone tedious.
Posted by admin at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
September 27, 2005
Motorola sets new standard for low cost phones for developing countries
On Tuesday (Sept. 27), Motorola Inc. rolled out several cell phone models based on its C11x platform that bring the wholesale cost of handsets below $30.
Motorola introduced the new models at the 3GSM World Congress in Singapore when the GSM Association revealed the company had again won the tender to supply handsets to operators in emerging countries. The phones are targeted for markets as diverse as India, South Africa, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Thailand, the Philippines, and Yemen.
Although other handset makers made bids, such as China’s TCL & Alcatel Mobile Phones Ltd., the GSM Association decided Motorola’s low-cost platform best fit the needs of difficult to reach emerging market users. Conway said important factors were after-sales support, local service, brand presence and a choice of low-cost handset models, including an exclusive product, the C113a.
Motorola submitted two handsets in its proposal - the C113 and the C113a, which was specifically designed for the Emerging Market Handset program. The C113a offers talk times of up to 450 minutes and up to 330 hours of standby, reducing the need for frequent recharging. The handsets will be available early in 2006.
The 10 operators supporting the second phase of the GSMA’s Emerging Market Handset program again expect to order about 6 million of these low-cost handsets from Motorola. The GSMA project, which is chaired by Erik Aas, the Chief Executive of GrameenPhone Ltd. of Bangladesh, is supported by some of the leading operators in emerging markets – AIS, Bharti, BPL, Globe Telecom, Hutchison Essar, IDEA Cellular, MTN Group, Orascom Telecom, Telenor and Vodacom.
Posted by admin at 01:30 PM | Comments (0)
September 21, 2005
Global wireless users cross 2 billion mark
The number of wireless subscriber worldwide has just crossed 2 billion mark. The estimate which comes from Wireless Intelligence, a venture between researcher Ovum and the GSMA (Global System for Mobile Association) shows the mojority of this growth is driven by sales in large developing countries.
China, India, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa have become hot-spots for wireless manufacturers. As market penetration reaches 100% in developed countries such as Sweden, Italy, Austria, Japan, South Korea, and Britain growth in such areas is slowing.
The cellular industry may ship 750 million new phones this year. Ovum estimates the industry will reach the three billion subscriber mark by 2010.
Posted by admin at 08:26 AM | Comments (0)
China to start Internet Protocol based television broadcasts
Shanghai Media Group (SMG) and China Telecom will in about two weeks begin commercial trials of IPTV services in a total of 17 Chinese cities, an SMG official said Tuesday according to a report by Interfax.
IPTV refers to TV broadcasting services based on internet protocol technology. Subscribers to the services are able to watch TV programming on computers or on TV sets that are connected to a digital set-top box. IPTV offers both live streaming services and VOD (Video-on-demand) services over the internet.
China Telecom, as of May 2005, has already recruited approximately 40,000 users for trial IPTV operations in Guangdong Province and the municipality of Shanghai.
Posted by admin at 08:08 AM | Comments (0)
September 20, 2005
VoIM promises free long distance for mobile phones
Services such as Skype, Google, Yahoo, AOL, ICQ and MSN offer this computer-to-computer calling as part of their instant-messaging programs today. Subscribers log on to their chosen program and have a conversation with others using the same program. To use Voice over instant messaging (VoIM), you'll need a microphone for your computer, speakers and, if you like, a webcam.
Such services charge fee when one dials fixed line or mobile phones. However talking to other PCs across the globe connected to the Internet is free. Now client applications of such services are coming to mobile phones and personal digital assistants.
Skype's mobile client for Windows Pocket PC allows conversation using WiFi enabled PDAs. Now all we need is a client application for those mobile phones with data capability. No more long distance charges.
Posted by admin at 06:55 AM | Comments (0)
September 11, 2005
China taking over data networking business?
When it comes telecomm or data networking infrastructure providers, the names that come to mind are Nortel, Lucent, Alcatel, Motorola and Ericsson. However standardization in the industry driven primarily by convergence towards the Internet Protocol (IP) and using standard components in networking devices is opening doors to Asian companies such as Huawei Technologies to become global players.
From optical networking to mobile GPRS or 3G systems Huawei's technological footprint is rapidly expanding. Ask any executive at Major US networking infrastructure provider what is the biggest threat to his/her business and answer would most likely be competition from Huawei.
Long accused of copying Western technology, Huwai has become a major player by gradually moving into research and development. The quality of its products has improved drastically and so has performance of its systems. After gaining significant marketshare in China the company is moving rapidly into foreign markets including Europe and US.
The networking industry story seems to be following the same pattern that morphed the PC industry into basically a commodity business. After Chinese Lenovo purchased IBMs personal computer division it become the world's number three PC maker. Huawei is rumored to be in talks with European Marconi for a possible takeover. As networking becomes a low margin business could the industry end up the same way as the PC business in Chinese hands?
Posted by admin at 04:33 PM | Comments (0)
September 02, 2005
Instant messaging replacing fixed line telephones?
Microsoft's this week made an announcement of buying closely held Teleo Inc., a San Francisco maker of voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP, technology, which allows users to make calls over the Internet to regular telephones, cell phones or PCs.
With Teleo's purchase Microsoft will be integrating VoIP to its MSN messenger product. Currently the Teleo solution is similar to popular Skype which runs a small dialer software on PC that allow initiation of calls. Just like Skype PC-to-PC calls are free but users have to prepay for making phone calls to regular phones.
Google also has made recent announcements about introducing instant messaging products that support voice communication. Many believe Microsoft's recent foray is in response to Google's move.
There were 62.72 million instant messenger users just in China in 2004 and this figure is expected to reach 82.67 million in 2005 and 103.34 million by 2006. With the addition of voice on such services will leave even less reason for many young people to maintain fixed line phone service. And since these voice-enabled services are making their way to PDAs that have wireless interface such instant messaging services may soon end up competing directly with cell phones.
Posted by admin at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
August 31, 2005
China to build homegrown 3G test network by year-end
China is planning to build a prototype network of its homegrown 3G mobile technology, TD-SCDMA by year according to government's official news agency Xinhua.
Government officials have stated that the test network will be converted into a trial commercial network after mobile operators receive 3G licenses, which will enable the home-grown standard to become the first 3G technology for commercial use.
Xinhua also quoted Hu Jian, TD-SCDMA product general manager of ZTE Corp (SZA 000063) - the main builder of the network - as saying ZTE is prepared to set up the test network in Shanghai where a few dozen base stations have already been erected.
As of end of last year China had over 400 million mobile phone users making it the largest single market for such devices. Last week Nokia made a statement that 200 million new subscribers are expected to sign up for mobile phone services in the rapidly growing Chinese market in the next three years.
China adopting its own 3G standard will provide significant advantage to local manufacturers. The Chinese government has been waiting for TD-SCDMA to mature before issuing 3G licenses.
Posted by admin at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)
August 29, 2005
Cheap cell phones drive demand in Africa
From 1999 through 2004, the number of mobile subscribers in Africa jumped to 76.8 million, from 7.5 million, an average annual increase of 58 percent.
South Africa, the continent's richest nation, accounted for one-fifth of that growth. Asia, the next fastest-expanding market, grew by an annual average of 34 percent in that period.
Privatization is driving this demand. One in 11 Africans is now a mobile subscriber. On a continent where some remote villages still communicate by beating drums, cell phones are a technological revolution.
Posted by admin at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
August 26, 2005
China and Japan to work together in developing 4G
(AFP) An agreement to that effect will be signed on August 26 in Tokyo between state representatives, a spokesman for the Japanese ministry for interior affairs and communication told AFP.
"During the meeting, we expect to sign an agreement regarding co-operation in research and development, with a view to creating a standard to be used worldwide," he said.
The spectrum of R&D in this case could be almost anything, given that the technical specifics of 4G have yet to be firmed up, a spokesman for Samsung--one of the key members of the 4G Forum, a vendor coalition conducting 4G R&D--said recently. "Currently, the debate is around the uses for 4G... We will then base the technical specifications around those uses," he said.
Unlike 3G, 4G service is entirely packet-based. Recently Japan's NTT DoCoMo announced it achieved 1Gbps real-time packet transmission in the downlink at the moving speed of about 20km/h in a field experiment on fourth-generation (4G) radio access. Among other features 4G provideds:
* Support interactive multimedia services: teleconferencing, wireless Internet, etc.
* Wider bandwidths, higher bit rates.
* Global mobility and service portability.
* Low cost.
* Scalability of mobile networks.
Japan was the first country to launch third generation mobile services. China, on the other hand, represents the largest mobile market in the world, with close to 335 million users at the end of 2004.
Posted by admin at 11:42 AM | Comments (0)
August 23, 2005
Telecom Malaysia expands into Singapore
Telecom Malaysia, the state-controlled telecom operator has agreed jointly with Khazanah Nasional to buy 12.06% stake in MobileOne Ltd., one of Singapore's largest mobile-phone companies, raising their stake in the company to 17.7%.
The move appears to be a shift in strategy, given that in the past Telekom Malaysia invested in hot markets such as Indonesia, Cambodia, Bangladesh (ATKTEL) and Sri Lanka, and wants to expand to India and Pakistan.
Analyst believe MobileOne will provide TM with critical technology knowhow.
Posted by admin at 02:54 PM | Comments (0)
August 21, 2005
Australia's Telstra To Launch 3G Service Sept. 5
Sydney (Dow Jones): Telstra Corp. said it will launch so-called third-generation high-speed mobile services early next month.
Of Telstra's main rivals, Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.'s local unit already offers extremely competitive 3G prices, while Vodafone Group PLC is planning an October launch, and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. is set for its own 3G service by the end of 2005. Telecom New Zealand Ltd.'s AAPT unit offers services through Hutchison.
With more than 90% of Australians owning a mobile phone, Telstra said it also will offer aggressive pricing plans to lure 3G customers, but possibly at the expense of margins in the next 18 months or so.
Telstra, which is 51.8%-owned by the Australian government, has spent A$1.2 billion on high-speed mobile services, including A$450 million to buy half of the 3G network it shares with Hutchison.
Posted by admin at 04:45 PM | Comments (1)
August 19, 2005
Mobile handset makers goes ultracheap for developing countries
Some of the world's biggest cell phone makers are backing a new industry initiative to sell ultracheap cellphones to people in developing nations.
According to Ben Soppitt director of GSM trade group: "We tend to forget that four billion people have never made a phone call." Mobile phone industry is sees huge potential in handing over phones to this potentially large market.
Cheap phones marketed by Motorola, have already gone on sale in countries including India, which are selling for about $46 today. Such low-cost phone initiative is expected to ramp up sales substantially in populous countries such as India, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
Sales of inexpensive phones boost revenue at the cost of profit margins. However, lowering the price of a phone by just $20 in many poorer countries could increase its affordability by 43%, according to investment bank Lehman Brothers.
Posted by admin at 02:03 PM | Comments (0)
August 17, 2005
3G subscribers 300 million by 2010 driven by demand in Asia
As 3G begins to take off, power has shifted to a more discerning user community that is spoilt for choice, argues a report from market analysts Juniper Research, and yet one that appears fazed by the complexity of mobile phones and the plethora of services on offer.
The researchers estimate that the total mobile subscriber market will reach €3.95 by 2010 and that shipments of handsets will break the €1.5bn mark by 2009 on the back of emerging Asia Pacific markets and increasing replacement rates in mature markets.
Furthermore, 3G subscribers are predicted to grow from 30m in 2004 to over 300m by 2010. However, whilst representing a step-jump in technology for delivering current services with better quality, 3G’s benefits derive more from its ability to accommodate greater numbers of users and network traffic, especially voice, than its support of advanced services delivery.
Posted by admin at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)
August 16, 2005
Japan's 3G leader turning itself into a financial services company
Within two years Japan's 3G leader NTT DoCoMo plans to introduce phones with an embedded company's own DoCoMo credit card. For years NTT DoCoMo has lead the Japanese market in providing data-services to mobile users. With growth slowing NTT DoCoMo is embarking on a new direction by turning itself into a financial services company.
NTT first introduced a phone that can perform e-commerce in July 2004 using credit cards from 3rd party banks. It could store up to about $450 in cash or credit-card numbers for some credit cards widely used in Japan such as JCB, so people can charge purchases using only their phone. About 22,000 retailers in Japan have installed devices at their cash registers that can receive the DoCoMo's e-commerce phone signals. Starting this January, commuters will be able to board Tokyo trains by waving their cellphone over a sensor in the turnstiles.
DoCoMo's new direction could lead the way for cellphone companies globally. The Tokyo company has 49 million customers in Japan, more than half the market, and a market capitalization of more than $80 billion. It led the industry in offering commercially viable Internet and email service over cellphones utlizing its popular i-mode phones, and also pioneered downloadable ringtones.
Posted by admin at 03:36 PM | Comments (0)
August 13, 2005
Africa's largest cell operator launches wireless broadband
Movicel, Africa's largest mobile operator has selected Nortel to upgrade it's CDMA cell network to CDMA2000* 1xEV-DO providing high speed wireless broadband access in Angola.
The new service would address growing nationwide demand for advanced wireless data services like telemedicine and Internet access.
Evolution Data Only or Evolution Data Optimized, often abbreviated as EVDO, EV-DO, EvDO, 1xEV-DO or 1xEvDO is a wireless radio broadband data protocol being adopted by many CDMA mobile phone providers in Brazil, Japan, Korea, Israel, the United States, and Canada as part of the cdma2000 standard. EV-DO provides data rates upto 2.4 MBPS.
Posted by admin at 07:40 AM | Comments (0)
August 12, 2005
TI targetting cheap cellphones for emerging markets
Texas Instruments has introduced its single-chip technology for cell phone makers in emerging markets.
The product combines functionalities such as memory, logic, power management, radio and network processes on a single chip. Such integration of crucial electronics on a single chip will reduce the power requirements, the needed board area and silicon area of phones. All of that should help drive down costs of entry-level GSM phones with GPRS capability.
The chip was made available to Nokia at the beginning of the year and is now available to manufacturers in India and other emerging markets. India and China being some of the fastest growing markets may see $20 cell phones soon according to TI officials.
China Mobile is the largest cellphone operator in the world with 224 million users. India which has 58 million cellphone users is expected to add 100 million new subscribers within two years.
Interestingly the bulk of the designing, development and testing for the new chipset took place at Texas Instruments' Bangalore development center, which has 1,200 engineers.
Posted by admin at 02:07 PM | Comments (0)
China mobile solidifies position as worlds largest cell phone company
China Mobile Ltd., China's largest wireless carrier, gained nearly 19.5 million new subscribers in the first half of this year, giving it a total of nearly 224 million customers and solidifying its position as the world's biggest wireless carrier in terms of subscribers.
China's second largest operator China Unicom has about 120 million subscribers. Both companies are state-controlled but have publicly traded shares.
Speculators believe Chinese government will issue official licenses, perhaps next year, for companies to offer advanced, "third-generation" (3G) mobile-phone services in China.
Posted by admin at 05:13 AM | Comments (1)
August 04, 2005
Singapore Telecom Ltd benefits from emerging Asian markets
Asia's fifth-largest phone company, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., is set for a 12 percent rise in quarterly net profit, as strong Asian mobile expansion offsets slower growth at its Australian unit.
Solid performance at SingTel's investments in the fast-growing markets of India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and to a lesser extent, Thailand and the Philippines, would underpin its growth in the future, analysts said.
Facing a mature home market in Singapore (90% mobile phone penetration), SingTel has spent S$17 billion ($10 billion) in recent years buying operators in high-growth Asian nations with fewer cellphone users.
SingTel owns major stakes in five operators -- 21.5 percent of Thailand's Advanced Info Service Plc., 30.8 percent in India's Bharti Group, 44.6 percent of Globe Telecom Inc. in the Philippines, 35 percent in Indonesia's PT Telkomsel, and 45 percent of Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Ltd., purchased as recently as June.
Posted by admin at 06:38 AM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2005
VoIP meets WiMAX
VoIP market leader US-based Vonage announced on Monday an alliance with a broadband wireless company, TowerStream, allowing the carrier to bypass equipment owned by its cable and telecommunications competitors using WiMAX technology.
The recent move is a remarkable endorsement to WiMAX technology which provides long-distance broadband access ranging upto 30-mile radius. Top microprocessor manufacturer Intel has been pushing WiMAX to turn it into de-facto standard for wireless access on personal computers.
A number of high-profile US carriers have begun testing the technology. AT&T and BellSouth have both announced tests of WiMAX technology, which provides wireless connections to the Internet at speeds comparable to high-speed wired connections.
Global VoIP market leaders Vonage and Europe-based Skype have beefed up their expansion plans in Asia in recent months. Addition of WiMAX based VoIP will further accelerate these plans especially in developing countries where wireline infrastructure is limited.
Posted by admin at 03:16 PM | Comments (0)
July 28, 2005
VoIP telephony takes global footprint
Leading global VoIP telephone service providers Vonage and Skype have been beefing up their services in Asia and other developing regions.
Vonage which provides VoIP service using regular phones over broadband connection had around 11 million subscribers as of March 2005. Of these 2.1 million subscribers are based in Japan.
Skype a PC based VoIP provider that offers PC-to-PC calls free of charge but charges when users make phone calls from PC to regular phones is also expanding internationally. The Skype PC software has been downloaded 100 million times as of mid-April 2005. Skype has been especially popular with offshore outsourcing firms because of availablity of high-speed Internet access at most software development centers in developing countries.
Skype has teamed up with Korea’s Daum Communications to offer a co-branded Korean version of the pseudo-VOIP free telephony service. Korea has the highest penetration of broadband in the world promises huge opportunity for VoIP telecommunication providers.
Posted by admin at 03:42 AM | Comments (0)
July 26, 2005
Africa embraces mobile phones
According to recent studies, statistics have showed that nearly 97% of all Tanzanians say they can access a mobile phone. Overall, number of cell phones in Africa is growing at an astonishing pace.
Many African fishermen carry mobile phones while they are at sea allowing them call for assistance in case of any trouble. They also use their mobiles to check market prices.
One can easily find signals in the remotest places like the slopes of Kilimanjaro and the smallest of villages. Call centres have sprung up all over Tanzania that are connected via GSM rather than landlines.
Posted by admin at 04:40 AM | Comments (0)
July 24, 2005
By 2009 one-third of mobile phone sales in Asia
A recent Gartner study predicts there will be 2.6 billion cell phone sets by year 2009. In that year one billion phones will be sold. Asia will account for one-third of sales by 2009.
Sales of smartphones represent the fastest growing area in the mobile market and some 280 million will be sold in 2009, according to Gartner.
However, cell phone makers across the globe are facing stiff competition and recently Nokia, the world's largest handset maker's stock has been downgraded due to pricing pressure.
In the latest quarter Nokia saw decline in average selling prices of cell phones. Handset average selling prices were $125, down from $146 in March, an all-time low.
Increasing exposure to expanding developing countries where average cell phone prices are low is a key factor behind bleak profitability outlook for cell phone companies moving forward.
Posted by admin at 06:48 AM | Comments (1)
July 19, 2005
Sprint launches US nationwide wireless broadband network
As it rolls out its high speed EV-DO wireless broadband service nationwide, Sprint announced Monday that enhancements to its PCS Data Link service will enable customers to replace or back up their existing landline data services with new wireless offerings.
Customers using CDMA modems can access the new solutions, Sprint said. "It also enables fast deployment to support temporary or new retail facilities," the firm stated. "Even if a line is cut, customer access will remain intact, so critical business applications can remain available."
From TechWeb
Posted by admin at 03:38 PM | Comments (0)
Philips to develop $20 Cell Phones
Low cost mobile phones--costing $20 or less--are the goal of a new hardware and software platform currently under development by Philips.
The move is part of an initiative announced this week by the Dutch electronics manufacturer to make mobile phones more widely available, especially in developing countries.
http://www.pcworld.com/resource/article/0,aid,121685,pg,1,RSS,RSS,00.asp
Posted by admin at 06:27 AM | Comments (0)
Intel-India forms partnership for Rural WiMAX
Intel has announced a partnership with India’s Ministry of Communications and IT to create solutions for making technology more accessible in rural areas. Intel will work with companies, including manufacturers, content creators and delivery channels to help make PCs more affordable to the masses
Posted by admin at 05:36 AM | Comments (0)