ICT Top Stories 15 March 2010
ABDELFATTAH
Verizon responds to rapid VoIP growth with SMB packages
Small- and medium-sized businesses are moving to VoIP and other IP communications with rapid speed, and Verizon has joined the movement by offering some specifically targeted VoIP and internet packages.
Overtaxed, mobile broadband networks a key theme - CTIA 2010 preview
Mobile broadband is the topic du jour of the industry these days, so it stands to reason it'll be a major focus at next week's CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas.
Android to take center stage - CTIA 2010 preview
Google's Android platform had a bit of a coming out party at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain, this year, and analysts expect that trend to continue next week at the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas. However, there may be a few surprises tossed into the mix as well; analysts also expect a barrage of ereaders, netbooks, slates and smartbooks to compete with smartphones.
Operators laser in on network upgrades - CTIA 2010 preview
With WiMAX, LTE and HSPA all poised to gain major ground this year, expect the nation's major wireless carriers to put networks front and center at the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas next week. And the stage for cutthroat competition already is set: Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility have dueling events scheduled for Wednesday, March 24, while T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel each have press conferences tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, March 23. It ought to be one heck of a show.
Some broadcasters like spectrum plan
Some U.S. TV broadcasters have indicated they support a proposal to give up their airwaves to help resolve a shortage of spectrum for advanced mobile phone services, the top communications regulator said.
FCC upbeat about spectrum auction plan
Ahead of the official unveiling of the FCC's national broadband plan tomorrow, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is sounding optimistic notes about the agency's plans to have broadcasters voluntarily give up their spectrum for mobile broadband use in exchange for auction proceeds
New AT&T cloud services target mass-market phones
AT&T announced a suite of new cloud-based data services promising to deliver smartphone-like messaging, video/photo sharing and contacts management experiences across a range of mass-market handsets.
METRICS: Android users data use habits
Actual customer usage of smartphones that are WiFi-enabled isn't always available. Take a look at this data for Android, which shows the Android OS may be more Internet friendly than other smartphone operating systems. Click here to see the slides.
How are Android smartphone customers using WiFi?
One
of the topics of frequent industry conversation is the idea of using WiFi
hotspots
to offload data traffic
from 3G networks. While the majority of smartphones are WiFi-enabled,
information about actual customer usage is hard to come by. WeFi, which offers
free software that combines social networking with finding and connecting to
hotspots, has revealed some interesting trends about how Android users access
WiFi and how much.
iPad to come with 3G data alerts
Apple offered more details regarding the iPad's 3G capabilities, which will include alerts sent to users when they are about to exceed their 3G data allotment.
FCC to reveal National Broadband Plan Tuesday
The FCC plans to introduce its long-awaited National Broadband Plan on Tuesday during an open commission meeting and present the plan to Congress on March 17.
TeliaSonera boosts LTE to 100Mbps (or around 80Mbps in practice)
Having been the first operator to launch LTE services last December, TeliaSonera has announced that it has upgraded its base stations in central Stockholm to deliver speeds of 100Mbps, with other LTE base stations undergoing the upgrade process beginning this spring.
T-Mobile introduces HSPA+ device, new data plans
T-Mobile USA, which has embarked on aggressive plans to roll out HSPA+, introduced an HSPA+ USB modem and new data pricing plans.
Egypt listed as 'enemy of the internet'
CAIRO: Egypt was listed as an "enemy of the internet" by Reporters Without Borders as a US State Department 2009 report on human rights highlighted Egypt's ill-treatment of bloggers and internet activists in 2009.
The internet has become a "battlefield for supporters and opponents of fundamental human rights," the US State Department report said.
SingTel may back Bharti, Zain deal
Bharti Airtel's $9bn acquisition of Kuwait-based Zain's African assets may receive financial backing from Singapore Telecoms (SingTel), Reuters has reported. Bharti and Zain are in exclusive talks until March 25 for the Kuwaiti firm's operations in 15 African countries and have agreed on an enterprise value of $10.7bn for the assets, including $1.7bn of debt on Zain Africa books.
Mobily offers new prices and bundles for its Wimax Broadband @ home service
Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) is offering revised prices and new bundles for its Wimax Broadband @ home service, the company announced on Sunday.
Legal Action Could Delay UK's LTE Spectrum Auction
The threat of legal action could delay the UK's planned radio spectrum auction next year which is aiming to release capacity for LTE networks, reports the Financial Times. The possibility of legal action come from two of the country's mobile networks, Vodafone and O2 and the dominant landline operator, BT.
Telecom body to unveil VoIP policy today
The UAE Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) is all set to announce its VoIP policy today, which would bring down call charges for consumers and open telecom markets.
Broadband Strategies And Potential: Cisco, Broadcom, And Qualcomm Market Shares and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2010 to 2016 - market research report on Reportlinker
WinterGreen Research announces that it has a new study on Broadband Strategies And Potential: Cisco, Broadcom, And Qualcomm Market Shares and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2010?]2016. The 2010 study has 325 pages, 126 tables and figures.
Ofcom receives digital dividend spectrum proposals: CommsUpdate
The British government has revealed that spectrum freed up as part of the digital dividend could be auctioned off before the end of 2010 with a view to the frequencies being used commercially by 2012, ZDnet reports. Proposals for the spectrum were sent from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to telecoms regulator Ofcom early last week, detailing plans for several spectrum bands including 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz and 2600MHz.
Mobily offers 21.6Mbps across HSPA+ network: CommsUpdate
Saudi cellco Mobily has announced that following recent upgrades delivered across its evolved high speed packet access (HSPA+) network it is offering customers mobile transmission speeds of up to 21.6Mbps. The new TurboConnect-based service will enhance connectivity and transmission speeds throughout the company’s HSPA+ footprint, which currently covers Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Khobar, although a national rollout is underway.
European carriers must merge networks to survive
European carriers must merge their network infrastructure if they hope to simultaneously cut costs and meet growing network speed and quality demands, 3 UK has said.
HK cellcos agree to publish mobile data metrics
Hong Kong operators will start publishing key performance metrics as part of an Ofta-backed drive to improve transparency and service level.
European carriers must merge networks to survive
European carriers must merge their network infrastructure if they hope to simultaneously cut costs and meet growing network speed and quality demands, 3 UK has said.
India likely to implement MNP by July
The implementation of mobile number portability in India is likely to be delayed at least until July as a system is not yet in place to roll out the service, reports PTI, citing unnamed highly placed sources. This was decided at an internal meeting of the department of telecommunication, the sources said, adding the service may see the light of the day at the earliest by July. Given the number of operators and as many as 12 billion calls per day, the system has to be in place and this may take some more time, they said. Minister of state for communications and IT Gurudas Kamat informed the Rajya Sabha that the 31 March deadline for MNP would not be met since all networks are not likely to be completely ready by then.
Tigo launches mobile TV service in Colombia
Colombian mobile operator Tigo has launched mobile TV services. Subscribers will be able to access the Discovery Mobile, Discovery Kids, Nickelodeon, Tooncast and Cartoon Network channels directly on their mobile phones. Tigo customers can subscribe to the new service by sending a text message with the word 'dia' to a special short number. Tigo Mobile TV users will be charged COP 3,900 per day. The service is available for prepay as well as postpaid Tigo customers.
Turkcell to offer 3G speeds of 42.2 Mbps later this year
Mobile operator Turkcell will offer customers a speed of 42.2 Mbps with its 3G technology later this year. The high speed was already reached on 5 March in Istanbul when Turkcell and its partner Ericsson conducted an HSPA Multi Carrier 42.2 Mbps test. Turkcell is among the first operators in the world to reach 42.2 Mbps speed with Ericsson's HSPA Multi Carrier Solution, according to Ericsson business area radio manager Turgut Erkul. Turkcell chief network operations officer Ilter Terzioglu said Turkcell aims to reach 84 Mbps in 3G.
The Wireless Infrastructure Good News: 2009 Not As Bad As Feared
There is no doubt that 2009 was a bad financial year, and there were fears at its beginning that the wireless infrastructure market would see a severe downturn. Estimates for contraction ranged as high as 10 to 12 per cent.
German spectrum auction stumbles; nine apply for Dutch frequencies
Having set the stage to become one of the first European countries to auction digital dividend spectrum, Germany's plans could be scuppered by legal action brought by two operators. E-Plus and O2 Germany are suing the regulator, BNetzA, and have asked for suspension of the 800MHz auction, even though such a decision could delay plans to deploy LTE and increase rural broadband access.
EU funds future mobile broadband research; aims for 1Gbps
In an effort to boost the speed and coverage of mobile broadband, the EU has pulled together a group of European operators, technology vendors and research organisations to investigate how it would increase the capacity of mobile broadband to provide 1Gbps per square kilometre.
TeliaSonera boosts LTE to 100Mbps (or around 80Mbps in practice)
Having been the first operator to launch LTE services last December, TeliaSonera has announced that it has upgraded its base stations in central Stockholm to deliver speeds of 100Mbps, with other LTE base stations undergoing the upgrade process beginning this spring.
Tata DoCoMo once again stirs Indian tariff war
Tata DoCoMo, India’s fastest-growing cellco, has once again stirred up the market with aggressive price plans.
Tata Teleservices’ GSM arm has unveiled new packages that allow enterprise customers to carry over unused free talk time and free texts for up to three consecutive months.
BSNL cans $10b GSM tender
BSNL’s board on Friday agreed to cancel the Indian mobile operator’s $10 billion GSM expansion tender, after 22 months of debate.
Radio Spectrum Policy: Digital dividend
DELIVERING THE DIGITAL DIVIDEND
By 2012, television broadcasting services across the EU will have completed the transition from analogue to digital technology. The switchover will release a significant amount of high quality radio spectrum which will be free for the deployment of new services and new technologies. This ‘digital dividend’ can boost both the broadcasting sector and the wireless communication industry, make a major impact on competitiveness and growth, and provide a wide range of social and cultural benefits. But gaining maximum advantage of this unique opportunity will require a coordinated European strategy for its future use.
The switchover from analogue to digital terrestrial TV, to be completed in Europe by the end of 2012, will free up a very large amount of radio spectrum. This ‘digital dividend’ will provide a unique opportunity to meet the huge demand for new wireless communications services, allow broadcasters to significantly expand their services and at the same time provide spectrum for social and economic uses. Applications in this latter category will include broadband applications which can help overcome the ‘digital divide’: ensuring equitable access to new information and communication technologies to all the people of Europe.
UK digital dividend broadband comes closer
The Government has said that the digital dividend spectrum may be auctioned by the end of the year, with services to start by 2012. The auctions, which have been delayed by legal challenges and points raised during consultation, will release spectrum that is expected to be used to imrpove wireless broadband services in Britain.
The spectrum plans were passed by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to telecoms regulator Ofcom on Tuesday. They represent the Government's final position on five spectrum bands which can be used for mobile coverage: 800MHz, 900MHz, 1.8GHz, 2.1GHz and 2.6GHz. Initial proposals had been made in May 2009 by Kip Meek, who was appointed by the Government to establish the best use of radio spectrum for mobile services. The Government subsequently launched a consultation, leading to Tuesday's revised plans.
THE WRAP: Cisco's super-router, Slim's rich pickings
This week Cisco unwrapped the world’s biggest router and Carlos Slim proved there’s money to be made in telecoms.
Android gaining in US while iPhone stalls
Google's Android OS was the only mobile platform experiencing significant growth in the US during the three months ending in January, carving out over four percentage points of market share, ComScore said.
UK promised 100Mbps broadband
The UK’s main political opposition party wants the next Google, Microsoft, or Facebook to be British, and has pledged to rollout a 100Mbps broadband network to ensure they are.
The Conservative Party says the super-fast broadband network would boost the country’s flagging economy by establishing it as a hub for creative industries.
Verizon LTE handsets due by mid-2011
Verizon Wireless will launch its first LTE handsets six-months ahead of schedule in mid-2011.
The carrier’s CTO told the Wall St Journal the devices would be available within six months of the commercial launch of Verizon’s LTE network in the US, which is scheduled to take place by end 2010.
Google "99.9% certain" to close China search engine
Google is “99.9% certain” it will shutter it China search business after talks with Chinese authorities on censorship have failed to make progress.
The search firm has drawn up detailed plans for the closure of its search engine and was likely to make a decision very soon, FT.com reported Saturday, quoting a source “familiar with the company’s thinking.”
Abdelfattah ABUQAYYAS, PhD
ICT Counselor
CITC - KSA
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