According to Sri Lanka’s Central Bank, the country’s internet subscriber base increased by 77.3% year-on-year during the second quarter of 2012 to 1.15 million, while fixed line telephony lines in service decreased by 3.5% in the same period to 3.43 million. The number of public payphones in the country also continued to drop, decreasing by 10.8% to 7,035 at the end of the quarter.
Telecom Cook Islands (TCI) has completed a network transformation to IP Next Generation Network (NGN) technology, based on softswitches from Redcom, which provided its HDX and Slice 2100 International/IP/End Office softswitches, while TCI this week decommissioned its legacy NEAX 61 exchange. Following the network migration TCI operates a distributed, resilient network employing an IP/fibre backbone on the main island of Rarotonga served by the HDX softswitch, while on outer islands, Redcom’s Slice 2100 softwitches provide remote populations the same services and features as found on Rarotonga.
US telecoms giant AT&T Mobility has announced plans to invest USD14 billion over the next three years to significantly expand and enhance its wireless and wireline IP broadband networks, with a view to supporting growing customer demand.
US Cellular Corporation has announced that has reached a definitive agreement to sell PCS spectrum and subscribers covering Chicago, St. Louis, central Illinois and three other Midwest markets to subsidiaries of the Sprint Nextel Corporation for USD480 million
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) has expressed its concern regarding Serbia’s draft Law on Fees for the Use of Public Goods, reports news portal b92. The proposed law would see certain fees channelled into the state budget before being redistributed to agencies and ministries. SEEMO argues that the provisions would eliminate the independence of regulators: by concentrating fees in the state budget, the government would be able to exert influence on regulators such as the Republic Agency for Electronic Communications (RATEL) through the allocation of funds
German telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom (DT) has released its financial results for the three- and nine-month periods ended 30 September 2012, reporting stable turnover of EUR14.65 billion (USD18.8 billion) for the third quarter of 2012, while revenue in the first nine months of the year slipped 0.6% year-on-year to EUR43.46 billion. Domestic sales fell 1.7% in 3Q12 and 2.8% in 9M12 to EUR6.438 billion and EUR19.185 billion, respectively, with the international business reporting year-on-year growth of 1.1% for both periods. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by 2.6% from EUR4.91 billion in Q3 2011 to EUR 4.77 billion twelve months later, and decreased slightly by 0.9% to EUR13.95 billion in the first nine months of 2012
South African mobile giant Vodacom has tripled the number of Long Term Evolution (LTE)-enabled base stations on its network from just under 70 at launch in October 2012, to over 200 in Johannesburg. According to MyBroadband.co.za testing has now begun in Cape Town
According to the latest statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the number of fixed and mobile telephone subscribers in the country increased to over 107.36 million at 30 September 2012 from 102.36 million three months earlier and 95.88 million at the end of 2011. GSM mobile operators accounted for 96.54%, or 103.65 million, of Nigeria’s total telephony user base at the end of the third quarter of 2012 (up from 90.56 million users nine months earlier), followed by CDMA mobile networks with 3.02%, or 3.24 million, (down from 4.6 million), while fixed and fixed-wireless operators claimed just 0.44%, or 474,345, of the total, compared to 719,406 users at end-2011
US-based operator NII Holdings, which provides wireless services under the Nextel brand in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Chile, has announced its consolidated financial results for the three- and nine-month periods ended 30 September 2012.
Polish cableco Multimedia Polska (MP) has agreed to acquire triple-play provider Transmitel Rzesow for an undisclosed fee, reports Broadband TV News. Transmitel has a presence in five cities with a network passing 10,500 homes and claims some 5,500 revenue generating units (RGUs).
AgenceEcofin reports that the Mauritian telecoms regulator, the Information Communication Technology Authority (ICTA), has announced plans to expand the ‘Wi-Fi Mauritius Project’ to 20 new regions across the country. The government-backed scheme offers free Wi-Fi internet connectivity to people living in Mauritius and the expansion is the result of the success of phase one of the project, which delivered services to eleven regions
New Zealand ICT minister Amy Adams has revealed that there are now more than 100,000 urban homes, business and schools able to connect to the government’s in-deployment NZD1.35 billion (USD1.11 billion) Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) network. Of this figure Chorus, the network infrastructure arm spun off from Telecom New Zealand in 2011, accounts for around 72,000 of total premises covered.
Leap Wireless International, which lost 269,000 customers during the three-month period ended 30 September 2012, has admitted that it intends to explore ‘cost-effective alternatives’ to its existing Long Term Evolution (LTE) network deployment.
Swedish vendor Ericsson has announced the successful demonstration of Time Division Duplex Long Term Evolution (TDD-LTE) carrier aggregation in China, achieving a peak download speed of 223Mbps by using two carriers of 20MHz each over the same radio unit. The demonstration was carried out in Beijing on equipment by Ericsson operating in China Mobile’s network and was intended to showcase that TDD operators can provide ‘competitive peak-rate performance for their users.’*A spokesperson for the vendor added: ‘We have the technology ready now, but devices that support the standard aren’t expected to hit the market in volume until 2014.
Bahamian watchdog the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) is close to completing its investigation into Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC’s) service outage in June this year, the Tribune reports. URCA’s director of policy and regulation Stephen Bereaux said: ‘The work is well underway and we’re just about finished with our investigation. The importance of doing the investigation thoroughly is what is taking time.
Costa Rican regulator Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones (Sutel) has withdrawn the conditions imposed on incumbent telco Grupo ICE for the acquisition of Cable Vision regarding the return of spectrum, reports the Costa Rica Star.
The sale of a 75% stake in state-backed incumbent Post and Telecom Kosovo (PTK) is to be completed next month, the Kosova Press reports, citing government officials. The officials ruled out the possibility that the privatisation process might fail again, despite intense political pressure from within the country to abandon the sale
Hungarian operator Magyar Telekom (MTel) has reported a 10.8% year-on-year rise in net profit to HUF14.77 billion (USD67 million), beating market forecasts of income of HUF11.73 billion by local financial news portal, portfolio.hu. The group’s results were aided by one-time gains from real estate transactions and lower operating costs, which helped to offset a fall in revenue
Vivo Participacoes, the Brazilian fixed and mobile group controlled by Telefonica of Spain, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with AINMT Holdings to explore the possibility of setting up a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in the 450MHz band. The vendor operates in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and under the MoU, will work with Vivo to help it to provide voice and mobile broadband services in rural parts of Brazil.
Utah-based co-operative Strata Networks has announced that it is poised to introduce Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology in the Uintah Basin from this month. The service is initially being deployed in parts of the Duchesne and Uintah counties, covering more than 90% of the current population of the two areas. This deployment represents ‘phase one’ of the telco’s rollout plan, with additional stages due to be implemented over the course of the next twelve to 18 months
America Movil's (AM’s) domestic mobile subsidiary, Telcel, has reportedly inaugurated commercial Long Term Evolution (LTE) services, BNamericas reports.
Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica has released its financial results for the three- and nine-month periods ended 30 September 2012, revealing an increase in net profit of more than 26% year-on-year in 9M 2012. For the nine-month period under review Telefonica posted a consolidated net income of EUR3.455 billion (USD 4.43 billion), while third quarter net income stood at EUR1.380 billion, having swung from a loss of EUR429 million in 3Q 2011. In presenting its results, the Spanish company noted that ‘results in the third quarter of the year showed significant progress in priority areas’, pointing specifically to sequential operating income before depreciation and amortisation (OIBDA) growth across all of its regions of operation, which it said reflected cost-reduction strategies
The Japanese mobile operator Softbank has contracted Alcatel-Lucent to deploy its 9900 Wireless Network Guardian solution to monitor and manage the performance of data services at its Wireless City Planning (WCP) subsidiary. WCP offers 4G wireless services using the Advanced eXtended Global Platform (AXGP) standard – an advanced wireless platform that is Time Duplex Long Term Evolution (TD-LTE) compliant.
The corporate appeals court in the Netherlands has dismissed a request from a group of domestic telcos which were seeking to overturn a decision by market regulator OPTA not to regulate the cable sector. Telecompaper writes that the appeal, filed by KPN Telecom, Tele2 Netherlands, T-Mobile Netherlands and YouCa, challenged the watchdog’s earlier findings that the segment had ‘sufficient competition’ and as such, did not require a full market analysis. To the dismay of the carriers involved, the court upheld the OPTA’s findings
TeliaSonera Global M2M Services is implementing a new dedicated machine-to-machine (M2M) platform from Ericsson, designed to allow it to deploy and manage connectivity for M2M solutions across geographical markets and multiple industries on an industrial scale. TeliaSonera and Ericsson have entered into an agreement under which the Swedish-owned firm will implement the Ericsson Device Connection Platform, delivered as a service by Ericsson.
The Kuwaiti mobile operator Wataniya Telecom has contracted business support solutions (BSS) provider CSG International to supply it with a wholesale billing management system. The vendor is deploying its CSG Interconnect solution to automate partner management, carrier-to-carrier rating, billing and settlement and help process disputes management and reconciliation. Wataniya, which is 92.1%-owned by Qtel of Qatar, claimed just over two million subscribers at the end of September 2012 to give it around 37% of Kuwait’s mobile market, according to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database.
US mobile giant Sprint Nextel plans to drop the ‘Nextel’ part of its corporate moniker if Softbank Corp of Japan's USD20.1 billion deal to acquire to 70% of the company is approved by regulators, Fierce Wireless reports.
Paraguayan telecoms operator Compania Paraguaya de Comunicaciones (Copaco) is expected to launch its long-delayed IPTV service on a commercial basis before the end of November, NexTV LatAm reports, almost one year behind schedule. After experiencing myriad technical problems over the last twelve months, it is now believed that the plans have been delayed by the issues with the Law of State Contracting.*TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database notes that the USD25 million product launch was initially expected to materialise on 15 December 2011, only to run into unspecified problems. A second date, 2 March 2012, also passed without fanfare, although this delay was blamed on premium US TV provider HBO, which deemed Copaco’s IPTV system vulnerable to piracy.
Macedonian mobile operator Mobilkom Macedonia (VIP Mobile), part of the Telekom Austria Group, has introduced a new range of mobile broadband tariffs based on its recently launched evolved high speed packet access (HSPA+) network.
Hong Kong’s Communications Authority (CA) released a statement yesterday (6 November 2012) permitting China Mobile Hong Kong (CMHK) and SmarTone Mobile Communications (SmarTone) to swap a portion of their wireless spectrum in the 1800MHz band.
Privately owned mobile operator Spice Nepal Private, trading as Ncell, has informed the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) and the independent regulator, the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), that it will pay off its NPR20 billion (USD232.9 million) renewal fees in instalments. The first payment of NPR2.5 billion will be made in January 2013 it said, adding that it is committed to paying off the balance due, as per the terms and conditions set down by the government by 2020. Last month the NTA wrote to Ncell and state-owned Nepal Telecom (NT) instructing them to settle their renewal fees on an instalment basis, following an earlier cabinet decision on the matter.
Dow Jones Newswires writes that Telefonica Brazil has reported third-quarter net income of BRL935.8 million (USD461 million), down 29.8% from a year earlier on the back of soaring tax expenses. The operator said that its 3Q12 results were impacted by the lower taxes it paid in 3Q11 (as dividends were paid in the form of interest on its own capital)
The government of Togo has set out its stall to grant a licence to a ‘full-blown’ mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in the country, with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications confirming it has issued a notice of call for expressions of interest, which will be followed by a ‘restricted’ tender. No further details were revealed on the decision which follows an announcement from Togo’s Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Cina Lawson, last month saying that the government was considering plans to set up MVNOs in the country. As reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, if realised the newcomers would go into direct competition with current incumbents Togo Cellulaire (Togocel) and Atlantique Telecom (Moov Togo), and fixed line PTO Togo Telecom, which also offers service for its mobile product using wireless in the local loop (WiLL) technology
National telecoms regulator the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) has published its latest market observatory report for the month of Shrawan, 2069 (15 July – 14 August, 2012) showing that the country’s fixed line user base continues to fall, standing at 839,067 connections, down from 850,607 at mid-April this year.
Telecom New Zealand chief executive Simon Moutter has suggested that the sale of domestic rival TelstraClear to Vodafone last week has opened the door for his company to work more productively with TelstraClear’s former owner, Australian carrier Telstra. In an interview with Stuff.co.nz, Moutter admitted that he was unsure whether Telstra had left the New Zealand market for good, saying: ‘Forever is a big word – I really don't know’. Earlier this week the Commerce Commission clarified that a clause preventing Telstra from re-entering the local market for an as-yet-undisclosed period of time had survived its regulatory scrutiny and remained in the final agreement between the two parties.*Going forward, Moutter expects to meet with Telstra chief executive David Thodey in the next couple of months, saying that TelstraClear’s sale created ‘a new possibility for us to work more productively with Telstra in Australia.
Hungarian market regulator the National Media and Telecommunications Authority (NMHH) says that the total number of mobile internet subscriptions climbed to 2.852 million at 30 September 2012, up a net 90,000 on the previous month. Of the total, the number of active subscriptions with data transfer in the period reached 2.168 million, up a net 72,000 on August, with users transmitting a total of 2.212 million GB of data in the period under review – down from 2.285 million GB in August.
Officials from Turkish mobile network operator Turkcell was one of the companies involved in the Belarusian government’s presentation on the sale of a stake in MTS Belarus, its joint venture with Russian group Mobile TeleSystems (MTS). Prime-Tass reports that MTS, which owns 49% of the unit, itself did not attending the meeting in the capital Minsk
Telefonica Germany, which provides services under the O2 brand, has announced that it has begun offering VDSL access at download speeds of up to 50Mbps. Customers with an existing ADSL contract are able to book the new ‘Speed’ option for an additional EUR4.99 (USD6.4) a month. For the first three months, the monthly cost of the service for new customers will be EUR14.99
German mobile service provider freenet has reported group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of EUR263.2 million (USD336.8 million) for the first nine months of 2012, compared with EUR246.5 million in the same period a year earlier. Accordingly, the operator announced that it has raised its earlier guidance for group EBITDA for the full year 2012 from EUR340 million to EUR355 million and now expects free cash flow of EUR255 million. Revenues for the nine-month period totalled EUR2.269 billion, down from EUR2.405 billion in 9M11; the executive board forecasts sales of around EUR3 billion for full year 2012.
Bharti Airtel has posted revenue for its fiscal second quarter ending 30 September of INR202.7 billion (USD3.7 billion), up by more than 17% year-on-year. The growth in sales comes on the back of an 11% increase in the company’s total consolidated subscriber base to 262.6 million, almost 60 million of which are in Africa. Bharti also revealed that its mobile data revenues in its home market of India soared 77% year-on-year.
The Zimbabwean CDMA fixed-wireless operator PowerTel has launched two new time-based mobile broadband offerings aimed at short-term users such as holidaymakers and business travellers. It is now offering unlimited wireless internet via USB dongle for one week at a cost of USD15, while a two-week connection costs USD30. This compares to the USD50 currently charged for a month-to-month subscription
The Danish telco TDC has unveiled a new strategy for the 2013-2015 period. Under the headline ‘We Connect You To The Future’, TDC says it will be concentrating on five key areas: to focus on customer value management; to develop and sell integrated solutions; to leverage its brand portfolio; to invest in customer service and network/IT; and to continue its focus on cost savings. During the strategy period TDC will invest approximately DKK300 million (USD51.5 million) more than under previous plans, with a view to enhancing end-user experience and customer satisfaction.
Belgium’s largest mobile network operator by subscribers, Belgacom, has announced that it has inaugurated commercial Long Term Evolution (LTE) services in eight locations, those being: Hasselt, Antwerp, Ghent, Leuven, Liege, Namur, Mons, Waver and the Haasrode Industrial Park. In terms of connectivity, Belgacom has confirmed that it will offer access to the new infrastructure via both dongles and handsets, with a range of tariffs on offer with a view to catering to a wide range of would-be customers. For residential customers with a smartphone a pre-paid option, ‘Generation Connect’, costing EUR20 (USD25.6) per month, will offer a 2G data usage allowance, 2,000 SMS and up to 80 minutes of calls, while a monthly post-paid tariff, ‘Smart 75’, provides unlimited calls and SMS, plus a 5GB data usage cap for EUR75.
Bluegrass Cellular, a participant in the Verizon Wireless ‘Long Term Evolution (LTE) in Rural America’ programme, has confirmed that it has inaugurated its commercial 4G network in a number of Kentucky cities including Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, Glasgow, Radcliff and Bardstown. Ron Smith, president of Bluegrass Cellular, commented: ‘This initial launch covers a population area of over 348,000 people in our largest markets and includes the I-65 corridor providing continuous 4G LTE coverage between Louisville and Nashville ...
According to local press reports, 3 Italia – the mobile operator controlled by Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa – has inaugurated its Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in the village of Acuto, in the province of Frosinone, which previously lacked broadband connectivity. The launch event was attended by 3 Italia CEO Vincenzo Novari, along with the mayor of Acuto, Augusto Agostini, and famous astronaut Umberto Guidoni, who was born locally. Explaining the unusual launch location, Novari commented: ‘Our choice was to start from a small town – the first of a series of forty municipalities the digital divide – that will connect together large urban areas by 2013’
The French government has called on the country’s independent competition watchdog Autorite de la Concurrence to examine if Iliad group’s Free Mobile operation should be allowed to expand its existing cellular roaming deal with Orange France. The authority will consider whether an expansion of the 2G and 3G wholesale agreement will give a ‘lasting advantage’ to Free Mobile, whose customers are able to roam on the Orange network while Free builds out its own infrastructure. Competitors have complained that Free is being given an unfair advantage as they were not able to benefit from similar deals while they were in the early stages of deploying their own networks
Honduran newspaper La Prensa reports that plans to resurrect the country’s ailing national PTO Hondutel through the sale of 49% of the company are foundering due to apathy from the government and its own management board. With the deadline having expired for the launch of a plan for the telco’s international public tender, no concrete plans have yet been put forward on how to sell the stake on offer. Despite the lack of progress, one official at the company, Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, says he is confident that the groundwork will be done to realise the sale of 49% of the company, and notes that the PTO has approved plans for the formal establishment of a new subsidiary that will be responsible for offering cellular services in the country
Dutch telecoms company Royal KPN is close to reaching an agreement for the sale of the mobile phone towers of its German wireless unit E-Plus, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the unnamed sources, American Tower has won the bidding against Swedish private-equity firm EQT Partners and the group of Antin Infrastructure Partners and TDF Group
Belarus’ state owned incumbent PTO Beltelecom has announced a plan to purchase internet capacity in the direction of Russia, and to that end is launching a tender for the supply of eleven channels with a total bandwidth of 110Gbps. Online portal BelTA writes that the winner of the tender will have to launch the first 10Gbps channel on 9 November 2012, before adding two more from 17 November, and another pair on 15 December
Internet Gabon (IG Telecom) has chosen the Hughes HN broadband satellite solution to expand its services throughout the Central African nation and surrounding countries. IG Telecom will employ the Hughes HN System, comprising a Network Operations Center (NOC) and up to 2,000 HN9260 routers, to expand high speed satellite internet and VoIP service to homes and small/medium enterprises (SMEs) in under-served areas of Gabon and neighbouring countries
France Telecom-Orange (FT-Orange) has announced that it will deploy two subscriber connection nodes (NRAs) in Majicavo and Dzaoudzi in Mayotte. The new node in Majicavo is expected to be in place by the second quarter of 2013, and will help to unblock the current NRA at Kaweni, while the new node in Dzaoudzi will be deployed in the second half of 2013. Janet Bruno, FT-Orange’s director of relations with local governments, said: ‘Having invested heavily in Lion2, France Telecom-Orange continues its deployment plan to enable all Mahorais to enjoy broadband internet.’
Brazil’s national regulator Anatel has approved a new plan aimed at encouraging and promoting free competition in the country’s telecoms industry, as well as improving sector regulation, RCRWireless reports. The General Plan of Competition Goals (Plano Geral de Metas de Competicao, or PGMC) is designed to establish rules for network sharing, interconnection fees and roaming and also pinpoints companies that have significant market power (SMP) and thus, must be forced to provide network access and transmission with smaller rivals. Operators identified to have SMP in the fixed line market are Telefonica (Vivo), Oi SA, America Movil group (Embratel, Net Servicos), Algar Telecom (CTBC) and Sercomtel
Kazakh mobile operator GSM Kazakhstan (K’cell), a unit of Nordic telecoms group TeliaSonera, plans to list around 25% of its shares for up to USD500 million, the Financial Times reports. The development follows a similar move by fellow TeliaSonera affiliate MegaFon of Russia, which unveiled plans for its own 25% listing earlier this year.
Chilean telco Entel has posted revenue of CLP353.3 billion (USD734 million) for the third quarter of 2012, up 14.4% year-on-year. Mobile services accounted for 78.7% of sales, and the growth in overall turnover was largely attributable to mobile subscriber growth and increased penetration of smartphones.
iPass has announced that United Arab Emirates-based telecoms group Etisalat has joined the iPass Open Mobile Exchange (iPass OMX) to offer its consumers access to a global Wi-Fi data roaming service. The agreement will enable business travelers and families to connect their smartphones and tablets to the internet at over a million Wi-Fi hotspots in the global iPass network
Telefonica of Spain’s Czech fixed and mobile unit says it added a net 56,500 new mobile users in the third quarter of this year for a total of five million by 30 September 2012, compared to net gains of just 29,600 in the previous quarter. The group’s cellular arm said the gains were the result of a focus on reducing churn and driving contract user growth, but despite the sound performance the group’s consolidated revenues fell 3.1% year-on-year to CZK37.75 billion (USD1.92 billion) in 9M12, largely due to lower mobile revenues – down 5.2% at CZK18.53 billion. Telefonica O2 CR’s fixed business also reported declining revenues in the first nine months of this year, with the total falling 6% y-o-y to CZK15.83 billion
The European Commission (EC) yesterday issued a press release saying it has decided to release an additional 120MHz of radio spectrum for 4G technologies, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), in the 2GHz band. The 2GHz band is currently solely used for 3G Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) wireless communications networks, and will make it mandatory for European Union (EU) Member States to open the relevant spectrum by 30 June 2014 at the latest
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), the country’s dominant telecoms service provider, says its net profit for the three months ended 30 September 2012 flat-lined as rising costs related to sales promotions offset any gains made in service revenues. PLDT booked net income of PHP9.2 billion (USD223.0 million) in the period under review, down marginally from PHP9.3 billion in July-September 2011, but bullishly predicted that growth in broadband will drive sales in fiscal 2013 as a result of the recent completion of its USD1.6 billion CAPEX plan to upgrade its networks and expand its internet gateway capacity.
Following the news last month that Citic Telecom International was negotiating the purchase of Cable & Wireless Communications’ 51% stake in Companhia de Telecomunicacoes de Macau (CTM), the Chinese-owned group is now talking to Portugal Telecom about a proposal to buy its 28% share in the Macanese telco, to raise Citic’s stake from 20% to 99%. Based on a report from the Portuguese financial daily Diario Economico, quoted by the Macau Daily Times, the initial Cable & Wireless purchasing agreement is worth around HKD5 billion (USD645 million). ‘We are in talks with all CTM shareholders, including Portugal Telecom,’ the CEO of Citic Telecom, Norman Yuan, confirmed
O3b Networks (O3b) has signed an agreement with Telecom Cook Islands for the provision of satellite bandwidth for high speed internet connectivity to an additional four islands in the Pacific nation's southern group. The bandwidth will be supplied over O3b's Medium Earth Orbit satellite constellation which is scheduled for service in the third quarter of 2013. In 2011 Telecom Cook Islands signed an agreement with O3b for the provision of high speed internet connectivity for Rarotonga
Telefonica Deutschland, the local unit of Spanish telecoms group Telefonica, has reported revenue of EUR1.317 billion (USD1.7 billion) for the three months ended 30 September 2012, an increase of 4.1% from EUR1.265 billion in the year-ago quarter. Wireless revenue, which includes service revenue and handset sales, accounted for EUR977.1 million of total turnover, up 6.9% year-on-year, while non-SMS data revenue was up 28.3%
Finnish telecoms regulator FICORA has announced that it is amending the obligations in the wholesale broadband markets for those operators determined as holding significant market power (SMP). In confirming its plans, the watchdog said it was making the changes due to the European Commission (EC) having said that its initial proposals were ‘insufficient’.
South Korea’s second largest mobile network operator by subscribers, KT Corp, has released its financial results for the three months ended 30 September 2012, revealing an almost 46% year-on-year increase in net profit. For the quarter under review KT posted a net income of KRW372.3 billion (USD341 million), up from KRW255.7 billion in the same period of 2011, on revenues that increased by more than 30% to KRW6.52 trillion. Wireless services accounted for more than a quarter of total turnover, or KRW1.75 trillion, up from KRW1.74 trillion in 3Q11, while fixed line revenue fell by more than ten percentage points to KRW1.57 trillion
Lebanese cellco Alfa has completed a test of 4G LTE technology on its network, achieving speeds of up to 100Mbps. Alfa says that a three-month LTE pilot will launch 'soon', using 4G base stations in Beirut, and involving 300 participants
Dave Wittwer, president of TDS Telecom, reiterated the company's dedication to bring its IPTV service to more communities this year and throughout 2013, Fierce Telecom reports. Speaking at the recent TelcoTV conference in Las Vegas. Wittwer noted that the firm’s triple-play product bundle has witnessed ‘rapid expansion’ in areas where IPTV is available, and that the company intends to ramp up its IPTV deployments in ten communities in the states of Tennessee, Georgia, Minnesota and Wisconsin
Telecoms operators in Ghana have reported that incidents of cable cuts cost them GHS10 million (USD5.2 million) in repair bills in the first nine months of 2012. This sum is on top of revenues lost as a result of the disruptions caused to end-user service delivery, Ghana News Agency reports. There were more than 600 cable cut incidents logged during the nine-month period; the majority were due to road construction and repairs, but other factors included theft, vandalism, illegal mining, gutter dredging, bushfires and excavation works
multinational cableco group Liberty Global has posted third quarter revenue of USD2.52 billion, up 4% year-on-year, or up 6% year-on-year if adjusting for M&A activity and currency movements.
According to Middle Eastern business website The National, Iraq’s three mobile operators will be forced to pay at least USD3 billion apiece to upgrade to 3G concessions. The decision, which was made by a parliamentary higher committee, would mean that Iraq has the dubious distinction of offering the most expensive 3G licences anywhere in the region.
According to El Pais, Une-EPM has extended its LTE service to Cali.
TeamTalk, the owner of the CityLink fibre-optic broadband network, intends to acquire rural telecoms provider Farmside Group for up to NZD42.1 million (USD34.7 million), as it looks to expand its existing footprint beyond its urban catchment area. According to the National Business Review, Wellington-based TeamTalk has agreed to buy Farmside for an upfront payment of NZD19 million in cash and NZD12 million in TeamTalk shares, with an additional NZD7 million cash and NZD4.1 million in potential ‘earn-outs’ over the ensuing twelve months. The deal is subject to shareholder approval, with a special meeting expected to be held on 11 December.
Norwegian energy company Eltek Valere has won a court injunction against Mfone, the Cambodian mobile phone unit of Thai satellite operator Thaicom, for failure to pay USD3.73 million in service charges, the Bangkok Post reports. ‘Mfone did not complete or implement its contract with Eltek, because until now the company did not pay for the equipment needed for its GSM network,’ the complaint filed by Eltek on 9 October said. ‘Despite this, tried to negotiate with the firm and many times informed them of the debt through their lawyer, but Mfone has not agreed to pay and even used tricks to delay talks many times until Eltek could not take it anymore.’ After reviewing Eltek's complaint, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court ordered Mfone to provide an assessment of its inventory and has also banned the company from selling any of its assets until the situation is resolved
Puerto Rico's Telecommunications Regulatory Board (JRT) has approved triple-play cable operator Liberty Cablevision's acquisition of rival cableco OneLink Communications, which was announced in June this year. According to a report by Telesemana this clears the final hurdle for the deal, which had already been given the nod by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Mount Kellett Capital Management, an investment firm run by former Goldman Sachs executives, has urged US WiMAX-turned-Long Term Evolution (LTE) provider Clearwire to strengthen its position in the face of a possible takeover by its largest shareholder, Sprint Nextel.
Macedonian incumbent fixed line and mobile operator Makedonski Telekom (MakTel) has reported a 15% fall in net profit for the first nine months of this year to MKD3.645 billion (USD77 million), from MKD4.294 billion in the corresponding period of 2011, on operating revenue of MKD11.987 billion – broadly unchanged from MKD11.991 billion a year before.
Colombia’s government has announced that the country’s largest cellco by subscribers, Claro, will be allowed to bid for spectrum in an LTE auction due to take place in February 2013. The auction has previously been postponed due to concerns that Claro could extend its dominance to the mobile broadband sector if it is allowed to participate. However, following discussions between the Communication Regulation Commission (CRC), the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (Mintic), and the National Spectrum Agency (ANE), Claro will be allowed to bid for spectrum, but only in the 2.5GHz band
Namibia’s largest cellco by subscribers MTC aims to cover 45% of the country with its 4G LTE mobile network by the end of 2013, its CEO Miguel Geraldes told a conference last week. As reported by The Namibian newspaper, Geraldes also talked about plans to extend MTC’s fibre-optic network to offer direct fibre services to businesses, and at a later stage to households.
Singapore’s second largest telecoms operator by subscribers and revenue, StarHub, reported net profit of SGD96.2 million (USD78.6 million) for the three months ended 30 September 2012, up 27% year-on-year, driven by higher revenue from its pay-TV, broadband and fixed network services. For the quarter, operating revenue rose 2% year-on-year to SGD585.9 million compared to SGD572.2 million in the same period last year. Contributions from the carrier’s pay-TV services climbed 6% on an annualised basis to SGD99.2 million, fuelled by a SGD2 increase in monthly subscription prices, higher advertising revenue and increased returns from the rental of high definition (HD) set-top boxes.
Sri Lanka’s largest mobile operator Dialog Axiata has posted a 25% year-on-year rise in third-quarter revenues to LKR14.51 billion (USD111 million), on the back of a 14% increase in core mobile revenues and the new contribution of its recently acquired fixed-wireless division Suntel, which contributed LKR812 million, or 6%, of total sales. Fixed broadband division Dialog Broadband Networks reported a 163% year-on-year revenue increase to LKR1.60 billion in the three months to the end of September 2012, while Dialog’s pay-TV business grew its turnover by 30% over the same period to LKR762 million. Dialog posted a consolidated net profit of LKR4.75 billion in 3Q12, up 274% year-on-year, while quarterly group EBITDA climbed 14% to LKR4.93 billion.
Thailand’s unified communication regulator, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has begun inviting applications for cable and satellite pay-TV operators to apply for operating licences of up to 15-year duration, replacing a temporary regime of annually renewed permits. The ‘non-frequency broadcasting licences’ should be granted to qualified applicants this month, said Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the NBTC's broadcasting committee, as reported by the Bangkok Post.
At the Open Innovations Forum in Moscow, Ericsson has announced a strategic cooperation with Russian mobile giant MegaFon, to develop the market around machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity. Under the agreement, MegaFon plans to use Ericsson's Device Connection Platform to cost effectively manage a large number of connected devices and machines for enterprises. Ericsson will provide MegaFon with consultation services and utilities market research, as well as systems integration services
Mozambican cableco TVCABO, which claims to be Mozambique’s only dual-play operator, offering bundles comprising cable TV and broadband, has announced that it has invested USD10 million in the expansion of its emergent fibre-optic network to three new cities. In a statement, released by co-owner Visabeira, the cableco said that it had extended fibre-optic connectivity to Nampula, Pemba and Tete, ‘continuing its focus on innovation and technology, as part of an integrated television and internet service in southern Africa’. With this investment, TVCABO says that it has created around 200 jobs and expects to open three new retail stores in the newly connected cities in due course.
Norwegian telecoms group Telenor has adopted a new stance regarding its stake in Amsterdam-based international telecoms group Vimpelcom, Reuters reports, suggesting that it may be keen to bring an end to its decade-long ownership tussle with Russian partner Altimo. Yesterday, Telenor spokesman Dag Melgaard admitted: ‘What we are saying now is that if there is a bid, we will have a pragmatic stance
British tycoon Richard Branson has confirmed that the UK-based Virgin Group has entered into negotiations with a selection of Russian mobile operators over a possible mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) deal, Reuters reports. Speaking on the sidelines of an innovation conference in Moscow, Branson said that Virgin could invest up to USD1 billion in Russia-focused businesses if its dual plans for an MVNO and a Virgin Atlantic London-Moscow flight slot come to fruition. The tycoon said: ‘We use their networks, and they use our brand.
Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) has reported net income attributable to shareholders of CAD569 million (USD569 million) in the third quarter of 2012, down by 11% from CAD642 million a year earlier, with the decrease in profitability attributed to lower tax expenses in the year-earlier period. Revenues rose by 1.5% to CAD4.98 billion, helped by wireless and media revenues climbing by 7% and 25% respectively. Bell’s mobile division added a net 148,500 post-paid subscribers in the three months ended 30 September 2012, 17% more than in the same quarter of 2011, and double the number of net quarterly post-paid additions reported by rival Rogers Communications
T-Mobile’s Czech operation unit and Samsung Electronics have completed field trials of Long Term Evolution (LTE) network equipment in the 2.6GHz band, Telecompaper reports without citing its sources. The successful trials used the vendor’s ‘Smart LTE’ equipment and took place in Prague, the pair said, and came in the wake of successful LTE field trials carried out by them in South Korea
South Korea’s smallest mobile network operator by subscribers, LG Uplus, has revealed a net loss in the three months ended 30 September 2012, as marketing expenses surged as a result of increases in the number of Long Term Evolution (LTE) subscribers on its network and related commissions. In the three month period under review, LG Uplus posted a net loss of KRW38.4 billion (USD34.6 million) compared to a net profit of KRW56.6 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2011. Marketing expenses by comparison rose to KRW499.7 billion in 2Q 2012, representing a 41.1% increase against the year-ago period
Argentina media giant Grupo Clarin, which owns local cableco Cablevision, broadband provider FiberTel and a number of TV channels, has said the country’s controversial media law violates private property rights and cannot be enforced, Bloomberg reports, citing company spokesperson Martin Etchevers.
Croatian alternative fixed network operator Optima Telekom has reported that it trimmed its net losses in the nine months to the end of September 2012 by 39% year-on-year to HRK28.7 million (USD4.9 million), whilst its local loop unbundled (ULL) broadband internet subscriber base climbed by 15% in a year to 76,000 at the end of September.
According to a report by Agence Ecofin, Moussa Benhamadi, Algeria’s Minister of Post and ICT, has proposed the establishment of a joint venture for the management of the country’s fibre-optic networks.
A fibre-optic connection between Burkina Faso and Niger has been launched, with the aim of meeting the growing demand for high speed telecoms services in the two West African countries. Agence Ecofin reports that the project was led by the Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA) in cooperation with Sonitel (Societe Nigerienne des Telecommunications), Niger’s incumbent fixed line operator, and its Burkinabe counterpart Office Nationale des Telecommunications (Onatel), and could lead to a fall in the cost of internet and telephony services in the two landlocked nations.
Bakrie Telecom, the telecommunications arm of Indonesian publicly listed diversified investment company PT Bakrie and Brothers, has reported significant operating losses for the first nine months of this year, its parent confirmed in a results filing. The telco’s operating revenues stood at IDR1.7 trillion (USD177.3 million) for January-September 2012, down 9.7% from the IDR1.9 trillion reported during the same period in 2011. As a result of the lower revenues, Bakrie reported an operating loss of IDR329.5 billion in the period under review, 171% higher than the figure reported in the same period last year
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has requested that all telecoms operators introduce a system whereby at the end of a call customers are informed by SMS the length and cost of the call and how much credit is remaining, in a move aimed at reducing complaints about billing irregularities. Local newspaper Punch cites a statement from the NCC as saying that any operator that fails to commence the service from 1 November 2012 would be liable to a fine of NGN5 million (USD31,400) and a further NGN500,000 per day for as long as the contravention continued. ‘The NCC had in a directive issued since August 2012, mandated that from 1 November 2012, all mobile operators shall send, free of charge, a message or an alert to both post-paid and pre-paid subscribers after every call, SMS, or system generated charge or tariff, with a proviso that a subscriber can opt out if he or she so wishes,’ the statement said, adding: ‘The directive mandates the service providers to send messages containing six critical information including: exact duration of the call minutes and seconds; total cost for each call or SMS; customer accounts balance after the last call for pre-paid and SMS; customer account balance after a charge or tariff and the reason for the charge or tariff; cumulative call charges up to the last call within the charging period for post-paid customers; and cost of services and credit balance upon request by customer for data service.’
British alternative fixed line voice and broadband provider BSkyB has released its results for the three-month period ended 30 September 2012, with the operator reporting what it termed a ‘strong’ financial performance, with year-on-year increases in revenue, adjusted profits, adjusted margins and adjusted earnings. In the second fiscal quarter of its 2013 financial year, BSkyB generated revenues of GBP1.715 billion (USD2.71 billion), up 4% against the same period a year earlier, when it recorded turnover of GBP1.657 billion. The operator noted that growth in both retail and wholesale operations helped to more than offset a weak quarter for advertising
Following its recent announcement that it was launching a 2600MHz LTE-compliant handset on its network, Canadian cellco Rogers has confirmed that customers buying the special version of the LG Optimus G from 13 November can enjoy 4G coverage in the 2600MHz band in every city where it offers its 2100MHz LTE service, and in some areas at higher theoretical peak data speeds.
Eaton Towers, the African infrastructure management company, has secured USD60 million in debt financing from Standard Bank Group, acting through Stanbic Uganda, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to build and develop new and existing cell towers across Uganda. The agreement marks Eaton's second round of bank debt funding this year, following a USD30 million debt facility from Standard Bank Group, acting through Stanbic Bank Ghana and the Standard Bank of South Africa, earlier in the year. It also follows a USD150 million equity investment from Capital International Private Equity Funds (CIPEF), a private equity investor that focuses on emerging markets, which was secured by Eaton Towers in September 2011.
According to various Italian press reports, the Libyan Post, Telecommunication and IT Company (LPTIC) has taken control of Italy-based telecoms infrastructure firm Retelit, via its Bousval holding company. Bousval holds a 14.79% stake in Retelit, but has teamed up with a consortium of smaller shareholders who hold around 10% of the company’s equity between them.
Dutch fixed and mobile operator KPN Telecom (or Royal KPN) has struck a deal to sell part of its Dutch tower portfolio to Protelindo, an Indonesian firm which owns and operates towers for wireless communications. According to CellularNews, the sale could generate cash proceeds of EUR75 million (USD97 million) for KPN and allow it to book a one-time gain of EUR66 million.
Bahraini incumbent Batelco said in a statement reported by Arabianbusiness.com that a BHD5.24 million (USD13.89 million) fine imposed by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in 2009 for restricting international cable access has been reduced to BHD750,000 following the conclusion of arbitration proceedings.
Swisscom has revealed that it is testing fibre broadband technology which it refers to as fibre-to-the-street (FTTS) – analogous to fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) or fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) – in the Swiss municipality of Flerden, giving residents access to DSL speeds of up to 50Mbps initially, with 100Mbps expected to be achievable by next year. The rollout is intended to allow Swisscom TV viewers to simultaneously watch and/or record several high definition (HD) TV channels as well as transfer data over the internet at ultra-high speeds. As part of the pilot project, Swisscom says it is connecting nearly all households and commercial properties in Flerden to the FTTS network, with a commercial service expected to be ready for launch as early as the first quarter of 2013.
On 30 October 2012 Canadian mobile operator Mobilicity launched a commercial upgrade to 21Mbps HSPA+ data speeds on its W-CDMA/HSPA network, which has been in operation since May 2010. Customers can access the upgraded speeds by signing up for a ‘Premium Data’ 20GB add-on costing CAD20 (USD20) per month, although modem users need to first purchase a Huawei E366 ‘Premium Data Stick’ priced at CAD79.99
Indonesian mobile operator XL Axiata, 66%-owned by the Axiata Group, booked net profits of IDR2.2 trillion (USD229.5 million) for the nine-month period ended 30 September 2012, on revenue that climbed 14% year-on-year to IDR16 trillion. The carrier said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for January-September grew 6% y-o-y to IDR7.4 trillion; EBITDA margin was broadly stable at 47%
Starcomms has reached an agreement with investment group Capcom Limited, under which the latter will invest USD210 million in the Nigerian CDMA operator in return for a 90.5% stake, Starcomms announced in a statement on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Capcom – a special purpose vehicle created for investing in Starcomms and related transactions – comprises a number of investors, including MBC, a private trust with a focus on investing in emerging markets, and Pan African Capital through its asset management division, PAC Asset Management.
Telecom Argentina has announced its financial results for the nine months ended 30 September 2012, reporting a 20% year-on-year rise in consolidated revenues to ARS16.025 billion (USD3.36 billion) from ARS13.359 billion in the year-ago period. Sales were boosted by a 23% increase in mobile service revenue to ARS11.608 billion, as well as a 28% year-on-year rise in fixed internet turnover to ARS1.442 billion, mainly due to the continued expansion of broadband services
India’s mobile network operators could be allowed to retain 2.5MHz of spectrum when their respective 900MHz concessions come due for renewal, following a revised recommendation issued by the Telecom Commission, the apex decision-making body of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). According to the Indian Economic Times, the development comes after the Commission convened to reconsider its previous – and controversial – recommendation that incumbents should give up all spectrum in the 900MHz band at the time of their licence renewal
British fixed line incumbent BT has released its financial results for the three-month period ended 30 September 2012, with the operator revealing that its ‘key revenue trend measure’, underlying revenue excluding transit, had fallen 5.5% in the quarter compared to the corresponding period last year. Such a decline, BT said, was the result of ‘the negative impact of the accelerated contract milestones recognised in the second quarter of last year and the Court of Appeal decision on ladder pricing’, with those two items accounting for 1.9 percentage points of the decline.
Johannesburg-based BonCom, an IT outsourcing firm, is interested in investing in Zimbabwean telco TelOne, reports The Zimbabwean. The newspaper quotes BonCom CEO Preddy Mothopeng as saying: ‘There are some telecoms deals we are trying to tie up.
New data from TeleGeography’s Enterprise Network Pricing Service reveal that MPLS IP VPN port prices are tumbling around the world. Median prices for 10Mbps ports in 96 major cities in Europe, Asia, and North and South America fell 17 percent between Q3 2011 and Q3 2012, while 155Mbps port prices declined 11 percent
Ireland’s former monopoly Eircom has revealed plans to shed 2,000 of its workforce over the next 18 months, double the number of redundancies it announced earlier this year. The telco, which entered examinership status in March this year seeking protection from its creditors as it planned the restructuring of its EUR3.75 billion (USD4.90 billion) of debt, originally envisaged cutting 1,000 jobs over five years
The government of Belarus is sticking to its guns and plans to sell its majority stake in MTS Belarus for USD1 billion, despite apparent disinterest from potential buyers, the deputy prime minister Anatoli Kalinin is quoted as saying. With the cellco’s joint venture partner Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) of Russia and an Iranian investment vehicle reportedly interested in the stake, Kalinin went on record as saying that while some may think the asking price high, ‘that is the price’
