China Unicom increases revenue by 8.2 percent in H1

China Unicom had an operating revenue up 8.2 percent to CNY 46.77 billion in the first half, including service revenue up 6.9 percent to CNY 44.74 billion, as the company added 7.29 million mobile subscribers in the period. Unicom had 135.09 million cellular customers at the end of June, having added 5.48 million GSM users and 1.81 million CDMA users in the first half. The company’s GSM operations made a CNY 3.75 billion pre-tax profit on a CNY 29.36 billion revenue. CDMA operations made a CNY 3.75 billion pre-tax profit on CNY 13.74 billion revenue. Unicom’s overall EBITDA rose to CNY 15.49 billion and its ‘overall profit’ was up 20.2 percent to CNY 2.8 billion. Its long-distance, data and internet businesses made a CNY 140 million pre-tax profit on a CNY 1.64 billion revenue. Company chairman and CEO Chang Xiaobing said Unicom would put equal focus on retaining existing GSM customers and adding new ones while making a greater effort to accelerate CDMA expansion. The company will also continue to restructure its long-distance, data and internet businesses’ product mix to enhance efficiency and increase revenues.

Source- http://www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?id=138934&nr=&type=&yr=

BSNL plans massive expansion in mobile services

New Delhi, Aug. 24 (UNI): The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., (BSNL) has floated a tender for procurement of 63.5 million mobile telephone lines with the aim of achieving the largest ever expansion, IT and Communication Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, said today.

“The capacity expansion of BSNL alone in the next two to three years will be equivalent to the capacity expansion of all the private players put together,” Maran said in the Rajya Sabha.

Answering a supplementary, he said with the implementation of the capacity expansion, not only the coverage of mobile telephony would increase, but the quality of service would also improve.

Members belonging to different parties, including the treasury benches, complained about the poor quality of mobile phone services by the MTNL and BSNL.

Senior CPM member, Sitaram Yechuri, went to the extent of asking the Minister whether the government companies were not installing communication towers so that the private operators could flourish.

Source- http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200608241450.htm

Ukrainian mobile content market worth 30 million

Kiev, August 18, PRIME-TASS. According to a study carried out by ComNews Research, Ukraine’s content services market volume stood at around 30 million dollars in the first six months of 2006, excluding indirect gains from mobile marketing and content sold independently of mobile operators.

Analysts state that the five leading content providers control 48 percent of the market. Jump Ukraine holds the top position for the first half of 2006 with 17%, while the daughter company of Russian provider Inform-mobile comes in second with 12%. The Ukrainian branch of the Russian company Solvo International takes 8%, and Ukrainian content providers Point Com and Dnepr Telecom have 7 and 4 percent respectively.

The success of the top five is mostly attributable to their participation in projects to provide content under mobile operator’s brands or sub brands: Kievstar, Djuice, JEANS, UMC and Beeline.

The Ukrainian daughter companies of Russian market leaders i-Free, Infon and Logoton were in the next five, along with UPT-Mobile and Mobiline Media. Their appearance in the rating highlight trends in the development of the Ukrainian mobile content market. UPT-Mobile specialises in WAP projects and partners with the majority of popular Russian WAP sites. The content provider Mobiline Media is an offspring of ‘1+1′, one of Ukraine’s largest TV channels.

ComNews Research analysts predict that providers specialising in WAP projects will see a long-term growth in market share. They also foresee the migration of successful content projects to WAP, conditional to operators opening WAP-CPA. Media projects will also enjoy an increased share, although they are overly tied to competing media such as television and printed publishing, whose ratings are difficult to predict.

The analysts consider the Ukrainian content services market attractive for investment, and expect to find such major Western players as Jamba and Jet Multimedia entering the market in the near future.

Source- http://world.procontent.ru/news/2276.html

Bharti, Ericsson in Expansion Deal

Bharti Airtel has signed a $1 billion (approximately Rs 4,500 crores) network expansion contract with Ericsson, a Swedish telecom equipment maker.Under this contract, Bharti Airtel will expand and upgrade its GSM and GPRS network, as well as managed services. The deal will enable Bharti Airtel to rapidly extend its GSM footprint in the country, and increase its network capacity.

The three-year services agreement will see Ericsson manage design, development, and deployment of Airtel’s network, including capacity and coverage, enabling the operator to expand in rural India, and reach out to all towns and cities in around 15 regions.Speaking at the occasion, Manoj Kohli, president, Bharti Airtel, said that their partnership with Ericsson allows them to focus on delivering better customer experience, even as they leverage the world-class expertise of their partners to roll out their networks across all census towns by March 2007.

Kohli said that they are also sourcing next generation products that will allow them to deliver innovative products and services to customers.

The contract also involves Ericsson upgrading the Airtel network with mobile softswitch (Media Gateway and MSC server), the solution that paves the way to an all-IP network. Bharti Airtel will be able to cut operational costs, and introduce new services in a cost-efficient way.

The scope of the agreement extends to 15 Airtel circles of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, UP (East and West), Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chennai, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, and the North East.

In a statement, Mats Granryd, managing director, Ericsson India, said that rollout speed plays an extremely important role in large expansions of this nature, and that Ericsson has demonstrated expertise in this area. They are honored and pleased that Bharti Airtel has chosen them as a partner to expand its coverage across the country, particularly in untapped rural areas.

Source- http://www.techtree.com/techtree/jsp/article.jsp?article_id=75406&cat_id=613

Cosmote revenues up 31.6% in Q2, net profit flat

Southeastern Europe mobile operator Cosmote has reported second-quarter revenues up 31.6 percent from a year ago to EUR 540.7 million. EBITDA increased 13.5 percent to EUR 203.6 million, while net profit slipped 2.9 percent to EUR 81.5 million. Cosmote attributed the drop in net profit to higher depreciation and financing charges from expanding its operations, as well as losses from its recently re-launched Romanian operation, which had a net loss of EUR 26 million in the quarter. Cosmote said it expects to complete the earlier announced acquisition of telecom retailer Germanos in the fourth quarter.

Source- http://www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?id=138974&nr=&type=&yr=

Industry Leaders To Gather at 3GSM World Congress Asia 2006

ASIA : The 3GSM World Congress Asia – the fastest growing mobile communications event in the region – will bring together a host of industry leaders and personalities from across Asia’s booming mobile industry.

The mobile operator CEOs speaking at the 2006 event, which will be held in Singapore between October 16th and October 20th, include Sunil Mittal from Bharti Televentures, Dr Young-Chu Cho from KTF, Naguib Sawiris from Orascom, Lee Hsien Yang from SingTel Group, Dato Abdul Wahid Omar from Telekom Malaysia, Arve Johansen from Telenor, Sol Trujillo from Telstra and Alexander Izosimov from VimpelCom. Produced by the GSM Association (GSMA), the global trade association for the mobile industry, the 3GSM World Congress Asia will also feature top executives from other mobile-related industries, such as Alejandro Zubillaga, Executive Vice President Digital Strategy and Business Development at Warner Music Group, and Dr Sachio Semmoto, Founder and CEO of eAccess.

“For this year’s 3GSM Congress in Asia, we have assembled a top-class, yet diverse, line-up of speakers that will pinpoint the key trends in the region’s dynamic and complex market for mobile communications,” said Bill Gajda, the chief marketing officer of the GSM Association. “The Congress is the only event in Asia to attract the top ranking executives from the region’s operator community.”

The Congress presentations, revolving around the central theme of ‘Risk and Reward’, will cover topics ranging from new business models for mobile operators, to the role of China, universal access in emerging markets, the mobile boom in India, mobile virtual network operators and infotainment and content. The 2006 event will also host the GSMA Members Forum – the only annual meeting open to the entire GSMA membership.

This year’s Congress also sees the introduction of the GSMA’s “Asia Mobile Innovation Awards.” These awards are designed to support innovation in the Asian mobile industry by bringing together start-up companies, industry investors, mobile operators and vendors

Source- http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/August2006/3525.htm

Mobile porn laws to protect kids in Australia

AU : THE Federal Government last night vowed to introduce laws protecting children from pornographic images being distributed via mobile phones.

Communications Minister Helen Coonan told The Daily Telegraph the Government would extend censorship and regulatory laws to mobile phones and include penalties.

“I will introduce to Parliament legislation to extend the current safeguards that apply to content delivered over the internet or television to content delivered over convergent devices,” Senator Coonan said.

The changes will include prohibition of content rated X18+ and above, as well as requirements for age-restrictions on access to content suited only to adults.

These prohibitions will be backed by strong sanctions for non-compliance with the new regulatory framework, including criminal penalties for serious offences.

The move comes as child safety groups called on parents to not buy their children phones with internet access.

NetAlert corporate affairs adviser Rod Knockles said last night many parents may not know of the capabilities of latest generation mobiles.

About 40 per cent of mobiles sold are internet enabled, meaning they can download clear images either via email or direct from the internet.

“Parents should think about what age it’s appropriate to give their children mobile phones that are internet enabled,” Mr Knockles said.

These mobiles are expected to grow in use in the years ahead as telecommunications companies push for more revenues through online content.

Among internet-enabled phones, lower end devices have access to their operator’s “walled garden” of content which can include songs, pictures and ringtones.

Recent phones have full HTML browsing – they offer an identical internet experience to your PC, only on a smaller screen. This means the user can visit websites, including adults-only sites.

Third generation networks will make accessing the internet even faster.

Mr Knockles said the images were generally downloaded from home computers, so a family-friendly filter would provide protection.

NSW Parents and Citizens president Dianne Giblin said mobile phone were an essential part of life for children

Source- http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20209549-5001021,00.html

Qualcomm to acquire Qualphone for $18 million

Qualcomm to acquire Qualphone for $18 million

US based mobile telecom company Qualcomm has said that they are acquiring privately held wireless technology developer Qualphone Inc for $18 million.

The deal would be conducted in a cash only transaction and would help Qualcomm in this market.

The company is basically involved in development of mobile phone technologies and licenses their technologies to mobile phone makers and service providers around the world.

This deal would help Qualcomm to enable integrated features such as photography and video for phones that have high-speed wireless links to the Internet.

Qualcomm added that they expect this deal to be closed by the end of the month

Source- http://business.techwhack.com/1073/qualphone/

3G Launched in Malta

Vodafone Malta launched 3G last week. 3G services are initially available in St. Julians, Sliema, Gzira, Ta’ Xbiex, Msida, Hamrun, Marsa, Floriana, Valletta. During the coming months coverage will be extended to cover further areas. When a customer moves into areas still without 3G coverage, the service will automatically switch to the normal GPRS network.

“This is an exciting day for Vodafone here in Malta, as well as for all our customers who can now experience the new world of 3G technology” says Hatem Dowidar, CEO of Vodafone Malta. “Vodafone customers can now contact their family and friends by video call, and if you are a music fan, you can now download full track music and have the latest music available on your 3G mobile phone. Our business customers can now get broadband speed connectivity in Malta and when roaming in key countries. With 3G we continue our track record of always providing state-of-the-art technology and services to our valued customers”

The very first mobile phone call was made on the Vodafone Malta network 16 years ago, and the first call on GSM was again made on Vodafone Malta network in 1997.

The Mobile World subscriber database reports that Malta has about 340,000 subscribers – representing a population penetration rate of some 84%. Vodafone and Go Mobile have roughly half of the market each.
Source- http://www.cellular-news.com/story/18916.php

Excessive handset subsidies in Netherlands come to an end

Following T-Mobile’s recent announcement, market leader KPN has also decided to cut the commissions it pays to retailers for selling mobile services in The Netherlands. From September, KPN will gradually reduce handset subsidies and sales commissions. The handset subsidies and excessive sales commissions have been a thorn in the side of operators in recent years amid an increasingly saturated Dutch mobile market. The handset subsidies and sales commission contribute to very high churn rates, reaching 30 percent, but do not add to service revenue growth, putting pressure on profit margins. A reduction was inevitable, but the question was which operator dared to take the first step and risk giving the competition an advantage? The first move by T-Mobile and the recent success of E-Plus in Germany may have helped KPN take the decision to pull the plug on handset subsidies in The Netherlands.

Source- http://www.telecompaper.com/reports/reportdetails.aspx?id=R218