India publishes official 3G auction schedule

India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced that its long-awaited auction of 3G and WiMAX-capable Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum will begin on 14 January next year.

Ukraine president blocks 3G license auction

The president of the Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, has moved to block a planned auction of a new 3G license in the country next month, claiming that releasing the new spectrum would jeopardise Ukraine's national security.

AT&T hints at end to exclusive iPhone deal

AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega has hinted that the operator's exclusive deal to offer the iPhone in the US could soon be coming to an end - but was upbeat that the firm's smartphone portfolio would continue to prosper.

Who scores more LTE trials than others?

An Unstrung report provides insight into which vendors are enjoying early operator success with LTE trials, before lucrative commercial deals are awarded. Unstrung reveals that Chinese vendor Huawei says it will have more than 25 LTE trials as of the end of this year, whilst Alcatel-Lucent will have a total of 22 LTE trials underway by next year. The world's largest network infrastructure vendor, Ericsson, declined to give specific numbers, but said it has the largest number of trials. Nokia Siemens Networks told Unstrung it has four LTE deal references and a number of trials ongoing. Unstrung adds that ZTE has publicly announced trials with Hong Kong CSL and Telefonica, but ZTE did not provide further details prior to the report's publication. Motorola and NEC have scored an early commercial contract win at Japan's KDDI, although trial success was not reported.

Thailand confirms 3G prices; targets US$1.2B

Thailand's telecoms regulator has confirmed the reserve prices for its long-awaited 3G license auctions and predicted that the process will generate around US$1.2 billion. In line with earlier reports, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) will start the auction at THB4.6 billion (US$138 million) for each of the three licences of 10MHz bandwidth and THB5.2 billion (US$156 million) for one license of 15MHz. The four licenses will be in the 2.1GHz 3G frequency and valid for 15 years. According to a Reuters report, prices will be announced on the NTC's website next week before a second round of public hearings on 12 November. The auction is scheduled to start in mid-December. "We should get about THB40 billion (US$1.2 billion) altogether from the bidding of the four licences," Prasert Apipunya, NTC's deputy-secretary general, told reporters yesterday.

Despite the developments, Reuters notes that some analysts and investors are worried that the process could still be derailed. Prasert admitted that the NTC still needs to consult with the government's legal agency over whether it has authority to hold the auction, a move that analysts say could bring it to a halt. The country's three largest mobile operators - AIS, DTAC and True Move - are all expected to bid for licenses, though the regulator stated that it also hoped the fourth license would be snapped up by a new market entrant. However, foreign investors looking to enter the market are required to form a joint-venture with a Thai company as current law limits foreign holdings in companies in the telecoms sector to 49 percent, the regulator said.

AT&T's Third-Quarter Highlights

S operator AT&T reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit today thanks to a strong showing in its mobile division, which was boosted by sales of Apple's iPhone.

China Mobile opens up on future plans

Wang Jianzhou, China Mobile's chairman and CEO said that by the end of this year TD-SCDMA network will cover 238 cities, ensuring coverage in 70 percent of the country's metropolitan areas. "We have three plans from 2009 to 2011... the lower target is 30 million subscribers, the middle plan is 50 million subscribers, and the high plan is 85 million subscribers."

Google records biggest profit, lauds Android

Google yesterday reported a record quarterly profit as the Internet giant proclaimed the economic downturn is coming to an end and declared its Android mobile platform is "about to explode."

Etisalat buys Millicom's Sri Lankan ops for US$155M

Luxembourg-based Millicom has sold its Tigo-branded mobile network in Sri Lanka to Etisalat for US$155 million in cash, ending months of speculation over the identity of an eventual acquirer. Previous names in the frame include Bharti, BSNL, VimpelCom, Axiata and NTT Docomo. In a statement, Millicom said the deal values the Sri Lankan operation at an enterprise value of US$207 million, which represents approximately 7.4x estimated 2009 EBITDA. The deal is expected to close by October 20. According to Wireless Intelligence, Tigo is Sri Lanka's third-largest mobile operator and had 2.3 million connections by 2Q09.

LG Telecom to merge with Dacom, Powercom

South Korean operator LG Telecom said today it will merge the fixed-line unit of LG Dacom and ISP LG Powercom with itself on January 1, 2010, reports Reuters. The boards of all three companies have approved the deal, noted LG Telecom in a regulatory filing. The newly merged entity will offer mobile phone, high-speed Internet, Internet phone as well as IPTV services. It will have combined assets of KRW7.88 trillion, sales of KRW7.72 trillion as well as 13.6 million subscribers.

TIM Brazil to offer 'open' app store

TIM Brazil has announced plans to launch an applications store that will be available across its entire device portfolio, allowing the operator to compete directly with handset and software companies offering stores of their own. Powered by Qualcomm's Plaza Retail service, the store will launch in the first quarter of 2010.

Wal-Mart ups the ante in US prepaid battle

The hugely competitive US prepaid market is expected to become even more cutthroat following news yesterday that Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is to expand its mobile services nationwide. Its Straight Talk service - developed with TracFone Wireless, the US unit of Mexican giant America Movil - will be offered from 3,200 stores from October 18.

O2 Germany and AT&T first with Nokia's netbook

Nokia's high-profile 'Booklet 3G' - its first foray into the netbook space - will be launched in Germany and the US in the next few weeks. O2 will offer the device (pictured, right) in Germany for EUR249 (US$371) with an additional monthly charge of EUR20 over 24 months. There will also be an optional flat-rate data tariff which will cost EUR25 per month. The device will hit German shelves on October 22nd. Meanwhile US operator AT&T will carry the netbook over its nationwide 3G network, with Best Buy being the exclusive retailer initially. Best Buy will sell the device for US$299.99 with a two-year, US$60-a-month contract. The retailer will begin taking orders on October 22 with the device available from mid-November. Reuters notes that Best Buy said it will sell the netbook for US$599 to those consumers who do not opt for the AT&T contract plan and instead just connect to the Web using WiFi technology.

Mobilkom Thinks Small on Femtos

Austrian operator is looking for femto suppliers for a 2010 commercial launch but says the opportunity is limited

Cisco to buy Starent for US$2.9B

Cisco yesterday announced it is buying mobile packet core specialist Starent Networks for US$2.9 billion (US$35 per share). The price represents a premium of 21 percent over Monday's closing share price. Founded in 2000, Starent completed an IPO in 2007 and reported revenue of US$254.1 million last year, a 74 percent improvement on the year prior, and net income of US$60.5 million.

Vietnam gets 3G services with Vinaphone launch

Vietnam now has 3G services following the launch this week of state-owned Vinaphone's new network. AFP reports that the network is now available for three million subscribers in about 20 percent of provinces and cities around the country, with service expected to expand nationwide next year. Motorola, Ericsson and ZTE are Vinaphone's 3G network suppliers. According to Wireless Intelligence, Vinaphone is Vietnam's third-largest operator with 17.3 million subscribers.

Vinaphone's launch comes only two months after Vietnam's regulator released 3G spectrum to Viettel, Mobifone and Vinaphone, as well as a joint-venture between EVN Telecom and Hanoi Telecom. The total fees paid were VND8.1 trillion (US$450 million). Market-leader Viettel accounted for over half of the total, paying VND4.5 trillion. Viettel and MobiFone plan to launch services in December 2009, while EVN Telecom/Hanoi Telecom has been given nine months to launch services.

Axiata may focus on mobile and sell non-core assets

Reuters reports that pan-Asian telecoms firm Axiata is considering divesting its non-core assets to focus on its mobile businesses. "Divestment of our non-core assets, which are our non-mobile assets, is something we are looking at," chief executive Jamaludin Ibrahim told Reuters in an interview yesterday. Its non-mobile assets include Multinet in Pakistan and Samart in Thailand.

Orascom won't bid for 4th French 3G license

Egypt-based Orascom Telecom (OT) has ruled itself out of bidding for France's fourth 3G license. "It was announced today in our analyst day that OT/Weather will not be bidding," Reuters yesterday cited a company spokeswoman as stating in an email. No reason was given.

Lufthansa preps major wireless services push

German airline Lufthansa will today unveil the most extensive array of mobile phone and Internet services available on any air carrier, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The service - dubbed FlyNet - is being offered in partnership with Panasonic and will allow passengers on international flights not only to make calls and send emails whilst in the air, but also access the Web and download videos at faster speeds than currently available.

Thai 3G licenses to start at US$100M-US$200M

Thailand's National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has announced that the reserve price for a 3G license has been set in the range of THB3.3 billion to THB6.6 billion (US$100 million to US$200 million) in preparation for an auction later this year, writes the Bangkok Post. Choochart Promprasit, the chairman of the regulator, said the prices would be submitted to the NTC board for approval on Wednesday along with the draft 3G auction rules and comments added by the country's prime minister. He said the prices were based on criteria including industry data, auction prices in other countries, prices of spectrum that state-owned telco TOT had returned to the NTC, and the cost of the 3G spectrum that TOT bought from its sister company CAT Telecom as part of the transferral of ownership of cellular unit Thai Mobile.

3GPP - LTE-Advanced, IEEE - WiMAX 2.0

Candidate technologies for future mobile standard IMT-Advanced have this week been submitted to the ITU. In one camp, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has submitted LTE-Advanced, an upgrade to LTE technology, whilst the IEEE has submitted its successor to the mobile WiMAX standard 802.16e, called 802.16m (or WiMAX Release 2.0).

Clearwire to stick with WiMAX until 2011

Clearwire signed an 'Intel Market Development Agreement' with its own investor and major WiMAX proponent, Intel. The agreement forced Clearwire not to switch to alternative wireless broadband technology other than WiMAX until 28 Nov 2011.

Qualcomm: Networks need femtocells

The former and current CEOs of Qualcomm - Irwin and Paul Jacobs, respectively - fired a warning shot to operators this week during their appearance at CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment, declaring that femtocells and other methods of increasing the density of radio networks will be key to future success.

Orascom linked to partnership for French 3G license

Egypt-based Orascom Telecom continues to seek a way into the French mobile market via a fourth 3G license, according to reports.

Clearwire to take mobile WiMAX to Spain

US WiMAX service provider Clearwire is prepping deployment of the technology in Spain after striking deals with network suppliers Alvarion and ZTE. Arguably WiMAX's biggest proponent, Clearwire yesterday announced that Clearwire International - a holding entity of Clearwire Corporation - will launch commercial services in two Spanish cities next year (using 3.5GHz spectrum) under its familiar 'Clear' brand. Alvarion will supply kit for launch in Malaga and ZTE will supply equipment for Seville.

Amazon takes Kindle e-book reader worldwide

Amazon today announced that its high-profile Kindle e-reader (pictured, right) will be available outside of the US from October 19. In a statement, Amazon touted the launch to more than 100 countries, priced at US$279. The Kindle Store offers over 200,000 English-language books, typically priced less than physical editions. Over 85 US and international newspapers and magazines are also available in the store for single purchase or subscription.

AT&T buys more LTE spectrum

AT&T has bought spectrum from Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen to broaden its 4G LTE footprint.

Verizon and partners prep LTE VC fund

US operator Verizon Wireless yesterday announced plans to work with its vendors and venture capital partners to invest as much as US$1.3 billion in LTE technology.

Microsoft set to unveil new mobile strategy

Microsoft's new offering is expected to include integrated search using its new search engine Bing (a rival to Google), as well as Windows Marketplace for Mobile, a service similar to the iPhone's App Store that will allow users to download software and applications to their device. Over 250 applications are expected to be available at launch.

France Telecom's deputy CEO resigns over suicides

France Telecom's deputy chief executive Louis-Pierre Wenes has resigned from the firm, becoming the first high-profile executive to step down following criticism of the high number of suicide cases at the French telecoms giant. Stephane Richard, an ex-aide to the French finance minister who is to take over as CEO in 2011, will step up early to replace Wenes, the company said. According to an Associated Press report, Wenes and current chief executive Didier Lombard had faced calls to resign after 24 workers have killed themselves in 20 months.

Microsoft launches two phase apps store rollout

Microsoft has confirmed that it will launch its new 'Windows Marketplace for Mobile' applications store next Tuesday (6 October), initially available only on smartphones running Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5. Writing on the official Windows Mobile blog this week, Todd Brix, Microsoft's director of mobile services marketing, said the store would launch in two phases with support for Windows Mobile 6 and 6.1 to be included by the end of the year.

Telefonica to trial LTE in six countries

The company chooses six different providers to test their respective LTE technologies in six countries, taking advantage of Telefonica’s geographic scale. The trials include laboratory tests and the installation of e-node Bs in the field.

France Telecom CEO faces backlash over suicides

France Telecom CEO Didier Lombard (pictured, right) has faced calls for his resignation in France following the recent suicide of a France Telecom employee, the 24th such incident at the firm in the last 18 months.

China Mobile preps 2010 TD-LTE trials

China Mobile - the world's largest operator by subscribers - will begin large-scale outdoor TD-LTE trials next year. China Mobile will deploy 15 TD-LTE base stations at next year's Shanghai 2010 World Expo.

3G spectrum winners will also be allowed 2G entry

A key document prepared by the telecom ministry says successful bidders for third generation (3G) spectrum will also be alloted 2G airwaves, conceding a major demand of foreign telcos looking to take part in the 3G auctions.

Vodafone joins UK iPhone party

Just a day after rival Orange announced it is to break O2 UK's exclusive hold over the iPhone, Vodafone has said it plans to sell the iconic device in the UK and Ireland "in early 2010."

Unicom to launch 3G without the iPhone on Oct 1

Unicom chairman Chang Xiaobing told a press conference in Beijing yesterday the 3G service would be offered in 285 cities from October 1, China’s national day holiday. But the iPhone’s much-awaited debut in the world’s largest mobile market will have to wait until late in the month.

Earn Money With Free-Sims On Three

Three have announced the “Free Agent Programme” which enables customers to earn money for getting their friends to have a free 3 sim-card. The system works through people promoting free 3 sim-cards on their social networks and gaining commission once the SIM has been used.

O2 preps giffgaff, an MVNO 'run' by users

The idea to base a network offering around an online store that will enable self-service and encourage interaction between customers is a new business model for O2. It aims to attract customers by rewarding users depending on how much involvement they have; it goes as far as to state that members "could get back up to 100 percent of your top-ups... You can keep the cash, pool it amongst other members, or donate it to charity - so you can yik, yak and give back."

Orange UK to launch iPhone, ends O2 exclusive

France Telecom-owned Orange UK is to begin selling Apple's iPhone later this year, bringing an end to rival O2 UK's exclusive hold over the iconic handset. In a brief statement, Orange UK said it will begin offering the iPhone 3G and and iPhone 3GS "to UK subscribers later this year"

Thailand to auction 3G licenses mid-December

Thailand's long-awaited auction of 3G licenses could happen in December, according to reports. "In our rough timeframe, if there are no obstacles, we should be able to open the auction in the second week of December

Orange hints at merger with Switzerland's Sunrise

According to Wireless Intelligence data, Swisscom dominates the Swiss mobile market with an estimated 62 percent market share (5.5 million connections) in 2Q09. Sunrise is second on 1.9 million (a 21 percent market share) and Orange is third on 1.6 million (18 percent).

Verizon Wireless plans simultaneous LTE launches

Verizon Wireless is planning to simultaneously switch on its new Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile network in the US next year in as many markets as possible.