India's 3G auction faces further delays

India's 3G spectrum auction could be delayed yet again, as the Department of Telecom sorts out the last of its issues with the nation's armed forces, according to a government source.


Although the DoT has finally convinced the Department of Defense to vacate 25 MHz of 3G spectrum for the auctions, both ministries now need to comb through the bands to determine which specific frequencies or sub-bands can be auctioned off.

This could delay the 3G auctions - currently scheduled for January 14 - until mid-February, the source told the Economic Times.

Thai 3G auction set for another delay as govt revisits 2G terms

Thailand’s long-awaited 3G auctions look set to suffer another delay after the Thai government said it may first need to renegotiate the country’s existing 2G licenses, reports the Financial Times today. In an interview, Thailand’s finance minister, Korn Chatikavanij, said that it would need to sort existing licenses before it could issue the four new 3G licenses, which were scheduled to go to auction next month. “We have a legacy of different concessions being given by different state agencies to different people on different terms,” he said. “We want to provide a standardisation so that free and fair competition could exist and the private sector could have a greater level of confidence to make the kind of investments we want to see.” The original licenses issued to the country’s three main operators – AIS, DTAC and TrueMove – were granted under previous governments amid rumours of corruption and political influence. As a consequence, they have wide variations in the terms.

Orange and TDC’s Sunrise to merge in Switzerland

France Telecom and Denmark’s TDC are to merge their Swiss mobile networks - Orange Switzerland and Sunrise, respectively - to create a powerful rival to the market leader, Swisscom. France Telecom said it will pay a closing net amount of EUR1.5 billion to TDC to become a 75 percent shareholder in the combined entity, while TDC will hold the remaining 25 percent. According to France Telecom’s own figures, the new firm will become an operator with approximately 3.4 million mobile and 1.1 million fixed and broadband customers, accounting for a 38 percent share of the Swiss mobile market and 13 percent of the country’s fixed broadband connections. For 2008, the combined entity would have generated total pro-forma revenues of CHF 3.1 billion (EUR2.0 billion) and EBITDA of CHF809 million (EUR534 million). “The planned merger of Sunrise and Orange Switzerland marks a new significant step in the long-term investment by France Telecom-Orange in Switzerland,” said Gervais Pellissier, France Telecom’s deputy CEO and CFO. “Following the UK joint venture between Orange and T-Mobile, France Telecom completes another major in-market consolidation, consistent with its M&A policy.”

O2 and E-Plus to appeal German auction rules

Germany’s two smallest mobile networks – Telefonica’s O2 Germany and KPN’s E-Plus – are taking legal action against the country’s regulator, arguing that an upcoming spectrum auction favours the larger players. According to a Dow Jones Newswires report, Germann regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) is planning to auction new spectrum – including 800MHz digital dividend spectrum – next year in order to provide for so-called next-generation services and extend services to rural areas. However, the smaller operators argue that, under the rules of the auction, market leaders Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile) and Vodafone could secure two thirds of the new spectrum below 1GHz, which could curb future competition. The situation has arisen because T-Mobile and Vodafone already mainly use frequencies in the 900MHz band, while E-Plus and O2 operate mainly in the 1,800MHz band.

Ruckus & the Revenge of Metro Wireless

Metro WiFi is back, according to Ruckus Wireless Inc. , but this isn't like your father's mesh network, unless you happen to have relatives in Mumbai.


Ruckus is using its deal with Indian carrier Tikona Digital Networks Pvt. Ltd. to highlight its 802.11n-based outdoor access points, customer premises equipment, and backhaul boxes. Tikona is using the gear to build out WiFi clusters on business or residential buildings in Mumbai.

"We call it metro broadband 2.0, or maybe 3.0," says Ruckus CEO Selina Lo.

France Fires Up Femtocells

French mobile operator SFR launched a 3G femtocell service today using petit base stations from Ubiquisys Ltd.


SFR is the second operator to launch a femtocell service in Europe, after Vodafone UK in (where else?) the U.K., and the second commercial customer for femto maker Ubiquisys, after Softbank in Japan.

With the new femto service, dubbed "SFR Home 3G," SFR is targeting customers that suffer from poor indoor 3G coverage with a standalone femtocell access point. The femtocell is not integrated into the operator's Neufbox residential gateways.

Mexico publishes 3G spectrum auction details, looks to stimulate competition

The Mexican regulator has published details of the country’s long-awaited 3G mobile spectrum auctions, a process that is expected to lead to new competition for Mexico’s runaway market leader, Telcel. Cofetel will auction nine blocks of spectrum in the 1850MHz-1990MHz band in eight of the country's nine mobile operating regions, including the capital Mexico City, the regulator said in an official document. Cofetel said it will also offer seven blocks of spectrum between 1710MHz and 2170MHz in all nine operating regions, which could give auction winners a nationwide presence. The auction is open to both existing spectrum holders and potential new market entrants. No start date for the auction was indicated.

Finnish operators acquire LTE spectrum

Finland’s three main mobile operators – Elisa, TeliaSonera and DNA – were all successful in acquiring mobile broadband spectrum in a national auction that closed yesterday. The auction – in the 2500-2690MHz band - closed after five days and 27 rounds and raised EUR3.8 million for the government in total. Market-leader Elisa bid EUR834,700 for 50MHz of spectrum, TeliaSonera Finland bid EUR810,200 for 50MHz and DNA bid EUR675,700 for 40MHz. The spectrum will allow all three operators to launch LTE. There was also one block of spectrum suitable for WiMAX services, which was acquired by Finland’s Pirkanmaan Verkko, which paid EUR1.47 million for 50MHz. The auction was the first ever radio spectrum auction in Finland.

กำเนิด China Mobile

ยักษ์ใหญ่ China Mobile เพิ่งจะถือกำเนิดมาได้เพียง 10 ปีเท่านั้น แต่ก็เป็นองค์กรที่โตมาแต่กำเนิด!

แต่เดิมผู้ให้บริการโทรคมนาคมในจีน มีแต่ China Telecom ของกระทรวงไปรษณีย์และโทรคมนาคมซึ่งให้บริการ fixed line เป็นหลัก ภายหลังในปี 1994 รัฐบาลจีนจึงตั้ง China Unicom ขึ้นมาเพื่อสร้างการแข่งขันในตลาดโทรคมนาคม แต่ก็ดูเหมือนจะช้าไปเสียแล้วเพราะ China Unicom ที่เพิ่งก่อตั้งใหม่จะไปสู้กับยักษ์ใหญ่กับ China Telecom ได้อย่างไร?

China Mobile

หนึ่งในปรากฏการณ์ โลกาภิวัฒน์ หรือ globalization ที่เราสามารถสัมผัสได้คือเราสามารถหาสินค้า Made in China ได้จากทั่วทุกมุมโลก ทศวรรษที่ผ่านมาจีนเติบโตอย่างรวดเร็วอย่างน่าตกใจ ในขณะที่เศรษฐกิจโลกตะวันตกกำลังสั่นคลอน จีนดูเหมือนจะเป็นความหวังใหม่ของเศรษฐกิจโลก ในโลกของวงการโทรคมนาคมก็เช่นเดียวกัน

3G มีแพร่หลายในตลาดโลก...?

ถ้าถามว่าในโลกนี้โทรศัพท์มือถือใช้ระบบใดมากที่สุด ทุกคนคงตอบได้ว่าระบบ GSM เป็นระบบที่มีผู้ใช้งานเยอะที่สุดในโลก แต่รู้หรือไม่ว่ามือถือระบบ GSM นั้นมีเยอะขนาดที่ว่าถ้าสุ่มหยิบมือถือในโลกนี้มา 10 เครื่องเราจะได้มือถือระบบ GSM มา 8 เครื่อง ข้อมูลล่าสุดชี้ให้เห็นว่า ผู้ใช้โทรศัพท์ระบบ GSM มีสูงถึง 3,550 ล้านคน จากจำนวนผู้ใช้โทรศัพท์มือถือในทุกระบบรวมกัน 4,475 ล้านคน แล้วระบบที่ไม่ใช่ GSM คืออะไร?

ระบบอื่นนอกจาก GSM แบ่งออกเป็น 2 ค่ายใหญ่คือ ค่าย CDMA2000 ซึ่งก็คือระบบที่ฮัทช์เปิดให้บริการในประเทศไทย แบ่งเป็น CDMA2000 1X ที่ให้บริการ voice เป็นหลัก และ CDMA2000 1xEV-DO ที่ให้บริการ data เพียงอย่างเดียวซึ่งถือว่าเป็นเทคโนโลยี 3G ของค่ายนี้ อีกค่ายหนึ่งใช้เทคโนโลยี WCDMA ซึ่งก็คือเทคโนโลยีในยุค 3G ที่ต่อยอดมาจากระบบ GSM นั่นเองซึ่งทรูมูฟ ได้เปิดให้ประชาชนได้ทดลองใช้แล้วตั้งแต่ต้นปีนี้เอง (เป็นที่ทราบกันดีว่าทรูมูฟได้เปิดให้ประชาชนทดลองใช้ 3G ในย่านความถี่ 850 MHz เมื่อต้นปีที่ผ่านมา และขณะนี้กำลังจะเข้าร่วมการประมูลคลื่นความถี่ในย่าน 2100 MHz ที่ กทช. กำลังเปิดรับฟังความคิดเห็นสาธารณะเพื่อเตรียมการประมูลอยู่ คลื่นความถี่ในย่านนี้ถือว่ามีความสำคัญมาเพราะถือเป็นย่านหลักของ 3G ที่ใช้กันทั่วโลก)

Emerging market ops eye new mobile broadband pricing models

Leading mobile operators in India and Bangladesh are mulling a range of new pricing models in order to support their new mobile broadband networks. Speaking on a panel at the Mobile Asia Congress this afternoon, Rajat Mukarji, chief corporate affairs officer at India’s Idea Cellular, Riyead Mahmud of Bangladesh’s GrameenPhone and Telenor Asia’s Sigve Brekke all agreed that there was a demand for mobile broadband but that delivering services would be a challenge in markets where prices are among the lowest in the world. “We have low ARPU on voice and [mobile broadband] data will not be much different, so we need to look at pricing,” said Mahmud. “It definitely can’t be a flat rate, it must be variable.” Telenor’s Brekke agreed, suggesting that mobile broadband pricing should be introduced on a per-day or per-week prepaid basis. “It’s very important to keep customers in control of their spending,” he said. “Mobile broadband is a big opportunity in Asia but only if we get the pricing strategies right.”

SingTel to trial LTE across Asia

Asia’s largest multi-market mobile operator SingTel plans to conduct a regional trial of LTE technology in Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore in partnership with its subsidiaries Optus, Globe Telecom and Telkomsel. The trials, which are scheduled to commence in the first half of 2010, will last six to nine months. “They will help SingTel and its associates and joint venture companies better understand LTE and determine the best approach and strategy for its adoption in their respective local markets,” noted a statement. SingTel boasts a mobile customer base of 273 million.

SoftBank turns to Wi-Fi to support mobile

Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son turned heads this morning at the Mobile Asia Congress by declaring that mobile networks alone are not capable of supporting future data-intensive devices and offloading to Wi-Fi will become a core strategy of the Japanese operator. “Over 50 percent of data traffic happens from home [in Japan], so we have to have Wi-Fi handsets,” he said. To that end, Son cited the operator’s recent release of eight new ‘mobile Wi-Fi’ handsets. “3G and 4G is the way to have blanket coverage, but to have an even richer experience we need Wi-Fi.”

CSL takes swipe at rivals

Tarek Robbiati, CEO of Hong Kong’s first and largest mobile network operator, CSL, used his time in the spotlight at today's GSMA Mobile Asia Congress to talk up the company’s offering over its many rivals, promising a smooth ride to next-generation LTE technology. Since launch of CSL’s Next G network in March - claimed to be the world’s first all-IP HSPA+ network, supporting theoretical peak speeds of up to 21Mb/s - the operator has been preparing its eventual move to LTE. “We already have the first LTE site live in Asia, just across from here in Kowloon Bay,” revealed Robbiati, referencing a pilot site established in September with the operator’s long-term equipment partner ZTE where speeds of 120 Mb/s were recorded whilst stationary, and 43 Mb/s on the move. Although the operator’s head man wouldn’t reveal specific timeframes for commercial launch, stating only that it would happen sometime in 2010-2011, he said that rollout would be a phased approach, “ramping up as devices emerge.”

Bharti to launch HSPA next year

Manoj Kohli - CEO of Indian mobile market-leader Bharti Airtel - this morning said that mobile broadband is set to become a key driver of growth in India’s mobile market following the long-awaited award of 3G licenses in the country early next year. “Wireless broadband will be a major source of growth for the next five years,” Kohli told delegates in his keynote address. “DSL is too expensive so wireless broadband will be a great success and will overtake [DSL] in the next two to three years.” He added that he expects Bharti to switch on its first HSPA networks in time for India’s Diwali celebrations next Autumn. He admitted that data revenues in India have stagnated at around 10 percent but said that Bharti would “really focus on data when HSPA is ready.”

China Mobile reveals LTE ambitions

Wang Jianzhou - chairman and CEO of China Mobile, the world’s largest operator by subscribers - today revealed further details on his company’s planned move to LTE technology. Reiterating hopes that a unified TDD/FDD standard for LTE can be developed, he spoke of his desire to see a “single [TDD/FDD] chipset to achieve global economies of scale and global roaming capability.” He said that this idea “is not only supported by operators, the GSMA and NGMN, but has also gotten commitment of manufacture from network vendors and chipset suppliers. All of them agree to support the merger of TD-LTE and FDD-LTE.”

China Unicom updates on 3G

Chairman Chang Xiaobing of China Unicom - China’s second-largest mobile operator – this morning provided delegates with an update on the operator’s 3G rollout, proclaiming that the new network will cover all of China’s urban areas by the middle of next year. The WCDMA-based network – branded as ‘Wo’ – launched commercially on 1 October this year and Chairman Chang said that some 285 cities have been covered to date with this figure expected to rise to 335 cities by year-end. He noted that 110,000 3G base stations had been build to date with around 10,000 of these shared with rival operators. Specialist 3G Unicom stores have now been opened in 285 Chinese cities.

Chairman Chang said that Unicom is deploying a “unified branding, packaging and marketing” strategy for the new network based around the Wo brand, while various subsidiaries have been set up to manage specific 3G service areas such as music, video and mobile broadband. He added that Unicom has also broken new ground in pricing, claiming to have launched one of China’s first nationwide, all inclusive data tariffs.

Docomo preps December 2010 LTE launch, to invest US$3.4B

NTT Docomo’s president and CEO, Ryuji Yamada, stole the headlines at this morning’s GSMA Mobile Asia Congress by announcing that Japan’s largest mobile operator will launch commercial LTE services in December next year. “We won’t use the interim technology of HSPA+ as it is more efficient to go straight to LTE,” he told delegates.

Asia Pacific to exceed 2B connections this year

The GSMA kicked off its Mobile Asia Congress event this week with news that the region will cross the 2 billion mobile connections threshold by the end of the year and will exceed 3 billion connections by 2013. Other findings from the association’s Asia Pacific Mobile Observatory Report – produced by management consultants A.T. Kearney – include a tripling in size of the market since 2003, adding over a billion connections and growing at 26 percent CAGR to reach 1.7 billion connections in 2008.

Huawei takes number two spot in mobile gear

China’s Huawei has underlined its status as a top tier vendor by becoming the world’s second-largest mobile network manufacturer in the third-quarter, according to research group Dell’Oro. The Chinese vendor almost doubled its market share from a year ago to 20 percent, surpassing Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN). Ericsson’s market share of 32 percent remained flat year-on-year. Huawei has been on the rise for several quarters, with the firm enjoying a 17 percent market share in the second quarter.

Google acquires AdMob for US$750M

The acquisition is the third-largest in Google's history after DoubleClick (US$3.1 billion, 2007) and YouTube (US$1.65 billion, 2006).

Google has acquired AdMob, the world's largest mobile advertising platform, for US$750 million in an all-stock deal. The move instantly establishes Google as a major player in the fast-growing market for serving up mobile advertising on smartphones.

T-Mobile and Orange begin UK merger process

Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile) and France Telecom (Orange) have formally signed an agreement to merge their UK mobile operations, reports Dow Jones Newswires. The development marks the start of a merger process that aims to create the UK's largest mobile operator. T-Mobile UK's managing director Richard Moat said that the deal was scheduled to be signed yesterday, and would lead to the two firm's moving on to discuss the networks, IT systems and the shape of the organisation. However, Moat warned that any changes would not be able to be implemented until the joint venture secures regulatory approval. "We hope that we can close the deal and implement the joint venture by the middle of next year," Moat said.

Telenor picks Huawei, Starent to replace network

In a hugely significant deal, Telenor announced today it is to replace its entire mobile infrastructure in its home market of Norway, with Huawei and Starent the new equipment suppliers. China's Huawei will provide the radio access network kit, whilst Starent will supply the mobile core network. The existing network was largely built by Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks.

South Korea to open up WiBro market

South Korea's telecoms regulator, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), will license new operators for WiBro technology in a bid to boost disappointing take-up of the mobile broadband technology. According to a Korea Times report, KCC will order existing WiBro operators KT and SK Telecom (SKT) to open up their networks to MVNOs and encourage roaming. The KCC will also reportedly allow VoIP calls on WiBro-enabled handsets.

Gartner: Smartphone sales to outstrip notebooks

Gartner predicts that worldwide sales of smartphones will grow by 29 percent year-on-year to reach 180 million units in 2009, overtaking notebooks in total unit terms. The research firm adds that it expects smartphone sales revenue to reach US$191 million by 2012, higher than end user spending on mobile PCs, which is forecast to reach US$152 million by the same point. Currently smartphones account for 14 percent of overall mobile device sales, but Gartner expects by 2012 they will make up around 37 percent of global handset sales. However, it adds that the PC vendors' cumulative share (Apple excluded) of the smartphone market has remained static at around 1 percent and is unlikely to rise above 2 percent during the next three years, highlighting the challenges faced by PC vendors looking to tap into smartphones.

ประเทศที่มีผู้ประกอบการ 3G มากกว่า 2G

นายสมเกียรติ ตั้งกิจวานิช ผู้อำนวยการวิจัยเศรษฐกิจยุคสารสนเทศ สถาบันวิจัยเพื่อการพัฒนาประเทศไทย (ทีดีอาร์ไอ) กล่าวผ่านสื่อหลายต่อหลายครั้งว่า ไม่เห็นด้วยที่กทช.จะประมูลใบไลเซ่นส์พร้อมกันทั้ง 4 ใบ เพราะไม่มีประเทศใดที่มีผู้ได้รับใบอนุญาต 3 จี มากกว่าระบบ 2 จีเดิม (ตัวอย่างเช่น โพสต์ทูเดย์ วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 22 ตุลาคม พ.ศ. 2552 หน้า B กล่าวในงานเสวนาเรื่อง “การนำคลื่นย่านความถี่ 3 จี มาบริหาร ประชาชนได้รับประโยชน์จริงหรือ” จัดโดยสหภาพแรงงานรัฐวิสาหกิจ บริษัท ทีโอที จำกัด (มหาชน) วันที่ 21 ต.ค. 2552)

เรื่องนี้เป็นความเข้าใจผิดคือ ประเทศที่ให้ใบอนุญาต 3G มากกว่าจำนวนผู้ให้บริการ 2G ก็มีอยู่หลายประเทศ เช่น