Operators | Fone Arena

CSL launches Asia’s first commercial video sharing service with Nokia IMS

Mobile operator CSL and Nokia today jointly announced the commercial launch of Asia’s first video sharing service in Hong Kong enabled by Nokia IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and systems integration services. At a press conference, CSL and Nokia demonstrated video sharing service using the Nokia N70, the 3G Series 60 smartphone with 2 megapixel camera and a full set of Nokia Nseries features

NOKIA PRESS RELEASE November 7, 2005

CSL launches Asia’s first commercial video sharing service with Nokia IMS

Hong Kong, China – Mobile operator CSL and Nokia today jointly announced the commercial launch of Asia’s first video sharing service in Hong Kong enabled by Nokia IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and systems integration services. At a press conference, CSL and Nokia demonstrated video sharing service using the Nokia N70, the 3G Series 60 smartphone with 2 megapixel camera and a full set of Nokia Nseries features.

The service launch affirms CSL and Nokia’s leading position in bringing innovative mobile services to the end-users. This milestone service also demonstrates Nokia’s end-to-end capability in enabling operators to differentiate and offer a variety of services on the fiercely competitive Hong Kong telecommunication market.

Video sharing is a multimedia service that allows users to view live or prerecorded video during a normal voice call on their mobile phones. Both the caller and the receiver can watch the same video and discuss it, and then end the video sharing without ending the voice call. Video sharing is based on standardized 3GPP IMS and IETF technologies, and its specifications are available at Forum Nokia.

"We are pleased to announce another notable first – being Asia’s first mobile operator to introduce the 3G video sharing service to our customers. Video sharing is a natural expansion of voice calls and an advancement of normal video calls," said Hubert Ng, Chief Executive Officer of CSL. "The introduction of video sharing service during a voice call is a key evolutionary step for 3G video services. We believe that the 3G video sharing service will become one of the most popular services among consumers. It will also help corporate customers to enhance the efficiency of their business operations."

"We are very pleased to continue our long-term and successful cooperation with CSL and join hands to achieve another important milestone in Asia’s mobile telecommunications industry through the commercial launch of video sharing service," said Wei Yuan, Vice President of Networks, Nokia China. "Nokia is well prepared to cooperate with innovative industry players like CSL in shaping the future of mobile multimedia communications."

Nokia’s complete end-to-end solution for IMS-based multimedia includes the Nokia IP Multimedia Subsystem solution with open IMS Service Control (ISC) interface towards application servers and Series 60 devices supporting downloadable SIP clients. Nokia has over 30 Nokia IMS references, including 10 commercial deals.

About CSL

CSL is a pioneer in the mobile communications market in Hong Kong. The Company launched its mobile services in 1983, and today operates a world-class GSM / WCDMA network through its mobile brands: 1O1O and One2Free. Pioneer to introduce HSCSD, GPRS, EDGE, MMS and video sharing service the Company launched 3G and Wi-Fi Service In December 2004. CSL is 100% owned by Telstra. For more information about CSL, please visit www.hkcsl.com

About Nokia

Nokia is a world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia connects people to each other and the information that matters to them with easy-to-use and innovative products like mobile phones, devices and solutions for imaging, games, media and businesses. Nokia provides equipment, solutions and services for network operators and corporations.

Nokia is committed to long-term development and preferred partnership in China. With strong local R&D, manufacturing and innovative technologies, Nokia has continuously strengthened its market position in China as a leading supplier of mobile terminals and mobile networks. Nokia is the largest exporter in the Chinese mobile telecommunications industry. Nokia has six R&D units, four manufacturing sites and widespread operations in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The total number of Nokia employees in China area is over 5,600. www.nokia.com.cn

Mobile gaming to hit Rs 1,500 cr by 2010

Indians are spearheading the mobile gaming revolution around the world, quietly. Consider this: when a youngster in Australia plays cricket on his mobile, or another in the US weaves Spiderman?s webs or a teenager in Russia hits a Maria Sharapova forehand on her mobile set, chances are that these games have been developed in India

Indians are spearheading the mobile gaming revolution around the world, quietly. Consider this: when a youngster in Australia plays cricket on his mobile, or another in the US weaves Spiderman’s webs or a teenager in Russia hits a Maria Sharapova forehand on her mobile set, chances are that these games have been developed in India

In fact, an Indian provider has developed three of the four games included in the next month’s World Mobile Gaming Championships in Singapore.

One reason for the prominance of Indian companies might be the popularity of these games in India itself. Within a year, the market has expanded from a mere Rs 25 crore to at least Rs 80 crore in 2005.

In another five years, it is set to touch the Rs 1,500 crore mark. “This is due to the stupendous growth of mobile users — at 3 million a month. And 40 per cent of the handsets sold are JAVA-enabled (needed to download games),” says Rajiv Hiranandani, country head, Mobile2win India, a mobile games provider.

Read Full Story [Business-Standard]

Telefonica to Acquire O2 for $32Bln

Telefonica, Spain’s biggest telephone company, has agreed to buy British mobile phone operator O2 for ?17.7 billion ($31.5 billion) in the largest acquisition in the European phone industry in five years

MADRID — Telefonica, Spain’s biggest telephone company, has agreed to buy British mobile phone operator O2 for £17.7 billion ($31.5 billion) in the largest acquisition in the European phone industry in five years.

Telefonica offered 200 pence in cash per O2 share, the Madrid-based company said in a statement. The offer for O2 is 22 percent higher than Friday’s closing price of 164.25 pence.

Buying O2 will give Telefonica 25 million customers in Britain, Germany and Ireland, bringing its total to more than 165 million.

The deal would be the largest led by chairman Cesar Alierta, 60, who is seeking assets in Europe after spending more than $50 billion on takeovers in Latin America since the 1990s.

"Telefonica can’t push much further into Latin America," said Gary Dugan, head of equity research at Barclays Investment Services. "You have to get bigger globally and not just protect your backyard."

The stock of O2 rose as much as 26 percent to 206.75 pence, above the offer price, and traded at 204 pence in early trading in London. The shares of Telefonica and its mobile phone unit Telefonica Moviles were suspended from trading in Madrid, the exchange said.

The purchase will "immediately" add to earnings per share, according to the statement.

The deal would be the biggest takeover announced in the industry worldwide since the $41 billion acquisition of Nextel Communications proposed in December 2004.

It is the largest involving a European telecommunications company since May 2000, when France Telecom agreed to buy Orange from Vodafone for $41.7 billion, according to Bloomberg data.

The board of O2 said it considers the bid "fair and reasonable" and would recommend its shareholders accept it.

O2 "will open the group to the two largest European markets with sizeable critical mass, and it will balance our exposure across business and regions," Alierta said in the statement.

The British company is the biggest mobile phone operator in Britain by customers. Its second-biggest market is Germany, and it also offers services in Ireland.

Up to Monday, O2 shares had jumped 56 percent in the last 12 months as the company has been the focus of takeover speculation ever since it rejected a bid from Dutch-based KPN in February 2004.

Germany’s Deutsche Telekom and KPN ended talks to make a joint bid for O2 in August. Under the plan, KPN would have taken control of O2’s German business.

"It’s the European operator that better fits Telefonica’s strategy," said Alberto Espelosin, who helps manage $7 billion, including Telefonica shares, at Ibercaja Gestion in Zaragoza, Spain. "The key will be whether Deutsche Telekom wants to make a higher offer."

Alierta said in September that Telefonica "would make selective acquisitions" to add growth. In June, the former Spanish phone monopoly acquired a controlling stake in Cesky Telecom, the biggest Czech phone company, for 2.7 billion euros ($3.3 billion).

In September, it spent an additional 917 million euros to boost its stake in Cesky Telecom to 69 percent.

Goldman Sachs and Citigroup advised Telefonica. JPMorgan Cazenove and Merrill Lynch advised O2.

via [moscow times]

Hutch getting redesigned

Hong Kong?s Hutchison has taken a strategic decision to redesign the Hutch brand, in the run-up to the Hutch-Essar IPO

Hong Kong’s Hutchison has taken a strategic decision to redesign the Hutch brand, in the run-up to the Hutch-Essar IPO.

Hutchison Essar will unveil Hutch with its new look across 13 circles by late-November. As the company’s existing Orange and Hutch brands have a common colour, “The redesigned Hutch umbrella brand will have a definite colour variation,” Hutchison officials told ET.

There’s a tight lid on the new brand design and colour specifics. But it’s understood that the world’s top brand consultancy firm, the London-based Wolff Olins, may be involved in redesigning Hutch. Wolff Olins is the original creator of Orange.

“It’s imperative that Hutchison Essar evolves a single and unique brand identity in India, instead of its twin-brand image. The entry of the world’s biggest GSM player into India is likely to expedite unveiling of the new look of Hutch and put the company’s brand unification plans on fast track,” sources said.

Significantly, Hutchison’s decision to introduce new colour and design to Hutch is in the aftermath of the recent Orange-Hutch tussle over alleged trademark and copyright violations by Hutchison. During the legal battle in Delhi High Court, the Orange Group had alleged that Hutch had created images which were based on Orange’s guidelines.

Though the Orange-Hutch legal duel is over, there’s a feeling that Hutch and Orange brands are similar, especially as both use the orange colour. “As both brands share a similar philosophy, there’s little economic sense in Hutch-Essar managing two separate brands in India,” said sources .

In fact, Hutchison Essar expects a common umbrella brand to trigger media efficiencies, in which the company won’t need separate adaptation strategies for both brands. Once DoT clears Hutch-Essar’s 100% acquisition of the BPL Mobile circles, the new- look Hutch will be unveiled in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

via [economictimes]

Vodafone buys stake in Bharti Tele-Ventures

Vodafone Group Plc, the world’s No.1 cellular service provider, has picked up a 10% stake in Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd. for Rs67bn or US$1.2bn. Vodafone Mauritius Ltd. has purchased shares in Bharti Enterprise Pvt. Ltd. (the unlisted holding company), which gives the British cellular service major a beneficial stake of 4.4% in Bharti Tele-Ventures.

The investment from India’s leading GSM-based telecom operator by the British cellular major comes more than a week after the Cabinet cleared the proposed hike in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in telecom, from 49% to 74%.

In addition, Vodafone, through Vodafone International Holdings BV, has also picked up 5.65% stake from Warburg Pincus, thereby taking the total beneficial interest in Bharti Tele-Ventures to around 10%.

The above transactions do not make any change in the direct shareholding of Bharti Tele-Ventures. Bharti Enterprises maintains a controlling interest of 45.9% in Bharti Tele-Ventures through its subsidiary, Bharti Telecom Ltd. With the final sale of its stake, Warburg Pincus has now completely exited its position in Bharti Tele-Ventures. Bharti Enterprises owns 68% in Bharti Telecom, which in turn holds 45% stake in the listed Bharti Tele-Ventures.

Commenting on the occasion, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman & Group Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises, said, "We are delighted that Vodafone has made a call on the Indian telecom sector and has chosen Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd. to be the vehicle to develop its continued interest in the Asian region. Today, when Bharti stands on the threshold of being an Asian telecom powerhouse, it has tied up with Vodafone to take the company to the next level and to support Bharti in achieving its vision of making Airtel the most admired brand in India".

At 12:58 p.m., shares of Bharti Tele-Ventures were trading at Rs327, up Rs15 or 4.8%, over the previous close. Earlier, the stock had touched a high of Rs330.5 and a low of Rs311. Around 1.62mn shares of Bharti Tele-Ventures have changed hands on BSE.

Airtel to invest Rs.1.8 billion in Chhattisgarh

Airtel will invest Rs.1.8 billion in Chhattisgarh during the next two years to challenge the dominance of government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)

Raipur: Airtel will invest Rs.1.8 billion in Chhattisgarh during the next two years to challenge the dominance of government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

The company has given a presentation last week before Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and informed him that it wanted to boost networking all over the state, including the Maoist-dominated remote Bastar and Surguja regions where the BSNL has monopoly.

"Currently, Airtel has presence in just 12 cities in Chhattisgarh and it wants to be the leading telecom service provider in the state by expanding its services in the Moist-dominated Bastar and Surguja regions," company sources said.

"The chief minister has appreciated company’s plan, especially boosting services in remote belt of Surguja region sharing border with Jharkhand and in Bastar bordering Andhra Pradesh," sources added.

A government press release informed Singh has assured Airtel of providing no-objection certificates within a week from local bodies, village panchayats and energy department in a bid to help it to boost services in the poverty-stricken and scheduled caste and scheduled tribe dominated belts.

As many as four companies – Airtel, Reliance, Tata Indicom and BSNL – are currently providing services in Chhattisgarh. However, only BSNL has presence in all the 16 districts in the state.

via [NewsKerala]

Tata Indicom Non Stop Mobile

Tata Indicom has launched a new scheme, Non Stop Mobile, under which the validity of a pre-paid connection is extended for two years upon a single recharge, thus freeing mobile subscribers from monthly recharges.

There is no monthly commitment to recharge. Above all, the recharge coupons are available from Rs.50 with 100 percent talk time.

Some noteworthy figures from the article.

At present Tata Indicom ‘True Paid’ launched in January this year has two million subscribers. However, they are targeting around 10 million subscriber base by March 2006…

As on September 30, the company’s subscriber base stood at 5.6 million spread across 1500 towns.

Blackberry Services Now on Nokia

With the introduction of BlackBerry Connect in the country, Airtel and Research In Motion (RIM) plan to extend BlackBerry wireless services to the Nokia 9300 smartphone, Nokia 9500 Communicator and Sony Ericsson P910i. Airtel’s BlackBerry portfolio will also include BlackBerry 7290 and BlackBerry 7100g

With this move, Airtel intends to offer customers a wider range of BlackBerry-enabled devices to suit their varying needs and preferences. The company also aims to provide IT departments, the added advantage of being able to support multiple-device types with the existing security and infrastructure.

Users of the Nokia 9300 smartphone, Nokia 9500 Communicator and Sony Ericsson P910i will now be able to enjoy features such as push-based BlackBerry e-mail delivery, attachment viewing, wireless e-mail synchronization, as also remote address look-up, policy enforcement, IT commands, Triple DES encryption and Wireless calendar synchronization.

Airtel has made BlackBerry Services available exclusively for its customers, starting at Rs 499 per month. Corporate and SME customers can opt for the unlimited data monthly rental plan of Rs 899 per month. For prosumers, this plan would cost Rs 1099 per month.

The BlackBerry Internet Service will allow smaller businesses and individuals, access of up to 10 e-mail accounts from a single device. For corporate customers, BlackBerry Enterprise Server software will integrate with IBM Lotus Domino, Novell GroupWise and Microsoft Exchange, and work with existing enterprise systems to facilitate push-based, wireless access to e-mail and other corporate data.

The Nokia 9300 smartphone is available for Rs 29,000, the Nokia 9500
Communicator is priced at Rs 34,500 and the Sony Ericsson P910i is available for Rs 27,995.

Manoj Kohli, president – mobility, Bharti Tele-Ventures, said, "Email continues to be a key communication medium and research indicates that the first application most mobile users like to see integrated into their mobile phones is their email. Emails also have one of the greatest impacts on productivity. A constantly widening group of mobile professionals have already recognized the productivity benefits of BlackBerry. Our announcement today of extending the BlackBerry service to a much wider range of new and stylish mobile phone handsets, allows us to address the needs of a broader target group of mobile users, thereby further catalyzing the adoption and usage of BlackBerry in India."

Chakrapani GK, country manager – enterprise solutions, Nokia India, said, "The availability of BlackBerry services to Nokia’s high-end enterprise devices, marks the convergence of two eagerly anticipated, business focused wireless products. The growth in demand for mobility solutions has substantially expanded over the last couple of years, and by offering BlackBerry on our smartphones, we are offering a truly powerful tool, complete with voice and data solutions, both for business and individual users."

Sudhin Mathur, general manager, Sony Ericsson India, said, "We’re delighted to be adding BlackBerry to the palette of solutions we support with our P910i, thereby further expanding customer choice. The P910i smartphone, which is a multi-faceted device offering productivity, entertainment & communications solutions will now also offer this proven, market leading mobile email & data solution. We are constantly seeking to offer our consumer the very best in usage experience through various innovative means, and this inclusion of BlackBerry is yet another step in that direction."

Source:TechTree

Airtel to invest Rs 400 Cr in Karnataka

Airtel, a leading mobile services provider in the country, would invest Rs 400 crores during the year 2005-06 as part of its expansion plan in Karnataka, Company Executive Director (Southern Region-Mobility) Atul Bindal said today

Bangalore: Airtel, a leading mobile services provider in the country, would invest Rs 400 crores during the year 2005-06 as part of its expansion plan in Karnataka, Company Executive Director (Southern Region-Mobility) Atul Bindal said today.

Talking to newsmen here, he said that with 1.5 million customers in the state, Karnataka was the second largest Circle in Bharti Televentures’ network which is playing a pioneering role in increasing mobile penetration in the country.

Mr Bindal said that with the projected expansion plan, the company by end of the year planning to reach out to approximately 45 per cent of the population in the state with a robust network that will span about 730 towns. It was intended to set up 600 additional cell sites across the state taking the total number to 1800 to ensure better reach than competitors.

The idea was to expand mobile network in rural areas and drive segmented applications and value added services in urban and semi urban markets, he said and added that the Company see lot of potential for development in Northern Districts like Gulbarga and Hubli.

Bharati Televentures COO Deepak Mehrotra said that the Company has adopted a three prong strategy–innovation, quality and outsourcing, to achieve its planned development. Bharati has recently signed agreements to outsource its call center operations to some of the best international BPOs. The agreement with Hinduja TMT, IBM Daksh, Mphasis and TeleTech services would enhance quality of customer service delivery to its customers across the country, he added.

Mr Mehrotra said that Airtel has moved towards setting up of a Future Factory in Bangalore fully dedicated to explore innovation and development of path-breaking applications for mobile customers across the country. Customers in cities like Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai were looking towards mobile commerce and the Future Factory here would take up development of drive applications that use mobile phone as a payment instrument for ticketing, money transfer and other commerce transactions.

He said under rural programme the company would focus on developing applications to make mobile telephone more relevant to the segment.

Super Series to be live on mobiles

More than 30 million cell phone users in the country can watch the Johnnie Walker Super series cricket live when the tournament starts on October 5

New Delhi, Oct 4.(PTI): More than 30 million cell phone users in the country can watch the Johnnie Walker Super series cricket live when the tournament starts on October 5.

Reliance, BSNL, IDEA, Aircel, Tata Indicom, BPL, Spice, MTNL subscribers can watch the cricket series on their GPRS-enabled cell phones thanks to IMImobiles.

ICC has given the rights to three service providers in India — Airtel, Hutch and IMImobile.

Airtel records over 75,000 customers in NE

eading mobile service provider Airtel has more than 75,000 customers today in Assam and North east, a company spokesman said.

Guwahati: Leading mobile service provider Airtel has more than 75,000 customers today in Assam and North east, a company spokesman said.

Airtel now connects all the important towns in Assam on its state-of-art Ero network and is being managed by Ericsson.

The towns covered included Tezpur, Nagaon, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Duliajan, Sivsagar, Barpeta town, Barpeta Road, Nalbari, Rangiya and Bongaigaon.

Airtel is also spreading its network to connect highways and key rail routes as well as the smaller towns along the highways, the spokesman said.

"We are committed to provide our customers unparalleled service experience on a congestion free network," the spokesman said in a release here today

Airtel sets up 1000th cell site

Cellular service provider, Airtel on Friday installed 1000th cell site in Maharashtra and Goa circle at Katol, 40 km from Nagpur, and claimed to have become first private player to do so

Cellular service provider, Airtel on Friday installed 1000th cell site in Maharashtra and Goa circle at Katol, 40 km from Nagpur, and claimed to have become first private player to do so.

"The total number of base stations will touch 1500 by March next year and Airtel will enter over 300 new towns across Maharashtra and Goa thus spanning the coverage to a total 550 towns and 33 districts," Chief Operating Officer, Bharti Televentures, Christopher Tobit told reporters.

Airtel will offer superior quality network in key tourist and pilgrimage destinations including Shirdi, Trimbakshwar, Mahabaleshwar, Shanishingnaapur, Nanded, Pandharpur, Lonavala and Khandala with an investment to the tune of Rs 250 crore for network expansion, capacity enhancement and other infrastructure, he said.

The company will also commission its third mobile switch centre (MSC) in second capital by end of March 2006, he said, adding during the current fiscal, Airtel will be covering additional highways like Bhusawal-Shegaon, Dhule-Nashik and Mumbai-Goa besides rail and road network on Mumbai-Goa and Vasai-Ahmedabad by next March.

Tobit said they will be launching 62 additional new towns and three new districts of Washim, Gadchiroli and Hingoli by March end.

It is also introducing network on wheels (NOW) and would be deploying five such NOWs in Maharashtra and Goa, he added.

Source:PTI

Hutch unveils voice response in Kannada

Hutch, one of the leading cellular service providers, on Tuesday announced the launch of content on the voice response platform in three more languages namely Kannada, Telugu and Tamil in addition to the already available English and Hindi languages

Samuel Selvakumar, director (operations), Hutch, told reporters here that this innovative voice enabled service will enable customers to access a range of offerings in the language of their choice and will be in tune with the Hutch philosophy of facilitating communication in a manner that is convenient.

Cellular launch services in Andman and Nicobar by March 06 says Hutch

Hutch would launch mobile phone services in the Andaman and Nicobar by March, 2006 while aiming to double the customer base in the Bengal circle in the next one year.

"We will be launching our cellular services in Andaman and Nicobar within the next few months, ie. By the end of the current financial year," Sridhar Rao, CEO, Hutchison Telecom East Limited, told reporters on Wednesday.

Speaking at the launch of the ‘Chota Recharge-Puri Baat’ coupon, he said the company expected to emulate its success story in the Bengal circle in the islands.

Hutch would be the third operator after BSNL and Airtel to launch its cellular services in the islands.

Hutch rolls out Rs 10 recharge coupons

Hutchison Essar has launched a new recharge voucher that enables subscribers to top-up pre-paid connections with denominations as low as Rs 10

Hutchison Essar has launched a new recharge voucher that enables subscribers to top-up pre-paid connections with denominations as low as Rs 10.

“The new coupon will help make pre-paid usage even more affordable to both ‘Hutch’ and ‘Orange’ users, and offers more talktime at the same cost, therefore more value for money,” said Naveen Chopra, corporate vice-present, group marketing of Hutchison Essar at a press conference.

Earlier, the voucher could be used only as an ‘add-on card’. This meant that the card can be used to make calls when the recharged value of a coupon expires, but the validity period continues.

The customer can then recharge using a Chota Recharge again after buying a Rs 199 card within the 30-day validity period. Even though, the customer gets additional talktime for the amount recharged, it does not extend his validity period.

A user can recharge any number of times within the validity period without paying any extra fee. This will bring in a significant change in the pre-paid industry and going mobile will become more affordable, he said.

With this launch, Chota Recharge becomes the lowest recharge voucher available in the country.

Prior to this launch, the add-on recharge card available with the Rs 199 voucher was of Rs 55 and Rs 60. These cards also had access fees. Earlier, Airtel had also rolled out recharge vouchers in low denominations of Rs 60 and Rs 120.

Source:business-standard