[liberte] Le directeur général d’Orascom Télécom Algérie (OTA), Thamer El-Mehdi, a été auditionné hier par les éléments de la brigade économique et financière de la Police judiciaire de la sûreté de wilaya d’Alger suite à une plainte déposée par la Banque centrale d’Algérie sur des infractions à la législation sur les changes. La Banque d’Algérie estime, dans sa plainte, que “les prestations réalisées les trois dernières années par l’opérateur n’ont pas été soumises aux règles sur le change et les transferts de devises”. OTA avait déjà rejeté ces accusations. Hier, le groupe Orascom Télécom Holding (OTH) a précisé, dans un communiqué, publié à la Bourse du Caire que “le CEO d’OTA marque de téléphonie mobile Djezzy a été convoqué par la police pour enquêter sur les accusations de la Banque d’Algérie contre OTA”. Selon le groupe, le DG de Djezzy a fourni et continuera de fournir des explications sur ce dossier. Thamer El-Mehdi a été interrogé sur des frais d’assistance technique payés à Orascom Télécom Holding (OTH) par sa filiale de 2007 à 2009 et qui n’auraient pas été conformes aux règles de transferts financiers internationaux. Ce que dément OTH tout en précisant “n’avoir pas agi de quelque manière qui ne serait pas conforme à la loi algérienne” et assure avoir commencé à fournir tous les éléments pour répondre aux reproches soulevés par la Banque d’Algérie. OTH ajoute, par ailleurs, qu’OTA n’a pas reçu de nouvelle demande de la part des services fiscaux algériens. Orascom Télécom avait déclaré, en avril, avoir fini de payer une facture de près de 600 millions de dollars d’arriérés aux services fiscaux algériens, notifiée en novembre 2009 portant sur les années de 2005 à 2007.
Une source proche de l’enquête nous a confirmé que le chef du département juridique de la Banque centrale d’Algérie avait déposé une plainte auprès des services de la sûreté de wilaya d’Alger contre l’opérateur téléphonique OTA pour “des fausses déclarations sur les activités financières de la filiale algérienne d’Orascom”. L’enquête a été confiée à la brigade économique et financière de la Police judiciaire de la SW d’Alger (un service de police spécialisé dans les crimes économiques). Rien n’a infiltré sur l’audition mais, selon certaines indiscrétions, l’audition a duré plus de deux heures. Le DG de OTA était accompagné par des cadres du groupe dont les responsables juridique et financier. Il aurait nié “toute malversation ou infraction”. Le dossier fera donc l’objet d’investigations minutieuses et les enquêteurs ne manqueront de faire un travail de fourmi sur tous les documents des deux parties pour faire toute la lumière sur cette affaire et établir un rapport ficelé qui sera transmis à la justice. “L’enquête peut durer des mois d’autant que les investigations porteront sur les années de 2007 à 2009”, nous dit-on. Des experts financiers de la police seront mobilisés dans cette enquête. Dans ce cas, une poursuite judiciaire contre Orascom n’est pas à écarter. Selon notre source, l’opérateur est soupçonné d’avoir transféré des fonds frauduleusement vers l’étranger précisément vers Paris, une somme d’environ 2 milliards de dollars.
Cette nouvelle affaire intervient quelques jours après les accusations de Naguib Sawiris, P-DG d’Orascom Télécom Holding, contre les autorités algériennes. Le ministre de la Poste et des Technologies de l’information et de la communication, Moussa Benhamadi, avait rejeté ses accusations en déclarant qu’“aucune pression n’est exercée par l’Algérie sur OTA”, soulignant que l’État algérien ne fait que “veiller à l’application du droit algérien. Ce même droit qui a permis à OTA de créer une société en Algérie. Cette société est algérienne et obéit au droit algérien”, a-t-il affirmé. Pour rappel, le gouvernement s’est opposé à la vente d’OTA au sud-africain MTN, affirmant vouloir exercer son droit de préemption dans le rachat de Djezzy.
Suite à une plainte de la banque d’algérie
Le P-DG de Djezzy entendu par la police
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Australia - Telstra has not confirmed stories it will cut another 6,000 jobs, having cut 12,000 since 2005
[smh] Telstra says it has not confirmed how many jobs will be cut under its plan to simplify its business, as unions demand more information from the telco giant.
Media reports today suggest Telstra will cut 6000 staff over the next three years as part of its $1 billion plan to reverse its falling financial performance.
The media reports and Telstra’s response came on a day when the stock slumped over 2 per cent to a record low.
Telstra says its new strategy is aimed at growing market share and will involve a simplification of its business, cost cutting and an improvement in customer service.
Senior executives, including chief executive David Thodey, have said the plans would involve job cuts, but the telco said today it was yet to be determine how many.
‘‘Telstra has not confirmed the number of affected employees and when we do, we will first speak directly to them,’’ a spokesperson said.
Improving customer satisfaction would be done through simplifying customer processes, reducing bureaucracy, particularly in management, and introducing optional self-service systems online, Telstra said.
Telstra shares declined 6 cents, or 2.2 per cent, to close at $2.62, the lowest since the first shares were sold by the government for $3.30 to retail investors in 1997.
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) is seeking more information from Telstra about the extent of planned job cuts.
‘‘You cannot cut thousands of jobs without having a major impact on customer service,’’ CPSU Assistant National Secretary Louise Persse said. ‘‘Telstra’s frontline service delivery areas are already stretched.‘‘We can’t see how further cuts will improve things.’’
Senator Doug Cameron, a former trade union official and Labor Party member, was not impressed with the report that Telstra would be cutting jobs.
‘‘I don’t think companies, given the state of the economy, should be looking at downsizing or cutting jobs,’’ he told reporters in Canberra.
Nationals frontbencher Barnaby Joyce said he was concerned the job cuts would come from the bush, while also questioning how the national broadband network would be built if technicians were laid off.
Senator Joyce said 25,000 technicians were needed to build the NBN.
‘‘At best I’d say there are 8000 to 6000 ... in Australia, and at this point in time Telstra are actually putting them off,’’ he said.
Telstra told investors on Wednesday it would incur $220 million in redundancy costs in the 2010/11 financial year.
‘‘It is always difficult to make decisions that inevitably affect jobs,’’ the Telstra spokesperson said. ‘‘However, Telstra offers retraining and generous redundancy arrangements to affected employees.’’
Telstra has cut over 12,000 jobs since 2005 as part of a transformation process implemented by former chief executive Sol Trujillo.
Telstra shares plumb new low amid job cut talk
Media reports today suggest Telstra will cut 6000 staff over the next three years as part of its $1 billion plan to reverse its falling financial performance.
The media reports and Telstra’s response came on a day when the stock slumped over 2 per cent to a record low.
Telstra says its new strategy is aimed at growing market share and will involve a simplification of its business, cost cutting and an improvement in customer service.
Senior executives, including chief executive David Thodey, have said the plans would involve job cuts, but the telco said today it was yet to be determine how many.
‘‘Telstra has not confirmed the number of affected employees and when we do, we will first speak directly to them,’’ a spokesperson said.
Improving customer satisfaction would be done through simplifying customer processes, reducing bureaucracy, particularly in management, and introducing optional self-service systems online, Telstra said.
Telstra shares declined 6 cents, or 2.2 per cent, to close at $2.62, the lowest since the first shares were sold by the government for $3.30 to retail investors in 1997.
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) is seeking more information from Telstra about the extent of planned job cuts.
‘‘You cannot cut thousands of jobs without having a major impact on customer service,’’ CPSU Assistant National Secretary Louise Persse said. ‘‘Telstra’s frontline service delivery areas are already stretched.‘‘We can’t see how further cuts will improve things.’’
Senator Doug Cameron, a former trade union official and Labor Party member, was not impressed with the report that Telstra would be cutting jobs.
‘‘I don’t think companies, given the state of the economy, should be looking at downsizing or cutting jobs,’’ he told reporters in Canberra.
Nationals frontbencher Barnaby Joyce said he was concerned the job cuts would come from the bush, while also questioning how the national broadband network would be built if technicians were laid off.
Senator Joyce said 25,000 technicians were needed to build the NBN.
‘‘At best I’d say there are 8000 to 6000 ... in Australia, and at this point in time Telstra are actually putting them off,’’ he said.
Telstra told investors on Wednesday it would incur $220 million in redundancy costs in the 2010/11 financial year.
‘‘It is always difficult to make decisions that inevitably affect jobs,’’ the Telstra spokesperson said. ‘‘However, Telstra offers retraining and generous redundancy arrangements to affected employees.’’
Telstra has cut over 12,000 jobs since 2005 as part of a transformation process implemented by former chief executive Sol Trujillo.
Telstra shares plumb new low amid job cut talk
Persian Gulf - Etisalat has made an offer for a major stake in Zain in order to expand its footprint in MENA
[khaleej times] Emirates Telecommunication Corporation, or etisalat, has made an initial offer to buy a major stake in Kuwait’s mobile operator Zain, a spokesman of the UAE telecom operator
confirmed.
Commenting on media reports about an offer to acquire a 46 per cent stake in Zain at a price of $5.97 a share, the official spokesman of the Abu Dhabi-based etisalat did not confirm the price or the percentage of the conditional offer.
However, media speculation put the value of acquisition at $10.5 billion.
“On Wednesday, etisalat’s share price rose to Dh10.85, gaining 40 fils in the last five trading sessions in anticipation of an imminent acquisition this time,” Bassam Ramahi, general manager at Shuaa Securities in Abu Dhabi told Khaleej Times.
Zain, which did not confirm the offer, saw its share prices gaining 7.9 per cent to close at $4.77, lifting the Kuwait Stock Exchange index to close up by 0.85 per cent to 6,928 points.
“It’s a good news for the equity market,” he said, after a confirmation from etisalat.
Ramahi said both telecom firms stand to benefit from any such deal, as it would complement their business.
“For etisalat, it would be expansion in customer base in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) market where it is trying to step in,” Ramahi said, adding “a significant per cent of stake means it would boost etisalat’s revenues and profit.”
The offer depends on “certain requirements and conditions,” Ahmed bin Ali, the spokesman for etisalat said.
The bid is for all Zain assets controlled by shareholders who own about 46 per cent of the company, including operations in Saudi Arabia, a newswire reported quoting a source.
In March this year, the Kuwait firm sold its operations in 15 African nations to India’s Bharti Airtel for $10.7 billion, netting a profit of more than three billion dollars from the deal.
Besides Kuwait, Zain operates in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Sudan, Jordan and Iraq, Lebanon and Morocco.
Before striking the deal with Bharti, Zain held unsuccessful negotiations with an Indo-Malaysian consortium to sell 46 per cent of the company for about $14 billion.
A purchase would extend etisalat’s reach in the Middle East, where Zain still operates in countries from Kuwait and Iraq to Bahrain after selling most of its African assets this year to Indian billionaire Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel Ltd for $9 billion.
Etisalat offers telecommunications services in 18 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, counting more than 100 million customers.
Zain had 34.2 million customers at the end of the first half.
Kuwait Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, is Zain’s largest shareholder with 24.6 percent, while the Kharafi Group is the second-largest shareholder, owning about 13 per cent shareholding.
Last month, Zain reported a first-half net income of $3.1 billion, aided by a $2.65 billion gain from the African asset sale. Consolidated revenue from Zain’s Middle East operations rose 10 per cent from a year earlier to $2.33 billion, it said.
Etisalat bids for Zain stake
Commenting on media reports about an offer to acquire a 46 per cent stake in Zain at a price of $5.97 a share, the official spokesman of the Abu Dhabi-based etisalat did not confirm the price or the percentage of the conditional offer.
However, media speculation put the value of acquisition at $10.5 billion.
“On Wednesday, etisalat’s share price rose to Dh10.85, gaining 40 fils in the last five trading sessions in anticipation of an imminent acquisition this time,” Bassam Ramahi, general manager at Shuaa Securities in Abu Dhabi told Khaleej Times.
Zain, which did not confirm the offer, saw its share prices gaining 7.9 per cent to close at $4.77, lifting the Kuwait Stock Exchange index to close up by 0.85 per cent to 6,928 points.
“It’s a good news for the equity market,” he said, after a confirmation from etisalat.
Ramahi said both telecom firms stand to benefit from any such deal, as it would complement their business.
“For etisalat, it would be expansion in customer base in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) market where it is trying to step in,” Ramahi said, adding “a significant per cent of stake means it would boost etisalat’s revenues and profit.”
The offer depends on “certain requirements and conditions,” Ahmed bin Ali, the spokesman for etisalat said.
The bid is for all Zain assets controlled by shareholders who own about 46 per cent of the company, including operations in Saudi Arabia, a newswire reported quoting a source.
In March this year, the Kuwait firm sold its operations in 15 African nations to India’s Bharti Airtel for $10.7 billion, netting a profit of more than three billion dollars from the deal.
Besides Kuwait, Zain operates in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Sudan, Jordan and Iraq, Lebanon and Morocco.
Before striking the deal with Bharti, Zain held unsuccessful negotiations with an Indo-Malaysian consortium to sell 46 per cent of the company for about $14 billion.
A purchase would extend etisalat’s reach in the Middle East, where Zain still operates in countries from Kuwait and Iraq to Bahrain after selling most of its African assets this year to Indian billionaire Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel Ltd for $9 billion.
Etisalat offers telecommunications services in 18 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, counting more than 100 million customers.
Zain had 34.2 million customers at the end of the first half.
Kuwait Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, is Zain’s largest shareholder with 24.6 percent, while the Kharafi Group is the second-largest shareholder, owning about 13 per cent shareholding.
Last month, Zain reported a first-half net income of $3.1 billion, aided by a $2.65 billion gain from the African asset sale. Consolidated revenue from Zain’s Middle East operations rose 10 per cent from a year earlier to $2.33 billion, it said.
Etisalat bids for Zain stake
India - TRAI has been directed to look afresh at interconnection rates
[economic times] Telecom tribunal today directed sectoral regulator to work out "afresh" network interconnection and call termination charges in consultations with all service providers.
A telecom company pays Interconnect Usage Charges (IUC) and Mobile Termination Charges (MTC) to other operators for connecting and completing its calls on their networks.
The Telecom Disputes Settlement and (TDSAT) remanded the disputed regulation back to TRAI, in which private operators and government-controlled have opposed IUC and MTC fixed by the regulator.
The tribunal also directed Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to complete the whole exercise in a time bound manner, so that the new regulation could be made effective from January 1, 2011.
"We direct TRAI to consider the matter afresh... remand the case to the TRAI with the direction that it will complete the consultation in time bound manner so that new IUC charges could be made effective by January 1, 2010," said TDSAT Chairman Justice S B Sinha in the order.
In its regulation on March 9, 2009, TRAI had reduced termination charges for all types of domestic calls such as landline to landline, landline to mobile, mobile to landline and mobile to mobile to 20 paise per minute from 30 paise per minute.
Termination charges are paid by an operator to another on whose network the call ends.
The tribunal also directed TRAI to provide adequate time to private telcom operators to respond during the consultation process.
TDSAT's order came over a bunch of petitions filed by telecom operators including Bharti Airtel , Vodafone, Idea, Reliance Communication and BSNL challenging the IUC fixed by TRAI.
BSNL had submitted that it was losing Rs 2,000 crore annually due to TRAI regulation on ICU.
The operators submitted that TRAI had formulated the IUC charges without consultation process.
TDSAT directs TRAI to rework telecom interconnect charges
A telecom company pays Interconnect Usage Charges (IUC) and Mobile Termination Charges (MTC) to other operators for connecting and completing its calls on their networks.
The Telecom Disputes Settlement and (TDSAT) remanded the disputed regulation back to TRAI, in which private operators and government-controlled have opposed IUC and MTC fixed by the regulator.
The tribunal also directed Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to complete the whole exercise in a time bound manner, so that the new regulation could be made effective from January 1, 2011.
"We direct TRAI to consider the matter afresh... remand the case to the TRAI with the direction that it will complete the consultation in time bound manner so that new IUC charges could be made effective by January 1, 2010," said TDSAT Chairman Justice S B Sinha in the order.
In its regulation on March 9, 2009, TRAI had reduced termination charges for all types of domestic calls such as landline to landline, landline to mobile, mobile to landline and mobile to mobile to 20 paise per minute from 30 paise per minute.
Termination charges are paid by an operator to another on whose network the call ends.
The tribunal also directed TRAI to provide adequate time to private telcom operators to respond during the consultation process.
TDSAT's order came over a bunch of petitions filed by telecom operators including Bharti Airtel , Vodafone, Idea, Reliance Communication and BSNL challenging the IUC fixed by TRAI.
BSNL had submitted that it was losing Rs 2,000 crore annually due to TRAI regulation on ICU.
The operators submitted that TRAI had formulated the IUC charges without consultation process.
TDSAT directs TRAI to rework telecom interconnect charges
Egypt - Telecom Egypt remains keen to buy out Vodafone from its its 45% stake in Vodafone Egypt, but this seem unlikely
[reuters] Landline monopoly Telecom Egypt's attempts to boost its stake in Vodafone Egypt have been postponed but the firm is studying other ways to get more involved in the mobile market, a minister said on Wednesday
Telecom Egypt, which is owned mostly by the government, is eager to get a bigger piece of the country's lucrative but competitive mobile industry, which has lured away its fixed-line customers and eaten into its revenues.
The landline operator had been in talks to increase its 45 percent stake in the Vodafone unit, but the negotiations ended in June without a deal.
"This has been postponed for now, and I don't think that this would be approved soon," Communications Minister Tarek Kamel said on the sidelines of a conference when asked if Telecom Egypt still planned to increase its stake in the unit.
"The CEO of Vodafone is visiting Egypt in October, but not necessarily to talk about this subject," he added.
Kamel also said Telecom Egypt was studying the possibility of getting a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) licence, but could not give a timeline for when a licence might be granted.
"It depends on ... studies at Telecom Egypt and the telecom regulatory authority but, more importantly, also a commercial agreement between whoever wants to run an MVNO and the existing three mobile operators," he said.
MVNO operators provide cell phone services without their own network, and so must have lease agreements with other operators.
Telecom Egypt's Vodafone plans postponed: minister
Telecom Egypt, which is owned mostly by the government, is eager to get a bigger piece of the country's lucrative but competitive mobile industry, which has lured away its fixed-line customers and eaten into its revenues.
The landline operator had been in talks to increase its 45 percent stake in the Vodafone unit, but the negotiations ended in June without a deal.
"This has been postponed for now, and I don't think that this would be approved soon," Communications Minister Tarek Kamel said on the sidelines of a conference when asked if Telecom Egypt still planned to increase its stake in the unit.
"The CEO of Vodafone is visiting Egypt in October, but not necessarily to talk about this subject," he added.
Kamel also said Telecom Egypt was studying the possibility of getting a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) licence, but could not give a timeline for when a licence might be granted.
"It depends on ... studies at Telecom Egypt and the telecom regulatory authority but, more importantly, also a commercial agreement between whoever wants to run an MVNO and the existing three mobile operators," he said.
MVNO operators provide cell phone services without their own network, and so must have lease agreements with other operators.
Telecom Egypt's Vodafone plans postponed: minister
Mobile - What was formerly 3G Americas has been rebranded as 4G Americas, originally a GSM association it is now wider
[rethink] Industry bodies always face something of a dilemma when their name no longer reflects the most progressive part of their members' activity. The 3GSM (formerly GSM) show managed the transition by dropping numbers altogether and becoming Mobile World Congress. 3G Americas has taken a more straightforward approach and decided the time is right to morph into 4G Americas.
The organization has also gained a new logo and website to reflect the change, which is designed to reflect where the industry is headed in its region. This is particularly true in the northern part of the Americas, of course, where the US is set to have one WiMAX and at least four LTE systems within two years, but the body will also have important issues to address in Latin America, particularly with regards to spectrum plans there.
Chris Pearson, president of 4G Americas, says the change also mirrors the shift towards mobile broadband and how that will impact the association's objectives. The board of governors was unanimous in approving the change, he said, adding: "4G Americas believes all paths will lead to LTE." The board currently contains 18 vendors and operators including Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens, Huawei and Motorola. It may be able to add further members as the CDMA wing of the market converges on LTE, which could draw in Verizon Wireless.
3G Americas was founded eight years ago to support the GSM/UMTS agenda at a time when that technology had only about 10% share in the Americas. It now has about 75% and the CDMA community is mainly moving to LTE too, though Sprint has supported WiMAX.
The body says its main missions are to "support the 3GPP technology path as it evolves to 4G technology; address standards recommendations, technical requirements and advocacy for 2G and 3G technologies; and serve as the best resource for information on the 3GPP family of technologies throughout the Americas."
3G Americas renames for the 4G era
The organization has also gained a new logo and website to reflect the change, which is designed to reflect where the industry is headed in its region. This is particularly true in the northern part of the Americas, of course, where the US is set to have one WiMAX and at least four LTE systems within two years, but the body will also have important issues to address in Latin America, particularly with regards to spectrum plans there.
Chris Pearson, president of 4G Americas, says the change also mirrors the shift towards mobile broadband and how that will impact the association's objectives. The board of governors was unanimous in approving the change, he said, adding: "4G Americas believes all paths will lead to LTE." The board currently contains 18 vendors and operators including Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens, Huawei and Motorola. It may be able to add further members as the CDMA wing of the market converges on LTE, which could draw in Verizon Wireless.
3G Americas was founded eight years ago to support the GSM/UMTS agenda at a time when that technology had only about 10% share in the Americas. It now has about 75% and the CDMA community is mainly moving to LTE too, though Sprint has supported WiMAX.
The body says its main missions are to "support the 3GPP technology path as it evolves to 4G technology; address standards recommendations, technical requirements and advocacy for 2G and 3G technologies; and serve as the best resource for information on the 3GPP family of technologies throughout the Americas."
3G Americas renames for the 4G era
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Australia - Carlos Slim has called the NBN too much, at AUD 7,000 per home
[the australian] THE world's richest man, Mexican telco tycoon Carlos Slim Helu, said today Julia Gillard's $43 billion National Broadband Network seems expensive.
Mr Slim, speaking at the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Sydney today, said: "It's too much money.
"It is not necessary to invest so much money, because technology is changing all the time," he said.
Mr Slim said $7000 a home to connect about six million homes was too expensive.
And he criticised the reliance of the project on fibre, emphasising the need for wireless services.
"You need to have a multi platform of everything; mobile, landline, fibre, cable and copper," he said.
"You need to have all these. You need to have a very good fibre network and rings and you need to have a loop of fibre to sustain when you have a problem in one place that the communications don’t get interrupted.
"But with copper and cable you can give 20 or 30 MhZ. I think fibre is not enough. You need to have a good network of wireless. "
Mr Slim controls Telmex and Telnor phone companies in Mexico and also has a stake in The New York Times Co.
The NBN is a fibre optic cable network to be rolled out across Australia at an estimated cost of up to $43 billion.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy later hit back at Mr Slim's suggestion that the NBN was too expensive.
“Mr Slim's comments about the NBN are no surprise given he has become the world's richest man by owning a vertically-integrated monopoly,” Senator Conroy said.
“Mr Slim has clearly not read the implementation study and we will forward him a copy.
“The implementation study provides a detailed analysis of the cost to deliver the NBN.
“The study found that the $43 billion total capital cost is a conservative estimate and there are opportunities to significantly reduce the build cost. The heads of agreement between NBN Co and Telstra will also reduce the cost of the build by billions.”
Senator Conroy said fibre to the home was the “optimal future-proof technology” with a lifespan of 30-50 years, while wireless was a complementary technology that would never match it.
“According to the implementation study, NBN Co will generate sufficient earnings by the end of year seven so that the investment required by government will peak at $26 billion, of which $18.3 billion will be required over the next four years.
“The implementation study confirms that the NBN Co can develop a strong and viable business case, generating stable and positive cash flows, and that the government will get a moderate return on its investment sufficient to cover its cost of funds.”
Mr Slim’s comments came after Telstra today said it wanted to finalise the terms of its $11 billion NBN deal by this Christmas.
David Thodey, the chief executive of the telecommunications giant, said he would then present the NBN participation deal for a shareholder vote by the first half of 2011.
It was towards that end, Mr Thodey told investors at its annual strategy day in Sydney, that Telstra hoped to finalise the terms of its participation by the end of this year.
The CEO said many variables could affect the timing of the deal, which will see Telstra paid $9bn to migrate its traffic to the NBN as it decommissions its copper network and leases its infrastructure to expedite the new network build, but he was hoping that a definitive agreement could be formed by Christmas.
“We need regulatory certainty and this is a fundamental tenet to this deal being finalised.
“There is still a lot of work to be done but we are actively working to get final definitive agreements and I'm pleased with the progress we are making,” Mr Thodey said.
“I would like to get them done by the AGM - that is our target. But if we could get agreement away by Christmas that would be tremendous.”
Mr Thodey told investors that the legislation designed to reform the telecommunications regulatory regime and laws to set the operating conditions of the NBN Co would need to be passed before a shareholder vote could be taken on the $11bn deal, but he said the final form of the deal could be agreed to before passage of those bills.
“In terms of the definitive agreement we want to conclude negotiations as soon as we can because that is not dependent on legislation. If the legislation is introduced later this year, or early next year, there is a good possibility that we could get it to shareholders by the middle of next year.
“The CCS (competition and consumer safeguards) bill contains a number of things we don't like and we are working to get those changed.
“Work is progressing well on these.”
Some of those changes include the removal of caveats that threaten to deny Telstra access to the wireless spectrum it needs to evolve its Next G mobile network, and legislative threats to force the divestiture of Telstra's stake in Foxtel.
Mr Thodey also assured investors today that Telstra could comfortably maintain its dividend payment in 2010-11.
His comments came as Telstra outlined plans to spend $1 billion revitalising its business.
“Telstra's board has always been acutely aware of the importance of dividends to shareholders. Because of our strong free cash flow, Telstra could comfortably fund a 28 cent share dividend in 2010-11,” Mr Thodey said.
There had been some concerns that Telstra, the nation's biggest telecommunications group, might cut its dividend payment as it battles tough competition in its key markets and sliding revenues in its once-core fixed line phone business.
Telstra shares have been languishing around all time lows amid concerns about its outlook.
Gillard's National Broadband Network expensive, warns Carlos Slim Helu at Forbes conference
Mr Slim, speaking at the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Sydney today, said: "It's too much money.
"It is not necessary to invest so much money, because technology is changing all the time," he said.
Mr Slim said $7000 a home to connect about six million homes was too expensive.
And he criticised the reliance of the project on fibre, emphasising the need for wireless services.
"You need to have a multi platform of everything; mobile, landline, fibre, cable and copper," he said.
"You need to have all these. You need to have a very good fibre network and rings and you need to have a loop of fibre to sustain when you have a problem in one place that the communications don’t get interrupted.
"But with copper and cable you can give 20 or 30 MhZ. I think fibre is not enough. You need to have a good network of wireless. "
Mr Slim controls Telmex and Telnor phone companies in Mexico and also has a stake in The New York Times Co.
The NBN is a fibre optic cable network to be rolled out across Australia at an estimated cost of up to $43 billion.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy later hit back at Mr Slim's suggestion that the NBN was too expensive.
“Mr Slim's comments about the NBN are no surprise given he has become the world's richest man by owning a vertically-integrated monopoly,” Senator Conroy said.
“Mr Slim has clearly not read the implementation study and we will forward him a copy.
“The implementation study provides a detailed analysis of the cost to deliver the NBN.
“The study found that the $43 billion total capital cost is a conservative estimate and there are opportunities to significantly reduce the build cost. The heads of agreement between NBN Co and Telstra will also reduce the cost of the build by billions.”
Senator Conroy said fibre to the home was the “optimal future-proof technology” with a lifespan of 30-50 years, while wireless was a complementary technology that would never match it.
“According to the implementation study, NBN Co will generate sufficient earnings by the end of year seven so that the investment required by government will peak at $26 billion, of which $18.3 billion will be required over the next four years.
“The implementation study confirms that the NBN Co can develop a strong and viable business case, generating stable and positive cash flows, and that the government will get a moderate return on its investment sufficient to cover its cost of funds.”
Mr Slim’s comments came after Telstra today said it wanted to finalise the terms of its $11 billion NBN deal by this Christmas.
David Thodey, the chief executive of the telecommunications giant, said he would then present the NBN participation deal for a shareholder vote by the first half of 2011.
It was towards that end, Mr Thodey told investors at its annual strategy day in Sydney, that Telstra hoped to finalise the terms of its participation by the end of this year.
The CEO said many variables could affect the timing of the deal, which will see Telstra paid $9bn to migrate its traffic to the NBN as it decommissions its copper network and leases its infrastructure to expedite the new network build, but he was hoping that a definitive agreement could be formed by Christmas.
“We need regulatory certainty and this is a fundamental tenet to this deal being finalised.
“There is still a lot of work to be done but we are actively working to get final definitive agreements and I'm pleased with the progress we are making,” Mr Thodey said.
“I would like to get them done by the AGM - that is our target. But if we could get agreement away by Christmas that would be tremendous.”
Mr Thodey told investors that the legislation designed to reform the telecommunications regulatory regime and laws to set the operating conditions of the NBN Co would need to be passed before a shareholder vote could be taken on the $11bn deal, but he said the final form of the deal could be agreed to before passage of those bills.
“In terms of the definitive agreement we want to conclude negotiations as soon as we can because that is not dependent on legislation. If the legislation is introduced later this year, or early next year, there is a good possibility that we could get it to shareholders by the middle of next year.
“The CCS (competition and consumer safeguards) bill contains a number of things we don't like and we are working to get those changed.
“Work is progressing well on these.”
Some of those changes include the removal of caveats that threaten to deny Telstra access to the wireless spectrum it needs to evolve its Next G mobile network, and legislative threats to force the divestiture of Telstra's stake in Foxtel.
Mr Thodey also assured investors today that Telstra could comfortably maintain its dividend payment in 2010-11.
His comments came as Telstra outlined plans to spend $1 billion revitalising its business.
“Telstra's board has always been acutely aware of the importance of dividends to shareholders. Because of our strong free cash flow, Telstra could comfortably fund a 28 cent share dividend in 2010-11,” Mr Thodey said.
There had been some concerns that Telstra, the nation's biggest telecommunications group, might cut its dividend payment as it battles tough competition in its key markets and sliding revenues in its once-core fixed line phone business.
Telstra shares have been languishing around all time lows amid concerns about its outlook.
Gillard's National Broadband Network expensive, warns Carlos Slim Helu at Forbes conference
Cyprus - MPs complained about the high prices of telecoms
[cyprus mail] CONSUMERS are being made to pay excessive amounts in fixed charges for their landlines and their electricity bills, prompting MPs to call yesterday for immediate reductions, and counterbalancing measures.
The issue was discussed at the House Commerce Committee yesterday, which focused in particular on the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CyTA).
Speaking after the meeting, Committee Chairman, DISY’s Lefteris Christoforou, said apart from paying semi-government organisations (SGO) for their services, consumers are being made to pay a series of extra fixed charges, such as VAT or duties for emissions.
Referring to the CyTA’s landline telephone bills, Christoforou said fixed charges add up to around €16 a month, which he felt was plain overcharging.
“We feel the time has come to rearrange all these added charges and duties, so Cypriot consumers can finally feel some relief,” said Christoforou.
DIKO’s Angelos Votsis said MPs attempted to see if there was any way to reduce the €16 charge, which he said meant consumers were contributing €55 million to CyTA’s yearly revenue just by having a landline.
However he added: “From what we were told by the Telecommunications Regulator, it seems this reduction is not possible, as CyTA will have to cover the cost of its services offered with this fixed charge”.
George Varnava of EDEK said the discussion had led to one certain conclusion: “The two semi-state organisations – CyTA and the EAC (Electricity Authority of Cyprus) – are imposing excessive increases during a time of economic crisis.”
He claimed that around 70 per cent of CyTA’s total revenue came from fixed charges on landline telephone bills; “which we believe is unacceptable”.
Varnava called on the two SGOs to find ways to reduce these charges. “Electricity has increased by 13.5 per cent since last year,” he pointed out.
Despite the Committee’s plans to discuss electricity charges, the discussion didn’t go ahead as a spokesman for the Finance Ministry – who had been invited to explain the government’s plans to counterbalance the increase in electricity charges – never showed up.
Consumers being overcharged for phones and electricity
The issue was discussed at the House Commerce Committee yesterday, which focused in particular on the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CyTA).
Speaking after the meeting, Committee Chairman, DISY’s Lefteris Christoforou, said apart from paying semi-government organisations (SGO) for their services, consumers are being made to pay a series of extra fixed charges, such as VAT or duties for emissions.
Referring to the CyTA’s landline telephone bills, Christoforou said fixed charges add up to around €16 a month, which he felt was plain overcharging.
“We feel the time has come to rearrange all these added charges and duties, so Cypriot consumers can finally feel some relief,” said Christoforou.
DIKO’s Angelos Votsis said MPs attempted to see if there was any way to reduce the €16 charge, which he said meant consumers were contributing €55 million to CyTA’s yearly revenue just by having a landline.
However he added: “From what we were told by the Telecommunications Regulator, it seems this reduction is not possible, as CyTA will have to cover the cost of its services offered with this fixed charge”.
George Varnava of EDEK said the discussion had led to one certain conclusion: “The two semi-state organisations – CyTA and the EAC (Electricity Authority of Cyprus) – are imposing excessive increases during a time of economic crisis.”
He claimed that around 70 per cent of CyTA’s total revenue came from fixed charges on landline telephone bills; “which we believe is unacceptable”.
Varnava called on the two SGOs to find ways to reduce these charges. “Electricity has increased by 13.5 per cent since last year,” he pointed out.
Despite the Committee’s plans to discuss electricity charges, the discussion didn’t go ahead as a spokesman for the Finance Ministry – who had been invited to explain the government’s plans to counterbalance the increase in electricity charges – never showed up.
Consumers being overcharged for phones and electricity
Nigeria - NITEL workers have asked the Nigerian President to pay their 29 months salary arrears
[compass] AGGRIEVED workers of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and its subsidiary, Mobile Telecommunications (Mtel), yesterday requested that President Goodluck Jonathan should tell Nigerians during his independence speech when their 29 months salary arrears would be paid.
The workers yesterday in Abuja carried placards with inscriptions such as “Jonathan, tell Nigerians when you will pay us our money”, “We are dying, save us”, “We want to join the golden jubilee celebration but pay us first”, and others.
They said they could no longer trust the promises made by ministers, noting that the only alternative left for them was for the President to address the Nitel/Mtel matter during his speech on October 1.
One of the protesting workers, Mr. Omorege Esosa, told the Nigerian Compass that for about 29 months, they were not paid salaries, “we have been denied our rights, and we all own this country, there is no way some group of persons will be having problems, we cannot feed our families and the nation is celebrating.
“We have just met with the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Mr. Chukwuemeka Wogu, bringing our grievances to the notice of the Federal Government that we will not leave Abuja without our monies paid.
“The minister assured us that our issue is on the table of President Jonathan but we want the president to make an independence statement concerning the Nitel/Mtel issue, to tell Nigerians the day the government will pay us before we can leave Abuja because the pains are just too much for us to bear, we are tired of listening to ministers.
“He told us too that the paper is on the President table for final approval, but such promises have been on over and over again and so we can not be deceived any longer, we want to join in the celebration of the golden jubilee but we don’t have money. We want to see the realities of the promises that is why we are doing a peaceful demonstration to get the attention of the whole world.
We want the world to know that some of us are suffering.”
Another worker, John Isaiah, said the government has been lying to the workers with the issue would be resolved and that they would take necessary action soonest.
According to him, “if Jonathan allows the Nitel/Mtel workers to die, who will he lead tomorrow? He should ensure he tells us and Nigerians when we will finally get our money”.
Efforts to get the Minister of Labour and Productivity proved abortive at the time of filing the report.
NITEL workers protest, demand Jonathan's commitment on salary arrears
The workers yesterday in Abuja carried placards with inscriptions such as “Jonathan, tell Nigerians when you will pay us our money”, “We are dying, save us”, “We want to join the golden jubilee celebration but pay us first”, and others.
They said they could no longer trust the promises made by ministers, noting that the only alternative left for them was for the President to address the Nitel/Mtel matter during his speech on October 1.
One of the protesting workers, Mr. Omorege Esosa, told the Nigerian Compass that for about 29 months, they were not paid salaries, “we have been denied our rights, and we all own this country, there is no way some group of persons will be having problems, we cannot feed our families and the nation is celebrating.
“We have just met with the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Mr. Chukwuemeka Wogu, bringing our grievances to the notice of the Federal Government that we will not leave Abuja without our monies paid.
“The minister assured us that our issue is on the table of President Jonathan but we want the president to make an independence statement concerning the Nitel/Mtel issue, to tell Nigerians the day the government will pay us before we can leave Abuja because the pains are just too much for us to bear, we are tired of listening to ministers.
“He told us too that the paper is on the President table for final approval, but such promises have been on over and over again and so we can not be deceived any longer, we want to join in the celebration of the golden jubilee but we don’t have money. We want to see the realities of the promises that is why we are doing a peaceful demonstration to get the attention of the whole world.
We want the world to know that some of us are suffering.”
Another worker, John Isaiah, said the government has been lying to the workers with the issue would be resolved and that they would take necessary action soonest.
According to him, “if Jonathan allows the Nitel/Mtel workers to die, who will he lead tomorrow? He should ensure he tells us and Nigerians when we will finally get our money”.
Efforts to get the Minister of Labour and Productivity proved abortive at the time of filing the report.
NITEL workers protest, demand Jonathan's commitment on salary arrears
UK - EU funding to link Shetland Islands to the FARICE undersea cable
[shetland times] A major European cash boost has been granted to help the council develop a fibre-optic link with Faroe.
The SIC has been given £367,500 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The funding will enable a connection to be made to the Faroese fibre optic cable, which runs between Faroe, Shetland and Orkney and the Scottish mainland.
Marvin Smith of the council’s telecoms project team said: “This funding will enable the council to progress the creation a fibre optic network for Shetland by putting in place the necessary infrastructure to link in to the Faroese cable.
“The project is vital to give Shetland a modern telecommunications structure and enable future broadband telecoms projects to materialise.”
Councillor Gussie Angus, the European spokesman, said: “I’m delighted that we’ve managed to secure external funding for such an important project.
“The council has taken an innovative step in deciding to take responsibility for coordinating and developing its telecommunications infrastructure and this is a project which will eventually bring benefits to the whole of Shetland.
“Improved telecommunications plays a significant role in today’s economy and as well as being vital for modern business brings many social benefits.”
Meanwhile, MSP Tavish Scott used secretary of state for Scotland Michael Moore’s visit on Monday to press the UK government to help to provide better, faster broadband connections across the islands.
Mr Scott said: “Shetland appreciates any new European funding to help the development of our broadband connections, so the news of the European Regional Development funding for the Shetland fibre optic network is welcome. But more is needed.
“As one of the most remote areas in the UK, we need a level playing field when it comes to broadband connections. Access to high speed broadband connections across Shetland is of vital importance to business and to our islands’ economy.
“I made the case in person today to the Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland for the UK government to provide further help to boost broadband access across Shetland.”
Council receives £367,500 of European money towards developing fibre-optic cable link
The SIC has been given £367,500 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The funding will enable a connection to be made to the Faroese fibre optic cable, which runs between Faroe, Shetland and Orkney and the Scottish mainland.
Marvin Smith of the council’s telecoms project team said: “This funding will enable the council to progress the creation a fibre optic network for Shetland by putting in place the necessary infrastructure to link in to the Faroese cable.
“The project is vital to give Shetland a modern telecommunications structure and enable future broadband telecoms projects to materialise.”
Councillor Gussie Angus, the European spokesman, said: “I’m delighted that we’ve managed to secure external funding for such an important project.
“The council has taken an innovative step in deciding to take responsibility for coordinating and developing its telecommunications infrastructure and this is a project which will eventually bring benefits to the whole of Shetland.
“Improved telecommunications plays a significant role in today’s economy and as well as being vital for modern business brings many social benefits.”
Meanwhile, MSP Tavish Scott used secretary of state for Scotland Michael Moore’s visit on Monday to press the UK government to help to provide better, faster broadband connections across the islands.
Mr Scott said: “Shetland appreciates any new European funding to help the development of our broadband connections, so the news of the European Regional Development funding for the Shetland fibre optic network is welcome. But more is needed.
“As one of the most remote areas in the UK, we need a level playing field when it comes to broadband connections. Access to high speed broadband connections across Shetland is of vital importance to business and to our islands’ economy.
“I made the case in person today to the Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland for the UK government to provide further help to boost broadband access across Shetland.”
Council receives £367,500 of European money towards developing fibre-optic cable link
Bahamas - Support for the introduction of fixed and mobile number portability
[tribune] A major telecoms operator yesterday welcomed the issuance of a survey seeking feedback on telephone number portability in the Bahamas, something that is viewed as "one of the last significant barriers to competition" in fixed-line and cellular telecommunications.
Responding to the Utilities Regulation & Competition Authority's (URCA) survey release, Anthony Butler, Cable Bahamas' president and chief executive, said the Bahamas was now following number portability trends established in other markets that had deregulated.
"It's good for the consumer, and consumers tend to be identified by their phone numbers now," Mr Butler told Tribune Business. "It's more of a personal phone now. It follows the trends in other deregulated markets, and this market is also deregulating."
Number portability allows consumers to retain their existing numbers when switching to another telecoms provider, thus enhancing choice and convenience, and making for a more competitive market.
Usman Saadat, URCA's head of policy and regulation, said in a statement: "Number portability is one of the last significant barriers to competition and has several benefits, including enabling service provider choice, convenience to customers, and avoids having to inform friends, family and business contacts about a number change.'
URCA said that while the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) and Systems Resource Group (SRG), via IndiGo Networks, were the major fixed-line providers currently, there was the possibility of extra competition from Cable Bahamas and IP Solutions International. And number portability would become even more important when BTC's cellular exclusivity expired in two years' time.
Cable Bahamas is pushing number portability because of its impending entrance into the fixed-line market via its 100 per cent purchase of SRG, which is now awaiting regulatory approval. URCA yesterday extended the deadline for sector and public feedback on the proposed Cable Bahamas/SRG merger from Friday, October 1, to next Tuesday, October 5. Views have already been expressed that the deal could be "anticompetitive" and have a detrimental impact on the Bahamian market.
Edison Sumner, IP Solutions International's president, told Tribune Business that the planned merger, which would create a 'Triple Play' provider of communications services in the areas of Internet, video, data and voice traffic, could impact the maintenance of a 'level playing field' in the telecommunications industry.
"I think it will have an impact on the market, and issue like a level playing field and competition," Mr Sumner said. "Frankly, I think the deal is going to be anti-competitive to the market. I have similar concerns about the BTC deal [privatisation]."
The opposition from rival telecoms players, especially smaller ones and start-ups such as IP Solutions International, is both predictable and understandable, since they will fear the merged entity - together with a privatised BTC - will have enough market share, economies of scale and power to force out all rival operators. Both Cable Bahamas/SRG and BTC have their own infrastructure and networks, a priceless advantage, since other operators will either be forced to finance their own or rent/lease from the two incumbents.
Market observers have already privately told Tribune Business that Cable Bahamas' decision to formally consummate its marriage with SRG, something that has been in the making for five-six years, seems to presume that the Bahamian communications market will effectively evolve into a duopoly, dominated by the merged entity and BTC at the expense of all others.
Indeed, Cable Bahamas has made no secret of its desire to obtain a cellular licence when that sector is opened post-privatisation, something that would further a duopoly position if granted. And, if Cable & Wireless becomes the privatisation partner for BTC, it will bring its video/TV offering to that company, positioning the two 'incumbents' to truly go head-to-head. Whether this happens at the expense of increased competition from rival operators is likely to weight heavily in URCA's deliberations, with the regulator also having to take into account whether the Bahamas' relatively small 300,000-350,000 population can sustain more than just Cable Bahamas/SRG and BTC. One source suggested that Cable Bahamas' decision to move now on executing the call option to acquire SRG indicated it was extremely confident that it would pass all URCA's Significant Market Power (SMP) obligations in short order. This requires it to complete the accounting separation for all its business lines, in addition to splitting off - or unbundling - its cable TV offering from its Internet business.
Last key barrier to competition
Responding to the Utilities Regulation & Competition Authority's (URCA) survey release, Anthony Butler, Cable Bahamas' president and chief executive, said the Bahamas was now following number portability trends established in other markets that had deregulated.
"It's good for the consumer, and consumers tend to be identified by their phone numbers now," Mr Butler told Tribune Business. "It's more of a personal phone now. It follows the trends in other deregulated markets, and this market is also deregulating."
Number portability allows consumers to retain their existing numbers when switching to another telecoms provider, thus enhancing choice and convenience, and making for a more competitive market.
Usman Saadat, URCA's head of policy and regulation, said in a statement: "Number portability is one of the last significant barriers to competition and has several benefits, including enabling service provider choice, convenience to customers, and avoids having to inform friends, family and business contacts about a number change.'
URCA said that while the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) and Systems Resource Group (SRG), via IndiGo Networks, were the major fixed-line providers currently, there was the possibility of extra competition from Cable Bahamas and IP Solutions International. And number portability would become even more important when BTC's cellular exclusivity expired in two years' time.
Cable Bahamas is pushing number portability because of its impending entrance into the fixed-line market via its 100 per cent purchase of SRG, which is now awaiting regulatory approval. URCA yesterday extended the deadline for sector and public feedback on the proposed Cable Bahamas/SRG merger from Friday, October 1, to next Tuesday, October 5. Views have already been expressed that the deal could be "anticompetitive" and have a detrimental impact on the Bahamian market.
Edison Sumner, IP Solutions International's president, told Tribune Business that the planned merger, which would create a 'Triple Play' provider of communications services in the areas of Internet, video, data and voice traffic, could impact the maintenance of a 'level playing field' in the telecommunications industry.
"I think it will have an impact on the market, and issue like a level playing field and competition," Mr Sumner said. "Frankly, I think the deal is going to be anti-competitive to the market. I have similar concerns about the BTC deal [privatisation]."
The opposition from rival telecoms players, especially smaller ones and start-ups such as IP Solutions International, is both predictable and understandable, since they will fear the merged entity - together with a privatised BTC - will have enough market share, economies of scale and power to force out all rival operators. Both Cable Bahamas/SRG and BTC have their own infrastructure and networks, a priceless advantage, since other operators will either be forced to finance their own or rent/lease from the two incumbents.
Market observers have already privately told Tribune Business that Cable Bahamas' decision to formally consummate its marriage with SRG, something that has been in the making for five-six years, seems to presume that the Bahamian communications market will effectively evolve into a duopoly, dominated by the merged entity and BTC at the expense of all others.
Indeed, Cable Bahamas has made no secret of its desire to obtain a cellular licence when that sector is opened post-privatisation, something that would further a duopoly position if granted. And, if Cable & Wireless becomes the privatisation partner for BTC, it will bring its video/TV offering to that company, positioning the two 'incumbents' to truly go head-to-head. Whether this happens at the expense of increased competition from rival operators is likely to weight heavily in URCA's deliberations, with the regulator also having to take into account whether the Bahamas' relatively small 300,000-350,000 population can sustain more than just Cable Bahamas/SRG and BTC. One source suggested that Cable Bahamas' decision to move now on executing the call option to acquire SRG indicated it was extremely confident that it would pass all URCA's Significant Market Power (SMP) obligations in short order. This requires it to complete the accounting separation for all its business lines, in addition to splitting off - or unbundling - its cable TV offering from its Internet business.
Last key barrier to competition
East Africa - The domestic price war has now turned to selected international prices
[business daily africa] The battle for control of mobile telephony market has moved across the borders as the operators cut international tariffs in the race to attract and retain subscribers.
Zain Kenya threw the first salvo on Friday by reducing its international tariffs by 70 per cent to three shillings per minute.
Essar Yu followed suit on Tuesday with a 98 per cent drop to Sh2.50 a minute.
These rates apply to calls to the US, China, Canada and India—which accounts for the largest international traffic.
The operators have made minimal cuts to traffic heading to Europe and Africa.
Telcos price battle spreads across borders
Zain Kenya threw the first salvo on Friday by reducing its international tariffs by 70 per cent to three shillings per minute.
Essar Yu followed suit on Tuesday with a 98 per cent drop to Sh2.50 a minute.
These rates apply to calls to the US, China, Canada and India—which accounts for the largest international traffic.
The operators have made minimal cuts to traffic heading to Europe and Africa.
Telcos price battle spreads across borders
Kosovo - Regulatory has been removing Telekom Srbija equipment from central and southern Kosovo because it is unlicensed
[examiner.com] The Kosovo Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications has been removing Telekom Srbija transmitters in central and southern Kosovo over the weekend, claiming that the Serbian business does not have a liscence to operate in Kosovo. Director of the Kosovo Regulatory Agency for Telecommunications Ekrem Hoxha stated that radio-communication equipment was "...'destroyed at 23 sites, which were owned by illegal operators [Telekom Srbija and] Mobilne Telefonije Srbije.... The main goal of this campaign was to turn off mobile phone connections that still broadcast signals from Serbia.'" This operation has left some 80,000 Kosovo-Serbs without a cell phone and a few thousand without a working landline. In April, similar activites took place around Gracanica.
Telekom Srbija Chief for Kosovo and Metohija Ilija Ivanovic stated that the "...'current situation is that central Kosovo is without mobile service, [but] landlines have not been destroyed yet. The [Serb] enclaves of Strpce and Brezovica have no mobile phone service, and we have learned that they have moved to sever landlines as well.'" Telekom Srbija has rejected accusations that it is operating illegally in Kosovo, stating that the company "...'works in line with (UNSC) Resolution 1244.'" While in Sombor, Serbian President Boris Tadic told reporters that "'[w]e are convinced that the state-owned carrier has all the rights and licenses necessary for its operation, properly obtained in the second half of the nineties.'" Tadic added that these actions undertaken by Pristina are "...'a new kind of provocation'" and that "...'we are making every attempt to prevent such provocations and to re-enable telecommunication systems...[for] all citizens living in Kosovo, regardless of ethnicity.'"
All of this comes at a time when Belgrade and Pristina are planning to meet to work on all technical issues, in accordance to the recent passing of Serbia's resolution on Kosovo by the United Nations General Assembly, written with the European Union and supported by the United States. Serbian State Secretary for Kosovo and Metohija Oliver Ivanovic stated that "...'spirits are being stirred at the very moment we are trying to find a way for delegations from Belgrade and Pristina to meet and do something constructive.'" Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac commented on this as well, stating that "...'there is someone who does not want the talks to start with positive energy, but wants to create an atmosphere of tension, an atmosphere in which the exchange of negative energy would be the only possible way'" to begin.
Telekom Srbija has reported that as of today, operations against its property have stopped, and that no telecommunications towers north of the Ibar River have been touched. The company said it will restore all towers as soon as it is allowed to do so without the threat of arrest towards its workers by Kosovo Police.
Kosovo destroys Serbian telecommunication towers; 80,000 without working phones
Telekom Srbija Chief for Kosovo and Metohija Ilija Ivanovic stated that the "...'current situation is that central Kosovo is without mobile service, [but] landlines have not been destroyed yet. The [Serb] enclaves of Strpce and Brezovica have no mobile phone service, and we have learned that they have moved to sever landlines as well.'" Telekom Srbija has rejected accusations that it is operating illegally in Kosovo, stating that the company "...'works in line with (UNSC) Resolution 1244.'" While in Sombor, Serbian President Boris Tadic told reporters that "'[w]e are convinced that the state-owned carrier has all the rights and licenses necessary for its operation, properly obtained in the second half of the nineties.'" Tadic added that these actions undertaken by Pristina are "...'a new kind of provocation'" and that "...'we are making every attempt to prevent such provocations and to re-enable telecommunication systems...[for] all citizens living in Kosovo, regardless of ethnicity.'"
All of this comes at a time when Belgrade and Pristina are planning to meet to work on all technical issues, in accordance to the recent passing of Serbia's resolution on Kosovo by the United Nations General Assembly, written with the European Union and supported by the United States. Serbian State Secretary for Kosovo and Metohija Oliver Ivanovic stated that "...'spirits are being stirred at the very moment we are trying to find a way for delegations from Belgrade and Pristina to meet and do something constructive.'" Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac commented on this as well, stating that "...'there is someone who does not want the talks to start with positive energy, but wants to create an atmosphere of tension, an atmosphere in which the exchange of negative energy would be the only possible way'" to begin.
Telekom Srbija has reported that as of today, operations against its property have stopped, and that no telecommunications towers north of the Ibar River have been touched. The company said it will restore all towers as soon as it is allowed to do so without the threat of arrest towards its workers by Kosovo Police.
Kosovo destroys Serbian telecommunication towers; 80,000 without working phones
Chile - Eight times as many mobile as fixed phones, with continuing strong growth of mobile
[wsj] There are about eight times more cell phones in Chile than residential land lines, according to the Telecommunications Secretariat.
The number of cell phones in Chile has sharply increased in recent years -- to the tune of 12.4% average annual growth over the last five years -- as rates dropped on fierce competition between the country's cell providers. But the number of fixed land lines has retreated 0.4% since 2005.
As of June this year, there were 17.6 million cell phones in the Andean nation and 2.18 million residential land lines, the Telecommunications Secretariat said.
Chile has an estimated population of 17.1 million inhabitants, according to the national statistics institute, INE.
The local unit of Spain's Telefonica Moviles SA (TEM), Movistar, is the country's largest cell provider, with Entel PCS, a unit of Entel (ENTEL.SN) coming in second. Claro, owned by Mexico's America Movil (AMX) is third, and Nextel holds a minority stake in the local wireless phone service market.
About 8 Times More Cell Phones In Chile Than Home Land Lines
The number of cell phones in Chile has sharply increased in recent years -- to the tune of 12.4% average annual growth over the last five years -- as rates dropped on fierce competition between the country's cell providers. But the number of fixed land lines has retreated 0.4% since 2005.
As of June this year, there were 17.6 million cell phones in the Andean nation and 2.18 million residential land lines, the Telecommunications Secretariat said.
Chile has an estimated population of 17.1 million inhabitants, according to the national statistics institute, INE.
The local unit of Spain's Telefonica Moviles SA (TEM), Movistar, is the country's largest cell provider, with Entel PCS, a unit of Entel (ENTEL.SN) coming in second. Claro, owned by Mexico's America Movil (AMX) is third, and Nextel holds a minority stake in the local wireless phone service market.
About 8 Times More Cell Phones In Chile Than Home Land Lines
Angola - Minister has raised questions to clarify limits, conducts, rights, obligations and duties of market players
[anglop] The Angolan minister of Telecommunication and Information Technologies, José Carvalho da Rocha, Tuesday in Luanda, spoke of the need for clarification of the limits, conducts and rights, obligations and duties of the various actors of the sector.
José Carvalho da Rocha was speaking at a seminar on Telecommunications White Book and the normative framework adopted by the Government.
According to him, the White Books enables the creation of conditions for the establishment and development of the market of mobile services.
The seminar that represents a landmark in the approach of concerned matters will, in addition to the Information and Communication Technologies Policies Book, also discuss other topics.
The Law on principles and fundamental rules on technologies and information society, Law on protection of data in electronic communications, Law on protection of personal data, Regulations on Technologies and information society services, are also to be discussed at the event.
On the occasion, the deputy minister of Telecommunications, Aristides Frederico Safeca, presented the White Book.
Information technologies modernisation under debate
José Carvalho da Rocha was speaking at a seminar on Telecommunications White Book and the normative framework adopted by the Government.
According to him, the White Books enables the creation of conditions for the establishment and development of the market of mobile services.
The seminar that represents a landmark in the approach of concerned matters will, in addition to the Information and Communication Technologies Policies Book, also discuss other topics.
The Law on principles and fundamental rules on technologies and information society, Law on protection of data in electronic communications, Law on protection of personal data, Regulations on Technologies and information society services, are also to be discussed at the event.
On the occasion, the deputy minister of Telecommunications, Aristides Frederico Safeca, presented the White Book.
Information technologies modernisation under debate
Europe - EC has announced EUR 780 million boost for strategic ICT research and development
[ec] The European Commission has today announced one of the biggest calls ever for information and communications technology (ICT) research proposals under the EU's research framework programmes. The announcement was made at Europe's largest event for ICT research and innovation, ICT 2010-Digitally Driven. It will result in project funding of € 780 million in 2011. This funding will advance research on the future internet, robotics, smart and embedded systems, photonics, ICT for energy efficiency, health and well-being in an ageing society, and more. Under the Digital Agenda for Europe, the Commission has committed to maintaining the pace of a 20% yearly increase of the annual ICT R&D budget at least until 2013.
Digital Agenda: European Commission announces €780 million boost for strategic ICT research
Digital Agenda: European Commission announces €780 million boost for strategic ICT research
TeliaSonera - Mobile broadband prices are being steeply tiered for speeds of 10 and 80 Mbps
[fierce wireless] Having initially offered discounted rates to users wanting access to LTE data services, TeliaSonera believes it can now charge a hefty premium for the higher 4G speeds as it continues to ramp up its network deployment.
The company said that it will now charge 599 Swedish kronor (US$87) per month for new subscribers to its 'Total 4G' service that will provide access speeds of between 10Mbps and 80Mbps. This rate compares to 269 kronor for TeliaSonera's most expensive 3G subscription.
For existing 3G subscribers, the company is offering an upgrade to the Total 4G plan for 100 kronor per month, but not at full LTE speeds. Subscribers to its Mellan (Medium) package will be charged 299 kronor for speeds between 5Mbps and 10Mbps with 10GB of download data, while subscribers to Stor (Large) will pay 369 kronor for speeds between 10Mbps and 20Mbps and 20GB of data.
Erik Hallberg, head of mobility services at TeliaSonera, said that the company was also investigating how it could use and charge for the QoS features supported by LTE. The first offers would most likely be aimed at enterprises, said Hallberg, so as to provide them with same kind of software level agreements they currently have on fixed networks.
The TeliaSonera exec said that the Samsung GT-B3730 was the only multimode LTE USB modem currently available, although he expected other vendors to start shipping LTE modems early next year.
By the end of this year, TeliaSonera said it would be providing LTE coverage to 28 cities, and during 2011 the number should further increase to nearly 230.
http://www.fiercewireless.com/europe/story/teliasonera-charge-heavy-premium-lte/2010-09-24TeliaSonera to charge heavy premium for LTE
The company said that it will now charge 599 Swedish kronor (US$87) per month for new subscribers to its 'Total 4G' service that will provide access speeds of between 10Mbps and 80Mbps. This rate compares to 269 kronor for TeliaSonera's most expensive 3G subscription.
For existing 3G subscribers, the company is offering an upgrade to the Total 4G plan for 100 kronor per month, but not at full LTE speeds. Subscribers to its Mellan (Medium) package will be charged 299 kronor for speeds between 5Mbps and 10Mbps with 10GB of download data, while subscribers to Stor (Large) will pay 369 kronor for speeds between 10Mbps and 20Mbps and 20GB of data.
Erik Hallberg, head of mobility services at TeliaSonera, said that the company was also investigating how it could use and charge for the QoS features supported by LTE. The first offers would most likely be aimed at enterprises, said Hallberg, so as to provide them with same kind of software level agreements they currently have on fixed networks.
The TeliaSonera exec said that the Samsung GT-B3730 was the only multimode LTE USB modem currently available, although he expected other vendors to start shipping LTE modems early next year.
By the end of this year, TeliaSonera said it would be providing LTE coverage to 28 cities, and during 2011 the number should further increase to nearly 230.
http://www.fiercewireless.com/europe/story/teliasonera-charge-heavy-premium-lte/2010-09-24TeliaSonera to charge heavy premium for LTE
LTE - Calls for the re-assignment of the 450 MHz band to allows its use for LTE, with its long range
[rethink] In the quest for new spectrum, especially in the low bands that support cost effective rural coverage, 450MHz has remained surprisingly neglected. The former analog mobile frequencies have been used in some countries, mainly in parts of Asia, Latin America and eastern Europe, for rural 3G, but have remained non-mainstream. Now six carriers want to make eastern Europe a hotbed of 450MHz activity, proposing a harmonized regional deployment of LTE that could allow them to leapfrog other cellcos and countries, in terms of rapid and affordable 4G roll-out.
The initiative is spearheaded by six cellcos which already operate 450MHz networks using the only technology commercialized for the band, CDMA450 (there are UMTS profiles but they have not been put into mainstream equipment). They hope that they will be able to refarm their CDMA spectrum for an early leap into LTE, especially where their home regulators are not planning auctions in other bands, such as digital dividend, for some years. They have applied to the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) and their individual national regulators for permission to use the 450MHz band for LTE.
The eastern European operators are SkyLink of Russia, Triatel of Latvia, Diallog of Belarus, Ufon of Czech Republic and Telemobil of Romania and they are joined by G-Mobile of Mongolia. Also submitting opinions are Russian heavyweights VimpelCom and MegaFon, both of which would be likely to oppose rivals gaining any LTE spectrum advantage, but could look to form partnerships for rural coverage. Both giants operate in Russia and several neighboring countries in eastern Europe and central Asia.
If successful, the sextet would likely be joined by other operators in the region and this could create a sufficiently large bloc of harmonized deployment to draw equipment vendors to design affordable kit and devices for the band.
According to Tina Radford, chair of the International 450 Association (IA450), migration to LTE will be the best option for CDMA450 carriers, as with CDMA carriers in other frequencies.
Six operators aim for LTE bloc in 450MHz
The initiative is spearheaded by six cellcos which already operate 450MHz networks using the only technology commercialized for the band, CDMA450 (there are UMTS profiles but they have not been put into mainstream equipment). They hope that they will be able to refarm their CDMA spectrum for an early leap into LTE, especially where their home regulators are not planning auctions in other bands, such as digital dividend, for some years. They have applied to the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) and their individual national regulators for permission to use the 450MHz band for LTE.
The eastern European operators are SkyLink of Russia, Triatel of Latvia, Diallog of Belarus, Ufon of Czech Republic and Telemobil of Romania and they are joined by G-Mobile of Mongolia. Also submitting opinions are Russian heavyweights VimpelCom and MegaFon, both of which would be likely to oppose rivals gaining any LTE spectrum advantage, but could look to form partnerships for rural coverage. Both giants operate in Russia and several neighboring countries in eastern Europe and central Asia.
If successful, the sextet would likely be joined by other operators in the region and this could create a sufficiently large bloc of harmonized deployment to draw equipment vendors to design affordable kit and devices for the band.
According to Tina Radford, chair of the International 450 Association (IA450), migration to LTE will be the best option for CDMA450 carriers, as with CDMA carriers in other frequencies.
Six operators aim for LTE bloc in 450MHz
Undersea cables - Hibernia has added its low latency Global Financial Network to Toronto and Montreal, already connected to USA and to Europe
[subtel] Hibernia Atlantic, the diverse transAtlantic high bandwidth connectivity provider, announces today that Hibernia’s low latency Global Financial Network (GFN) will now directly connect to Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange and the Montreal Exchange, all located in the TMX primary data centre. To celebrate Hibernia’s ultra low latency connectivity, the GFN management team will be at Toronto Stock Exchange tomorrow to open the market.
This network expansion offers secure, direct connections from the TSX into key financial cities throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, including the New Jersey metro area, such as Carteret, Weehawken, Secaucus and Newark, as well as Chicago, Slough, 11 Hanbury, and Telehouse in London and Frankfurt. Unlike other traditional submarine and terrestrial fiber cables, Hibernia GFN’s diverse, low latency capacity can link from Canada directly into the UK and Europe, bypassing New York City and the U.S. entirely. This is a boon for financial companies that require fast and reliable capacity for automated trading.
Built upon 24,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable, the GFN, specifically engineered for the financial sector, has over 100 points of presence throughout North America and Europe. With ultra low latency routes such as sub 10ms Round Trip Delay (RTD) from Toronto to Newark/NJ Metro, Hibernia GFN offers some of the fastest financial routes in the marketplace.
“Hibernia’s innovative GFN enables traders, buy-side, sell-side and exchanges to execute trades faster and more efficiently,” states Bjarni Thorvardarson, CEO of Hibernia Atlantic. “The GFN specializes in delivering high performance networks to the global financial community; this includes ultra low latency routes for fast data delivery and secure and diverse back-up routes in the event of an emergency. Our 24/7 Network Operating Centers located around the globe ensures our customers receive top quality service, all the time.”
Further driving competitive advantages to the financial community, Hibernia Atlantic guarantees rapid installation and network deployment within a 5-day timeframe or one month free, along with guaranteed latency Service Level Agreements.
Hibernia Atlantic’s Global Financial Network (GFN) Now Connects to Toronto Stock Exchange
This network expansion offers secure, direct connections from the TSX into key financial cities throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, including the New Jersey metro area, such as Carteret, Weehawken, Secaucus and Newark, as well as Chicago, Slough, 11 Hanbury, and Telehouse in London and Frankfurt. Unlike other traditional submarine and terrestrial fiber cables, Hibernia GFN’s diverse, low latency capacity can link from Canada directly into the UK and Europe, bypassing New York City and the U.S. entirely. This is a boon for financial companies that require fast and reliable capacity for automated trading.
Built upon 24,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable, the GFN, specifically engineered for the financial sector, has over 100 points of presence throughout North America and Europe. With ultra low latency routes such as sub 10ms Round Trip Delay (RTD) from Toronto to Newark/NJ Metro, Hibernia GFN offers some of the fastest financial routes in the marketplace.
“Hibernia’s innovative GFN enables traders, buy-side, sell-side and exchanges to execute trades faster and more efficiently,” states Bjarni Thorvardarson, CEO of Hibernia Atlantic. “The GFN specializes in delivering high performance networks to the global financial community; this includes ultra low latency routes for fast data delivery and secure and diverse back-up routes in the event of an emergency. Our 24/7 Network Operating Centers located around the globe ensures our customers receive top quality service, all the time.”
Further driving competitive advantages to the financial community, Hibernia Atlantic guarantees rapid installation and network deployment within a 5-day timeframe or one month free, along with guaranteed latency Service Level Agreements.
Hibernia Atlantic’s Global Financial Network (GFN) Now Connects to Toronto Stock Exchange
Uganda - A price war among the mobile operators is driving down the prices - up to 2/3rds reduction
[new vision] ZAIN, MTN and Uganda Telecom yesterday announced a reduction in call rates as the tariff war took a new front in one of Africa’s fiercest telecom markets.Last week, Warid drew first blood by dropping call rates to sh5 per second across all networks.
The move by Warid set the stage for a furious price war as the telecom firms tried to outpace each other.
Yesterday, MTN and UTL declared lower call rates between sh4 to sh5. But Zain quickly outmaneuvered the three by announcing sh3 per second to all networks, including Zain to Zain.
It now means that Zain is the cheapest operator, charging sh180 per minute to all networks. The offer applies to both prepaid and postpaid customers.
Levi Nyakundi, the Zain marketing manager for usage and retention, said the drop was permanent.
“It is a 66% price drop on the most popular tariff plan - Zain Flexi - which has been sh9 on-net and sh11 off-network,” said Nyakundi.
It was expected that Zain, bought by Bharti Airtel, would adopt a drastic pricing model largely on heavily discounted call charges, as happened in Kenya about two months ago, where calls are as cheap as sh81 (Ksh3).
Uganda Telecom had also turned the barrels to the other operators, announcing a rate of sh4 for calls from UTL to UTL and sh5 for calls to other networks.
According to a statement from UTL’s chief marketing officer, Mohamadou Konkobo, UTL customers will now spend a maximum of sh240 to make a call within the network and a maximum of sh300 to call other networks.
On its part, MTN announced a “celebration promotion” at sh3 per second on the per-second billing tariff plan and sh160 for calls within the MTN Yellowmax tariff plan.
Isaac Nsereko, the MTN chief marketing officer, explained that clients on the per-minute plan will pay sh320 per minute for the first 10 minutes of the day. For the rest of the day, calls will cost sh160 within the MTN network.
On the MTN per-second tariff plan, customers will pay sh6 for the first five minutes, then sh3 per second for the rest of the day within the MTN network. Calls from MTN to other networks remain at sh6 per second all day, which remains one of the highest in the market.
It has been a feverish seven days in which telecoms have spied on each other for tariff structures booked with advertising agencies and letters to the regulator, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), with cancellation after cancellation before final tariff plans were agreed upon.
MTN boasts of over 50% of the market share. It means there are still more calls from MTN to MTN. But the telecom giant now faces stiff competition on voice that will be compounded when Bharti adapts its Asian model, where it has over 100 million subscribers.
In a letter to the UCC dated September 28, 2010, the MTN chief executive officer, Themba Khumalo, said the network had introduced the tariff to celebrate its 12 years of existence in Uganda.
“During these 12 years, we have been at the forefront of making telecommunications affordable and accessible,” Khumalo wrote.
Reports indicate that the new MTN tariffs were being launched under the umbrella campaign labelled ‘Yarriba’.
The UCC public relations officer, Isaac Kalembe, said the development is good for the industry.
“(Personally) I think we are moving in the right direction because it is the wish of UCC that the rates are reduced,” said Kalembe.
Analysts also believe this plays into the hands of the consumer who has been paying an exorbitant price compared to other regional markets, largely because of the high interconnection fees.
Zain,Uganda telecom, MTN cut call rates
The move by Warid set the stage for a furious price war as the telecom firms tried to outpace each other.
Yesterday, MTN and UTL declared lower call rates between sh4 to sh5. But Zain quickly outmaneuvered the three by announcing sh3 per second to all networks, including Zain to Zain.
It now means that Zain is the cheapest operator, charging sh180 per minute to all networks. The offer applies to both prepaid and postpaid customers.
Levi Nyakundi, the Zain marketing manager for usage and retention, said the drop was permanent.
“It is a 66% price drop on the most popular tariff plan - Zain Flexi - which has been sh9 on-net and sh11 off-network,” said Nyakundi.
It was expected that Zain, bought by Bharti Airtel, would adopt a drastic pricing model largely on heavily discounted call charges, as happened in Kenya about two months ago, where calls are as cheap as sh81 (Ksh3).
Uganda Telecom had also turned the barrels to the other operators, announcing a rate of sh4 for calls from UTL to UTL and sh5 for calls to other networks.
According to a statement from UTL’s chief marketing officer, Mohamadou Konkobo, UTL customers will now spend a maximum of sh240 to make a call within the network and a maximum of sh300 to call other networks.
On its part, MTN announced a “celebration promotion” at sh3 per second on the per-second billing tariff plan and sh160 for calls within the MTN Yellowmax tariff plan.
Isaac Nsereko, the MTN chief marketing officer, explained that clients on the per-minute plan will pay sh320 per minute for the first 10 minutes of the day. For the rest of the day, calls will cost sh160 within the MTN network.
On the MTN per-second tariff plan, customers will pay sh6 for the first five minutes, then sh3 per second for the rest of the day within the MTN network. Calls from MTN to other networks remain at sh6 per second all day, which remains one of the highest in the market.
It has been a feverish seven days in which telecoms have spied on each other for tariff structures booked with advertising agencies and letters to the regulator, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), with cancellation after cancellation before final tariff plans were agreed upon.
MTN boasts of over 50% of the market share. It means there are still more calls from MTN to MTN. But the telecom giant now faces stiff competition on voice that will be compounded when Bharti adapts its Asian model, where it has over 100 million subscribers.
In a letter to the UCC dated September 28, 2010, the MTN chief executive officer, Themba Khumalo, said the network had introduced the tariff to celebrate its 12 years of existence in Uganda.
“During these 12 years, we have been at the forefront of making telecommunications affordable and accessible,” Khumalo wrote.
Reports indicate that the new MTN tariffs were being launched under the umbrella campaign labelled ‘Yarriba’.
The UCC public relations officer, Isaac Kalembe, said the development is good for the industry.
“(Personally) I think we are moving in the right direction because it is the wish of UCC that the rates are reduced,” said Kalembe.
Analysts also believe this plays into the hands of the consumer who has been paying an exorbitant price compared to other regional markets, largely because of the high interconnection fees.
Zain,Uganda telecom, MTN cut call rates
Mobile - study shows surge in mobile broadband usage will ensure margins are safe
[reuters] New technology and falling equipment prices will sustain profit margins at mobile telecom operators even if data traffic over their networks grows twentyfold, a study said on Tuesday.
Mobile operators in many developed markets face growing investment bills to keep pace with surging data traffic from laptops with data cards and smartphones like Apple's iPhone.
Telecoms consultancy Rewheel said upcoming rollouts of fourth-generation (LTE) mobile networks will enable operators to modernise their entire networks and keep operating profit margins and capital expenditure (capex) to sales ratios steady.
"While the revenue upside potential in mature markets is limited, on the cost side LTE, multimode networks and the falling gear prices open a window of opportunity for substantial savings," the consultancy said.
Rewheel said its study was based on the financial results of an incumbent European mobile network operator and its growth projections for the next five years.
Mobile telecom margins safe in data surge - study
see also Rewheel study
Mobile operators in many developed markets face growing investment bills to keep pace with surging data traffic from laptops with data cards and smartphones like Apple's iPhone.
Telecoms consultancy Rewheel said upcoming rollouts of fourth-generation (LTE) mobile networks will enable operators to modernise their entire networks and keep operating profit margins and capital expenditure (capex) to sales ratios steady.
"While the revenue upside potential in mature markets is limited, on the cost side LTE, multimode networks and the falling gear prices open a window of opportunity for substantial savings," the consultancy said.
Rewheel said its study was based on the financial results of an incumbent European mobile network operator and its growth projections for the next five years.
Mobile telecom margins safe in data surge - study
see also Rewheel study
Bangladesh - Govt is planning to USD millions in fibre ring infrastructure and NGNs
[tmc] The Bangladeshi government as part of its efforts to develop the country's telecommunications sector has taken move to implement seven projects at a cost of nearly 1 billion U.S. dollars, an official said Wednesday.
The telecommunications ministry official told Xinhua that the projects include establishment of a telecommunication network based on next generation networking technology at a cost of 17.25 billion taka (25 million U.S. dollars and broadband wireless network costing 5.49 billion taka (7.84 million U.S. dollars).
He said the projects also include expansion of internet information network involving 2.909 billion taka, introducing 3G network costing 19.09 billion taka, building e-post centers at a cost of 5.97 billion taka and IT-based post offices costing 6.04 billion taka.
The seventh is to develop optical fibre cable networks in 1,000 unions, the lowest tire of local government in Bangladesh, costing 7.59 billion taka, he added.
The official could not tell the time frame for completion of the projects on which the government officials concerned are working.
He, however, said many more projects for developing sector are also under planning stage to help transform Bangladesh into a digital country by 2021 which Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her party's election manifesto in December 2008 pledged.
Bangladesh plans billion-USD projects to develop telecom sector
The telecommunications ministry official told Xinhua that the projects include establishment of a telecommunication network based on next generation networking technology at a cost of 17.25 billion taka (25 million U.S. dollars and broadband wireless network costing 5.49 billion taka (7.84 million U.S. dollars).
He said the projects also include expansion of internet information network involving 2.909 billion taka, introducing 3G network costing 19.09 billion taka, building e-post centers at a cost of 5.97 billion taka and IT-based post offices costing 6.04 billion taka.
The seventh is to develop optical fibre cable networks in 1,000 unions, the lowest tire of local government in Bangladesh, costing 7.59 billion taka, he added.
The official could not tell the time frame for completion of the projects on which the government officials concerned are working.
He, however, said many more projects for developing sector are also under planning stage to help transform Bangladesh into a digital country by 2021 which Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her party's election manifesto in December 2008 pledged.
Bangladesh plans billion-USD projects to develop telecom sector
Russia - Mobile operators claim prices will rise by 10% if parliament forces geographically equal tariffs
[tass] Russia’s Association of Regional Communications Operators said Tuesday that cancellation of nationwide cellular roaming tariffs could result in an average increase of 10% in prices for mobile services in the country.
The association commented on the latest bill prepared by the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. The bill envisages amending the law on communications by making prices for mobile calls from any location within Russia cost an equal amount under a single tariff plan. The party said on September 23 it planned to submit the bill to the Russian parliament.
The party’s suggestion doesn’t take into account the interests of regional mobile operators, which provide cellular services at low prices, the association said.
Also, the suggestion doesn’t take into account Russia’s cellular network structure and contradicts the licensing rules, the association said. Dozens of regional mobile operators do not have nationwide network coverage, so they have no means of legally providing services to roaming subscribers without charging them roaming tariffs, as these operators have to buy roaming traffic from federal operators, the association said. Operators that have only partial network coverage in Russia provide mobile services to more than 40 million subscribers, the association added. The total number of mobile subscribers in Russia, as measured by the number of valid SIM cards, amounted to 216.4 million as of late August, according to estimates from Advanced Communications and Media (AC&M).
The association comprises about 30 mobile and fixed-line operators in Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Regional cell cos see 10% price hike if nationwide roaming canceled
The association commented on the latest bill prepared by the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. The bill envisages amending the law on communications by making prices for mobile calls from any location within Russia cost an equal amount under a single tariff plan. The party said on September 23 it planned to submit the bill to the Russian parliament.
The party’s suggestion doesn’t take into account the interests of regional mobile operators, which provide cellular services at low prices, the association said.
Also, the suggestion doesn’t take into account Russia’s cellular network structure and contradicts the licensing rules, the association said. Dozens of regional mobile operators do not have nationwide network coverage, so they have no means of legally providing services to roaming subscribers without charging them roaming tariffs, as these operators have to buy roaming traffic from federal operators, the association said. Operators that have only partial network coverage in Russia provide mobile services to more than 40 million subscribers, the association added. The total number of mobile subscribers in Russia, as measured by the number of valid SIM cards, amounted to 216.4 million as of late August, according to estimates from Advanced Communications and Media (AC&M).
The association comprises about 30 mobile and fixed-line operators in Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Regional cell cos see 10% price hike if nationwide roaming canceled
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
India - CBI has reported its investigation into spectrum as "very complex"
[sify] The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has told the Supreme Court that its investigations into the 'very complex and vastly spread' 2G spectrum scam were being carried out in right earnest.
The agency also filed a status report on the probe carried out by it so far. The status report was presented in a sealed cover to the court's registry.
The CBI affidavit was filed Friday by Deputy Inspector General of Police Suresh Kumar Palsania.
Seeking the dismissal of the petition by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), the CBI said it was involved a deep probe into a very complex issue related to allegations of corruption in the allotment of 2G spectrum.
The CPIL has pleaded for the monitoring of the investigation by the apex court.
The petitioners have alleged that Telecom Minister A. Raja as well as senior officials of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), corporate entities and middlemen were involved in the Rs.70,000 crore scam.
The CBI said that it was carrying out the investigations in a 'fair and impartial manner without showing any partiality to any accused or suspect.'
The investigating agency said that facts disclosed in the status report would reveal that given the 'enormity of material and evidence' would show such investigations requires a tremendous amount of work and are time consuming to arrive at the correct conclusion.
Not submitting a detailed reply to the petition by CPIL, the CBI said that given the 'sensitivity of the entire issue the disclosure of the investigation done so far will create prejudice to the case'.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate too has filed its reply and submitted a status report on the investigations carried out by it.
It said that the disclosure of the facts of its investigations would not be in the interest of ongoing investigations and presented its reply in a sealed cover.
The affidavit filed by directorate's Assistant Director Rajeshwar Singh said that on March 9 it registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The affidavit said that directorate has already initiated investigations for alleged violation of foreign exchange law July 27, 2009 against Loop Telecom Limited and Essar Group.
The directorate said that investigation was initiated on the basis of specific written complaint.
The DoT followed the policy of first come first serve in the allocation of 2G spectrum licences and the cut-off date was arbitrarily changed and the licences were awarded to just 120 of the 575 applicants.
The successful companies were allowed to subsequently sell equity and conduct private auctions to 'garner large sums'.
Seeking the investigation by an independent Special Investigating Team, the petitioners told the court that investigation carried out by the CBI were being scuttled to protect the political and corporate interests.
The petition said that the CBI, which was investigating the case, was more or less a department of the central government and had a 'very bad record in (investigating) politically sensitive cases....'
The court was also told that investigation into 2G spectrum scam was 'extremely politically sensitive' as it had already caused 'huge embarrassment to the central government'.
The entire case, the petition said, involves a 'sitting cabinet minister who belongs to a political party which is supporting the government and without which the government cannot survive'.
The role played by the DoT under Raja has been indicted by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), the CBI, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Directorate General of Income Tax, the petition said.
Probing spectrum scam in right earnest, CBI tells Supreme Court
The agency also filed a status report on the probe carried out by it so far. The status report was presented in a sealed cover to the court's registry.
The CBI affidavit was filed Friday by Deputy Inspector General of Police Suresh Kumar Palsania.
Seeking the dismissal of the petition by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), the CBI said it was involved a deep probe into a very complex issue related to allegations of corruption in the allotment of 2G spectrum.
The CPIL has pleaded for the monitoring of the investigation by the apex court.
The petitioners have alleged that Telecom Minister A. Raja as well as senior officials of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), corporate entities and middlemen were involved in the Rs.70,000 crore scam.
The CBI said that it was carrying out the investigations in a 'fair and impartial manner without showing any partiality to any accused or suspect.'
The investigating agency said that facts disclosed in the status report would reveal that given the 'enormity of material and evidence' would show such investigations requires a tremendous amount of work and are time consuming to arrive at the correct conclusion.
Not submitting a detailed reply to the petition by CPIL, the CBI said that given the 'sensitivity of the entire issue the disclosure of the investigation done so far will create prejudice to the case'.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate too has filed its reply and submitted a status report on the investigations carried out by it.
It said that the disclosure of the facts of its investigations would not be in the interest of ongoing investigations and presented its reply in a sealed cover.
The affidavit filed by directorate's Assistant Director Rajeshwar Singh said that on March 9 it registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The affidavit said that directorate has already initiated investigations for alleged violation of foreign exchange law July 27, 2009 against Loop Telecom Limited and Essar Group.
The directorate said that investigation was initiated on the basis of specific written complaint.
The DoT followed the policy of first come first serve in the allocation of 2G spectrum licences and the cut-off date was arbitrarily changed and the licences were awarded to just 120 of the 575 applicants.
The successful companies were allowed to subsequently sell equity and conduct private auctions to 'garner large sums'.
Seeking the investigation by an independent Special Investigating Team, the petitioners told the court that investigation carried out by the CBI were being scuttled to protect the political and corporate interests.
The petition said that the CBI, which was investigating the case, was more or less a department of the central government and had a 'very bad record in (investigating) politically sensitive cases....'
The court was also told that investigation into 2G spectrum scam was 'extremely politically sensitive' as it had already caused 'huge embarrassment to the central government'.
The entire case, the petition said, involves a 'sitting cabinet minister who belongs to a political party which is supporting the government and without which the government cannot survive'.
The role played by the DoT under Raja has been indicted by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), the CBI, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Directorate General of Income Tax, the petition said.
Probing spectrum scam in right earnest, CBI tells Supreme Court
Lebanon - Calls for action to reform markets including telecommunications to ensure continue growth
[daily star] International Monetary Fund (IMF) representative in Lebanon Eric Mottu urged the Lebanese government on Monday to start with the implementation of reforms in the water, telecom, electricity and transportation sectors to preserve the high growth rates reached in the past few years.
“There have been many plans to address these structural issues and now they should be put into effect,” he said. “So the main message to the Lebanese government today is action, action, action.”
Mottu said that growth will be negatively affected if the government does not deal properly with the reforms needed in the country’s dynamic sectors.
Mottu’s remarks came during the Lebanon Business and Investment Summit 2010 organized by the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL) and the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce. The conference, which was held at the Movenpick Hotel in Beirut, aimed at discussing the investment opportunities in Lebanon in the few coming years.
Mottu said that Lebanon’s performance during the global financial crisis had been remarkable. “The growth rate has been very high due to the political stability and the increase in capital inflows while inflation has remained under control,” he said. However, he cautioned, the debt was still one of the highest but the debt to GDP ratio was decreasing.
Lebanon’s gross public debt will fall to 131.16 percent of gross domestic product in 2010 from an earlier projection of 147.47 percent, figures from the Finance Ministry showed earlier this month.
The figures projected the debt-to-GDP ratio falling to 129.24 percent in 2011. Public debt for 2010 was projected at $51.4 billion, down from an earlier projection of $55 billion.
Mottu said Lebanon was facing many challenges including those related to macroeconomic management. “The government needs to remain prudent when it comes to macroeconomic management by keeping a tight budget in order to avoid jeopardizing the positive economic situation,” he said.
He noted that the monetary policy of the Central Bank needed to continue balancing the accumulation of reserves. “It also needs to control the high cost of these reserves.”
For his part, of Economy and Trade Minister Mohammad Safadi spoke about the measures adopted by the ministry to improve the economic situation in Lebanon and increase its resilience to the financial crisis.
Among the steps taken by the ministry was the adoption of the 2005 consumer protection law which protects consumers’ rights by ensuring the safety and quality of goods and services. “The implementation of this law is being significantly enhanced by the appointment of almost 200 new consumer protection inspectors at the Economy and Trade Ministry,” he said.
Moreover, industrial and agricultural producers can now act against unfair imports after Parliament ratified the law for the Protection of National Production, which is also known as the Trade Remedies Law, he said.
“The implementation of this law has created an inter-ministerial investigative authority which is already receiving and studying petitions for protection. This authority can recommend specific action against any harm, or a threat of harm, that it may find.”
Safadi added that the ministry had reduced the bureaucratic steps necessary to register intellectual property from seven to three, and it had also shortened the time for such a process from 40 to 15 days.
Safadi said Lebanon had benefitted a lot from these measures. “Lebanon has weathered through the global financial crisis with near-complete resilience to any major consequence. At the same time, the economy’s growth rate is forecasted to reach over 6 percent by the end of this year,” he said. “With this, Lebanon can now be counted as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.”
He added that Lebanon registered in 2009 the highest level of foreign direct investment flows into the Middle East, when taken as a percentage of GDP.
However, he emphasized Lebanon’s needs to undertake immediate reforms in sectors such as electricity, water, communications, and transport.
“These needs can easily be translated into lucrative opportunities, which carry the added advantage of being backed by international investment insurance schemes,” he said.
“Examples of an international significance are the Tripoli Special Economic Zone and railway project. These will be based in an area that is strategically located to serve as a regional trade and business hub. The area will connect Lebanon with Syria, Jordan, Turkey, through both Tripoli’s sea port and future railway.”
Other speakers included IDAL chairman Nabil Itani, Chargee d’Affaires at the European Commission Cecile Abadi, managing partner of El-Khoury and Partners Ziad El-Khoury, and chairman of Better Business Group Fadi Saab.
IMF: Lebanon needs to implement reforms in water, electricity, telecom
“There have been many plans to address these structural issues and now they should be put into effect,” he said. “So the main message to the Lebanese government today is action, action, action.”
Mottu said that growth will be negatively affected if the government does not deal properly with the reforms needed in the country’s dynamic sectors.
Mottu’s remarks came during the Lebanon Business and Investment Summit 2010 organized by the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL) and the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce. The conference, which was held at the Movenpick Hotel in Beirut, aimed at discussing the investment opportunities in Lebanon in the few coming years.
Mottu said that Lebanon’s performance during the global financial crisis had been remarkable. “The growth rate has been very high due to the political stability and the increase in capital inflows while inflation has remained under control,” he said. However, he cautioned, the debt was still one of the highest but the debt to GDP ratio was decreasing.
Lebanon’s gross public debt will fall to 131.16 percent of gross domestic product in 2010 from an earlier projection of 147.47 percent, figures from the Finance Ministry showed earlier this month.
The figures projected the debt-to-GDP ratio falling to 129.24 percent in 2011. Public debt for 2010 was projected at $51.4 billion, down from an earlier projection of $55 billion.
Mottu said Lebanon was facing many challenges including those related to macroeconomic management. “The government needs to remain prudent when it comes to macroeconomic management by keeping a tight budget in order to avoid jeopardizing the positive economic situation,” he said.
He noted that the monetary policy of the Central Bank needed to continue balancing the accumulation of reserves. “It also needs to control the high cost of these reserves.”
For his part, of Economy and Trade Minister Mohammad Safadi spoke about the measures adopted by the ministry to improve the economic situation in Lebanon and increase its resilience to the financial crisis.
Among the steps taken by the ministry was the adoption of the 2005 consumer protection law which protects consumers’ rights by ensuring the safety and quality of goods and services. “The implementation of this law is being significantly enhanced by the appointment of almost 200 new consumer protection inspectors at the Economy and Trade Ministry,” he said.
Moreover, industrial and agricultural producers can now act against unfair imports after Parliament ratified the law for the Protection of National Production, which is also known as the Trade Remedies Law, he said.
“The implementation of this law has created an inter-ministerial investigative authority which is already receiving and studying petitions for protection. This authority can recommend specific action against any harm, or a threat of harm, that it may find.”
Safadi added that the ministry had reduced the bureaucratic steps necessary to register intellectual property from seven to three, and it had also shortened the time for such a process from 40 to 15 days.
Safadi said Lebanon had benefitted a lot from these measures. “Lebanon has weathered through the global financial crisis with near-complete resilience to any major consequence. At the same time, the economy’s growth rate is forecasted to reach over 6 percent by the end of this year,” he said. “With this, Lebanon can now be counted as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.”
He added that Lebanon registered in 2009 the highest level of foreign direct investment flows into the Middle East, when taken as a percentage of GDP.
However, he emphasized Lebanon’s needs to undertake immediate reforms in sectors such as electricity, water, communications, and transport.
“These needs can easily be translated into lucrative opportunities, which carry the added advantage of being backed by international investment insurance schemes,” he said.
“Examples of an international significance are the Tripoli Special Economic Zone and railway project. These will be based in an area that is strategically located to serve as a regional trade and business hub. The area will connect Lebanon with Syria, Jordan, Turkey, through both Tripoli’s sea port and future railway.”
Other speakers included IDAL chairman Nabil Itani, Chargee d’Affaires at the European Commission Cecile Abadi, managing partner of El-Khoury and Partners Ziad El-Khoury, and chairman of Better Business Group Fadi Saab.
IMF: Lebanon needs to implement reforms in water, electricity, telecom
India - telecom equipment security procedures could be a key issue in the visit by President Obama in November
[security infowatch] India's increasingly rigorous telecom equipment security procedures could be one of key business agendas of US President Barack Obama, during his November visit.
According to sources, the US government held an emergency meeting in Washington in the last 48 hours with vendors on this issue, displaying the level of discomfort of US firms with the Indian government's handling of its perceived security risks surrounding telecom equipment sourced from foreign vendors.
Equipment manufacturers and software providers are largely in consensus that the current system is ill conceived , leaving firms like Cisco, Oracle, IBM, Microsoft , Intel, HP, Alcatel-Lucent , Ericsson, Nokia-Siemens , Juniper, and others badly scarred.
This is the fallout of the Indian government's imposition of procedural restrictions without any open, transparent consultation process with the industry. Further, the engagement has shifted from the DoT to the home ministry for the first time, which is interpreted as an abdication by DoT of its direct responsibility. The correct course would have involved the DoT referring the matter to Trai before amending the licences. Trai itself, also failed to issue a consultation paper in this matter sumo moto, indicating all round failure in governance.
Global firms believe the current system is at variance with international best practice and needs to be brought under the US-India Information and Communications Technology (ICT) dialogue. They fear that this flawed procedure will influence procurement first in other sectors and later in other countries which could become an insurmountable problem for them.
Trouble began in December 2009 when the DoT issued amendments in telecom licences , mandating prior security clearance before ordering equipment/software for deployment. The trigger for this was national security concerns in the wake of growing usage of price competitive Chinese equipment in telecom networks. Overnight , licence conditions were changed in disregard of the established legislative process of consulting Trai and holding industry-wide consultation. This brought telecom procurement to a screeching halt. Piecemeal industry consultations met with negligible success with DoT shifting the onus to MHA and vice versa.
India's telecom equipment security may be key agenda during Obama visit
According to sources, the US government held an emergency meeting in Washington in the last 48 hours with vendors on this issue, displaying the level of discomfort of US firms with the Indian government's handling of its perceived security risks surrounding telecom equipment sourced from foreign vendors.
Equipment manufacturers and software providers are largely in consensus that the current system is ill conceived , leaving firms like Cisco, Oracle, IBM, Microsoft , Intel, HP, Alcatel-Lucent , Ericsson, Nokia-Siemens , Juniper, and others badly scarred.
This is the fallout of the Indian government's imposition of procedural restrictions without any open, transparent consultation process with the industry. Further, the engagement has shifted from the DoT to the home ministry for the first time, which is interpreted as an abdication by DoT of its direct responsibility. The correct course would have involved the DoT referring the matter to Trai before amending the licences. Trai itself, also failed to issue a consultation paper in this matter sumo moto, indicating all round failure in governance.
Global firms believe the current system is at variance with international best practice and needs to be brought under the US-India Information and Communications Technology (ICT) dialogue. They fear that this flawed procedure will influence procurement first in other sectors and later in other countries which could become an insurmountable problem for them.
Trouble began in December 2009 when the DoT issued amendments in telecom licences , mandating prior security clearance before ordering equipment/software for deployment. The trigger for this was national security concerns in the wake of growing usage of price competitive Chinese equipment in telecom networks. Overnight , licence conditions were changed in disregard of the established legislative process of consulting Trai and holding industry-wide consultation. This brought telecom procurement to a screeching halt. Piecemeal industry consultations met with negligible success with DoT shifting the onus to MHA and vice versa.
India's telecom equipment security may be key agenda during Obama visit
Algeria - Govt has apparently made more demands of Djezzy, causing Orascom shares to fall
[bloomberg] Orascom Telecom Holding SAE, the biggest mobile-phone operator in the Middle East by users, dropped the most in 11 weeks after Reuters reported new back-tax demands by the Algerian government on the company’s local unit.
Shares of Orascom fell 2 percent to 5.29 Egyptian pounds at the 2:30 p.m. close in Cairo, the biggest decline since July 12, valuing the company at 27.7 billion pounds ($4.86 billion).
Algeria’s Telecommunication Ministry denied the report, which cited unnamed people in industry and government, Al Arabiya television said after the market closed, also citing unidentified people.
Officials at Algeria’s central bank and Ministry of Finance weren’t immediately available for comment. Manal Abdel-Hamid, spokeswoman for Orascom Telecom, declined to comment.
“The Algeria issue clearly affected Orascom’s stock today,” said Ahmed Alseesi, deputy manager of the international desk sales department at Cairo-based Prime Holding. “We need more transparency from the government there.”
Orascom Falls Most in 11 Weeks on Report of Algeria Back Taxes
Shares of Orascom fell 2 percent to 5.29 Egyptian pounds at the 2:30 p.m. close in Cairo, the biggest decline since July 12, valuing the company at 27.7 billion pounds ($4.86 billion).
Algeria’s Telecommunication Ministry denied the report, which cited unnamed people in industry and government, Al Arabiya television said after the market closed, also citing unidentified people.
Officials at Algeria’s central bank and Ministry of Finance weren’t immediately available for comment. Manal Abdel-Hamid, spokeswoman for Orascom Telecom, declined to comment.
“The Algeria issue clearly affected Orascom’s stock today,” said Ahmed Alseesi, deputy manager of the international desk sales department at Cairo-based Prime Holding. “We need more transparency from the government there.”
Orascom Falls Most in 11 Weeks on Report of Algeria Back Taxes
Kosovo - Govt has received five bids for the 75% of the state-owned operator including Deutsche Telekom
[reuters] Kosovo government said it has received five bids from foreign companies interested in buying 75 percent of its state-owned telecom company, the ministry of economy and finance said in a statement on Monday.
Deutsche Telekom through its partner in Croatia, Orascom Telecom from Egypt, Turk Telecom and Calik Group through their partner AlbTelecom from Albania, Telekom Austria and Yemeni mobile operator SabaFon are bidding for Kosovo telecom, the statement said.
Kosovo plans to conclude the sale of its telecom in December. Last year, PTK, which also provides internet services. won the contract to be the fourth mobile operator in neighbouring Albania but has not started operating.
Minister of Economy and Finance Ahmet Shala said that the government was hoping to get 300-600 million euros from the sale.
Kosovo telecom is has around one million mobile and 100,000 landline customers.
Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, has no country code and international calls go through Monaco, Serbia and Slovenia.
Kosovo receives five bids for telecom sale
Deutsche Telekom through its partner in Croatia, Orascom Telecom from Egypt, Turk Telecom and Calik Group through their partner AlbTelecom from Albania, Telekom Austria and Yemeni mobile operator SabaFon are bidding for Kosovo telecom, the statement said.
Kosovo plans to conclude the sale of its telecom in December. Last year, PTK, which also provides internet services. won the contract to be the fourth mobile operator in neighbouring Albania but has not started operating.
Minister of Economy and Finance Ahmet Shala said that the government was hoping to get 300-600 million euros from the sale.
Kosovo telecom is has around one million mobile and 100,000 landline customers.
Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, has no country code and international calls go through Monaco, Serbia and Slovenia.
Kosovo receives five bids for telecom sale
Monday, September 27, 2010
Zimbabwe - a boom in mobile telecommunications following the creation of the coalition govt
[rfi] Zimbabwe is experiencing a boom in mobile telecommunications following the formation of the power-sharing government there 19 months ago. Already around four per cent of the country's 12 million people are thought to own a cell phone line, up from nine per cent a year and a half ago.
Zimbabwe’s cell phone culture has come a long way in just over a year; 20 months ago the worst thing about getting your cell phone stolen was that you'd lost the line.
Sim cards were scarce and cost up to 200 US dollars to replace. Now the telecommunications industry is booming: you can buy a Sim card for as little as one or two dollars in a supermarket.
Cell phone penetration is predicted to reach 11 million in two years’ time. That means almost everybody in this country of around 12 million people could have a line.
Econet, the biggest local cell phone company, said Sunday it had invested one billion US dollars in an aggressive expansion drive since 2008.
But foreign investors are still wary about partnering with Zimbabwean phone companies.
The state-run Net-One cellphone company is struggling to lure investors. Company Director Reward Kangai says investors want shares at knock-down prices because of lingering fears about doing business in politically-fragile Zimbabwe.
Mobile phone use soars in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s cell phone culture has come a long way in just over a year; 20 months ago the worst thing about getting your cell phone stolen was that you'd lost the line.
Sim cards were scarce and cost up to 200 US dollars to replace. Now the telecommunications industry is booming: you can buy a Sim card for as little as one or two dollars in a supermarket.
Cell phone penetration is predicted to reach 11 million in two years’ time. That means almost everybody in this country of around 12 million people could have a line.
Econet, the biggest local cell phone company, said Sunday it had invested one billion US dollars in an aggressive expansion drive since 2008.
But foreign investors are still wary about partnering with Zimbabwean phone companies.
The state-run Net-One cellphone company is struggling to lure investors. Company Director Reward Kangai says investors want shares at knock-down prices because of lingering fears about doing business in politically-fragile Zimbabwe.
Mobile phone use soars in Zimbabwe
Singapore - Widespread adoption of cloud applications, including SMEs and plans for more
[istockanalyst] Pacnet, Asia's leading business telecommunications service provider, today released its 2010 Broadband Barometer survey findings for Singapore, which showed a high percentage of hosted applications usage among Singapore small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and a growing sophistication in their planned hosted application usage.
The survey found that hosted security applications were the most popular category of hosted applications among Singapore SMEs, with 9 out of 10 SMEs having deployed at least one hosted security application in 2010. Among the security applications deployed, 89% of SMEs had deployed a hosted firewall or intrusion detection solution.
Interestingly, while the survey found that 29% of SMEs have deployed at least one hosted business application, 32% more indicated their intention to deploy a hosted business application next year. Other hosted applications that SMEs indicated their interest in deploying next year include server virtualization, which was flagged by 43% of SMEs, and 35% said they will deploy hosted data backup solutions next year.
"The high adoption rate of hosted solutions certainly validates the trend that we are seeing in the demand for hosted applications," noted Jacques Grezaud, Managing Director, Pacnet Singapore and Indonesia. "More importantly, many SMEs have indicated their intention to adopt more advanced hosted applications, indicating to us that a significant number SMEs here are ready to move 'into the cloud' to realize the benefits that include a low upfront investment and pay-per-use pricing."
"We have definitely seen increased adoption of ICT applications among our members, especially among those who have been expanding their businesses beyond Singapore," said Stephen Lim, Technology Committee Chairman, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI). "SMEs are recognizing that deploying new hosted applications need not be complex or expensive, but yet, have a positive impact on their businesses. However, their challenge remains with the evaluation and selection of suitable solution and vendors."
Findings from the Pacnet Broadband Barometer also revealed that Internet access is now ubiquitous among SMEs in Singapore -- with 95% of businesses with 5 to 999 employees having Internet access. According to AMI Partners, these SMEs (5-999 employees) in Singapore are expected to spend in excess of US$138 million (S$193 million) on Internet access in 2010, and the majority of this is expected to be on broadband Internet access.
The study has also reported a continued rise in the adoption of higher Internet speeds by companies of all sizes. Compared to a similar study conducted by Pacnet in 2006 where the most common connection speed was 512 Kbps, the latest study found that the most common connection speed has moved up to the 2 to 10 Mbps category.
Singapore Businesses Embracing Applications in the Cloud
The survey found that hosted security applications were the most popular category of hosted applications among Singapore SMEs, with 9 out of 10 SMEs having deployed at least one hosted security application in 2010. Among the security applications deployed, 89% of SMEs had deployed a hosted firewall or intrusion detection solution.
Interestingly, while the survey found that 29% of SMEs have deployed at least one hosted business application, 32% more indicated their intention to deploy a hosted business application next year. Other hosted applications that SMEs indicated their interest in deploying next year include server virtualization, which was flagged by 43% of SMEs, and 35% said they will deploy hosted data backup solutions next year.
"The high adoption rate of hosted solutions certainly validates the trend that we are seeing in the demand for hosted applications," noted Jacques Grezaud, Managing Director, Pacnet Singapore and Indonesia. "More importantly, many SMEs have indicated their intention to adopt more advanced hosted applications, indicating to us that a significant number SMEs here are ready to move 'into the cloud' to realize the benefits that include a low upfront investment and pay-per-use pricing."
"We have definitely seen increased adoption of ICT applications among our members, especially among those who have been expanding their businesses beyond Singapore," said Stephen Lim, Technology Committee Chairman, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI). "SMEs are recognizing that deploying new hosted applications need not be complex or expensive, but yet, have a positive impact on their businesses. However, their challenge remains with the evaluation and selection of suitable solution and vendors."
Findings from the Pacnet Broadband Barometer also revealed that Internet access is now ubiquitous among SMEs in Singapore -- with 95% of businesses with 5 to 999 employees having Internet access. According to AMI Partners, these SMEs (5-999 employees) in Singapore are expected to spend in excess of US$138 million (S$193 million) on Internet access in 2010, and the majority of this is expected to be on broadband Internet access.
The study has also reported a continued rise in the adoption of higher Internet speeds by companies of all sizes. Compared to a similar study conducted by Pacnet in 2006 where the most common connection speed was 512 Kbps, the latest study found that the most common connection speed has moved up to the 2 to 10 Mbps category.
Singapore Businesses Embracing Applications in the Cloud
Australia - NBN legislation is unlikely to reach the Senate before late October and remains uncertain to pass
[smh] The legislation supporting the national broadband network is unlikely to reach the Senate before the last week of October and still relies on the support of an unpredictable minor party senator.
And legislation forcing property developers to lay fibre in new estates lapsed when the last parliament was prorogued, according to the Senate Bills List, and would need to be reintroduced into the House of Representatives where the balance of power is now held by independents and minor parties.
Crucial telecommunications legislation amendment bills and the fibre bill were missing from Senate and House legislation lists for this week.
The fibre legislation would be reintroduced next month or in November, while the Senate's first sitting weeks were mainly reserved for the reintroduction of bills which would not require amendments, said a spokeswoman from the Broadband Minister Stephen Conroy's office.
One bill provides for the structural separation of Telstra and gives the competition watchdog more powers; a second provides laws supporting the national broadband network.
Passing the laws would give certainty to Telstra's $9 billion deal with NBN Co and allow both sides to release more details to investors.
However, with only one sitting week scheduled for this month and supplementary budget estimates next month, the bills are unlikely to be voted on until October 26.
When the bill does reach the Senate for a final vote, the Family First Senator Steve Fielding's support would be crucial to getting the bill through. However he remains undecided on the Competition and Consumer Safeguards Bill, which allows for the structural separation of Telstra and stronger competition laws.
A spokesman for Senator Fielding said he had entered into "worthwhile" discussions with Telstra last week and planned to meet with the government in weeks ahead.
Senator Fielding has expressed concern on behalf of Telstra shareholders and also over the $43 billion price tag of the network. "We want to make sure we are getting a good deal for taxpayers as well as Telstra shareholders," the spokesman said.
The independent senator Nick Xenophon has said he will support the bill but will push for structural separation rather than the functional separation proposed by the government. The Greens are also expected to support the bill, but have argued NBN Co should remain in government hands rather than privatised.
Vital NBN legislation caught up in Senate delays
And legislation forcing property developers to lay fibre in new estates lapsed when the last parliament was prorogued, according to the Senate Bills List, and would need to be reintroduced into the House of Representatives where the balance of power is now held by independents and minor parties.
Crucial telecommunications legislation amendment bills and the fibre bill were missing from Senate and House legislation lists for this week.
The fibre legislation would be reintroduced next month or in November, while the Senate's first sitting weeks were mainly reserved for the reintroduction of bills which would not require amendments, said a spokeswoman from the Broadband Minister Stephen Conroy's office.
One bill provides for the structural separation of Telstra and gives the competition watchdog more powers; a second provides laws supporting the national broadband network.
Passing the laws would give certainty to Telstra's $9 billion deal with NBN Co and allow both sides to release more details to investors.
However, with only one sitting week scheduled for this month and supplementary budget estimates next month, the bills are unlikely to be voted on until October 26.
When the bill does reach the Senate for a final vote, the Family First Senator Steve Fielding's support would be crucial to getting the bill through. However he remains undecided on the Competition and Consumer Safeguards Bill, which allows for the structural separation of Telstra and stronger competition laws.
A spokesman for Senator Fielding said he had entered into "worthwhile" discussions with Telstra last week and planned to meet with the government in weeks ahead.
Senator Fielding has expressed concern on behalf of Telstra shareholders and also over the $43 billion price tag of the network. "We want to make sure we are getting a good deal for taxpayers as well as Telstra shareholders," the spokesman said.
The independent senator Nick Xenophon has said he will support the bill but will push for structural separation rather than the functional separation proposed by the government. The Greens are also expected to support the bill, but have argued NBN Co should remain in government hands rather than privatised.
Vital NBN legislation caught up in Senate delays
Undersea cables - France Telecom is to lay LION2 cable Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Mayotte and Kenya
[global telecoms business] France Telecom has entered an agreement with the other members of the Lion2 consortium to develop a new submarine cable in the Indian Ocean. The new submarine cable system, which will provide further connectivity between Africa, Asia and Europe, is scheduled to start operation during the first half of 2012.
Lion2 will cost around €56 million to deploy the cable, and France Telecom will contribute around €31 million of that total amount. Lion2 will extend the existing Lion cable, which connects Madagascar, Mauritius and the French island of Réunion, to a new station in Kenya and one in Mayotte.
The new cable, which will also provide an alternative route for secure broadband transmissions through Europe and Asia, is being deployed by the telco as part of a consortium including its local subsidiaries in Kenya, Madagascar and Mauritius as well as Mauritian operator, Emtel, as well as the Réunion unit of its French rival SFR, Société Réunionnaise du Radiotéléphone, and Moyotte-based carrier STOI Internet.
France Telecom to build new African cable
Lion2 will cost around €56 million to deploy the cable, and France Telecom will contribute around €31 million of that total amount. Lion2 will extend the existing Lion cable, which connects Madagascar, Mauritius and the French island of Réunion, to a new station in Kenya and one in Mayotte.
The new cable, which will also provide an alternative route for secure broadband transmissions through Europe and Asia, is being deployed by the telco as part of a consortium including its local subsidiaries in Kenya, Madagascar and Mauritius as well as Mauritian operator, Emtel, as well as the Réunion unit of its French rival SFR, Société Réunionnaise du Radiotéléphone, and Moyotte-based carrier STOI Internet.
France Telecom to build new African cable
Broadband - Farmers dig their own trenches to install broadband FTTH cables in the UK
[ispreview] A new video that surfaced after the recent Rural Broadband Conference (18th September 2010) in Penrith (Cumbria), which depicts a group of local farmers digging their own super-fast 100Mb Fibre-to-the-Home ( FTTH ) fibre optic broadband ISP connection(s), has even caught the eye of the European Commission's (EC) Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes.
The video itself shows farmers working closely with Fibrestream (NextGenUs), a community network specialist in UK Next Generation Access (NGA) internet services that has assisted in many such projects before. It shows how the cable and services were deployed, although very little else is revealed.
EC Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, commented:
"This is a case of broadband by the people, for the people you might say. I really recommend you watch it. As the women explaining the process says: “If we can you do it, anyone can do it.” That is exactly the spirit we all need in the coming years – our digital future belongs to people willing to get invovled in building it!"
VIDEO UK Farmers Digging Own 100Mb FTTH Fibre Optic Broadband Connection
The video itself shows farmers working closely with Fibrestream (NextGenUs), a community network specialist in UK Next Generation Access (NGA) internet services that has assisted in many such projects before. It shows how the cable and services were deployed, although very little else is revealed.
EC Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, commented:
"This is a case of broadband by the people, for the people you might say. I really recommend you watch it. As the women explaining the process says: “If we can you do it, anyone can do it.” That is exactly the spirit we all need in the coming years – our digital future belongs to people willing to get invovled in building it!"
VIDEO UK Farmers Digging Own 100Mb FTTH Fibre Optic Broadband Connection
Algeria - Govt has tightened the screws on Orascom in its efforts to "buy" the company's mobile operation Djezzy there
[reuters] Algeria has decided to demand new back-taxes from Orascom Telecom's local unit, industry and government sources said, deepening the firm's problems as it prepares to sell the unit to the Algerian state.
Algeria's central bank has also notified justice officials about a suspected false declaration by the Director-General of the Algerian unit relating to its financial operations, the same sources told Reuters.
An Orascom Telecom spokeswoman at the company's headquarters in Cairo and a spokesman for the Algerian unit, Djezzy, both said they had no comment when contacted by Reuters about the back tax demand and the central bank complaint.
Orascom Telecom agreed to talks on selling Djezzy to the Algerian state after the unit was hit with previous back-tax claims totalling over $600 million and the Algerian government blocked a plan to sell it to South Africa's MTN
Algeria hits Orascom unit with new back taxes-sources
Algeria's central bank has also notified justice officials about a suspected false declaration by the Director-General of the Algerian unit relating to its financial operations, the same sources told Reuters.
An Orascom Telecom spokeswoman at the company's headquarters in Cairo and a spokesman for the Algerian unit, Djezzy, both said they had no comment when contacted by Reuters about the back tax demand and the central bank complaint.
Orascom Telecom agreed to talks on selling Djezzy to the Algerian state after the unit was hit with previous back-tax claims totalling over $600 million and the Algerian government blocked a plan to sell it to South Africa's MTN
Algeria hits Orascom unit with new back taxes-sources
USA - Regualtor has approved new rules for the Internet in schools and libraries programmes paid from the Universal Service Fund
[mercury news] The Federal Communications Commission last week approved new rules for the E-Rate program that will modernize broadband for schools and libraries.
Established by Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, E-Rate taps into the Universal Service Fund, which is paid for by telecommunications subscribers to provide telecommunications and Internet access to schools and libraries. When it was first implemented, many schools were still on dial-up and those that had broadband were typically connecting at relatively show speeds. It was also before anyone (let alone school kids) had smartphones.
Fast-forward to 2010. As Internet service providers and municipalities deploy fiber and other high-speed technologies, it's now possible to move way beyond what we used to call broadband -- speeds that often hovered at or below 1 megabit per second. Now we're talking about a gigabit, which is a thousand times faster. This faster connectivity makes it possible for schools to employ modern tele-learning tools both to consume and host multimedia content. And in case you think a gigabit or more is overkill, consider that the bandwidth often needs to be shared by multiple classrooms and, in some cases, thousands of students.
Another reality of 2010 is that the Internet is no longer something we access only when sitting at a desk. Smartphones, tablets, netbooks and even the iPod touch and portable gaming devices make it possible to access the Net from anywhere. So instead of just providing broadband access to classrooms, the new E-Rate rules are designed to fund mobile pilot programs to enable students to access the Net from wherever they happen to be. Schools are increasingly using smartphones in and out of the classroom. For example, at Lincoln Middle School in Ypsilanti, Mich., teachers use smartphones provided by Sprint to learn how to create graphs and charts.
The new E-Rate rules also take note of the fact that schools are part of communities and, potentially, a way to bring high-speed Internet to people in their neighborhoods. Last week's ruling made permanent an earlier provisional waiver that allows schools to offer community access to their bandwidth during nonschool hours.
Shortly before the vote, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski mentioned how a school in West Virginia used its broadband connection to facilitate a "command center" during the Upper Big Branch coal mining disaster in April. Beyond letting people use campus facilities, I'm not sure how schools might extend broadband beyond the campus. But it's certainly possible to do so wirelessly, especially if they use the so-called "super Wi-Fi" spectrum that will be facilitated by the unlicensed access to the "white space" between TV channels that the FCC also approved at the same meeting.
While the new E-Rate program is a great boon to schools and communities, there is one troubling aspect to it. In 2000, Congress passed a well-meaning law called the Children's Internet Protection Act, which requires that schools and libraries that receive E-Rate funds "employ technological protections that block or filter certain visual depictions deemed obscene, pornographic or harmful to minors."
While hardly anyone would disagree with Congress' intention to keep minors away from such material, the CIPA has brought about some unintended consequences because many of the filters used in schools block more than just indecent and violent material. A great many also block social networking sites, which didn't even exist when the law was passed. There is nothing in the CIPA that requires filters used in schools to cast such a wide net but they typically do, which means that some of the very technologies kids are using on a daily basis out of school are not available in school.
I'm not suggesting that kids be allowed to use Facebook or other social media services to socialize during school hours. But if we're going to encourage 21st-century learning, we need to take note that students are no longer simply consumers of knowledge, they are also creators and sharers. A great deal of what young people learn comes from collaboration with their peers. And while there is always the possibility of access to inappropriate material or posting text images or videos that can be harmful to themselves or others, there is the far more likely possibility of creative use of these services to enhance their learning.
The FCC didn't address filters or the CIPA during its discussion of modernizing E-Rate but I did raise the issue of students using social media to share and create content when I interviewed Genachowski after his appearance in Mountain View at a "Back to School Event" sponsored by Common Sense Media. "It's a wonderful learning opportunity," he said, adding "we see more and more teachers and students working together to incorporate that kind of energy and creativity into class work. It's very promising and it's teaching the skills the next generation will need to know to participate in the word that's coming."
So, hats off to the FCC for modernizing E-Rate. Now let's hope schools modernize their attitude toward the use of technology to embrace rather than try to block some of the technologies students are using in their daily lives. Besides, about the only people who don't know how to bypass filters at schools and libraries are teachers and staff.
New rules upgrade broadband for schools and libraries
Established by Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, E-Rate taps into the Universal Service Fund, which is paid for by telecommunications subscribers to provide telecommunications and Internet access to schools and libraries. When it was first implemented, many schools were still on dial-up and those that had broadband were typically connecting at relatively show speeds. It was also before anyone (let alone school kids) had smartphones.
Fast-forward to 2010. As Internet service providers and municipalities deploy fiber and other high-speed technologies, it's now possible to move way beyond what we used to call broadband -- speeds that often hovered at or below 1 megabit per second. Now we're talking about a gigabit, which is a thousand times faster. This faster connectivity makes it possible for schools to employ modern tele-learning tools both to consume and host multimedia content. And in case you think a gigabit or more is overkill, consider that the bandwidth often needs to be shared by multiple classrooms and, in some cases, thousands of students.
Another reality of 2010 is that the Internet is no longer something we access only when sitting at a desk. Smartphones, tablets, netbooks and even the iPod touch and portable gaming devices make it possible to access the Net from anywhere. So instead of just providing broadband access to classrooms, the new E-Rate rules are designed to fund mobile pilot programs to enable students to access the Net from wherever they happen to be. Schools are increasingly using smartphones in and out of the classroom. For example, at Lincoln Middle School in Ypsilanti, Mich., teachers use smartphones provided by Sprint to learn how to create graphs and charts.
The new E-Rate rules also take note of the fact that schools are part of communities and, potentially, a way to bring high-speed Internet to people in their neighborhoods. Last week's ruling made permanent an earlier provisional waiver that allows schools to offer community access to their bandwidth during nonschool hours.
Shortly before the vote, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski mentioned how a school in West Virginia used its broadband connection to facilitate a "command center" during the Upper Big Branch coal mining disaster in April. Beyond letting people use campus facilities, I'm not sure how schools might extend broadband beyond the campus. But it's certainly possible to do so wirelessly, especially if they use the so-called "super Wi-Fi" spectrum that will be facilitated by the unlicensed access to the "white space" between TV channels that the FCC also approved at the same meeting.
While the new E-Rate program is a great boon to schools and communities, there is one troubling aspect to it. In 2000, Congress passed a well-meaning law called the Children's Internet Protection Act, which requires that schools and libraries that receive E-Rate funds "employ technological protections that block or filter certain visual depictions deemed obscene, pornographic or harmful to minors."
While hardly anyone would disagree with Congress' intention to keep minors away from such material, the CIPA has brought about some unintended consequences because many of the filters used in schools block more than just indecent and violent material. A great many also block social networking sites, which didn't even exist when the law was passed. There is nothing in the CIPA that requires filters used in schools to cast such a wide net but they typically do, which means that some of the very technologies kids are using on a daily basis out of school are not available in school.
I'm not suggesting that kids be allowed to use Facebook or other social media services to socialize during school hours. But if we're going to encourage 21st-century learning, we need to take note that students are no longer simply consumers of knowledge, they are also creators and sharers. A great deal of what young people learn comes from collaboration with their peers. And while there is always the possibility of access to inappropriate material or posting text images or videos that can be harmful to themselves or others, there is the far more likely possibility of creative use of these services to enhance their learning.
The FCC didn't address filters or the CIPA during its discussion of modernizing E-Rate but I did raise the issue of students using social media to share and create content when I interviewed Genachowski after his appearance in Mountain View at a "Back to School Event" sponsored by Common Sense Media. "It's a wonderful learning opportunity," he said, adding "we see more and more teachers and students working together to incorporate that kind of energy and creativity into class work. It's very promising and it's teaching the skills the next generation will need to know to participate in the word that's coming."
So, hats off to the FCC for modernizing E-Rate. Now let's hope schools modernize their attitude toward the use of technology to embrace rather than try to block some of the technologies students are using in their daily lives. Besides, about the only people who don't know how to bypass filters at schools and libraries are teachers and staff.
New rules upgrade broadband for schools and libraries
Kosovo - Authorities are removing equipment installed by Telekom Srbija in a dispute over who has the right to provide telecommunications
[b92] Kosovo police and workers of the Kosovo telecommunications company are removing and destroying Telekom Srbija (Telecom Serbia) property in the province.
They have targeted both mobile and landline base stations in the Serb enclaves.
Telekom officials in Kosovo said the damage was huge, and that the destruction of the equipment is being done under strong police protection.
The company's chief of sector in charge of Kosovo and Metohija, Ilija Ivanović, says the base stations could be repaired in three to four days if there are conditions to do so, but that currently the repairs can't be done, since the company's workers are being threatened with arrest.
"The current situation is that central Kosovo is without mobile service, landlines have not been destroyed yet. The enclaves of Štrpce and Brezovica have no mobile phone service, and we have learned that they have moved to sever landlines as well," he explained.
Ivanović also added that landline telephony in the Kosovsko Pomoravlje district was completely destroyed, and that Serbs there were in a very difficult position.
"There's information that they will shut down the northern (Serb) part of Kosovo, we'll try to salvage what we can. At this moment, the north has no problems," he concluded.
Telekom Srbija reacted today by issuing a statement saying that the violent action undertaken against the company's equipment in Kosovo and Metohija demonstrated the magnitude of the problem faced by those in Priština who wished to urgently sell the so-called Post and Telecom of Kosovo, including the property usurped from Telekom Srbija.
Telekom stressed in the statement that they would not abandon their users and workers in Kosovo and Metohija, and that they would do everything in order to once again provide communication services, under domestic prices and without any international calling codes.
Kosovo Albanian authorities several times this year incapacitated transmitters of Serbian mobile operators claiming they had no license to operate.
State secretary: Harmful and dangerous
State Secretary for Kosovo Oliver Ivanović assessed that the removal and destruction of Telekom Srbija’s base stations in Kosovo was damaging and dangerous.
"The spirits are being stirred at the very moment we are trying to find a way for delegations from Belgrade and Priština to meet and do something constructive", Ivanović said.
He said that the representatives of "certain countries" in Priština supported the decision to destroy Telekom Srbija’s base stations in Kosovo and that “Albanians did not act alone in this”.
"It shows that the international community is not unanimous in the assessment of the situation and measures that are to be taken for this part of the Western Balkans. This situation compromises the good intentions of Belgrade which now has produce a reaction", Ivanović said.
President of the northern municipality of Zubin Potok Slaviša Ristić told reporters today that Serbs there will protect the transmitters, and that KFOR and EULEX have been informed about this.
"We have tried to point out to those responsible in KFOR and EULEX to the possible consequences of such Albanian moves, and we expect their reaction," the mayor said.
He joined other Zubin Potok residents who gathered near a local transmitter this morning.
"Obviously Albanians are determined to try and establish their authority in northern Kosovo as well, but people here will not allow for that to happen," Ristić said.
The north is predominantly inhabited by Serbs who do not recognize the authority of the government in Priština.
Telekom property destroyed in Kosovo
They have targeted both mobile and landline base stations in the Serb enclaves.
Telekom officials in Kosovo said the damage was huge, and that the destruction of the equipment is being done under strong police protection.
The company's chief of sector in charge of Kosovo and Metohija, Ilija Ivanović, says the base stations could be repaired in three to four days if there are conditions to do so, but that currently the repairs can't be done, since the company's workers are being threatened with arrest.
"The current situation is that central Kosovo is without mobile service, landlines have not been destroyed yet. The enclaves of Štrpce and Brezovica have no mobile phone service, and we have learned that they have moved to sever landlines as well," he explained.
Ivanović also added that landline telephony in the Kosovsko Pomoravlje district was completely destroyed, and that Serbs there were in a very difficult position.
"There's information that they will shut down the northern (Serb) part of Kosovo, we'll try to salvage what we can. At this moment, the north has no problems," he concluded.
Telekom Srbija reacted today by issuing a statement saying that the violent action undertaken against the company's equipment in Kosovo and Metohija demonstrated the magnitude of the problem faced by those in Priština who wished to urgently sell the so-called Post and Telecom of Kosovo, including the property usurped from Telekom Srbija.
Telekom stressed in the statement that they would not abandon their users and workers in Kosovo and Metohija, and that they would do everything in order to once again provide communication services, under domestic prices and without any international calling codes.
Kosovo Albanian authorities several times this year incapacitated transmitters of Serbian mobile operators claiming they had no license to operate.
State secretary: Harmful and dangerous
State Secretary for Kosovo Oliver Ivanović assessed that the removal and destruction of Telekom Srbija’s base stations in Kosovo was damaging and dangerous.
"The spirits are being stirred at the very moment we are trying to find a way for delegations from Belgrade and Priština to meet and do something constructive", Ivanović said.
He said that the representatives of "certain countries" in Priština supported the decision to destroy Telekom Srbija’s base stations in Kosovo and that “Albanians did not act alone in this”.
"It shows that the international community is not unanimous in the assessment of the situation and measures that are to be taken for this part of the Western Balkans. This situation compromises the good intentions of Belgrade which now has produce a reaction", Ivanović said.
President of the northern municipality of Zubin Potok Slaviša Ristić told reporters today that Serbs there will protect the transmitters, and that KFOR and EULEX have been informed about this.
"We have tried to point out to those responsible in KFOR and EULEX to the possible consequences of such Albanian moves, and we expect their reaction," the mayor said.
He joined other Zubin Potok residents who gathered near a local transmitter this morning.
"Obviously Albanians are determined to try and establish their authority in northern Kosovo as well, but people here will not allow for that to happen," Ristić said.
The north is predominantly inhabited by Serbs who do not recognize the authority of the government in Priština.
Telekom property destroyed in Kosovo
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Censorship - Google has published the map of requests for information about customers in its transparency report
[bbc] The US government asked Google for user information 4,287 times during the first six months of 2010.
During the same timeframe the UK government put in over 1,000 such requests.
This is just two snippets from Google's new Transparency Report, a set of tools designed to show censorship levels around the globe.
Civil liberty groups welcomed the tool but called on Google to provide even more detail about the requests.
Earlier this year, Google released details about how often countries around the world ask it to hand over user data or to censor information.
The new map and tools follows on from that and allows users to click an individual country to see how many removal requests were fully or partially complied with, as well as which Google services were affected.
In the US, for example, there were seven court orders to remove content from YouTube from July 2009 to the end of the year.
There is also a traffic graph showing Google services around the world and related traffic outages, caused either by governments blocking access to information or, more mundanely, cables being cut.
Google's public policy head Scott Rubin demonstrated the tool to the BBC.
"Last year after the Iranian elections access to the internet was cut off and we saw a sudden drop in traffic to YouTube," he said.
Civil liberties groups said the tool would prove invaluable to activists determined to plot against government censorship around the globe.
"I think it is a tremendous initiative and it would be helpful if other networks could do the same thing," said Lilian Edwards, professor of internet law at the University of Sheffield and board member of the Open Rights Group.
"I think there will be some embarrassing data and it will vary from country to country. The UK is neither the best or the worst," she said.
More data about the nature of the requests would be useful, she added.
"It would be interesting to see whether these take-downs refer to libel, surveillance and intercepts or the content industries. The more data we have the more useful it will be," she said.
"It would, for example, be interesting to compare Google's data with published UK surveillance requests."
Google releases censorship tools
During the same timeframe the UK government put in over 1,000 such requests.
This is just two snippets from Google's new Transparency Report, a set of tools designed to show censorship levels around the globe.
Civil liberty groups welcomed the tool but called on Google to provide even more detail about the requests.
Earlier this year, Google released details about how often countries around the world ask it to hand over user data or to censor information.
The new map and tools follows on from that and allows users to click an individual country to see how many removal requests were fully or partially complied with, as well as which Google services were affected.
In the US, for example, there were seven court orders to remove content from YouTube from July 2009 to the end of the year.
There is also a traffic graph showing Google services around the world and related traffic outages, caused either by governments blocking access to information or, more mundanely, cables being cut.
Google's public policy head Scott Rubin demonstrated the tool to the BBC.
"Last year after the Iranian elections access to the internet was cut off and we saw a sudden drop in traffic to YouTube," he said.
Civil liberties groups said the tool would prove invaluable to activists determined to plot against government censorship around the globe.
"I think it is a tremendous initiative and it would be helpful if other networks could do the same thing," said Lilian Edwards, professor of internet law at the University of Sheffield and board member of the Open Rights Group.
"I think there will be some embarrassing data and it will vary from country to country. The UK is neither the best or the worst," she said.
More data about the nature of the requests would be useful, she added.
"It would be interesting to see whether these take-downs refer to libel, surveillance and intercepts or the content industries. The more data we have the more useful it will be," she said.
"It would, for example, be interesting to compare Google's data with published UK surveillance requests."
Google releases censorship tools
Broadband - FTTH is of growing importance to telcos, against a fall in traditional fixed lines
[bbp mag] Ovum’s Global Telecoms Analyzer shows that service provider revenues grew by 2.2 percent in 2009. This rate, the slowest in a decade, provides evidence that the industry has finally succumbed to the impact of the global economic downturn.
However, the mobile sector has returned to healthy growth, sufficient to overcome the steady decline in fixed-line services. Total revenues, as reported by service providers, will grow by 6 percent in 2010 and by 5 percent per year through 2014.
“Globally, mobile is keeping telecoms buzzing,” says John Lively, chief forecaster at Ovum. “In 2010, China and India alone will add 329 million new mobile phone connections, equivalent to more than the combined total population of Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the U.K.”
Although fixed-line services will continue to decline, fiber connections for broadband services will be increasingly important for telcos. Overall, the number of fixed lines worldwide will fall from 1 billion in 2010 to 871 million by 2014. Fixed-line service revenues will fall from around $350 billion to $283 billion over the same period. At the same time, mobile phone connections will increase from 5.3 billion in 2010 to 7.1 billion in 2014, with the emerging markets of Asia and Africa contributing much of the growth. Revenues from mobile phone services will increase by nearly $100 billion in the three years to 2012.
“While fixed voice lines and revenues will continue declining due to mobile substitution, fixed revenues overall will benefit from the growth in broadband services (Internet access, video, and VoIP) enabled by continued deployment of fiber-to-the-premises networks,” Lively adds.
Ovum: FTTH Is the One Bright Spot for Wireline Telco Revenues
However, the mobile sector has returned to healthy growth, sufficient to overcome the steady decline in fixed-line services. Total revenues, as reported by service providers, will grow by 6 percent in 2010 and by 5 percent per year through 2014.
“Globally, mobile is keeping telecoms buzzing,” says John Lively, chief forecaster at Ovum. “In 2010, China and India alone will add 329 million new mobile phone connections, equivalent to more than the combined total population of Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the U.K.”
Although fixed-line services will continue to decline, fiber connections for broadband services will be increasingly important for telcos. Overall, the number of fixed lines worldwide will fall from 1 billion in 2010 to 871 million by 2014. Fixed-line service revenues will fall from around $350 billion to $283 billion over the same period. At the same time, mobile phone connections will increase from 5.3 billion in 2010 to 7.1 billion in 2014, with the emerging markets of Asia and Africa contributing much of the growth. Revenues from mobile phone services will increase by nearly $100 billion in the three years to 2012.
“While fixed voice lines and revenues will continue declining due to mobile substitution, fixed revenues overall will benefit from the growth in broadband services (Internet access, video, and VoIP) enabled by continued deployment of fiber-to-the-premises networks,” Lively adds.
Ovum: FTTH Is the One Bright Spot for Wireline Telco Revenues
Friday, September 24, 2010
Australia - Claims that NBN is like the Snowy Mt Scheme are rejected as far fetched
[the australian] It'S far-fetched to compare the National Broadband Network to the Snowy scheme, says Angus Taylor.
THE government is arguing that the National Broadband Network will have the nation-building impact of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme. The Snowy was exceptional in many ways and has had a lasting effect on our nation. Like the Snowy hydro scheme, the NBN requires a big chequebook, but that may be where the similarities end.
My interest in the issue is personal and professional. At the personal level, the legacy of the Snowy scheme has featured large in my life. My grandfather was William Hudson, head of the scheme from 1949 until 1967, just before completion. He headed the scheme with a passion, energy and drive that attracts the near-universal admiration of informed commentators (regardless of their view on the outcomes) and those who worked on the Snowy. He was commonly known as the "Old Man of the Snowy", and I well remember him and the values he stood for. The memories have shaped many of my views about leadership and management. At a professional level I have always been fascinated by the ingredients for the success of a government-owned scheme on this scale because there is no other quite like it.
More to nation building than big bucks
THE government is arguing that the National Broadband Network will have the nation-building impact of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme. The Snowy was exceptional in many ways and has had a lasting effect on our nation. Like the Snowy hydro scheme, the NBN requires a big chequebook, but that may be where the similarities end.
My interest in the issue is personal and professional. At the personal level, the legacy of the Snowy scheme has featured large in my life. My grandfather was William Hudson, head of the scheme from 1949 until 1967, just before completion. He headed the scheme with a passion, energy and drive that attracts the near-universal admiration of informed commentators (regardless of their view on the outcomes) and those who worked on the Snowy. He was commonly known as the "Old Man of the Snowy", and I well remember him and the values he stood for. The memories have shaped many of my views about leadership and management. At a professional level I have always been fascinated by the ingredients for the success of a government-owned scheme on this scale because there is no other quite like it.
More to nation building than big bucks
USA - 57% of a survey did not support regulation of the Internet - for AT&T and Verizon
[pcworld] Fifty-seven percent of likely voters in the U.S. don't support any Internet regulation by the federal government, according to a new survey released by Broadband for America, an advocacy group with members including AT&T and Verizon Communications.
AT&T and other groups opposed to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's ongoing effort to enact network neutrality rules pointed to the survey as evidence that the agency should not proceed with rules prohibiting broadband providers from selectively blocking or slowing Web traffic.
The Broadband for America poll didn't specifically mention the words "net neutrality," although it did ask a question about the "open Internet."
The poll asked if respondents thought the best way to ensure an open Internet is to "continue the current approach that has brought us the Internet we have today," through competition, not increased regulation. As an alternative, the poll asked if respondents preferred "additional government rules and oversight in place to ensure that Internet service providers are acting in the best interests of consumers" and not discriminating against Web content and competing services.
Sixty-three percent of respondents said they preferred the "current approach," while 30 percent said they wanted additional government rules.
The survey, of 800 likely voters, also found that 76 percent of respondents agreed that the Internet is currently working very or fairly well, Broadband for America said.
Survey Says US Public Doesn't Support Internet Regulation
AT&T and other groups opposed to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's ongoing effort to enact network neutrality rules pointed to the survey as evidence that the agency should not proceed with rules prohibiting broadband providers from selectively blocking or slowing Web traffic.
The Broadband for America poll didn't specifically mention the words "net neutrality," although it did ask a question about the "open Internet."
The poll asked if respondents thought the best way to ensure an open Internet is to "continue the current approach that has brought us the Internet we have today," through competition, not increased regulation. As an alternative, the poll asked if respondents preferred "additional government rules and oversight in place to ensure that Internet service providers are acting in the best interests of consumers" and not discriminating against Web content and competing services.
Sixty-three percent of respondents said they preferred the "current approach," while 30 percent said they wanted additional government rules.
The survey, of 800 likely voters, also found that 76 percent of respondents agreed that the Internet is currently working very or fairly well, Broadband for America said.
Survey Says US Public Doesn't Support Internet Regulation
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