Cellular-News: Tuesday 9th May 2006

Cellular-News -

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[[ Financial ]]

Australian Government Still Hoping For Telstra Sale Oct, Nov

CANBERRA (Dow JOnes)--The Australian government Monday deferred a decision about selling the final tranche of major local telecoms company Telstra Corp., a spokesman for Finance Minister Nick Minchin said.

Vodafone Plans To Cut European Roaming Fees Next Year

Under pressure from European regulators, British mobile-phone giant Vodafone Group on Monday said it will slash fees charged to customers for calls made while traveling in Europe by at least 40% next year.

Telecom Italia 1Q Net +13%, Margins Fall

Telecom Italia, Monday said first-quarter net profit rose 13% due to the buyout of its mobile unit's minorities but margins fell on competitive pressure and the recent implementation of termination rate cuts.

[[ Handsets ]]

FOCUS: Euroset eyes IPO, strong interest expected from investors

The booming Russian stock market and foreign investors strong interest have encouraged Russia's largest mobile handset retailer Euroset to make an initial public offering (IPO). Analysts expect Euroset's IPO to be successful as investors are natural

Telia's Top Ten Handset Sales in April 2006

For the first time two 3G handsets are in Telia's top ten list of best-selling phones in Telia retail stores. The 3G phones are the Nokia 6280, which directly entered the list in fifth place, and the Samsung Z140. The April top ten list contains a nu

Quarter of Europeans Replace Their Phone Each Year

Twenty-seven percent of European mobile users replace their cell phones every year, according to Telephia. This rate increases by more than twofold after 24 months, with roughly 60% of Europeans buying new phones by the two year mark. Telephia's Q1 2

[[ Mobile Content ]]

Mobile DRM Issues Set to Cost Europe US$4.4 billion in 2006

The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) has called on the industry to end revenue leakage and protect content rights by delivering an open and interoperable mDRM solution based on a clear open standard. DRM is core to every mobile transaction - every ti

[[ Network Contracts ]]

Chinook Wireless Switches From CDMA to GSM

Chinook Wireless has selected Nokia to build a GSM/GPRS/EDGE network throughout Montana, USA. Nokia is supplying the entire radio and core network, along with network services. The companies have signed a five-year supply contract covering equipment,

GSM Coverage for Alaskan Oil Fields

Dobson Communications says that it has launched Cellular One wireless service in Deadhorse, Alaska, extending its GSM/EDGE network to the key staging area and oil-service headquarters for the North Slope oil fields.

Vodafone Portugal Updates PrePay Billing Platform

Lucent Technologies says that it has completed the deployment of a real-time charging solution for mobile messaging for Vodafone Portugal. The mobile messaging solution helps Vodafone Portugal better manage prepaid customer accounts, and more easily

[[ Network Operators ]]

Telecom to invest US$66mn in Patagonia

Telecom Argentina has pledged a 200mn-peso (US$65.8mn) investment in the country's Patagonia region this year, Agencia Nacional de Noticias reported.

Mobile Co O2 To Announce Cuts In Roaming Charges Soon

UK mobile operator O2 said Monday it plans to unveil cuts in the fees it charges customers when they make calls from outside their home countries, following earlier announcements along similar lines from rivals Vodafone Group and Deutsche Telekom's T

[[ Offbeat ]]

Bears With Phones

In Sweden, the month of May is when bears in the country wake up after their winter hibernation period and leave their dens. It is also the time to change the batteries in their "mobile phones". In the forests between Orsa and Sveg in the Dalarna reg

[[ Regulatory ]]

EU To Regulate Mobile Roaming Despite Vodafone Offer

The European Commission Monday said it would press ahead with plans to regulate mobile phone roaming costs, despite a Vodafone Group offer to slash its fees by up to 40%.

Ministry doubts case for fourth mobile operator

The appearance of a fourth mobile operator in Colombia is unlikely, given the current number of operators and the particular companies that are interested in Colombia Móvil (Ola), according to a report commissioned by the communications ministry

Court rejects Digitel appeal of US$390k fine

Venezuelan mobile operator Digitel has lost its appeal against the imposition of an 840mn-bolívar (US$390,000) fine, local daily El Carabobeno reported.

Govt: Mobile service quality improved

Mobile telephony service quality in Colombia improved 1Q06 in comparison with 4Q05, local daily Nueva Economia reported, citing a study by the industry and commerce regulator.

Eleven Bid for Egyptian GSM License

Egypt's National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has confirmed that eleven companies have submitted bids for the country's

3rd GSM operating license. A high-level committee was formed by the NTRA to undertake the technical evaluation o... [[ Reports ]] LED Drivers--Phones and TVs; Cost and Power Consumption Hurdles Remain

Televisions will succeed mobile phone handsets in the next five years as the key driver for growth in the LED industry, as consumers switch over to flat-panel televisions, principally liquid-crystal display (LCD) TVs, says a new report from Strategy

MDs Prefer Mobiles to Landlines

Three out of four Managing Directors of medium-sized Swedish companies would prefer to use mobiles as the only phones for all their companies' employees, provided that their total telephone costs would not increase. This is shown in a survey carried

[[ Statistics ]]

India Challenges China as Fastest Growing Mobile Phone Market

The pace of India's mobile phone market growth is accelerating and the country is on track to surpass Russia and the U.S. in total subscribers. That is one of the conclusions of an updated report from Datacomm Research Company.