MTN Irancell has been ordered by the Iranian government to expand coverage of its mobile network to Abu Musa and other disputed islands in the Persian Gulf, Dow Jones Newswires reports. Irancell’s public relations manager Arash Karimbeigi was quoted in local newspapers as saying that the company has an agreement with Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat), the United Arab Emirates’ incumbent telecoms operator, to provide coverage in some areas of the Persian Gulf that are out of Irancell’s footprint, resulting in Iranian visitors to Abu Musa receiving SMS messages from the Etisalat network welcoming them to the UAE. Iran and the UAE both claim sovereignty over Abu Musa and two other islands, the Greater and Lesser Tunbsm, near the Strait of Hormuz.
Magyar telcos suggest lower tax cap on voice calls, SMS
MTI Econews reports that three leading Hungarian telecoms service providers – Magyar Telekom (MTel), Telenor (formerly Pannon) and Vodafone – are proposing an amendment to the government’s planned new tax on voice telephony calls and SMS messages. In a joint statement published this week, the three firms suggest that the government bill should include a cap on the planned monthly tax, limiting it to HUF400 (USD1.71) for individuals and HUF1,400 for businesses – below the state’s current monthly figures of HUF700 and HUF2,500, respectively. The operators claim that the cap would still yield the same amount of money the government is hoping to raise from the new tax, and reiterated their fears that that the new tax would not serve Hungary’s interests while it puts an ‘unfair burden’ on the telecommunications industry
Xinwei to launch services in August
Beijing-based network infrastructure provider Xinwei Telecom is gearing up to launch multi-carrier wireless in the local loop (McWiLL) services, based on SCDMA technology in Cambodia. The Phnom Penh Post cites a company statement as saying that Xinwei Cambodia plans to introduce the network in August this year, with backing from the China Development Bank. Xinwei was officially awarded a full-service unified telecoms operator licence (allowing fixed and mobile services) by the Cambodian government in August 2011, via which the Chinese firm says it will launch its first international venture as a network operator, having previously acted as telecoms equipment vendor in around 20 countries worldwide where it has secured contracts to supply and deploy McWiLL-based systems
No interest in upcoming auction of Megacom stake
The planned auction of the Kyrgyz government’s 49% stake in mobile operator Megacom has so far failed to attract any potential bidders, reports Telecompaper citing Tazabek.kg. The deadline for applications is 18 May and the auction is scheduled to take place on 22 May; the starting price has been set at KGS4.9 billion (USD104 million)
Vivacom sale derailed by lawsuits, report claims
The Bulgarian government has lost the first of three lawsuits it filed against Viva Ventures, a unit of the London-based equity fund Advent International, which acquired a 65% stake in former monopoly operator Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC) in 2004.
Mobily prepares for MVNO deals with Xius contract
The Saudi Arabian telco Etihad Etisalat, which trades as Mobily, has awarded India-based software vendor Xius a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) management contract. With the Saudi government preparing to offer its first mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) licences, network owners such as Mobily need to be ready to host resellers. Mobily has therefore contracted Xius to deploy its Mobile Services Platform infrastructure and framework
Fresh threats over TRAI proposals
Russia’s Sistema, majority owner of Sistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTL), has threatened to withdraw from operations in India if the government accepts the controversial proposals put forward by the Telecoms Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) regarding revised base prices for spectrum, reports Zeebiz news. Sistema executive Andrey Terebenin railed against the proposals, saying: ‘If the government just rubber stamps everything, then we will pull out of India.’ Terebenin went on to criticise the recommendations as an attempt to make ‘quick money’ rather than ensuring that telecoms services are provided at an affordable rate in the long run.*Norway’s Telenor, which currently operates in India under the Uninor brand, has also raised threats to quit the Indian market, reversing its previous plans to remain in India through a new joint venture agreement with a different partner. ‘Telenor Group has stated that if these recommendations are accepted by the government as a final policy, then the company would be forced to exit India,’ Telegraph India quotes Uninor managing director Sigve Brekke as saying.
Regulator to investigate Claro outage
Argentina’s telecoms regulator Comision Nacional de Comunicaciones (CNC) will investigate the possibility of imposing sanctions on mobile operator Claro, following an outage on the America Movil-owned company’s network in parts of Buenos Aires earlier this month, BNamerica reports, citing state news service Telam.
TRAI lowers proposed CDMA spectrum price, but not GSM; Norwegian minister questions further investment in India
The Telecoms Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has agreed a small concession in its proposals regarding the re-auction of spectrum and licences, in response to widespread industry protests and claims that costs to end users would more than double if the TRAI’s original proposals were brought into practice. As previously noted by CommsUpdate, the TRAI had suggested increasing the reserve price for frequencies by as much tenfold in some circles and bands
UK government makes further broadband funding available
The UK government has unveiled a list of 27 cities which are eligible for a share of funds amounting to GBP50 million (USD81 million) to aid the deployment of high speed broadband infrastructure. More detailed bidding guidance will be published by 18 May with the winning cities announced in autumn. The move follows an earlier funding announcement of GBP100 million for ten of the largest cities in the UK
- TNL (Oi) sets aside USD3.25bn for 2012 CAPEX April 19, 2012
- Tata drops out of running for CWW April 19, 2012
- TeliaSonera’s EBITDA falls 0.7% on 3.5% revenue increase April 19, 2012
- Telia Denmark raises LTE upload speeds April 19, 2012
- STC reports 60% rise in Q1 net profit April 19, 2012
- CAT puts 3G plans on hold; TOT told to do same May 18, 2012
- Look before you Leap; cellco to expand LTE coverage to 65m people by 2014 May 18, 2012
- Videotron delivers on 200Mbps promise May 18, 2012
- T-Mobile has no plans to introduce LTE handsets May 18, 2012
- Antares to merge with mobile TV operator Dominanta? May 18, 2012
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