Chinese equipment manufacturer Huawei has entered into a partnership with Argentine telecoms cooperative associations Fecotel and Fecosur to set up a factory in Buenos Aires producing wireless and broadband equipment. Huawei has agreed to provide the cooperatives with USD1 million in cash and equipment to launch wireless in the local loop (WiLL) operations in several areas of the country in the fourth quarter of this year.

upay ¶ 10:54 AM //

India’s Communications and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran said this week that the government was firm on its commitment towards a uniform national telecom tariff system for the country, referred to as a ‘One India’ charge. Maran said that the country could move towards the ‘One India’ goal ‘very soon’, once disparities between intra-state charges are removed. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently announced that intra-state calls in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh would be treated as local calls. The minister added that the announced hike in the foreign investment cap in the telecom sector to 74% from the current 49% was also likely to be finalised shortly.

upay ¶ 10:51 AM //

Despite the strikes against the privatisation of Pakistan Telecommunications Ltd (PTCL) having ended last week, workers at the company are still heavily opposed to the process. PTCL employees have only returned to work after the company agreed to a series of concessions; these included a 30% wage increase, no redundancies for two years for PTCL workers employed before 1992 and holiday pay cash payments for all workers. In return, the government has demanded that the trade unions sign a deal saying that they will not oppose any privatisation further.

upay ¶ 10:32 AM //

The Malaysian government is considering introducing laws to make pre-paid mobile users provide proof of identity before purchasing a SIM card, and cellcos register their pre-paid customers with the authorities. The proposed measures are intended to help police trace users that make abusive or threatening phone calls and text messages, or operate other criminal activity via mobile phone. Similar legislation was introduced in Thailand earlier this year.

upay ¶ 6:55 PM //

Telekom Malaysia has denied recent stories which claimed it made a solo bid for a 47.7% stake in India’s fourth largest cellco Idea Cellular. Telekom had lodged a USD390 million joint bid with Singapore Technologies Telemedia for the stake, but failed to obtain approval from the Indian regulator within the required six-month period. The company now says it is reviewing its options, and is still interested in investing in India and neighbouring countries.

upay ¶ 6:38 PM //

TeleGeography's latest consumer survey research has found that 30% of US residential broadband subscribers have never heard of voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephone service. This is a crucial point for providers to consider, as TeleGeography's research also reveals a strong, positive correlation between familiarity with VoIP and likelihood of subscribing. People who are already familiar with VoIP are 50% more likely to subscribe than those who are unfamiliar.

The survey of 1,500 households, conducted as part of TeleGeography's new US VoIP report, also covered price sensitivity and service concerns.

Some of the key findings include:

52% of online households said they were likely to subscribe to a flat-rate VoIP service package if it was priced at USD30 per month

Only 30% of online households were likely to replace their existing landline phone with VoIP if automatic 911 services were unavailable in the VoIP package

76% of online households said they would completely replace their existing phone service if they subscribed to VoIP

Many of the most likely VoIP subscribers are also considering wireless substitution for their home phone line as well.

upay ¶ 6:34 PM //

Eight companies have been shortlisted to bid for a 26% stake in Pakistan Telecommunications Company ltd (PTCL), and must put down a deposit of PKR40- million (USD672,000) by the end of today in order to take part in the bidding process. The shortlisted firms are Singapore Telecom (SingTel), China Mobile, Telekom Malaysia, Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) of Kuwait, Saudi Oger, Saudi Telecom, Emirates Telecommunication Corp (Etisalat) and Turkcell. The bidding date was delayed from 10 June following employee protests spurred by fears of job losses because of privatisation. One union group reached an agreement with management earlier this week and has called off its strike, but other unions have rejected the agreement and some have threatened to shut the company’s operations down on 18 June.

upay ¶ 6:32 PM //

By Zia Syed - All Pakistan Federation of United Trade Unions (APFUTU)

ISLAMABAD: Army and paramilitary troops along with police Saturday assumed control of the state-owned telephone facilities across the country, shortly after the date for sale of the Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Limited (PTCL) was announced.

"We have deployed regular troops, Rangers and police at 150 PTCL installations throughout the country," confirmed Director-General Inter Services Public Relations Major-General Shoukat Sultan.

He said the troops and police were deployed at the request of the Ministry of Communication through the Ministry of Defense. "The assistance is being provided in term of technical matters to run communication and to protect sensitive installations."

The move is in the backdrop of negotiations between the government and PTCL employees union held before June 5 and which failed to make headway. PTCL exchanges would now be operated by army technicians from Signals Corps.

"It’s done," said Gen Sultan when asked whether troops had taken over PTCL installations. "This is a transitory step to run the communications uninterrupted ...I have not heard of any resistance from any one against this move to protect telephone exchanges," he added.

Gen Sultan said the security forces would remain deployed as a long as the government requires. To a question, he said that technicians from Signals would replace the entire technical staff of the PTCL.

He said the takeover was mulled substantially earlier and troops were ordered to stay ready in the event the trouble gets worse and out of control.


Unions plan complete nationwide strike

On the other hand, the PTCL Workers Action Committee leader Ziauddin and Malik Maqbool rejected the package, saying they would not compromise their principled position as a bargain for the sale of government entity.

"We have decided to give a strike call to our employees and would hope the government would come to the negotiating table with a free mind," said Ziauddin while talking to The News by telephone.

He said it was the unanimous decision of the 26-member committee of the employee unions that the privatization should be rejected outright. Zia said, "The government’s time-buying tactics will not work any more and if the talks remain fruitless we are going to jam the entire system on the night of June 14."

The News learnt that some 10 employees, including three union leaders, have been arrested or missing with their mobile phones switched off.

In a brief remark, the Telecom Association of Pakistan hoped the deregulation process would continue unhindered with the army’s takeover of the installations.

upay ¶ 2:59 PM //

Pakistan army seized control of the national telecoms firm after trade unions called a strike against the company’s privatization this week, Military officials said security forces had taken technical control of sensitive installations of the PTCL in all cities while police and paramilitary Rangers were posted to check on the law and order situation. “We have sent our experts from the Corps of Signals on the request of the PTCL authorities to take control of all important installations,” said military spokesman Colonel Idrees Malik.Witnesses said troops arriving in machine-gun fitted vehicles took control of telephone exchanges and vital installations in major cities of the populous Punjab province. “We have asked the staff to perform their duties as usual,” an army officer said.

upay ¶ 2:43 PM //

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Interior Aftab Khan Sherpao said National Industrial Relations Corporation has termed the strike call of PTCL trade union an illegal step. The minister in a statement directed the leaders and workers of PTCL trade union not to create any hurdles in the smooth functioning of company.

He warned that strict action will be taken against those who violate the NIRC verdict, adding, any one found involved in such activities will be dealt with an iron hand.

The minister said any negative step by the trade union’s leaders could deprive them of the incentives announced by the government for them after announcing privatization of PTCL.

He said the privatization of PTCL is fully in favor of PTCL’s workers. He said the privatization of PTCL will be held on the due date. Sherpao said “those threatening the government against the privatization of PTCL are terrorist according to the law. They will face trouble if they continue their anti-state activities.”

upay ¶ 2:31 PM //

By: Zia Syed (All Pakistan Federation of United Trade Unions)
13th June 2005

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) Employees Union claimed that authorities had arrested 500 workers and the union had damaged the fiber-optic cable linking Quetta with other parts of the country.

At a press conference in Karachi, the PTCL Union Action Committee’s central leader gave the government a 24-hour ultimatum to withdraw its proposal to privatize the company and release all arrested employees. He said the union had set June 15 as the deadline to jam the system against the proposed privatization, but the plan had been rescheduled now that its leaders and workers had been arrested.

The union leader said that 500 workers had been arrested throughout the country and the police had raided his and other leaders’ houses. He warned the parties interested in buying the company against participating in bidding, saying, “The workers will stop them.”

upay ¶ 2:26 PM //

The telecoms and music industries have been impatiently waiting for the product of the Motorola and Apple partnership announced last year: a cell phone using Apple’s popular iTunes music software. Mobile carriers have been reluctant to contribute to the rollout of such handsets that would leave them outside the mobile music value-chain. We believe they are swimming against the tide, unless they figure out models that would reduce the cost of a download to less than US$1, as in the Internet world.

Pyramid Research CMT Director Guy Zibi argues that “the number of parties in the mobile music value-chain is one of the key obstacles for the development of a workable business model.” The crowded mobile music value chain must pass through music companies to publishers through the mobile operator to the end user.

The reluctance of mobile operators to support the Motorola/iTunes mobile handset indicates how actively mobile operators wish to grab a piece of the pie. This reluctance, Pyramid Research asserts, is another key obstacle facing the evolution of mobile music. Initially, mobile carriers will wield all their power to become a key part of the value-chain. They will face the challenge of recouping the cost of downloading a 3Mbps - 4Mbps file over-the-air without charging too much.

Some argue that end-users will be willing to pay US$2-US$3 per song, with a premium afforded towards mobility; however, Zibi contends, “Apple’s iTunes has essentially set a psychological barrier at US$1 for a download and the mobile industry must bring the cost to consumers down into this price range.”

upay ¶ 6:00 AM //

Vietnam Post and Telecommunications (VNPT) has submitted a plan to the Ministry of Post and Telematics (MPT) to reduce mobile phone tariffs charged by its subsidiaries MobiFone and VinaPhone. The two GSM operators are planning a 25% fee reduction in addition to changes to charge structures: call duration will be calculated by blocks of 15 or 20 seconds, instead of the current 30 seconds. Competitors Viettel and S-Fone already calculate charges in blocks of six and ten seconds respectively.

upay ¶ 5:48 AM //

Anti-fraud experts warn that Apple iPods, along with other music players that boast hard drives with up to 20Gbytes of memory, could become widely used by employees to fool security officials and breach data security rules. In one case a recruitment agency found much of its client database had been copied to an iPods's memory and used to defraud the firm.

more...

upay ¶ 5:32 AM //

According to a report released by Prolexic Technologies, Internet "zombie" attacks that attempt to knock computer systems offline are more likely to come from users of AOL than any other source. Prolexic said the report could indicate that some Internet providers do not protect their customers as much as companies like EarthLink.

more..

upay ¶ 5:28 AM //

BenQ, the Taiwanese handset manufacturer that has agreed to acquire the loss making operations of German rival Siemens Mobile, will stop selling Siemens branded phones from September, according to a number of German newspapers. As part of the deal, BenQ has the right to use the Siemens brand name for 18 months and a combined brandname for five years, but its chairman Lee Kuen-yao told Focus magazine that from September onwards all phones will be branded as either BenQ Siemens or BenQ alone. It had originally been expected that BenQ would stick with the Siemens name longer in Europe and South America in a bid to cash in on brand recognition. Meanwhile, Der Spiegel claims that, despite assurances that it will not be changing manufacturing practices, the Taiwanese company is planning to make significant cuts in Siemens’ German workforce as early as 2006.

upay ¶ 5:20 AM //

The Chinese government has approved a plan to build a new 350km undersea cable to increase net access speeds for internet users in northern China by as much as 50%. Asia Netcom, the international cable arm of state owned China Netcom, will install the new 80Gbps capacity cable to link the eastern port of Qingdao with South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Work on the project will be completed in early 2006.

upay ¶ 5:38 PM //

The battle for control of Nigerian cellco Vee-Networks has taken yet another twist with the news that minority shareholder Econet Wireless International (EWI) is threatening court action against fellow investors if they attempt to sell their shares in the operator to Vodacom and Virgin Mobile. Earlier this month Vodacom and Virgin Mobile announced that they would make a joint bid for a controlling stake in Vee Networks (which trades under the V-Mobile brand name) and that their bid had the backing of the company’s board. However, it looks like any buyout will now have to wait until a legal claim by former V-Mobile shareholder and manager EWI is resolved. EWI was forced to give up its shareholding in V-Mobile in early 2004 and saw its management contract for the cellco handed to Vodacom amid claims that its business dealings were not transparent. At the start of the month an international tribunal referred the case to a new panel to be appointed by a Nigerian court and EWI has publicly said that any V-Mobile investor attempting to sell their stake in the cellco will be cited for contempt of court.

upay ¶ 5:33 PM //

Despite significant and consistent growth in data traffic flows across the world's communications networks, a huge portion of potential network capacity remains unused. Based on research released this month in TeleGeography's International Bandwidth report and database, only three percent of the maximum possible intercity bandwidth in Europe and the U.S. has been "lit" for service provision.

For example, the 32 terrestrial carriers connecting to the New York metropolitan area have a combined potential capacity of 818.2 Terabits per second. Of that, only 22.6 Terabits per second -- 2.8 percent -- of network bandwidth is actually lit.
However, the aggregated fiber glut does not translate to a bandwidth glut for all carriers on all routes. In fact, many carriers are actually running out of bandwidth on certain network segments, and are having to face unwelcome network upgrade costs. For certain, they won't need to lay new fiber. But lighting dark fiber or adding wavelengths on existing fiber can be extremely expensive, and carriers may have a hard time taking on major new costs in what is still a very competitive market subject to rapid price erosion.

upay ¶ 4:45 PM //

3G Adoption

While 2004 was the year in which 3G services became a reality for many, new research from TeleGeography shows that 3G subscribers account for only a slim percentage of mobile users around the world.

According to GlobalComms, TeleGeography's online encyclopedia of wireline and wireless telecommunications markets, early 3G introducers Japan and South Korea claimed the highest percentage of users, at 12.5% (10.79 million 3G users) and 16.1% (5.9 million) respectively, while Italy and the U.K. fell significantly behind, with 3G users accounting for 4% of all subscribers in these two countries.
Globally, 3G accounted for less than 30 million users in 2004, but TeleGeography expects total subscribers to more than double in 2005.
Mobile Haves- and Have-Nots

Another sign of the times is wireless penetration rates of over 100%; at the end of 2004 there were ten countries which reported this phenomenon, ranging from Luxembourg (a staggering 135%) to Germany (102%). At the other end of the scale, 35 of 159 countries covered in GlobalComms had wireless penetration rates of less than 5%, including India (3.5%) and Bangladesh (2.7%).
In terms of the expansion of subscriber bases, 19 countries achieved triple-digit growth in 2004. Top of the list was Iraq, which reported a massive 1,757% increase in subscribers to 1.2 million; further down the list were Nigeria (170% to 8.79 million) and Pakistan (139% to 8.51 million). Eastern Europe, too, saw three countries enjoy growth of over 100%: Belarus (120%), Ukraine (111%) and Russia (104%). By contrast, Iceland managed annual growth of just 2.6%.

upay ¶ 4:39 PM //

Although the technology behind Voice-over-IP has existed for well over a decade, only recently has VoIP been capable of replacing the home phone service of residential customers. The result has been stunning growth: U.S. residential subscriber totals have jumped from 150,000 at the end of 2003 to well over 2 million as of March 2005. According to preliminary findings from TeleGeography's latest research, total subscribers in the U.S. should exceed 4.1 million by year end, generating over $1bn in gross revenues for the year.

As of today, the largest provider of home VoIP service has been Vonage, which entered the market early but does not own a communications network of its own. Close on the heels of Vonage now are the cable companies, which have a huge installed base of broadband customers and nearly ubiquitous connectivity. By the end of 2005, TeleGeography predicts that Cablevision, Comcast, and Time Warner together will have 2 million subscribers and nearly one-half of the total residential VoIP market.
This analysis is excerpted from the U.S. VoIP Report, TeleGeography's new study of carriers and consumers of broadband voice service in the U.S.

upay ¶ 4:30 PM //