22nd August 2008Policy tweak may help 3G winners buy telcos
The government plans to tweak M&A guidelines to facilitate the entry of foreign telcos in the 3G space. It proposes to allow winners of 3G licences to acquire or merge with existing or new 2G operators without waiting for the mandatory three-year time period to lapse. Current guidelines bar a 3G licence holder (who is a new entrant) from merging with an existing 2G licensee for a period of three years from the time it secures a license. Existing guidelines also make it mandatory for successful 3G bidders to buy UASL licences for Rs 1,651 crore but do not provide them with 2G spectrum. These guidelines were being cited as major deterrents for the entry of international telcos in the 3G market.
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22nd August 20083 UK launches next-generation Skypephone
Mobile operator 3 UK has unveiled the next-generation Skypephone handset, the 3 Skypephone S2. The new device gives users access to Facebook, Google and Windows Live Messenger and enables free Skype calls and instant messaging. It will be available to pre-order from 19 August, available to purchase online from 27 August and in-store from 01 September. The 3 Skypephone S2 has a revolutionary 'carousel' interface, with switcher key on the side of the handset to move quickly between applications. It has an improved 2.2-in QVGA screen, 3.2-megapixel camera, HSDPA functionality and memory that is expandable to 4 GB.
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22nd August 2008HP ruggedizes ultraportable laptops
Hewlett-Packard on Monday introduced ultraportable laptops that can easily switch between wireless 3G broadband networks and withstand harsh environmental conditions. HP's EliteBook 2530p ultraportable and EliteBook 2730p tablet PC have been tested to meet the U.S. military's standards to withstand harsh elements like high altitude and temperatures, the company said. The laptops, targeted at business users, have also been designed for sensitive parts like hard drive or displays to withstand impact on falls, said Keith LeFebvre, vice president and general manager at HP.
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22nd August 2008Lenovo takes on Air again with ThinkPad X301
Lenovo on Monday will launch an update to its ThinkPad X300 series that shows the PC maker's second response to the MacBook Air. The X301 expands on the earlier model by using Centrino 2-era ultra-low voltage Core 2 Duo processors to ramp up speed while also extending the battery life over the earlier system, which used a lower-clocked version of the same custom processor used in Apple's system. Clock speeds are unmentioned but in prior leaks will involve both 1.6GHz and 1.83GHz processors; regardless of speed, the system should perform about 20 percent faster than the original X300, Lenovo claims.
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21st August 2008Wireless Broadband Internet Users Top 50 Million
Global wireless broadband Internet users almost quadrupled in a year as subscriptions topped 50 million, the GSM Association said. Subscriptions based on high speed packet access, or HSPA, technology rose from 11 million a year ago, the London-based association said today in a statement. It predicted monthly additions of 4 million users until the end of this year. Wireless broadband using HSPA technology offers data transfer speeds of more than 1 megabyte per second, in line with typical fixed-line Internet services. There are currently 191 phone operators offering HSPA networks for more than 740 devices such as handsets and notebooks. TeliaSonera AB, the dominant phone company in Sweden and Finland, said last month that promotions for wireless broadband Internet services are stunting growth in fixed-line broadband.
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21st August 2008Mobile broadband surges on Asian growth
Global mobile broadband penetration has jumped 78 per cent this year on the back of strong Asian growth, according to trade group the GSM Association. There are now 50 million subscribers of HSPA broadband worldwide. Asia is currently the largest market, with 44 per cent of subscriptions and 97 per cent year on year growth. Regional operators such as Softbank and Telstra offer mobile broadband.
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20th August 2008Telefonica O2 CR to expand 3G coverage
Mobile operator Telefonica O2 Czech Republic plans to expand its 3G coverage to another 20 to 30 towns in the country. The company currently provides 3G coverage in Prague and Brno. In a first stage scheduled for the first quarter of 2009, Telefonica O2 will extend its HSDPA-based 3G network across the Ostrava and Pilsen areas. Additionally, the operator plans to provide 3G coverage to over 70 percent of the Czech population during the following two to three years.
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20th August 2008DTAC plans 3G in Bangkok early in 2009
CEO sees lead in nationwide coverage. DTAC is preparing to begin its long-awaited commercial third-generation (3G) mobile broadband service in Bangkok in the first quarter of next year. The country's second-largest mobile operator plans to make 3G available nationwide by mid-2009 under a five-billion-baht investment plan. CEO Sigve Brekke said DTAC appeared to have an advantage over its rivals in the race to 3G, because its existing analogue 850 Megahertz frequency could be upgraded quickly to high-speed download packet access (HSDPA) technology with wider coverage capacity.
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19th August 2008Finally, ‘3’ Mobile to get 96% Aussie 3G coverage!
At long last, Australia’s original 3G provider and arguably one of its most competitive, 3 Mobile, is expanding its previously mostly capital-city only 56% coverage to a much better 96% population coverage by mid 2009 – but will roaming costs come down, too? 3 Mobile has announced “network expansion plans” which include both the building of new coverage “where there is currently high roaming” and new 3G roaming on “parts” of Telstra’s 850MHz 3.5G HSDPA network.
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18th August 2008OCN offers high-speed mobile Internet service
OCN, the Internet service provider operated by NTT Communications, inaugurated a mobile virtual network operator service for high-speed mobile internet in Japan with eAccess Ltd., a broadband IP communication service company, Monday. According the news release provided by NTT Communications, the service, named OCN High-speed Mobile EM, is based on High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) protocol which allows subscribers to obtain broadband-quality internet access anywhere with maximum downlink speed of 7.2 Mbps and maximum uplink speed of 384 kbps.
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"The expectation in the industry is that all 3G W-CDMA operators will adopt HSDPA and HSUPA because of the high value it provides for end-users at a marginal incremental cost."
3G Evolution - the trusted road ahead
White Paper, September 2005
Nokia/Vodafone
