|
May 18 |
CAT puts 3G plans on hold; TOT told to do same
Posted by on 18 May 2012 12:00 PM
|
|
CAT Telecom has suspended its 3G mobile service expansion plan whilst state bodies including the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and the Ministry of Information & Communication Technology (MICT) continue investigations into the legality of the state-owned firm’s wholesale/resale partnership contracts with private sector operator True Corp. CAT’s CEO Kitisak Sriprasert, quoted in a report by local newspaper The Nation, has assured mobile users that the True Move H-branded 3G services provided under the partnership by True’s subsidiary Real Move will be unaffected. However, a story from TelecomAsia, citing Thai language daily Thairath, contradicts this statement by quoting an anonymous member of CAT’s board of directors as saying that, following the MICT's declaration of the CAT-True contracts as ‘illegal’ in March, CAT will end its cooperation with True Move H, preventing the latter from receiving import permission for new HSPA network equipment, although the cellco would be able to continue operating with existing equipment. The inside source added that CAT’s ‘My’ branded retail 3G service offered over the shared 850MHz network will be ‘cancelled’ in the face of the various legal objections.
CAT’s sister telco TOT has also hit big trouble in its 3G expansion plans. As reported by TelecomAsia, ICT minister Anudith Nakorntap has told the state-owned telco – Thailand’s sole holder of licensed 2100MHz spectrum – to cease its ‘failed’ 3G business plan, which has so far cost around THB16 billion (USD510 million) but resulted in just 200,000 HSPA-based network users since launching at the end of 2009. Anudith declared that fewer than half the planned 5,320 base stations have been rolled out to date, and pointed out that the 3G user base numbered less than one twelfth of the projected target of 2.5 million, while operational costs of the network exceeded revenue by a factor of four. TOT must now come up with a new business plan, working with the MICT, the State Enterprise Planning Office and the Finance Ministry. Read more » | |
|
May 18 |
Look before you Leap; cellco to expand LTE coverage to 65m people by 2014
Posted by on 18 May 2012 12:00 PM
|
|
Leap Wireless International plans to expand the projected coverage offered by its in-deployment Long Term Evolution (LTE) network from 20-25 million people by the end of this year, to 60-65 million by late-2013/early-2014, Fierce Wireless reports. Speaking at the 40th annual JP Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, CEO Doug Hutcheson said that the cellco is on track with its rollout schedule, adding that it has no plans to reduce the capital expenditure previously earmarked for LTE. In addition, he confirmed that Leap plans to introduce two LTE-suitable devices in 4Q12.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, Leap inaugurated its 4G network in Tucson, Arizona in December 2011. In March this year the company signed a five-year wholesale agreement with WiMAX-turned-LTE operator Clearwire that will allow Leap to buy capacity the other firm’s forthcoming TD-LTE network, which is expected to go live by June 2013. Read more » | |
|
May 18 |
Videotron delivers on 200Mbps promise
Posted by on 18 May 2012 12:00 PM
|
|
As promised in March, Videotron has launched its highest speed cable broadband package to date, offering 200Mbps/30Mbps download/upload connections under the 'Ultimate Speed Internet 200' banner in Quebec City. The DOCSIS 3.0-based package gives consumers monthly data transfer limits up to 200GB for downloads and up to 50GB for uploads, and costs CAD199.95 (USD197.20). A version of the package is also available for business users. Read more » | |
|
May 18 |
T-Mobile has no plans to introduce LTE handsets
Posted by on 18 May 2012 12:00 PM
|
|
T-Mobile Austria has no immediate plans to launch a Long Term Evolution (LTE) smartphone for its 4G customers, DerStandard.at reports. Following the company’s introduction of the Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE tablet earlier this month, vice president of service management Athanasios Avgeridis confirmed that the cellco has no plans to offer an LTE-suitable smartphone, as any device would currently have to switch to GSM or UMTS for voice calls, which it said would impact on the quality of service it strives to provide. On 1 March 2012 T-Mobile’s chief rival A1 Telekom Austria stole a march on its competitors when it became the first Austrian carrier to launch an LTE-suitable handset – the HTC Velocity 4G LTE. The handset supports transmission speeds of up to 100Mbps/50Mbps (down/uplink). Read more » | |
|
May 18 |
Antares to merge with mobile TV operator Dominanta?
Posted by on 18 May 2012 12:00 PM
|
|
According to an unconfirmed report by Kommersant, would-be Russian Long Term Evolution (LTE) operator Antares Telecom has disclosed plans to officially merge its operations with those of mobile TV operator Dominanta. In January this year the Russian media reported that local businessman Yevgeny Roitman had acquired a 75% stake in Dominanta, Vimpelcom’s ill-fated DVB-H mobile TV unit, which saw its progress derailed by regulatory red-tape. At the time, Roitman expressed his intention to use the frequencies to supplement an LTE network currently being built by Antares, although it was not disclosed what position or interest he actually held within the company. This week’s report indicates that the enigmatic Roitman owns Antares, contradicting previous Russian speculation that the company is owned by either Russian engineering giant E4 Group or British Virgin Islands-registered Wagner Asset Management.
Dominanta reportedly has 36 functional base stations utilising the 510MHz-518MHz band, which Roitman believes can support Antares’ in-deployment 4G network. As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, last month the Federal Supervision Agency IT, Communications & Media (Roskomnadzor) granted the telco permission to use its long-held frequencies in the 1900MHz-1920MHz spectrum band to deploy a network based on LTE technology. The frequencies are held by the Russian firm and its regional subsidiaries Arktur and Integral, and were originally handed to the companies in early-2008, covering the period between 18 April 2008 and 18 April 2013. Previously, in March 2012, the watchdog reacted angrily to reports that Antares was set to embark on an LTE trial in Moscow, refuting suggestions that the company was in possession of the necessary permissions. Read more » | |