3G/4G mobile broadband industry news from the UMTS Forum
04 March 2011
Airtel Lights up Delhi NCR with 3G services
Bharti Airtel has launched 3G services in the National Capital Region spanning Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Noida, on the back of its network that numbers more than 1800 base stations. The Indian operator has also announced a milestone of half a million 3G customers on its 3G network, which launched at the end of January 2011 in 7 cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Mysore, Manipal, Udipi and Jaipur.
Auction of Radio Spectrum for the Provision of Public Mobile Telecommunications Services Successfully Concluded
Kong Kong’s Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) has announced two winners of its auction for spectrum in the 850 MHz and 900 MHz bands. SmarTone-Vodafone won 2x5 MHz in the 850 MHz band for HK$875 million (U$112 million), while Hutchison Telephone Company placed the highest bid of HK$1.1 billion for 2x5 MHz at 900 MHz. The 15-year licences oblige winners to cover at least 50% of the population of Hong Kong within five years. Total proceeds from the auction reached HK$1.95 billion.
Iliad and Orange have signed a national roaming agreement for their respective 2G networks in France, and decided to expand it to include 3G roaming. The deal will take effect once Iliad has covered 25% of the French population with its 3G network, which is currently being deployed. The roaming agreement enables Iliad – operating under the Free brand name – to provide full 3G coverage on the WCDMA/HSPA network of Orange France.
Yota is set to become Russia’s wholesale LTE network provider, following a deal that the mobile broadband operator has signed with Vimpelcom (Beeline), Megafon, MTS and Rostelekom. Yota will roll out its LTE network in 180 cities by 2014, enabling the four mobile operators to access a population of more than 70 million citizens. According to the terms of the deal, Yota’s partners will have an option to buy its shares in 2014.
Nokia and DNA have jointly launched a new campaign to educate Finnish mobile users about the features and applications available on their smartphones. The campaign follows a recent study, revealing that only half of Finns actively use all the features of their smartphones.
Apple Launches iPad 2
Apple has launched the iPad 2, which goes on sale in the US on 11 March and in Europe on 25 March. The updated tablet device is 33% thinner and 15% lighter than its predecessor. It features a 9.7-inch screen, Apple's new dual-core A5 processor, a front-facing VGA camera, a rear-facing camera, 720p HD video. It runs iOS 4.3, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system. The iPad 2 is available in a 3G version with HSUPA support, running on AT&T’s 3G network. The iPad 2 3G will retail in the US at US$629 for the 16 GB model, US$729 for 32 GB and US$829 for 64 GB.
Don't Worry, Roam Happy when You Travel the World with StarHub's Peace-of-mind Data-roaming Offerings
StarHub has unveiled Roam Manager, a cost management tool that helps customers control their data roaming costs more effectively. The service is offered with four new levels of daily data roaming notifications, each providing five tiers of alert that will be triggered when data roaming usage hits the specified daily amount. The Singaporean operator has also introduced four new price plans for affordable mobile data access abroad - the 10 MB package at SG$30 (US$24), the 20 MB package at SG$48, the 40 MB package at SG$90 and the 100 MB package at SG$200 per month.
Deutsche Telekom has announced plans to roll out HSPA+ Dual Carrier services in 2011. The new technology doubles peak downlink rates to 42.2 Mbps. The company is to introduce new web'n'walk sticks for laptops and notebooks, as well as new data packages. The web'n'walk stick Fusion III, supporting downlink rates of up to 21.6 Mbps, is available from this month with a new web'n'walk Connect XL price plan at EUR54.95 per month. The web'n'walk stick Business II, which enables downlink speeds of up to 42 Mbps, launches in June with a price plan of EUR75.95 per month.
The Swedish telecoms regulator (PTS) has begun to auction spectrum in the 800 MHz frequency band, which will be available for the deployment of mobile broadband services. Six licences of 2x5 MHz each are on offer, with a limit of two licences (or maximum 2x10 MHz) per bidder. The licences are technology- and service- neutral. Bidders will not be announced until the auction has been concluded.
Olivetti, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telecom Italia, has unveiled the OliPad, marking its entry to the tablet market. The device features a 10-inch touchscreen display, 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, USB/SD Card and HDMI ports, 1.3-megapixel camera, as well as access to a broad range of applications. Running on the Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, it is powered by the Dual Cortex A9 Nvidia processor.
T-Mobile Czech Republic has expanded its HSPA+ network to twenty more cities. To take advantage of the maximum speeds offered by HSPA+ technology, customers will need the Huawei E1823 USB modem, which is currently available at the promotional prices starting at CZK1 (US$0.06). In total, T-Mobile Czech Republic added 39 towns and cities to its HSPA+ network in 2010, while the signal was enhanced in nine cities.
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