Mobile number portability (MNP) will be available to Bangladeshi cellphone users in around a year, according to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) chairman Zia Ahmed. The regulatory chief told Bdnews24.com that MNP is expected to be introduced after the BTRC and the telecoms ministry set out guidelines and implement some new technological solutions. Ahmed said that the regulator had begun initiatives to introduce the service after ‘resolving some technological issues.’ The parliamentary standing committee on the telecoms ministry recommended that the industry watchdog introduce MNP within the current year, at a meeting on 8 January. The issue was included in the 2G mobile licence renewal guidelines, and a four-member committee led by a director was formed to prepare guidelines on number portability – which are nearly finished, according to the report. Aside from technical issues, cost/revenue sharing agreements between operators related to MNP must be settled.

The French telecoms regulator Arcep has published a press release reminding all mobile operators who are members of the EGP-EIG (the body responsible for managing mobile number portability [MNP] in the country) of their non-discrimination and transparency obligations regarding portability. The regulator notes that since the arrival of fresh competition in the shape of Free Mobile on 12 January, EGP-EIG and mobile operators alike have been contending with an upsurge in MNP requests, which have increased from an average 12,000 a day in 2011, to 40,000 today – the current system’s maximum capacity. Indeed, Arcep reports that on 13 January it informed EGP-EIG of ‘the urgent need to implement all of the means necessary to handle this exceptional surge in the number of portability requests’.

The regulator has therefore welcomed a joint announcement from the cellcos and EGP-EIG on Friday 27 January that they have agreed in principle to increase the system’s processing capacity to 80,000 portability requests per day, in an incremental fashion to avoid putting the MNP system in France in peril. Arcep has also invited operators to increase the capacity of their respective information systems proportionately. Furthermore, the chairman of the regulatory authority has sent a memo to all concerned, reminding them that, in accordance with the applicable rules, they must ‘ensure compliance with the principle of non-discrimination and provide consumers with clear and transparent information on how mobile number portability requests are processed’.

The Mexican government aims to promote high speed internet adoption in part by the sale of concessions which will allow the winning bidders to utilise state-owned fibre-optic lines and to build networks in those areas that currently do not have access to broadband services. According to Bloomberg, the initiative will see the government conduct auctions that will include contracts to use two fibre-optic lines from state-owned powerco Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE), while bids will also be taken on the use of fibre links running on along the federal highway network. Mexican president Felipe Calderon is pushing the move with a view to boosting the country’s standings in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in terms of broadband uptake; as per the group’s recent report, Mexico had 10.5 broadband subscriptions per 100 residents at the end of 2010, a figure placing it 32 out of the 34 countries in the organisation. Commenting on the plans, President Calderon noted: ‘We’re promoting social connectivity with broadband.’

The move is not the government’s first in the fibre sector; as noted in TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Mexico announced plans to auction off access to two unused portions of a nationwide fibre-optic network in May 2009, in order to boost broadband competition. Subsequently, in June 2009 the Secretario de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) announced that CFE had formally requested the regulator auction the two fibre portions on its behalf, but some industry figures criticised the proposals as not going far enough, claiming that the CFE had 36 fibre strands suitable for sale, and calling on the state-run entities to consider expanding the scope of the auction. Despite the calls for an extended tender, bidding for the two fibre strands started on 27 January 2010, with a minimum combined bid for all three sections of MXN858.6 million (USD66.13 million). With the state having set a 5 April 2010 deadline for bids, a joint venture between Megacable, Telefonica and Televisa JV emerged as the sole bidder for the fibre links in May 2010. The following month the SCT confirmed the consortium had been awarded the licence allowing access to the two strands of dark fibre, and having bid MXN884 million in the auction, the trio also revealed that they plan to spend a combined MXN1.3 billion on upgrading the infrastructure for future use.

Source: TeleGeography.

Brazil’s national regulator Anatel has ordered local telecoms operators to reduce tariffs by 10.78% starting from 24 February, Dow Jones reports. In a statement published yesterday, the watchdog is looking to reduce prices of calls from fixed to mobile numbers and also for mobile to mobile calls, it said. It hopes the move will further boost consumer take-up and in so doing compensate for any initial losses to operators revenues. Under the plan the cost of a call from a fixed line to a mobile phone will come down from BRL0.546 (USD0.311) per minute to BRL0.487. The regulator has also ordered similar reductions from the start of 2013 and 2014.

Ukraine’s Ukrtelecom reports that its 3G mobile subscriber base increased in December 2011 by 4.5% or 34,000 users, to reach 790,200 active SIMs as of 1 January 2012. As reported by CommsUpdate, Ukrtelecom is in the process of selecting a buyer for its W-CDMA/HSPA-based cellular operations, after accepting second-round bid proposals up to a deadline of 25 November 2011. In September Ukrtelecom announced it was transferring all assets of its mobile business from its internal Utel division into a newly formed company, TriMob, for sale, effective from 1 January.

Source: TeleGeography.

News agency ARKA reports Armenia’s National Statistical Service (NSO) as saying that the country’s communications services sector generated earnings of AMD158 billion (USD408.5 million) last year, broadly unchanged on the total for 2010. The NSO’s report said revenue from fixed telephony services fell by 14.6% last year to AMD29.3 billion, while earning from mobile phone services dipped by 2.6% year-on-year to AMD96.1 billion. The statistics bureau went on to add that overall revenues from telecoms, TV and radio broadcasting rose by 0.5% to more than AMD172.2 billion.

Source: TeleGeography.

Figures published by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) show that the country was home to 15.034 million fixed and mobile telephony users at 14 December 2011 (Nepal calendar: Magh, 2068), up from 13.762 million three months earlier (Bharda, 2068), a combined teledensity of 56.46% (up from 48.14%). At that date the regulator said there were more than 13.354 million mobile connections – broken down as 12.498 million (GSM) and 856,234 (CDMA) – and 845,542 fixed lines in service (618,426 PSTN and 227,116 WiLL). Furthermore, the watchdog noted that some 832,366 people were using Land Mobile Services (LMS) and 1,742 had a Global Mobile Personal Communication System (GMPCS) satellite phone. In addition, the total number of broadband connections in the mountain Kingdom at 14 December 2011 stood at 125,151, including 77,737 (ADSL), 30,495 (wireless or fibre-optic) and 16,919 (cable modem) lines. More than a million people were also hooked up to the internet via a (sub-broadband) GPRS or CDMA2000 1x link and 19,671 were using dial-up.

Source: TeleGeography.

Morocco’s Agence Nationale de Reglementation de Telecom (ANRT) reports that the country had 36.554 million mobile subscribers at the end of December 2011, an increase of 404,000 in the fourth quarter and up from 31.982 million twelve months earlier. According to the regulator’s calculations this gives the country a cellular penetration of 113.6%. The ANRT claimed that Maroc Telecom held onto a 46.9% share of subscribers at the end of 2011, down from 52.8% a year previously, while Medi Telecom (Meditel) had 32.9% (down from 33.7%) and Wana (Inwi) accounted for 20.2% (up from 13.5%). In the 3G mobile internet sector, data-only subscriptions reached 1.499 million at the end of December 2011, a growth rate of 6.83% over the previous quarter, while the number of mobile voice-plus-data subscriptions reached 1.091 million, up by 17.83% quarter-on-quarter. Total 3G mobile broadband subscribers stood at 2.591 million as of 31 December 2011, representing an 11.2% growth rate in the fourth quarter, and 89.58% on an annual basis. At the end of the year, the mobile broadband market shares were: Maroc Telecom 42.53%, Meditel 34.99% and Wana 22.48%.

The watchdog also reported that mobile voice traffic leapt up by 65.6% in 2011, to 23.315 billion minutes, reflecting price reductions. In contrast, in the fixed line sector, voice traffic was down by 9.4% in the year to 5.487 billion minutes. In terms of subscribers, too, the fixed line market shrunk slightly in 2011, with 3.566 million lines in service at the end of December, down from 3.749 million year-on-year. 61% (2.295 million) of the total connections were based on limited mobility CDMA technology, a large majority of which are provided by Wana. This was the first time since 2006 that the total fixed line subscriber market had declined. In terms of overall market share in the fixed line (including limited mobility) sector, Wana accounted for 64.59% of customers at end-2011, Maroc Telecom claimed 34.79% and Meditel 0.62%.

Ecuadorian regulator Supertel reports that the country’s mobile operators reached 15.8 million telephony subscribers between them at the end of 2011, compared to 15 million a year earlier. Market shares were only fractionally changed from a year ago: Claro, the local subsidiary of America Movil, claimed around 70% of the total, with Telefonica unit Movistar Ecuador serving around 28% of users and state-backed CNT bringing up the rear with a 2% share.

Growth of the total market is being affected by the implementation of compulsory pre-paid mobile user registration; Ecuadorian SIM card owners were given nine months from 5 July 2011 to register their details on a national database or have their services limited from 5 April 2012 to incoming calls or messages only. In July 2012 all remaining unregistered SIMs will be disconnected.

Source: TeleGeography.

The number of Brazilian municipalities covered by the country’s national fixed broadband plan (Plano Nacional de Banda Larga, or PNBL), now stands at 692, the communications ministry reports on its website. A total of 471 municipalities were covered in 2011, but the footprint has increased significantly through the addition of 221 new cities in January, it said. The goal is to reach a total of 4,424 cities by 2017. The ministry has published a full list of the cities covered by low-cost services from TNL (Oi), Telefonica Brazil and Sercomtel (Algar Telecom) – each of which is offering internet access capped at BRL35 (USD19.9) per month.

Source: TeleGeography.

Kyrgyz mobile operator Megacom has announced the commercial launch of its third-generation wireless network, offering services such as videocalling, mobile TV and high speed mobile broadband. Services are initially available in the capital Bishkek, but the company plans to expand 3G network coverage to Kant, Tokmok and Kara-Balta in Chuy province by March 2012, with other regions, including Naryn, to follow later in the year.

Source: TeleGeography.

Chile’s telecoms regulator Subsecretaria de Telecomunicaciones (Subtel) has announced the launch of mobile number portability (MNP), which commenced on 16 January. Chilean wireless subscribers are now able to switch providers whilst retaining their phone number. Subtel encouraged customer mobility further with a ban earlier this month, forbidding the sale of carrier-locked handsets, and imposing on operators an obligation to unlock devices for free.

Subtel reported that in the first day that the service was operational, 1,190 subscribers switched provider, with Entel gaining the most new users from the service, and Telefonica Moviles Chile (Movistar) losing the most. Entel saw net additions of 333 customers, mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Grupo GTD gained nine new customers, and Nextel added just two. Claro and Movistar saw net losses of 66 and 279 respectively. All of the nation’s telcos chose to absorb the CLP377 (USD0.74) fee per number ported.

Whilst MNP was launched nationwide simultaneously, fixed number portability (FNP) is being launched region by region, having started in Arica in December last year. Santiago will be the next region to receive the service in March, with the final areas due to receive the service by the end of February next year. Subtel has launched a separate website (http://www.portabilidadnumerica.cl/) to inform customers of the changes and to assist with the porting process.

Source: TeleGeography.

Albania’s telecoms watchdog the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (Akep) has invited interested parties to bid for a third 3G concession by 24 February. The licence will authorise the use of 2×15MHz of paired spectrum in the 1950MHz-1965MHz and 2140MHz-2155MHz bands and an unpaired 5MHz spectrum block in 1910MHz-1915MHz range. Akep has set a minimum bid of EUR12.5 million (USD15.8 million) for the concession, the same amount stipulated in its previous 3G tenders. As with the existing 3G concessions, the licence requires that the operator’s network must achieve population coverage of 35% in the first six months, 65% within twelve months, and 85% in 18 months.

As noted in TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Akep awarded the nation’s first 3G licence to Vodafone in November 2010, with a second granted in June 2011 to Albanian Mobile Communications (AMC). Akep’s decision to issue concessions individually has been widely criticised by the country’s four cellcos, which have expressed their concern that single licences might encourage anti-competitive behaviour.

According to the Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel, the country was home to more than 242.2 million mobile SIMs at the end of December 2011, a cellular penetration of 123.97%. Net additions for the year reached 39.3 million, it said, including 6.1 million in December alone. At the year end, Anatel reported that 191.2 million connections were for pre-paid users, equivalent to 81.8% of the total base, with the remainder (44 million, or 18.2%) on monthly contracts. Telefonica-Vivo closed out the year in top spot, with 29.54% of the market (71.55 million users), ahead of TIM Brasil with 26.46% (64.08 million), which leapfrogged Claro Brazil (24.93%, or 60.38 million) in the process. Fourth place was taken by Telemar Norte Leste (Oi) which secured 45.48 million subscribers, equivalent to 18.78% of the market, and regional operator CTBC Cellular (Algar Telecom) had a total of 653,905 subscribers, or 0.07% of the sector. Anatel also noted that 3G devices (including handsets and dongles) topped 41.1 million at 31 December 2011, up 99.3% year-on-year.

Venezuela’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Intermediate Industries (MPPCTII) has given a presentation in which it points out that the country’s telecoms sector grew from 3.6 million fixed line subscribers in 2007 to 6.32 million at the end of 2011, an increase of 76.5% over five years. Overall, since the re-privatisation of national PSTN operator CANTV, the telco saw 79% growth in its fixed line base, the MPPCTII added. The ministry also stated that CANTV’s mobile division Movilnet reached 14.8 million subscribers by the end of 2011, up from 8.3 million customers over the same timeframe. Other statistics quoted included that Venezuela ended 2011 with 11,482km of fibre-optic backbone infrastructure in service, with around 6,000km expected to be added to the network in 2012.

The number of subscribers using Zain Jordan’s 3G services reached 700,000 by the end of 2011, according to the company’s CEO Ahmad Al Hanandeh. The chief executive told local daily The Jordan Times that the number was likely to double in 2012, as a result of legislation exempting smartphones from tax. In August last year, the government removed the sales tax on high-end handsets, reducing the price to end users by between JOD88 and JOD100 (USD123.77 and USD140.65). Zain launched its 3G service in March last year and had signed up 41,000 subscribers by the end of that month. Jordan’s third mobile provider, Bahrain-backed Umniah, announced late last year that, having previously abstained from 3G offerings on the grounds that the market was not ready, it too would launch a foray into the 3G sector in 2012. In its announcement, Umniah noted that the increasing availability of smartphones had influenced its decision.

Source: TeleGeography.

The Hungarian telecoms watchdog the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) says the total number of mobile subscriptions in the country reached 11.642 million at 31 December 2011, although net additions only inched up marginally by 47,000 in the last month of the year. Excluding ‘inactive’ accounts, the NMHH said active mobile subscriptions (i.e. where a call was made within the past three months) topped 11.10 million at the same date – with December net additions standing at 112.000. T-Mobile Hungary’s market share based on active users stood at 45.40% by the year end, up from 45.38% in November, Telenor’s fell to 31.98% from 32.03% and Vodafone’s rose to 22.63% from 22.59%.

Source: TeleGeography.

Haiti’s new national full-service telecoms operator Natcom, a joint venture between Vietnam’s Viettel and the Haitian government, has announced that it signed up 500,000 mobile customers after two months of its commercial cellular network launch on 7 September 2011. Viettel also revealed on its website that the number of Natcom’s sales agents and customer service outlets reached 4,000 as of November 2011, doubling the amount at launch. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, between the launch of trial services in July 2011 and its official launch two months later, Natcom attracted 140,000 2G mobile subscribers and ‘thousands’ of 3G internet subscribers, deputy director Tran Sy Tien was quoted as saying, and the company claims to have reached its target of 500,000 users by the end of 2011 early, although it is not yet known if it achieved a goal of 20,000 3G connections amongst this total. Natcom’s Vietnamese parent has invested in the rollout of approximately 1,000 2G and 3G mobile base stations as well as deploying 3,000km of fibre-optic cable, and by end-2012 is aiming for two million mobile subscribers. Haiti’s mobile market is currently led by Digicel, which competes with another GSM provider, the country’s second-largest operator, Voila.

Data published by the national regulator the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) shows that the mountain Kingdom was home to 14.75 million mobile subscribers at mid-November 2011, after net additions of 2.14 million new connections in the preceding month. At that date overall teledensity (fixed and mobile) stood at 55.41%, according to the NTA’s latest Management Information System report, as fixed lines reached 844,816 (including 228,305 WiLL lines).

Nepal Telecom (NT) added a net 130,000 mobile subscribers in the month to mid-November to boost its total to 7.18 million (including 857,981 CDMA users), while fellow GSM provider Ncell reported close to 6.69 million connections, having added a net 350,000 users in the month under review. Meanwhile, the country’s smaller players fared less well in terms of subscriber growth. United Telecom Limited reached reached 588,307 customers from 585,170 previously, Nepal Satellite Telecom upped its total from 97,280 to 98,985 and Smart Telecom had 193,064 users, up from 179,136 at mid-October.

At the same date the NTA said the total number of internet subscribers stood at 3.75 million, up from 3.59 million a month earlier, with the overwhelming majority (almost 3.44 million) arising from GPRS mobile internet connections. The number of ADSL connections topped 76,740 for NT, with cable modem and other (wireless, fibre-optic) reaching 16,898 and 30,397 respectively.

In a separate development, Nepalese newspaper MyRepublica writes that last Friday the Bills Committee of the cabinet endorsed the amendment to Telecommunication Regulations, raising the licence renewal period for all operators and ISPs to ten years. Until now, service providers have been required to renew their licences every five years. The decision came despite recommendations from both the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) that the government not effect any changes to local telecoms rules, particularly as they were investigating cases of possible anomalies concerning previous licence awards. The Bills Committee seemingly has disregarded this advice and even moved to endorse a provision that could pave the way for the introduction of a Unified Licensing Policy – a proposal still being pushed by the NTA even though the government rejected such a call four years ago.

Finally, the CIAA is also being called upon to carry out a study on the contentious allocation of frequencies for 2G and 3G mobile services, and to look into an ongoing issue of a possible ‘scam’ surrounding voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) telephony in Nepal. The Himalayan News Service reports that a sub-committee of the CIAA is being advised to bring former and current NTA board members into the spotlight of the investigation, and has also hinted it take action against government ministers. The sub-committee — formed on January 13, 2011 — has raised the issue of frequency allocation, 3G frequency distribution without charge, royalty disputes and different standards for different rural telecom service providers in its report.

Source: TeleGeography.

Morocco’s Maroc Telecom, part of France’s Vivendi Universal group, has started deployment of an international high speed fibre-optic submarine cable between Morocco and Spain, named ‘Loukkos’, which is scheduled to be ready for service in March this year. Moroccan newspaper Le Matin reports that the telco’s self-funded MAD143 million (USD16 million) cable linking Asilah in Morocco with Rota, Spain, is being supplied by Alcatel-Lucent unit Alcatel Submarine Networks and CanaLink. The 187km cable will have an initial capacity of 80Gbps, upgradeable to 1.28Tbps, and is designed to add diversity and redundancy to Maroc Telecom’s international traffic routes as well as cope with increasing demand from broadband service users and the trend for international offshoring activities, particularly call centres.

TeleGeography notes that Maroc Telecom part-owns the existing Spain-Morocco undersea fibre-optic cable Estepona-Tetouan, while the telco wholly owns the Atlas Offshore submarine cable linking Asilah in Morocco with Marseille, France, which was completed in April 2007 under a MAD300 million contract with Alcatel-Lucent. The partly state-owned operator also provides landing stations for the SEA-ME-WE-3 consortium cable and the legacy Eurafrica (Morocco-Portugal-France) system. It is also currently engaged in a project to link its African subsidiaries with a land-based international cable system to span Morocco, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Gabon, Mali and Burkina Faso.

Source: TeleGeography.

MTN Swaziland has admitted that users of its long-delayed 3G network are experiencing problems with the service due to a lack of bandwidth. Corporate affairs manager Mpumelelo Makhubu told the Times of Swaziland that the South African-owned cellco has applied for additional spectrum from the Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC), but has yet to receive a response from the regulator. Although Makhubu declined to elaborate on the precise details of the technical issues, the newspaper claims that the ‘network is still sluggish because there is an acute shortage of bandwidth’.

As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, MTN’s 3G network finally launched in October 2011, following a lengthy war of words between the cellco and the SPTC, which saw the latter accuse MTN of making unreasonable demands regarding 3G exclusivity. During the launch event, chief marketing officer Phillip Besiimire confirmed that the cellco had invested nearly SZL300 million (USD37.2 million) on the network, of which SZL37 million went on the long-denied 3G licence. Besiimire added that the company is also obliged to pay the SPTC a percentage of its profits as part of the agreement.

Source: TeleGeography.

Zimbabwean state-owned cellular operator NetOne has opened up its mobile broadband service to pre-paid subscribers, having previously run a trial of the high speed internet service in October-December for a small minority of its customers – those on post-paid contracts with a minimum monthly salary of USD1,000. Local technology journal TechZim reports that 2.5G/3G data usage will be charged at USD0.10 per 1MB on a pre-paid basis – which is cheaper in comparison to the USD0.15 out-of-tariff data charge for users of cellular market leader Econet Wireless, and equal to the data tariff set by NetOne’s nearest rival Telecel Zimbabwe.

Source: TeleGeography.

From today, incumbent fixed line operator Mauritius Telecom is cutting the cost of its residential ADSL Home tariffs by between 12% and 46%, and halving access prices on its ADSL Business plans, L’Express reports. The announcement was made by the Minister of Information Technology and Communication (ICT), Tassarajen Pillay Chedumbrum, on 25 November during a press briefing. As a result of the reduction, the cost of the telco’s 256kbps ADSL Home package will come down to MUR349 (USD12.35) per month from MUR399, the 512kbps service will be trimmed to MUR699 from MUR759, while the cost of its 1Mbps plan will be cut by 46% to MUR799.

Meanwhile ADSL Business users will see their rates cut by 50%, while call centres and business process outsourcing (BPO) firms will experience cuts of between 10% and 46%. Mauritius Telecom will not however, be cutting the cost of its triple-play service, My.T.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has so far registered around 93 million mobile lines over the course of its SIM registration campaign, local newspaper BusinessDay cites the regulator’s executive vice chairman, Eugene Juwah, as saying. Following the successful completion of the scheme, Juwah said that the commission will begin to implement mobile number portability (MNP) next year to enhance competition in the market and improve the quality of wireless services.

TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database states that the six-month SIM registration exercise was scheduled to conclude on 28 September 2011, but the deadline was subsequently extended during the harmonisation process for an unspecified period to allow any remaining subscribers to register their details. The final deadline has since been announced as 31 December 2011, after which all unregistered SIM cards will be disconnected without further notice, The Nation reports.

Source: TeleGeography

According to preliminary data from Lithuania’s Communications Regulatory Authority (RRT), the number of broadband customers in the country stood at 956,000 at the end of the third quarter of 2011, an increase of 12% year-on-year and up 4% quarter-on-quarter. Of that total, 716,000 were fixed high speed internet subscribers (an increase of 2.2% over Q3 2010) and the remaining 240,000 were mobile broadband subscribers (up 8%). Revenues from retail broadband access services grew only 0.05% quarter-on-quarter to LTL91.4 million (USD35.8 million).

The regulator reports that fixed telephony subscriber dropped 3% during the third quarter of 2011 to reach 718,000 at the end of September, while revenue generated by fixed telephony services also declined by 3% during the period to LTL65.7 million. Mobile telephony turnover also fell to LTL239.3 million during 3Q11, down 1.1% compared to the second quarter. The RRT’s preliminary data states that 3G network subscribers totalled 1.077 million at 30 September 2011, accounting for 22% of the overall active mobile customer base. Overall, Lithuania’s telecommunications market generated revenue of LTL598.9 million in Q3 2011, down 1.1% quarter-on-quarter and a drop of 9% year-on-year. Capital expenditure on telecoms infrastructure totalled LTL80.9 million, down 14% over the previous quarter Q2 but up 20% from the year-ago period.

Iran has officially introduced a third national mobile phone operator, named Ritel, the Tehran Times reports, without citing any additional information. Ritel was reportedly unveiled in a ceremony held in Tehran on Monday. The brief news item makes no mention of network coverage details or the cellco’s ownership structure.

According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Iran is home to two active national mobile phone operators, Mobile Communication Company of Iran (MCI) and South African-owned MTN Irancell. In October 2009 the government awarded a third national concession to a consortium headed by Tamin Telecom. The licence was officially handed over to Tamin in April 2010, but at the time of writing – and in spite of its licence terms (which stipulated 2G network coverage of eight main cities and 1,421km of roads within nine months) – Tamin is not yet believed to be operational. It has said it plans to cover 60% of the population with its 2G network and 40% with its 3G network by 2014.

At this stage it is unclear whether Ritel’s operating licence is a brand new concession or the revoked licence previously issued to Tamin Telecom. The latter seems unlikely, as in October 2010, despite its lack of progress, telecoms watchdog the Communication Regulation Agency (CRA) announced that the country would not be offering another 3G licence until Tamin’s exclusivity expires in 2013.

Cable & Wireless Communications today published a press release confirming that its business in Macau, CTM, has launched a 250Mbps residential broadband service, providing local inhabitants with one of the fastest internet download speeds anywhere in the world. The statement notes that the new service more than doubles the previous top speed available from CTM’s fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network.

The fibre-optic network, which was launched in October 2010, has been rolled out to the most densely populated areas of Macau. Commenting on today’s announcement, CTM chief executive, Vandy Poon, said: ‘The people of Macau are very technologically sophisticated and so we are delighted to be able to deliver truly world-class broadband speeds. This is a great demonstration of the capability of our engineering team at CTM and our commitment to quality. This ultra high speed internet connection will allow residents to access interactive services such as HD TV, video games and communications services, to get the most out of their digital life.’

Italian telecoms regulator Autorita per le Garanzie Comunicazioni (AGCOM) has confirmed that the country’s four mobile network operators – Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM), Vodafone Italy, Wind Telecomunicazioni (Wind Italy) and 3 Italia (H3G Italia) – have been instructed to cut mobile termination rates (MTRs) by 40%, following a request by the European Commission (EC).

As such, the telecoms watchdog has indicated that tariffs must drop from EUR0.025 (USD0.034) to EUR0.035 by 1 July 2012, with a further reduction, to EUR0.0098 by 1 July 2013.

Source: TeleGeography

Uganda’s cellcos have been warned that quality of service (QoS) will, from next year, form the basis of licence renewal applications and also represent a key condition for the issuance of future concessions, reports local paper Daily Monitor. State Minister for Information Technology, Nyombi Thembo, said that although there has been progress in the accessibility of mobile services, the government’s aim is to guarantee value for money by driving improvements in QoS: ‘There is no way we will renew a licence for a player offering poor services, that has to stop.’

As reported by CommsUpdate, the Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) last week released details of its most recent QoS survey, which showed that none of the operators were meeting the target for blocked and dropped calls. MTN Uganda dismissed its poor performance in the survey – roughly on par with rivals Airtel Uganda, and Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL) – saying: ‘We don’t agree with the report. We have commissioned our own studies, some of which we shall soon share with the public.’

In response to the comments, Thembo remarked: ‘The habit of telecoms [operators] denying and dismissing the findings should stop. We do not want the survey to victimise a particular provider. It is for their benefit because we want them to improve.’

Source: TeleGeography

Azerbaijan’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, Azercell, launched 3G services on Friday, just over two weeks after receiving its concession from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). The TeliaSonera subsidiary becomes the second operator in Azerbaijan to offer next-generation services.

‘The launch of 3G services in Azerbaijan will provide our customers with mobile broadband that is up to 20 times faster than the current 2G technology,’ said Tero Kivisaari, TeliaSonera’s President of Business Area Eurasia. The Swedish company now offers 3G across its entire European footprint.

Source: TeleGeography

Mozambican mobile operators mCel and Vodacom Mozambique (VM) have been formally issued with national 3G licence extensions, which are valid for 15 years apiece. Under the terms of the licences, as set out by the National Communications Institute of Mozambique (INCM), the pair are obliged to expand their 3G networks to all districts of the country by 31 December 2015, with a particular focus on the so-called ‘development corridors’ and tourist resorts, as well as improving their existing networks in areas which are considered to be strategic locations. INCM president Isidoro da Silva confirmed that the licences encompass frequencies in the 1900MHz and 2100MHz spectrum bands. mCel CEO Mamudo Ibraimo indicated that the first cities to benefit from his company’s nationwide 3G focus will be Quelimane, Chimoio and Mocuba.

According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, in September 2006 state-owned mCel was awarded the country’s first UMTS 3G concession, while its sole rival at that date, VM, opted not to submit an application at that time. In 2008, however, VM had a change of heart and successfully acquired a 3G licence from the INCM; its W-CDMA network had been expected to launch in the third quarter of 2009, but eventually began offering commercial services in February 2010. The latest move effectively brings mCel and Vodacom in line with yet-to-launch third player Movitel, which received its own 15-year UMTS concession in January 2011.

France Telecom-Orange has announced an agreement with fellow operator SFR to deploy optical fibre technology covering millions of households in less densely-populated areas of mainland France. The fibre-optic deployment agreement drawn up by France Telecom-Orange and SFR covers around 9.8 million homes in agglomerations where ‘both operators have redundant deployment projects’, the statement read. Under the terms of the agreement, SFR will serve 2.3 million of these households and France Telecom-Orange will serve 7.5 million.

A spokeswoman for Orange confirmed the plan, Reuters reports, but declined to confirm whether or not the two carriers would share the investment of nearly EUR5 billion (USD6.8 billion). The fibre investment forms part of France Telecom-Orange’s plan to spend EUR2 billion by 2015 on fibre expansion to reach 60% of French households (target date 2020) – aided by private-operator investment. SFR declined to comment on the release.

Source: TeleGeography