Pakistan is home to some of the world’s most successful investors in emerging markets including Orascom (VimpelCom), Telenor, Etisalat , SingTel, China Mobile, Qatar Telecom, Omantel, etc. It has modern infrastructure of several International Submarine Cables linking Pakistan with the rest of the world. International bandwidth utilization in Pakistan is increasing progressively. Several international terrestrial links have been established with neighboring countries and more are on the cards. It has at least 4 fully redundant, self-healing Nat’l Fiberoptic networks. Fixedline, LDI and Cellular Operators have already geared themselves for NGN Deployments, a fully functional Mobile Number Portability and an effective UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND for unserved markets. Pakistan is ready to benefit from the 3G/4G and LTE technologies for proliferation of broadband services due to a very limited existence of Fixed-line tele-density.

Government of Pakistan has decided to Auction more spectrum for the proliferation of Telecom and ICT services in Pakistan in-line with its recently announced policies of December 2011. The type of Licenses and the salient features are:

Mobile Cellular License (defunct) in 800Mhz band
Mobile Cellular License 3G/4G/LTE in 1900/2100 Mhz band
Salient Features of the 800 Mhz License Auction
— Technology Neutral Mobile Cellular License/ Spectrum for the remaining period of approximate 8 years
— Existing License against an available spectrum of 7.38 + 7.38 Mhz block
— Auction through ‘Multiple Round Open Outcry Method’
— Base Price (BP) = USD 155 Million
— Earnest Money = USD 23.25 Million (15% of BP)
— Successful bidder allowed to participate in Mobile Cellular 3G/4G/LTE License(s)/ Spectrum auction
Salient Features of the 3G/4G/LTE 1900/2100 Mhz License/Spectrum Auction.
— Auction through Multiple Round Open Outcry Method
— 3 technology neutral Mobile Cellular License/ Spectrum; 9.8 + 9.8 Mhz per block
— Base Price (BP) = USD 210 Million
— Earnest Money = USD 31.5 Million (15% of BP)
— A new entrant who has been determined as a successful bidder as a result of March 2012
Auction for Mobile Cellular License (defunct) shall be eligible to participate.
— Existing Cellular operators, are eligible to participate
— Successful Bidders will be offered spectrum for 15 years
— Existing Licenses shall be modified accordingly
— Existing Mobile Cellular License(s) shall be renewed on expiry of its existing term for the remaining duration of assigned spectrum
— All new prospective entrants eligible to bid and agree to start commercial operations after March 2013 may also participate in the auction.
— New License template is available in the IM
— Issued for 15 Years
— Renewable for another term on terms & conditions, as per GoP Policy

Prospective applicants, especially new players, can familiarize themselves with the telecom regulatory, institutional framework and encouraged to visit: www.pta.gov.pk 

All the relevant documents including the Information Memorandum for this auction are placed on PTA's website.

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

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Source: TeleGeography

Pan-Caribbean mobile network operator, Digicel has protested against the decision of the Guyana Parliament not to pass legislation that would break a monopoly on international calls in Guyana. Despite months of consultations and commitments, the Government pulled the legislation at the 11th hour. According to the telecommunications provider, Parliament's decision to allow the current monopoly to continue crushes Guyana's hope for lower international calling rates within the near future. Digicel is requesting that details of the late submission, the reason for the withdrawal of the promised legislation from Parliament today be made available to all stakeholders.

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Source: Cellular-news

Charts, diagrams, charts, measurements, and more charts. This summation of nearly every document that passes through the FCC sounds only slightly more fun than staring at the Matrix all day, yet we still find ourselves a bit giddy when seeing highly anticipated phones take their turn getting the Federal nod of approval. And so it is with the Samsung i937, which is most likely the Focus S -- one of three tantalizing Windows Phone choices aimed at reaching stores "this fall." It's about what we'd expect, really: aside from sporting the usual AT&T frequencies, there's not much more that we can discern from the pages and pages of numbers and colorful pictures that depict phone radiation. Exciting stuff, we know, but Windows Phone 7.5 is at least one step closer to being in the clutches of our lonely mitts.

See Press Release 
Source: FCC 

French telecoms regulator Arcep has sold the first blocks of fourth-generation (4G) mobile frequencies in the 2600MHz band for a total of EUR936 million (USD1.28 billion), awarding concessions to all four of the country’s main mobile network operators. The watchdog says it received the highest bid from Iliad’s Free Mobile – the start-up that is preparing to enter the market within the next few months. Free Mobile agreed to pay EUR271 million for the two larger blocks of 2×20MHz spectrum. France Telecom (Orange) was also allocated a duplex frequency block of 20MHz, for which it bid a little over EUR287 million. FT also agreed to host mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) on its new infrastructure. Meanwhile, Vivendi’s Societe Francaise du Radiotelephone (SFR) bid EUR150 million for a 2×15MHz block of spectrum, and Bouygues Telecom offered EUR228 million for a duplex frequency block of 15MHz.

See Press Release 
Source: Telegeography

Indian telco says it will work with authorities to allay any concerns. India's Directorate of Enforcement has begun a probe into suspected foreign exchange violations by Bharti Airtel Ltd., the country's federal junior finance minister said Tuesday. The Enforcement Directorate, a unit of the federal finance ministry, investigates violations of foreign exchange laws and money laundering. Namo Narain Meena also told lawmakers the country's markets regulator--the Securities and Exchange Board of India--has received complaints over an alleged increase in share holding by its founders to 67.15% from 60.91% in the company between June 2007 and September 2008, without extending an open offer to public shareholders.

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Source: TotalTelecom

Primus Telecommunications has announced that its subsidiary company, Globility Communications, a Canadian local exchange carrier, has entered into an agreement to sell its 3.5 GHz fixed wireless spectrum licenses in 29 rural and urban markets across Canada for C$15 million. The license transfer is subject to Industry Canada approval. PTGi indirectly owns a 45.6% interest in Globility. Peter D. Aquino, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "PTGi is in full agreement with Globility's decision to monetize these non-core investments. This strongly complements PTGi's focus of investing in Canada in areas in which we can build sustainable long-term advantages for growth." The identity of the buyer was not disclosed.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-news

According to the Times of Swaziland, the government is currently considering applications from four international telecoms operators that are interested in entering the country’s mobile phone market. The four as-yet-unnamed companies – which are collectively based in Israel, Kenya and South Africa – are believed to have submitted proposals to the Swaziland Investment Promotions Authority (SIPA) during the first half of 2011. SIPA director Phiwayinkhosi Ginindza has indicated that, barring regulatory hurdles, Swaziland could have a second operational cellco before the end of 2011. Although the newspaper claims to be aware of the identities of the interested parties, it plans to keep them under wraps until the decision-making process gains momentum.

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

Niger’s communications ministry has invited telecoms companies to apply for the West African country’s first 3G cellular licences, Reuters reports, citing a statement on state TV. ‘These licences can go to any operator who desires them,’ the statement said, adding: ‘Operators already set up here and who have global licences also have a chance to acquire one.’ According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, the wireless market in Niger is currently home to four operators, none of which have rolled out a third-generation network. In December 2000 telecoms regulator Autorite de Regulation Multisectorielle (ARM) awarded three 15-year GSM licences costing USD5.8 million each to Celtel (now known as Airtel Niger), Telecel (since rebranded Moov Niger, a subsidiary of Etisalat-owned Atlantique Telecom) and SahelCom, a subsidiary of fixed line incumbent Sonitel.

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Source: Telegeography

The UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has referred to the Competition Commission (CC) the price control matters in appeals brought against the telecom's regulator, Ofcom by British Telecom, Everything Everywhere, Hutchison 3G and Vodafone. The reference is about the prices that Ofcom permits communication providers to charge for the termination of a wholesale mobile voice call. The charges, which Ofcom announced in March 2011, cover the period to the end of March 2015. When fixed and mobile operators offer their customers the ability to call UK mobile numbers, they pay mobile communication providers a wholesale charge to complete those calls. The rates that operators pay are called MCT charges or more commonly 'mobile termination rates' (MTRs).

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Source: Cellular-news

India's mobile network operators may be allowed to lease their unused radio spectrum to other networks under proposals being considered by the government. However, as the 2G networks did not pay for their spectrum, which is allocated as licenses are awarded, then they should not be allowed to sell the radio spectrum. Many of the incumbent networks are struggling to cope with demand as customer bases exceed their spectrum capacity, while some newer networks sit on unused spectrum after they failed to sign up customers as fast as expected.

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Source: Celluar-news

The French telecom regulator Arcep today launched the auction of fourth-generation (4G) mobile licences in the country, hoping to raise a minimum EUR2.5 billion (USD3.6 billion) for state coffers in the process. The country is one of several EU member states to be auctioning 4G mobile spectrum, which will be used to provide ultra-high speed data applications on mobile phones, PDAs and tablet PCs. Arcep has set a deadline of 15 September for bids for 2600MHz spectrum and 15 December for spectrum applications in the 800MHz band; the latter are considered the most valuable.

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Source: Telegeography

A fourth mobile concession in Egypt appears less likely following reports that the government may hold off on licensing a new player in the wake of the country’s political upheaval. According to Bloomberg, Egyptian communications minister Magued Osman noted: ‘There are a lot of changes in Egypt now and we are not sure whether launching a new licence at this moment is the right decision from the economic point of view.’ Such a decision, it is suggested, could prompt the country’s fixed line incumbent, Telecom Egypt (TE), to reconsider bidding for an increased holding in local cellco Vodafone Egypt, in which it already has a 45% stake.

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Source: Cellular-News

Spain's Ministry of Industry has announced that France Telecom and TeliaSonera have both been granted radio spectrum as part of the government's auction. France Telecom has committed to invest EUR433 million (US$600 million) in its network over the next three years in exchange for a block of 900Mhz spectrum. TeliaSonera's local subsidiary, Yoigo offered EUR300 million over the same time frame for a block of 1800Mhz spectrum. The company expects to be able to expand its network and reduce its reliance on a national roaming agreement with Telefonica. The two largest networks, Telefonica Movistar and Vodafone were barred from this round of the auction. The auction process will continue in the coming days, with more spectrum open to other operators, and will likely be completed by June 2, the ministry said.

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Source: Cellular-News

The Argentine communications ministry, Secretaria de Comunicaciones (SeCom), has announced it will auction wireless spectrum in the 800MHz and 1900MHz bands in the second half of 2011, Dow Jones Newswires reports. Under Resolution 57-2011 published in the Official Bulletin, bidding rules will be available for purchase starting next week. Applicants will have the chance to bid for 5MHz and 10MHz blocks of radio spectrum in the 1890MHz-1985MHz band as well as a 7.5MHz block in the 830MHz-879MHz band; the minimum bidding price has been set at between USD600,000 and USD6 million per MHz depending on the service area and spectrum band.

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Source: Total TeleGeography

Belgium’s telecoms regulator, the Belgian Institute for Post and Telecommunications (BIPT), has revealed that the sole applicant for the auction of the country’s fourth 3G licence is Tecteo Telenet Bidco (TTB), a partnership between cable operator Telenet and the Tecteo Group, which owns Walloon-based cableco VOO. As well as unmasking the previously anonymous bidder, the regulator confirmed that it had accepted TTB’s application, noting that ‘the licence could even be granted before the start of the summer’.

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Source: Total TeleGeography

France's three largest mobile networks have lost an attempt to force the newest and smallest entrant to the market to pay a substantially higher fee for its 3G license. The three companies - France Telecom, Sfr and Bouygues Télécom - had claimed that the reduced license fee paid by Free Mobile (Iliad SA) was tantamount to state-aid, and that the company should be required to pay the same fee that they had paid for their licenses.

The fourth license was offered for EUR240 million, compared to the EUR619 million eventually paid by the three incumbent networks. The European Commission ruled though that the procedure for awarding the fourth 3G mobile phone licence in 2009 did not involve any state aid under the EU rules. In the Commission's view, the award was made by way of a transparent and open procedure in accordance with European Union regulations and resulted in a competitive outcome.

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Source: Cellular-News

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is reportedly considering the cancellation of just 15 mobile telephony licences for failure to meet network rollout requirements, compared to the more than 60 suggested in November 2010 by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), India’s Economic Times reports. According to the report, two unnamed DoT officials have claimed that the TRAI’s method of assessing network rollout was flawed, and it is understood that the DoT will send a communication to it in the next few days making this assertion.

See Press Release 
Source: Total TeleGeography

Malawi’s Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has awarded a public telecommunication services licence to locally-owned company Celcom Limited, The Nation Online reports. The concession allows Celcom to provide both fixed and wireless telephony services in the country. The company, which is required to roll out services by October 2012, beat competition from three other companies, namely Zambezi Africa Telecom, C-Mobile Holdings Limited and Smart Telecom Limited. ‘We are impressed with the confidence MACRA has demonstrated in us by awarding us the licence and we are ready to make a difference,’ commented Celcom’s managing director, Ted Sauti Phiri.

See Press Release 
Source: Total TeleGeography

Qtel, Saudi Telecom only operators left in running after rivals abandoned auction over government's revenue sharing plan.Syria has postponed next week's auction of a third mobile license due to political ructions in the Arab country, a person familiar with matter said Thursday. "The license has been postponed because some elements on the supervisory committee were from the old government," the person told Zawya Dow Jones by telephone."Some people are no longer on the committee." No new date for the auction, that was slated for April 27, has been set, the person added. The postponement comes after Syria's President Bashar Assad, in moves aimed at containing popular anti-government sentiment, replaced his prime minister and cabinet, and promised to introduce new electoral and media laws.

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Source: Total Telecom

Technical rules on how the 900 and 1800 MHz radio frequency bands should be opened up to advanced 4th generation (4G) communication devices have just been adopted by the European Commission. The rules, which are important to avoid interference problems with existing GSM and 3G devices, are an important step to bringing wireless broadband access to more EU citizens and businesses. The Commission Decision, which must be implemented by Member States by the end of 2011, will therefore help to achieve the targets of the Digital Agenda for Europe to give every European access to basic broadband by 2013 and fast and ultra fast broadband by 2020 (see IP/10/581, MEMO/10/199 and MEMO/10/200). Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda, said: "This Decision opens the way for the latest 4G mobile devices to gain access to the radio spectrum they need to operate, and so further stimulate high-speed broadband services and foster more competition."

See Press Release 
Source: Europe

The UAE's telecoms regulator, the TRA has refuted reports that it has ordered a ban on Blackberry email services by private individuals and confirmed that the service would remain available. "The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority confirms the continuation of all Blackberry services in the UAE to both individuals and to business customers, including Blackberry messenger, Blackberry email and Blackberry browsing," the Tra said in a statement." Any confusion to TRA regulations will be clarified by the TRA with the operators concerned this week" The statement was issued after reports suggested that access to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server would to be restricted to companies with 20 or more BlackBerry users - forcing smaller firms to lose the services or purchase unnecessary unused BlackBerry accounts.

See Press Release 
Source: Cellular-News

Israel’s Ministry of Communications (MoC) has launched a tender to select two new mobile network operators, Globes Online reports, with four potential bidders set to take part in the sale process. Bidding started at 10am local time on Monday morning, and the regulator is offering two 3G licences, although a number of alterations to the auction process have been made. Under the revised sale plans the starting bid amount has been lowered to ILS10 million (USD2.91 million), down from ILS100 million, with bids to be updated every ten minutes. The second alteration made to the sale was a change in the amount and timing of bids once the ILS100 million threshold is reached; bids will now increase by ILS5 million every ten minutes, instead of rising in ILS1 million increments per hour. Bidding will take place for both concessions simultaneously, and will run until just two would-be buyers remain.

See Press Release 
Source: Telegeography

New policy to allow industry consolidation provided the number of players in any single telecom circle does not fall below six. India will consider easing rules on mergers and acquisitions in the telecommunications sector as part of a new policy that could trigger a wave of consolidation in an industry hit by stiff competition.

The rules could be relaxed provided there are at least six players after any deal in a specific service area, Communications Minister Kapil Sibal said Monday. He was speaking to reporters on the broad contours of the new national telecom policy that is expected by the end of 2011. The new policy will replace the one formulated in 1999.

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Source: Total Telecom

France will issue fourth-generation (4G) mobile licences before the end of the year and will launch a tender for the licences in early or mid-May, the Arcep telecoms regulator said. "We are in the process of finalising the framework for the tender offer," Arcep Chairman Jean-Ludovic Silicani told a news conference. "If things go normally, we should be ready to launch it by the beginning of May and attribute the licences by the end of the year."

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Source: Reuters

The British telecoms regulator Ofcom has unveiled its proposals for what it claims will be the largest ever single auction of mobile spectrum in the country, with it saying that it will put up for grabs the equivalent of three quarters of the UK’s currently in-use frequencies. The regulator has said that it views the spectrum sale as ‘essential to meet the UK’s rapid increase in mobile traffic, fuelled by the growth of smartphones and mobile broadband data services such as video streaming, email, messenger services, mapping services and social networking sites.’

See Press Release 
Source: TeleGeography

Sweden's telecoms regulator, the PTS has concluded a radio spectrum auction and announced that the three winners won blocks of 800Mhz spectrum for approximately SEK 2 billion (US$323 million). SEK 300 million comprise bids for coverage and the license holder that has won the frequency block FDD6 shall use this sum to cover those permanent homes and fixed places of business that lack broadband. In addition, the winning bidders will pay a processing charge of SEK 200,000 per block to PTS. The licenses are valid to and including 2035. The winners are Hi3G, Net4Mobility and TeliaSonera. Com Hem and Netett Sverige also participated in the auction but did not win any licenses.

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Source: Cellular news

MTN has had its application for a 3G license in Swaziland rejected by the local telecoms network, the Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC), which also managed the regulatory regime in the country. The phone company come regulator did not say why the license was rejected.

MTN's CEO, Ambrose Dlamini had said last year that the company was at an advanced stage in negotiations for a 3G license and had hoped to be awarded the license by the end of last year. MTN has been lobbying for an independent regulator for some years, saying that the combination of phone company and regulator causes obvious conflicts of interest. MTN dropped its objection to SPTC building a fixed wireless network, in exchange for the government pressing ahead with splitting the phone company from its regulatory role.

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Source: Cellular-News

India's Department of Telecom has reversed an earlier ban on the private mobile network operators offering 3G video calling services - but said that the ban will be reintroduced later this year if changes are not made. The operators will now be required to install a "suitable monitoring mechanism" by the end of July that would allow the security services to monitor video calls.

The operators were barred from offering 3G video calls last month after the security services complained that live monitoring of video calls has not been installed. For their part, the operators noted that it was incredibly difficult to offer live monitoring, as opposed to supplying recordings of the call once it had finished.

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Source: Cellular-News

National regulator Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) says new telecoms operators wishing to set up shop in the country will not be able to offer 3G mobile services, as it lacks spectrum bandwidth as all available frequencies are currently occupied by Nepal Telecom (Nepal Doorsanchar Company Limited, or NT) and Spice Nepal Private Ltd (Ncell). Speaking at the latest meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), NTA chairman Bhesraj Kandel confirmed that the only way for operators to get 3G spectrum would be if the existing spectrum was reallocated.

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Source: Telegeography

Costa Rica's monopoly for mobile phone services held by the state-owned Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) has been broken after the regulator finally awarded mobile licenses to Telefonica and America Movil. The two companies paid US$95 million and US$77 million respectively for their licenses, according to a statement from the regulator, Sutel. A third license was not awarded, and could be tendered in the future if demand calls for it. The regulator had previously said that five companies - Cable & Wireless, Telefónica, Claro, Digicel and Millicom - have requested the documents and are said to be serious about bidding. Why the other companies chose not to bid for the remaining license was not explained.

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Source: Cellular-news

Syria's third mobile license will be awarded next April, with an action on April 11th, the local Al Watan newspaper reported, citing an executive from Detecon consultancy firm, which is acting as an advisor on the deal. Syria will also announce the establishment of an independent telecoms regulator before the license auction starts, Imad Sabouni, the Syrian communications and technology minister added. Last month it was announced that Etisalat, France Telecom, Qtel, Turkcell, Saudi Telecom were pre-qualified for the license auction.

See Press Release 
Source: Cellular-news

Five out of the six original bidders have been qualified to bid in Syria's forthcoming tender for the country's third mobile operator license. Etisalat, France Telecom, Qtel, Turkcell, Saudi Telecom were pre-qualified, with Iranian group Tamco being dropped from the tender. The bids were evaluated by a joint committee from the ministry and a German advisory company. The second phase of the auction competition related to technical qualification will be announced Dec. 12. Applicants need at last three years of experience in operating a cellphone license and must be already operating in two countries with at least 1.5 million customers in each. The two incumbent operators will have to buy out their current BOT agreements and convert to a conventional license agreement. The buyout price has been previously reported as being around US$500 million.

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Source:Cellular-news

The Communications Commission of Kenya has awarded a 3G license to France Telecom's local subsidiary, making it the third network in the country to hold a 3G license. The company paid US$10 million for the license. France Telecom owns 51% of Telkom Kenya, having paid US$390 million for the stake in 2007. Telkom Kenya, which trades as Orange has already set up a number of 3G sites within all major urban areas and tested them over the past year. The company plans to spend around US$40 million deploying a commercial network and launch the service commercially in the first half of next year.

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Source: Cellular-news

The USA is planning to release 115Mhz of radio spectrum for use in wireless broadband service within the next five years under plans announced today by the US Commerce Department, through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

In late June, President Obama committed to make available 500 megahertz of Federal and nonfederal spectrum over the next 10 years. The NTIA has now undertaken a fast-track review to identify some reallocation opportunities that exist in the next five years and to make a down payment on the overall goal. In the coming months, NTIA will continue to investigate reallocation opportunities that will maximize private sector investment, while protecting critical Federal missions.

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Source: Cellular-news

After USD29 million bid, Mozambique’s Instituto Nacional das Comunicacoes (INCM) has selected Movitel, a unit of Vietnamese cellco Viettel, as its third mobile phone operator, the country’s head of telecoms regulation has confirmed. Movitel tabled a bid worth USD29 million for the licence, USD4 million less than the USD33 million bid offered by its rival UNI-Telecom. Announcing the decision, Da Silva stressed that the tender process was weighted towards technical (70%) rather than financial considerations (30%). Portugal Telecom’s TMN unit brought up the rear, with a bid of USD25 million.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

The Spectrum Management Authority (the SMA), the regulatory body charged with the management of the Radio Frequency Spectrum in Jamaica is inviting expressions of interest from entities interested in spectrum licences in the 1900 & 2100 MHz band. The SMA wishes to identify the level of interest in and demand for the 1900 & 2100 MHz spectrum (used for mobile services), to aid in determining the choice of allocation, the mechanism for assignment, licensing terms and conditions and pricing, for 30 MHz of mobile spectrum.

Information regarding this Expression of Interest should be obtained from the SMA’s website at www.sma.gov.jm, and on the website of the Office of the Prime Minister at www.opm.gov.jm. Interested parties should submit their response as outlined in the Invitation by Tuesday, November 23, 2010 to:

The Managing Director
Spectrum Management Authority
13 – 19 Harbour Street
Kingston
Jamaica, W.I.

The Solomon Islands is planning to tender for a third mobile operator license, the Solomon Island's National Telecommunications Commissioner Nick Williams announced at a speech last week. Mr Williams said this is part of major reforms that took place last year in which the government reached an agreement for Solomon Telekom to give up its exclusive license. The incumbent operator had blocked the launch of the country's second mobile network, bemobile for nearly ten months after its license was originally granted.

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Source: Cellular-news

Slovakia's Telecommunications Office (TU SR) opened a tender for 10GHz band wireless frequencies intended for the provision of regional local broadband access services via fixed wireless access (FWA) technology. Licences are up for grabs in eight localities: Komarno, Levice, Liptovsky Mikulss, Martin, Nitra, Nove Zamky, Povazska Bystrica and Turcianske Teplice. The only evaluation criterion is the amount offered in a one-off payment for the allocation of a spectrum block. The minimum price for a block is set at EUR665 (USD925). Candidates must submit their tender documents to the regulator by 22 November 2010.

See Press Release
Source Telegeography

Brazil's telecoms regulator, Anatel has published the details of its planned auction the remaining 3G radio spectrum - the Band H block. The spectrum auction has been designed in a manner that could potentially see a new entrant into the market, although this is felt by analysts to be unlikely. The auction is expected to be held on the 15th December 2010, and the minimum price for the sale of all the frequency blocks in Band H is R$1.1 billion (US $640 million).

The auction will also include some additional 2G spectrum in the 1900Mhz bands. The H band is made up of (10 MHz + 10 MHz), Sub-band extension H (SE) (5 MHz + 5 MHz), sub-bands on the (S), D (S), E (S) and M (S) and extension sub-bands (SE ) 900 MHz and 1800 MHz, including the sub-bands for TDD Systems.

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Source: Cellular-news

Long-delayed legislation designed to enhance competition, force Australian fixed line incumbent Telstra to structurally separate, increase the powers of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), and provide a framework for the country’s upcoming National Broadband Network (NBN) has been reintroduced to parliament, Reuters is reporting. The legislative proposals have been raised in the lower house by Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese, with the politician claiming that the regulations would give Telstra more legislative certainty as the telco looks toward the split of its wholesale and retail operations. ‘This bill is an important step on the road to an improved telecommunications industry structure, with better competitive outcomes and stronger safeguards for consumers,’ Mr. Albanese told parliament. Telstra for its part has said that it supports the legislation although it has called for some amendments, and the telco’s CEO David Thodey said of the matter: ‘We believe the interests of Telstra shareholders would be best served by the bill being passed this year so that a definitive agreement on our involvement in the NBN can be reached quickly.’

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Source: Telegeography

India's Home Ministry has issued instructions to the mobile network operators instructing them to store all text messages for six months. The networks typically store text messages for just a few days, and the move is expected to sharply increase costs as the networks invest in data centres to archive the old messages. Indians send between 130 and 150 billion SMSes, or text messages, a month. Currently, the operators are only required to archive text messages for specific phone numbers under instruction from the security agencies. The operators have warned that forcing them to archive all text messages from all senders will raise costs, and these will have to be passed onto the consumer. There are also concerns that the move could be expanded to include voice calls.

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Source: Cellular news

Canada's federal government has announced that it plans to hold a radio spectrum auction in 2012 to allocate the digital dividend spectrum that is due to become available when analogue television signals are switched off at the end of August 2011. "We know that 700 megahertz is going to be available as people switch to digital TV," Industry Minister Tony Clement told reporters. "And we know that the 2500 megahertz is also going to be available, so I have instructed my department to get ready and to start the process rolling." The auction is also expected to act as a spur to the government to clarify the laws on foreign shareholding in Canadian telecoms networks. Any confusion over shareholder limits could deter investors and reduce the potential revenues for the government.

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Source: cellular-news

Cambodian internet service providers who have been granted WiMAX licenses are still waiting for the regulator to resolve a spectrum dispute over a year after their licenses were granted. Although the ISPs were granted licenses in the 2.5GHz to 2.7 GHz frequency range, the same spectrum was also licensed to Star Digital TV. Sok Channda, CEO of Cambodia Data Communications, parent company to both Mekong Net and Angkor Net ISP, told the Phnom Penh Post it was still not cleared to operate WiMAX networks, despite meeting with the Ministry on several occasions. She put the cost of the delays at around US$1 million so far.

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Source: Cellular-news

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has expressed concern over Somaliland authorities’ decision to temporarily suspend, on the evening of 5 October 2010, the operations of the London-based private Universal TV network in Somaliland.
A letter issued by Somaliland Minister of Information and Public Orientation, Abdullahi Osman Jama, accused Universal TV of having “failed to execute its media duties impartially”. The Minister, who asked the Somaliland law enforcement organs and the Interior Ministry to implement the suspension, added that Universal TV bypassed “international standards of journalism” and that its administration had refused to answer telephone calls from the Ministry, an allegation denied by Ahmed Abubakar, Director General of Universal TV who said that they did not receive any complaint or communication from the authorities.

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Source: BalancingAct-Africa

Ireland's telecoms regulator, ComReg has published a consultation on a proposed award of rights of use in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz spectrum bands. The Consultation follows a government announcement in July that analogue terrestrial television will be switched-off in the State in Quarter 4 of 2012 (ASO). Since then, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland published a statement regarding the conclusion of its commercial digital terrestrial television (DTT) multiplex licensing process. In particular, it was noted by the Authority that it will not be feasible to introduce commercial DTT in advance of the analogue switch-off, meaning there will not be a requirement for the use of the 800 MHz band by DTT broadcasting in advance of ASO.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

Delay in 3G licensing process hits investor confidence in Thailand. Thailand's telecoms regulator, the National Telecommunications Commission, Friday filed an appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court, seeking to overturn an injunction against its planned auction of third-generation mobile licenses. The move comes after the Central Administrative Court late Thursday issued an injunction against the auction, scheduled to kick off on Monday, after state-owned CAT Telecom alleged the NTC has no authority to grant the 2.1 gigahertz frequency spectrum to successful bidders. It also argued that parts of the regulations related to the licensing will create "unfair" competition and cause state agencies to lose revenue. The spectrum is to facilitate the launch of 3G technology in the country. State-owned operators have challenged the legitimacy of the NTC to oversee industry issues related to the technology pending the commissioning of a new regulator.

See Press Release
Source: Total telecom

Zimbabwe's telecoms regulator, Potraz has announced a new deadline for the registration of prepay SIM cards after the last deadline was suspended indefinitely. Mobile subscribers now have until the end of next February to register their details with the networks or face having their accounts switched off. However, although the formal deadline in the 28th February 2011, the operators will be required to start implementing restrictions from the 1st January to encourage registration. The restrictions will include blocking SMS and voice calls during peak hours, although other measures were not ruled out. Only 3.8 million subscribers have currently registered their SIM cards, out of about 6.5 million mobile phone users in the country.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular News

The Greek telecoms regulator, the Hellenic National Regulator Agency (EETT) has announced that expiring GSM licenses might not be automatically renewed for their current holders but will be put up for open auction. The regulator added that the awarding process will not offer preferential treatment to the incumbents. The 15-year licenses expire in 2012, and leaves open the theoretical possibility that either Vodafone or Wind could lose their licenses to operate in the country. While Vodafone would almost certainly be able to outbid any newcomer, the precarious financial state at Wind makes it vulnerable.

See Press Release 
Source: Cellular News

As previewed in issue 514, Cape Verde’s regulator Agência Nacional das Comunicações (ANAC) is tendering the right to use frequency for three 3G operationsand for one 2G operation: all licences are national. The likely outcome will be that the two existing mobile operators will get a 3G licence and one new entrant (possibly Digicel) will enter the market.

The three 3G licences will use 2x15MHz of paired spectrum in the bands 1920-1980MHz / 2110-2170 MHz and 5 MHz of unpaired spectrum in the 1900-1920 MHz band, for each one of the rights of frequency, and the allocation of one nationwide right of frequency use in the range reserved for GSM.

See Press Release
Source: Balancing Act

The Commerce Commission has today released its draft report into whether the services that Telecom provides to other telecommunications companies to be resold should remain subject to the Telecommunications Act 2001. Retail services such as residential lines and broadband services are offered by Telecom to wholesale customers to resell at a discount to the retail price – these are known as resale services, and are currently provided commercially by Telecom’s wholesale division. Resale services are subject to the Act so that wholesale customers, in the event that they are unable to agree commercial terms with Telecom, have the ability to ask the Commission to determine the terms and conditions (including price) for supply of these services by Telecom. The Commission’s preliminary view is that wholesale broadband services, business data services and bundled resale services should no longer be subject to the Act given their low take up and the availability of alternative services.

See Press Release 
Source: New Zealand Commerce Commission

Thailand’s Administrative Court has rejected a lawsuit filed by an employee of state-run telco TOT – the country’s sole 2100MHz UMTS licence holder – which challenged the authority of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to issue 3G licences to privately-owned operators in a planned auction scheduled to start in late September, the Bangkok Post writes. The suit, filed by Pornchai Meemark, formerly a union leader for TOT, argued that under previously issued laws and regulations, the award of new 3G licences is not allowed until a long-delayed plan to form a combined communications/media regulator – the National Broadcasting & Telecommunications Commission – is implemented.

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Source: TeleGeopgraphy

­In India, talks to consider restricting BlackBerry services have ended without a decision. Thursday's meeting between officials of the Interior Ministry, security agencies and the state-run telecom provider was held after the government expressed concerns about not being able to monitor data sent via e-mail or messaging on the popular BlackBerry mobile device.

Officials say Thursday's meeting was inconclusive. India wants the Canadian company that makes the phone, Research in Motion, to give it access to encrypted data transmitted via the handset. The government is worried that BlackBerry services can be used by terrorist organizations because security agencies cannot intercept the communication.

See Press Release

Source: Cellular News

La República Dominicana aprobó hoy el modelo norteamericano ATSC (Advanced Television Sytem Committee) como estándar de Televisión Digital Terrestre para su aplicación a partir de la fecha en el territorio nacional.

La medida fue adoptada mediante el Decreto No. 407-10 emitido por el Presidente Leonel Fernández, informó el presidente del Instituto Dominicano de las Telecomunicaciones (Indotel),doctor José Rafael Vargas, durante una rueda de prensa en el Palacio Nacional. “En el mes de septiembre del 2015 se produce el apagón analógico de la televisión dominicana y a partir de este momento con el formato que vamos a anunciar, comenzamos el desarrollo de la fase más trascendente, más importante que ha tenido la televisión de la República Dominicana desde su origen en la década de los años 50”, expresó el funcionario.

Vargas señaló que algunos concesionarios ya han adquirido sus transmisores y equipos digitales, mientras que el Indotel está propiciando que vía la Dirección General de Aduanas “se den todas las facilidades a todos los concesionarios de radio y televisión para que puedan traer sus equipos”.

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Source: Instituto Dominicano de las Telecomunicaciones INDOTEL

­The USA's telecoms regulator, the FCC has proposed removing regulatory barriers to the use of microwave spectrum for wireless backhaul. The proposal was initially recommended in the government's National Broadband Plan. Microwave communications has become, in a growing number of situations, a viable option for backhaul of mobile broadband traffic.

Backhaul costs currently constitute a significant portion of a mobile wireless operator's network operating expense, and the demand for backhaul capacity is increasing. As broadband providers accelerate deployment of next-generation networks, they will require backhaul that can carry what is expected to be significant growth in mobile data traffic.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular News

Saudi Arabia's telecommunications regulator on Tuesday said it would allow BlackBerry services to continue in the kingdom, citing "positive developments" with the device's Canadian manufacturer.

The Communications and Information Technology Commission's announcement staves off, at least for now, a potential ban of Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry Messenger service in the country — a step which officials had said was possible because of national security concerns.

It was not immediately clear whether the decision was just a temporary reprieve, or whether the threat to ban the smart phones was off the table. The Saudi announcement of the possible ban — which came shortly after officials in the United Arab Emirates announced the device would be banned starting in October — was read by many analysts as a reflection of the conservative governments' concerns over an inability to access user data.

See Press Release

Source: Cellular-News

­Pakistan is expected to auction off its 3G licenses in the next few months, according to comments by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority's (PTA) Chairman, Dr Muhammad Yaseen. Refuting suggestions that the operators themselves were disinterested in 3G services, he noted at a press conference that several operators are already supporting the regulator in getting the licenses sold.

Telenor Pakistan has been previously reported to have already started upgrading its network to support 3G services. The award of the country's 3G licenses have been delayed several times, despite prior statements by the regulator that it has spectrum earmarked, and all the ground work is completed.

See Press Release

Source: Cellular News

Las licitaciones 20 y 21, de las bandas 1.7 y 1.9 megahertz, respectivamente, continúan ya que no existe impedimento legal alguno para la entrega de las concesiones a los ganadores de dichos procesos, conducidos por la Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones (Cofetel). Por medio de estas licitaciones la Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) y la Cofetel impulsan la oferta de servicios de telecomunicaciones inalámbricas en el país en beneficio de todos los usuarios.
Para fortalecer el sano desarrollo de esta industria, las licitaciones 20 y 21 se han conducido en todo momento con equidad y transparencia. Ello, permitirá que cada vez más mexicanos tengan acceso a más y mejores servicios de telecomunicaciones a costos más competitivos. A lo largo de los procesos, varias empresas han interpuesto más de 60 medios de impugnación en contra de las licitaciones. Sin embargo, ninguno de éstos ha derivado en detenerlas o suspenderlas.

See Press Release
Source: Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes

Gabon's government has announced a tender to set up and operate a 3G phone network. Tenders have to be submitted to the regulator, Artel by 30th September. "The third generation is a revolutionary tool that will allow the public easier access to information and conduct business transactions over the Internet," said the Minister of Communication, Postal Services and the Digital Economy, Ms Laure Olga Gondjout.
The country currently has four mobile networks, Libertis, Zain, Moov, Azur. According to the Mobile World analysts, the country ended March with 1.93 million subscribers, representing a population penetration level of 126%. Gabon is more prosperous than most nearby countries, with a per capita income of four times the average for Sub-Saharan Africa. This is in large part due to offshore oil production.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-news

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has withdrawn its offer for telcos to apply for radio frequency spectrum licences in the 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz bands. In May the regulator released a set of guidelines regarding how it intends to grant spectrum licences in cases where there are competing applications, or when insufficient spectrum is available to accommodate demand. The deadline was initially set for 30 June, and later extended to 30 July.

Although no applications have actually been lodged to date, ICASA spokesperson Macia Socikwa explained that the regulator had been ‘inundated with correspondence from stakeholders seeking clarity on the finer details of the licensing processes’ since the publication of the final High Demand Spectrum Licence Regulations. Although the licences will be withdrawn and revised to take into account certain technological considerations, the existing regulations will be implemented as is.

See Press Release 
Source: Balancingact-africa

Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica has been confirmed as the highest bidder in the Mexican government’s auctions for spectrum in the 1900MHz spectrum band, according to Bloomberg. Telefonica, Grupo Iusacell and a joint venture between NII Holdings and local media giant Grupo Televisa submitted the highest bids in the sale, the Comision Federal de Telecomunicaciones (Cofetel) revealed, and the regulator now has 30 days to review the auction and officially declare the winners.

See Press Release
Source: telegeography

La culminación de esta licitación constituye un hecho de gran relevancia para el país, puesto que los participantes ganadores dispondrán de una cantidad equivalente a 30 MHz adicionales de espectro radioeléctrico para ampliar y mejorar la calidad y cobertura de los servicios de telecomunicaciones en beneficio de millones de mexicanos. Las posturas válidas más altas alcanzadas en la licitación, así como las empresas ganadoras se pueden apreciar en la siguiente tabla.

See Press Release
Source: Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones

Thai newspaper The Nation reports that a senate committee has asked the country’s regulator, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), to increase the starting bid price for the 3G licences due to be auctioned later in the year. Three next generation concessions will be on offer in September, and the committee has asked for the starting bid price to be THB30 billion (USD913 million) rather than the THB12.8 billion specified by the watchdog. NTC commissioner Natee Sukonrat said the regulator is unlikely to change the reserve again; the price has already gone up once from the THB10 billion given in the original draft. All three licences will be valid for 15 years and will be for 15MHz of spectrum. The licensees will have to reach at least 50% population coverage within two years, although if they achieve 80% within that time they will be allowed to defer the final instalment payment by a year.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

Kenyan mobile operator Zain Kenya has been awarded a 3G licence by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) for a fee of KES815 million (USD10 million). The CCK cut the price from USD25 million earlier this month in order to boost competition. Zain and rival cellco Orange had sought the reduction for some time.
CCK managing director Charles Njoroge said that the purchase of the 3G concession by Zain would ‘increase competition in the telephony industry, and ultimately benefit the consumers’. Back in 2007 Vodafone associate and Kenya’s largest wireless operator by subscribers Safaricom paid USD25 million for the country’s first 3G licence. Safaricom is now planning to seek a partial refund in the wake of the CCK’s decision.

See Press Release
Source: Balancing Act

Country uses controversial 'golden share' in telecoms incumbent to stop sale of Brazilian shares. The Portuguese government Wednesday vetoed an EUR7.15 billion bid from Spain's Telefonica SA to buy out Portugal Telecom SGPS SA from the two companies' Brazilian joint venture, in a surprise move that sets the stage for a confrontation with European Union authorities.

See Press Release
Source: Total Telecom

Vietnamese  operator EVN Telecom has  launched its 3G network, being the fourth mobile network operator in the country to provide the service. EVN has so far invested VND2 trillion (USD104 million) in the installation of  2,500 base transceiver stations (BTS) covering 46% of the population. . EVN is hoping to sign up one million 3G subscribers within one year of launch. Vinaphone was the first to launch third-generation services, followed by MobiFone and Viettel. All four were awarded their 3G licences by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) in  2009.

See article

Source: TeleGeography

Moldova’s National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI)  announced it suspended the wireless licence of Eventis Mobile for a further two months. This follows  a request from the GSM operator’s insolvency administrator.  ANRCETI says that Eventis failed to comply with its licence conditions, which obliged the cellco to provide 60% of the population with network coverage and operate at least 340 base stations by the end of 2009.

See Article
Source : TeleGeopgraphy

An Egyptian court has overturned a regulatory decision regarding the termination fees paid by Telecom Egypt to connect landline calls to mobile phones, reports the Reuters news agency, citing the daily al-Mal newspaper. Telecom Egypt had complained to the telecoms regulator in 2008 that the fees should be lowered. Mobile network operator, Mobinil appealed against the lowered termination rate and an administrative court has ruled in favour of Mobinil. The telecoms regulator would not take further action until it reviewed the details of the ruling, the newspaper added.

Telecom Egypt is expect to have to take a charge of EGP426 million (US$74.5 million) if the higher rate is applied, although Mobinil has been recording its revenues based on the higher figure so wont be able to book a one-off gain.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news 

Nigerian mobile operator Globacom has won a licence to operate in Senegal. The latest licence was issued by the Government of Senegal on Monday and signed by the country's Ministers of Finance and Telecommunications. A statement from the Office of Globacom's Chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr said the licence would enable the telecommunications giant to offer world class telecommunications services to the government and people of Senegal.
The Senegalese licence will also allow Globacom to land its gigantic trans-Atlantic submarine cable, Glo 1, in the West African country with opportunities to extend the infrastructure to Mali. It will also give the telecoms giant the right to carry traffic for major operators, the government and wholesale customers.

See Press Release 
Source: Balancingact-Africa

Iraq's government has approved plans to offer a fourth mobile operators license, local news media has reported. Hiam Al Yasiri, an adviser to Iraq's communications minister, said that 15 firms had expressed interest in the license since it was first proposed last year.
Full details of the tender are still to be announced, although the advisor said that a bidder will own 65% of the company, with the remainder held by the government as part of the deal and that the license would call for full nationwide coverage.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has awarded local telecoms operator GTel a licence allowing it to deploy a network for the provision of fixed telephony services.  GTel,  owned by Vietnamese state-owned vehicles Global Telecommunications Corporation (51%) and GTEL TSC (9%), and Russian mobile group Vimpelcom (40%), already provides wireless services in Vietnam. GTel has become the eighth licensed fixed line operator in Vietnam.

See article
Source: TeleGeography

Congo-Brazaville complained that it had not been informed of Bharti Airtel's nine billion dollar-deal to buy Kuwaiti telco Zain's African assets.  This might contravene Zain's licence. Telecoms Minister, Thierry Moungalla, said the parties had 30 days to remedy the situation or face sanctions. A Bharti Airtel spokesman in New Delhi declined comment.  Bharti is currently in the process of getting regulatory approval for the accord.

See Press Coverage

(Source: Balancing Act)

As India's 3G license auction entered its second week, the bidding finished Monday evening with a single license to cover the whole country costing Rs. 60.67 billion (US$1.36 billion). There have now been 46 rounds of bidding over eight days. Demand for the licenses seemed to slow slightly after a surge at the end of last week, with most circles showing almost as many bids as there were available licenses. However, activity level still hovers around the 80% mark with most of the focus on the Metro and A Circles. Delhi retained its position as the most desired circle, with bids ending at Rs 6.91 billion, and Mumbai coming second at Rs 6.36 billion per license.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

Tanzania's Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has given mobile network operating licenses to five more companies, bringing the tally for the country to twelve. The country now has one of the highest ratios of licenses to potential customers in the world, although with a population penetration level of just 43%, there is space for new companies to grow. The five new entrants are MyCell, Egotel, Rural Netco, Smile and ExcellentCom.
They are expected to enter the country's communication industry when the process to give them network facility licensees is completed," TCRA director-general John Nkoma told The Citizen newspaper.

Source: cellular-news
See Press Release

Germany's Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has confirmed that four applicants have been admitted to auction in connection with the admission procedure for frequency auctions in the ranges 800 MHz, 1.8 GHz, 2 GHz and 2.6 GHz for wireless network access for the provision of telecommunication services. They are the following companies: The four companies are the incumbent mobile network operators: E-Plus, Telefonica O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone. The auction is due to be launched on 12 April 2010.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

Ofcom has published a consultation on increasing the power limits of 3G mobile licences to improve mobile phone coverage, potentially increasing the availability of services in the UK.

See document

Source: OFCOM

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) tonight (4 March 2010) mounted an enforcement operation against the suspected use of unlicensed radio transmitter for broadcasting at 101 MHz.

"Under the authority of a court warrant, OFTA officers entered the premises at Kwun Tong and seized one radio transmitter set. During the operation, one person was requested to assist further investigation," a spokesperson of OFTA said.

See Press Release
Source: Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA)

Mexico's MVS Comunicaciones has lost its WiMAX operating license after the regulator chose not to renew it. The regulator argued that the company had not deployed a network as planned, although MVS Comunicaciones claimed that regulatory uncertainty had imperiled investment plans. However, the company was reported late last year to have secured an agreement with US based Clearwire to deploy a WiMAX network covering 23 Mexican cities. The roll out was expected to start in the second half of this year, with a launch some time in the fourth-quarter.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-news

La Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes acelera las medidas para promover una política de competencia, convergencia y cobertura en el sector telecomunicaciones. Así, trabaja simultáneamente en distintos frentes para asegurar la rectoría del Estado sobre el espectro radioeléctrico garantizando el uso eficiente del mismo, otorgar seguridad jurídica a los operadores y abatir el rezago existente en materia de concesiones y prórrogas.
- Acelera las medidas para promover una política de competencia, convergencia y cobertura en el sector telecomunicaciones
- Niega la prórroga de dos concesiones de TV restringida en los canales 46 y 52 en la ciudad de México
- Determina sancionar a TV Azteca y Televisora del Valle de México por la transmisión de un servicio de telecomunicaciones que no cuenta con concesión
- Niega la prórroga de nueve concesiones en la banda de 2.5 a 2.7 GHz.

See Press Release
Source: Mexico - Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes  

Kenya's government has hinted that it might lower the cost of 3G licenses, as has been called for by the mobile networks. Currently, only Safaricom holds a 3G license after paying Sh1.9 billion (US$25 million) in 2007. Information Permanent Secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo told Capital FM, "We will do everything possible to ensure that we have created the necessary competitive environment, even if it means that we revise the cost to reasonable levels,". He added that the decision should be made in the next three weeks.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

Haitian telecoms regulator Conatel has granted 12MHz of additional spectrum in the 850MHz band to local mobile operator Comcel (Voila) to help with relief efforts in the wake of the devastating earthquake on 12 January, Stewart Sherriff, CTO with Voila's US-based parent Trilogy International, told BNamericas. Sherriff stressed that the extra spectrum was crucial as networks were being stretched to the limit with the surge in traffic. ‘We're very grateful for the 12MHz the government gave us. It will aid enormously in relieving the congestion we have in the network, he said. Voila now has 47MHz (2x23.5MHz) in the 850MHz band, whilst just a small 2x1.5MHz block remains set aside for emergency purposes.

See Press Release

Source: TeleGeography

Como una medida para impulsar la competitividad, promover las inversiones brindar certeza jurídica, y apoyar al sector telecomunicaciones, la Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) da por concluidos 22 títulos de concesión para operar sistemas de radiolocalización de personas (paggin) y dos títulos de transmisión de radio y TV restringidas, con ello, recupera espectro radioeléctrico para ser aprovechado con nuevas tecnologías.

La resolución se realizo luego de no presentarse en tiempo y forma las solicitudes de prorroga así como por comprobar tecnología obsoleta de estas técnicas de transmisión.

De esta manera, la SCT busca impulsar la competitividad del sector, y generar un ambiente favorable para la planeación de los negocios, así como favorecer a los consumidores con una más amplia variedad de servicios y proveedores.

Finalmente, la dependencia considera que los criterios indispensables para el desarrollo saludable del sector son: fomentar la competencia y evitar el acaparamiento del espectro; garantizar la explotación eficiente del espectro y el pago de una contraprestación por las concesiones; incrementar la cobertura de los servicios; Introducir nuevas tecnologías; y, permitir la continuidad de los servicios para el usuario.

 

See Press Release

Source: Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transporte

Costa Rica has announced details of plans to break the telecoms monopoly held by he state-owned Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) and introduce competition into the mobile phone market. The telecoms regulator, Sutel aims to launch a tender for a second mobile license in April, with the license to be awarded in the second half of this year.

Sutel said that the companies that have expressed an interested in bidding include America Movil, Telefonica and Digicel Goup.

Costa Rica was obliged to open its telecoms market to competition as a condition of entry into the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

Figures from the Mobile World notes that the incumbent operator ended Q3 '09 with an estimated 3.23 million subscribers. The population penetration level is 76%.

See Press Release

Source: Cellular News

Nigerian operator, Globacom has obtained an operating licence in Cote d'Ivoire. The approval was conveyed to Globacom by the Agence des Telecommunications de Cote d'Ivoire, the telecommunications regulatory authorities of the Francophone country.

The licence will enable Globacom take advantage of its gigantic trans-Atlantic submarine cable, Glo 1, which will branch off to Cote d'Ivoire.  With it, Glo will provide international carrier services for telecoms operators in Cote d'Ivoire, aggregate and carry voice and data traffic into and out of the country. Globacom is in Nigeria and Benin Republic as well as Ghana where it is geared to commercially launch its operations very soon. The telecoms giant is also in the process of securing more licences across the continent.

See Press Release
Source: Balancingact Africa

Nigeria’s Federal High Court has stopped the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) from re-auctioning spectrum in the 2.3GHz frequency range. The court ruled that the process must be put on hold pending the determination of a lawsuit initiated by the previous winner of the spectrum, Mobitel. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, Mobitel, Spectranet and fixed-wireless operator Multilinks beat off around 40 other applications for slots in the 2.3GHz band after each of them paid NGN1.368 billion (USD9.33 million) in May 2009 for the frequency used to support to WiMAX technology. Later that month, Minister of Information and Communications, Dora Akunyili, issued a directive for the cancellation of the licensing and the implementation of a new auction, after operators faulted the commission on how the whole process was conducted, especially the one week timeframe given to pay the necessary fees. Mobitel, alleging contractual breach, has challenged the government’s position in court, saying it had fulfilled the requirements. The matter will be heard in court on 17 November 2009.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

The UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has agreed to issue a ten-year mobile TV licence to the Emirates Mobile Television Corporation consortium, Emirates news agency WAM reports. The concession reportedly includes the exclusive rights to broadcast mobile TV services for five years, ending 31 December 2014, and is thought to be priced at around AED17 million (USD4.63 million). The successful consortium is made up of local telcos Etisalat and Du, as well as Abu Dhabi Media Company, Dubai Media Incorporated, MBC, and Emirates Communications and Technologies Company, a subsidiary of TECOM Investment. The mobile TV service will be based on the DVB-H standard and is slated for launch in the fourth quarter of 2010.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

The Georgian telecoms regulator, the National Communications Commission has cancelled a planned auction of additional radio spectrum in the GSM1800 and UMTS bands. The regulator said that no bidders had submitted applications by the deadline of 5th October.

The Auction was declared failed at the Session held today by the Georgian National Communications Commission.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

The European Commission decided to take Belgium to the European Court of Justice on "must-carry" rules (imposed on broadcasters in the bilingual region of Brussels-Capital) after it failed to address a final warning issued by the Commission in November 2008 (IP/08/699  ). In the Commission's view, the rules, which require cable and other network operators to carry radio and TV channels in the Brussels region, are not proportionate. At the same time, the Commission ended legal action taken against Germany on "must carry" rules. It also closed action against Sweden and the Netherlands on other telecoms issues.

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

The European Commission has called on the Austrian telecoms regulator, Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs GmbH (RTR), to suspend the adoption of regulatory measures regarding the definition of the Austrian broadband access market, the so call bitstream access market. The Commission has serious doubts as to the compatibility of the provisions defining the Austrian wholesale broadband access market with EU law. In the notification submitted one month ago, RTR has provided insufficient evidence to support its finding that mobile broadband connections can be considered as substitutes to fixed line DSL and cable connections. The Commission also has doubts regarding the scope of RTR's wholesale market definition for bitstream access. The Commission has therefore asked RTR not to adopt the measure until the Commission has taken a final decision on RTR's proposal.

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

The Italian telecoms regulator (AGCOM) proposes to remove regulatory obligations from the retail international fixed call markets for residential and business customers in Italy.
The Commission considered, already in 2007, that international calls no longer warranted regulatory intervention and accordingly withdrew theses markets from the list of markets recommended for regulation (IP/07/1678).

See Press Release
Source: Europe's Information Society

The Indian government is considering further changes to its oft-delayed 3G license auction and may limit the tender to four new entrants per license area (circle). In addition to the state-owned operators who have already been granted licenses in their respective Metro Circles, the move would limit competition to five operators.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular News

Atlantic Telecom is reported to be facing the suspension of its network in Togo after failing to renew its operating license. The operator's license expired in June 2008, and has been given until 10th August to pay a 20 billion CFA (US$44 million) renewal fee.

The company is said not to have complied with two decrees spelling out the financial conditions of renewal of its licence. So far, only operators Togo Telecom and Togo Cellular have started carrying out measures in the decrees, the regulator, ARTP reported in a statement on Saturday.

Estimates from the  Mobile World analysts shows that the operator ended Q1 '09 with around 530,000 subscribers. The dominant telco is the state owned Togo Cellular, with around 1.25 million customers. France Telecom's Orange seems to have an operating license but has not started services yet.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

Iraq's government has approved plans to tender two additional mobile licenses, with one of them reserved for 3G services. The country already has three mobile networks, although there have been complaints from the regulator about poor coverage and service reliability.

"Now we are waiting to start the procedure (for tendering), which we expect to be soon," Iraq's Finance Minister Bayan Jabor told Reuters.

It has been previously reported that Turkcell and Etisalat would be interested in bidding for a mobile license in the country.

Figures from the Mobile World shows that the country ended Q1 '09 with 16.8 million mobile phone users, which represents a population penetration level of 58%.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

The French telecoms regulator, Arcep is expected to make another attempt at offering a fourth 3G license by the end of this month. The President of Arcep told a press conference that the "tender offer will almost certainly be launched by the end of July," without expanding on the details.

French Internet Service Proider, Iliad is the only company to have formally tabled its intention to bid for the license, although Numericable and Virgin Mobile France are mulling a joint bid. A previous bid for the license by Iliad was rejected by the regulator in October 2007.

According to figures from the Mobile World analysts, the three incumbent operators market share at the end of Q1 '09 was: Orange (47%), SFR (36%) and Bouygues Télécom (17%)

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

A consortium made up of France Telecom and Divona Telecom has been provisionally awarded the third mobile license in the North African country of Tunisia. The license covers both GSM and 3G services, and includes a landline service.

A statement from the regulator warned that the award is temporary pending the completion of the provisions included in the procedures of the international call for tender. The final decision should be confirmed next week.

There are currently two mobile network operators in the country - the state controlled Tunisie Telcom which is the sole landline operator, and Tunisiana, which just operates a mobile phone network. It is not immediately clear if Tunisiana will be offered a landline license, otherwise it would be commercially at a disadvantage to the other two operators.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

Abril confirmó el patrón cada vez más competitivo que ya mostraron en meses anteriores los mercados de banda ancha y de la telefonía móvil. Del total de ganancias netas de líneas de banda ancha en los últimos tres meses (febrero-abril), más del 66% fueron captadas por los operadores alternativos. Por su parte, los nuevos entrantes en telefonía móvil, Yoigo (el cuarto operador de red) y el conjunto de los operadores móviles virtuales (OMV) se hicieron con el 56,4% de las altas netas en ese periodo, según las cifras de la última nota mensual de la Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones.
 
See Press Release
Source: CMT - Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) announced today (10 June) that three mobile network operators have successfully bid for a total of 9.6 MHz of radio spectrum in the 1800 MHz frequency band at a total of upfront spectrum utilization fee of HK$ 46.1 million.

"The demand for public mobile telecommunications services has been growing continuously. The number of mobile users has reached 11.58 million by March 2009, representing a penetration rate of 165%. The assignment of the radio spectrum through the auction enables the successful mobile network operators to expand their network capacity to meet the increasing demand," a spokesperson of OFTA said.

See Press Release
Source: OFTA Office of the Telecommunications Authority

Azerbaijan Business Center writes that Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies (MCIT) is planning to distribute frequencies required for the provision of third generation services soon, with the aim of enabling cellcos to launch commercially by the end of 2009. The report states that the country’s Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov said all three of Azerbaijan’s GSM operators - Azercell, Bakcell and Azerfon (Nar Mobile) - have already applied for a licence to launch 3G services.

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

Orange, the sole bidder for Jordan's forthcoming 3G license auction has had its application rejected by the regulator, allegedly due to failure to comply with the tender rules.

The TRC spokeswoman said that Orange Jordan’s bid did not comply with the financial or technical aspects of the process. “They did not present their financial bond, which is JD10 million,” a spokeswoman told ITP news.

The 3G license tender has been delayed several times, and the TRC had intended to release the Tender document last December, but it was postponed due to requests submitted by Zain, Orange and XPress, in order to have more time to complete studying their business plans, and due to the public holidays in December which prevented them from completing the needed procedures.

See Press Release
Source: Cellular-news

There seems to be no end to the crisis generated by the 2.3GHz licensing round. While the Ministry of Information and Communications is standing by the cancellation of the process citing lack of transparency, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) remains adamant, warning of far reaching consequences if the Ministry maintains its stand.

While the dust has yet to settle, the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC) charged with carrying out bulk trans-sectoral allocation of spectrum to authorised statutory bodies has officially released the 2.3GHz frequency spectrum to the NCC to pave the way for the commencement of a new licensing process.

See Press Release
Source: BalancingAct-Africa

The Ghanaian government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the interconnection of fibre optic networks with Burkina Faso to enhance communications between the two west African neighbours. The Ghanaian communications minister has said the signing of the MOU is in line with the commitment of ECOWAS member states to foster economic integration.

Ghana and Burkina Faso also declared their determination to prioritise their optic fibre development plans to achieve interconnection by 2010.

See Press Release
Source: BalancingAct-Africa

Outremer Telecom says it tabled an application for a mobile licence for Mauritius with that island’s regulatory authority, the ICTA, for the deployment of GSM and 3G networks by 2010. The application has been tabled by City Call, a Group subsidiary that has been present in fixed telephony in Mauritius since 2005.

The company said that the application for a licence is part of the development strategy implemented by the Group in the Indian Ocean, after it launched its mobile telephony services in Mayotte in December 2006 and in Reunion in April 2007. ICTA’s decision is expected before summer this year.

See Press Release
Source: Balancingact-africa

The Egyptian authorities have announced plans to loosen the restrictions on the use of GPS devices within the country. The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has lifted a ban on civilian use of GPS which had blocked the (official) import of most mid to high end mobile and smartphones.

However, the NTRA will still need to authorise each type of GPS device imported into the country and will control any local manufacturing of the devices, it announced on its website at the weekend.

While GPS devices will be authorised for sale, the use of GPS for vehicle location services, as used in most mapping applications will still be tightly controlled by the regulator.

See Press Release
Source: cellular-news

Chilean telecoms regulator Subtel has published details of a tender for 3G licences to be held in July. ‘This is an industry that has enjoyed double-digit growth since 2006. This contest raises the possibility of increased competition that will directly benefit consumers,’ said Minister of Transport and Telecommunications (MTT), Rene Cortazar. Under the tender three blocks of 30MHz in the 1700MHz and 2100MHz frequency band will be allocated; winners will be those which promise the widest population coverage in the shortest amount of time.

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

In order to meet growing demand for broadband services, ComReg proposed in its Consultation Document 08/99 to make an additional 90 MHz of spectrum in the 3600 – 3800 MHz part of the band available for the provision of FWALA services. This additional spectrum will enable both new and existing FWALA operators to  meet the needs of both existing and prospective users of broadband services. ComReg also proposed making Channel E spectrum available in restricted areas of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Waterford.

More information is available in: Response to Consultation - FWALA licensing in the 3400-3800 MHz band: Further release of spectrum

Source: Comreg

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the recommendations on “Lock-in period for Promoter’s Equity and other conditionalities for Unified Access Service Licensees (UASL)”.

The Telecom sector in today’s India is intensely competitive with 281 Access service licensees. Of these, 121 UAS licenses were awarded in January, 2008. The total number of telephone connections stood at 400.05 million at the end of January, 2009. Despite the phenomenal growth, the overall tele-density is 34.50% and the rural tele-density is only 13.13%. Clearly, there is tremendous scope for further expansion of network requiring further infusion of capital. With the growth being contributed mainly by mobile telephones, availability and efficient utilization of spectrum, which is a scarce national resource, assumes importance. Any exploitation for undue gains either in terms of price of the spectrum or its framework for usage under a telecom license should not be allowed as it would defeat the goals of competition and would also be counterproductive for the industry as a whole.

See Press Release
Source: TRAI

La Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones de España (CMT) ha resuelto la cancelación de determinadas personas físicas y jurídicas en el Registro de Operadores de redes y servicios de comunicaciones electrónicas.

See related documents
Source: Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (CMT)

The Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR) has issued a proposed licensing framework document for Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) services on February 9th, 2009 and is seeking comments from interested parties. VSAT is a wireless, satellite-based system that can support organizations, businesses and other groups, with dispersed offices and remote sites, to have internal telecommunications (voice and data) connectivity. It is commonly used by large organizations with multiple or remote locations, such as banks, retail stores and oil and gas companies. Government entities, such as foreign ministries, also frequently utilize VSAT services.

See Press Release
Source: ict Qatar

In its current Spectrum Management Strategy Statement, the Commission for Communications Regulation (‘ComReg’) sets out its intention to release more spectrum in the 10 GHz band, in order to  facilitate additional Wireless Broadband services.

See Document

Source: ComReg
 

In a move that has shades of what happened to the mobile operators in Benin when a new Government came to power, Ghana’s new Government has decided that it will re-open the terms of the contract made under the previous Government with Vodafone International.

This is the worst kind of nightmare for an international investor: you’ve paid the price, you’re in the hole but there’s no control over the cost of the political risk incurred. For the new Government, it risk’s throwing away Ghana’s reputation as one of the most liberal telecoms environments in the sub-region.

The Minister designate for Communications, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu has hinted that his ministry would review the sale of Ghana Telecom to Vodafone International. He said though he would have to contact the Presidency for approval before his Ministry would embark on such a move, he was hopeful that the government would support the idea.

See Press Release
Source: Balancingact-africa

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) today announced that Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC) is the successful bidder for the third mobile Licence in Bahrain with a bid of Bahraini Dinars eighty six million six hundred eighty seven thousands (BD 86,687,000.000).

The commitments made by STC as part of their bid include the construction of a robust high capacity advanced mobile network with the primary design constraint being focused on quality services and speed to market. STC’s bid also contained a corporate social responsibility obligation of 1% of revenue which will be used to foster and support amongst other things the development of e-health, elearning and sports facilities within the Kingdom. In addition STC has included the establishment of a
US$300m venture capital fund in Bahrain which will focus on the development of ICT within the kingdom.

See Press Release
Source: Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA)- Bahrain

 Telecommunications companies will need to significantly improve their performance when it comes to contacting people on the Do Not Call Register, with 55 per cent of complaints received by the Australian Communications and Media Authority stemming from unwanted calls promoting phone plans and other related services.

‘This is a matter of obvious concern,’ said Chris Chapman, ACMA Chairman. ‘Consumers register their telephone numbers because they want to reduce the number of telemarketing calls they receive and it is unacceptable to see that some telcos are not respecting that decision. Businesses have had ample time to adjust to the new laws and by now should have robust compliance measures in place.’

See Press Release
Source: ACMA - Australia

A través de la Providencia Administrativa Nº 1330 de fecha 10 de diciembre de 2008, la Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones, CONATEL, ordenó la apertura del procedimiento de oferta pública N° 0031, destinado al otorgamiento del bloque de frecuencias 1805-1810 MHz pareado con 1710-1715 MHz, para la prestación del servicio de telefonía móvil en todo el espacio geográfico nacional.

See Press Release
Source: CONATEL

The director general of the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), John Nkoma, says he expects the country will be home to 13 million fixed and mobile telephone connections by mid-2009, up 25% on the figure reported in mid-2008, with much of the growth coming from cellular connections. Nkoma notes that telecoms is one of the fastest growing segments in the country, increasing subscribers by 20.1% in 2007, up from 19.2% the previous year. The TCRA official notes that barely four years ago Tanzania could only muster two million fixed and mobile lines. ‘We do expect that by the end of this year, we should be hitting maybe 10.5 million or eleven million [subscribers]. It's largely driven by mobile,’ he said. By 30 June 2008 Tanzania had a total of 10.43 million fixed and mobile users, up from 8.48 million at the start of the year. However, with overall penetration of about 25%, the TCRA says there is still ample room for growth in the market, making it an attractive prospect for new entrants.

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority ("OFTA") announced that PCCW-HKT Telephone Limited ("PCCW") has launched CDMA2000 mobile service in Hong Kong.

"This is the fifth 3G mobile network in Hong Kong , in addition to the four W-CDMA networks licensed in 2001. At service launch, the new network offers high speed data and voice services conforming to the CDMA2000 standard in the golden bowl areas covering the Kowloon peninsula and the northern part of Hong Kong Island. The service coverage will be further extended to cover places such as the airport, Mass Transit Railway stations, the road tunnels and border control points," the spokesperson of OFTA said.

"CDMA is one of the major mobile communications standards and it has been widely deployed in Canada, the USA, Japan, Korea and the mainland China. With the launch of the CDMA2000 service in Hong Kong, visitors holding CDMA equipment can now enjoy CDMA2000 roaming services. This will strengthen Hong Kong's strategic position as a world city as well as the gateway between the mainland China and the world," the spokesperson supplemented.

See Press Release
Source: OFTA

Russia's Communications Minister Igor Shchyogolev said yesterday that the government in Syria is considering allowing a Russian mobile operator into its market, Reuters reports. Speaking at the Russian-Syrian Intergovernmental Commission, Shchyogolev is quoted as saying: 'They have an idea to add one more mobile operator there.

The participation of Russian companies in the Syrian mobile market is possible.’ Commenting on the Minister’s statement a spokeswoman for Russian mobile operator MTS confirmed it would be interested in entering the market, while Vimpelcom, the second largest mobile carrier in Russia, has previously said it is interested in markets in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Number three player MegaFon also confirmed it would consider any opportunity that might emerge.

See Press Release
Source: Telegeography

France Telecom SA, Europe's third- largest telephone company, said it's in talks to buy a phone license in Togo in western Africa.

France Telecom said about 25 percent of Togolese have a mobile phone. The company expanded in Kenya and Uganda this year as the former French monopoly seeks faster growth than in its home market.

France Telecom last month set up a joint venture in Uganda with Hits Telecom Uganda and plans to invest $200 million in a mobile network there in the next three years. Telkom Kenya Ltd., a joint venture between France Telecom and the Kenyan government, started operations in September.

See Press Release
Source: AllAfrica 

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is seeking public and industry comment on the effectiveness in Australia of the secondary market for radiofrequency licences.

‘ACMA has released a wide-ranging discussion paper about trading of radiofrequency licences to encourage active debate and to give all stakeholders the opportunity to contribute to improving the regime that was created in the 1990s,’ said Chris Chapman, ACMA Chairman.

‘As ACMA’s instinct is to continue to move away from command and control regulation, it is vital that we have the right legislative and technical structure in place to allow spectrum to move to its highest value use,’ he said

See Press Release
Source: ACMA

The Commerce Commission today announced it is commencing an investigation into whether mobile termination access services should be regulated.

The investigation, under Schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Act 2001, will look at whether mobile termination access services (MTAS) (incorporating mobile-to-mobile voice termination, fixed-to-mobile voice termination and short-message-service termination) should become regulated services under Schedule 1 of the Act.

See Press Release
Source: Commerce Commission

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is proposing to permit the possession and installation of in-flight mobile phone systems by Australian airlines for domestic and international services.

'Australia led the world when it trialled in-flight GSM mobile phone services in 2007,’ said Chris Chapman, ACMA Chairman. ‘There is growing recognition by regulators worldwide that in-flight mobile phone services can be deployed without interference to existing telecommunications services.’

See Press Release
Source: Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)

The National Telecom Regulatory Authority Board of Directors decided to defer the auction of the second fixed license for a year as a response to the changes taking place in the international markets. The deadline for submitting the offers of the second fixed license was due on 18th September.
According to Dr. Amr Badawi, the Executive President of the NTRA, this decision was issued in the light of the discussions that took place between the NTRA and the twelve companies that bought the specifications handbook. The ICT international markets in Europe and the United States are facing major fluctuations due to the increasing inflation rates and the increasing prices. The ICT investments worldwide are accordingly shrinking. Therefore the decision was taken to postpone the license until a tangible improvement in the international market is witnessed. It is worth mentioning in this regard that the investments of the second fixed license are not expected to be less than one billion dollars during the first years of operation.

See Press Release
Source: Egypt - NTRA National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority

IN line with its objective to further liberalize the market, the Government of Rwanda has decided to select a third national operator through a public tender process. The exclusivity period enjoyed by Rwandatel and MTN Rwandacel was due to expire end of June 2008. The third operator will be issued with and have both fixed and mobile licences for a duration of 15 years. The closing date for submission of technical and financial bids is 30 September 2008. More information on the bidding process can be found on the website of the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA).

Source: Rura

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced that licence fees for rural landline services will be waived, Telecom Tiger reports. It is expected that the ruling could save providers up to INR2 billion (USD46.7 million) per year, and it is hoped may encourage private players to consider investment in rural areas. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, the Ministry of Communications (MoC) has committed to increasing rural teledensity to 4% by 2010.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

Government will license a fourth mobile operator and a third fixed-line operator in 2009. That's the word from ANC MP and member of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications Khotso Khumalo, who made the announcements at an industry Seminar, in Johannesburg.

In addition to the announcements on new operators, Khumalo also said government wanted VANS to be allowed to self-provide and that the frequency spectrum allocation would be made more efficient. “Things are changing and changing fundamentally,” said Khumalo. “As government, we need to look at better ways to liberalise the telecommunications market.”

See Press Release
Source: Africa - Balancing Act

As at the end of the first quarter of 2008 there were around 1,71 million users in Portugal with mobile Internet access and around 1,58 million fixed internet accesses, of which approximately 1,52 million were broadband. For the first time the number of mobile broadband users surpassed the number of fixed broadband customers.

Mobile broadband saw the highest rate of growth during the period being reported. The number of users increased by 259 thousand over the quarter, representing a rise of almost 18% compared to the previous quarter and of 99% compared to the same quarter of 2007.

See Press Release
Source: Communications National Authority (ANACOM)

The Government has decided to create the Unified Carrier Licence (UCL) as a single licensing vehicle for fixed, mobile and/or converged services, subject to the negative vetting of the amendment regulations by the Legislative Council. Distinction between fixed and mobile networks and services is becoming increasingly blurred due to market and technology developments. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as "Fixed-Mobile Convergence" (FMC). The new UCL regime will enable facility-based operators to provide different services under a single and flexible licensing framework, thereby paving the way for FMC. Following the publication of the Telecommunications Authority (TA) Statement on UCL last Friday, the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) today (13 May 2008) briefed the Information Technology and Broadcasting Panel of the Legislative Council about the details of the UCL.

See Press Release
Source: OFTA

La Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones (COFETEL) publica en el Diario Oficial de la Federación (DOF) los Lineamientos para la Transición a la Radio Digital Terrestre (RDT) de las estaciones de radiodifusión sonora ubicadas dentro de la zona de 320 kilómetros de la frontera norte de México.

Los Lineamientos tienen como propósito, en una primera etapa del proceso de transición a la RDT, que los concesionarios y permisionarios cuyas estaciones de radiodifusión sonora están ubicadas en la frontera norte, puedan realizar en forma voluntaria, transmisiones con el sistema IBOC (In Band on Channel) para que la prestación de sus servicios se encuentre en igualdad de condiciones tecnológicas a las que actualmente tienen las emisoras estadounidenses, las cuales operan con la misma tecnología.

See Press Release
Source: Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones (COFETEL)

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has received a total of seven responses to its request for expressions of interest in the award process of the licence for the third mobile network operator (MNO). Six companies expressed their interest to compete for the right to become a third MNO.

See Press Release
Source: Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA)

OFTA Investigates into Suspected Use of Unlicensed Radio Transmitter Equipment The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) has today (4 May 2008) initiated an investigation into the suspected use of unlicensed radio transmitter equipment following unlicensed radio transmission detected at 102.8 MHz. The radio transmission mainly relayed the voice contents of an open forum held by Citizens' Radio at the Times Square, Causeway Bay.

"The use of unlicensed radio transmitters is a criminal offence under section 8 of the Telecommunications Ordinance (TO). Those who knowingly participate in the delivery of messages through unlicensed radio transmitters may also commit a criminal offence under section 23 of the TO," warned the spokesperson of OFTA.

See Press Release
Source: Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA)

El Consejo Nacional de Telecomunicaciones, en nombre del Estado, garantiza la continuidad y calidad de servicio de telefonía móvil en Ecuador. Esta entidad resolvió ayer terminar de forma irreversible la negociación llevada entre la Senatel y la operadora Conecel (Porta) debido a que la propuesta económica de esta empresa móvil no era conveniente para los intereses del Estado.

Esta resolución del Consejo dispone además iniciar un proceso de reversión a partir del próximo 26 de agosto de este año, fecha en la que finaliza el período contractual entre la Operadora Conecel y el Estado Ecuatoriano.

See Press Release
Source: Consejo Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (CONATEL)

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) today took the first step in the liberalization of the telecommunications market in Lebanon, issuing its first licenses since it was established one year ago. Under the Telecommunications Law, all existing licenses expired on 4 April 2008. The TRA today issued new licenses to operational data service providers (DSPs) and Internet service providers (ISPs). Each license has the same terms save for where some DSPs have the right to use radio frequency spectrum, where they are subject to additional terms and conditions, and except that - as before - the provision of data services is subject to certain revenue share obligations and frequency fees which do not apply to a provider offering only ISP services.

See Press release
Source: TRA

Thailand’s National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has approved a plan to award 3G UMTS licences in the 2GHz spectrum band in August this year, rather than next year as previously announced, reports Thai newspaper The Nation, quoting the regulator’s secretary-general Suranan Wongvithayakamjorn. The official also said that the three privately owned cellcos AIS, DTAC and True Move would still be allowed to go ahead with their previously announced plans to roll out 3G services in the meantime using existing frequency allocation in the 850MHz and 900MHz bands, although he added that they must comply with new 3G regulations once in place. The NTC plans to issue bandwidth of 45MHz in the 2100MHz band, but has not finalised crucial details including the number of desired 3G licensees. It has scheduled a public consultation next month to evaluate spectrum pricing models and the results of a study of draft 3G licensing terms and conditions, including the number of concessions to be made available and licensing methods.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

Para impulsar el desarrollo de las telecomunicaciones y la economía del país, así como acercar nuevas tecnologías a la población y permitir la entrada de nuevos inversionistas a este sector, el secretario de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT), Luis Téllez, dio a conocer el Nuevo Programa de Licitaciones de Frecuencias que incorpora una nueva banda para el Tren Suburbano.

Con este programa, los consumidores tendrán más y mejores opciones para acceder a servicios fundamentales como la banda ancha. Las nuevas frecuencias anunciadas hoy, permitirán también que aquellos operadores de radiofrecuencias que han llegado a su límite de capacidad puedan continuar creciendo.

See Press Release
Source: Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes

According to the Economic Times, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has said that interested parties may bid for up to 10MHz of 3G spectrum, rejecting telecom regulator TRAI’s recommendation to award just 5MHz. The decision will effectively allow foreign players and new domestic companies to bid for a maximum of two 5MHz blocks, the minimum deemed necessary for a start up operation.

See Press Release
Source: TeleGeography

The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) is inviting national and international consortiums to bid for the second fixed-line license.
Offers are to be submitted on 19th June 2008 at 12:00 p.m. on NTRA premises at the Smart Village.

See Press Release
Source: National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA)

The OFTA called for Submission on Consultation Paper on the Assignment of the Available Radio Spectrum in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz Bands; the questions were:
- Do you agree that the available spectrum in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz band be made available to the incumbent 2G MNOs only?
- Do you agree that the frequency assignment should be valid until 29 September 2021?
- Do you agree that auction be used to determine to whom the concerned spectrum should be assigned?
- Do you agree that the radio spectrum in the 900 MHz bands (889.1 – 889.9 MHz paired with 934.1 – 934.9 MHz) and the 1800 MHz bands (1780.1 – 1784.9 MHz paired with 1875.1 – 1879.9 MHz) be divided into one (1) and six (6) blocks respectively as shown in Figures 1 and 2 above for assignment?
- Do you have any comments on the proposed SUF calculation methods as stated above?
- Do you agree that a single round sealed bid auction as described above be adopted in the auctioning of the frequency blocks?
- Do you agree that there will not be any restriction or cap on the amount of spectrum that a bidder can acquire during the auction?

See Submissions to the Consultation
Source: Office of the Telecommunications Authority - OFTA

According to Reuters, Thailand's telecommunications regulator is expected to issue long-awaited licenses for the third-generation (3G) mobile services to private operators in May. It was in a process of drafting qualification criteria for licences by an advisor which should take about three months, National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) Chairman Choochart Promphrasid told Reuters.

See full article
Source: Reuters

The symposium organized by WTO on 20-21 February 2008 in Geneva commemorated the 10^th anniversary of the entry into force of the 4^th Protocol of the GATS, more commonly known as the Basic Telecommunications Agreement (BTA). The two day event highlights the transformation of telecommunications over the past decade and the regulatory challenges governments have faced. It also explores the broader implications for the ICT sector, trade, economic development and growth, and prospects for the future.

The ITU Secretary General Dr. Hamadoun Touré gave opening remarks at the first day of the symposium. Ms. Susan Schor of the Regulatory and Market Environment Division of ITU-BDT gave a presentation on 10 Years Regulatory Trends. Ms. Vanessa Gray from the Market Information and Statistics Division, ITU-BDT presented ICT Market Trends, which have swept the sector over the last decade. Dr. Tim Kelly from the Standardization Policy Division, ITU-TSB provided an overview of Past and future regulatory challenges and their relevance for trade negotiators.   

Source: WTO and ITU

ictQATAR today announced that eight well-known companies from around the world are interested in entering Qatar's fixed line telecommunications market.
The operators have officially registered interest in applying for Qatar's second fixed telecommunications license. The international companies are applying alone or as part of consortia. It is expected that the winning operator will be announced in May 2008.

See Press Release
Source: Supreme Council of Information & Communication Technology

The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) plans to introduce a single licensing framework and market structure beginning July 1st 2008. Currently, the regulator said, it is collating views from stakeholders to fine tune the final document, adding that the matter had gone through initial consultations which had yielded a new market structure and a set of guidelines to be used in implementing the new framework. CCK, therefore, said it needed the input of stakeholders in the final outcome. In the new licence regime, CCK has segmented the licenses into three; network, service and content providers.

See article
Source: Balancing Act - Africa

The Ugandan Communications Commission (UCC) has approved the extension of Celtel’s licence; the concession is due to expire on 17 September 2008. According to the original licence, awarded in 1993, Celtel was required, amongst other things, to achieve coverage of 99.9% of the population and pay 1% of its annual gross revenues to the universal access fund. ‘The commission intends to recommend to the Minister of Information and Communication Technology to grant an extension of Celtel's licence…unless there are valid and substantial objections to the proposed extension,’ a UCC spokesperson told local press.

See article
Source: Telegeography

The Bulgarian communications regulator is considering whether to sanction the launch of a fourth mobile network operator. The Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) is expected to invite opinions from interested parties and the public in February and will subsequently prepare a report on the issue.

See more

Source: Telegeography

T-Mobile and SunCom seek consent to the transfer of control of the wireless licenses2 and international section 214 authorizations3 held by subsidiaries of SunCom – SunCom Wireless License Company, LLC and SunCom Wireless Puerto Rico License Co., LLC (“SunCom Subsidiaries”) – to T-Mobile. Additionally, the Applicants have filed a Petition requesting a clarification that T-Mobile’s prior foreign ownership rulings permit the indirect foreign

See Press Release
Source: Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

T-Mobile and SunCom seek consent to the transfer of control of the wireless licenses2 and international section 214 authorizations3 held by subsidiaries of SunCom – SunCom Wireless License Company, LLC and SunCom Wireless Puerto Rico License Co., LLC (“SunCom Subsidiaries”) – to T-Mobile. Additionally, the Applicants have filed a Petition requesting a clarification that T-Mobile’s prior foreign ownership rulings permit the indirect foreign

See Press Release
Source: Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

The Magistrate hearing the case concerning unlicensed broadcasting by Citizens' Radio ruled today (8 January 2008) that the current licensing regime under the Telecommunications Ordinance, Cap 106 and the charges based upon a failure to comply with that regime were unconstitutional. As a consequence of the ruling, he dismissed all the charges against the defendants.

See Press Release
Source: OFTA

India's Reliance Communications (RCOM) has announced it has won licences which will allow it to become Uganda's sixth telecom operator. According to reports carried by local newspapers, RCOM has been awarded both public infrastructure provider and public service provider concessions, which will allow it to offer wireless, fixed, internet, national and international long-distance services, in addition to WiMAX and Wi-Fi services.

RCOM plans to launch in the east African country by the third quarter of 2008. The newspaper reports said that RCOM will invest INR8 billion (USD202 million) to roll out fixed and wireless infrastructure capable of allowing it to compete with other Ugandan operators including MTN, Uganda Telecom, HITS Telecom, Celtel and Warid Telecom.

See Press Release

Source: TeleGeography

House of Representatives Committee on Communication, last week in Abuja, threatened to recommend revocation of MTN's operational licence over poor service. Briefing newsmen, Jerry Mamwe, Chairman of the Committee, said MTN had been given three weeks within which to improve its services or have its licence revoked.

Mamwe said the committee had directed MTN to suspend sales of its SIM cards to customers, pending when it improves its roll out capacity, adding that the decision was informed by its refusal to improve its services, in spite of the committee's several official and informal appeals. "While we must agree that GSM operators have enjoyed the benefit of time, the customers have continued to suffer poor services rendered by MTN to be specific," he said. According to him, MTN account for 85 per cent of poor telecommunication services to customers in the country, which was unacceptable to the committee.

See Press Release

Source: Balancing Act - Africa

ARCEP has imposed new obligations on operators when it renewed their GSM licenses, which aim to increase transparency in terms of national coverage. Mobile operators are now required to publish coverage maps more precise and checked by on-site surveys.

See Press Release

Source : ARCEP

ictQATAR today published on its website the fixed telecommunications license application process (FAP) for the State of Qatar. The license to operate a second fixed telecommunications network is expected to be awarded in April 2008.

Commenting on the launch of the new process, Dr Hessa Al Jaber, Secretary General of ictQATAR, said "Our goal is to bring to the residents and businesses of Qatar a state of the art network combining the latest technologies and services. We believe this is a very attractive market -- with an expanding population, multiple new residential and business developments and one of the highest per capita incomes in the world".

See Press Release

Source: Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology - ictQatar

Switzerland's incumbent telco, Swisscom has won approval to rollout a nationwide DVB-H (digital video broadcasting handheld) mobile TV service. The company disclosed that it won a license from the Swiss Federal Communications Commission (ComCom)  following a criteria-based competition. The license award follows a pilot project run by Swisscom, Orange and TDC Sunrise. Other partners withdrew from the joint project  paving the way for Swisscom to emerge as the sole licensee.

See Press Release
Source: Swisscom

Amidst the policy of liberalizing telecommunication services in Egypt and according to Egypt’s international commitments with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and based on Law no. 10 for the year 2003, which states that Telecom Egypt’s monopoly over international telephony services must end by the year 2005, the NTRA has agreed to offer the license to international telephony services to any mobile service company that is willing to offer these services only to its clients and customers. Telecom Egypt’s right to offer international telephony services via carrier selection will be maintained, according to its license.

See more

Source: NTRA Egypt

With a view to afford a fair hearing to all interested parties and to promote due diligence,
transparency and good governance in the processing and determination of an application for a
licence under section 24 of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Act, the
Authority has decided to lay down the hereunder procedures for the hearing of objections under
section 24 of the ICT Act, for the benefit of all interested persons.

Source : ICTA

obj_hearing.pdf (8,06 KB)

The Royal Ministry of Transport and Communications has received an application for the vacant fourth licence to build and operate a third generation public mobile communication system (3G) in Norway, and announces today that the licence will be assigned in a sealed auction. The auction will take place 12th December this year and the auction is open to all interested parties.

The licence to build and operate a third generation public mobile communications system in Norway will be assigned following a sealed first-price auction. This means that each participant in the auction may only submit one single bid and the licence will be awarded the highest bidder.

See Press Release
Source: Ministry of Transport and Communications (Norway)

ictQATAR, the telecommunications regulator today announced the selection of the Vodafone and Qatar Foundation Consortium as the Successful Applicant for the second mobile telecommunications license in the State of Qatar.
They submitted the highest bid in the second round auction. The other eligible consortiums submitting bids were Argos (Verizon) and Etisalat.

The license will be issued when closing procedures are completed. The new licensee is expected to launch service during 2008.

See Press Release

Source: Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology - ictQatar

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa –ICASA- has published the final standard Terms and Conditions for Broadcasting, Electronic Communications Services and Electronic Communications Network Services Individual licences in Government Gazette No. 30530. This is in terms of the Electronic Communications Act which provides that the Authority must prescribe the terms and conditions to be applied to individual and class licensees.

The publication of the Terms and Conditions is a culmination of an open and consultative process with stakeholders. As part of the process, the Authority published a notice to prescribe the general Terms and Conditions for individual and class licences in August 2007.

See Press Release

Source: Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA)

The Federal Council has awarded the SRG (Swiss Broadcasting Corporation) a new license with a term of 10 years. This includes an extended performance mandate which places obligation on the SRG primarily in relation to information, culture and education. In addition, the Council of States wants to ensure that SRG programme services are clearly differentiated from commercial offerings by setting quality specifications.

See Press Release

Source: Swiss Confederation - Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM)

The government of Niger granted  a fourth telecommunications licence to France Telecom for CFA 30 billion (48 million Euro). The French operator outbid Morocco Telecoms, which proposed CFA 13 billion (20 million Euro).

See more

Source : APA

Ofcom  announced its decision, following consultation, to amend the radio spectrum licence held by UK Broadband Limited. The change will allow the company to offer internet connections to portable or mobile devices as well as to fixed locations across the UK.

UK Broadband’s current Wireless Telegraphy Act licence permits the company to operate broadband fixed wireless access in the 3.5 GHz band. The company had asked Ofcom to change its licence to make it technology and application neutral, giving it greater flexibility over how it can use the radio spectrum. It also sought an increase in its permitted power levels.

Ofcom believes that removing restrictions on the licensee will benefit consumers, encourage competition, optimise use of the spectrum and is therefore in the interests of citizens and consumers. Ofcom also believes that the likelihood of interference to other users is low.

See Press Release

Source: OFCOM

ComReg published the licensing framework for Digital Terestrial Television (DTT) services in Ireland. A Paper presents the response to a consultation process issued on August 31st 2007.


Press Release and publication

Source: ComReg

As faixas destinadas ao Serviço Móvel Pessoal (SMP) podem ser usadas para a prestação da telefonia celular independentemente da tecnologia. Segundo o conselheiro José Leite Pereira Filho, com esse entendimento da Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (Anatel), fica permitido o uso das freqüências destinadas ao serviço móvel para a tecnologia IMT-2000, conhecida como de terceira geração (3G).

Também em sua 458ª reunião, realizada hoje, o Conselho Diretor da Anatel decidiu submeter a consulta pública a revogação da Resolução 227/2000, que destina as faixas de 1,9 GHz e de 2,1 GHz ao uso exclusivo da IMT-2000. A consulta pública está prevista para receber contribuições no período de 6 a 26 de novembro de 2007. Full press release

Source: Anatel, Brazil

According to Telegeography, the government of Vietnam has given the Ministry of Information and Communications the green light to grant 3G licences and mobile WiMAX trial permissions. The decision follows more than a year spent to prepare 3G licencing criteria.

See more

Source : Telegeography

Biel-Bienne, 30.10.2007 - On instructions from the Federal Communications Commission (ComCom), the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) is launching a procedure for the award of licences for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA). Unlike the licences already awarded which may cover the entire national territory, the new licences will be limited to regions determined by the applicants.

The available frequency band has been split into two blocks of frequencies for regional use, each with a bandwidth of 2 x 7 MHz in total, in the 3.41 - 3.6 GHz range. These frequencies will enable licensees to provide fixed or nomadic (point-to-multipoint) services exclusively in the region(s) defined in applicants' submissions. "Nomadic use" means the use of a terminal at any location, as long as it is not moved while in use. In the medium term, mobile services are also envisaged. The licences, granted for two years, may be extended to 2016 at most. No radiocommunication technology is imposed. Full press release

Source: OFCOM, Switzerland

Amidst the policy of liberalizing telecommunication services in Egypt and according to Egypt’s international commitments with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and based on Law no. 10 for the year 2003, which states that Telecom Egypt’s monopoly over international telephony services must end by the year 2005, the NTRA has agreed to offer the license to international telephony services to any mobile service company that is willing to offer these services only to its clients and customers. Telecom Egypt’s right to offer international telephony services via carrier selection will be maintained, according to its license.

See Press Release

Source : NTRA

Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazif witnessed, on the 17th of Oct. 2007, at the Smart Village the agreement signing between the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) and Mobinil on granting the latter a license to offer 3G mobile services. The agreement was signed between both Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dr. Tarek Kamel and NTRA Chairman Dr. Amr Badawy and Mobinil Board Chairman Eng. Naguib Sawiris. The 15-year license identifies Mobinil as the third provider of 3G services in Egypt after Etisalat Misr and Vodafone Egypt with a total fee of LE 3.34 billion and 2.4% of its total annual 3G revenues. The LE 3.34-billion fee will go the public treasury based on law 10 for 2003, which regulates the communications sector. The license allows Mobinil to use UMTS, EDGE, HSUPA and HSDPA technologies and to provide services that include visual communications, video-messaging, high-speed data transfer and internet, MBMS services, Mobile TV, Push-to-View and GPRS, provided that the company has to get permissions for some of the services from the concerned authorities. Mobinil is to acquire a 10 MHz frequency spectrum for broadcasting its 3G services.

See Press Release

Source: NTRA

Morocco opens calls for submissions in relation to licenses for establishing and exploiting radioelectrical shared networks.

See the Press Release and the documents

Source ANRT

On Septemebre 15th, Spacetel and the Government of Benin have reached an agreement allowing Spacetel to go on with its operations and activities. Spacetel's Network was suspended in July 2007 following a dispute aroung the transformation of Spacetel into MTN. Spacetel now adheres to the new licenses framework. The governement is engaged in improving the telecommunications regulatory framework.

See Press Release

Source: Gouvernement du Bénin

Brazil's telecoms regulator Anatel gave conditional approval on Tuesday to Spanish telco Telefónica's (NYSE: TEF) acquisition of Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI), local and international press reported Brazil's communications minister Hélio Costa as saying.

On April 28, a consortium of Italian firms and TEF reached an agreement to indirectly acquire a 23.6% controlling stake in TI. The group agreed to buy TI's controlling shareholder Olimpia from Italian holding companies Pirelli and Sintonia for around 4.1bn euros (US$5.6bn). Full press release

Source: Business News Americas

A "Proposta de Manutenção da Atribuição da faixa de 143,60 MHz a 143,65 MHz ao Serviço de Pesquisa Espacial (no sentido do espaço para terra) e sua destinação ao Serviço Limitado Privado para uso em aplicações de Pesquisa Espacial" está sob a Consulta Pública nº 829. De acordo com a proposta, por essa faixa estações terrenas receberiam sinais e informações do espaço permitindo a realização de estudos e pesquisas. A Consulta receberá comentários e sugestões da sociedade, até as 24h do dia 19 de novembro, pelo portal da Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (Anatel), www.anatel.gov.br . Full press release

Source: Anatel, Brazil

L’Autorité de Régulation Multisectorielle (Niger’s telecoms regulator)  announced the planned award of a GSM concession and a technology-neutral mobile telecoms licence. The country currently has three mobile operators — Celtel, Telecel and SahelCom.

Source: Telegeography

Two companies have qualified to bid for a 70 percent stake in Rwandatel, a state-owned fixed and mobile phone operator, a government official told Reuters on Thursday. They are Libya's LapGreen Network and South Africa's Vodacom, according to Manasseh Twahirwa, the executive secretary in Rwanda's privatisation unit.

"We are now going to invite each one of these two companies separately for negotiations on both their technical and financial offers," Twahirwa said. "There's need to harmonise their offers with our government's vision. It's from that stage that we will come up with an overall winner." 

Six companies, including Kuwaiti-owned Celtel and Jordan's V-Tel, had shown interest in the operator in the tiny central African country where cellular services have become an indispensable communication tool. In July, Rwanda bought back Rwandatel for $12 million having previously sold it to Terracom for $20 million, saying the new owners had failed to deliver on contractual obligations such as rolling out a new mobile network.

Source: Reuters

According ARCEP, Free Mobile did not meet the criteria and requirements for the fourth 3G license.

See Press Release and access the decision

Source: ARCEP

A fin de definir con claridad el uso de las bandas de frecuencias del espectro radioeléctrico y ofrecer seguridad jurídica a los inversionistas y usuarios de telecomunicaciones, la Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones (COFETEL) envió a la Comisión Federal de Mejora Regulatoria (COFEMER) el anteproyecto de actualización del Cuadro Nacional de Atribución de Frecuencias (CNAF) 2007 para su revisión.

La COFETEL solicitó la exención a la Manifestación de Impacto Regulatorio, pues el anteproyecto aprobado por el Pleno del órgano regulador no genera costos ni obligaciones a los particulares. Full press release

 

Source: COFETEL, Mexico

 

First International Telecom (FiTEL)  announced its decision to issue 250m common shares to raise an estimated $91m in fresh capital to be used to set up and operate a WiMAX (worldwide interoperability for microwave access) network in Taiwan. This announcement came after the Taiwanese telecom was one of six companies to be awarded a licence in July by the National Communications Commission (NCC) to build and operate a WiMAX network.

The six companies were given 18 months to build their networks, with the possibility of a one-year extension, and are required to begin operating within six months of completing construction. The licenses are valid for six years and may be renewed only once. The NCC is expected to auction off a licence after June 2009 to operate a WiMAX network on an island-wide basis that would be valid for a period of 10 years. That auction is part of the government's plan to make WiMAX a primary feature of Taiwan's information and communications technology (ICT) industry.


See more

Source: Oxford Business Group

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority hereby gives public notice, in accordance with Section 24 of the Information and Communication Technologies Act 2001 (as amended), that it has received applications for licences as set out hereunder:

Name of applicant	Licence	Nature of Application
Emtel	SPL3- Network Spectrum Licence	New
Pekka O. Ahlqvist	RA 25 – Radio Amateur Visitor	New
Bapoo Tejman	E – Dealer’s Licence	New
Eye Call Ltd	C.04 – International Long Distance	New

Any interested person who wishes to object to the said applications may do so in writing, to the Executive Director of the ICT Authority, within 14 days of the present publication.

See Press release

Source: ICTA

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority hereby gives public notice, in accordance with Section 24 of the Information and Communication Technologies Act 2001 (as amended), that it has received applications for licences. Any interested person who wishes to object to the said applications may do so in writing, to the Executive Director of the ICT Authority,  within 14 days of the present publication.

See press release


Source: ACTI

La actual gestión ha publicado un proyecto de modificación del Reglamento de Calidad de los Servicios Públicos de telecomunicaciones, que establece metas de calidad obligatorias por hora y por componente de la red, bajo apercibimiento de sanción. Además, incorpora nuevos indicadores para regular la calidad de acceso a la red, mensajes de texto, calidad de voz y cobertura y que exigirá para su correcta supervisión de una adecuada provisión de recursos en el Organismo Regulador. Full report

Source: OSIPTEL, Perú

Australia's largest telecoms company, Telstra, said today it plans to take Communications Minister Helen Coonan to court over her decision on licence conditions relating to the group's CDMA mobile network. "Telstra today filed documents in the Federal Court that clearly indicate the Minister has breached her Ministerial duties by making up her mind about the imposition of the license condition to block the closure of the old CDMA network—an integral part of the Next G network plan.

Source: Global Insight

On 4 September 2007 ITU has released a major publication, Trends in Telecommunication Reform: the Road to NGN. This is the 8^th of a series of reports focusing on the ongoing transformation in the telecom/ICT sector to inform regulators and policy makers around the world.

During the past week, the report got news coverage by numerous leading national and international media, witnessing the interest of the ten chapters of research and analysis dedicated to issues related to the transition towards Next Generation Networks (NGN). You can find links to some of the news reports in the attached document.

More information about the 2007 report is available at the “On the Road to NGN” website.

The publication is available for sale at the ITU bookshop.

Beninese private mobile phone operator "Moov" resumed operation early Friday after being suspended for breaching contract conditions set by the country's Posts and Telecommunications Governing Authority, PANA reported. In July, Moov and Areeba were penalised for making changes without complying with conditions of their contract or the new conditions approved by the cabinet 6 June 2007.

Source: Afriqueenligne

Geneva, 4 September 2007 — ITU has released a major publication, Trends in Telecommunication Reform: the Road to NGN. In its 8th edition, Trends reports on the evolution of circuit-switched telecommunication into "next-generation" networks, as operators around the world fight to remain competitive. The Report aims at enabling regulators and policy-makers in developing countries to better understand the changes transforming the ICT sector so they can evolve their policy and regulatory frameworks to leverage today’s technological and market developments.

What does NGN mean for regulators? They have many choices to make. Some view NGN as the intersection of the telecom and Internet worlds. If so, which regulatory regime should apply? The current heavily-regulated telecom regulatory model? The lightly-regulated Internet model? Or some new hybrid model? The migration to NGN affords an opportunity for regulators to analyze current practices and revise them in light of what makes sense going forward. This Trends report offers a detailed discussion of the kinds of measures that are needed to ensure that regulation keeps pace with technological and market developments so that the best of NGN is available to all of the world’s people.

The ITU press release is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

More information about the content of the 2007 report is available at the “On the Road to NGN” website.

The publication is available for sale at the ITU bookshop.

With the publication of an Information Memorandum (IM) which sets out the detailed auction rules and conditions today (31 August 2007), the Government invites applications to bid for the radio spectrum for the provision of CDMA2000 mobile services (CDMA2000 services).

"CDMA2000 is one of the main mobile communications standards in the world capable of delivering high speed data services. There are over 350 million mobile subscribers in 85 economies, including 39 million in Mainland, adopting this standard," a spokesperson of the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) said. Full Press release

Source: OFTA, Hong Kong

MTN said it has been in ongoing discussions with the authorities in Benin to obtain clarity on the status of its current licence to operate in the African state.

On July 12 this year the government of Benin suspended the current licence of MTN Benin - in which the South African group holds a 75% equity stake - as well as that of another mobile operator in the country.

The government has proposed amendments to the licence conditions including a significant increase in licence fees.

"MTN management has been in ongoing discussions with the authorities in Benin to obtain clarity on the status of the current licence. MTN management has obtained positive legal confirmation on the validity of its existing licence," the South African group said.

The value of the net assets of its Benin operation at 30 June 2007 was 1.6 billion rand.

Source: Sunday Times

August 30, 2007, Pravaleni, Hunedoara county. Dan Georgescu, the President of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology together with Alin Gadian, Timisoara Regional Manager, on behalf of Vodafone Romania, have met with the users of the telecentre which Vodafone Romania installed in Pravaleni, Hunedoara county, in order to test the telephony and Internet services it offers.

“Today, with the launch of the telecentre of Pravaleni, we should look behind and make a review of what we have accomplished up to now. So far, in figures, the experience of the telecentres may be resumed as follows: 232 functional telecentres out of the total of 600 which ANRCTI proposed to install in the isolated communities of the rural area. These telecentres shall ensure the access to telephony and Internet services by means of the national programme for the installation of telecentres; furthermore, approximately 200,000 people whose life changed due to ANRCTI initiative, people that are now able to communicate easier with their relatives or friends from abroad, who have access to information, to whom the world seems closer now and, as well, more than 15,000 children able to broaden their horizons, who have access to knowledge and can be informed”, declared Dan Georgescu, the President of ANRCTI. Full Press release

Source: ANRC, Romania

TRAI forwarded its recommendations today to the Department of Telecommunications (DOT), Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India on policies that should govern the licensing frame work for access service provision. The recommendations contain proposals on a wide range of inter connected issues that formed the basis of the reference from the DOT dated 13^{th April, 2007.}

DoT’s reference inter-alia required TRAI to make recommendations on key issues like entry regulation in access service market, review of guidelines on Merger & Acquisitions including the provisions relating to cross holding of a licensee company in the same service area, use of combination of technologies (CDMA, GSM & and/or any other) under the same license, roll out obligations etc. Full Press release

Source: TRAI, India

Fiji’s interim Commerce Minister, Taito Waradi, says that 15 companies including local and international firms, have applied for a licence to operate a mobile telephone network in Fiji. The minister’s announcement followed the closing of the deadline for submissions yesterday. The country’s Ministry director of communications Jale Curuki added that the nation could theoretically cater for up to nine mobile operators but conceded that the actual level would be ‘determined by the market.’

Meanwhile, Mr Waradi went on to point out that currently there were no mobile operators licensed in Fiji, with the only recognised companies being Telecom Fiji and FINTEL. ‘Both are paying about USD1.2 million each and Vodafone is riding on the back of Telecom Fiji's licence,’ the minister said. ‘Vodafone Fiji itself does not have a licence,’ he said. See full publication

Source: Telegeography

The existing commercial television licensees in Remote and Regional Western Australia have until 21 November 2007 to indicate to the Australian Communications and Media Authority that they intend to apply for a third, digital only, free-to-air commercial television licence for the licence area.

ACMA has determined a designated time of 23 August 2007 as the time from which WIN Television Pty Ltd and Prime Television Pty Ltd will have 90 days to give written notice, either jointly or separately, to ACMA stating their intention to apply for the licence. Full Press release

Source: ACMA, Australia

Despite a partial setback last month from FCC, CEO Eric Schmidt said Google is leaning toward bidding in upcoming U.S. mobile phone airwave auctions.

See article

Source: Reuters

The government of Senegal is inviting companies to tender for the licence to a third mobile operator. Deadline is set for 31 August. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, Senegal’s mobile market has 3.37 million mobile users (March 2007).

See more

Source: Telegeography

Some 12 companies have expressed interest in bidding for two mobile concessions licenses in Panama, the country's public services regulator Asep was reported as saying by local press.

The auction process is slated to start October 27 and be awarded in May.

The interested parties are Mexico's América Móvil (NYSE: AMX), France's Orange, Luxembourg's Millicom International Celular (Nasdaq: MICC), Jamaica-based Digicel, and Panama's Vtel, Global Star, Clarocom, Cable Onda, Advanced Communication, Innovation Wireless, Torres Troncales and Pan American Wireless. Full Press release

Source: Business News Americas

Today the Commission proposes a new mechanism for selecting systems providing Europe-wide mobile satellite services. If adopted by the European Parliament and the EU Council of Telecom Ministers, it will give industry the necessary confidence to invest in EU-wide services, and will result in new services for citizens, even in previously uneconomic remote areas.

For the complete press release see:

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/07/329&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Source : Europa

L’Agence de Régulation des Télécommunications et des Postes ARTP) du Sénégal a lancé le 17 août 2007 une procédure d'appel à la concurrence pour l’attribution de la nouvelle licence globale de télécommunications. Voir le Communiqué
Source: ARTP

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has imposed additional licence conditions on the community radio broadcasting licence for the New South Wales 2RBR Coraki community radio service.

‘Community broadcasters have a responsibility to meet the needs and interests of the community within the planned licence area,’ said Chris Chapman, ACMA Chairman. ‘They also must comply with the technical specifications of their apparatus licence and, in particular, they must not broadcast outside the licence area except in limited circumstances.’ Full Press release

Source: ACMA, Australia

Ofcom today announced a change to the law to enable the use of a new technology that wirelessly connects digital devices in the home.

From 13 August 2007 Ofcom will remove the requirement to hold a licence to operate equipment using approved Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology. UWB allows the transfer of large amounts of data (up to 2 Gb/s) over relatively short distances (around 30 metres).

The technology could promote the convergence of communications devices and services by, for example, connecting personal computers, DVD players, portable music players and digital cameras without the need for wires. In addition, research has shown that devices that transfer data using UWB equipment use low power technologies which can enhance battery life compared with other wireless technologies. Full Press release

Source: OFCOM, United Kingdom

ANRCTI has allotted new numbering resources to S.C. COSMOTE ROMANIAN MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS S.A., S.C. DIREKT TELECOM S.R.L., S.C. TELECAV S.R.L and to Mr. Alexandru Mihail Parseghian, an authorised natural person, for the provision of telephone services. In addition to the resources previously allotted, Cosmote requested and was granted the right to use 1,000,000 national non-geographic numbers within the 0Z=07 domain. Direkt Telecom, a first time requester of numbering resources, was granted the right to use 410,000 numbers for the provision of fixed telephone services on national level and 1,000 non-geographic national numbers within the 0Z=08 domain for services provided by means of prepaid cards. As well, the company received the individual indicative 1065 for carrier selection. Full Press release Source: ANRC, Romania

The Australian Communications and Media Authority will not proceed with the allocation of a permanent community broadcasting licence that was advertised for the Young licence area in New South Wales.

There was one applicant for the permanent licence, Lambing Flat Community Broadcasting Inc., which already provides a temporary community broadcasting service in the area. The applicant proposed to provide a service for the general community within the licence area. Full Press Release

Source: ACMA, Australia

Colombia's communications ministry Mincomunicaciones (Mincom) has issued a decree creating a universal concession license for providing long distance telephony and internet services as well as obliging operators to unbundle their networks, Mincom said in statement.

The decree allows operators to offer any added value over the internet or long distance without having to ask for separate licenses. The decree follows a decision by telecoms regulator CRT in July to create a new numbering scheme for long distance services that is designed to encourage more operators to enter the market. Full Press release

Source: Business News Americas

 

Romania’s telecoms watchdog, the National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology (ANRCTI), says seven firms have entered applications to run a total of 131 rural telecentres. The bidders are: 2K Telecom, Accessnet International, Adisam Telecom, Orange Romania, Rartel, National Society for Radiocommunications (SNR) and Vodafone Romania. The regulator will now study the applications and nominate a universal service provider for each locality, with the winning telco installing a telecentre to offer local, national and international voice calls, plus internet and fax services. This is the government’s sixth tender for rural telecentres. So far, six firms have been awarded contracts covering 331 localities, with 218 telecentres already in operation and the remainder due to be launched by the end of September.

Source : Telegeography

ANACOM - Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações has decided to recommend to PT Comunicações that it presents, by 31 October, an alteration to the ''PT ADSL Network'' offer to include NDSL (Naked DSL). This is a wholesale offer model that allows ADSL to be offered to consumers without the need to contract or maintain a fixed telephone service. The objective of the regulator is for PTC to set out a timeframe for the implementation of the offer so that NDSL can be operational as of 01 February 2008.

Despite setting a fixed period for the market to work, insofar as PTC might implement the NDSL offer in cooperation with the interested parties, the regulator has not ruled out the option of regulatory intervention in the event that the timeframe or the characteristics of the offer are deemed to be unsuitable of incompatible with current regulatory principles. Therefore PTC should keep the regulator informed of relevant developments. Full Press release

Source: ANACOM, Portugal

The radio spectrum is a highly valuable immaterial asset of the State. Its efficient use is of major concern for both French society and the economy. The Commission’s report on the immaterial economy states that the income generated by the use of radio spectrum is estimated at over €200 billion per year in Europe, and close to 2% of European GDP.

However, the radio resource is being used intensively and is becoming a scarce resource. Currently, the development of innovative technological solutions for the entire country is hampered by restricted access to the radio spectrum. Full Press release

Source: ARCEP, France

A Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (Anatel) disponibilizou ontem, 31 de julho, o edital de licitação para exploração do Serviço Móvel Pessoal (SMP). A licitação permitirá a expedição de autorizações do serviço em todo o território nacional, além de possibilitar às atuais operadoras expandir seus serviços. Ao todo, serão licitados 105 lotes em 28 áreas de prestação.

Os preços mínimos estabelecidos variam de R$ 9,3 mil - lotes 90 e 91, correspondentes à área de prestação 25, que abrange o município de Paranaíba, no Mato Grosso do Sul - a R$ 106,4 milhões - lote 5, correspondente à área de prestação 16, que abrange a Região 1 (veja a tabela ao lado) do Plano Geral de Autorizações (PGA), área de concessão da Telemar. Full Press release

Source: Anatel, Brazil

Argentine telephony cooperative associations Fecotel and Fecosur need not worry about obtaining mobile spectrum to offer services, local telecommunications regulator CNC's head Ceferino Namuncurá told BNamericas.

On July 24, telecommunications ministry SeCom authorized Fecotel and Fecosur to provide mobile telephony. However, the cooperatives now need to request spectrum and there has been some concern about how much spectrum is available and speculation about whether other telcos may compete for that spectrum. Full Press Release

Source: Business News Americas

 

América Móvil (NYSE: AMX) unit Claro Perú and digital trunking operator Nextel Perú have won mobile concession licenses after presenting offers on Friday (Jul 27), Peru's state agency for promoting private investment ProInversión said in a statement.

According to the report Claro picked up the B band license, equating to 835-845MHz, 880-890MHz, 846.5-849MHz and 891.5-894MHz spectrum blocks, for US$22.2mn, which was US$20,000 more than the minimum bid, a ProInversión official told BNamericas.

The D and E bands were awarded to Nextel Perú, owned by US mobile holding company NII Holdings (Nasdaq: NIHD), for US27mn, which was US$1.5mn more than the minimum bid, the official said. The D band covers the 1,865-1,870MHz and 1,945-1,950MHz blocks, and the E band covers 1,882.5-1,895MHz and 1,962.5-1,975Mhz. Full Press Release

Source: Business News Americas

Las empresas Rural Telecom S.A. C. y Consorcio Trébol Informática S.L. e Itaca Perú S.A. se adjudicaron hoy el programa “Banda Ancha Rural a Nivel Nacional”, al ofrecer el menor financiamiento requerido por cada proyecto, así como las mejores condiciones en términos de calidad, cobertura y tarifas.

Rural Telecom se adjudicó las zonas centro, centro norte y nororiente del país, mientras que el Consorcio Trébol e Ítaca Perú se adjudicó las zonas centro sur, norte y sur. Como se recuerda el proyecto está dividido en seis regiones (centro, centro norte, centro sur, nororiente, norte y sur) y los operadores podrán adjudicarse hasta un máximo de tres regiones. Full Press Release

Source: Ministerio de Transportes y Comunicaciones (MTC), Peru

La Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones, CONATEL, en ejecución de las políticas de universalización del servicio de telefonía móvil que promueve el Ministerio del Poder Popular para las Telecomunicaciones y la Informática, las cuales propician el aumento de la penetración, la mejora en los niveles de calidad de los servicios y la comercialización justa de los mismos, inició los procedimientos de oferta pública de las bandas 1700, 1800 y 1900 MHz para servicios de telefonía móvil.

La oferta pública se realiza ante la necesidad de las operadoras móviles de ampliar su capacidad espectral en virtud del notable crecimiento experimentado por la telefonía móvil en los últimos años, y particularmente en el segundo trimestre de 2007, donde se incorporaron 1.572.413 nuevas líneas móviles. Full Press Release

Source: CONATEL, Venezuela

Ofcom today published proposals to strengthen viewer and consumer protection for participation television. Participation television is programming which invites viewers to interact, most often by using premium rate telephone services (PRS).

Richard Ayre’s Inquiry

The inquiry into PRS in television programming, published last week, recommended that broadcasters should be held directly accountable for their use of PRS. Ofcom today sets out proposals to implement these recommendations. Full Press release

Source: OFCOM, United Kingdom

ANRCTI launches for public consultation a draft decision on the procedure for determining the monitoring tariff, as well as on the exertion of the right to choose as regards the financial obligations of the companies in the fields of electronic communications and postal services.

 

According to the draft decision, the providers of public electronic communications networks, of publicly available electronic communications services or of postal services which register a turnover that does not exceed the equivalent in lei of 100,000 euros - at the average exchange rate on the date when the turnover was achieved -, computed based on the monthly average exchange rate provided by the Romanian National Bank, are no more obliged to pay the monitoring tariff owed to ANRCTI, according to the provisions of Law no.133/2007 for the approval of the Government Emergency Ordinance no.70/2006 on the amendment and completion of certain normative acts in the fields of electronic communications and postal services.

 

Source: ANRC, Romania

The Nigerian Communications Commission published a Public Notice on its decision to award three (3) Carriers in the 800 MHz spectrum band through an auction process. The decision of the Commission was based on requests by interested Licensed Network Operators that require the spectrum to meet planned roll out of services. Subsequently, an Information Memorandum was issued, in which Bid Applications for the available spectrum slot were invited. 

Source: Nigerian Communication Commission, Nigeria

Paris, 13rd July 2007

The radio spectrum is a highly valuable immaterial asset of the State. Its efficient use is of major concern for both French society and the economy. The Commission’s report on the immaterial economy states that the income generated by the use of radio spectrum is estimated at over €200 billion per year in Europe, and close to 2% of European GDP.

However, the radio resource is being used intensively and is becoming a scarce resource. Currently, the development of innovative technological solutions for the entire country is hampered by restricted access to the radio spectrum.

However, mobile electronic communications services are on the brink of experiencing the same development as fixed services in recent years with the development of ADSL, that is, an accelerated transition towards high speed data rates. Indeed, mobile access to high speed should naturally become an extension of fixed Internet offers in order to provide consumers, wherever they are in the country, with access continuity to their Internet services, whether at home, work or elsewhere.

Source: ARCEP, France

Ofcom today announces the award of seven new community radio licences.

Community radio is a new tier of radio which complements the mix of services already provided by the BBC and commercial radio sectors. Community radio services typically cover a small geographical area and are provided on a not-for-profit basis focusing on the delivery of specific social benefits to enrich a particular geographical community or a community of interest.

Ofcom has awarded community radio licences in the following areas in Scotland and Northern Ireland:

• Stonehaven and the Mearns, South Aberdeenshire
• St Boswells, Borders
• Dunoon, Argyll
• Glasgow
• Barrhead, East Renfrewshire
• Lisburn
• Belfast

Source: OFCOM, United Kingdom

The rapid reuse by third-generation mobile services (3G) of frequency bands currently used by 2G represents a major stake for the extension of 3G coverage.

This is why ARCEP held a public consultation from 4 May to 4 June 2007 as part of the analysis and discussion process initiated in the spring of 2006 with sector players to establish the means of reusing for 3G the 900 and1800 MHz frequencies which are currently used for 2G.

ARCEP is now reporting the results of the public consultation and the directions it has chosen for the implementation of 3G in the 900 and 1800 MHz bands.

ARCEP is providing visibility to the sector’s players—both operators and industrialists—on the regulatory approaches which may be chosen for the reuse of the 900 and 1800 MHz bands for 3G, so that they can initiate preparatory technical works for the rapid introduction of 3G in these bands.

Furthermore, this press release aims to enlighten parties interested in participating in the application procedure launched on 8 March 2007 for the assignment of the fourth 3G licence regarding the availability timetable of 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies for a new entrant. ARCEP had announced this in the reasoning for its decision no. 2007-0177 describing the application procedure.

Nine players contributed to this public consultation. There were five electronic communications network operators, one equipment manufacturer, two companies using GSM services and one government administration.

The contributions confirmed the major outlines proposed by ARCEP in its public consultation in the two configurations corresponding to whether or not there will be a fourth 3G operator. Moreover, the contributors raised questions regarding fees and compatibility in adjacent bands which should be taken into account.

Given these elements, ARCEP has decided on the directions which are described in the attached document.

The main consequences of these measures are as follows:

• As early as 2008, 2G-3G operators wishing to do so may reuse 900 MHz spectrum for 3G
• Any 3G new entrant authorised following the application procedure for the fourth 2.1 GHz UMTS licence would also have access to the 900 MHz spectrum once it has been returned by the existing 2G operators. The spectrum would be made available in late 2009 outside densely populated areas, and in late 2012 for the rest of the country.

Directions chosen by ARCEP for the reuse of 900 and 1800 MHz bands for 3G

This document describes the means which will be used for the reuse of the 900 and 1800 MHz bands. These means will be different depending on whether the market will be composed of three or four 3G mobile operators.

Reuse of 900 and 1800 MHz bands in a configuration with three 3G operators

This case corresponds to the situation where the fourth 3G authorisation available in the 2.1 GHz band is not assigned.

In this situation, the current assignment of the 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies would not have to be changed except for some minor adjustments regarding guard bands.

The frequency use authorisations of each of these three 2G/3G mobile operators would be modified when they would request it, to allow each of them to use the frequencies which are assigned to them in the 900 and 1800 MHz bands according to their choice for 2G or 3G.

The use of the frequencies by 3G will be reviewed in March 2011, at the stage review on the frequency assignments planned for the renewed usage authorisations for the 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies.

Reuse of the 900 MHz band in a four 3G operator configuration

This case corresponds to the situation where the fourth 3G authorisation is assigned.

In this situation, the frequency usage authorisations for the 900 MHz frequencies of the three existing 2G operators would be modified as quickly as possible.

The purpose of this modification would be to:

• to authorise each of the three 2G/3G operators to use the frequencies assigned to it in the 900 MHz band as it chooses for 2G or 3G
• to plan for the return of frequencies in the 900 MHz band in order to assign 5 MHz duplex to the 3G new entrant as proposed in the public consultation and as reviewed below. The 2G/3G operators would then keep about 10 MHz duplex each.

The target distribution scheme of the frequency assignment in the 900 MHz band on the entire Metropolitan territory would be as follows:

The frequency return timetable for existing 2G operators will differ according to whether or not they are located in heavily populated areas, as defined in the specifications of the existing 2G operators.

If a license is issued by the spring of 2008, the new entrant would have 5 MHz duplex in 900 MHz freed in late 2009 outside heavily populated areas for the operation of its 3G mobile network, then in late 2012 in heavily populated areas.

The reuse of the 1800 MHz band in the four-operator configuration will be examined at a later date, with a timetable adapted to market demands.

ARCEP has contacted the Minister of Electronic Communications regarding the question of applicable fees for the use of frequencies.

Source: ARCEP, France

The Peruvian government has given the public from July 2 until Oct 31 to freely choose a long distance operator to make domestic and international long distance calls through direct dialing, local news service Agencia Andina reported.

Though telecoms legislation has always allowed customers to freely choose their operator and set up direct dialing using the 0 prefix for domestic long distance and 00 for international calls, most long distance operators have offered their services through a four-digit dialing code or calling cards.

Incumbent Telefónica del Perú (TdP) has been the main operator offering direct dialing through the 0 and 00 prefixes. For that reason, most of the general public believed that direct dialing was only possible through TdP.

The four-month period will include an educational program informing consumers about their right to set up direct dialing contracts with any of the 15 existing long distance companies operating in the country.

Once the period ends, anyone who has not set up a direct calling contract will only be able to make long distance calls using four-digit prefixes provided by the operator or calling cards.

According to local telephony regulator Osiptel, the measure will enable the entry of new operators into the market. Clients that set up direct dialing contracts before October 31 will be allowed to change operator every two-months if they want.

According to Liliana Ruiz, a former director of Osiptel and current president of telecoms consultancy Alterna Perú, this measure is aimed at promoting competition in the long distance telephony segment.

"I think it is very important the regulator has taken charge of the selection process so the user receives the appropriate information," Ruiz told BNamericas.

Ruiz said that among operators offering four-digit prefix and calling card dialing include Impsat Perú, Sitel, Movistar, Gamacom, TdP, Infoductos y Telecomunicaciones del Perú, Nextel, Americatel, Convergia, Telmex (NYSE: TMX), IDT, LD Telecom, Perusat and LA&C Sistemas.

Source: Business News Americas

Bern, 04.07.2007 - The Federal Council has decided to divide Switzerland into 13 new coverage areas for partially fee-funded regional television stations. In addition, it has defined 34 coverage areas for private VHF radio stations. It is expected that the radio and TV licences will be put out to tender in early autumn 2007.

By its decision today, the Federal Council has laid the basis for the upcoming licensing procedure. The Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) will be awarding a licence within each of the new coverage areas as part of a public tender procedure. Radio and television stations will require a licence only if they receive fee revenue or if they wish to use scarce frequencies under preferential conditions. In the other cases, transmission may begin after notification to the Federal Office of Communications. This is prescribed in the Law on Radio and Television (LRTV) which entered into force on 1 April 2007.

Regional television: new coverage areas

The new LRTV makes significantly more reception fee revenue available to support regional TV broadcasters - CHF 32 million annually, instead of the previous CHF 7 million. The intention is to enable a high-quality regional public service to be provided even in those regions where the economic potential is insufficient for private-sector finance. In order to ensure that the fee revenue is used as efficiently as possible, the Federal Council is limiting the number of subsidised TV broadcasters to 13 - one for each coverage area. The new coverage areas generally include several cantons, in order to create areas which are economically sound and culturally cohesive. Special mention should be made of the new Waadt-Freiburg coverage area in French-speaking Switzerland, which provides for a programming window for the canton of Freiburg, and the Arc Jurassien coverage area, which links the cantons of Neuenburg and Jura and the Bernese Jura. The canton of Valais constitutes a unitary coverage area in which the future licensee will be obliged to broadcast programmes in French and German.

In the case of the configuration of the Zurich-Eastern Switzerland area, the Federal Council has decided to establish two coverage areas. One will include the cantons of Zurich, Schaffhausen and Thurgau. The corresponding broadcaster will receive a proportion of reception fees for the production of its own programming window for the cantons of Schaffhausen and Thurgau. In order to take into account the concerns of the cantons of eastern Switzerland, the future eastern Switzerland coverage area will concentrate on the cantons of St. Gallen, Appenzell (AR, AI) and on the Arbon and Bischofszell areas of eastern Thurgau.

VHF radio stations: modest evolution of existing coverage areas

The Federal Council has defined the VHF coverage areas with reference to the existing radio landscape as it has evolved over the last twenty years. The existing coverage areas are being adapted appropriately; only one new VHF radio station is envisaged. In large urban areas, the Federal Council wishes to promote competition by giving peripheral local radio stations access to the nearby centre.

In 23 of the 34 coverage areas, there will be an invitation to tender for licences with partial funding from reception fees. Nine of these licences are envisaged for complementary, non-profit oriented broadcasters. In future, some CHF 16 million will be available for private radio stations entitled to receive a proportion of reception fees, instead of the previous CHF 7 million. In the other eleven coverage areas, licences without support from reception fees will be put out to tender.

One of the essential innovations is the harmonisation of the coverage areas in the Lake Geneva area, the Zurich region and central Switzerland respectively. Four large new coverage areas of identical size will be established in the area between Geneva and Yverdon. Within the Zurich-Glarus conurbation, three commercial broadcasters with identical coverage areas will start transmitting. In central Switzerland too, the three broadcasters will in future overlap within a significant part of their coverage area. Mergers of previously separate coverage areas will take place in the cantons of the Grisons, St. Gallen and the Arc Jurassien. As the final major conurbation of German-speaking Switzerland, Winterthur gets a new coverage area for a complementary, non-profit oriented station.

The next steps: invitation to tender for licences, publication of the fee element and performance mandates

Now that the Federal Council has defined the contours of the regional broadcasting landscape in terms of media polity, DETEC will be preparing the invitation to tender for the corresponding licences. This is expected to take place in early autumn 2007. At that time, DETEC will also announce the amounts of the fee elements for the individual coverage areas and the specific content of the respective performance mandates. It is expected that the new licences will be awarded from the spring of 2008 onwards.

Source: OFCOM, Switzerland

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The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (“ICASA”) has issued a notice of its intention to make regulations setting out a Code of Conduct for the electronic communications, broadcasting and postal services. The setting out of a code of conduct is in terms of section 69 of the Electronic Communications Act no 36 of 2005.

ICASA would like to call on all interested persons and organisations to submit written comments or representations on the proposed regulations. Comments should be submitted in both the hardcopy and soft copy formats. Such comments and presentations should be forwarded to the following, by no later than 16H00 on 20 July 2007.

Source: ICASA, South Africa

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Honduran telecoms regulator Conatel has launched an auction for a spectrum license for a third mobile operator to enter the market and fixed July 2 for the prequalifying process to start, the watchdog said in a statement.

Bidding rules will be available through July 27 with an entry fee of US$500 for the prequalifying round. The regulator will auction spectrum in the 1,870-1,890 MHz and 1,950-1,970 MHz bands.

The announcement by Conatel came as a surprise to many, including local telecoms engineer and independent consultant Oscar Andino, who expected the government to wait on the country's state-owned fixed line incumbent Hondutel to enter the mobile market first.

Andino told BNamericas that Hondutel has had full permission to offer mobile services for two years, but has yet to do so due to a lack of funding.

However, regardless of whoever enters the mobile market a new entrant will have an uphill task ahead of them due to the strength of the country's current duopoly, the market leader Tigo, owned by Luxembourg's Millicom International Cellular (Nasdaq: MICC), and Claro, of Mexico's América Móvil (NYSE: AMX).

"Tigo has almost 11 years in the market and Claro almost five... and they have competitive prepaid plans... whoever comes will have to do something very creative," Andino said.

The strong position of two of the largest regional mobile conglomerates means that for a real impact in the market, another giant, perhaps Spain's Telefónica (NYSE: TEF), would have to enter the process.

Despite the prospects, Andino said that an existing local company, such as fixed line operator Multifon, which currently offers a fixed mobile solution, could also be a viable candidate. However, while the company could create a viable business plan by complementing its fixed line service, it would have difficulty competing with the regional players on a massive scale, Andino said.

Source: Business News Americas

The Federal Communications Commission (ComCom) has designated Swisscom as the universal service licensee from 1 January 2008 onwards. For the next ten years, the licensee will be obliged to provide the services which constitute the universal service in the telecommunications sector to all sections of the population and in all regions of the country. The new licence obliges Swisscom to provide a broadband internet connection in addition to analogue and digital telephone connections.

The universal service in telecommunications will continue to be provided by Swisscom in the future; ComCom has awarded it the licence for the period 2008-1017. This licence will enter into force on 1 January next year. It will continue to be Swisscom's responsibility to guarantee all sections of the population a basic telecommunication service offering which is subject to a price cap and a specific level of quality. In particular, the universal service in Switzerland will incorporate a broadband internet connection, with a 600 / 100 kbit/s transmission speed. For more information, click here.

Source: ComCom

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The government of Venezuela plans to award mobile spectrum in the 1,800 MHz and 1,900 MHz bands in a move to expand mobile penetration in the country, newspaper El Universal reported.

The process is due to start July 11 with winners of the spectrum expected to start operating on it by November 13, according to the press report. Concession licenses for 15-year periods will be awarded and the initial bidding price is US$120mn.

According to telecommunications minister Jesse Chacón, the mobile market has reached maturity with current penetration over 75%, a number that is expected to reach 90% by 2011.

The government said it will take into consideration quality of service, coverage and the value of the bid.

Moreover, the government will also take into account all the infrastructure already deployed by participating operators, which is a clear advantage for Movistar, a unit of Spanish giant Telefónica (NYSE: TEF) and Movilnet, the mobile unit of fixed line operator Cantv, which are both saying they need more spectrum to offer more services to their clients.

The government also expects all towns with more than 500 inhabitants to have access to telecommunications services by 2011.

Source: Business News Americas

Ofcom today published proposals to amend the Wireless Telegraphy Act licence held by UK Broadband Limited. If granted, it would allow the company to offer mobile WiMax services across the UK. UK Broadband’s current licence permits the company to operate broadband fixed wireless access in the 3.5 GHz band. The company has asked Ofcom to vary its licence to make it technology and service neutral, giving it greater flexibility over how it can use the radio spectrum. It has also sought an increase in its permitted power levels. In the consultation document published today, Ofcom believes that removing such usage restraints placed on the licensee would benefit consumers, encourage competition and optimise use of the spectrum. Ofcom also believes that the likelihood of interference to other users is low. Ofcom considers that the variation should be made as soon as practicable, subject to the outcome of the consultation. The consultation closes on 27 August 2007. The consultation document can be found here: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/bb_application/ Source: OFCOM

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After long negotiations for more than six months with the three mobile operators in Egypt, and after resorting to NTRA in search for a decisive and fair solution for the problem of national roaming, the efforts were finally realized and NTRA successfully managed to devise a fair commercial agreement that works for the benefit of all the stakeholders and that is in alignment with the fair competition concept sought after by the NTRA.

The signing of the agreement and the launch of the national roaming service has been finally realized on Thursday 7/6/2007, in the NTRA premises in the Smart Village.

According to this agreement the two operating mobile operators are required to supply the national roaming service to the third operator in the areas that are not covered by its network. As well as the responsibility of the third operator to do exactly the same for the other two companies in areas which their networks are not covered.
The national roaming agreement has been already included in the three operators’ licenses, which was one of the reasons behind the increase to almost the double of the expected value of the third license.

The importance of such and agreement is basically because it manages to solve a huge dilemma, as it is increasingly hard to find a middle ground agreement that works for the benefit of both the consumer as well as service provider. Therefore this agreement serves in covering a wider geographical area covered by the networks of the companies, without interfering with the quality of service, which on another hand generates higher profits for the service providers.

Source: NTRA, Egypt

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At a meeting, held on 23.05.2007, the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) decided to announce an intention for the issuance of an individual license for carrying out telecommunications through the public telecommunications mobile network with national coverage under TETRA standard.
CRC took the decision N 863 on the grounds of article 61, paragraphs 1 and 3 and in connection with article 55, paragraph 1 of the Telecommunications Act. CRC announced its intention for issuing an individual license with national coverage for carrying out telecommunications through the public telecommunications mobile network under TETRA standard at its initiative and taking into account the available free scarce radiofrequency spectrum resource 2 x 1.5 MHz in the frequency bands 412.5 – 414 MHz and 422.5 – 424 MHz.
The European standard for mobile radio-network TETRA (Trans European Trunked Radio) is directed mainly towards satisfying the needs of professional business customers by providing access to a wide scope of voice and data transmission services.
The entities, wishing to be licensed for carrying out telecommunications through the public telecommunications mobile network under TETRA standard with national coverage should apply personally or through a representative, authorized explicitly by a notarized power of attorney, each working day from 9.00 till 17.30 h in the general administrative office of CRC or by post – registered letter to address: Sofia 1000, 6 “Gurko” Str. up to 02.07.2007.

Source: CRC, Bulgaria

On May 22, 2007 Ministry of Communications and Informatization launched a tender for universal services. The tender is for fixed telephony services in rural areas - telephones and paystations; public Internet access points. A deadline for bids has been set for 25 June 2007. Belarusian State Universal Services (fixed telephony and PIAPs) Fund was created in 2007 according to the Presidential Decree N96 (February 20, 2007). All Belarusian telecommunications companies are to pay 1,5 % of their net profit to the Fund. It is planned that BLR 29,285 billion (13,5MUSD) will be paid in the Fund during 2007.

The third mobile operator launched its 3G mobile services for the first time in Egypt on the 1st of May 2007 by using code (011).

The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) permitted the third operator to launch its services in Egypt upon completion of the first phase of coverage as set forth in the license. The first phase of the coverage plan includes Greater Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Luxor, in addition to other governorates.

Dr. Amr Badawi, NTRA Executive President, clarified that the NTRA is also following up the completion of interconnection agreements between the new operator and Telecom Egypt as well as the other two mobile networks   He made it clear that the third mobile operator will continue and complete its coverage of other governorates within the framework of the second and third phases of the coverage plan.
Dr. Badawi also stated that number portability will be available few weeks after launching the service. The number portability service means that a subscriber can shift from one mobile operator to another while keeping the same number.
Etisalat won Egypt’s third mobile network license for both 2G and 3G technologies in May 2006 in return for 16.7 billion Egyptian pounds. The consortium of Etisalat Egypt comprises Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) Etisalat, the National Postal Authority of Egypt, the National Bank of Egypt, and the Commercial International Bank.



Source : NTRA

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau) completed its review of the applications for the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) licenses won in Auction No. 66, which closed on September 18, 2006.  With the Public Notice released today, the Bureau has granted all of the 1,087 licenses won in the auction, with the exception of one license subject to a September 29, 2007 deadline for the applicant to file a certification to qualify for a Tribal Land Bidding Credit.  The Bureau completed its review of AWS applications in just over six months from October 4, 2006, when the winning bidders in the auction submitted their long-form license applications to the FCC. 

 

The grant of these licenses will promote the further deployment of broadband services across the United States, as they can be used to provide a wide array of innovative wireless services and technologies, including voice, data, video, and other wireless broadband services.  Fifty-eight of the 107 applicants receiving AWS licenses are small and very small businesses that qualified for a designated entity bidding credit.

 

The $13.7 billion in auction revenue collected from Auction No. 66 nearly equals the approximately $14 billion in total revenue from all other FCC auctions combined and nearly doubles the amount of auction revenue transferred to the U.S. Treasury.   This revenue also will fully fund the estimated cost of relocating the federal government operations currently occupying the lower half of the AWS band (1710-1755 MHz), as required by the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act (CSEA).

Source: FCC, USA

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Report and Order (Order) and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Further Notice) that address rules governing wireless licenses in the 698-806 MHz spectrum band, commonly referred to as the “700 MHz Band.”  This spectrum is currently occupied by television broadcasters during the digital television (DTV) transition and will be made fully available for wireless services, including public safety and commercial services, when the DTV transition is completed on February 17, 2009.

 

The FCC has been considering rules related to the use of the 700 MHz Band spectrum in three ongoing proceedings:  (1) the 700 MHz Commercial Services proceeding, (2) the 700 MHz Guard Bands proceeding, and (3) the 700 MHz Public Safety proceeding.  Today’s Order and Further Notice address issues in all three proceedings.  These decisions and proposals will allow the FCC to offer a variety of licenses in the 700 MHz auction and facilitate the provision of new and innovative services to consumers across the country, as well as clearing the path for nationwide, interoperable wireless broadband services for the public safety community.

 

The FCC took several actions related to the commercial services portions of the 700 MHz Band in today’s Order.  The FCC adopted a mix of geographic area sizes for licensing the spectrum – including Cellular Market Areas (CMAs), Economic Areas (EAs) and Regional Economic Area Groupings (REAGs) – and established rules related to power limits and other technical issues, as well as initial license terms.  In addition, the FCC applied 911/E911 and hearing aid compatibility rules to all commercial mobile radio services (CMRS) providers, regardless of the spectrum being used, to the extent the service meets the scope requirements in the FCC’s current rules.  In the Further Notice, the FCC sought comment on performance requirements for the unauctioned licenses in the 700 MHz Band.  In particular, the FCC sought comment on the use of geographic build-out requirements. Comment is also sought on several proposals to modify the 700 MHz band plan, including proposals recently filed by Frontline Wireless, LLC, and various public interest groups.

 

With regard to the 700 MHz Guard Bands, the FCC adopted provisions to encourage the efficient and effective use of the Guard Band spectrum.  The FCC replaced the existing Guard Band Manager leasing rules with the spectrum leasing policies established in the FCC’s Secondary Markets proceeding, providing Guard Band licensees with greater flexibility.  In addition, the FCC tentatively concluded that it would not adopt certain Guard Band proposals advanced by parties seeking a restructuring of the existing Upper 700 MHz band plan, and sought comment on a proposal recently filed by Access Spectrum/Pegasus.

 

With regard to the 700 MHz Public Safety spectrum, the FCC tentatively concluded that the current public safety wideband allocation should be revised such that only broadband applications consistent with a nationwide interoperability standard should be deployed on a going forward basis.  The FCC also tentatively concluded that it should consolidate the 700 MHz Public Safety spectrum, by combining the narrowband spectrum at the upper portion of the public safety allocation and the broadband spectrum at the lower portion.  Today’s proposals, in conjunction with the FCC’s proposal in the 700 MHz Public Safety Ninth Further Notice to establish a national public safety licensee, further the FCC’s goal of establishing nationwide interoperable wireless broadband for public safety.

Source: FCC, USA

The Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR) launched on 23 April the formal selection process for the award of a mobile telecommunications license to a new entrant in the State of Qatar. The new licensee will compete with Qatar Telecom QSC (Qtel). The competitive selection process to own and operate a mobile telecommunications network and provide telecommunications services begins with a pre-qualification phase. During this phase, interested applicants will be required to satisfy specific criteria and procedures to qualify for selection. Those who pre-qualify may progress to the formal application phase. The ‘Mobile Pre-qualification Requirements and Procedures’ reference document is available at www.ict.gov.qa/en/PolicyRegulation.aspx. The mobile pre-qualification period expires 27 May 2007. ictQATAR Secretary General Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber said, “We recently concluded an initial consultation period on the licensing process. We were delighted with the response from companies from around the world – numerous operators expressed interest in business opportunities here.” Within the next few months, ictQATAR will launch a separate process to award a license to own and operate a fixed telecommunications network and provide public fixed telecommunications services in competition with Qtel. In parallel, ictQATAR will award fixed and mobile licenses to Qtel. All licenses are expected to be awarded by the end of 2007. “In every step of the telecom liberalization process, ictQATAR will be committed to transparency and fairness,” said Dr. Hessa. ictQATAR is today starting a public consultation on the proposed regulations and policies for opening Qatar’s telecommunications sector. Interested parties are invited to express views and comment on the proposed policies by responding to the questions and views in the ‘Consultation Document’. The deadline for submitting responses to the Consultation Document is 27 May 2007. All relevant documents and reference materials are available on ictQATAR's website at www.ict.gov.qa “The experience of nations throughout the world has shown that market forces lower rates, improve the quality of service, drive innovation, and spur investment,” Dr. Hessa said. “We look forward to bringing these benefits home to Qatar.” Source: ICT Qatar, See http://www.ict.gov.qa/en/News/licensereg.aspx

The Government today (April 24) announced the policy framework for the management of radio spectrum in Hong Kong, after taking into consideration the views collected during a public consultation exercise.

The policy framework covers six areas, namely spectrum policy objectives; guiding principles in spectrum management; spectrum rights; spectrum supply (including spectrum trading and liberalisation); spectrum for government services and spectrum pricing.

Among the spectrum policy objectives, a new objective is to strengthen Hong Kong's strategic position as a world city and the gateway between the Mainland and the world. This is considered particularly important in the light of increasing economic integration between Hong Kong and the Mainland.

The framework also sets out clearly the guiding principle in spectrum management that a market-based approach should be used for spectrum when there are likely to be competing demands from providers of non-government services. If there are overriding public policy reasons requiring a departure from this guiding principle, the relevant public policy reasons will be published for transparency.

To provide certainty to spectrum assignees, the framework states that before a spectrum assignment expires, the Telecommunications Authority (TA) will normally invoke his powers under the Telecommunications Ordinance (Cap 106) to vary or withdraw any spectrum assigned only in exceptional circumstances, including where the public interest or international obligations of the Government so require, there is a serious breach of spectrum assignment conditions or serious interference between legitimate spectrum users has to be resolved or minimised. The TA may set out minimum notice periods for different types of spectrum assignments, which he will give as far as practicable to the affected spectrum assignees. Upon the expiry of a spectrum assignment, if the TA intends to vary that assignment or not to renew that assignment, the TA will, as far as practicable, also give minimum notice periods.

To provide more information to the industry on the potential supply of spectrum to the market, the TA will publish spectrum release plans showing the potential supply of spectrum through an open, competitive bidding or tendering process in the following three years. Such plans will be updated every year on a rolling basis or as necessary.

The framework makes clear the policy intention that spectrum trading should be introduced in Hong Kong in the long term, subject to a feasibility study on the implementation issues. However, because of doubtful benefit in Hong Kong's circumstances, spectrum liberalisation will not be introduced in the short term.

While spectrum for government services will continue to be managed administratively, the TA will review the efficiency of the use of those spectrum every three years.

Since spectrum is a scarce public resource, the framework establishes the principle that spectrum utilisation fee (SUF) should be applicable to all non-government use of spectrum. Where spectrum is not released through market means, the SUF should be set to reflect the opportunity costs of the spectrum. However, if spectrum is assigned to support public interest purposes, the SUF may be adjusted accordingly.

The Deputy Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology (Communications and Technology), Mrs Marion Lai, said that the policy framework would provide the communications industry with greater clarity and predictability of spectrum management decisions, and provide policy guidance for the regulator in making regulatory decision.

"The framework will be reviewed and updated from time to time to reflect the latest technological, market and societal developments in Hong Kong and internationally, as well as further deliberations in key issues related to spectrum policy and management.

"To allow time to align the existing spectrum management arrangements with the new policy framework, in the interim, the TA would continue to discharge his spectrum management responsibilities under the TO with a mix of the existing command and control approach and the new market-based approach," Mrs Lai said.

The spectrum policy framework is available at the website of the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau (www.citb.gov.hk/ctb) and Office of the Telecommunications Authority (www.ofta.gov.hk)

Source: OFTA, Hong Kong

Head of the German regulator BNetzA, Matthias Kurth, said it was ready to allocate frequencies for the mobile TV standard DVB-H and that a call for bids would be published on Wednesday. The European Union is pushing member states to adopt a single standard for mobile TV and its telecoms chief supports DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld). 17 of the 22 member states that have mobile TV use DVB-H. The other five use the DMB (Digital multimedia broadcasting) standard. In Germany both standards are in use in different regions, because of the limited availability of spectrum — DVB-H uses the same frequency range as terrestrial digital television. Many network operators and MVNOs already sell mobile television over their third generation networks, but picture quality and the number of channels are limited. Cellcos are hoping that additional income from mobile TV services will compensate for declining sales of voice calls.

Source: Telegeography

Reuters reports that Germany's telecoms regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), plans to auction a second lot of UMTS concessions in early 2008 that would allow operators to offer more services than before. The first sale in 2000 drew criticism from cellcos because the amount of spectrum fell below what they needed to offer full voice, video and data services to wireless devices anywhere in the world. ‘We will not put down any conditions saying you may offer this or that service or technology. It will be more open,’ Matthias Kurth, head of the BNetzA said in an interview. ‘Operators will also be allowed to deal in frequencies, meaning they can swap with others,’ he added. Six operatorss spent EUR51 bullion (USD66 billion) in 2000 on domestic 3G licences, but only four actually deployed services. Mobilcom returned its spectrum, and Quam, the brand name for a Telefónica-Sonera joint venture, Group 3G, halted its business in Germany in 2002.

Following preliminary meetings with interested parties, the regulator has concluded that there is more demand than frequencies available, which according to German law means an auction would have to be held. Kurth, however, does not expect prices to skyrocket like they did in 2000. ‘We have seen that those who spent billions in the end did not get a foot in the door... and I can not imagine that banks will be approving generous credit lines this time around.’ Willingness to invest in new costly licences may be limited anyway, as operators in Europe are not only struggling with falling prices in a fiercely competitive mobile market but are under pressure from the European Union to cut roaming charges. Nonetheless, Germany's four mobile network operators, Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile, Vodafone, KPN’s E-Plus and Telefónica's O2 are all expected to bid, and it is anticipated that others will join the auction. With a population of 82 million, Germany is Europe's biggest telecommunications market.

Source: Telegeography

UAE regulator the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) is to evaluate the coverage and quality of Etisalat and Du, the country’s two mobile networks, saying it may require the former to invest in improving its mobile network after completing a study to find gaps in coverage. ‘Maintaining a healthy mobile network is a challenge, operators need to continuously adapt to changes in their cellular network that may affect its performance by means of optimisation and network monitoring,’ said Saif Bin Ghelaita, Manager of Wireless Networks and Services at the TRA. ‘The cellular network works like a mesh where one site can affect a larger area containing several sites…Etisalat will have to improve coverage in these areas,’ he added. The TRA will release findings of the study and consult Etisalat on how to improve coverage. The TRA’s plan is to test network coverage every three months. Du's mobile network coverage will be tested at a later date. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, former monopoly Etisalat ended 2006 with 5.5 million subscribers, of which 825,000 took 3G services.

Meanwhile Etisalat has reported a 1Q 2007 net profit of AED1.84 billion (USD501 million), up 37.3% from the 1Q 2006 figure of AED1.34 billion, and outstripping analysts’ forecasts that profits would range between AED1.46 billion and AED1.83 billion.

Source: Telegeography

China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII) has issued an International Communications Facilities Service Licence to China Tietong, one of the People’s Republic’s smaller fixed line operators. China Tietong becomes the fifth operator to have been awarded such a concession: the others are China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Netcom. Local media report that MII gave China Tietong the licence to make up for the unequal competition it has been facing with in recent years. Previously, China Tietong was only licensed to provide the public with basic telecom services and value-added telecom services.

China Tietong says it has connected ten Chinese port cities with Hong Kong, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Korea and Vietnam through trans-border cables, to meet the demands of international railway operators. The company says that the new licence will help it reduce the operation costs for international services.

Source: Telegeography

In the wake of the successful award of a third mobile licence to Mobilkom of Austria in January this year, the Macedonian government has reportedly announced its intention to license a fourth mobile network operator to further boost competition in the sector. According to a report from Skopje-based Makfax online, the regulator, the Agency for Electronic Communications, will issue a public notice on the introduction of fourth mobile operator, subject to it receiving interest from bidders in the international community. The terms and criteria for the fourth network operator will be specified in due course.

 

Source: Macedonian News.

Brazil's telecoms regulator Anatel has approved regulations to allow Brazil's 5,561 municipalities to offer low-cost Wi-Fi internet access, Anatel said in a statement. The regulations permit municipal governments that want to set up Wi-Fi networks to do so indirectly through Anatel-approved companies. Another option is to offer the services directly by applying for a license to offer a private network service known as a SRP. "Large municipalities such as São Paulo or Belo Horizonte already have Wi-Fi networks and the aim is to help small municipalities establish their networks," an Anatel spokesperson told BNamericas. The Anatel spokesperson said the watchdog has estimated that the likely cost of setting up a Wi-Fi a network to reach 10,000 inhabitants is around 20,000 reais (US$9,666). Anatel hopes the initiative will encourage digital inclusion projects in small towns, where large private companies do not see economic benefit of investing in.

Source: Cellular-news.

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) declared that wireless broadband Internet access service is an information service under the Communications Act (Act).  This action places wireless broadband Internet access service on the same regulatory footing as other broadband services, such as cable modem service, wireline broadband (DSL) Internet access service, and Broadband over Power Line (BPL)-enabled Internet access service.  It thus ensures that wireless broadband Internet access services are similarly free from unnecessary regulatory burdens.  Competition among all of these broadband services will provide consumers with more and better services at lower prices.

 

Wireless broadband Internet access service is defined in today’s Ruling as a service that uses spectrum, wireless facilities, and wireless technologies to provide subscribers with high speed Internet access capabilities.  Wireless broadband Internet access service can be provided using mobile, portable, or fixed technologies, and wireless broadband technologies can transmit data over short, medium, or long ranges.  

 

Specifically, the Ruling finds that the transmission component underlying wireless broadband Internet access service is “telecommunications,” and that the provision of this telecommunications transmission component as part of a functionally integrated wireless Internet access service is an information service.  This approach is consistent with the framework that the Commission already has established for cable modem service, wireline broadband Internet access service, and BPL-enabled Internet access service, thus furthering the goal of regulating like services in a similar manner.  The FCC also found that wireless broadband Internet access service using mobile technologies is not a “commercial mobile service,” as that term is defined in the Act and implemented in the FCC’s rules. 

 

In reaching these determinations, the FCC provided regulatory certainty regarding the classification of this service, thereby encouraging deployment of wireless broadband Internet access to consumers.

  

Action by the Commission on March 22, 2007, by Declaratory Ruling (FCC 07-30).  Chairman Martin and Commissioners Tate and McDowell, with Commissioners Copps and Adelstein concurring.  Separate statements issued by Chairman Martin and Commissioners Copps, Adelstein, Tate, and McDowell.

 

Source: FCC, USA

Following the introduction of a new licensing framework on 14th March 2007 (for more information, click here), the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) has today 21 March 2006 granted the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) a new 15 year service neutral licence pursuant to the issuance of a Policy Statement by the Minister of Communications Science and Technology on further liberalisation of the Telecommunications market last year.

The new licence marks the transition from the existing licensing framework which makes distinction between the various telecommunications services to a service-neutral structure with the view of accommodating technological convergence. Therefore it will allow BTC to provide, among others, mobile telephony, fixed telephony and internet services under one licence. It is hoped that the licence will not only address problems associated with blurring distinction between services and technologies but will also facilitate introduction of new services which were otherwise not catered for in the old licensing structure. (Press release)

Source: BTA, Botswana.
 

Brazil's telecoms regulator Anatel rejected plans of Oi (NYSE: TNE), formerly Telemar, to acquire Minas Gerais state-based cable TV company Way Brasil, Oi confirmed in a statement.

According to a decision taken at Anatel's weekly board meeting, Brazil's largest fixed line operator Oi would breach its fixed line telecoms concession contract if it offered cable TV services in its own region.

By acquiring Way TV, Oi aimed to secure a cable TV license as part of its plan to compete in the triple play services market.

The decision does not have a major impact on the company's current financial results, as cable is still a small part of its business, André Roche, a telecoms analyst with local brokerage Unibanco Corretora, told BNamericas.

"But it has an impact on its [Oi's] future strategy," he warned.

"The operator may ask Anatel to review its decision or go to court to reverse the decision," he predicted.

Nonetheless, the Anatel ruling is in line with existing telecoms law, which does not allow telecoms operators to offer cable TV in their own regions, Roche said, describing the law as being somewhat out of date in the fast changing convergent environment.

An Oi spokesperson did not want to comment on the decision or the operator's next step.

However, on March 9 Oi's regulatory affairs director Alain Rivière told analysts during an earnings conference call that if Anatel rejected the acquisition of Way TV, the company planned to offer triple play through a partnership with a cable TV provider.

"We have a plan A, which is to have a cable TV license, while plan B will be to offer triple play via satellite and radio... This can be done via a partnership or through our own license as Telefónica has done," Rivière said.

Source: Business News Americas

The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has cancelled the tender for a second national operator (SNO) awarded to the Vtel Consortium. Commissioner General John Waweru on Friday said wrangling between Dubai-based Palestinian firm Vtel Holdings and local partners had stopped the group from meeting its commitments.

 

"The commission board has resolved to cancel the tender... on the basis of non-compliance with the tender requirements, and to invite the next highest-ranked bidder Reliance to apply," Waweru told a press conference. (…)

 

Source: Balancing Act Africa.

The National Telecommunications Communications says it expects to issue licences for the fourth generation of wireless broadband service, known as WiMax, by the end of this year.

NTC director Prasit Prapingmongkolkarn made the comment after a recent forum to hear opinions from Internet service providers about WiMax and the spectrum standard for wireless connectivity.

He said the NTC now had 2.5-Gigahertz and 3.5 GHz spectrums available for WiMax service, while authorities were studying whether the 5 GHz spectrum would affect Shin Satellite's iPSTAR broadband satellite, which was allocated the spectrum for use. (...)

Source: IPCommunications.

The French government has published licensing terms for the country's fourth 3G licence in the Official Journal. The deadline for submissions is 31 July. Telecommunications regulator Arcep's proposal to the minister in charge of electronic communications and an opinion on financial terms accompany the official launch of the licensing process. The move follows expressions of interest received during a public consultation on the re-use of the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz frequencies for the fourth 3G licence in the 2 GHz band. The basic conditions are identical to the first two 3G licencing rounds of 2000 and 2001. The earlier UMTS licences cost EUR 619 million.

Source: Telecom Paper.

First official step in Telecoms Liberalization in Qatar The Supreme Council for Information and Communications Technology (ictQATAR) seeks the views of telecommunications carriers and operators interested in entering the telecommunications sector in the State of Qatar. New entrants will compete with the incumbent provider, Qatar Telecom QSC (Q-Tel). This consultation period will end 31 March, 2007. Licensing details will be published in the second quarter of 2007. The licensing process is expected to be completed by the end of 2007. ictQATAR Secretary General Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber said “We welcome the opportunity to hear from those operators interested in entering our recently opened telecommunications industry. These meetings are part of our commitment to transparency and fairness to all players.” The State of Qatar plans to issue telecommunications licenses to own and operate fixed and mobile telecommunications networks and provide telecommunications services to the public The license structure and award process are being developed according to legislation issued in November, 2006 by the Emir of the State of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani. The government’s goal is to drive economic growth and increase efficiency in business practices while delivering benefits to consumers through lower prices, new innovative products and services, and quality of services. The law effectively mandates the liberalization of the telecommunications sector and ends the monopoly of Q-Tel. Telecommunications owners and operators interested in expressing preliminary views on the licensing of additional operators in Qatar are invited to contact ictQATAR at license@ict.gov.qa. The process for expressing those views and the areas of interest to be covered shall be forwarded in response. This is the first opportunity provided by ictQATAR to interested parties. Further opportunities will arise throughout the licensing process. Source: ictQATAR http://www.ict.gov.qa/en/News/license.aspx

Peru's state agency for promoting private investment ProInversión has published bidding rules for an auction for a license in the 800Mhz spectrum band B and set a deadline for bids of May 1, the agency said in a statement.

Bidding rules and the project requirements are now available through the agency and interested parties have until March 19 to inquire about the terms of the contract. Bidding rules for the 20-year license cost US$1,000.

The government reclaimed the license for the 800Mhz spectrum band B as part of its approval of the 2005 merger between Movistar and Comunicaciones Móviles, which Movistar's Spanish parent company Telefónica (NYSE: TEF) bought from BellSouth in 2004.

The country's transport and communications ministry MTC prohibits any mobile operator from holding a license to operate in both the A and B bands and from possessing more than 25MHz in the 800MHz band.

That automatically rules out Movistar and Claro Perú, the local unit of Mexico's América Móvil (NYSE: AMX), which both already operate in the A band, and leaves digital trunking company Nextel Perú, a unit of US mobile holdings company NII Holdings (Nasdaq: NIHD).

However, Liliana Ruiz, president of consultancy Alterna Perú and former head of regulator Osiptel, told BNamericas she doubts if 800Mhz would be of any interest to Nextel because its push-to-talk technology cannot use that band.

Furthermore, Nextel said in its recent earnings conference call that it would continue to focus on its business in Brazil and Mexico rather than Peru.

While continued demand for mobile telephony and a growing economy would imply an opportunity for a new operator to enter the mobile space, Ruiz doubts if there will be any serious interest from new competitors to start a greenfield operation due to the strength of Movistar and Claro.

Source: Business News Americas

A trade body representing CDMA mobile operators on Monday cautioned against further delay in announcement of spectrum policy for Third Generation mobile services, saying such a delay would put India behind other countries and deprive its citizens of better services. A delay would create more uncertainty in the timing of the launch of 3G services, deprive Indian consumers and businesses of the benefits of these services, and keep India behind other countries, CDMA Development Group (CDG) said in a statement on Monday. 3G services allow mobile companies to offer real-time interactive services like high speed Internet, video streaming and financial trading. To release 3G spectrum for mobile players, the Defence Ministry is supposed to release 45 Mhz of spectrum by the end of this year in the IMT 2000 band and 1800-1900 MHz band. CDG said the announcement of the 3G Spectrum Policy should not in any way be linked to the delay in the release of the spectrum in the 1800 MHz band, which was part of the 45 MHz of spectrum that was to have been freed.

The TRAI Recommendations finalised last year were the second set of recommendations in as many years, and the CDG hopes that the policy announcement will be made by March 2007, as publicly stated by the Government, said Perry La Forge, CDG's Executive Director. CDG recommended that to create a level playing field amongst operators and restore parity from the economies of scale that the 2100 MHz band will offer GSM operators, CDMA operators in India should be allowed to offer CDMA2000 1xEV-DO services (3G services) in their existing 800 MHz band. The Department of Telecom should seriously consider TRAI's recommendations regarding the feasibility to deploy and release 1900 MHz to the CDMA operators concurrent with the release of 2100 MHz Spectrum. The bone of contention between CDMA and GSM players have been the allocation of 1900 Mhz band. As per the TRAI recommendations, the 2.1 GHz (2100 Mhz) spectrum is for both GSM and CDMA operators. While CDMA operators have been allotted spectrum on 800 MHz, the 900 and 1800 Mhz bands are for GSM. TRAI has proposed to introduce 2.1 GHz for both CDMA and GSM and 450 MHz for CDMA. As per a relocation plan given to the Defence Ministry by DoT, the Ministry will release 45 Mhz of spectrum by the end of this year for providing 3G services in the IMT 2000 band and 1800-1900 MHz band. Finally, the CDG encourages DoT to make the entire spectrum allocation and management Technology Neutral so that all future allocations of spectrum are made in equal measure to both of the deployed technologies.

Source: The Hindu.

The NCC has added new services to its Class Licence policy in an ongoing bid to increase competition and improve the country’s telecoms market. The new licence types include: Universal Access Service Licence (UASL), Digital Mobile Licence (DML), Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Licence, Long-distance Operator Licence, National Carrier Licence and Private Network Links Licence. According to the NCC applicants will not be required to submit financial or technical plans in the pre-qualification process, except details of company ownership structure and confirmation of compliance with the rules of the auction. The regulatory body went on to state that in order to participate in the auction, a bidder must be a limited liability company incorporated in Nigeria and must not be involved with any other bidder.

Source: Telegeography

 

The People’s Republic of China has postponed the award of 3G licences until the first quarter of 2008 at the earliest, according to Beijing-based business magazine Caijing, which cites an unnamed source. The report added that China Mobile will lead another round of tests of TD-SCDMA technology, beginning next month, which will run for a year. During this period, the magazine claims the Chinese government will not consider the award of 3G licences.

Source: Telegeography

The French regulator, the Autorité de Régulation des Communications Électroniques et des Postes (Arcep), says it adopted a proposal advocating the award of a licence to offer 3G services in the 900MHz band in mainland France, and has sent its recommendation to the Minister Delegate for Industry. The regulator’s decision follows a public consultation carried out between October and November 2006 in which the industry expressed interest in the allocation of a fourth UMTS licence. Arcep says it plans to auction off a fourth UMTS mobile telecom licence in 2007 in a bid to introduce greater levels of competition in the local market. The watchdog said 21 companies participated in the consultation, of which ‘several’ indicated ‘expressions of interest’ in the concession. One of these is understood to be the domestic ISP Iliad (Free) which in November 2006 confirmed it would be interested in buying the fourth and final licence.

Source: Telegeography

The Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry, today announced the launch of a public consultation on a framework to auction spectrum in the 2-GHz range, including spectrum for advanced wireless services. This consultation is the first step in a process leading to an auction of spectrum licences, anticipated to occur in early 2008. A total of 105 MHz of spectrum will be made available.

"Advanced wireless services are vital communication resources for building a strong networked economy in Canada," said Minister Bernier. "This consultation solicits input that will assist my department in developing a framework to foster a fair, efficient and competitive marketplace and ensure that the Canadian wireless industry remains in step with international developments."

The notice announcing the publication of this paper entitled, Consultation on a Framework to Auction Spectrum in the 2 GHz range including Advanced Wireless Services, will be published on February 24, 2007, in the Canada Gazette. The paper is also available on Industry Canada's Strategis website.

This consultation paper addresses competition issues in the provision of high-mobility services such as whether to adopt measures to enable market entry by new players and whether existing operators should be mandated to offer roaming on their existing networks, and technical issues for the use of the spectrum, proposed conditions of licences, the size of spectrum blocks and geographic areas, licence terms, and conditions for licence renewal. Stakeholders are invited to address these issues and make proposals for any measures they consider appropriate. The consultation process will also include a "reply comment" phase, which will give an opportunity to challenge the positions and assertions of other parties.

"Our role is to help foster a healthy and competitive telecommunications market that encourages and rewards innovation, and from which consumers will benefit the most. I invite all interested parties to make their views known," said Minister Bernier.

Source: Industry Canada.

The national telecom regulator has issued an assurance that it is working at full speed to complete licensing regulations for third-generation (3G) wireless broadband technology.

In a statement yesterday, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said it fully supported the use of 3G cellular technology.

Telecom operators are eager to obtain 3G licences so they can use the blazing speed of the new technology to provide wireless services like video calling and interactive wireless games, thereby earning more revenue.

The NTC statement appeared to be a reaction to comments by the Information and Communi-cations Technology Ministry that it should speed up its drafting the 3G licensing regulations.

"We're speeding up the process and will soon organise public hearings on the draft again," said NTC secretary-general Suranan Wongvithaya-kakjorn. The NTC has taken many factors into account while drafting, including limited 3G spectrum resources, relevant laws, and benefits to consumers, he said.

The commission remains uncertain about its ability to allocate the 3G licences, because frequency-allocation laws provide that the job of managing and prescribing the use of telecom and broadcasting spectrums must be shared by the NTC and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Suranan said.

However, the selection of 14 candidates for the NBC was nullified in court in 2005 on the grounds it was unconstitutional. The NBC does not yet exist.

Suranan said operators who own 3G spectrums could go ahead and develop services, but they must first inform the NTC.

On a separate matter, the NTC board yesterday approved a commission plan to draft licensing regulations for the 5GHz spectrum for operating the wireless broadband technology WiMax.

Source: The Nation.

Bringing together regulatory authorities from all around the world, the 7th Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) has identified best practice guidelines needed to facilitate the migration of Next Generation Networks (NGN). The 38-point roadmap is designed to encourage regulatory frameworks that foster innovation, investment and affordable access to NGN. "Our goal is to encourage the design of regulatory frameworks that foster innovation, investment and affordable access to NGNs and that facilitate the migration to NGN and ultimately lead to bridging the digital divide," said Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU Secretary-General. "We believe the best practices adopted at this meeting will ultimately offer the possibility of delivering real benefits to providers and consumers, through cost reduction as well as offering innovative new services". The best practice guidelines underscore the importance of embracing the principles of a clear and transparent regulatory process including the adoption and enforcement of rules; technology-neutral and competitive network provision under a coherent approach that address the issues raised by convergence. The guidelines also call on regulators to adopt forward-looking regimes subjected to regular reassessments to ensure that undue regulatory barriers to competition and innovation are removed. This on-going monitoring would also ensure that users and providers are able to migrate to future networks whenever market conditions are met. Mohamed Al Ghanim, Director General of the TRA of the UAE and Chairman of GSR 2007 said, "GSR is the industry’s premiere symposium for ICT regulators and we are delighted that it has concluded on such a high note. We at the TRA of the United Arab Emirates are firmly committed to adopting the best practices identified at this symposium and tailor them for the UAE market", Al Ghanim added. "We encourage all to reap the benefits of these guidelines in order to collectively raise the standards of the telecommunications industry." Regulators are also urged to adopt investment friendly regulation considered as of paramount importance for the success of NGN network deployment, while maintaining a level playing field and protecting consumer interests. The adoption of flexible but accurate interconnection models are also encouraged to allow smooth transitioning to NGNs. In particular, participants agreed that regulators should take steps to ensure that the market suffers no undue distortion of competitiveness. In view of the high level of convergence both at the transport and service level, participants felt that there was a risk that NGN providers and operators could be in a position to restrict service level competition to their own advantage. There was therefore agreement that regulators should be vigilant and monitor any incident that could require a regulatory response in a way that would not act as a deterrent for NGN service providers and operators. Regulators are also asked to keep in mind the need to create regulatory certainty for both incumbent and competing or alternative providers. "NGN is seen as somewhere between the telecom and Internet worlds, creating a whole new range of issues to be tackled by regulators," said Mr Sami Al-Basheer Al-Morshid, Director of ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT)". "The best practice guidelines endorsed by over 100 CEOs and board members of national regulatory authorities come a long way in addressing the issues and provide the way forward for all regulators around the world," he added. Because the deployment of NGN will not happen overnight, the best practices encourage regulators to define policies that allow for the co-existence of legacy and IP networks, alternative voice services such as VoIP or bundled services that can offer voice together with TV and Internet also called triple play. In doing so, regulators are to consider applying the same obligations to all operators and providers of telephony services whether traditional irrespective of how they are delivered to consumers, under the symmetrical regulatory approach. Commenting on the success of the Symposium, Professor Ibrahim Kadi, Senior Advisor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) of Saudi Arabia said, "GSR 2007 met its set objectives of providing networking opportunities and the symposium format facilitated the sharing of knowledge and experiences amongst regulators from all over the world." The best practice guidelines cover all aspects of service provision including authorization, access, interconnection and interoperability, numbering and NGN identification systems, universal access, quality of service, consumer awareness, security and protection. This year’s event introduced a new feature, Speed Exchanges, to provide additional opportunities for participants to meet informally and exchange views. Topics discussed in the Speed Exchanges included interconnection, the enabling environment, consumer protection, quality of service, regulatory implications of VoIP, why holding public consultation on NGN, international roaming, regulatory issues for convergence and what to do with regulatory bottlenecks. Speed Exchanges were also held on building confidence and security in the use of ICT as called for by the Action Plan of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and on the next steps in the negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). "The Speed Exchanges proved extremely useful and came at the right time," expressed Roxanne Maria McElvane, Senior Counselor of International Development at the US Federal Communications Commission International Bureau. "After two days of high-level presentations and discussions, the exchanges allowed us to address specific topics and areas of interest with other regulators from around the world providing greater interaction and networking opportunities." The Symposium was organized by ITU and hosted by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the United Arab Emirates (TRA). More than 470 participants took part in the Symposium, with Heads and Board Members from 100 national regulatory authorities as well as private sector representatives and international organizations. http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/GSR/GSR07/index.html

With authority based in Article 9, cf. Article 11 of the Electronic Communications Act, no 81/2003, the Post and Telecom Administration (PTA) will grant frequency authorisations for the operation of two new mobile telephone networks in accordance with recognised GSM standards, following an advertisement and a selection from among applicants that will be chosen based on the terms specified below. A maximum of two tenderers will receive frequency allocations. (…)

Source: The Post and Telecom Administration in Iceland.

The Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority (NPT) has decided to postpone the planned frequency auction in the 2.6 GHz band, which initially was scheduled to commence 23 April this year. More time is needed than previously anticipated to lay down terms and conditions for the frequency licences. This concerns among other things issues which are dealt with by other authorities than NPT. Furthermore, NPT is relocating to Lillesand in May, and the NPT staff is going to be more occupied with the relocation process than foreseen. Therefore, NPT postpones the auction in order to ensure a proper awards procedure.

Source: Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority.

The three-day meeting (5-7 February) will bring together Heads of national regulatory authorities from both developed and developing countries to achieve consensus on the best ways to address the challenges brought about by the migration to NGN networks. 60 heads of regulatory authorities, together with 50 of their commissioners and board members are slated to attend. By 2008, at least 50% of all international telecommunication traffic is expected to be carried on IP networks. IP provides a common language in which different networks (for instance fixed and mobile; local and wide-area) can communicate together. Thus, IP is the touchstone for convergence and a common platform for NGN, while network capacity increases every month. In order to remain strategically competitive in an increasingly converged world of services and content where voice is no longer the sole source of revenue, operators and carriers are migrating from circuit-switched to Internet-Protocol (IP) networks and from there to Next-Generation Networks or NGN, which allow for decoupling the network’s transport and service layers. NGN networks promise to offer full and true convergence of fixed and mobile, voice and data, data and video and IT, telecoms and broadcast sectors. This means that the choice of technology used for infrastructure will no longer have an impact on the kinds and variety of services delivered over that infrastructure. The deployment of NGN networks will also offer ubiquitous access for users of these networks as well as for competing service providers. This shift, while taking place gradually, is already happening in several parts of the world. NGN presents many opportunities but also many complexities and challenges and requires new regulatory thinking to promote investment and ensure that carriers can remain competitive in this new environment while ensuring open access. For more information see: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/GSR/GSR07/

Peru's state investment promotion agency ProInversión has released bidding rules for a US$17mn rural telecoms project, according to the agency's website.

The project aims to provide telecoms service to 3,010 localities with 2 million potential users. The tender calls for broadband internet service for 2,850 of the communities, public telephony for 1,535 and residential service in 95 localities.

Co-financing is available though no amount has been specified. The bidding rules and participation rights cost US$1,000.

Peru's telecoms regulator Osiptel and the country's transport and communications ministry (MTC) will supervise the project. The selected company must handle the installation, maintenance and community training so that residents can use the new services.

ProInversión is accepting comments and questions on the project until February 26 and the deadline for purchasing bidding rules is March 12. The agency will announce further deadlines for the projects after the public comments period.

Source: Business News Americas

As of 2007 the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority will start issuing licences for programmes broadcast in the new mobile television network. This type of a light operating licence procedure is expected to promote both the use of mobile television and the diversity of programmes offered in the mobile television network.

The Finnish Government discussed a reply by Parliament concerning the Act on Television and Radio Operations on 21 December 2006. The Act will enter into force in the beginning of next year.

In the reply Parliament requires that differences of interpretation with regard to copyright issues involved in mobile television be discussed on a broad basis and soon be solved within the framework of the existing copyright system.

In the mobile television network a licence is required for the provision of television and radio services only. Provision of, for example, interactive services like games is not subject to a licence.

The Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE and commercial operators do not need a separate licence for broadcasting television programmes in the mobile television network, if programmes with the same content are sent simultaneously in the conventional television network.

Source: Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finland.

Three Russian operators are expected to get licenses to provide third generation (3G) mobile services at a tender, IT and Telecommunications Minister Leonid Reiman told reporters Monday. Conditions for the tender are expected to be announced before the year-end and the tender is expected to take place before April 2007, Reiman said. The minister said a fourth license might eventually be given as more frequencies for 3G networks become available. Russia's three major mobile operators - MTS, VimpelCom and MegaFon ? all said earlier they planned to participate in the tender.

Soucre: Cellular-news.com

The government of Indonesia has awarded new licences to Bakris Telecom and Mobile-8 Telecom allowing them to provide nationwide fixed wireless access (FWA) services based on code division multiple access (CDMA) technology, as part of a shake up in the allocation of mobile frequencies, writes The Jakarta Post. The new concessions are by way of compensation for the operators having their frequency bandwidths reduced to make room for new 3G mobile operators, said Information and Communications Minister Sofyan A. Djalil. Publicly listed operators Bakrie Telecom and Mobile-8 Telecom will now be able to go head-to-head across the country with former monopoly PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), which offers FWA services using CDMA under the banner TelkomFlexi. Until now, Bakrie Telekom has been limited to offering services on Java where it has 1.3 million customers. Mobile-8 Telecom welcomed the decision which it says will enable it to up its capacity to 30 million customers.

Source: Telegeography

Information and Communications Technology Minister Sitthichai Pokai-udom wants regulators to recall all radio frequencies allocated to mobile phone operators for redistribution. Dr Sitthichai did not give a timeframe for the reallocation, as the authority rests with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). But he said the NTC should do so in order to resolve disputes among mobile phone operators.

DTAC was allocated much more frequency bandwidth than rival Advanced Info Service (AIS). It later sold part of it to True Move and Digital Phone. Last month, market leader Advanced Info Service (AIS) complained that it had less bandwidth than DTAC, after the latter griped about unfairly high access charges.

Private operators have welcomed a telecom reform plan proposed by the ICT ministry, saying it would solve disputes and pave the way for further industry changes that are planned next year. AIS said the ministry was on the right track to resolve differences. True Move, however, said that although reforms would mean more payments by AIS, the higher payments would not benefit either True Move or DTAC. AIS president Wichien Mektrakarn said company executives accepted the expected change in the concession agreement it had with TOT.

The executives agreed that under the reform deal telecom operators reached with Dr Sitthichai, AIS would be better off, Mr Wichien said. Although the company would pay 20% to 25% more revenue to TOT from prepaid services, it would benefit from fairer payment procedures, he added. Significantly, the higher payments made by AIS would not benefit the company's rivals, Mr Wichien said. They would only reduce longstanding conflicts.

However, he said, AIS should be treated fairly on payment procedures because it still must pay revenue based on amounts before value-added tax, whereas other operators share revenue after tax. In addition, AIS wants payments made on the same schedule as other operators, and fairer bandwidth allocation, he said.

Mr Wichien also asked TOT to set a timeframe to prepare for industry changes, as its heavy reliance on revenue from private operators would prove devastating when private operators switch to a licence-based system. AIS has a customer base of 19 million. Seventeen million are prepaid, accounting for 60% of revenue, he added. True Corp chief executive Supachai Chearavanont said the reforms were the clearest development for the industry since the Telecom Business Law was introduced five years ago.

However, he wants to see what will happen when interconnection charges become effective while access charges are also applied. Because revenue from interconnection charges is significant, he said, the NTC and all operators must figure out rules for collecting the money.

If TOT and CAT collect revenue from interconnection based only on incoming traffic while offsetting all outgoing traffic, it could become a heavier burden for operators than the access charges, he said. This is because some operators might have heavier outgoing traffic than incoming traffic.

Source: Bangkokpost, Thailand

ANACOM - National Communications Authority is issuing redesigned titles of rights to use frequencies for the operation of FWA systems to AR Telecom, Novis, Oni, Vodafone, WTS, PTC, and Broadnet.
 
At the same meeting in which the decision on the issue of titles was taken, the regulator approved also the report of prior hearing of holders of the right to use frequencies for the operation of FWA systems.
 
The issue of titles completes Phase I of the action plan outlined by the regulatory authority to redefine the whole process of FWA systems operation. In the course of Phase I, ANACOM heard the entities with FWA licences, in order to resize their rights to use spectrum taking into account the interest and needs properly justified by entities concerned.
 
The redefinition of the system implied the transformation of a national coverage system which included several geographical areas, regarding which licensed entities pointed out the ones in which they still had an interest, and those which they no longer intended to operate. This translated into a redefinition of the respective titles, which are now issued after having been redesigned.
 
This process led also to the release of some spectrum - namely spectrum released by entities that lost interest in certain zones during this process - which shall be made available during Phase II of the process. In fact, Phase II has already been initiated, but only as far as the 24,5 GHz - 26,5GHz frequency band is concerned. It was determined that the granting of rights to use frequencies in this band would take place by means of the full accessibility regime, depending on the presentation of some elements.

Source: ANACOM, Portugal

The President of the Federal Network Agency, Matthias Kurth, launched the auction of frequencies for broadband wireless access (BWA) in the 3.5 GHz band in Mainz today. Six companies had applied for participation in the auction. "I hope that with these frequencies the companies will be able to place new and interesting telecommunications products on the German market as well", said Mr Kurth. The regulator also hopes that competition will increase on the broadband market and that broadband accesses such as wireless Internet access will be offered in hitherto insufficiently served regions. "The regulatory goal of improving broadband coverage is to be achieved by a coverage obligation linked to the frequency award. By 2009 in 15 per cent and by 2011 in 25 per cent of all communes in an auction area at least basic coverage must be assured", according to Mr Kurth. It was not a frequency auction’s goal to increase state revenues but to determine, in an open, transparent and non-discriminatory auction which applicants were best suited to efficiently use the scarce frequencies, explained Mr Kurth. "By means of the auction frequencies will be awarded to capable and suitable companies which are prepared to invest the necessary funds to establish the requisite infrastructure. Even if not all six companies will be active in all regions, this still does not render the auction proceedings superfluous since the frequency packets in the regions are not equivalent as far as their availability is concerned. With this in mind I deem it in line with market conditions that adaptation and consolidation processes already took place prior to the auction. The market is obviously capable of reacting quickly and flexibly to events and changing conditions", said Mr Kurth. The auction is structured as an open, simultaneous, multiple round action. For each action round 120 minutes are initially envisaged. At the end of each round each bidder and the public are told which bidder has made the highest bid for which frequency packet in which region. 28 auction regions have been created which cover the whole of the Federal Republic of Germany. In each region four frequency packets are due to be auctioned. However, each bidder may only buy one frequency packet per region on the condition that he has been issued a bidding authorisation for this region. Certain incremental principles apply to the bids, called minimum increments. The minimum increment is initially 15 per cent und may be decreased in the course of the auction. The auction is being conducted electronically. To this end "auction PCs" have been installed in six separate offices which are connected to the auctioneer PC installed in yet another office. The bidders are not allowed to communicate with each other and any such communications has been prevented by suitable precautions. The bidders may contact decisiontakers in their company and the auctioneer by telephone. The bidders have all taken part in a one-day software training course at the Federal Network Agency’s system in Mainz and are familiar with the technology and the rules of the game. Auctioneer is the Federal Network Agency’s Presidential Chamber. The auction software is controlled by an experienced, inter-disciplinary team consisting of legal experts, economists, technicians and auction theorists, ensuring the smooth execution of the auction. The auction proceeding is officially monitored by a notary public. Source: Federal Network Agency, see http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/media/archive/8216.pdf 

The two day Executive Level Training organized by the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) and infoDev, in cooperation with the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA), Hong Kong, China, ended on 3 December 2006. More than 50 Senior Executives from 27 countries gathered in Hong Kong, China to participate in this event.

The training focused on New Technologies, New thinking, ICT Regulation in a Changing World and highlighted how the joint ITU-infoDev ICT regulation toolkit could help regulators and policy makers. The ICT Regulation Toolkit and the training programme were designed to enable regulators and policy makers to identify solutions to their real world challenges. Nearly ninety percent of the participants expressed a high level of satisfaction and the wish to continue such training. The joint ITU infoDev ICT Regulation Toolkit was very well received and generated a lot of positive feedback. To learn more about this event, click here. To access the ICT regulation toolkit, click here.

Ofcom today announced proposals for the UK’s largest single release of radio spectrum, which could be used for a range of new services such as mobile broadband and advanced wireless services.

The consultation document seeks views on proposals to auction licences to use three spectrum bands: 2500-2690 MHz, 2010-2025 MHz and 2290-2300 MHz. In total 215 MHz will be available. The award of these bands would form an important part of Ofcom’s approach in securing the optimal use of this finite and valuable natural resource.

Ofcom proposes to release the spectrum on a technology and service neutral basis. This will allow organisations to decide how best to use the spectrum within certain minimum technical specifications to prevent harmful interference.

The proposals are part of a wider Ofcom programme to release around 400 MHz of prime spectrum to the market over the next few years, creating major opportunities for extra innovation and competition in wireless services. The programme includes a dozen different bands including the spectrum freed up by digital television switchover, or Digital Dividend, in which Ofcom will publish proposals shortly.

Source: Ofcom.

ANRC allotted numbering resources for the provision of telephone services to Atlas Telecom Network Romania, Fast Telecom, Infotel Europe, RCS&RDS, Techno Bridge and Vocalpad Rom.

 

Fast Telecom and Infotel Europe, who requested their first numbering resources, were granted blocks of 410,000 numbers for the provision of fixed telephone services, at national level. The two companies have also been allotted blocks of 1,000 numbers in the 0Z=08 domain, for the provision of services offered through green numbers, universal access numbers and prepaid cards and of televoting services, as well as blocks of 1,000 numbers for each category of Premium Rate services in the 0Z=09 domain.

 

Fast Telecom has also received the individual carrier selection codes 1081 and 1697, whereas Infotel Europe was granted the individual carrier selection codes 1059 ºi 1691.

 

Atlas Telecom Network Romania requested and was granted 1,000 numbers in the  0Z=08 domain for services provided by means of universal access numbers. The companies RCS & RDS and Techno Bridge were allotted numbers in the 0Z=03 domain for the provision of fixed telephone services. Thus, RCS & RDS was granted 10,000 numbers for the county of Mures and Techno Bridge – 410,000 numbers for the provision of fixed telephone services, at national level.

 

Vocalpad Rom received 1,000 numbers for the provision of services through green numbers (0Z=08 domain) and 2,000 numbers for the provision of services in the 0Z= 09 domain.

 

Furthermore, UPC Romania took over the numbering resources allotted to Astral Telecom, given the merger of Astral Telecom into UPC Romania.

 

So far, ANRC allotted more than 65.5 million numbers, based on the procedure of granting licences for the use of numbering resources. 54.4% of these have been allotted for fixed telephone services, whereas 44.3% of them were assigned for the provision of mobile telephone services.

 

Source: ANRC, Romania

On behalf of the Federal Communications Commission (ComCom), the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) is launching the invitation to tender for 2 country-wide licences for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA). If there are sufficient candidates, the licences will be awarded by auction.

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has refused to grant a Mumbai mobile licence to start-up operator Aditya Birla Telecom because its parent company Aditya Birla Group already operates in the region via another subsidiary, Idea Cellular, according to the Economic Times. Aditya Birla Telecom and Idea Cellular both applied for the Mumbai spectrum at the start of this year, but only Idea has been granted frequencies. Aditya Birla Group owns 65% of Idea Cellular via Aditya Birla Nuvo, Birla TMT Holdings, Grasim Industries and Hindalco Industries. Aditya Birla Nuvo also holds 99.97% of the equity in Aditya Birla Telecom. ‘Two licences cannot be issued where a single company, Aditya Birla Nuvo, is having more than 10% stake in the applicant company as well as in Idea Cellular,’ the DoT reportedly said in its rejection letter.

Source: Telegeography

Chief Executives from around the globe will gather from 2-3 December in Hong Kong (just prior to the ITU World Telecom events) for an executive level training programme organized by ITU and infoDev in cooperation with the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA), Hong Kong, China. The training is reserved exclusively for the heads of national regulatory authorities and senior executives of national policy-makers. The programme will focus on New Technologies, New Thinking: ICT Regulation in a Changing World. Rapid technological changes are taking place in the ICT sector, led by the vast deployment of IP networks, the convergence of fixed and mobile networks and services, and the advent of next generation networks. These developments call for new thinking and informed and sound policy/regulatory decisions. More information can be found on http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Events/Seminars/2006/ceotraining/index.html 

Bhutan Information Communications and Media Authority (BICMA) has awarded the country’s second national cellular licence to local industrial conglomerate the Tashi Group. Tashi beat three other firms with its offer of BTN777 million (USD17.5 million). It must launch its first commercial services within a year. The other short-listed bidders were all local firms partnered with foreign telcos: the Singye Group and Druktel teamed up with two Indian telcos, Reliance and Airtel respectively, while Bhutan Steel formed a bidding consortium with ShinSat of Thailand. The country’s current monopoly cellular operator B-Mobile, which is a subsidiary of state-owned Bhutan Telecom, had around 70,000 subscribers at the end of September.

Source: Telegeogaphy

The NTC has allocated the prefix of 06 mainly for providing the VoIP service from phone to phone, including other new telecom-technology services, under its interim numbering plan. The phone-to-phone VoIP service will use the 06 prefix, followed by an eight-digit number. The regulator is expected to introduce the official numbering plan next month.

The operators of the phone-to-phone VoIP service will also be subject to the NTC interconnection charge regime, which requires all telecom operators to share voice and data revenues between the networks involved in the calls on a fair basis. VoIP technology allows free or cheap calls to anywhere in the world via an IP channel rather than a telephone network.

Among the existing providers of VoIP services from personal computer to personal computer and personal computer to phone include CAT Telecom, True Internet and TT&T.

Meanwhile, the NTC has yet to grant a licence to ACeS Regional Service (ARS) to operate a satellite-based cellular service.

Sudharma said the company had operated a satellite-based cellular service under a CAT concession and now wanted to comply with NTC regulations.

Sudharma said the NTC needed to examine first whether it could award the licence to ARS, which used an Indonesian satellite to offer the service. The NTC has also yet to grant a licence to Shin Satellite to offer an international Internet gateway (IIG) service, pending further study of the application details.

IIGs serve as a channel for local Internet service providers to connect or exchange traffic with global Internet networks.

Source: NTC, Thailand

Malaysia’s first WiMAX licences will not now be issued until sometime next year, according to local news sources quoting Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) indefinitely postponed its tender for the licences in July 2006. The tender, covering the 2.3GHz-2.4HGz bands, was halted under order from the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications (MEWC), because the terms of the bidding, set by the MCMC, were not in line with the MEWC's own licensing regulations, most notably in terms of the roll out of infrastructure. The MCMC later said it would not relaunch the tender, opting instead to stick with the submissions it has already received from 17 companies, including DiGi Telecommunications, Maxis Communications, MiTV Corp, REDtone International and NasionCom. The MCMC had originally intended to announce the winners by 31 October, but has yet to provide a revised timetable for issuing the concessions or confirm how many licences will be granted. It has requested that all applicants re-submit their applications outlining nationwide business plans, as it will not grant concessions to companies looking to roll out only regional services. The government has said it will offer as many as four WiMAX licences, though it may only distribute two concessions in the first tranche.

Source: Telegeography

Ukraine's National Commission on Communications Regulation (NCCR) has refused to issue licenses for 3G services to four mobile operators – Kyivstar, Ukrainian Mobile Communications (UMC), Astelit and Ukrainian Radio Systems (URS). The reason given for the refusal was that the cellcos failed to reach an agreement with military bodies on joint usage of UMTS frequencies. Ukraine’s only 3G licensee is state-owned fixed line operator Ukrtelecom, which received its concession without auction in late 2005. Ukrtelecom is currently constructing its 3G network in partnership with Finland's Nokia. Yesterday it announced that it expects to launch the network in March 2007, and aims to grab 10% of the mobile market by focusing mainly on the corporate segment.

Source: Telegeography

KCC declared on 27 October that Vtel consortium, a Dubai based firm, has won the bid for the Second National telecommunications Operator (SNO) licence. Vtel’s financial bid of US$169.6m emerged the highest out of the firms that had qualified at the technical stage. Vtel beat Mahanagar Telephone Kenya’ s bid of US$52.1m and Reliance K. consortium’s offer of US$11.03m to bag the SNO tender. Vtel consortium is made up of Unitel Kenya, Kirinyaga Construction Company, Paltel and Vtel Holdings. Vtel CEO Nour Atout commended the Commission for conducting the tender process above board, and assured Kenyans of quality services. Directors of the two other companies also hailed the Commission, saying they were satisfied with how the process had been conducted. CCK Director-General Eng John Waweru said the race for the licence was very competitive with the bidders determining their positions from their financial quotations. He said the winning bidder would be expected to submit a performance bond within the next 21 days. Vtel consortium is also expected to formally apply for the licence using the prescribed application form. “The application should be made by a locally registered company with the structure and composition being similar to what the consortium presented in the initial bid. The licensed company must also be in conformity with the policy direction on investing in the industry; at least 30 per cent shareholding should be Kenyan,” Eng. Waweru said. The licence will be issued in January 2007 after the consortium pays the entire bid amount. See http://www.cck.go.ke/html/news.asp?newsid=191&area=new

Uganda's Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) on 1 Nov. completely liberalised its telecommunications infrastructure provisioning. The UCC said: "For purposes of providing a holistic licensing environment (services and infrastructure), the ministry of ICT has decided to open up the infrastructure market to full competition." The commission said that as part of the liberalising, all players would be issued the same licence. See: Balancing Act

Russia’s State Radio Frequency Commission has awarded WiMAX wireless broadband frequencies to number two mobile operator Vimpelcom. The firm has won spectrum in the 3.4GHz-3.45GHz band and the 3.5GHz-3.55GHz band. Prime Tass, citing local newspaper Kommersant, reports that Vimpelcom has also applied for spectrum in the 2.3GHz-2.5GHz range covering 92 cities and so far it has been granted use of the spectrum in 34 markets. Meanwhile, third-placed cellco MegaFon has also applied for frequencies which would allow it deploy a WiMAX network although it has not elaborated on its plans. Russia already has a number of commercial WiMAX networks operated by the likes of Enforta and Synterra. TeleGeography’s WiMAX Market Tracking service offers full coverage of global WiMAX trials and deployments.

Source: Telegeography

Taiwan’s telecoms regulator has published details of its plans for WiMAX wireless broadband licensing. The National Communications Commission (NCC) says it will offer nine six-year WiMAX concessions in the second quarter of next year. DigiTimes reports that three 90MHz bands will be available in each of three regions: northern, central and southern Taiwan. Companies can apply for several licences but will be awarded a maximum of one, although mergers and co-operation with other licence winners will be allowed to enable operators to create a national footprint. Networks must be built out within one year of licensing.

Source: Telegeography

The government of Hong Kong announced yesterday that it will launch a public consultation on proposals to auction a new third-generation mobile licence. The state plans to allow the Special Administrative Region’s existing W-CDMA operators to bid for a CDMA2000 1xEV-DO standard licence, said Director-General of Telecommunications Au Man Ho. Hong Kong has four existing 3G operators using W-CDMA platforms: Hutchison Telephone Company (3), SmarTone (SmarTone-Vodafone), CSL New World Mobility and PCCW Mobile (Sunday Communications). According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, there are around a million 3G users in Hong Kong, where Hutchison leads the market with 600,000 subscribers at end-June.

Source: Telegeography

Vietnamese ISP Financial Promoting Technology (FPT) Telecom has revealed that it submitted an application for fixed line telephony licence to the Ministry of Post and Telematics (MPT) in August 2006. FPT is one of four companies presently licensed to pilot fixed WiMAX across the country before the MPT’s intended commercialisation of the technology in 2007, when it is thought full mobile operating licences will be awarded. If licensed, FPT would provide its fixed line service over the cable infrastructure of its broadband service.
Meanwhile another of the companies testing WiMAX, state owned incumbent telco VNPT, has reported decreased income in its fixed and VoIP revenues since the start of the year. Its charges for VoIP, fixed by the MPT, and are the highest in the country, while competitors are free to set their own. The telco’s monthly ARPU for fixed line and IP telephony services is reported to be VND100,000 (USD6.25).

Source. Telegeography

Telecoms operators in Thailand can now apply for licences to provide wireless broadband internet access including WiMAX services, following an announcement by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), reports local newspaper The Nation. The regulator has invited applications for the use of the 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz spectrum bands, although the 5GHz band has not yet been made available. Wireless broadband spectrum was allocated to True Corp, TOT Corp and Shin Satellite (ShinSat) by an earlier regulatory regime. ShinSat holds 3.5GHz spectrum, TOT owns frequencies in the 2.4GHz band, and True's pay-TV operator, UBC True, has a concession for the 2.5GHz range. The NTC’s WiMAX licensing plans had previously been held up by a debate on frequency access for the telecoms and broadcasting industries, but it said this week that a general offer of WiMAX concessions is in line with the Council of State's ruling that it could pursue spectrum management activities in the absence of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), as long as the activities did not relate to broadcasting spectrums

Source: Telegeography

The Ministry of Communications in Colombia has extended the deadline for the award of WiMAX licences in each of the country’s 32 departments until 23 November, according to a statement issued by the regulatory body. According to BNamericas, the announcement follows on from the previous deadline of 23 October, and is the third postponement from the original date of 31 August. Three licences in the 3.5GHz range are expected to be awarded for each department. The delays have arisen following allegations by some bidders that cellco Comcel submitted its proposal five minutes after the bid deadline on 14 August. The ministry has stated that Comcel’s proposal was submitted on time.

Source: Telegeography

Russia’s 3G licensing is one step nearer, with the State Radio Frequency Commission having announced the frequency allocations for next-generation services. The Commission will offer an unspecified number of concessions in the 1.935GHz-1.980GHz, 2.010GHz-2.025GHz and 2.125GHz-2.170GHz bands. Prime Tass reports that three licences are expected to be auctioned. The country’s two largest cellular operators, MTS and Vimpelcom, confirmed to the news agency that they intend to bid for 3G licences, while the third-largest operator, MegaFon, has made no comment on its plans. More details of the auction process are expected to be announced next month.

Source: Telegeography

The government of Macau yesterday awarded third-generation mobile telephony licences to Hutchison Telephone Macau (owned by Hong Kong’s Hutchison Telecommunications International), China Unicom’s local subsidiary Macau Unicom and local operator Companhia de Telecomunicacoes de Macau. The winners beat bids from Hong Kong’s SmarTone-Vodafone and Macau’s Kong Seng Paging.

Source: Telegeography

Mexican alternative fixed line operator Maxcom is preparing to launch the country’s first true triple-play service in March 2007, according to BNamericas quoting local daily Reforma. Maxcom already offers a package of telephony, broadband and cable TV in partnership with cable network operator Megacable, but is reportedly ‘at an advanced stage in creating its own TV platform’. The operator has received permission to enter the broadcast market from regulator Cofetel following the recent passing of legislation allowing telephony operators to enter the TV sector, and vice versa, for the first time.

Source: Telegeography

Bangladeshi industry watchdog the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has begun awarding voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) licences, however, critics are concerned that its sudden enthusiasm to grant concessions will merely result in it allowing powerful illegal operators to get licences, without there being a common operating platform to allow the government to track earnings.

According to local newspaper The Daily Star, the BTRC has received 51 applications for VoIP licences, including bids from 31 ISPs, 14 PSTN operators and six mobile phone companies. But without a common platform, powerful illegal VoIP operators which are among these applicants will now easily get BTRC licences, and will not only eat up the market of Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) but also deprive the government of international telecom revenue.

Source: Telegeography

Romania’s General Inspectorate for Communications and IT (IGCTI) has awarded the country’s remaining two 3G concessions to cable operator RCS&RDS and CDMA450 operator Zapp. Cosmote Romania and National Radio Communications (SNR) both entered the auction but failed to win licences, which were priced at USD35 million each. The dominant players in the Romanian mobile market, Vodafone and Orange, were awarded the country’s first pair of 3G concessions in November 2004. Vodafone launched its 3G service in mid-2005 while Orange switched on its own high speed network earlier this year.

Source: Telegeography

The Ugandan regulator UCC has granted a telecoms services licence to local operator TalkTelecom to be able to provide services to both residential and corporate customers. This is the first legal opening for a VoIP service provider in the country that does not operate its own network. See:http://www.balancingact-africa.com

Commonwealth of Independent States alternative operator Golden Telecom is to launch a trial WiMAX network in Moscow, in partnership with Nortel, according to press reports. The 4G technology will enable connection speeds of between 1 Mbps and 25 Mbps. Population density in Moscow is around 9,000 per square kilometre, and as such a single base station could potentially grant internet access to hundreds of users.

Source: Global Insight.

Telekom Slovenije and fellow Slovenian telco Tok Telekomunikacije have been awarded ten-year nationwide WiMAX wireless broadband licences by the Post and Electronic Communications Agency (APEK). The regulator reported that incumbent fixed line operator Telekom had offered SIT100 million (USD525,000) for a concession while Tok offered SIT40 million. Prior to the awards, Telekom held the country’s sole WiMAX concession, which was granted in 2002 and covered the capital Ljubljana only. Telekom said it will invest SIT3 billion over the next three years in WiMAX network development. ‘We plan to cover significantly more than 60% of Slovenia with WiMAX…within three years,’ company spokesman Boris Ziherl said.

Source: Telegeography

Malawi Mobile Ltd (MML) has lost its appeal to retain its network licence. After failing to meet its rollout deadline, the country’s High Court granted permission to the Malawi Communications and Regulatory Authority (Macra) to revoke MML’s licence. An appeal was lodged, but in June the High Court granted Macra an injuction preventing MML from recruiting staff until the outcome of the appeal in the Supreme Court. The original High Court ruling was later upheld, and Macra is now free to revoke MML’s licence.

Source: Telegeography

Information Development Minister Vladimir Molozhen has announced that the country’s third GSM licence will be put out to tender in the next two months. The asking price will be USD8 million, half to be paid within 30 days and the rest within two years. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, the existing mobile operators Voxtel and Moldcell had 1.1 million sunbscribers between them at the end of June 2006, 64% of whom were with Voxtel.

Source: Telegeohgraphy

According to the Bulgarian national daily Dnevik a.m., four companies have bought tender documents for participation in the auction of a 26GHz point-to-multipoint licence. The new concession will allow national coverage and a 15-year term of validity. The quartet – Trans Telecom, Cosmo Bulgaria, Nexcom Bulgaria and Mobiltel – have until 28 November to notify the regulator of their intention to bid. All but one of the bidders – Cosmo Bulgaria – already hold licences in the 3.5GHz band.

Source: Telegeography

Bharti Airtel, India's biggest mobile phone company by subscribers, has handed back CDMA spectrum covering Madhya Pradesh to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for reassignment. The regulator is requesting operators return unused frequencies to help plug a shortfall in spectrum and pave the way for the launch of new wireless services. Airtel received the CDMA frequencies when it was first licensed in 1997, and is only returning the spectrum under duress. It claimed that it was asked to pay inflated licence fees for the CDMA spectrum following the conversion to a Unified Access Services Licence (UASL) scheme in 2003, and instead opted to transfer its 20,000 CDMA users to its GSM network, before reluctantly returning the frequencies. State-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) is among other operators to have been asked to give up excess CDMA spectrum.

Source: Telegeography

Twenty-nine foreign companies have filed applications for licences to run value-added telecoms services in China, according to China Daily reports citing a ministry official. The Ministry of Information Industry (MII) issued a circular on 13 July this year, requiring all foreign companies operating value-added telecoms services to apply for licences, as many of them were running services without the proper paperwork. Wang Jianchao, head of the division of foreign economic and trade cooperation with the Department of Overall Planning under the MII, said that since July, 29 companies had applied for licences. Five companies, including MSN China, were successful; Wang added that another 14 firms had passed reviews.

Source: Global Insight.

Armenian fixed line incumbent ArmenTel has suspended services to a number of companies it claims have been offering VoIP without a requisite licence, writes Telecompaper. ArmenTel is the only company licensed to provide VoIP in the country. In 1998 the Armenian government granted it a 15-year monopoly on the provision of all telephony services, under Licence N60. However, five years later the state said it would revoke ArmenTel's exclusivity on the provision of wireless and internet access services, having accused the telco of abusing its dominant status with poor network quality and high service costs. At the time, ArmenTel's Greek parent OTE responded to the threat by launching a USD300 million compensatory claim against the government through the international courts, and twelve months of litigation followed. The court actions only stopped in November 2004.

Source: Telegeography

The senior judge at the European Court of Justice has provisionally ruled that 3G mobile auctions which took place in the UK and Austria in 2000 were not liable for value-added tax (VAT). A number of winners in the auctions, including Hutchison Whampoa, which has licences in both countries, had argued that the auctioning of concessions should be liable for VAT, meaning they could attempt to claim back up to 17.5% of the price paid from the country’s regulators. Whilst the decision does not constitute a binding ruling by the European Court of Justice, provisional opinions are usually upheld in around four out of five cases, according to ZDNet. The operators reportedly stood to win up to EUR5 billion (USD6.5 billion) from the claim.

Source: Telegeography

The Colombian telecoms regulator, the Ministerio de Comunicaciones (Mincomunicaciones), will push ahead with plans to auction WiMAX licences in the 3.5GHz spectrum band at the end of this month, despite complaints of irregularities in the bidding process, reports BNamericas. Mincomunicaciones had come under fire from several participants accusing it of accepting a proposal from Comcel after the 4pm deadline on 14 August. The ministry will announce the winners of the licences by 30 September.

 

Source: Telegeography

The ongoing saga of Brazil’s auction of 3.5GHz and 10GHz spectrum licences for WiMAX services took a fresh twist yesterday when the federal accounts court (TCU) ordered a halt to the process citing ‘inconsistencies’ in the tender. Although the regulator Anatel had received 100 preliminary bids from interested parties, the TCU ruled that an economic feasibility study carried out before the auction contained several flaws, not least in using an out of date exchange rate to set the minimum price for spectrum blocks in some regions. According to the TCU’s statement, Anatel set a minimum price of BRL655.71 (USD308.80) for 7MHz blocks in the 3.5GHz band for the cities of Santos and Ribeirão Preto. However, the price is well below the average price of BRL200,000 used for other cities of a similar size. The watchdog has now been given 15 days to amend the minimum price in its licence rules. The courts have also highlighted errors dating back to November 2004 in the exchange rate used for the real and euro currencies. Based on the figures used as against the current exchange rate, the TCU said that there would be a premium of 76% on the price forecast in the auction ruling.

According to BNamericas, around 100 companies, including fixed line operators Brasil Telecom, CTBC Telecom, Telemar, long-distance operator Embratel and Sercomtel, presented preliminary bids on Monday. Other bidders include TIM, Oi, Telemig Celular, Amazônia Celular, GVT and Nextel.

Source: Telegeography

According to BNamericas citing local press reports, Brazil’s fixed line operators have won the right to participate in the country’s forthcoming auction of 3.5GHz and 10GHz spectrum licences for WiMAX services on 18 September. In his ruling of 31 August, Judge Naiber Pontes de Almeida of Brasilia's regional federal tribunal decided that fixed line licence holders can compete for licences in regions where they already hold concession contracts.

Source: Telegeography

The US government’s wireless spectrum auction is set to begin again today after the weekend break, with total bids standing at USD13.75 billion at the close of bidding on Friday. T-Mobile USA has, as expected, held the top position, with USD4.16 billion on the table for 116 licences. The German-owned firm is in desperate need of extra frequencies to enable it to roll out 3G services. The next highest bidder, Verizon Wireless, has offered USD2.8 billion for four concessions, while the SpectrumCo consortium, which includes the cable operators Comcast, Time Warner and Cox Communications alongside the cellular operator Sprint Nextel, has so far bid USD2.34 billion for 133 licences. The government has 1,122 advanced wireless services (AWS) licences on offer, with total bids expected to reach around USD15 billion.

 

Source: Telegeography

Iraq will be offering four new mobile licences when the existing three expire. Orascom Telecom Iraq (Iraqna), which has 2.5 million subscribers in central Iraq, intends to bid when its own licence runs out on 30 September. The new contracts are to run for at least ten years. The trio of existing operators - MTC Atheer, AsiaCell and Iraqna - were issued six month interim licences after the original licences expired at the end of 2005. However, by June 2006 the government was still not ready to award full licences, and the interim concessions were extended to the end of September.

 

Source: Telegeography

The US government’s spectrum auction is coming to an end, with the FCC attempting to speed up the closing stages by adding two extra rounds of bidding each day and halving the length of each round to 30 minutes. The advanced wireless services (AWS) auction has raised USD13.6 billion after 15 days of bidding. T-Mobile has been the most active bidder, so far offering a total of nearly USD4.2 billion for 118 of the 1,122 available concessions. The firm is keen to gain additional spectrum which will enable it to roll out 3G services. Verizon Wireless is the second largest bidder, with a total of USD2.8 billion offered for four licences, while a consortium of cable operators and number-three cellco Sprint is in third place. The auction runs until all bidding is exhausted.

Meanwhile, equipment suppliers are expecting some major new contracts once the dust has settled, with T-Mobile alone expected to spend up to USD4 billion on its next-generation infrastructure.

Source: Telegeography

Bahrain’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) is preparing to launch an auction for two licences to provide fixed-wireless voice and data services, with a starting price of BHD20,000 (USD53,000) each plus annual fees of BHD28,000. An official invitation to take part in the tender will be published on 5 October, according to the TRA. Successful bidders will be able to offer voice telephony and internet access using wireless technology, bypassing the fixed line network of incumbent operator Batelco. The licences will include spectrum in the 3.5GHz band. An memorandum issued on the TRA website provides interested parties with preliminary information about the auction and a draft of the proposed licence. New licensees will also have the right to use Batelco's infrastructure in order to reach end-users, on the basis of commercial agreements between themselves and Batelco. The TRA will be accepting comments on the published memorandum until 21 September.

Source: Telegeography

Section: General News - Telecom operators seeking potentially lucrative licences for third-generation services may have to participate in auctions, according to a member of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the Bangkok Post reports.

Sethaporn Cusripitaks said the regulator was considering the auction method now that the Council of State had said that the NTC had the authority to allocate specific parts of the radio spectrum for 3G communications applications.

He said the NTC was now speeding up the drafting of the licensing framework for 3G and expected to complete the job before the end of this year.

Due to the limited spectrum available for 3G, Mr Sethaporn said that there were three methods that the NTC would consider: an auction, "beauty contest" or a combination of the two. The most likely was an auction, he added.

An industry executive said the radio spectrum for 3G in Thailand was scarce, at just 120 Megahertz, and likely to be allocated to only four operators at most.

The auction idea has received a mixed reaction from operators, mindful of the large sums paid in Europe where regulators used the system to allocate 3G frequencies.

3G mobile communications systems provide an enhanced range of multimedia services such as video and high-speed Internet access.

Wichian Mektrakarn, the president of Advanced Info Service, said he believed the auction method would make a 3G licence very expensive. If operators were determined to win at any price, the burden would ultimately fall on consumers, which could make 3G services too expensive to be attractive.

The "beauty contest" approach places more weight on an operator's technical qualifications and business plan, but Mr Wichian said the NTC had no experience in conducting such reviews.

He said a combination would work, if the NTC set clear licensing guidelines.

The NTC is working on the licensing framework now that the Council of State has given a tentative go-ahead.

The government's legal advisory body ruled that the NTC could allocate 3G spectrum to mobile-phone operators without having to await the creation of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

The spectrum in question, the Council said, would be limited to the standard specified by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

NTC commissioner Sudharma Yoonaidharma said questions remained about the Council's interpretation. A lawyer himself, he said the interpretation of permission amounted to an "if clause".However, if the majority of the NTC board agreed it could issue 3G licences, then a unanimous vote should not be necessary, he said.

Gen Choochart Promprasit, the NTC chairman, said the regulator had sought the legal interpretation in light of political infighting over the formation of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), now five years behind schedule.

Under the Frequency Management Act, licensing of 3G services is supposed to require joint consideration by both the NTC and the NBC as the frequencies also have broadcasting applications.

However, the Council of State has taken the view that the NTC has some leeway with regard to certain services.

 

Source: 2006 Thai News Service

Thailand's Council of State has decided that responsibility for the allocation of 3G licences should be held by the country's telecoms regulator, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). The licensing process has so far been delayed by legislation stating that the NTC must wait for the establishment of a new regulatory authority, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). The NBC is being set up to take control of wireless frequency allocation as part of a move to liberalise Thailand's broadcasting sector.

However, the NTC is keen for 3G licensing to get underway as soon as possible, without waiting for the NBC to become operational. The regulator has said that the criteria for 3G licences will be set by the end of 2006, allowing operators to start their applications straight away, with commercial launch likely by the beginning of 2007. State-owned Thai Mobile is currently the only mobile operator licensed to provide 3G services. The country's three leading operators - AIS, DTAC and True Move - are all expected to bid for the licences, for which they are likely to pay around THB600mn.

All of Thailand's operators have reported increases in customer spending on non-voice services such as SMS and picture messaging. These services now account on average for around 8% of all wireless service revenues, suggesting that Thai consumers are open to the idea of using their mobile handsets to access data and multimedia services. However, building a 3G network is hugely expensive, without any guarantee for operators that customers will spend enough to make their investment worthwhile.

With a 2007 launch still by no means certain, BMI does not believe that 3G will really take off in Thailand until 2008. However, once fully commercially available, we predict that the service will prove popular, with around 10% of all Thai mobile users expected to be using 3G by the end of 2010. However, there are a number of determining factors, including the availability of affordable handsets and the quality of content offered. What is certain is that operators are eager to make 3G a success in order to boost revenues, which have taken a hit from the recent mobile price war.

3G MARKET MAINTAINS GROWTH IMPETUS
BMI Mobile Telephony Historical Data & Forecasts 2003-10
                                                          2003   2004   2005   2006f  2007f  2008f  2009f  2010f
No of Cellular Mobile Phone Subscribers ('000)            22,924 27,608 30,340 36,900 43,100 49,700 54,185 57,980
No of Mobile Phone Subscribers/100 Inhabitants            35.9   43.0   46.9   59.1   68.3   78.6   86.0   92.9
No of Mobile Phone Subscribers/100 Fixed Line Subscribers 363.5  427.0  459.7  538.7  611.3  686.5  723.4  772.4
No of 3G Subscribers ('000)                               0      0      0      0      900    2,100  4,100  5,535
3G Market as % of Entire Mobile Market (%)                0      0      0      0      2.1    4.2    7.6    9.5
Source: NTC, ITU, Operator results,f = BMI forecasts,

Source: Emerging Markets Daily News 

Lawmakers in the Philippines are mulling proposals to bring in revised licence fees for the country’s existing 3G licensees. The House of Representatives' committee on Oversight and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are thought to be studying plans to introduce 'upfront and yearly broad spectrum fees' for Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, Digital Telecommunications (Digitel) and CURE (Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprise Inc), following a long-running dispute over the terms and conditions of the original licence awards. Source: Telegeography

Regulator ANRT plans to sell three licences.

Four companies have submitted bids for the three third-generation mobile licences up for grabs in Morocco, according to the country's national telecoms regulator.

The ANRT said on its Web site that the four bidders are incumbent operator Maroc Telecom, which is controlled by French media group Vivendi; local company Maroc Connect; Meditel, in which Spain's Telefonica and Portugal Telecom own a combined majority stake; and Nejma Telecom Maroc, a subsidiary of the Kuwaiti Wataniya telecoms group.

"The presence of the four operators in this tender process shows the interest and the potential of the Moroccan telecoms market, as well as the strategy adopted," said ANRT in a release.

The regulator said it will announce the winners as soon as possible. Each 3G licence-holder will have to pay 360 million dirham (US$41.23 million). (…)

Source : Total Telecom.

Chinguitel SA, which is partnered with the Sudanese operator Sudatel, has won the auction for the third Mauritanian GSM licence. Chinguitel won the auction with a bid worth US$101.98 million, according to L’Autorité de Régulation (ART), the Mauritanian regulator, beating rival bids from Orange Mauritanie (France Télécom), Wataniya Télécom Mauritanie, Mauritel, and Access Télécom from Côte d’Ivoire. Orange Mauritanie submitted a bid worth US$34.773 million and Wataniya Telecom Mauritanie a bid worth US$31.246 million. Amongst its neighbours in West Africa, Mauritania has by far the highest cellular penetration rate. In 2003 Mauritania had a cellular penetration rate of 13.0%, compared with 5.7% in Senegal, 2.1% in Mali, and 1.9% in Burkina Faso.

Source: Global Insight.