The Commerce Commission has today released its final standard terms determination (STD) on the non-price terms on which access providers must make co-location on cellular mobile transmission sites (the Mobile Co-location Service) available to other mobile network operators.

The Mobile Co-location Service allows the equipment of a mobile network operator to be installed on another operator’s cell masts. Co-location makes it easier for mobile network operators to manage their mobile networks by allowing for the sharing of facilities, and avoids the unnecessary and inefficient duplication of facilities. As a result, co-location contributes towards removing barriers to entry and lead to the improvement of the competitive conditions in the retail mobile services market. 

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Source: Commerce Commission

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) submits its Recommendations to DoT On The Spectrum Charging For 3G Services moves from spectrum charges linked with revenue to Flat Rate linked to market based price and on Allocation and pricing of spectrum fro 3G and BWA services.

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Source: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

The French telecoms regulatory authority Arcep today launched a public consultation process on the subject of 3G network sharing, Dow Jones reports. The watchdog is keen to examine the conditions and degree to which UMTS mobile network resources can be shared in the country. Although the sharing of passive and active network elements is already permitted, Arcep’s new consultation will focus on the precise obligations the regulator should define for sharing 3G facilities.

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Source: Telegeography

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa has published an Invitation To Apply (ITA) calling for interested individual Electronic Communications Services, Broadcasting Services and Electronic Communications Network Services licensees to apply for frequencies to provide mobile digital video broadcasting services.

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Source: Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA)

As the demand for communication technology continues to grow in Africa, incumbent Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) is intensifying efforts to speed up laying of underground fibre-optic cables throughout the country with a view to boast free flow of information. Malawi is keen to ensure that it is easy to connect and inter-link with the world as far as information technology is concerned, and more importantly to enable the country to compete with the rest of the continent and the world at large.

It is estimated that a total of US$30 million would be required for the ambitious project in Malawi in order to replace its VSAT links. MTL’s Lester Tandwe, said the latest development sought to keep the country moving with the times in the field of information and technology.

“The first part of the capable will be operational by April 2009 while the second part will be operational by 2010 and will connect to international cables to provide international bandwidth,” said Tandwe. Given growing user demand in technology, Malawi is now laying an average of 50 kilometres of underground capable with a view to provide internet and telecommunication services to both urban and the countryside.

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Source: Balancingact-africa

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.

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Source: Telegeography

At the end of the third quarter of 2008, the total number of main telephone accesses installed at customer request stood at around 4 million, corresponding to a penetration rate of approximately 37.9 accesses per 100 inhabitants. Compared to the previous quarter, there was a slight decrease in the number of accesses (-0.6%). The decline in analogue accesses and reduction in basic, primary and fractioned ISDN accesses was not fully offset by the growth of accesses using other technologies, including GSM, VoIP and cable.
Year-on-year the number of accesses installed at customer request saw a fall of 1.3%. It should be mentioned that accesses based on GSM technology increased by 20.2% year-on-year. The exponential growth seen in the number of accesses based on VoIP technology should also be pointed out.

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Source: ANACOM - National Authority of Telecommunications

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today announced that it has denied the Canadian Association of Internet Providers’ (CAIP) request that Bell Canada cease the traffic-shaping practices it has adopted for its wholesale Gateway Access Service. However, in the future, Bell Canada will be required to notify its wholesale customers at least 30 days in advance of making changes that impact on the performance of its Gateway Access Service.

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Source: CRTC

In a letter dated 13 November 2008 the Commission has informed the Slovenian telecom watchdog, APEK, that at this stage it has serious doubts as to the finding of joint dominance in the Slovenian mobile access and call origination market. During the following two months the Commission will call for and assess further market data from APEK and market players. APEK believes that two Slovenian operators, i.e. Mobitel and Si.mobil jointly possess a dominant position in the Slovenian wholesale mobile market which is used to prevent market entry of other mobile operators by way of access to existing mobile networks. The reason for such common interest to keep the market closed is that further competition in the downstream retail mobile market could lead to price cuts and a decrease in profits for the two established operators. On the basis of such assessment, APEK proposes to impose access obligations in the form of national roaming agreements on Mobitel and Si.mobil. The Commission underlines in its serious doubts letter sent on 13 November that a finding of joint dominance of two operators requires that a number of criteria are met, i.a. that competitive checks from other sources are not effective, that both operators pursue a common policy and that they can retaliate if one of them should deviate from the joint policy. There are already four mobile network operators and two service providers in the Slovenian mobile market. Two network operators provide nationwide services using Mobitel's network. At this stage, APEK provided unclear and ambiguous information concerning the stability of the alleged 'collusive equilibrium' between the two largest operators. The so-called "Phase II" two-month investigation launched last Thursday allows APEK to provide additional market data and clarify the outstanding issues which the Commission identified as necessary conditions to make any joint dominance story credible.

Press Release
Source: Europa

Investigation into Alleged Anti-Competitive and / or Misleading or Deceptive Conduct by Pacnet Internet (HK) Limited, Hutchison Global Communications Limited, and PCCW-HKT Telephone Limited.

The Complainant is a prominent property and facilities management services company which maintains a presence at over 130 separate locations throughout Hong Kong.  It relies on outside telecommunications services to connect its operations at these locations with its company headquarters. In November 2007, when the company switched service provider, problems in the changeover surfaced, resulting in a large number of the remote locations not having broadband connection to central office on the due date.  The company complained that this was the result of various transgressions by the telecommunications service providers involved.

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T23_08.pdf (110,19 KB)

Source: OFTA

El Consejo Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (CONATEL) dio luz verde al proyecto de nuevos índices de calidad para la telefonía fija. A partir de enero del próximo año las operadoras deberán cumplir con estos nuevos parámetros que toman en cuenta los avances tecnológicos en este tipo de servicio.

En cuanto a la reparación de problemas, el 70% de los reclamos deberán ser solucionados en las primeras veinte y cuatro (24) horas. El restante podría ser resuelto en las siguientes cuarenta y ocho (48) horas o en cinco (5) días.

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Source: CONATEL

El acuerdo aprobado por el Consejo de Ministros de Telecomunicaciones de la Unión Europea para el nuevo marco regulador del sector supone para el Gobierno español un éxito en tanto que se alcanzan los objetivos marcados por el Ejecutivo. El Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio ha tenido una activa participación en la negociación y configuración del “paquete telecom”. La decisión del Consejo debe, no obstante, volver al Parlamento antes de su aprobación definitiva que está prevista para la primavera de 2009.

Puntos principales del acuerdo

1.- Directiva de mejor regulación (modifica las directivas Marco, autorizaciones y acceso)

2.- Espectro: Se incorpora el principio de flexibilidad de la gestión del espectro a través de la inclusión de :
neutralidad tecnológica
neutralidad de servicios
mercado secundario
la introducción de estos principios se hará de forma paulatina

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Source: Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio

Competitive pressure is forcing MTN to eliminate roaming fees for users travelling between different countries, in a move that could noticeably dent its profit . The cellular operator has not yet wiped out roaming fees across its networks, but has tested the feasibility of doing so in Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria.

Last week it said it would introduce free roaming across all 21 countries where it operates in the first half of next year . Benin will be the next country to benefit, joining the trio of pilot countries by the end of this month.

Rival operator Zain demonstrated that free roaming is perfectly possible way back in September 2006 when it launched its "One Network" service, letting users cross between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda without paying high roaming fees. Nor do they pay to receive incoming calls when they travel -- another favourite way for operators to inflate their profits.

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Source: Balancingact-africa

The congressional telecommunications committee has ruled that Spainish telco Telefonica's minority stake in Telecom Italia (TI) voilates Argentinean anti-trust laws. An investigation was opened after Telefonica joined a consortium that acquired nearly a quarter stake in TI in October 2007.

TI owns a 50% stake in the Sofora holding company that controls Telecom Argentina. When Argentina’s telecoms sector was privatised in the 1990s its fixed line services were divided between Telecom Argentina and Telefonica de Argentina, with a government directive that there be no cross-ownership between the two.

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Source: Telegeography

The third quarter of 2008 saw continued growth in television services provided by satellite, over the public telephone network and by FWA, while a decline was seen in the cable TV service. The total market continued to grow (3.5%) to reach a total of 2.2 million subscribers, given that the decline in the cable television service was more than offset by growth in the service provided through other technologies, which have increased their relative presence in the market.
In terms of the geographical distribution of subscribers, there was no significant alteration, with the North and Lisbon Regions retaining the largest shares of customers. Penetration remains above average in the Autonomous Regions and in Lisbon.

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Source: ANACOM - National Authority of Telecommunications

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has registered a revised version of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice. The code has been amended at clause 5.5.11 to permit promotions for digital television that include references to ‘Freeview’ to be exempt from the time limits placed on non-program matter.

Freeview is a brand of Freeview Australia Pty Limited, which promotes the free-to-air digital television platform in Australia. The members of Freeview Australia Pty Limited are the commercial television broadcasters and the national television broadcasters (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Special Broadcasting Service Corporation).

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Source: ACMA

Nigeria's second national carrier, Globacom, has emphasised its readiness to launch its international submarine cable, Glo 1, touted as the solution to Nigeria and West Africa's bandwidth requirements, in March 2009.

Globacom, in a statement last week, said the 9,500 kilometre state-of-the-art cable would enable it to have a clear distinction in providing quality services through multiple and high quality direct links to several countries across the globe. It added that the cable would enable it to interconnect with several international networks and leading traffic carriers all over the world.

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Source: Balancingact-africa

The Commerce Commission today released a telecommunication service obligation (TSO) determination for the Local Residential Telephone Service covering the 2006/07 year. The draft cost is $62.8 million.

Under the TSO, Telecom is obliged to provide certain local residential telephone services to residential customers who may not otherwise be provided with those services at an affordable price. The TSO allows Telecom to recover its costs of providing this service.

In producing this draft determination the Commission has followed the modelling approach used in the 2004/05 and 2005/06 determinations.

The total cost for 2006/07 will be shared according to the TSO Cost Allocation determination for 2006/07 which is available on the Commission’s website. Under the Cost Allocation determination the costs will be shared amongst the following: Telecom, Vodafone, TelstraClear, WorldxChange, Compass, CallPlus, Ihug, Woosh and Teamtalk.

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Source: New Zealand - Commerce Commission