Wednesday Telecoms Digest

FIXED:
* Auction: Novator (= Thor Bjorgolfsson) bids for BTC (Bulgaria)
* License: SA to award second license to SNO by Dec 9
* LLU: India opposes; Tiscali Germany plans intro (trial Frankfurt 06Q1), invests EUR 200m in network + 200-300m in mkt (23 EUR/mo, 45 EUR/mo with VoIP); TelstraClear (Nw-Zld) complains about provisioning
* DSL: Lebanon plans launch 2006; Tiscali Italy launches ADSL2+ (24 Mbps for 60 EUR/mo); Ikanos intros VDSL2 chip (100 Mbps symmetric)
* Broadband Netherlands 05Q3: 3.84m lines (+5.6% qoq), of which 59.4% DSL and 40.6% cable, penetration 54.2% of households and 23.5% per head (Telecompaper)
* DOCSIS: Casema plans 30 Mbps trial; VTC (Vietnam) plans launch

WIRELESS – CELLULAR:
* Auctions: 9 interested in Telsim, bids from Dec 13 (Turkey); PT and MTN bid for 34% of MTC (Namibia)
* License: Warid awarded sixth license Bangladesh
* Service launch: Digical on Anguilla, Bermuda and St Kitts and Nevis; Vietnam Power launch delayed into 2006
* MVNO: Aldi Talk (budget: on-net 5 c/min, off-net 15 c/min, 15 c/SMS) launches on E-Plus; Lidl and Plus plan launches; Agcom (Italy) finds no market dominance so no open access required; Visage Mobile (MVNE) gets $30m series-D funding from Nomura et al (total $80m); Neuf Cegetel (on SFR network) plans extension into residential market mid 2006
* Outsourcing: 3 UK hires Ericsson (network, IT)
* Sub-brand: T-Mobile intros MoxMobil prepaid card with Mox Telecom for foreigners (39 c/min to 11 countries)
* MNP: Pakistan to introduce April 2006
* Flat fees: BASE (KPN) disconnects Unlimited subs for abuse (although no fair-use policy in place)
* International roaming: Bouygues files complaint against Freemove for limited access
* 2.5G: Go (Malta) and Cell C intro EDGE
* 3G: Vibo (Taiwan) launches W-CDMA Dec 6, Eurotel launches, Xfera (Spain) plans launch mid 2006)
* 3.5G: HTC plans HSDPA handset shipments 06H2; Nortel and Qualcomm achieve 3.6 Mbps HSDPA; MTN plans HSDPA trial; Cingular launches HSDPA (average 400-700 kbps, 60 $/mo for datacards)
* P2T: intro by Cingular with Kodiak, 10 $/mo or 20 $/mo/family
* TV: Verizon Wireless adopts Qualcomm’s MediaFLO network, launch 2006; Vodafone expands content offerings
* LBS: Inmarsat to manage Galileo

WIRELESS – SHORT-RANGE BROADBAND:
* WiFi: Telenor adds hotzones (400) for mobile users; Skyhook Wireless expands WPS (WiFi Positioning System) to 70 US cities; Sony launches video downloads for PSP

WIRELESS – LONG-RANGE BROADBAND:
* WiMAX: Fujitsu demos IPTV-over-WiMAX; BTC and Orbitel return license Bulgaria (for lack of mobility); Access Providers (Australia) plans wholesale service from 2006

CONVERGENCE:
* VoIP: Skype intros 2.0 (beta; with video (codec from On2 Technologies, web cams from Logitech and Creative), mood indicators, ring tones, avatars, distr deal with Six Apart); Israel outlaws VoIP to protect ILD providers; Telemar (Brazil) plans launch with Net2Phone; Time Warner Cable reaches 1m subs (75% of which triple play)
* IPTV: intro by SMG and Shanghai Telecom; Fujitsu demos IPTV-over-WiMAX; intr HDTV door SureWest Dec 2005 (HDNet and HDNet Movies); Tut Systems installs all-IP digital TV head-end for cable operator (Citizens Cable Comms); plan trial BellSouth mid 2006
* F2M: Xs4all (KPN) launches UMTS-subscription (dial-up over UMTS for ADSL-subs); Neuf Cegetel plans WiFi/cellular phone ‘Beautiful Phone’ mid 2006
* NGN: Vibo (Taiwan) orders from Ericsson
* IMS: HP intros software ‘OpenCall Media Platform’ (enable voice services, triple play etc) and ‘Mobile MusicSharing’ (conference calling, music, talk simultaneously); Cisco adds support to more products

MUNIBROADBAND:
* WiFi: Tempe (Az) and Sunnyvale (Cal) launch; Farmers Branch and plans with NeoReach/MobilePro; Portland shortlists three (EarthLink, MetroFi, VeriLAN)