Laos has a new mobile operator called Unitel, launched as a joint venture between Vietnam’s Viettel and local partner – Lao Asia Telecom. Viettel, which is owned by the Vietnamese army, owns 49% of the company and has invested $79 million in the new network so far. This is their second overseas investment, following the…
Red Cross uses SMS to spur blood donations
Red Cross is taking advantage of SMS, big time. The organization will provide real-time alerts to critical blood inventories, tips for successful blood donations and early notification of new promotions to all donors who opt-in for the program. Once that is cleared (user has registered), he or she will be able to make appointments using…
Number portability coming to UAE in 2010?
The United Arab Emirates could permit mobile number portability (MNP) starting from next year. An offical at the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) told Al Ittihad that MNP would only be available to subscribers who had a mobile phone for over a year, though. That would certainly be a good thing for all our UAE readers…
French Senate considering total ban for mobile phone use for students
Like they don’t have smarter things to do, the French Senate is discussing the bill which if signed would prohibit phone use (calling and texting) in the middle of the class to limit distractions for the students. And while I can agree there’s some point to be made here, the thing I don’t understand is…
Cellular South to acquire Alabama-based Corr Wireless
I love writing about smaller carriers and their efforts to keep growing. On that note, we bring you this story which involves Mississippi-based Cellular South and their plans to acquire Alabama-based Corr Wireless. Details of the deal were not disclosed and the acquisition requires regulatory approval, which Cellular South hopes to get in several months.…
Gulf nations to talk on lowering the roaming costs
According to Qatar News Agency, telecoms regulators in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are to meet to discuss plans to push down roaming costs in the region. Last year, government ministers from the GCC said they will take the necessary steps to reduce the roaming charges within the region, but little has been done since…
CompaniesAndMarkets: China exported 533 million handsets valued at $38.5 billion last year
CompaniesAndMarkets has some interesting numbers to report about the ever growing Chinese mobile industry. Here’s the recap: During the first half of 2009, China exported 237 million mobile phones valued at $16.1 billion, and imported 11.74 million units. The total output of mobile phones was 305 million in the same period. Among the big winners…
India’s MTNL wants a piece of Zambia’s Zamtel
India’s Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) said that it is investigating the possibility of taking a stake in Zambia’s landline and mobile operator – Zamtel. The company’s Chairman, Mr R.S.P. Sinha, told reporters that the company had signed an NDA with Zamtel, hence they cannot talk about it at this stage. Zambia’s government plans to…
Page Plus Cellular unveils $29.95 monthly plan; Believes it will be highly popular
Prepaid operator Page Plus Cellular announced the new plan called Talk n Text 1200, which costs $29.95 a month and includes: 1,200 voice minutes, 1,200 messages (SMS or MMS), and 50 megabytes of data. The main idea here was to offer something for everyone in a single plan. There are enough minutes for “talking without…
India’s Aircel, BSNL sign tower sharing deal
India’s Aircel and state-owned BSNL have signed a 10-year passive infrastructure sharing agreement. As a result, Aircel, which has around 32,000 base stations, will now have access to BSNL’s approximately 45,000 towers across all its licensed circles. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. But we do have a comment from Aircel’s COO…