TeliaSonera has announced offers to buy out the shareholders in Lithuania’s TEO LT and Estonia’s Eesti Telekom. The company is offering SEK 1.56 billion ($222 million) for the outstanding 40% of TEO LT and SEK 3.3 billion ($468.4 million) for the 40% outstanding in Eesti Telekom. Both offers are not conditional and have no minimum…
Page Plus Cellular unveils unlimited text messaging add-on plan
Prepaid operator Page Plus Cellular announced a new unlimited text messaging plan called Power Text Unlimited, which can be added on to a customer’s voice plan for $19.95 a month. The carrier already has an unlimited talk and text plan, and this one seems more suited for certain user groups, which prefer texting over a…
Bangladesh-based Grameenphone orders solar-powered base stations from Huawei
It’s good to see the telco industry going green. That said, we’re glad to report that Bangladesh-based Grameenphone has ordered hybrid solar-powered base stations from Huawei to provide mobile connectivity in rural areas. Solar energy will power-up the stations, and there’s also a diesel engine which is used for backup purposes. Once deployed, the new…
Watch that SMS, a rampaging elephant is coming your way!
Check this not-that-usual use of mobile technology. It’s happening in India, where the forestry department of Jharkhand State has started handing out free mobile phones to villages to warn them of rampaging elephants. Some 600 villages will take part in the project, and so far the State has handed out more than 100 phones. Commenting…
Kenya’s Safaricom launches solar phone
Kenya’s largest mobile operator Safaricom has introduced the solar-charged mobile phone called Simu ya Solar, developed by ZTE and Intivation. The eco-friendly element doesn’t stop with the built-in solar charger — the device is made using recycled materials. Price wise, the phone is retailing for KSh2,999, and is available at all Safaricom retail and dealer…
Hutchison Telecom sells its 51% stake in Israel’s Partner Communications mobile network
Hutchison Telecom announced that it has sold its 51% stake in Israel’s Partner Communications to the local handset distributor, Scailex Corp, for approximately $1.38 billion. Of the amount, Hutchison will get about $1,081 million in cash, and the rest of the money ($300 million) in form of a secured debt instrument. The transaction is expected…
Indian farmers check and control water pumps remotely using their mobiles
Again and again, I find myself amazed with cool and useful uses of mobile technology. On that note, we bring you this story which involves India’s mobile operator Tata Teleservices and agri-tech company Ossian Agro, and how they help farmers monitor and switch on irrigation pumps remotely. The problem is that farmers in the country…
HP starts a data-centric MVNO in Japan to sell its netbooks
In a surprising move, HP announced that they have opened a MVNO operation in Japan. The company is renting network from Japan Communications (JCI), and offers its netbooks from $50 to $100, for customers who sign up to prepaid data service. It could prove as a game-changing plan, and we’ve no doubts if proves successful,…
Emergency call center in Waterloo, Iowa accepts 911 text messages
It’s a sign of times when emergency call centers are turning to SMS. Moreover, it’s plain logic to allow people to reach the center as soon as they can and in any manner they can or want. That said, an emergency call center in Waterloo, Iowa is officially the first in the country to accept…
Israeli operators submit bids for Motorola-owned MIRS
Two Israeli mobile operators, Cellcom and Partner, have submitted non-binding offers to buy rival network, Motorola-owned MIRS. We don’t have the figures at this stage as neither company have detailed how much they are offering for the operator. We do, however, know that MIRS has been previously valued at around $300 million. For the record,…