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  • Wananchi Takes Triple Play Services to the Next Level

    Wananchi Group, Africa’s provider of triple-play (broadband, multi-channel cable television and voice telephony) and VSAT (broadband data and internet) services, has signed a contract for the purchase of Cisco network technology solutions and services in East Africa.

    The agreement is supported by Cisco Capital, a subsidiary of Cisco Systems, specializing in providing financing solutions.

    Wananchi Group, currently the only triple-play operator in East Africa, will roll-out its new services in nine countries in the eastern African region – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, Ethiopia, Sudan and Zambia.

    According to the companies, the contract will also enable the Wananchi Group to deploy Cisco’s integrated end-to-end network technology solutions, encompassing Cisco’s Borderless Networks, Collaboration as well as Data Centre Virtualisation solutions, as their customer base expands and technology advances.

    Cisco has been selected as the Wananchi’s preferred supplier as the full end to end network solution provider encompassing the access technologies (fibre and cable), IP Core Infrastructure, Optical Transport up to Video Head-End, Data Centre and Multimedia Set Top Boxes.

    The companies also informed that under this agreement, they will provide “a number of innovative and competitive managed and hosted communications and collaboration services for residential, corporate and government sectors.”

    “The Wananchi Group’s key objective is to expand our portfolio, enhance our commercial proposition, revenues and reputation. Cisco will help us to continuously deliver the necessary technology enhancements to our infrastructure to service our ever growing customer needs and remain at the forefront of delivering new and innovative services to our customers,” said Mark Schneider, group chairman, the Wananchi Group.

    Paul Mountford, President for Cisco’s Emerging Markets, stated: “This agreement with Wananchi is significant for Cisco’s business in Africa because it demonstrates our strong business partnership and consultancy capabilities beyond just being an end-to end network solutions technology provider. This is becoming increasingly important for our customers in Africa where we are witnessing major developments in the information, communications and technology (ICT) landscape.”

  • RIM Introduces BlackBerry Torch 9800

    Today, Research In Motion launched the BlackBerry Torch 9800 – RIM’s first slider smartphone. It features a capacitive touch screen, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and the new BlackBerry 6 operating system, which includes a WebKit browser.

    BlackBerry 6 features a redesigned interface that seamlessly works with the touch screen and trackpad, includes “expanded messaging capabilities with intuitive features to simplify the management of social networking and RSS feeds,” and provides integrated access to the BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other instant messaging applications.

    According to RIM, new WebKit-based browser renders HTML web pages (as well as HTML email) “quickly and beautifully for a great browsing experience”. It features tabs for accessing multiple sites simultaneously, pinch to zoom and an auto-wrap text zoom feature that can intelligently wrap text in a column while maintaining the placement of a page’s key elements.

    Key BlackBerry Torch features include:
    • new form factor – Touch/QWERTY combination smartphone
    • touch-sensitive trackpad located on the front face of the device
    • BlackBerry App World pre-installed (supporting carrier billing through AT&T)
    • 3.2" 360 x 480 capacitive touch screen display
    • 5.0MP camera with flash, auto focus, image stabilization and geo-tagging
    • Support for 3G networks (HSDPA)
    • 512MB Flash memory, 4GB on-board memory, microSD/SDHC memory card slot (4GB card included, cards up to 32GB supported)
    • Built-in GPS and Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n)
    • Network Support
    o GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
    o HSPDA/UMTS: 800/850/1900/2100 MHz
    • Approximately 4.4" x 2.4" x 0.57" (closed), 5.8" x 2.4" x 0.57" (open)

    In the U.S, the BlackBerry Torch will be available for AT&T customers on August 12 for $199.99 with 2-year service agreement on a qualifying rate plan and data plan required.

    “We were the first to launch the BlackBerry solution in 1999 and have a rich history of innovation and collaboration with Research In Motion,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets.

    “The two companies that brought the first BlackBerry smartphones to market have teamed up again with the new BlackBerry Torch, creating a true generational shift in hardware and operating system for this enormously popular service,” he added.

    Mike Lazaridis, president and co-ceo, Research In Motion, said: “This is one of the most significant launches in RIM’s history and we are proud to introduce the new BlackBerry Torch and BlackBerry 6 together with AT&T.”

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  • Brother Launches An iPhone App

    Brother UK has launched the iPhone app that allows users to scan to and print from their mobile phones.

    The company’s iPrint&Scan is free to download and allows customers to wirelessly print from and scan to their iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad – with a compatible printer from Brother’s latest inkjet multifunction printer range.

    Brother also informed that they are developing similar versions of the app for other types of smart phone including Google-based Android 1.6 handsets and above.

    According to the company, all of Brother’s latest inkjet multifunction printers introduced from 2009 onwards that have a wireless interface will be fully compatible with the application. Models with network interface are also compatible when connecting to a wireless network.

    Phil Jones, sales and marketing director at Brother UK, said: “Smart phones are becoming an essential modern day business tool and we are pleased to be able to offer even more convenient features for our customers.”

    “iPhone users have been waiting for an app like this for quite some time. We’re really pleased to be at the forefront of innovative printing technology, providing businesses with the means to succeed,” he added.

    The application has been initially launched in English, with plans to introduce French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Dutch versions by the end of 2010.

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  • Wireless Infrastructure Spending to Rise in 2011 as 4G Deployment Starts

    Following two years of declining expenditures, global capital spending on wireless infrastructure equipment is set to return to growth in 2011 as carriers in the developed world start deploying next-generation 4G networks, according to iSuppli.

    The research group says that capital spending on wireless infrastructure throughout the world is projected to reach $40.3 billion in 2011, up 6.7 percent from $37.8 billion in 2010.

    This will reverse the downward trend that first occurred in 2009 and is expected to continue this year. Expenditures dipped 5.7 percent in 2009, and in 2010 will tumble by an additional 2.3 percent to $37.8 billion.

    “The upturn in 2011 signals renewed commitment within the wireless industry to move on expansion plans that had been delayed or put on hold because of the global recession,” said Dr. Jagdish Rebello, senior director and principal analyst for wireless research at iSuppli. “Starting in 2011, wireless carriers in industrialized countries will start to deploy 4G in order to attain faster speeds and to unclog the heavy data traffic generated by the exploding use of smart phones. This 4G-driven growth in capital spending will continue at least through 2014.”

    According to iSuppli, carriers the developed world in 2011 will start to deploy 4G, with most expected to choose Long Term Evolution (LTE). Over the next decade, LTE will become the dominant technology, while WiMAX will be relegated to the status of a niche 4G technology, iSuppli believes.

    Already, a number of wireless carriers have announced support for LTE, including NTT DoCoMo and KDDI in Japan, as well as Vodafone and Orange in Europe. In the United States, Verizon Wireless has announced it will roll out LTE by the end of this year, with AT&T and T-Mobile expected to follow suit in 2011.

    Overall, carriers will work to establish viable business models to achieve greater revenue growth in light of the capital expenditures needed for network upgrades, iSuppli believes. This means that in all likelihood, carriers launching 4G will implement tiered pricing plans based on data access rates. As a result, data traffic in access networks will be prioritized, and customers will be required to pay higher access fees when using high-bandwidth services like mobile video or peer-to-peer mobile video gaming.

    Rebello notes that while wireless carriers in Japan, the United States and Western Europe contemplate launching 4G services in 2011, their counterparts in the developing world will continue to invest in 3G network enhancements.

    "For Latin America, China, India and the rest of the developing world—where wireless penetration has yet to extend to many rural areas—4G is not considered a feasible proposition at this point. Instead, carriers will focus on expanding the geographical coverage of their networks, or seek network-sharing agreements with infrastructure providers to help reduce total capital outlay," Rebello siad.

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  • CTIA Updates Its “Consumer Code for Wireless Service”

    CTIA–The Wireless Association has released an updated version of its “Consumer Code for Wireless Service,” which was originally developed in 2003 to help consumers make informed choices when selecting and managing their wireless service.

    CTIA said that while they periodically review the Code to ensure it reflects the industry’s innovations and consumers’ needs and expectations, these updates reflect the new and increasingly popular offerings by carriers.

    The Code, which has been adopted unanimously by CTIA’s Executive Committee, includes new provisions that cover messaging and data services for both prepaid and postpaid wireless customers. It will be effective on January 1, 2011.

    Some of the changes to the Code include disclosure of data allowances offered in a service plan, whether there are any prohibitions on data service usage and disclosure of whether there are network management practices that will have a material impact on the customer’s wireless data experience.

    The Code also states that prepaid service providers must disclose the period of time during which any prepaid balance is available for use.

    Signatories must adhere to the Code’s 10 points, including commitments to disclose rates, additional taxes, fees, surcharges and terms of service; provide coverage maps; make customer service readily accessible; and allow a trial period for new service.

    Compliance with the Code is reviewed on an annual basis. Carriers complying with the Code will receive the Seal of Wireless Quality/Consumer Information, which they can display on their company’s website and collateral materials.

    According to CTIA, the Code has been widely supported by many national, regional and rural wireless carriers including AT&T, Cellcom, CellularOne of NE Arizona, Clearwire, Illinois Valley Cellular, SouthernLINC Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, Unicel, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless.

    The Code’s signatories cover almost 93 percent of U.S. wireless subscribers. Additional carriers have indicated they will comply with the voluntary code.

    “When we originally developed the Code, many of the great innovative wireless products and services that are now seamlessly integrated in our lives were non-existent. The Code’s updates reflect how consumers are using wireless and to help them make the most informed and personalized choices,” said Steve Largent, president and CEO of CTIA.

    He added that the new Code “provides consumers with a wide range of information about their service, disclosures in advertising and reflects the industry’s continued voluntary commitment to consumers’ best interests when it comes to wireless.”

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  • VoIP Innovations Launches Canadian Origination

    VoIP Innovations, a provider of wholesale VoIP service, is introducing Canadian origination this week, giving customers the ability to receive calls, purchase DIDs, and port telephone numbers in Canada.

    The company plans further growth with Canadian termination coverage, with service in Puerto Rico and Hawaii to follow later this quarter, making for a complete North American service package.

    According to the VoIP Innovations, “customers will be able to enjoy a full array of domestic VoIP services from a single wholesale provider,” including origination, termination, local and toll-free number porting, and features such as CNAM and T.38 faxing.

    "Through our tremendous growth, it has become very clear who we are and who we want to be," says Jason Tapolci, Product Manager at VoIP Innovations. "We are a wholesale VoIP provider with an unparalleled aggregation model. Our goal is to become the premiere VoIP carrier in North America."

    The company now offers an origination footprint covering most of the United States and Canada. They have 7,500 rate centers and boasts a DID warehouse with over 110,000 numbers.

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  • WAC Accelerates Delivery of Open Applications Platform

    The Wholesale Applications Community (WAC), an alliance of telecommunications companies committed to building an open applications platform, has announced its formation as a corporate entity, as well as the organisation’s leadership and board of directors.

    They also outlined the business models and technology evolution path that will enable developers, operators and other commercial organisations to monetise applications and services.

    Launched in February 2010, WAC wants to unite a fragmented applications marketplace and create an open industry platform that benefits the entire ecosystem, including applications developers, handset manufacturers, OS owners, network operators and end users.

    The company announced that Peters Suh has been named the CEO of the WAC. Most recently Peters was the CEO of the Joint Innovation Lab (JIL), a joint venture between China Mobile, SOFTBANK MOBILE, Verizon Wireless, and Vodafone. Prior to JIL, Peters held a number of executive positions at Vodafone, Fremont Communications and AirTouch.

    “Our goal is to create a wholesale applications ecosystem that will establish a simple route to market for developers to deliver the latest innovative applications and services to the widest possible base of customers around the world. We’re focused on establishing WAC as the first choice for brands and developers in the mobile ecosystem, ultimately delivering greater choice and value for the end user, the consumer,” said Suh.

    The company also announced that Michel Combes, Vodafone Chief Executive Europe has been elected Chairman of the WAC, and Jean-Philippe Vanot, Deputy CEO, France Telecom has been named as Vice Chairman.

    At launch, WAC will allow operators to distribute applications through their respective application storefronts and charge users through their existing phone bill. In this model, developers will set the application price and will receive a revenue share for the transaction.

    The revenue share will be defined on an operator-by-operator basis. According to the company, this will ensure that revenue shares will be competitive in today’s application market. WAC is a not-for-profit organisation and will receive a small transaction fee for each application to cover its operating costs.

    In the future, WAC wants to offer business models that enable additional purchases from within an application; leverage network capabilities, such as location, to enhance an application; and facilitate the serving of advertisements to end users.

    "Developers will see great benefit in a single process through which they can create, distribute and profit from their applications on multiple retail outlets," said John Delaney, Research Director for Consumer Mobile with industry analysts IDC.

    "Unification with JIL will prove a significant boost for the Wholesale Application Community’s efforts to achieve a global, open development platform."

    WAC will publish its initial specification and components of its SDK to developers in November. The specification will be based on W3C standards.

    WAC will also provide backwards compatibility for devices based upon the current JIL and BONDI specifications. Details of the developer roadmap and a preview of the WAC specifications will be available in September.

  • Consumer LBS Market – a Multi-Billion Dollar Opportunity

    New analysis from Frost & Sullivan , 2010 North American Consumer Location-based Services (LBS) Market – The Wireless Carrier Opportunity, finds that the wireless carrier-generated segment of the North American consumer LBS market amounted to on-deck application software revenues of approximately $718 million in 2009 and forecasts this to reach $1.58 billion in 2015.

    The consumer location-based services sector has experienced tremendous change during the past eighteen months, forcing North American wireless carriers to cope with a vastly different competitive landscape.

    According to the research group, carrier dominance in the North American consumer LBS sector, which was carefully developed during the past decade, is now being directly assaulted by smartphone application storefronts and free off-deck solutions.

    The analysts think that wireless carriers must become more creative and aggressive in leveraging their unique assets if they want to successfully carve out and keep a significant portion of this sector’s potential revenue. Powerful technology and greater customer awareness are driving the consumer LBS market and providing even more opportunities for carriers to partner with top-tier application developers and create, launch, and promote new LBS solutions.

    "In tandem with smartphone advances, carriers are making their networks and locationing capability more accessible to LBS application developers," said Frost & Sullivan Senior Industry Analyst Jeanine Sterling. "Partnerships with location aggregators, open application programming interface (API) platforms, and simpler, quicker certification reviews make it easier for LBS developers to stake a claim to the market."

    However, new monetization models and higher channel fragmentation encourage smartphone users, in particular, to bypass wireless carriers and download LBS solutions directly from the phone’s application store. The majority of location-based applications available through smartphone storefronts are free or available for a one-time fee. In such an environment, carriers will have to strategize cleverly to justify their monthly subscription model. They will also have to find ways to appeal to a smartphone user population that is quickly growing in terms of size and demands.

    According to Sterling, wireless carriers have to bring a strong marketing sensibility to the consumer LBS sector. Their gatekeeper role and control over products and partners have disappeared in the smartphone sector and has been weakened with feature phone users. Carriers need to decide where they can compete successfully in this sector.

    "Some LBS solutions – such as the kid finder services – are just an automatic and perfect fit. Other applications and capabilities may not be as obvious. To thrive in this market, carriers have to be real marketers – monitoring customer needs, identifying product voids, working with creative partners, and publicizing the distinct benefits that carriers bring to today’s mobile user," advises Sterling.

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  • IBBS to Acquire SinglePipe

    Integrated Broadband Services  (IBBS), a provider of managed communications services for cable companies, has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire SinglePipe, a provider of voice over IP solutions for cable.

    Combined under the IBBS brand, the company is said to offer “fully integrated voice and data solutions for cable companies that seek to expand their residential and commercial service offerings.”

    IBBS provides back office systems, technical support services and data and voice applications to cable operators.

    SinglePipe offers voice over IP- enabled communications through its owned and operated facilities-based network to cable companies throughout the United States.

    According to the companies, with the acquisition, IBBS will deliver “a fully integrated platform combining the industry’s leading back office systems and technical support services with a robust portfolio of voice and data services.”

    Supported by the proprietary Broadband Explorer (BBX) operational support system, IBBS will offer a single platform from which cable providers can launch and manage their services for residential and commercial customers. IBBS will back its services with its advanced Network Operations Center and 140-person U.S.-based Technical Support Center.

    The IBBS/SinglePipe deal is expected to satisfy cable operators’ demands on multiple fronts. According to IBBS’ 2010 annual customer survey, finding new revenue streams and creating additional service opportunities ranked as top priorities. Nearly 70 percent of customers polled seek new services and support to penetrate business markets. Forty percent of customers stated that tapping new revenue opportunities is a strategic priority, with commercial services and VoIP identified as top drivers for growth.

    “We have heard our customers loud and clear. They seek a single source of expertise to launch new services and accelerate bottom-line growth with a proven company they can trust. Our acquisition of SinglePipe and the addition of voice services to our portfolio will enhance our ability to support operators as they deploy voice and commercial services – two of the fastest growing opportunities in cable,” said Dave Keil, CEO of IBBS. “With the addition of a superior voice service, we are even better equipped to develop innovative solutions and to support operators in their quests to be market leaders.”

    “SinglePipe and IBBS have collaborated during the last two years to serve our common customers with individual expertise in voice and data,” said Jeff Carr, CEO of SinglePipe. “Now, with the combination of our companies, customers will be well-served with united capabilities and an innovative approach.”

  • TELES Adds Media Gateway to Portfolio via New Tech Partner NewGrid

    TELES, the Berlin based Next Generation Networks and Access Gateway vendor, has announced its technology partnership with Korean converged network solutions provider NewGrid for their carrier-grade, low-power-footprint, and high density media gateway.

    As part of the TELES NGN Solution, the NewGrid Compact Media Gateway will serve as a scalable and reliable building block for carriers and providers looking to deploy high-density, high availability VoIP systems.

    According to the companies, combined with the TELES C4 softswitch and its extensive and comprehensive standards of protocol conformity, providers can expect “smooth and seamless” integration with the media gateway thanks to the rigorous interoperability tests conducted successfully prior to the agreement.

    The Compact Media Gateway offers either 16 or 32 E1s or an STM-1, provides carrier-grade reliability, and complies with industry standard protocols (MEGACO, SIGTRAN, etc.) Its compact size is also an important factor, with lower power consumption requirements and less rack space required, it combines with the TELES NGN solution to reduce not just costs, but also environmental impact and carbon footprint, as the companies claim.

    TELES C4 Softswitch meets all carrier-grade requirements including full component redundancy, multi-protocol support, and five-nines availability. TELES says that the C4 Softswitch is “one of the most highly scalable solutions available” – suitable for small and large-scale configurations alike, offers cutting edge performance, and is ideally suited to high peak loads and short call duration value-added services.

    NewGrid’s Marketing director, J.S. Park, is confident that the partnership with TELES will be very productive: “We are really impressed with the TELES solution, and it was clear to us from the beginning, that our Compact Media Gateway would fit nicely into their solution. The broad flexibility the TELES C4 softswitch with its proven outstanding reliability makes it the perfect match for our Compact Media Gateway.”

    TELES Product Marketing Director, Thomas Haydn, is strongly encouraged by the new technology partnership: “Our partnership with NewGrid, and the inclusion of their excellent Compact Media Gateway alongside a TELES NGN softswitch, will see our carrier and provider customers benefit from a major increase in its price-performance ratio in addition to improved services for growing traffic. NewGrid’s media gateway only takes up a single unit of rack space, and together with our softswitch represents an ideal solution for conserving power and resources. It fits perfectly into the gap between the small and mid-sized media gateways in our NGN portfolio, so that we are now in an excellent position to meet the requirements of a whole host of scenarios.”